Machu Picchu to Lima

And so we've come to the end of the road. Machu Pichu of course was the final big highlight of the trip, and well worth the effort and obstacles to getting there. Truly lived up to all the hype. The trip to aguas calientes from Cusco was mostly unmemorable, save for a death defying taxi ride in which we almost killed a donkey, and a train ride in which we almost killed the gringos behind us. Our hotel in Aguas Calientes was by far the nicest we´d stayed at on the trip- in fact, we were exclaiming about how clean and pleasant it was when the whole building began to shake with a deafening roar and we looked out the window to see the train passing about five feet from our window. Oh well, didnt keep us from sleeping we were so tired!

Up at 430 AM for the first bus up the mountain to the ruins, though made it onto the second bus which was still very exciting. Got to Machu Pichu at dawn, the 26th and 27th people there that day, and settled in on a terrace above the citadel to watch the sunrise over the mountains and ruins. Well, I have to say from the moment we got there, the whole thing astounded me. I was actually a little worried I would be jaded about ruins and amazing places, but Machu Pichu lived up to and exceeded every idea I had of the place. The buildings themselves are of course quite impressive. The terraces, essentially retaining walls for growing crops that have been perfectly cut into the mountain like giant 12 ft steps, are an amazing feat of 15th century people who didnt even have the wheel, and things of astonishing craftsmanship, beauty and engineering even today. But even if you took out the walls and the city, the setting itself is magical feeling. Perched on a peak with the small sharp peak of Huayna Pichu (see pics) looming overhead in the fog and surrounded on most sides by sheer cliffs dropping to the river. Just beyond the first valley stand enormous limestone karst monoliths, thousands of feet high and covered in green. Beyond these stand higher jagged mountains, softened slightly with a blanket of jungle, and beyond these mountains in the distance one can make out snow capped mountains. As the sun came up and the first rays of daylight hit huayna pichu and the ruins I was just amazed. Would have to agree with this choice as one of the new seven wonders of the world. (wont get into my complaints about some of the others though, no accounting for taste I guess)

It was also wonderful to start the morning with so few people there. Though even as more people arrived throughout the day, the ruins still had enough nooks and crannies and small buildings to explore alone and feel surprisingly intimate with the place. The site is large but not overwhelming, and the vistas from seemingly everywhere are amazing. I joked about it being impossible to take a bad picture of the place.

Still, it was crowded enough that we had to wait in line to climb Huayna Pichu, the small peak about 1000 feet higher than Machu Picchu. Well, those incans basically cut stairs, some about three feet high, into the side of the cliff with sheer vertigo inducing drops to one side. This made it quite a hike up, but well worth it for the views from the ruins on top. There were even a few tunnels to clamber through before reaching the top. Back down again for some more wandering amongt the ruins, even as the crowds began to show up. Again, I would emphasize that some places can barely be photographed with justice, let alone described by a humble backpacker like myself. I can only highly recommend going there to anyone.

Át this point I´d also like to thank MSPP for making ID´s so lousy that third world tourist attractions dont think they are real. I knew I should have bought that fake ISIC card on Khao Sarn Road last year!! Stopped on the way home at Ollaytaytambo ruins, a bit of a letdown after MP I have to say. We did make another stop at Moray, a strange amphitheater like set of concentric terraces where the incans expereimented and perfected their agricultural techniques. Exciting too as a joint Quechua - Aymara ceremony honoring Pachamama (roughly = mother earth) was going on, and we were about the only gringos wandering aroud the festivities.

Back to Cusco for the 20 hour bus to Lima, where we are now. Probably the most excruciating thing about the busride was being forcewd to watch Pay It Forward not once but twice! Staying at a very nice hotel, the Espana, an old colonial mansion which has real looking art on the walls and even a parrot that speaks Spanish.

Lima remains as grim as when we first saw it, oppressively low overcast clouds and smog and a grime that seems to stick to everything and anything. Visited the terrifying Museum of the Spanish Inquisition, (which I might point out used techniques like waterboarding and palestine hangs still in use by the good ol´USA of A) Visited the Church of San Francisco, with some lovely Reubens paintings, an Portuguese Azulejo tile exhibit of mild interest, and then catacombs discovered beneath the cathedral in 1950 to hold 70,000 skeletons and tunnels that apparently connect all over the city. Yikes. Also went to Polvo Azules market, where we picked up some bootleg DVDs at the mythical DVD Valhalla we´ve been hearing abuot from other travllers. And then its back to the good old USA, which frankly Im feeling ready for...

And so dear readers, thanks again! Stick around for more book reviews coming soon, as I likely wont be travelling anywhere exotic for a while, stuck as I will be in dissertation land!

Proof that I went to (the bathroom at) Machu Picchu:

(pics- MP with Huayna Picchu in background, MP with karst in background, MP, Moray Terraces)

I Love the (sacred) Valley OH!

The hike was insane, but absolutely worth it. A four day trek to Choquequirao, Machu Pichu's sister city, an Incan ruin that is actually larger than Machu Pichu at 1800 hectares (Ill leave the metric math to you dear reader). We departed bright and early from Cusco, (430 AM) to bus out to the town of Charo, where the trailhead begins. Charo was a charming little dusty red tile town in the mountains, with almost nothing besides a central plaza where some local women were chattering away in Quechua and drying maiz in the sun.



Our group was my trusty compañero Ben, a guy named Pieru- a spoiled rich kid from Lima who was quite hilarious, and an Arequipeño family of a grandmother, mother, a chubby bratty 11 year old boy and 16 year old daughter. It soon became clear there was no way the grandmother would make it, and she headed back after lunch and two hours of hiking. It also became clear that the family was not exactly accustomed to exercise, and the Choquequirao hike is quite legendary for its difficulty. It was quite beautiful though, winding initially through Eucalyptus and yellow grass covered hills, with scenery that reminded me a lot of the Sierras and Yosemite in Northern California. Slowly the town receded, and 17,000 snow capped peaks appeared around each bend. The first day was a little bit of hiking up, but mostly down, which was pretty ####### the knees. We descended a total of about 4000 feet over 11 miles and camped by the river, at a lovely campsite whose serenity was only slightly disturbed by the presence of a few dozen Peruvian boy scouts. Our guide pointed to a cloud on a distant mountain and explained that was Choquequirao. Food was pretty good, though the Arequipeño children whined brattily while the mother went on and on about her various conspiracy theories about Chileans taking over Peru. (One of my faves- Chileans sneak Producto de Chile stickers onto Peruvian fruit exports!) Slept under the southern stars to the sounds of the river below, with a perfectly full moon light enough to read by and lighting up the canyons and mountains casting deep blue moon shadows into the distance.



Up up early for a grueling day of all uphill (5000ft/7miles). My leg was killing me, but we managed and even beat the sun for part of it. Finally turned a corner at Marapucha, a tiny town of reed huts and a few donkeys, from where we could see the ruins a few hours hike away on a distant peak. Across the valley lay another village, patchwork farms stretchiung out and enshrouded in clouds at about eye level to where we stood. I noticed that suddenly the flora had gone from dry grass and cacti to far more lush and jungly, and realized that it was because we were now essentially in a moist cloud forest, watered every morning by clouds and fog. We waited for a few hours for the Arequipeño family, and then pushed on to our campsite at the ruins. The Arequipeños (arequi-pains-in-the-ass-yo's) didnt all even make it up to the ruin after the hike.

We were running late what with waiting, and I dont mind waiting for people that may be slower but it was frustrating because no one got out of bed which is what mostly delayed us. But we were there, by ourselves feeling like explorers and doing something I will remember as a lifetime highlit for the rest of my life. Like many of the places I've visited, words really cant do justice, nor can photos for that matter. Anyway, we headed down from our campsite (yes, you camp within the city limits) to some incredible agricultural inca terraces, which in spite of being hundreds of years old the masonry was so impressive looked like they had been built yesterday. They cut into the mountain at 90 angles as if creating a life sized topographical map, and are beautiful in their green vegetation and gray rock structure, with white rock llamas paced within. The terraces which make up the city are still being excavated, further adding to the excitement of being there and feeling like real pioneer adventurers.

Up from there we went to the main plaza of the ruins, where we were the ONLY PEOPLE. Thats right, the only people at this amazing ancient ruin perched in the mountains of Peru as the sun was fading over another distant muontain range. It was a very Indianna Jones kind of moment, and the beauty of the place was breathtaking. We wandered through the grass to the temple of the sun, the temple of the moon and the temple of the stars, all typical of any Incan ruins. From there we climbed up a little further to view the site from above, the Choquequirao equivalent of Huayna Pichu. The buildings themselves are ironically (though I suppose intentionally) overshadowed by the mountains, also the Incan gods which I suppose makes sense that they would choose this place as sacred enough to build.

Choquequirao was built around the same time as Machu Pichu, thought to be its sister city and the winter retreat of a Incan prince. Because of the crazy hike to get there and inability to put in a road it remains dificult to get there except by four or five day hike. Hence, the 1% of visitors that Machu Pichu gets, though the government talks of building a funicular, it thankfully probably wont happen son. In retrospect, the five day hike would have been much better. The hike back was equally strenuous, though we managed to mostly beat the sun pounding up and down the switchbacks. Arrived back in Charo, where we sampled the local specialty of a man we met on the street. Some kind of dried smoked mountain goat dripping with fat that was delicious, though hopefully disease free.

And now back in Cusco where everything continues to go wrong. Due to Pachamama's vengeance, or perhaps Peruvian holiday week, we had to change around all our travel plans to the sacred valley in order to get to Machu Pichu tomorrow. But, we are off again a few short hours!

*(pics, me above choquequirao, ruined buidings, example of extensive choque terraces, llama detail, more temples)

see> nytimes article/ "the other machu pichu"