Peru-Cusco, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley

Cusco and area, Arequipa: This trip was customized for us but was not private. Cost $1500pp including all air. Groups were small, mostly Americans.

Cusco airport well set up for individual travelers. Several hotels and tour companies had desks inside airport. It would have been easy to have no prearranged reservations. Only problem could have been no availability, but in May there were few tourists which was nice.

Altitude did not bother us but we saw 2-3 people in our hotel lobby getting oxygen. Several people on the tours complained of head aches, trouble breathing and nausea.

We carried cocoa leaves in our day pack and offered to anyone who was ill. All hotels had bowls of dried cocoa leaves in the lobby. You can either make tea and drink, make tea just to soak the leaves, or just take 2-3 leaves, put in mouth and chew. That was the easiest. You can also buy cocoa candy. We quickly got used to chewing the dry leaves.

Cusco altitude is 11,000 ft; Machu Picchu 7,970. The highest point we were at was 12,600 ft. Population 400,000 in Cusco, one million in the entire valley.

We stayed at the Best Western Los Andes De America. The location was very good, free Wi-Fi internet, and free airport pickup. It has a very good restaurant. The bathroom floor and shower walls and floor heated; room was not. Clothes dried quickly in shower.

Many hostels, internet cafes, ATMs, tour offices. I know OATS and a couple of other companies have tours to Peru but we did not see an organized tour anywhere in the country, not even to Machu Picchu. We saw several American families vacationing with young children.

In May it was easy to arrive with no reservations and have no problem finding a room and seeing what you wanted to see. I don’t know about other months. We talked to many young people who did this.

We lost several pounds the six days we were in Cusco. Days started very early and ended very late. We were outside climbing steps, over rocks, etc. all day. By the time we returned at night we just went to bed, the thought of looking at another menu was too much.

Machu Picchu: Day started at 4:30 for shower, breakfast, and 5:30 pickup for ride to train station. 6:00-10:00 on train. Our train car was full, nice, clean vista view windows; served drink and ham and cheese sandwich at 8:30. Great ride DOWN to Machu Picchu.

Going through outskirts of Cusco, nearly every
house had good luck statues on rooftops, usually
3-4 pigs, flower decorations and a cross.

Train ends at Aqua Caliente (hot springs). That was a free-for-all. Most people stayed in this town. Every host and hotel had a bellhop at station. You had to find your bellhop and leave your bag with him trusting you’d see it again. There were also people with rooms to rent and people selling things. We left our bag and walked to bus station going through a maze of very small shops, like the souks in Morocco. You can either walk to Machu Picchu or take the bus that goes every 10-15 minutes. It’s a 20 minute ride. Road is dirt and rutted but not bad. Lack of guard rails and switchbacks make it exciting.

Another way to arrive at Machu Picchu is via the Inca Trail. You must be in very good condition to make the 4-to-5-day climb. First stop on trail is the Temple of Water. It was used for cleansing the body before entering Machu Picchu Sanctuary. The entire area was a holy spot.

Machu Picchu means “Old Peak”. It a pre-Columbian Inca city, constructed about 1450, abandoned less than 100 years later when the empire collapsed under the Spaniards. It was called the “Lost City of the Incas”. Forgotten by the world for centuries, but not by the locals.

The area is a jungle. In fact, that is why the Spaniards never discovered Machu Picchu. It’s why it’s so pristine. Machu Picchu was in middle of dense jungle until 1911 when it was discovered by Hiram Bingham.

We stayed at the Sanctuary Lodge at the gate. We
wanted to experience everything close up. One night was almost $400 including all meals. You can stay in Aqua Caliente for far less and not miss any of the ruins. We thought we’d be able to go back into MP in evening or early next morning. We could have but we would have had to pay the entrance fee each time. In hindsight, we should have paid it and gone back in at dawn, or late evening. Menu prices on our dinner came to over $200. Buffet lunch was $29/pp. Everything in minibar was included so we emptied it before we left. Breakfast was a large buffet and anything off the menu. We were glad we had stayed there. We had corn soup, salmon salads, lamb and sea bass, pistachio ice cream and chocolate mousse, coffee, tea and 2 glasses wine. Everything excellent and served by tuxedoed waiters. A nice break; our one extravagance of the trip.

Buses started arriving next morning at 5:30; no sleep after that so we were up and outside early. We couldn’t reenter the park, but we walked around the grounds, looking at trees, etc. By the time the park opened, there were 2-300 people waiting to get in. I can’t imagine what it’s like in high tourist season (June-Sept).

We had to be back in Aqua Caliente by 1:00 for 1:30 train back to Cusco.

We’re not commenting on Machu Picchu except to say it’s a trip of a lifetime.

There were many things to see in Aqua Caliente. Men
pushing and pulling carts laden with goods up and down quite steep hills. Many backpackers, many small markets selling woven goods, table clothes, hats, T-shirts and other souvenirs. If one lady didn’t have the color you wanted, she’d go to next stall or next one until she found the color/size you wanted.

The local market had wonderful sights, an older woman chopping up a skinned goat with an axe (stuff was flying); a really old woman with a large gunny sack of garlic cloves, peeling the dry skin off; another old woman with a gunny sack of potatoes, peeling the spuds and putting them in a large vat of muddy water. We found out later it was for restaurants. I couldn’t imagine what she’d do with 100 pounds of garlic cloves.

Two recommended hotels in Aqua Caliente-Inca Terra and Old Pueblo. Inca Terra has large orchid garden.

On June 21, winter solstice, the sun rises behind the face on mountain at Machu Picchu. All Incan sites have a connection to the winter solstice, June 21.

Sacred Valley of the Sun, Ollantaylambo and market town of Pisac. Another very long, full day with many, many steps to climb. Pisac tame compared with some market towns we’ve visited. Corn-on-cob in kettles boiling water 2 soles ($.66). It tasted like field corn, a little tough. Kernels were very large.

Sacred Valley is convergence of three rivers; rich soil, many crops grown. Mountains are so high around the valley it never gets cold because the bad weather can’t get over. When the many birds and gulls left the valley to go to the ocean, natives planted their crops because they knew the rains were coming. Houses still have to be rebuilt after every rainy season.

Ollantaytambo: A fortress of the Tahuantinsuyo empire. It was a gigantic agricultural, administrative, social,
religious and military complex. When Phyllis stood at the bottom and looked up and up at hundreds of steps, she thought she’d never make it to the top, but she made it. True grit and German stubbornness! Looking at the pictures from our living room puzzled us because there don't appear to be as many steps as we remembered. Then we remembered that each step you see in the picture is eight to ten feet high. Each plateau about the same. There are steps to climb on the left side. First picture is a grainery built when Ollantaytamb was built..

We could barely walk the next day after so many steps but we made it to the top. Sat in lobby reading all morning until 1:30 pickup for city tour.

Sacsayhuaman (Sexy woman). Telefonica paid for the restoration. The rocks were shaped using bronze hammers and hard quartzite stones; polished with granite sand, water, clay and plants until stones fit together perfectly. Some stones are over 100 tons each. The area was planned and built by the city planners of Cusco.

Cathedral of Cusco built by Spaniards for the
Indians in 15^th C. All cathedrals were built by Spaniards who were converting Indians. There is a large painting (10’x10’) here that was painted by the native Indians. No pictures allowed so I bought a postcard. It is the Last Supper; center of table there is a roasted guinea pig. One face was dark-skinned and ugly looking. Left of Jesus was plainly effeminate face. Our guide pointed this out.

Last day in Cusco, Phyllis had a massage in hotel room. It was wonderful, one hour to get the kinks out, cost $35. Nice young woman, spoke excellent English.

We ate no guinea pig in Cusco. This area was the only place we saw it on the menu.

We ate at sidewalk cafes whenever possible to soak in the atmosphere. We were always bombarded by natives selling their wares. A young girl in Peruvian dress with typical scarf around neck stopped at our table; said something in Spanish; about three inches from my face a baby lamb stuck its head out of the scarf. The girl shoved it closer to me and said, “Kiss”. Others said the look on my face was priceless. The natives were almost in a tight line coming at us from all directions selling painted gourds, watercolor pictures, shining shoes, finger puppets, dolls. Service was always slow; we believe to give the natives time to make their sales.