2017 - Peru

Josh's high school graduation trip to Machu PIcchu in Peru. June 9-22, 2017

Day 1 - Lima, Peru - June 9th-10th
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Our travel day was mostly uneventful. We left Boise at 7:20 am, arrived in LA at 8:40, and then had a 5 hour layover. We met up with the rest of our group and left LA at 2:30 pm. Our flight to Lima was pretty comfortable actually. Josh and I were assigned the crew seats in the back of the plane. They reclined quite a bit and had leg rests and plenty of leg room. Josh had a good 10 inches of space between his knees and the seat in front of him. Sleeping on that flight was very easy and comfortable. We arrived in Peru at almost 1:00 am. Fortunately our hotel was right across the street, so we walked there and went to bed. On this trip we will have buffet breakfasts at our hotel every morning. Neither Josh nor I were very hungry this morning, but we tried some Peru dished like the fried potatoes and stir fry. We then had a ½ day bus tour of Lima. There are about 10 million people in Lima. Lima was established by Francisco Pizarro so it reminded me of Spain with its plazas and fountains and statues. Our first stop was at the main square called the Plaza de Armas. It is surrounded by the government Palace, the Cathedral dating from 1654, and 3 more palaces. It had a fountain in the center with a bronze statue built in 1650. We had some free time so Josh and I went inside the cathedral for a small fee. We saw the tomb of Pizarro and went down to the crypt. They also had several relics (skulls) there. On the way back the bus, some school kids stopped us talk (I assume to practice their English) and wanted a picture with Josh. I also had a guy come up to me with his hand outstretched. I thought he wanted to shake my hand, so I have him my hand, and he pulled me in for a kiss. I quickly turned my head and he kissed my check. Our tour guide saw that and told him to leave me alone. He was pretty drunk. The drive then continued along the coastline which was on cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was a pretty drive. We stopped at ‘Lover’s Park’. It had an interesting statue made of clay it looked like, of a couple kissing. The walkways were lined with mosaics which were similar to those in Barcelona. We then went back to the airport and ate lunch of braised chicken and fries and flew to Cusco. Once we arrived, we had a 1.5 hour bus derive into the sacred valley. We are staying at a really beautiful hotel, and will be here the next 3 nights. Josh and I decided to get room service since it’s late. We ordered a quinoa soup that was recommended to us. It was really good.
Day 2 - Sacred Valley - June 11th
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We left at 9 am and rode the bus about 30 minutes to a town called Ollantaytambo. It was the royal estate of the Emperor Pachacuti during the time of the Incas. We walked through the cobblestone narrow streets, visited some houses, and saw festival dancing in the main square. On the hills and mountains above the town are the ruins and a temple of the sun. It was a terraced hill that we climbed up and explored all the ruins. There was a fun balcony walkway along the side of the mountain that we walked on. After we left this town we drove a little over an hour to another town called Pisac, and visited the ruins there. The ruins were also in the mountains above the town and consisted mostly of farming terraces. Our guide also showed us the cemetery which were holes carved into the side of the mountain where they put the bodies. It was a fun place to explore. We spent the next couple of hours at the market of Pisac. Josh bought a blanket made from Alpaca fur, which he was excited about. We also ate some empanadas and white corn for dinner. We also tried a purple corn drink, that is popular here in Peru.
Day 3 - Machu Picchu - June 12th
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Today was a fantastic day but so tiring! We left our hotel at 5:00 am. And picked up a train in Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu. The train ride was about 1 hour 45 minutes. The little town of Machu Picchu is about 7 blocks square and at the base of the mountain. From there, we took another bus ride 30 minutes to the top. We arrived at the Machu Picchu sanctuary around 8:30 am. After we go through the entrance into the sanctuary, we hike up stone steps for about 15 minutes and we come out at the overlook of the ruins. It was spectacular and the weather was perfect. We stayed with our group and tour guide for about an hour, as we walked around the top area and wound our way down into the city. We got frustrated though, because they were moving so slowly. Our guide was wonderful, but loved to talk and we would stand in one place for 20 minutes while she talked. There is so much to see and explore and we had limited time, so we decided to leave the group and go on our own. We explored the whole city, and found another trail that leads to a strenuous and dangerous hike up the mountain peak where more ruins are located. You need a special ticket to go there, and a guide. Josh really wanted to do that but it was not possible for us to do today. He says he plans to return in the future someday, and hike up the Inca trail and go on that extra hike. I hope he does. After we finished the main trails through the city, we left the park to use the restrooms and eat a light lunch. We had to leave the park because there are no bathrooms inside and no food is allowed. We still had 3 hours of free time, so we did the other 2 hikes located in the park. The first one is a hike to the sun gate. It was a long and steep trail to the top of a nearby peak where there is a stone building called the sun gate. They said on the solstice, the sun would shine through the gate into the sun temple in the city. That hike was exhausting and steep with so many uneven stone stops and in the full sun so it was super-hot. We were both covered in sweat when we got to the top. It was a beautiful view of the ruins and surrounding peaks. I was happy with myself for making it to the top. It was about 1 hour 45 minutes round trip hike. We then to a trail to the Inca Bridge. It is a narrow, dangerous trail along the cliff walls, often with no side rails. Fortunately it was on the side of the mountain where there was full shade and it was also a very gorgeous hike. It also wasn’t a very steep climb. That was a really fun trail. We had to sign our names in a book with the time we started on the trail, in case we didn’t make it back out. As we came back to the overlook of the ruined city, there were a couple llamas eating grass. We had come across several throughout the day, but Josh really wanted to get a selfie with a llama, and had had no success so far. So I pulled out a granola bar and immediately the llama perked up and let Josh and I get our pictures with him for the price of a granola bar. Josh wanted to head back into the ruined city to find a few building we had missed before we took the bus back to the small town and the restaurant where we would be meeting our group for dinner. We did that and were grateful we did. We enjoyed visiting the city one more time before we had to leave. Dinner was at a recommended restaurant that we met up with a few others from our group. It was a 3 course meal, and we ate it all. I had mango chicken and Josh and ginger chicken for our main course. We then walked slowly through the shops on our way back to the train station. Our train ride a little different on the way back. They served us pizza and a guy dressed in a Puma mask made me dance with him.
Day 4 - Cusco - June 13th
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Today we left the sacred valley and headed towards Cusco. We made a few stops at ruins along the way. The first stop was at a fountain spring area called Tambomachay. We got a cute picture of Josh holding a baby alpaca. Tambomachay was important for irrigation of the city of Cusco. Bernell Christiansen, our guide, told of a legend of a white prophet that hit the rock and the waters came from that place. Our next stop was at a place called Kenko. It was a temple of the Puma and also a place of mummification. The rocks inside this structure were cold like ice, which was weird. The pathways were very narrow inside this rock structure. We then went on to an alpaca fur and silver shop, for those who wanted to buy the more expensive and higher quality stuff. There were also several alpacas out front that Josh and I said hello to. The last ruins we stopped at before entering the city was Sacsayhuaman. It was a big fortress and temple complex that overlooked the city. The city of Cusco was built in the shape of a Puma, and this fortress was the head. The stone blocks that made up the walls were huge, and all different sizes and shapes. One block was 200 tons with 11 corners. There were originally 3 layers of walls, in zigzag form, or lightning is what our guide said it was formed after. The walls were originally over 35 feet tall. Most of the blocks were 90-120 tons, and no 2 blocks were the same. All the rituals and ceremonies that place then and still today, are done on the grounds around the walls. We then went to our hotel. It is actually the royal palace of the Incas and then the home of Pizarro, and his son. It’s called Palacio del Inka Hotel. It’s right across the street from the temple of the Sun, known as the Koricancha. Josh and I rested in our room for 1.5 hours, then we left to go to a restaurant our guide recommended. There were 2 other couple from our group also going there and invited us to join them. We walked a couple blocks to the main plaza, where the restaurant was. I had a local dish with beef, peppers, onion and potatoes, and Josh had a chicken dish and both were really good. We had some Peruvian desserts of purple corn pudding, rice pudding and a custard. We then walked around for a few blocks looking for a market. We bought some drinks and snacks to try. Bernell had a lecture tonight at the hotel on what to expect at the Koricancha tomorrow, and several local legends of the white prophet. It was fascinating.
Day 5 - Cusco - June 14th
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Today we had most of the day to ourselves. We had a guided tour this morning of the Koricancha and the cathedral. Josh wasn’t feeling very well so we went back to the hotel and rested for about 3 hours. We then left the hotel and visited 3 museums in the area, and went to more markets to buy more snacks and drinks. We bought extra of our favorites to take home to the family. We met up with Ledia and Shaun from our group for dinner at the hotel lobby. At this point, I wasn’t feeling very well either, light headed and had a headache. The hotel staff had me sit on a chair and gave me oxygen for about 15 minutes. I also took some IBU. We walked a few blocks to the restaurant and I had some quinoa soup. After dinner I felt a lot better. Josh had an alpaca steak, which he really liked. We stopped at a market on the way back and Josh bought some alpaca socks for him and Mike. He was pretty excited to find socks. He’d been looking for some the past few days.
Day 6 - Puno - June 15th
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We left Cusco today and flew to Juliaca. The next 2 days we’ll be at 12,500 feet or higher elevation. When we arrived in Juliaca, we got on a bus and drove about an hour where we stopped at a burial grounds. They built towers on top of a hill, and would mummify the people in the fetal position, then put them in the towers. The wealthy or royal people would have the tallest towers and would even have their servants killed and mummified with them, with their gold and silver. They believed they would be reincarnated and wanted their servants and gold to go with them. There were tall towers, around 30 feet, and others around 5 feet. The poor people were buried in stone cylinders underground, and was marked on the ground by a ring of stones. That whole hill top was covered with towers and rings of stones. Only one tower had been excavated. The Peru government won’t allow any outsiders to come and excavate the area. We even saw bones protruding from the ground. After we left the burial site, we stopped at a local house in the area. They had several llamas and alpacas and guinea pigs. The house had a wall around it and there were 3 buildings in the complex. One building was the bedroom, one the kitchen and one a guest house. Our bus ride took us to Puno, where our hotel is on the shores of Lake Titicaca. We had dinner at the hotel and then had a lecture from Bernell on the god’s of the Incas.
Day 7 - Lake Titicaca - June 16th
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Today we spent most of the day on the Lake. We got on our boat and went around the lake for an hour or so. We then stopped at Uros Islands, which are floating man made islands build from reeds. The people were very friendly. They let us into their homes and allowed us to go and see anything we liked. We climbed up a tower to see the surrounding areas. Each island complex has around 5-10 families. They have to be continually building up their island or it will sink. Every 3-4 years they have to completely abandon it and start a new island. There are about 2,000 people that live on these floating islands. We took a ride on one of their reed boats to an island that they actually use as a restaurant and a bed & breakfast. It is owned by an LDS family. They came out to meet us and the husband and wife shared a beautiful testimony to the group and expressed how happy they were that we came to visit. We have the rest of the afternoon and evening free. We are going to go spend time in the sauna and hot tub.
Day 8 - Iquitos - June 17th and Day 9 - Ceba Tops, Amazon - June 18th
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Today was just a travel day. We left Puno at 9 am and drove to the Juliaca airport. We flew to Lima, had a few hours lay over. While in Lima we got lunch and then flew on to Iquitos. As soon as got off the plane we could immediately feel the humidity. It was a tiny little airport, and huge beetles were everywhere. Josh accidentally stepped on one getting our bags. We then took the bus to our hotel. It has only one bed and Josh does not feel comfortable sharing it with me, so he is sleeping on the floor. Today has been an adventure and it’s just beginning. We started off the morning with a short walking tour of Iquitos. We walked along the river and there were several shacks along the amazon where poor people lived. It was sad to see. We saw a building made of all steel that was shipped here from Paris. There was some ceremony going on in the main square as we went by, that happens every Sunday. Our next activity was the boat ride down the Amazon. We boarded a boat called the Amazon Queen and went 25 miles downriver to our lodges at Ceiba Tops. It took over an hour. It was pretty cool to be on a boat on the Amazon. Once we arrived, we checked into our individual houses and had a buffet lunch. After a little bit of free time, we went on a jungle walk for about an hour. Our guide pointed out different trees and vegetation, also many bugs. He took us to the huge Ceiba tree that is over 300 years old. After our walk we got in the pool. It was just Josh and I at first, but by the time we left, about half of our group was there. There is a fun little water slide that we went down several times. We then had a couple hours to rest until dinner. On our way to dinner we saw a huge frog that was as big as 2 of Josh’s fists, and there was as a jumping spider in my bed!
Day 10 - Amazon - June 19th
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Today was a fun day. We started out the day with an early morning boat ride across the river to go bird watching. We saw macaws, vultures, and parakeets, king fishers, swallows and others. After breakfast we got back on the boats and went fishing for piranhas. I caught a catfish and almost caught a piranha. Josh ended up catching 6 piranhas. They were still pretty small, but Josh kept the biggest to be cooked up for him for lunch. 2 other people on the boat gave Josh their piranha, so he had 3 to eat at lunch. On our way back to the resort, we saw several pink dolphins. Unfortunately, they don’t jump so we would mainly see their snouts and tops of their backs when they came up for air. We ate lunch an hour or so later and they served Josh his piranha. He like it. They are very bony fish so it took him awhile to eat it. He ate 2 of them. We took an hour nap after lunch, then want back down to the boats. This time we went to visit a local tribe on the Amazon called the Yagua trive. They took us under their big huts and danced for us, and showed us how to use the blow darts and let those who wanted to try it. Josh did it a couple of times. We got to hold their bird and sloth, which was my favorite part. He was so cute and loved to cuddle. We stayed in the lodge when we got back for an hour and had some pina coladas, popcorn and I read while Josh played games on my phone. The sun goes down and is completely dark by 6:00 pm. We left at 6:30 for a night jungle walk, which was terrifying! We saw so many huge, freaky spiders, like Brazilian wandering spiders and tarantulas, plus snakes, caiman, frogs and scorpions. We were walking across a narrow bridge and on the handrail was a huge hairy pink toed tarantula. It was probably 8 inches in diameter, completely covering and wrapped around the top of the handrail. It is a single file bridge and there was nowhere to go except by it. I was freaking out a little, and grabbled the shirt of the guy behind me and told him I couldn’t do it. Everyone was trying to coax me forward, because I was holding up the group. When the spider moved to the back side of the rail, I quickly went by. On the other side of the bridge I was still freaked out over the tarantula and a black cat brushes up against my leg. I jumped and screamed. It was a scary night! Needless to say, Josh LOVED it.
Day 11 - Amazon - June 20th
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We left on the boats upstream at 5:30 this morning. It was raining, so we had our ponchos on. We took the boats upriver for 1.5 hours to another lodge where the canopy walk was located. When we got to the lodge we had breakfast first. This lodge had a pet capybara named Charlie that escorted us everywhere we went. A tarantula also fell from the ceiling and died because it fell from such a height and its abdomen is heavy. It landed right next to our guide Heather, and she jumped up screaming and ran out of the lodge. We then got in smaller boats and went further into the jungle to the canopy walk. There were 13 bridges in the tree tops, starting at 12 feet above ground, going to 118 feet at the highest point. It was really cool. Josh liked to try to swing and bounce on the bridges. Once we got back to the lodge, we had lunch, then went for a short walk to the medicine gardens and talked to a local shaman. He gave Josh a relaxation/purifying ritual and gave us temporary tattoos. When we got back to Ceiba Tops that afternoon, it started raining again. We took a nap until dinner time. After dinner there was a show with music and dancing from some local teens at a nearby village called Indiana. They brought out an anaconda and also danced with Josh.
Day 12 - Amazon - June 21st
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This was our last day on the Amazon. We took a short boat ride downriver to the town of Indiana. We walked around the town for an hour or so and visited a local school. It was a pretty decent town for being out on the Amazon in the middle of nowhere. We then took the boat back to our lodge, packed up, and took the Amazon Queen back to Iquitos, and to the airport to head home.