In August had a wonderful adventure in Peru. This was my treat to myself for moving to the East Coast. I went with a group of Princeton Alums in a
Global Adrenaline, no one I really knew before the trip, but still a good (mostly techie) group.
Day 1: Lima
The adventure begins. My Lan Peru flight arrived at 7AM in Lima, and a driver was waiting to take me and another traveler (Julian) to the Lima Hotel. Lima is a huge old city. We arrived at the hotel and I took a nap. At 10, I met up with other travelers, Jason and Barabra, Laura, and Will. Will then led us on an adventure in Lima, as we hired a driver and explored the city. We headed to the beach, then to the National Museum, then back to the hotel, where we were joined by Lauren and Dan for dinner by a ruin.
Day 2: Cuzco
We woke up early (4AM) and went to the airport to fly to Cuzco. During the night, Brian, Conor, Liz, Brett, Brad, and Andy had arrived. Lan Peru safely took us to Cuzco, where we were at 11,000 feet and began a tour of several ruins, such as Sacsayhuaman, Qenko, and Tambo Machay. We then checked into the hotel, and after a much needed lunch, headed out into Cuzco to see the Santo Domingo church which was built over the Temple of the Sun, and the Cathedral. I left the tour early to go sleep - the altitude and little buggies were not treating me very well. After a nap, I went to orientation, where I met Matt (he had been delayed several times, missed connections, and traveled for 40 hours to join us.) I left orientation early - feeling very sick, but as a bonus, they gave me oxygen! I deliriously packed for the trail, and went to sleep, randomly waking up at 3 am feeling well again.
Day 3: Sacred Valley of the Incas
Up early we had breakfast then headed out to the bus. As we headed out to the Sacred Valley, the scenery was very dry - like California in the summer, although this is Peru's winter. We stopped to take scenic pictures, explored more ruins, and then lunched. After a late lunch we went to a ceramic shop (of Pablo Seminario -
http://www.ceramicaseminario.com/) and I bought a stool - it is so cool - Will was my inspiration after he bought one. I was feeling much better. After checking into a hotel in Ollantaytambo, we headed out for
dinner. The next day the trail adventure would begin.
Day 4: Ollantaytambo and First Day on Trail
After waking, we explored Ollantaytambo, a town/ruin, where the houses are still the Inca made houses (many filled with Guinea Pig - a local food treat), next to the ruins of Inca site. It turns out all Inca sites have three things - town, religion, and agriculture - these amazing terraces. We had a great study leader Vince Lee '60 - an expert on Peru/Incas (
http://www.blissnet.com/~sixpacmanco/). He would tell us about the architecture, the life of the Incas and then back up his stories with a Nova Special he worked on, or original text from the Spanish settlers. I really had not realized how recent the Inca's were - 1400s - or the extent of Andean culture before them. After exploring Ollantaytambo, we headed out onto the trail. It was an easy walk to our lunch site under the trees, and the first of many meals with Potatoes - the Andean gift to the world. We probably only tried 10 of the 300 cultivated varieties, but that was good enough. After lunch it was a few hours to our camp site - little huts for our tents in a more permanent camp location with a view of Mt. Veronica. That night, after dinner we played Celebrity - it was especially fun watching the guys charade some of the name.
Day 5: Second Day on Trail
We woke up early for opening ceremony with our porters. They all came from the same village of porters that server Hiram Bingam when he "discovered" Machu Picchu. Dressed in their "local" hats and orange wool, they were introduced to us. It was one porter’s first trip, although many had been hiking the trail for over 20 years. We headed out along the Urubamba River, and then after checking in at the official station, we headed up hill. We saw many Inca ruins, and some still in ruined form, like Llactapata. After lunch, we hiked past the village of Huayllabamba, and detoured from the Inca trail to spend the night next to the Inca ruin of Paucarcancha, which is between two rivers. This camp sight had even more beautiful views then the one before, which was the start of a trend! I went up and explored Paucarcancha ruins with Vince, before dinner, and then an early night.
Day 6: Third Day on Trail
This was the very tough day. After an easy hike back to the trail, the brutal uphill from 10,000 feet to 13,800 and Dead Woman's Pass (Warmiwanusqa) began. I just kept climbing and climbing. It was slow long and hard. I wanted to cry. Then we had lunch. After some invigorating food, with the company of Jason and Conor I reached the pass. Hooray! We took pictures at the pass and then headed down some steep stairs to our campsite at Pacamayu - this beautiful overlook of a valley - the dry vegetation was gone, and now we were in a much more lush land. After dinner, I just fell asleep - exhausted from the climb.
Day 7: Fourth Day on Trail
This was the most fun day - with something of a clime to the Runkuraqay Pass at 13,000 feet, and then an "Inca Flat" walk through ruins like Sayacmarca, a nice lunch and then to our campsite at Phuyupatamarca ("The Place Among the Clouds"). It was a beautiful campsite up in the mountains, and for once we all had energy - jumping around, playing games, and after tea, fitting 11 people into my tent to play a drinking game without drinks (which we still had trouble with - we blamed it on the altitude). After dinner and more chatting, we went to bed early - the valley was covered in fog, but if it cleared during the night we would wake up for sunrise.
Day 8: Last Day on Trail
The fog cleared and we were woken for sunrise - it was beautiful - the sun lighting mountains in the distance, then peeking through the mountains. After this, we had breakfast, and then a tipping ceremony with the Porters. Everyone left out stuff the did not want (my headlamp that irritated me, some gloves...) and the porters were all given money by us ($40 - the same they were paid for carrying the 25 kilos a day) and got to pick something from the stuff pile. Usually they go in order of seniority, but this time, the new porter got to go first, and he got my headlamp. After this we were off, and it was ALL downhill. Oh my - so hard on the knees.
We stopped at Winay Wayna to learn more about the Incas, and then after lunch we walked through Inta Punku (Gate of the Sun) and could finally see Machu Picchu - we had made it. Walking down to Machu Picchu I got an amazing number of bug bites. I was tired, but happy. We took the bus down the switchbacks to Aguas Calientes, for our hotel. After getting clean - showers are wonderful things, I wandered about getting postcards and a clean shirt (Inca Kola Shirt). Then it was a dinner, before heading to bed. Sometime during my evening in Aguas Calientes, I lost my digital camera. Not good. But I had taken out a 512 card, so as you can see there are still lots of pictures, AND I still had my regular camera.
Day 9: Machu Picchu
Up early for sunrise at Machu Picchu, and then a trek straight up to climb Wayna Picchu - it really was straight up - very exhausting, but exhilarating to make it to the top and look back tat the Gate of the Sun - where I had entered this valley the day before. Then it was back down to Machu Picchu, for more descriptions of this hidden treasure. After lunch, I just sat out on a terrace and looked out - I really was in paradise. In the late afternoon we headed back to town, and caught the train back to Cuzco. It was a beautiful ride along the river to town.
Day 10: Lima
We got up early and flew from Cuzco to Lima. Another painless Lan Peru flight. After arriving in Lima, we set about on an exploration - first food, then the old city center - older then anything in the United States, and then the Larco museum. After that it was to the airport. We were all tired as we checked into flights and then waited until late in the night to head home. As I entered my flight it was like winning the lottery - I was upgraded to business class (so random) and so the adventure ended on yet another high note.
Pictures:
http://www.photoworks.com/share/shareLanding.jsp?shareCode=A553BD2BE14&cb=PWArticle in the Princeton Alumni Weekly
