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)

Peru - Lima to the White City*

Well, the flights down were quite interesting, by which i mean highly stressful. Literally every flight (bos-dc, dc-atl, atl-lima, lima- arequipa) was delayed to the point I thought I was going to miss them while still on the other flight making sleep all but impossible, to say nothing of just relaxing on the plane. Got to Atlanta way late, convinced I had missed my Lima connection and would be spending the night in Hotlanta. THankfully, after running to the gate, it was delayed by two hours. Oh, but Ben didnt get there until about a half hour before the flight. We made it though, arriving in Lima at about 7AM. We bumbled around asking at ticket booths for prices and times of flights to Arequipa, most of which we had just missed. 1245 was the enxt, giving us two hours to sit with our bags, then check them, then sit around without our bags. Of course, by 1030 when we could check our bags, our flight was pushed back to 145. Sleepless, we decided to hit up Lima for a few hoursand maybe get some lunch and check out the fine peruvian cuisine (primarily steak, potatos and ceviche) weve been hearing about. After explicitly giving us the price into town in Nuevos Soles, our cabbie announced halfway into town that we were confused, he had said dollars, tripling the price of the overpriced cab. Utter bullshit, which I tried to just wait out silently, telling him to let us out right there or take us back. ¨I will not let you out here, too dangerous, and double price to go back to airport.¨ He was right, it was a less than desirable neighborhood. We decided to cut our losses and head into the Plaza De Armas or center of the city. We were met by a multithousand person marching anti government union demonstration, complete with molotov cocktails and stone throwing mobs, national police at the ready with teargas canisters. Streets were blocked off, and traffic was insane, it now looked like we might miss our flight we had just bought tickets for. We cut our losses and returned to the airport, to find our flight further delayed. Finally, we pile onto the plane and take our seats, only to be removed again from the airplane for another half hour delay.

Thankfully, by 300 we were winging our way over the Andes southward. The thing about flying over the Andes is that it is really like flying next to the andes, passing by and barely over the 20,000 ft peaks, with visions of cannibalistic soccer team andean plane crashes dancing in our heads. It was a spectacular flight though, over the worlds two deepèst canyons, over the Nazca desert lines, next to snow capped peaks on one side sliding down to the pacific on the other.
So at least, we arrive in Arequipa, about a half mile higher than Denver, and noticeably thinner air. They call it the white city, because the colonial buildings are all built from white ¨sillar´¨ a volcanic rock that is so soft that the walls of many buildigns are six feet thick. (this also helps the rich landownging spanish criollos, most of whom live here, defend against uprising farmers and indians). Many of the archways in the buildings (which as 16th century structures also predate the pilgrims), have signs that say ¨zona seguro de los sismos¨´ - safe place during earthquakes. NOt sure if I´m reassured or not. But it is a beautiful city, white colonial buildings framing the central plaza, where you can sit balconies sipping coffee (or coca leaf tea- no really, its good for the altitude) and watch the people on the plaza, the weddings outside the cathedral and the sunset over the snowcapped peaks beyond. Everyone seems to spend their time outside, even though nights get pretty chilly this high up and technically in the dead of winter, perhaps just the meditarannean cultural legacy is too hard to shake. The restaurants even provide blankets for chilly nights sitting outside, though I could do without the constant stream of peruvian windpipe players-amusing at first but quickly tiresome. A few other random things, like the Santa Claus who is always wandering around, every car is either a slightly-larger than bumper-car sized taxi or an enormous 1970´s Dodge Dart or Plymouth Valiant, the garbage trucks that play ¨fur elise,¨and the interesting fact that google peru can be used in Quechua, the local Incan language. Reminds me more of continental Spain than my trips to central america have, perhaps because it is less poor, or perhaps the architecture and the thin white sunlight creating shadows on the buildings. Also has a bit of a moroccan feel with rooftop terraces and small back alleyways, not surprising given the intertwined history of all the countries. Not at all bad and more on the food next time...

*although the guidebooks say its the white city because of the white Sillar stone, an incan-mestizo guy said it was because its where all the white people live