The dramatic conclusion...or not so dramatic conclusion...
The experiences
Week 32 kind of runs together for me because I was such a lazy person. I did make it out to walk around a few times to get out of the room, enjoy the Plaza de Armas and restock on water. Hydration is important to avoiding altitude sickness and the terrible headaches that come with it. Quito was almost 3,000m above sea level and Cusco was nearly 3,500m above sea level. For reference, when I traveled to Albuquerque for work, that was only about 1,500m and a good number of us would frequently complain of shortness of breath, headaches, and general yuckiness.
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| The Quechua flag looks a lot like the pride flag. |
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| Though cooler in temperature, the sun was bright and hot. |
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| Fabulous colonial colonial architecture in the city Quechuans called Cusco or "navel" at the center of it all |
Cusco is a pretty touristy place but there isn't too much you can do in the area besides shop and eat tourist focused food. There are a few hikes, but mostly people use it as the springboard for a day trip up to Machu Picchu. I did find something in my research before leaving that peaked my interest. My officemate and I would always talk about what a shame it was he couldn't talk his kids into going to the planetarium because it's a pretty fun and educational activity to do together. Well, the last time I went was the
Sydney Observatory, and here in Cusco they have
a family run planetarium where you can learn about how the Quechua people used the stars and sky in agriculture and daily life. When I learned about the Quechua people, they were referred to as Inca and according to the guides in Cusco that isn't correct; Inca is the Quechua word for King. And yet another time when we don't get taught the right things in school. The most interesting thing for me was seeing how they used the dark sections of the Milky Way to map constellations too. Final fun coincidence of the trip? Finding Filip and Malin in the same group for the planetarium that night. It'd been a little over a week since we parted ways in the Quito after the Galapagos trip. It was nice to see some friendly faces and hear all about their time on the Inca Trek to Machu Picchu. They were just a few days from going home and I couldn't help but imagine the sheer joy at their being able to speak Swedish all the time again. Again, I like adventure and travel, but at a certain point there's nothing better than the familiar comforts of home. Like many people I met before, I was a bit jealous of their journey home.
The next day I ventured into a few churches. Mainly I had to see the rendering of the last supper where the meal was a depicted as a guinea pig. Ecuador and Peru seem pretty fond of the local specialty guinea pig on a spit. I did not try it but heard from many people that it wasn't bad.
This photo of Catedral del Cuzco o Catedral Basilica de la Virgen de la Asuncion is courtesy of TripAdvisor
I took a walking tour around the city where I got to taste the organic Peruvian coffee, examine the stone joints of traditional and colonial architecture, and play with some Llamas and Alpacas with many different hair styles.
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| This dog likes to follow tour groups and try to eat the Llama/Alpaca food which he doesn't like. |
We even ended the tour with a lesson in making Ceviche.
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| Yum! |
Each night the hotel offered a tour of the building's more interesting parts. Since the building itself has been around for hundreds of years we admired everything from uncovered ruins in the basement to the style of stone work and courtyard appearance.
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| Check in? |
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| Enjoy breakfast or a drink out here. |
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| Take a look at a few rooms preserved like this one. |
Up next is a four hour train ride into Machu Picchu Pueblo. I was not optimistic about my motivation, knowing how much I ached to be at home, staying in the same place each night with a car and refrigerator at my disposal, so I stayed in this tiny place for two nights. There is no reason to stay there at all. It was my least favorite because there is actually nothing there but restaurants and souvenir shops. The hotels/hostels and restaurants weren't particularly good at all. I read a review somewhere that explained it well, "when you know no one is going to be there for more than a day, you have no incentive to improve." So, what did I do? Watch TV and rest; even I'm bored with me at this point.
I got tickets in advance to visit Machu Picchu and picked up tickets for the bus up the hill on my way. As you can imagine at this point, this is an expensive and long journey (flight into Lima, flight into Cusco, train to MP and bus up to MP and then the whole thing back again). It was definitely worth it as you look around and wonder 'why did you build a city in the middle of the mountains?' One would think that by taking all that motorized transport in to the monument it would be a cakewalk. However, after a couple hours walking around the ruins, my fitbit reported I'd climbed 183 flights of stairs...which means I should have found cake to eat.
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| Special trains with full panoramic views take you into the valley. |
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| The waters of Machu Picchu Pueblo...formerly known as Aguas Calientes (hot springs) |
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| Everyone still has to hike up even after the bus drops you off. |
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| The terraced structures are truly cool. Think of each one as a different crop |
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| So close to the sun, your only shade is in some of the smaller huts where the staff maintain the thatched roofs |
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| The picture that everyone likes to show you is the city with Wayna Picchu in the background. Turn it to the left and you will see the "face" of Machu Picchu. |
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| That is one big nose |
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| Sometimes you can look around and definitely say...I could live here |
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| Ditto |
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| How long did it take to make these stones fit together? My OCD is satisfied. |
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| At the very top, the stray figure is a person. Twice a day groups with the right ticket can climb Wayna Picchu. This person is appropriately standing in triumph at the tip top. |
From then I waited another day so I could catch the train back to Cusco, where I had to spend another night because of the flight schedule. This time I stayed in an AMAZING hostel. I seriously wondered why I was using the last of my Marriott rewards points on the hotel that week when I found this place. It was so relaxing and comfortable and the restaurant wasn't anything quite as fancy but still delicious (Marriott: I discovered Duck Prosciutto; Hostel: I had a three egg, bacon and half an avocado breakfast). I did some more walking around Cusco, including finding the post office where I mailed my very last postcard. I also bought a handful of blankets and sweaters which were expensive but not as expensive as that quality would be in the US.
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| Another side of Cusco |
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| Hostel courtyard...home to regular ping pong tournaments and many bean bags |
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| Walking around town |
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| Post office drop boxes--if Hank didn't get his postcard this could be a plausible explanation |
Now, back to the airport to land in Lima for another day of fun before I finally get to board a plane home. I ended up on a different side of town this time in Lima where I was able to visit many places and meet very different people. I spent one night there and hung out for the rest of the day before my midnight flight. Most of the day I spent talking with fellow Americans (Portland, St. Louis, Illinois, Georgia, LA etc) and then I left on a walking tour and met a few Aussies, Brits and a German, finishing the day with some drinks and a cab back to the airport.
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| Oldest bar in Lima, right across from the government buildings, political business is still done here |
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| A line down the street for these. It's like a churro with sweet custard in the middle. Best $.50 spent. |
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| The Pisco Sour...everyone claims to have invented it. Probably the only drink I've ever had that includes whipped egg whites. They're tasty and hit hard. |
Most people are only in Lima for a couple days as they make the jump to other cities or areas of Peru so it was a surprise to meet George in my dorm room who was there for a good few weeks. I don't know that he had much to do there but recover from getting sick but he's on something of an epic journey around South America too. I think he spent something like three months on Easter Island. It was interesting talking to someone who was still loving their long extended trip. For me, this was way too long and I was begging to go home, start work, drive my own car, hang out with the cats, and do all the familiar things. And so I was on the precipice of just that...after a full 24 hours of travel. I made it to Atlanta for the second Republican debate on CNN. What an unfortunate coincidence. It'd been a very long time since I felt the need to talk back to the TV but what can I say..."welcome home."
The lessons
- Coca (commonly Coca leaves with hot water poured over to make tea) is better than any altitude sickness drug. Don't bother getting the drugs at all, they make your limbs tingle, your face numb, and you have to pee a lot.
- How to make a good Ceviche (at least as best as I can remember)
- Steam a sweet potato
- Cook a cob of corn and cut the kernels off
- Cube white fish
- Add lime juice to the fish
- Add chopped onion and chili pepper to the fish/lime mixture
- Add white pepper, salt and chopped cilantro
- Mix in corn and plate using the sweet potato as a side/garnish (depending on firmness it can be used as a spoon
- Important: do not leave fish in the lime juice longer than 4 minutes without plating up...you'll overcook it.
Interesting
- When I went to the local sporting goods stores (Decathlon) in Europe, they had a store brand, very inexpensive, and I always wondered about the meaning of the name "Quechua." Wonder how they feel knowing they have a brand of outdoor gear...I'm sure they aren't getting royalties.
- As you may guess, corn and potato crops are big in South America. There are actually hundreds of varieties
- One of my favorite drinks was Chicha Morada made from the purple corn. If you ever run into it on a menu, give it a try.
- The entire block of my hostel in Lima was made up of 75% copy service centers. It felt a little like the Xerox District (if there were such a thing).
- Llamas hang out on the Machu Picchu grounds. I can't say why but I found this surprising.
