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HOME » Travel Journals » My Peru Journal
My Peru Journal
By : Beth Sullebarger
Trip Begins June 16, 2008
Trip Ends June 22, 2008
The extraordinary experience of our journey Macchu Picchu on the day of the winter solstice via Lima and Cusco.
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June 16, 2008
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Arrival in Lima
Lima, Peru
We arrived in Lima at 11 pm. We were met by Boris, a young surfer with shaggy blond hair who whisked us to our hotel in his Subaru wagon. Our first glimpse of Peru around the airport was grim and industrial, devoid of trees with concrete flat-roofed structures and modular housing. The scenery improved as we drove through an area lined with casinos with names like 'New York.' We arrived at the Hotel Carmel in the more prosperous Miraflores district after passing a private golf club and stylish contemporary homes. It was a quick stay; we left at 6:45 the next morning for the airport to fly to Cusco.
June 17, 2008
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A Day in Cusco
Cusco, Peru
The flight was only an hour, but the landscape changed dramatically from the foggy seaside city of Lima to the clear mountain air of Cusco. The city spreads in the valley inhabited by about 300,000 people. We were met at the airport with music by an Andean band and our guide Edwin Vasquez, a 37-year-old mestizo with a dark handsome face. He pointed out some of the highlights on the way to the Hotel del Prado, which was located just off the Plaza des Armas, the main public square. The hotel was very cozy and comfortable, and the staff was welcoming. We were immediately seated in the dining room and urged to drink a few cups of coca tea and lots of water, and advised to avoid fatty foods to counter altitude sickness.
After lunch at the elegant Inka Grill on the plaza, we spent the afternoon touring the cathedral and temple of the sun. The cathedral was built in the 1500s by the Spanish. It was brown and rough on the outside, with multiple domed vaults and symmetrical towers, but on the inside it was full of gold-encrusted baroque, rococo and renaissance shrines and huge paintings in muted gray and black in the Spanish style "portraits and religious scenes" many painted by local artists. Enshrined in a small undercroft are the ashes of Garca I Llosa, the mestizo chronicler who in 1609 recorded his memories of the 1533 Spanish conquest of the Incas.
Cusco's temple of the sun is a colonial church built on top of an Inca structure. A cloister was constructed among the Inca walls; outside were terraced gardens and a fountain. Dinner that night was early, at Incanto off the Square. Aji de Gallina, a local dish of chicken in chili cheese sauce, was a revelation.
June 18, 2008
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More sights in Cusco
Cusco, Peru
Edwin picked us up at the hotel at 8 am. We walked through the plaza and then through the Plaza de San Francisco on our way to the public market. I bought a few items perfume, a handbag, a tiny charm of a closed fist a symbol of strength. We shared a bebida (fruit smoothie) at a stand operated by a friend of Edwin's. Lunch was upstairs on the square overlooking a parade of young dancers in colorful costumes. This was part of a weeklong celebration of Peruvian Independence Day on June 24. Edwin told us he was a dancer in his younger days and later an instructor; he even married a woman in his dance troupe. Edwin proved to be extremely knowledgeable about Inca history, having earned the equivalent of a master's degree in the subject. He took excellent care of us and provided enlightening insight into everything we saw. He is justly proud of his country.
In the afternoon we visited an archeological museum and two Inca sites outside of town Tambo, a rocky outcropping with tunneled passages and Sacsayhuaman, a zigzagging multi-level fortification. After walking down the hill back to our hotel, we were pretty tired and went to bed early that night. During dinner we were entertained by an Andean band and bought a CD, which was autographed by all the band members to celebrate the occasion. We observed a roasted guinea pig being served to the next table, but decided to pass on that local dish.
June 19, 2008
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Into the Sacred Valley
Sacred Valley - OIlantaytambo, Peru
We departed in a van for the Sacred Valley. Our first stop was the Inca ruins at Pisac, set high on a hill with terraces stepping down with an impressive fountain, a cemetery in the hillside, now marked by holes left by grave robbers, and stone dwellings overlooking the terraces. After this we went to the market at Pisac, where we bought green serpentine jewelry for me, a hat for Dave and textiles.
Next was Maray, where the Incas sculpted natural depressions in the earth into concentric circular terraces. We walked on stone steps cantilevered from the walls to the bottom where we encountered two men digging potatoes. Following local custom, we left an offering of a quarter in the very center of the circle. The Incas used the terraces, which were irrigated by a central stone-lined channel, to test crops at different levels or microclimates. (Peru grows 3,000 varieties of potatoes, and Dave swears that they are the tastiest he's ever eaten.)
Next were the salt flats of Maras, where terraces have been used to evaporate water from a salty spring for 600 years. It was here that I clumsily dropped my camera in the brine, ending its useful life. This was disappointing because it meant I would be without a camera at Machu Picchu the next day. I decided to accept this fate rather than buy a disposable camera along the way. There may be some merit to the idea that looking through camera can hamper really seeing. In the end, Edwin saved the day by taking many photos on his cellphone/camera and emailing them to us at the end of the trip.
The landscape approaching the Sacred Valley consisted of a wide plateau divided into small fields cultivated with barley, wheat, and alfalfa and managed by Andean campesinos, or subsistence farmers. We saw tiny dark-skinned men and women, children and dogs wandering in the streets and fields, sometimes seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but they appeared perfectly comfortable in their space. The traditional dress for women is a gathered skirt, a sweater and a top hat, with narrow brim, often plastered white (to reflect the sun's hot rays?). They carry their babies on their backs wrapped in brightly striped cotton blankets. All the children seemed happy and secure, possibly because they were in constant physical contact with their mothers as babies. There also seems to be only one sort of dog -- a shaggy, medium-sized mutt. They were seen sleeping in the sun in the streets and seemed to belong to no one.
At almost every archeological site or scenic vantage point and public square, we were approached by women and children to buy their handicrafts woven belts, watercolors, carved gourds, pendants or to take their photos in full Andean costume with a llama in tow for a small fee. On our way to the Sacred Valley we stopped for a picnic at an overlook. We were soon visited by a shy two-year-old girl offering little llamas. I gave her a cupcake and took her picture. After a while, a three-year-old boy, also in costume, came over offering some other trinkets. I sent him back to his mother with a sandwich.
When we pulled into Ollantaytambo at dusk we found a living Inca city. Laid out in a grid with narrow stone-paved lanes, the town also had a substantial water system with channels near the western edge of the city. Each lane was flanked by stone walls pierced by wooden doorways into inner courtyards and small stone chambers. Our hotel was at the western edge of town, and our corner room had a magnificent view of the terraced Inca ruins on the hillside. Just before dinner, the power went out, so we entered a restaurant by candlelight. The ambience was so romantic, I was a little disappointed when the lights came back on.
June 20, 2008
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Ollantaytambo & Train to Aguas Calientes
Aguas Calientes, Peru
The next day we climbed the Inca terraces beginning with the Temple of the Sun, composed of 4 or 5 smooth vertical slabs of stone, and speculated about how they were raised to such a height. We inspected stone terraces and residential remains before descending to examine a solar clock carved on the face of a cliff with notches marking the solstices and equinox. We also saw elaborate fountains. Then we encountered a little boy who offered to sing us a song. Edwin boosted him on top of a stone and conversed in Quechua and Spanish. A clever and appealing little boy, he told us he was 2, maybe 3. We gave him some candy, and another friendly tourist whom I waved over gave him a bubble-blowing kit. In his eagerness he spilled half of the soapy liquid on his poncho and then shook it off. We left him happily blowing bubbles and singing to himself.
Edwin arranged a ride to the train station in a little 3-wheeled motorcycle cab. The train to Machu Picchu was an incredible experience a two-hour trip on a first-class train with roof-top windows in order to see the steep peaks as we followed the gorgeous Urubamba River cascading over boulders and past the occasional Inca ruin. We descended from more open fields into thick forest as we went. I perched on the arm of my seat so I could see the water. We were served an elegant box lunch, and the service was superb. At the end of our journey we debarked at the tiny town of Aguas Calientes, sort of a Shangri-la populated by aging hippies and 20-somethings from Japan, Germany, Australia and England. Our hotel was the elegant Machu Picchu Inn, where we had a suite with a view of the mountain.
Edwin wanted to avoid the crowds so we waited until after lunch to take the bus up the mountain, zigzagging up countless switchbacks, passing wild orchids, begonias and other exotic blooms. About 25 minutes later we arrived near the ruins, across from the top of a stele-shaped mountain. A short while later we were climbing the stone steps for our first view of this incredible site. Edwin pointed out the various sectors of the ruins -- the temple of the sun, the sundial, the royal residence, the urban and agricultural sectors. What we saw was a collection of stone structures, some with steep gable ends surrounding a central lawn. One the most dramatic features was the cave-like Royal Tomb with a stepped Inca cross on one side. The three steps represent the three levels of existence in the Inca cosmology. The first step, symbolized by the snake, represents the underworld or death. The second step represents the present, human life, and is symbolized by the jaguar. The highest step represents heaven, symbolized by the condor. Llamas wandered freely around the grounds, and we saw a condor (a rare sight) while Edwin walked us through the maze of stone walls. We also saw a chinchilla (a wild rabbit with a long bushy tail).
After our orientation, Edwin guided us to a bench under a thatched-roofed shelter, and we sat for a while, just taking it all in. We watched as the light left the sky, about 5:30 pm, and guards blew whistles to announce the closure of the site. Back at the bottom, we tried unsuccessfully to get cash, either by exchange or ATM. In fact the ATM ate my American Express card just the bank was closing. Edwin again saved the day by convincing the security guard to let us in and getting the teller to retrieve my card. After dinner we went to bed early so as to rise the next day before the dawn of the winter solstice. Edwin instructed us to meet him at 5:15 am in the hotel lobby in order to be on the first bus. I hardly slept that night. (Little did we know that Edwin was up late performing Karaoke.)
June 21, 2008
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Machu Picchu on the Solstice
Cusco, Peru
We didn't quite make the first bus, but as we stood in line we were in awe of a full moon and a glowing Venus shining framed in the sky by the black silhouettes of the mountains. It was one of the most magical moments I've ever experienced. As we rose, the sky lightened. We were on top of the mountain by 6:20 am, an hour before the sun would rise over the central peak on the east, casting a shadow on the sundial and a triangle shape on a flat rock just beyond it. Before that, it would shine through one of the windows in the temple of the sun. We were a bit too late to get in position to see this so we decided to head for the sun dial.
As I rushed to keep up with Edwin, I heard Dave yell; he had dislocated his knee cap. I ran to him and after being somewhat reassured, I went on to the sun dial. I was torn; this was most likely the only time in our lives we would see the sun cast its rays on this mystical site on the winter solstice, and tears came to my eyes. After a few minutes Edwin went down to see how Dave was doing. I followed some minutes later, feeling that Dave's welfare was more important than even this once-in-a-lifetime event. When I got to Dave, he already had a walking stick procured by Edwin. We moved to a rock where Dave could rest more comfortably. As we watched the sun rise, a falcon passed right overhead and perched on a high rock just behind us; another witness to the solstice. Edwin soon returned with an ace bandage.
After a while, with Dave's assurance, and seeing that the sun dial was not too crowded, I went up as well. We had missed the initial ray as it hit the stone, but we saw a triangle of light form on a lower stone. Edwin and I then returned to Dave. We all agreed it was best for Dave to move to the sheltered bench we had enjoyed the day before, and that we'd meet him in the lobby of the mountaintop hotel in two hours. I would climb the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate with Edwin. This I did at the greatest possible speed; we made the trip in 1.5 hours. We thought about climbing Huanu Picchu but there was a line for this climb because only 200 are allowed on this peak at one time, so we went in search of Dave, assuming that he was waiting in the hotel lobby.
We actually got there before Dave did; while sitting he had enjoyed conversations with various visitors, including James Arrivera, a striking figure with long hair, dressed in white. He is the author of a book about the site and gave Dave some post cards. We took the bus down the mountain. It being too early for lunch, we rested a while in the hotel lobby, where Edwin procured an ice pack for Dave's knee. After lunch we boarded the 1:30 train back to Ollantaytambo. On the way back, I became very teary, moved by the intensity of the experience Dave's injury, the winter solstice and the majesty of the mountains, exacerbated by lack of sleep the night before.
June 22, 2008
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Re-entering Reality
Lima, Peru
This continued in the van back from Ollantaytambo to Cusco and the next day on the plane to Lima. I could not fully explain why. Perhaps it was the sublime scenery encountered during the trip, the let down after a "peak" experience, and sadness at leaving this wonderful place. The return trip was long and tedious (nearly 36 hours), and a bit painful because of Dave's injury, an incipient cold, and loss of a camera. We would pass entire days in the Lima and Newark airports without an opportunity to see the sights, but the journey was well worth the discomfort. Despite this my overall sense was that it was the most exotic and mind-expanding journey I have ever taken. An Indian businessman we met in the airport, who has traveled all over the world, professed there are no other mountains in the world like the Andes, for their sheer verticality, and I'm happy to take his word on that. Travel is not all highs; the valleys make the peaks all the more miraculous.
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