Excellent Adventure 2016 - Day 14 - Hasta Luego, Amigos!

Another ridiculously early day (4:15 a.m. wake up time), but also the last for this vacation.

There was some confusion regarding our luggage the evening before on the bus back from the Larco Museum. Our guide, Isabelle - nice young woman - wasn't as good about the logistical details as Danny. Actually, we were pretty sure nobody was going to be as good about logistical details as Danny.

I had to ask her twice if we were expected to bring our own luggage downstairs - it didn't matter, we just needed to know if there was a time that our bags were supposed to be out in the hallway (5:15 a.m.). And then she forgot about the other 2 people in the same boat. And she told us there would be no breakfast bag. Again, not a big deal, just needed to know what we needed to do.

Next morning, our bags were picked up the instant they wee out there (a couple of minutes after 5:00 a.m.). And when we came down to the lobby apparently there were breakfast bags for us as well. A woman we had not met before came up to us to ask us what was for breakfast (turkey and cheese sandwiches) - after a bit more confusion, turns out she was on the *next* Trafalgar tour leaving for Cuzco. And we were on our way home. So we figured breakfast bags were made for everybody labeled "Trafalgar" regardless whether they were coming or going.

The ride to the airport was easy (leaving at zero-dark-thirty helps), checking in was easy, the flight was easy (finished book #5 for this trip), we arrived 45 minutes early, and zipped through passport control in some kind of record time (no more than 10 minutes). One last goodbye to our new friends from Michigan who had been on the flight with us.

Before we knew it, we had our luggage in our van that was parked at the Holiday Inn in Sterling for the last two weeks. Though we decided to stick around and have dinner to make sure we were past rush hour before heading out.

And just like that, we were home. So looking forward to a full night's sleep.

As a last note - in case you are not aware, I collect elephants. It was pretty hard finding elephants in Peru. Actually found only one, in the market in Machu Picchu Pueblo. I call it my Inca Elephant:



Anyway, thank you all for following me for the last two weeks. Of course, this means I immediately begin planning Excellent Adventure 2017 - currently a two week counter-clockwise road trip from Flagstaff, AZ, starting at the Grand Canyon and making our way through assorted national parks and ending up in Lost Wages - I mean, Las Vegas.

Until then - Hasta luego, amigos!

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 13 - Last Full Day

September 28 2016

Last full day in Peru, last morning of thin air - as beautiful and wonderful as it has been since arriving in Cuzco, I was seriously looking forward to being able to walk at a normal walking speed without having to take breaks every few minutes.

It was an early morning, of course - we were at breakfast by 5:30. And though I had slept better than previous nights, I was still very tired. And of course my walking stick was packed away in the suitcase, which meant that I had to navigate the steps up to the restaurant without it.

Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day to watch the sunrise over the lake:

Target #1 - get myself on the bus. 

Walking out of the hotel front door, I spotted a ramp down to where the bus was waiting. Awesome - now that I was leaving I finally had found the alternative to walking up the steps to the main lobby!

It was a 90 minute drive back to the airport in Juliaca. Pretty sure I was asleep for most of it, even though Charo was chatting away.

Target #2: get myself on the plane.

Fortunately, the Juliaca airport has only 2 gates, so it wasn't hard to figure out. And of course because it's so tiny, we got to climb the metal staircase into the plane. Of course. That staircase had 19 steps -  I know this, because I counted each one as I hauled myself up.

There was a bus load of school kids on the plane with us - eventually it was discerned they were going on a field trip to Lima. The kids were about 10 or 11 maybe? At any rate, one young man made himself at home in Andy's window seat. The boy was a bit disappointed that we wouldn't let him stay there.

Once the cabin doors were closed and the interior air pressurized, I could feel the difference immediately. I could take a deep breath! 

The flight was a 2 hour non-stop to Lima and was blessedly uneventful. But one more time I had to deal with the metal staircase down to the tarmack and onto a waiting shuttle bus. BUT - I was able to walk all the way down without losing my breath! I could  walk to the terminal at a normal speed! Woohoo! 

Once the luggage arrived, it was time to start saying good bye - the group was spitting into the two parts, one going on to the Nasca lines, the other going back to the Hiton in Miraflores for a farewell dinner later on in the evening. Danny went with the group heading to the Nasca lines. We were met by Isabel, who had been our local guide in Lima last week.

Once back at the Hilton, the rooms for people leaving directly from dinner were ready, but not for those of us leaving in the morning. We stashed our baggage and headed out to lunch. 

Five of us walked the half mile to the Larco Mall by the beach - how amazing it was to not struggle to the whole way!

During lunch, we talked about the highlights and the lowlights of the trip. The highlights of course weigh out numbered the lowlights. My main comment - considering the demographics of the people who must usually make up the majority of the groups, there were two excellent examples of accommodating mobility issues (separate groups at Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu), but many more examples where it was ignored - all the hotels with all those steps, sitting in a bus with nothing to do for 2 hours at Sillustani, etc.

We all noted that at least half the group was impacted by the altitude (some more than others). Yet the pace of the activities didn't allow much for acclimation. OTOH, in order to squish everything in, there really wasn't much choice.

And the itinerary really was amazing. We experienced every aspect of Peru - from the jungle to the big city, from the ancient marvels to the living inheritance of native populations.

All in all, a highly successful adventure! I just won't ever go above 9,000 feet ever again.

And yeah, we talked about that too - about half the group was impacted in some fashion (some more than others) regardless of whether or not they had obtained medicines ahead of time or not. It really seemed to be hit or miss. Even Danny, who lives in Cuzco, had been affected by climbing up to the top of Sillustani.

After lunch we opted to go back to the hotel. Andy went for a run. My intention was to sleep for 30 minutes, then take a shower. That didn't happen - I woke up when Andy came back. So much for that idea.

Before dinner, we had a tour of the Larco archeological museum. The Larco family is very, very wealthy - one third of the artifacts came from either their own collection. The museum was a collection of pottery and textile artifacts starting in pre-Inca times. It was a beautiful museum, though I think it would have been more appreciated if we hadn't all been so worn out from the previous 10 days.

Dinner was in the museum's restaurant. It was excellent as has been most of meals we've had in Peru.

At 9:00 it was time to split again - most of the remaining group had flights leaving around midnight. They were transferred to a van and off they went to the airport. The rest of us went back to the Hilton for our final packing up and final night.

Tomorrow - on our way home!

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 12 - Lake Titicaca

The altitude issues returned with a vengeance - it was almost impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep for any length of time. By 5:30 a.m. I just gave up on the sleeping concept.

Today's itinerary included going out onto Lake Titicaca for two stops - to visit the Floating Islands of the Uros people, and the Tauile island.

The original plan was to walk down to the pier. Fortunately, Danny had picked up on the concept that a bunch of us might not be up to that and arranged a bus for those of us who didn't want to walk. The bus was a great idea - it was a steep incline down to the pier.

And of course climbing onto the boat was a challenge, as always, though at least there was no plank to walk. Once on the boat, Charo began telling the story of the native Uros populations who live on the lake on man-made floating islands made of the reeds. There are about 1800 people currently living on these floating islands.

We arrived about 30 minutes later. The family was waiting for us - they gave us all big smiles and hugs in greeting.

It was not easy walking on the reed floor (I think it helps to grow up doing it). We were provided logs made of reeds to sit on, while Charo and the island President told us about how the floating island was made from reeds, how it is maintained, how the houses are built and the social organization of the group of people on this particular island. The group consisted of an older couple with a couple of their children with spouses and children of their own.

Charo explained about the clothing they wear, including the women's hats. The traditional hat is a bowler perched on top of their heads. Some of the younger women wear broad rimmed hats to protect their faces from the sun.

Here is a photo of a young woman showing us a typical wedding shawl.

Even their boats are made of reeds - some are very simple canoe-like boats, and some are very fancy and complicated. The men called these their "Mercedes Benz" boat. The boats floatation devices are discarded plastic soda bottles - which are also used as floaties to teach their children how to swim at around 6 or 7 years old

The family had questions for us - what are our names, how many children do we have, how many bathrooms do we have in our house? They knew about American television - the President of the island owns the only T.V.

And we could ask them anything as well. One question we had - how did the women keep the bowler hats on their heads? Apparently they just learn to do it from a very young age - there are no pins or elastic bands or anything holding the hats to their heads. One question I forgot to as was - why a bowler hat? What was the origin of that?

We were able to see the inside of their houses

And a couple of the men tried on traditional shirts

We then had the opportunity to buy some of their crafts from them - all the items were beautifully made.

Before we left for our next stop, they performed some songs for us, including "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", sung very proudly in English.

We were given the opportunity to ride in one of the big Mercedes boats - except that I needed to use the bathroom on our boat and I couldn't move fast enough to climb onto our boat, use the bathroom, then climb back out to climb onto the reed boat.

But it was fun to watch:

Charo explained that the tours rotated between the islands so that they all have the opportunity to earn money. She also explained why there were solar panels on the island - apparently the Peruvian government has decreed that every house should have at least one solar panel.

So of course the bathroom was an issue - in the bathroom there was the toilet itself (with no seat), plus a bucket of water + a pitcher, and some pipes with a handle. I had no idea what I was supposed to do to flush. I thought maybe I was supposed to turn the handle, but that did nothing. Eventually I gave up and just asked - well, it turns out I was supposed to raise the handle up and down, as in pump it. Of course.

Our next stop was on the island of Taquile, another 45 minutes away. To get off the boat, we had to climb onto another boat, walk through it and then climb onto the rocks on the shore. The walk to the beach was not easy. The walk ON the beach was not easy.

We were treated to a performance by some Taquile residents, followed by a photo op

After the performance, we still had to climb up to the restaurant where we were to have lunch. This took a while, but we made it!

Charo explained the various items of clothing and how they are made - the women weave the belts their husbands wear using yarn made from their own hair. The men make the colorful skirts the women wear - the number of skirts she has reflects how much he loves her.

The men are also expected to knit their own hats - the design indicating whether they are married or single. The weave of the knitted had must be tight enough to hold water - if a young man's hat leaks, he may not get permission to marry the girl he likes.

The lunch was excellent - vegetable soup and grilled trout that had been caught just that morning.

Before starting the climb down, we were able to shop a bit. Andy bought a scarf.

That came in handy on the way back down. The wind was now gusting, making it even harder to breathe than before. So I borrowed Andy's new scarf to wrap my face against the wind.

Getting back onto the boat was a new challenge - to get off the boat, we walked through a boat that was closer to shore. That boat was now gone. The gap between the rocks and our boat was huge - there was no way I would be able to step down onto the deck. The gap was half my height! The crew dug up a little stool for me to stop onto - but the boat was rocking and constantly changing position. It took 3 people to get me from the rocks to the deck.

It was an hour ride back to the hotel. Most of us were asleep.

The evening's dinner would be the last for the whole group together. On Wednesday, we would all fly back to Lima. At the airport, half the group would be picked up and taken back to the HIlton where we stayed when arrived 10 days ago. The other half would board a bus and continue on to the town where they would continue with the tour to see the Nasca lines.

The bus took us into downtown Puno. We still needed to walk a couple of blocks to the restaurant. I've long since learned to take the concept of "a couple of blocks" with a grain of salt. And of course, the restaurant was up a long flight of stairs. But, a grand time was had by all!

Tomorrow - back to sea level!

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 11 - Onward to Puno, Because Cuzco Wasn't High Enough

Yey, another flight! Though not much of a choice - the drive to Puno is something like 10 hours up mountain roads.

The flight itself was uneventful. The question was: will the jump of another 2500 feet make a difference? 

Oh boy, yes indeed it does. Especially when the very first challenge upon arrival is to walk off the plane via a huge flight of steps. The smell of jet fuel didn't help. Once in the arrival gate, it was obvious I wasn't the only one who was feeling it. Lots of gray-looking faces as we verified our luggage.

Seriously beginning to wonder if I'll get truly acclimated before our flight back to sea level on Wednesday.

After verifying our luggage arrived (I must say, it is nice when Trafalgar just pulls all our luggage off the plane for us and we don't have to haunt the carousel), we were back on a bus.

Also joining us was a local guide, Charo, who provided detailed information about the population living in the area - the Quechua and the Ayamarra. Though in general pretty entertaining, after a while it was hard to stay awake.

Our first stop was in an open field near Sillustani for a picnic lunch. Apparently it's a normal thing for the neighborhood dogs to come visit and wait for left overs. This guy was my buddy for a while:

After lunch, we were back on the bus for 5 minutes to the Sillustani archeological site. Unlike the last two activities involving climbing (Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo) where an alternative activity was provided for those people who couldn't/didn't want to hike uphill, this time there was nothing. Our alternative activity was to wander up and down the street or sit on the bus.

Though I didn't wander around for a bit (very, very slowly), eventually it got too cold and windy and I got back on the bus.

Though I did see this pretty little village church:

Fully a third of the group had stayed behind - we had a great conversation, but we were left to our own devices for 2 hours. A bit disappointing, to say the least.

Apparently, this is what I missed:

Finally on our way again, we visited a Kechua family. I had a close encounter with a llama. 

We were able to see how they live without electricity and central heating. And, just before we left, we played a Guinea pig gambling game. We lost. The piggie went into box #4 and we had bet on 10.

Another hour to our hotel, right on Lake TIticaca. Another hotel that has steps everywhere - steps to walk into the hotel from the street, steps down to the lobby, and steps up to the restaurant.

At dinner when we asked for our standard "agua con gas" (seltzer/club soda), the server brought Pelligrino! Our favorite brand! I think we startled the server guy - he had no clue why we were so happy to see a bottle of mineral water.

Tomorrow is our boat ride on the lake. Good news - Danny has picked up on the number of people still struggling with the altitude and has made adjustments to the arrangements: providing a bus to take us to the pier to board the boat, and a bus to take us to the restuarant for our farewell dinner. The original plan was for us to walk to the pier and to walk to the restuarant.

This has been an amazing adventure so far - but I'm looking forward to being at sea level again.

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 10 - Back in Cuzco

Our hotel in Cuzco -  Palacio del Inca - is a converted hacienda. Basically a huge, huge house. With the best wifi since we've been in Peru! Woohoo!

After breakfast we climbed back into the three vans to visit the archeological site Saksaywaman - thought to be an amphitheater for big events. This site showed off the Inca stone cutting skills:

The  zig-zag pattern of th stones represents the hair on a puma's head:

Fortunately, all this walking was very slow and very flat, which made it easier to keep up with the group. 

Back in the van, we drove to a great spot to see the city of Cuzco from above:

Our next two stops were Cuzco churches. The first is the Church of San Blas, most famous for the intricately carved pulpit. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos.

Next stop was the cathedral in the Plaza de Armas:

Once again, photography was allowed. One of the most striking items was the Peruvian version of The Last Supper - with a roasted Guinea pig on the table! Another piece was a statue of Jesus that has darkened over the ages to a very dark brown. This Jesus was paraded through the city during times of earthquakes. 

Every Sunday the Plaza de Armas is closed to automobile traffic, with marching bands and parades, and a ton of people:

While we watched some of the commotion, Danny handed out delicious tamales:

Walking back to the hotel was slow. Though I was doing better than I had expected, the hilly and cobble stoned streets slowed me to a snail crawl - for the entire 4 blocks. 

Back at the hotel, we listened to Peter Frost, a world renowned expert on the Inca. Sorry, I didn't take notes, but it was fascinating, particularly their invention of their counting system - the tied knots in quipu.

For lunch we decided to try a recommended restuarant called Papacho's. This meant walking back up the hilly cobblestone streets to the plaza de Armas. I almost made it all the way up the hill before needing a break! Woohoo! 

When we opened the door to Papacho', we saw a huge staircase to the 2nd floor. Nope, not happening.

So instead we went next door to Meson Don Tomas. The food was excellent. The waitress was dressed in typical dress and a folk band performed while we ate. Since we bought their CD (all of $10 that goes directly to the performers), they offered to take a photo with us:

Of course, after lunch we had to toddle back to the hotel for the next activity - so back down the hilly cobblestoned street. Here it is:

Luckily, the next activity was right across the street to see the Qoricancha Inca Temple, while thunderstorms threatened over head.

For dinner, we walked as a group to the Inca Grille restuarant - back up the hilly cobblestoned street and across the Plaza de Armas. And of course we were seated on the second floor.

The food was great, the conversation was great, a wonderful time was had by all - and then once again back across the Plaza de Armas:

And back down the hilly cobblestoned street. Basically, I had run out of steam by then, which is why this blog is a day late.

For Monday - Cuzco is not a high enough elevation. On to Puno and Lake Titicaca!

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 9 - Nope, Not Getting Up At 4:30 a.m.

A bunch of people did get up at 4:30 this morning to go with Danny at 6:00 a.m. to back to Machu Picchu to hike up to the Sun Gate.

Nope, nope, nope, not happening. Though that pretty much meant we were not going back at all. The morning lines for the bus to Machu Picchu are horrendous, then there's the 30 minute drive. We'd have maybe 30 minutes to wander to around before having to turn around to meet the train.

Oh well.

So we had a leisurely breakfast (for once) with no rush at all. Then we slowly made our way up to Machu Picchu Pueblo (town) - and saw the horrendous line for the bus. Eventually we stumbled our way to the "artisan's market" (in reality it's a shuk, but I'm sure nobody here knows the term).

We found a few things, wandered some more. Not all the stalls were open yet. Found the train station to use the bathroom. Wandered some more. Found a bench to sit on. By this time it was around 10:30ish and the stalls/shops were all looking pretty much the same. Besides, I said, I'm never going to find an elephant here, anyway {Random side note, in case you're not aware - I collect elephants. Long story}. Why don't we find the town square and see what's there?

When I stood up, something caught my eye in the booth right in front of me. Got closer...hmmm...is that an elephant?

Why yes it is! An black and white Inca elephant! How unique is that? I don't have a photo of it, because it's currently wrapped in newspaper.

With that, we left the market, stumbling around again to find the Plaza Mayor. Eventually stumbled upon it, as is tradition. Pleasant environment, with a giant Inca in the middle:

Every town square needs a giant Inca.

Also a beautiful little church:

Seats in the shade were hard to come by, and the sun was very strong. We had run out of ideas of things to do, and it wasn't even 11:00 a.m.

So we read our books and watched people go by.

At 11:30 we decided to have lunch, since nothing was mentioned about a snack on the train. I stuck to my Aji de Gallina, because it's the only thing I know that for sure doesn't have cilantro in it. Andy was braver and had a risotto relleno - looked like peppers stuffed with beef and vegetables. And cilantro.

We met everybody at the train with no problem at all.

Had a great time on the train, chatting away. We were so busy chatting that we missed the explanation of who this guy is:

He (I'm assuming that's a he) danced up and down the aisle for a bit. It was pretty funny.

Then the two servers provided a fashion show of alpaca sweaters, scarves, etc. I actually decided to buy a scarf - in purple, but they didn't have a purple one on their cart. No problem, they said, they would get one for me from the store at the train station.

But we pulled into the train station about 5 minutes later. The transaction was never completed (though I was promised it would take care of), but I gave up. I'm assuming there's another purple alpaca scarf out there in Peru somewhere.

As soon as we started walking towards the bus I could feel the Cuzco effect - too easy to lose my breath and a little light headed. Though fortunately not nearly as bad as a couple of days ago, it still slowed me to a crawl.

Another long, long bus ride back to Cuzco. Danny did try to keep us entertained with information about village life in the mountains. And including the story behind the Simon and Garfunkel song "El Condor Pasa" - apparently Paul Simon got the tune from the Cuzco/mountain guy who wrote it. The Cuzco guy said it was just a popular tune, which was then turned into a popular pop tune. The mountain Guy's son sued, yada yada, settled out of court.

At the halfway point, we stopped to take a break and for a great view of the Sacred Valley:

And the first hint that we were getting closer to Cuzco - the temperature had dropped considerably and I noticed that breathing wasn't quite as easy as it should be.

When we arrived in Cuzco, we had to transfer off the big bus into smaller vans because the streets of old Cuzco are not wide enough to accommodate the big bus. The van is not a great solution for me - the steps to get in and out are a lot higher, and the seat backs recline even in the most vertical position. This means I'm sitting upright without benefit of a seat back.

Fortunately (for the moment) it was only a 10 minute ride to the hotel.

It was really really cold now. The hotel lobby is open to the outside, so the lobby was cold, too. And more steps of course - the hotel is a converted hacienda.

After we signed our paperwork, got our room keys, the all important wifi password, and picked up our Machu PIcchu bags, we followed the bell hop to our room. Very slowly. Very very slowly. 

We kinda landed in the room - at the very most, I thought I might make it to dinner in the hotel restuarant. But we decided not to bother with dinner at all, while we waited for the temperature in the room to rise a bit. Yep, we had to turn the heat on for the first time this trip.

Random side note - this being a fancy schmancy hotel, the bed is one of those super high beds? That actually I can't climb onto. Literally, I can't just sit or climb onto the bed. For now I'm using the wooden trash can as a step up.

Good news! The wifi works great! The best we've seen so far! 

I'm hoping a good night's sleep and I'll be on my way to full acclimation to being at the top of the world. I really hope so, since we'll be at the top of the world until Wednesday when we return to Lima for our return flight home.

Buenos noches, amigos!

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 8 - Machu Picchu!!!

LLamas. They apparently live at Machu Picchu. But of course I shoved this photo here so that it will pop up as the cover photo for today's blog.

Woke up this morning not feeling a whole lot better than last night, even though I was guzzling water (that generated a different problem) and following all the other recommendations. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through Machu Picchu, but somehow I was going to do it.

The hotel was just gorgeous - wouldn't have minded to stay there a couple of days to stare at the beauteousness:

But after breakfast it was time to rock and roll. The trip to Machu Picchu is the second time we needed to pull out a subset of stuff to take with us, while the big suitcases make their way back to Cuzco. Plus we also need yet another subset of stuff to send to the hotel at Machu Picchu as opposed to the stuff we will carry around with us all afternoon. So complicated. Foggy brain cells. 

Before heading to Machu Picchu, we made a stop at another Incan archeological site at Ollantaytambo. 

Now, Danny had mentioned that my walking stick needed a rubber tip to cover the point otherwise I might not be able to bring it in to the park. He had mentioned that there would be vendors selling them in Ollantaytamba - I could see walking sticks for sale in almost every store front, but I figured I would ask Danny which one would be the best bet for the rubber tips. Didn't need to worry - as we came off the bus in Ollantaytamba, we were accosted by street peddlers. The very first one standing at the bottom of the bus steps held out a rubber tip - I bought two for good measure for all of $3. Problem solved!

Before walking through the Inca ruins, we looked at a villager's house, complete with Guinea pigs in the kitchen

And maybe an altar or two to Great Grandpa

The ruins at Ollantaytamba were an Inca temple where the priests and upper class lived. Of course, this temple was at the top of a zillion steps:

Possibly Andy is in this photo in that group of people filing there way up to the top.

We had two tour guides with us - our regular one, Danny, and a local guide, Luis. Luis led the group to the top, and Danny stayed down at the bottom for those of us who didn't want to climb to the top. Danny made sure that we received all the same information as the group going to the top, so that we weren't missing out on anything.

The idea was - find something interesting to do in the morning while everybody else was crammed into Machu Picchu and go there in the afternoon after everybody else was gone.

As we were walking around, I suddenly realized that I was walking at my normal pace. And that my head didn't feel stuffed with cotton. I don't know exactly when it happened - it was as if someone flipped a switch - but apparently I had acclimated to the altitude. At least at 9,000 feet. 

Here's a view from the first terrace (as far as I was willing to climb)

There's only two ways to get to Machu Picchu - take the train or walk. Of course, we were taking the train.

We had assigned seats - originally Andy and I weren't even near each other, but some quick negotiations fixed that. The train ride was 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a snack and a sales pitch for some merchandise. We had our "Machu Picchu" bags with us - the big suitcases were on their way back to Cuzco.

The train ride showcased the beautiful scenery, but it was hard to capture photos as things whizzed by

At the Machu Picchu station, we still weren't there yet. We boarded a bus for a hair raising half hour ride up the mountain.

And then we were there - Machu Picchu in all its glory:

Even more amazing and stunning than any photos.

Btw (random side note), I had noticed that Danny and Luis didn't pronounce it "Mah-choo PEE-choo". It was more like "Mah-choo PIK-choo". Which actually made more sense, Spanish-pronunciation-wise.

After a group photo by a professional photographer (which we will get at some point), the group was split into three parts to make it more manageable. The best part of this - a slow poke group for those of us who need a bit more time to climb up and down steps. That's me! 

Our guide's name was Wilfred - a local guide from the area. He was wonderful - knew his stuff cold and had endless patience as we hauled ourselves up, down, and around. At some point we passed the other two groups - somehow we were getting ahead of them, even though we were walking and climbing much more slowly. HAH, so much for the slow poke group!

Wilfred made the scene come alive - Machu Picchu is pretty much not restored - everything that is there is the original. It has avoided earthquakes and other natural disasters. It is still not known why it was abandoned.

Wilfred took posed photos of us along the way:

Andy walked up to the top of an extra set of stairs to see a stone that original was thought to be a sun-dial. People used to touch it to feel the "energy". People are no longer allowed to touch this stone:

We met him on the other side of a wide open space - where we saw the llamas (header photo).

It was time to start the climb down. This took a while, but we arrived back at the bottom exactly on time at 4:15 p.m., 3 hours after we started.

AND - we were the first ones back!

Wilfred stamped our passports with an official Machu Picchu stamp - forever proof that we had visited.

When everybody had come back, we boarded the bus to go back down the mountain to our hotel.  The entrance to the hotel? More steps!

We filled in our registration cards and went to our rooms. We are in the 1100 wing - the first floor - and what do we see when we head in that direction - more steps!

There was a cooking demonstration at 6:45, but Andy went off by himself. I met everybody at dinner at 7:00.

We were all talking about what we were going to do tomorrow morning before we needed to get back on the train to begin the journey back to Cuzco. Originally we thought we might go back to Machu Picchu and climb up to this house perched on a hill. This I think I could do:

But it's a complicated proposition. Another option was to go to a local museum, or just go shopping. We haggled back and forth with a few people as to a "reasonable" time to meet for breakfast - How about 7:00 a.m.? How about 7:30? 

How about not?! We know we always have crazy busy vacations, but this was the first opportunity in days and days to NOT get up at 6:00 a.m. Nope, nope, nope, not going to do it. I'm finally feeling myself again - I'd like to keep it that way, considering we're going back UP to Cuzco at 11,000 feet.

While this discussion was going on, Danny stopped by to say he would lead a group starting at 6:00 a.m. to climb the last stretch of the Inca Trail to the "Sun Gate", which is that cut off peak behind the house in the photo above. Well, the rest of the crowd was excited by that idea, but, yeah, no, no thanks. We have had a full and satisfying Machu Picchu experience in just our 3 hours today.

The wifi in this hotel is as flaky as all the others. We're sitting in the "business center" on the third floor - the reception seems to be a little better. There are 3 computers here; 2 actually turn on and work. Windows in Spanish!

So tomorrow we will sleep in a bit, then pack up, check out and go wandering around the town until it's time to back to the train and back to Cuzco.

Bucket list item: Machu Picchu - CHECKED.

Excellent Adventure 2016 Day 7 - The Altitude Thing is a Real Thing or El Condor Pasa

Today was a very, very long day on many levels.

{Heads up - towards the end of this blog will be a photo of a roasted Guinea Pig, in case this might be a problem for you}

First, we were up before 6:00 a.m., to be able to put our big suitcases out in the hall to be collected for transfer to the bus.

Breakfast was a "box" breakfast - looked like it was a ham and cheese sandwich, but since we had specified "no pork", we got a vegetable sandwich. Literally, tomatoes and lettuce and I'm not remembering what else, but it was a vegetable. Ugh. Why the alternative to ham is tomatoes is beyond me.

The idea of the early start was an attempt to beat the crazy traffic to the airport. Today we start the climb up to Machu Picchu via Cuzco.

So once again we were flying to Cuzco, this time with 30+ people. This time my walking stick was in the big suitcase, so it wasn't an issue.

As is tradition, we sat on the runway for a half hour before taking off. Otherwise an uneventful flight.

Cuzco is at about 11,000 feet, give or take. I felt every inch of it the instant the plane landed and I stood up. Super dizzy, unable to walk faster than a snail's pace, and out of breath at any attempt to go faster than a snail's pace.

Yey.

The luggage operation was very efficient. Our suitcases were all lined up for us to identify - and then we swapped stuff around so we weren't carrying around unnecessary stuff.

As long as I was sitting on the bus, I was sort of ok. Moving presented major challenges.

Danny (our tour guide) said that the plan for the next few days included going to lower altitudes (Sacred Vally, Machu Picchu), so by the time we came back to Cuzco we would be acclimated. I sure hope it works.

Our first stop included a welcoming ceremony from a local shaman:

The ceremony involved coca leaves and preparing an offering of assorted symbolic objects:

Which were then burned:

Interesting how the ancient local customs - this one pre-dating the Incas - have managed to survive to this very day.

Dogs roam around everywhere. This guy joined us for a few minutes:

After the ceremony, I was not feeling any better, perhaps a bit worse now with an incipient headache beginning to blossom starting at the back of my head.

Toddling back to the bus, the next stop was at an alpaca wool store to learn about alpaca wool and have a cup of coca tea. Which in theory would help the altitude problem. 

It didn't really help much. I was still lightheaded, lead-footed, and moving slowly. Other people were affected, but at least they seemed to still be able to keep up with the crowd.

Our next stop (egads, does this day never end) was at an animal rescue. I think this is a llama:

The best part were the Andean condors. We were in their cage as they flew overhead. And then they posed for us:

There was a weaving demonstration right after that, but I wasn't moving, so I missed it.

I was able to toddle back to the bus. So tired, I just wanted to go to sleep.

Sorry, no sleep for you! 

Our box lunches were distributed - ours were marked "vegetarian", which was worrisome - hopefully not another vegetable sandwich! But we lucked out - apparently "vegetarian" means "chicken". We don't get it, but not complaining.

We started going downhill towards the Sacred Vally. I could feel the difference when we arrived at the town of Pisac. I was able to walk in a straight line! 

There was a huge market there - we could have been there for hours, but we only got 15 minutes. Did manage to pick up a few items. Not sure if they are "real" alpaca wool, but I liked them regardless.

There were little girls asking to pose for photos. Yeeeeesh didn't really want to encourage this, but they do a good job of pulling at your heart strings.

So I posed with this one girl - when Andy held up his phone to take the photo, she started shouting something like "cheesecheesecheese", which made me laugh. But she really wasn't smiling.

*sigh*. Oh yeah, that's a baby goat she's holding.

Yet another stop before arriving at the hotel. Are. Though I felt better, I was still ready to drop off my feet. But we were promised some roast Guinea pig (considered a delicacy), so here we were.

We would have tried it except Guinea pigs are not kosher animals. The people who did try it said it sort of tasted like duck.

And here's the photo:

Yeah.

Ten minutes to the hotel! We were promised. And then the bus got stuck in a hole in the road. Took a bit to get us going again.

Finally at the hotel (it's quite spectacular), I rested for a bit before dinner. It helped a little bit.

At dinner we managed to sit at a table of very nice people who possibly were in our own age cohort.

So now, before I pass out for a few hours, once again we need to pull out a subset of our clothes. Tomorrow is Machu Picchu! Which is blessedly another 1000 feet lower than we are now. 

I don't understand why there's so many activities crammed into a day when most of us are feeling the altitude. What a long, long, hard day.

I will need to buy a rubber tip to cover the point on my walking stick, which is actually a good thing- I'm sure that will come in handy in the future.

But another early morning. I sure hope I'm feeling better tomorrow.

Machu Picchu, here we come!