Peru - I am at a lack of words to describe our time there, in a sense that I could write for days
and still feel like I haven't quite said it all or described everything in a way that depicts its true
sublimity. Please forgive/understand the abundance of photos (a picture's worth a thousand words, right?).
From the get-go, Cuzco was awesome. We stayed at a great
hotel, Libertador, where on the first day I learned not to drink coca tea after dinner or more than 10 cups per day, as it makes falling asleep quite difficult. Cuzco itself is beautiful: small cobblestone streets winding through nice buildings, restaurants, stone cathedrals, and plazas with fountains. The food was great, and even better, we never got sick! That was one of our
nightmares: getting food poisoning from the water right before we began our Inka Trail hike...let me just say, at times there are not many trees or shrubs alongside the trail.
On our first full day there we hired a taxi to drive us around to a few of the ruins outside of the
city. The first, Tipon, had these intricate irrigation systems all throughout the city. The next,
Sasquema, was huge, and mum and I could only imagine where the buildings and streets were and how bustling a city it must have been in its time.
The next day we walked around Cuzco and up
to the ruins just outside the city. On our last full day there we got a taxi with our new friend Stephen who we met in the lobby, and did our most impressive day yet. We went out to the ruins of a cliff-top city called Pisaq, which overlooked a lush green valley. It never ceases to amazing me how intelligent the Inka and pre-Inca people were. They created many crop terraces up the hills because as the elevation changes so does the climate, allowing for a large variety of crops to be grown. They also remembered to put large stones sticking out of the walls as stairs to allow them to climb to each level. I certainly wouldn't have thought of that until after I completed construction and the "ah shit" thought went off. I sat on the edge of the ruins, legs dangling over
the side, looking out on the valley and the crop terraces while a wood flute played in the background; it was really powerful. I certainly will notforget that moment. After Pisaq, we drove through the Sacred Valley over to the most of impressive of the ruins in the Cuzco area, Ollantaytambo. The stonework there was incredibly precise, and our guide explained how they moved rocks up to 80 tonnes from the mountain across the valley accross a river and up to their site by rolling them on logs and both pushing, pulling and using ropes and hand grooves. They would sand the rocks to get them perfectly smooth by rubbing them with sand, water and meteorites.
Hiking the Inka trail was more incredible than I could ever describe, and views along the trail were incredible. The fog rolled in and out unpredictably making the scenery change in a matter of minutes. As the elevation changed so did the vegetation, at times sparse hillsides and other times lush jungles. The highest mountain pass was over 14,000 ft in elevation, and mum and I were certainly glad we had 3 full days to acclimatize before hiking. We chewed the coca leaves for energy and help with the elevation, our cheeck and side of tongue going slightly numb after. On the fourth morning we went through the Sun Gate and entered Machu Picchu. While slightly foggy, overall effect was astounding. Erick
gave us a tour of the place and ended it by lining us up against the wall, first depositing our cameras on a ledge, as he pulled out a bottle of champagne (forbidden in the site) and sprayed us with it, then we passed it around the circle to conclude our excursion together.and mum and I joked that finally arriving to Machu Picchu was anticlimactic after such
a phenomonal 3 days of hiking. Our group(on right) was great, so
much positive energy and determination. Meals were great, interesting conversation, and in our free time we played cards and sang (one guy brought a mini guitar, a Peruvian version of a ukulele). We woke up between 3:30 and 5:30 every morning which was tough but totally worth it, as we were the first ones on the trail, and had the best campsites further along than the rest of the tour groups. Erick, our guide, was great. He was passionate about the mountains where his family is from and woke us up each morning to "room service" of coffee or tea in our tents while we packed up. The
We split from the rest of the group to check into our hotel, the Sanctuary
Lodge, where we happily sipped champagne while waiting for our room to be ready. We relaxed all day and had a jacuzi that evening, then ate a delicious meal in the hotel. The next morning we woke up at 5:30am to get stamps (only 400 per day)
to climb Huayna Picchu, the big mountain next to Machu Picchu
(the nose). It was a good trek up, the path often very narrow and steep, but the views were totally worth it. At the top you are up in the clouds with a 360 degree panoramic view of the mountains, river and Machu Picchu.
The next day we took the train back to Cuzco, stayed one night and then flew to Lima. Mum and I had lunch then she headed back to the airport for her flight home that evening. I stayed 2 nights and did laundry and other chores before my flight to Morocco.
My trip to Peru was the most powerful and awe-inspiring, not to mentionally physically challenging, experiences/trips of my life. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to spend with my mom and all the interesting people we met along the way. I couldn't have gotten a better graduation present!
visited some of the most impressive falls in the world!! The falls are right where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay all meet. We stayed in the national park at the Sheraton. While the hotel didn't meet the 5-star standards it so proudly boasts, the view from our room was incredible! (see right)
