A PERUVIAN EXPERIENCE 2009

CUSCO

2009-07-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

DAY ONE It was the end of May when my friend Emily from Atlanta, Georgia, and I boarded a LAN flight from Lima to Cusco. I was excited for her because it was her first visit to Peru and for me because (even as a native Peruvian) I had visited Cusco only once and that had been in 1968!

I envisioned landing in Cusco and thought how exhilarating it was going to be to see the city from above, but what a disappointment! We had been assigned seats on the last row of the plane and we didn't have a window! We eventually took a taxi ride up the hill of Cristo Blanco (the white statue of Christ that stands guard over Cusco with open arms) and on the way up we took this panoramic photo of the city.

Cusco is located at an altitude of over 11,000 feet. My sister Connie had instructed us to request coca tea before landing to avoid soroche (altitude sickness). We did that and continued drinking coca for 9 days! It must work because we felt nothing of the kind. In fact, we were quite content.

After we checked into the hotel, we walked to the main plaza where we both were "persuaded" to buy a wide brim hat. They turned out to be a great purchase as we wore them constantly. (Well, Emily had bought it for her dad so she only borrowed it twice.) With our hats on we wandered about some more until, all of a sudden, lo and behold a pizzeria appeared in front of us. We went in for pizza!

That afternoon our tour bus took us to the Convento de Santo Domingo built over Koricancha, the Inca's Temple of the Sun, where two drawings caught my interest.

In the center of the first one, Cusco resembles the sun from where roads irradiate like sunrays connecting towns represented by dots. The second drawing shows secondary roads linking those dots. Undoubtedly, a remarkable road network that covered thousands of miles from Ecuador, through Peru to Argentina and Chile. Chasquis, or runners, acting as the postal messengers of present day, transported through those roads messages and supplies at extraordinary speed

We continued to the outskirts of Cusco to visit the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Quenqo, Pucapucara and Tambomachay. By the time we arrived in Sacsayhuaman it was around 4 p.m. It was almost 12 hours since we had left Lima. At the site of the first flat stone Emily decided to rest her feet. I explored a little further to see the biggest piece of stone in the compound which is said to weigh 361 tons!!

When we arrived in Tambomachay, some people decided to stay in the bus. I followed the walking group instead. At that point I wasn't sure that I would had the stamina to complete the visit but I decided to try. It began to mist, it was getting dark, it was windy, I was cold and I couldn't even see the finish line. It was then when I retreated and walked back to the entrance to have my picture taken to have it documented that I had made it that far, 3765 meters above see level or 12352 ft.!

That evening we indulged in a steak dinner at a local restaurant. It wasn't the best of meals but it was enough to fortify us and with the included pisco sour we were ready for bed!

DAY TWO We woke up at 6 the next morning rejuvenated. We took a hot shower, got dressed and went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We were greeted with a hearty breakfast buffet that consisted of eggs, cold cuts, cheese, fruit, a variety of bread, hot milk, juices, espresso and tea. After breakfast, we boarded the bus that was to take us to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. With such a romantic name it was no surprise to find that the ride through the mountains to the valley gave me a sense of peace. It is not until one sees the terraces which were built for agriculture purposes, that one can assess the strength, vigor, determination and the superb architectural ability of the civilization that built them. We saw some from the bus but I was overwhelmed when I saw them at close range at Pisac. In the words of Hiram Bingham: "Terraces are found in many countries.. but is very doubtful whether any equal those constructed by the Incas."

As we were leaving Pisac, I met a little girl and her baby pet (sheep?). It was love at first sight.

The furthest northwest point from Cusco of our excursion was Ollantaytambo. Here we saw the face on the mountain across the ruins. There are two versions of it. One describes it as a natural rock formation and the other one as man-made. I am trying to find out which of these two versions is true. If you know, let me know.

We ended the day with a visit to the picturesque village of Chincheros and a session on the art of dyeing. By the way, did you know that the color red is obtained from the cochineal insect that lives on cactus? It is used to dye yarn, foods and for cosmetics. Supposedly it is kiss proof!

After this educational session, we walked to the main plaza where Emily bought an alpaca blanket.

DAY THREE Today we were scheduled to take the train to Aguas Calientes but a demonstration disrupted transportation and train service was cancelled. We spent part of the day roaming the streets of Cusco on foot and later hired a cab to drive us around for a couple of hours.

One thing that I must mention is that the streets of downtown Cusco are immaculately clean and free of any debris. There are no beggars, instead, everyone is a merchant and there are all kinds of clothing and artifacts to buy on the streets.

In the evening we dined at Nonna Trattoria located "exactly" 52 steps from our hotel (we know it because Emily counted them). It was a delightful dinner. It included an appetizer of tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese followed by spaghetti with pesto, garlic bread and one pisco sour each at the cost of approximately US$12.00 for two. What a bargain!

If you remember, on our first day in Cusco we had pizza. Now, on our last day we find ourselves having pasta. Maybe we should've gone to Italy!! Tomorrow to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu.

AGUAS CALIENTES

2009-07-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Our excursion to Machu Picchu began early in the morning of May 28 by van from Cusco to Poroy's railway station and by train to Aguas Calientes for overnight. Because our travel arrangements did not include transportation from Aguas Calientes' railway station to the hotel, I was a bit concerned about how to get from the station to the latter. My concern quickly vanished when the train pulled into the station and I looked out the window. The hotel was right across the railroad tracks!

"Aguas Calientes" means "hot waters" and the town got its name because of its natural hot springs. Emily and I went to take a peek at their outdoor thermal baths but it makes me sad to confess that they didn't attract me in the least.

However, the town is so enchanting that for a moment I considered moving in. I was fascinated by the charming bridges, the quaint atmosphere and particularly by this vendor with four legs. What intrigued me most was all the construction activity that was going on. Emily surmised that what these construction workers were doing was manufacturing sand and concrete from scratch! We had found them cutting stones (maybe splitting describes it better) in the river and also noticed some of them operating machines that were probably crushing the stone pieces and converting them into sand. We were so enthralled with the whole operation that Emily bought each of them a bottle of water and they all cheered! After all this excitement, we walked towards the plaza and had lunch across from the cathedral. In this next picture, notice the partial view of the statue to the left of the cathedral. It is that of Inca Pachacutec. Pachacutec, conqueror and builder of Machu Picchu, was the ninth Inca who devoted his entire life to spread the inca civilization beyond the boundaries of what Peru is today and made Cusco the center of the great Inca Empire, Tawantisuyo.

Aguas Calientes is not only popular because it is so enchanting but because of its proximity to Machu Picchu. It is about 6 kilometers away (3.7 miles) and offers two ways to reach Machu Picchu. One can either walk or take a bus. It is about a 30-minute bus ride on a zigzagging road through the mountain or (and I read this somewhere) about 1.5-hour on foot. We decided to take the bus as we were in a hurry. Honest!

One important factor about this bus trip option though was that in order to see the sunrise, we had to be at the station at 5 a.m. and take the first bus. We went to bed early and requested a wake-up call for 4 the next morning.

Next, Machu Picchu.

MACHU PICCHU

2009-07-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

The phone in our hotel room in Aguas Calientes rang at 4 in the morning. That meant that it was time to get up and get ready to walk to the station to take the bus to Machu Picchu.

Normally when I am in unfamiliar territory I check directions thoroughly beforehand, but we were so confident that we could follow the map that this time I didn't. Wrong! We ended up at the train station instead. Conveniently though, Aguas Calientes is a small town and one cannot get lost for long. A guard at the train station pointed the way and we hurriedly walked over the bridge to the other side. Soon after, we were standing in line in the darkness of the morning.

The idea behind taking the first bus was to arrive in Machu Picchu in time to see the sunrise. As you can see, that same idea had been in the mind of many. There were at least a hundred people and it took a while for all of us to board the buses. After the 30-min ride, we had to stand in line again to go through the entrance gate and by the time we all went through it, the sun had already risen. So much for that idea!

During the bus ride to Machu Picchu I had been absorbed by the view of the forested mountains and they were still surrounding us as we proceeded up the path to the ruins. I cannot get over what happened next. All of a sudden as we turned around one side of the mountain, there it was Machu Picchu presenting itself to us in all its might. It was like an apparition and my heart almost stopped!

At this point I must mention that what we had in front of us may very well be Vilcapampa, "the lost city of the Incas". The one Inca city the Spaniards never reached and never destroyed.

When in 1911 Hiram Bingham was in the Urubamba region searching for Vilcapampa, he got word that there were some "very good ruins" on the ridge between Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu. He writes: "The Ruins ..are called the ruins of Machu Picchu because when we found them no one knew what else to call them.... even though no one now disputes that this was the site of ancient Vicapampa."

As we explored the city, I noticed that the architects of Machu Picchu did not build many windows. As it's human nature, whenever I saw one I found myself looking out.

From the inside out, it is indeed a dramatic contrast between the solid stone construction and the untouched world on the other side.

There are many stairways (over a hundred I understand) and we climbed as many as we could. Not all of them, obviously, because if we had I wouldn't be here now writing this.

One of those stairways took us to the Intihuatana Stone, 'the place to which the sun is tied'. My mind must have wandered during the explanation as I didn't clearly understand what was said so I resorted to the Internet (where else!) to help me make sense of it.

The best explanation I found was at: www.crystalinks.com/astronomicalobservatories.html

"One of Machu Picchu's primary functions was that of astronomical observatory. The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes... At midday on March 21 and September 21, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all.. At this precise moment the sun 'sits' ... upon the 'pillar' and is for a moment 'tied' to the rock."

Our guide also emphasized the Inca's knowledge of physics and he brought to our attention one of the corners of the nub that protrudes from the stone. He said that it points directly to the earth's north magnetic pole and if we had a compass we could try it. We did and it worked!

What I find so amazing about this place that we call ruins is that is so intact.

Our guide showed us a picture of what Machu Picchu City might have looked with thatched roofs. I thought, the only thing missing here are the roofs! I seriously believe that if roofs are placed over the structures, one can probably reenact life in Machu Picchu as it was back then.

At midday we returned to Aguas Calientes for lunch and I took a moment to stand by the side of the river lost in thought reliving the experience I just had.

In a previous section I mentioned that I went to Cusco in 1968. Machu Picchu had been the primary reason for that trip. Before then and after I have seen so many photographs of it that I couldn't imagine discovering anything new. True indeed. What I wasn't prepared for was the emotion I felt as I saw the ruins once again. It was a combination of pride, amazement and disbelief. When one considers the tremendous human effort that must have required to build this city, one cannot possibly stand there without feeling great respect for its architects and its builders. If it weren't because it exists, I would've said that it was impossible to build it.

That afternoon, we left Aguas Calientes on the 3 o'clock train to Cusco to spend the night and leave the next morning to Puno and Lake Titicaca.

See you then!

CUSCO TO PUNO

2009-07-26T23:38:00.000-07:00

When we first reviewed the itinerary, a 9-hour bus ride from Cusco to Puno seemed an incredibly long trip. We considered taking the train as we presumed it would be faster but in fact it would have taken a bit longer. Thus, we rode the bus. It turned out to be an enlightening experience.

ANDAHUAYLILLAS

Our first stop was in Andahuaylillas, home of The Church of Saint Peter Apostle built by Jesuits in the early XVII century. Because of its unpretentious exterior, I was stunned when I stepped inside. The church is filled with art treasures and ornamental woodwork covered in gold leaf. Due to the magnificence of its interior, the church is also known as the Sistine Chapel of the Andes.

This is a photo of the inside of the church from a postcard that I bought in the church.

RACCHI

The Temple of Wiracocha, in Racchi, was built by Inca Wiracocha, the 8th Inca ruler, in honor of the God Wiracocha from whom he adopted his name.

Even now after its destruction by the Spaniards one can still assess, by what's left, the temple's enormity. The design consisted of a central wall (estimated at 54 ft. in height) and 11 circular columns on each side of the wall. These were toppled by a sloped roof that is believed to have been the largest roof ever built by the Incas. Still present, are the living quarters and storage barns.

LUNCH STOP

We made a stop for lunch at a restaurant (whose name escapes me) located right on the side of the road. It was an attractive restaurant with impeccable restroom facilities of which everyone took advantage. Before leaving, I took this picture of the road we had travelled. At the far end is Racchi, the town we had just left.

LA RAYA

La Raya, literally translated means "The Line", probably because it is the dividing line between Cusco and Puno regions. At an altitude of 4,338 meters (14,150 ft. above sea level), it was the highest point of the trip. Here we saw the train going by in the opposite direction en route to Cusco.

PUCARA

This is the town where the famous "Toritos de Pucara" (little bulls that represent prosperity) are manufactured. Our guide told us that for good luck one should place two of them plus a cross on top of the roof of the house. As we rode along, he pointed them to us and we saw them on many roofs. At home I have this one. I will have to get another one to make a pair even though I will probably not put them on the roof.

JULIACA

Juliaca is the largest city in the region. Our guide described it as an important commercial capital but also referred to it as a center of contraband and counterfeiting. From the bus, on the way across the city, we could see multitudes of people doing business at open fairs, markets, shops. Everywhere everyone appeared to be engaged in some commercial activity or busy going from one place to another on foot or "taxicholos".

It was evident that taxicholos are a popular mode of transportation. We saw so many of them to attract our curiosity. Don't quote me, but I think our guide said that there were about 25,000 around the city (...or maybe 15,000?) something like that.

There are two types of these taxis. One is the taxicholo operated by pedals and the other is the mototaxi which is the motorized version. I couldn't take a picture of them from the bus but I took a couple in Puno to show you.

After thousands of years in existence, Juliaca was finally named a city in 1908. Today, however, it looks as if the city is still in the the process of being built. As the bus was reaching the outskirts of the city, we could see outgoing construction everywhere and aside from the main road all secondary roads were unpaved or in need of repair.

PUNO

No soon we checked into our hotelroom, we headed out to the main plaza and the business district few blocks away. It was already dark and the wind was blowing. And the more we walked we got colder and colder. We were freezing!

I remembered that when we were in Lima packing, I had had in my hand two pairs of gloves to take with us. I don't know what happened between my hand and my luggage but I didn't bring them! At the sight of the first street vendor, we each bought a wool hat and gloves. Emily also bought a medium-size knitted duffle bag which proved to be ad hoc for the situtation that was to come up later.

We didn't have much luck with our choice of restaurant that evening. The service was terrible which I thought strange because there were only a couple of tables occupied. I ordered "anticuchos", a popular Peruvian dish made of pieces of marinated meat, skewered and grilled. lt was by far the worst anticuchos I've ever had. Emily, had ordered pasta and she wasn't too pleased with it either. Meanwhile, the restaurant had been filling up with several tourist groups. I guess that was the answer. They had been so preoccupied getting ready for them that we were more of a bother than anything else.

After this fiasco we returned to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Lake Titicaca follows, first thing in the morning.

LAKE TITICACA

2009-07-26T23:37:00.000-07:00

We all know that Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable commercial lake in the world. It sits at an altitude of 3,830 meters (12,532 ft.). However, it wasn't only because of that, that I was eager to get there. It was also because of the legend I was told when I was a kid.

Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, son and daughter of the Sun, were sent to earth to civilize the world. They rose from Lake Titicaca. He became the first Inca ruler and she the Queen. In a nutshell that is, according to legend, how the Inca Empire was born.

The morning started by bus to Puno Bay to board the launch for a cruise on the lake and to Amantani Island for overnight. The bus was full with young and serious backpackers plus Emily with her duffle bag containing her bare essentials and I with my red carry-on luggage with all my belongings. When we arrived, I saw the launch. Except it wasn't "the" launch. Ours was docked four launches away and to board it we had to walk over the first three! Emily tiptoed with her duffle bag while I stood with my red luggage feeling like the Queen of Sheba without an entourage! Fortunately, one of the guys noticed my dilemma. He grabbed my suitcase with one hand, and jumped from launch to launch. Once all aboard, the excursion began.

Several days before our trip, the Peruvian newspaper, El Comercio, had published an article about contamination in the lake that was turning parts of it green and made it look like a golf course. I wondered whether it was worth going. I was afraid of being disappointed but I went anyway and took these pictures right after we were pulling off the dock. Sewage water is one of the contributors to the pollution of the lake and what we see are tiny water lentils that feed off the waste. They are in itself a double edge problem, as they not only constitute a health hazard but their removal at a rate of 800,000 tons a year, is a costly expense. I think these lentils mainly concentrate in Puno Bay. I didn't notice them as we went further out. Let's hope a solution is found soon because as Mr. Alberto Giesecke, of Peru's Environment Ministry, said in the interview with El Comercio. "Without sewage treatment facilities, this lake is doomed."

UROS ISLANDS

Have you ever thought of buying an island but couldn't afford it? Build one then! The floating Islands of Uros are built using one component, the totora that grows abundantly in the lake. The bottom layer consists of a pack of totora roots that is the floating device that supports the island. A layer of totora reeds are placed next and the houses are built on top. The reeds are so manageable that they are used to build their homes, to manufacture furniture, different artifacts and vehicles of transportation as this particular raft, that took a month to build, and took us for a ride.

We also learned that as the totora reeds deteriorate, they form an organic matter used as fertilizer and cultivation. The base of the totora reed can also be peeled and eaten.

These floating islands are anchored to the bottom of the lake to keep them in place. I noticed that the lake wasn't that deep where we were at as our Captain was actually reaching the bottom with a long pole and pushing the raft.

AMANTANI ISLAND

I don't know why I thought that Amantani was flat. Wrong again!

The arch in the picture above, points the entrance to the village. Halfway up, I took this picture of the lake below to show how far up we had gone but were still not near the entrance.

As there are no hotels in the island, accommodations are provided in private homes. We had been assigned bedrooms for two at different homes. In our case we were four (two guys and us) as the house had two guest rooms. On arrival, our hosts and hostesses were waiting for us to guide us to their homes. Our host and the four of us proceeded up. The men climbed at ready pace while we stopped along the way. We finally arrived at the house.

Once inside, we walked upstairs to our bedrooms. Ours was the one on the left and the guys' room on the right (we never knew what was behind the door in the middle). It was a spotless room that looked to us like a 5-star hotel room.

Amantani has a population of about 800 families. Ours was a family of five, husband, wife, their daughter, son and grandson. It's not surprising that being a relatively small community; they all know each other and help each other. Our host told us that his neighbors helped him build his house. The community is dedicated to livestock and agriculture. They eat what they grow, one of them being quinoa (a grain highly regarded for its nutritional value) and that was what we were served for lunch.

The dining and kitchen areas are in a one-story structure adjacent to the building where our bedrooms were. In the photo below, it's the one behind our host.

The dining area was furnished with a rectangular table that can comfortably accommodate six. To the right of it was the cooking area. I am almost positive that they cooked over coals and if I am correct, they did have a very good exhaust system, as there was no evidence of smoke. They had reserved the table for us, while they ate in the cooking area. The building to the left of him, is their living quarters. The corridor between the two buildings, leads to the restroom facility which brings me to the next subject. It is a well designed home but lacks two features: There is no running water or electricity.

Two activities were planned for the remaining of the day. It was Sunday, May 31, and the village was celebrating Pentecost that afternoon atop the mountain. In the evening, there was a "fiesta" at the meeting hall.

After lunch, we started up the mountain to Pentecost. Maybe we had completed about one fourth of the journey when we came across the stadium and Emily said that she was not going any further. She was going to wait right there. Across from it, I saw an arch. I suggested that rather than staying there maybe we should walk up to the arch and take a look. Reluctantly, she agreed. There we found a French couple and a Dutch family. This is a picture of us with a couple of them and a partial view of the mountain that we never travelled.

It was 4:15 p.m. and we took bets on the time the sun would set. It started at 5:30 p.m. (Nobody won.) We all stuck around until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. As soon as it did, we all said good bye and each of us started on our way back home.

Emily and I made it safely to the stadium and continued part of the way until we weren't sure. You see, the paths are inconspicuous and not well defined especially when it is getting dark. There were no landmarks to go by. I mean, there was no way that we could tell the difference between one stone and the other! No panic, though. It wasn't THAT dark yet. We continued on until, all of a sudden, a young man appeared. Calmly, I asked him if he could help us. At that point I realized that I didn't know the name of the family and couldn't tell him anymore than we wanted to go to an adobe house located sort of like "over there". I explained that we were staying with a man and his wife, daughter, son and grandson. He said, "Oh yes I know them. I'll take you". On the way we found our host who was looking for us and the four of us walked down to the house.

Once in our room Emily crawled into bed and that was it for her. I rested a bit until dinner. The guys were famished and ate Emily's dinner and part of mine. (Considering the bathroom facility we didn't want to eat much.) One of the guys said he was going to bed after dinner. They had gone to Pentecost and he was tired. That meant that only one of us went to the fiesta that night.

TAQUILE ISLAND

We left Amantani right after breakfast.

As the launch was approaching Taquille, our guide enthusiastically announced that we should get ready for an exciting hike. There were 550 steps waiting for us to climb, at the end of which, we were going to be rewarded with lunch. After lunch we would descend another 550 steps to the other side where our launch would pick us up. Emily said that she wasn't going. She was staying with the launch. I think pejerrey-fish was on the menu and as I don't care much for it, I decided to do the same.

Another couple, a Korean father and son that were suffering from soroche, joined us. While waiting for the group, we delighted ourselves with the view, the tranquility of the lake and the realization that we were standing in the middle of one of the natural wonders of the world.

The group returned from lunch and we boarded the launch for the 3-hour cruise to Puno, but not until some guys jumped into the lake and went for a swim.

We spent the night in Puno and returned to Lima the next day.

EPILOGUE

2009-07-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

This trip has been, by far, one of the most awe-inspiring trips I've ever made. What is so remarkable about it is that within a relatively short distance, I was able to travel into the past and present of Peru.

In Cusco and Macchu I was exposed to the history of an extraordinary civilization and I feel lucky that the remains of their existence still exist for us to see.

In Lake Titicaca I traversed to a present that seems unreal and, in a certain way, so enviable.

On the 9th day we landed in Lima, with me carrying memories of an unforgettable journey.

~~~~~~~~~ THE END ~~~~~~~~~