{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!
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