Cusco, Peru
Day 1: Crossing the Border
Crossing the Bolivian border to Peru is easy. It's ten minutes from Copacabana then another 2.5 hours to Puno. I grab dinner with some folks from the bus at Tulipans. Alpaca - my first Peruvian speciality.
Afterwards, I attempt to sleep on the overnight Bolivia Hop bus until I wake up at 5am to the news we're in Cusco. A cab drops me off near some stairs and tells me to go up. I have no idea where I am. Thank goodness I downloaded the app maps.me. Tip: know whether you're staying on a pedestrian only street or not. It makes a difference for early morning pickups to Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain, etc.
I find Hosteria de Anita. They don't have a room ready for me so I grumpily wait in the lobby while a manager asks me why I'm not married... If looks could kill. Eventually another employee feels bad for me and finds me a cot. I pass out hard.
When I wake up, I check in, find a place to do laundry, and head out in search of food. Jack's Cafe is amazing. Total gringo spot but if you want a big delicious American breakfast, this is for you. Then I start my wandering. Cusco is gorgeous. I think to myself I could stay here for a while... I pop into artisan markets with vibrant contrasting colors.
At sunset, I head to the SAS Travel office for my pre-Inca Trail briefing. This is one of two overpriced group tours I booked before leaving NY (Machu Picchu and Patagonia). As you can imagine, I'm annoyed. Never book in advance. Lesson learned.
The first thing the guide asks me is where my husband is... I'm starting to get the impression being unmarried in your mid-20s is highly unusual in Peru. After I leave, I head out in search of traditional Peruvian cuisine. I find Seledonias Mesa in San Blas. Like Bolivia, every dish seems to have quinoa involved. And as with all of Latin America, it takes about an hour to be served, but it's so delicious I can't complain.
Day 2: Inca Trail After a few hours sleep, Im picked up at 5:40am. We drive two hours to Ollantyambo. It's a beautiful town in the middle of the Sacred Valley. I wish I had spent a night here. I wander around and find some coco tea before we head to the Perurail station. Tip: If you're not in a window seat, you can't see the river and mountain views so make sure to ask.
We get off the train at mile 104 and start hiking. It's humid as hell. And steep. They tell us it's 3 hours up. I'll spare you the gruesome details and let you know we eventually made it. We have lunch and explore Winaywina. It's a smaller ruin on the other side of the mountain from Machu Picchu. You're hiking until you come around a corner and see it all at once. Breathtaking. It certainly makes you wonder about the first people that found it after it was abandoned.
It starts to downpour and we head to Machu Picchu. It's another hour and a half, but it's mostly flat. We climb up the Monkey Stairs using both our arms and legs and finally arrive at the Sun Gate just as the rain stops. Our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Funny how much the rain makes you appreciate the sun.
Machu Picchu was first discovered to the modern world in 1911 by an American Yale professor, Hiram Bingham. We learn that Inca is the name of the god and his stewards of the Qechua people. There is a small community of Qechua that still exists. The Inca Trail was the Kings pilgrammage from Cusco to Machu Picchu twice a year. The religion is based on two gods. Father God is the Sun. The Sun was born at Isla Del Sol in between Bolivia and Peru. The Mother God is Pachamama or Mother Earth (The same Pachamama that apparently didn't accept my offering of alcohol at 9AM in the morning and let me crash on the Death Road in La Paz). Cusco is the base of the Incas because it's exactly midway between the equator and the southern pole. This religion and language survived until 1533 when the Spanish invaded and killed all the Inca men in Cusco to convert them to Catholicism. Only the Qechua and Inca women survived. They retreated to Machu Picchu and survived until 1575 when they grew frightful and abandoned the mountains. The city was then lost to the jungle. We don't actually know the name of the city, but it is referred to as Machu Picchu after the name of the mountain where the Sun Gate is located. On June 21, the summer solstice shines directly through the Sun gate into the home of the Inca.
We walk down Machu Picchu Montana from the Sun Gate and we take the $12 bus down to Aguascalientes. It's been a long day and we're so happy to have a warm shower, delicious dinner, beers, and conversation at Hostel Viajeros. Tonight I realize traveling makes you wholly present. You meet people that are unaware of your past, unaware of your future, and all you are is who you are in that moment. A snapshot in time. Day 3: Machu Picchu We wake up at 430 AM to wait in line for the first bus at 530. The line is already quite long. We rotate between people waiting in line and people grabbing breakfast. A benefit of traveling in a group. We take the bus up and I can't help but notice the sun is already up. I don't know what sunrise we're chasing. We queue at Machu Picchu around 6:10am and eventually make it in. I would not recommend chasing the sunrise here, the sun rises behind the mountains before you can see it. Sleep in and skip the crowds.
When I'm walking around Machu Picchu, my mind wanders. I'm thinking about where I should go next, what emails I haven't responded to... and I realize how ridiculous this is. I'm at one of the greatest wonders of the world and I'm not present.
As much as I love traveling alone, I've found it's harder for me to tame my mind and be present on my own. When I'm with others, it is easier for me to let go.
Before I left, people asked what I hoped to get out of this trip. I didn't have an answer. I think that's the beauty. I wanted to wake up every day without to-do lists, without comforts, without material things, and just wander. What I'm doing, taking a sabbatical, is common. Except in the States. I've met so many Europeans, Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians and I can name the Americans I've met on one hand. There is a real problem here. If we want our workers to be happy, to be their best, we have to give them the most intoxicating thing in the world: possibility. Traveling provides that. There is no climax. There are no answers. Leave the surroundings, routine, and people that define you. If you take everything away except for the bag on your back, who are you? Travel challenges your habits and assumptions. Returning to a job after a sabbatical would make workers fresher, more lively, and open to solutions... Rant over.
In an attempt to be at least physically present, I hike the Inka bridge. I don't recommend for those scared of heights, but it's a beautiful walk. Later, I hike the hour down to Aguascalientes. It's steep and includes lots of mosquitos, but I'm too impatient to wait for the bus.
I meet back up with the group at the hostel to have another delicious lunch, exchange contact info, and head to Perurail. This gringo train is over the top. I don't enjoy it. They bring us quinoa pizza and have a fashion show as we pass locals standing knee deep in lilly pads fishing in the river. Gringo tourism: Look, but don't be immersed. The views are undeniably beautiful along the Urubamba, but I can't help but feel I should've taken a collectivo bus back to Cusco.
Back in Cusco late, I check into my new hotel Tierra Madre and grab a quick dinner at La Creperie Bo'm.
Day 4: Sacsayhuaman The next day, I'm feeling pretty rough, maybe from the altitude, so I spend the day sending emails. I grab lunch at the Meeting Place Cafe before I head to the pick up spot for wine and painting at Sacsayhuaman Ruins overlooking the city. Stuart has arrived in town so I ask him if he wants to join and he happily agrees. Banksy the artist. The views are gorgeous and we enjoy the painting despite our less than perfect final products.
Afterwards, Stu and I walk to San Pedro market, but it closes at 6pm. There is still one stall open and we drink juice from Edith. For $2 you get the most delicious juice from the nicest Peruvian I met the whole trip. Trust me: just find Edith. Back in town, I take Stu to Seledonias Mesa because it was so delicious the first time. We share Cuy, the guinea pig.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love traveling alone. But moments like this, Stuart and I giggling like little girls taking pictures of the guinea pig we're about to consume, reminds me why traveling with people is so much fun.
Day 5: Restful Saturday Sometimes you have to listen to your body. I've been constantly moving since I started this trip. After the Inca Trail, my body started to revolt. I decide not to try to travel to Ecuador or the Amazon and spend more time in Cusco. I need time to rest. I spend a whole day emailing and planning from the comfort of my beautiful hostel. I get a massage at Paramatma. I have the most delicious soup and salad I've had in South America at Organika then head back for an early night. Day 6: Rainbow Mountain I get picked up at 3:30am by Destiny Peru. It's 3 hours to Rainbow Mountain. An hour into the trip, a family of four chickens out and gets a taxi back to Cusco. When we arrive at breakfast, a man says he tried to do the trip up 2 days ago and thought it was harder than Everest base camp. If they are trying to freak us out, it's working.
We are in the middle of nowhere in a shack being served bread, jam, and Nescafé. I'm nervous. Then they bring out eggs, pancakes, and porridge. Great food is a brilliant way to calm a group's nerves. We get back in the van for a scary 10 minute drive around some windy and steep cliff drop offs.
As soon as we get out of the van at 4,200 meters, I don't feel great. 200 meters in and I'm too dizzy to see straight. Altitude sickness.
I take prescription meds for altitude sickness and chug some water. The guide tells me it's 2.5 more hours up: 1,000 meters and 8 km. At the top of the next hill, there are horses waiting. Call me a wuss, but I want to make it to the top of this mountain. 50 soles ($15) for a one way horseback ride. I don't hesitate.
Victor is my guide and Luna is my horse. I feel much better after being carried for awhile and they let me down to walk a bit. I'm feeling guilty because I think Luna Lovehorse is struggling. I feel like a weak gringo, but there is nothing I can do about it. The views are beautiful and eventually we make it as far as Luna can go. It's my job to climb up the last 200 meters to 5200. I struggle, but eventually make it.
As soon as I get to the top, it's crowded with tourists and I get a tap on the shoulder. Stefan the German. The 23 year old easily made it to the top, but his cheap tour doesn't have an English speaking guide and all they got was bread and jam for breakfast. So much for saving $6. Despite the clouds, It's a beautiful view of Ausangate and Vincunana. There's a guy that paraglides off the top and we all watch in awe.
After about a half hour up top, half of us proceed down the Rojo Valley route down. Only Destiny Peru takes this 11 km route down. It takes about 4 hours down and it's worth the extra 20 soles ($6). The mountain has only become popular in the last 2 years and Rojo Valley feels untouched. We see lots of llamas and only about 2 signs of human life the whole way.
We get down to have lunch around 4pm and we're all famished. It's been 8 hours since breakfast. We have one of the best meals I've had in all of Latin America in a little shack in the middle of nowhere. Guacamole, chicken stir fry, yucatan. It's 3 hours back to Cusco and we get in around 8pm.
I head back to Madre Tierra to grab my bags and move hostels down the road to Apu Huascaran. I walk in to find my belongings and journals open on the hotel counter. A few misunderstandings, a language barrier, a lost reservation, and the whole process ends up being a bit stressful. What a long day.
Day 7: Uneventful Monday I wake up and head to Yoga Room for some morning vinyasa. The studio is a bit more free spirited than I'm used to (read: lots of infinity and feather tattood chanting hippies), but it feels good to bring oxygen to my sore muscles. Afterwards I head to L'atelier for coffee on the balcony in San Blas. This is easily the coolest coffee shop in Cusco and I can't recommend this neighborhood enough. Then I head down the hill for lunch at Organika (it's so good I have to go back). Stuart and his 2 new friends come as well: Erika, the Swedish artist, and Taviz, the Italian vagabond.
After lunch, my Spanish class at Wiracocha Spanish School begins. $18 for a 2 hour private lesson. It's basically just conversational, but brushing up on my formal learning is really helpful. Later that night, I meet Stuart, Taviz, and a British couple for dinner at Pachapapa. It's a fancy meal, but the restaurant is beautiful so none of us backpackers object. Delicious alpaca and chilcanos outside on the patio. We go for a nightcap at Limbus and it's a stunning view overlooking the city. I get my first taste of Peruvian craft brew: a Porter from the Sacred Valley.
Day 8: The Return of Paratrooper Mike Bright and early, Mike gets in town from the overnight bus. I've taken the nickname of the walking Lonely Planet so I give him a tour around the city. We wander San Blas and I show him my favorite viewpoint on Calle Huaynapata right above Organika. Then we head down to meet Stuart and go to San Pedro market. Reunion of the amigos feels so good.
We spend the rest of the day wandering the market, buying unnecessary souvenirs, drinking juice from Edith, and trying weird foods. I try to convince them we need Peruvian friendship bracelets, but they don't go for it. Apparently one friendship bracelet is enough. We go for lunch at the first place we see with a set menu of 15 soles ($5) for soup, juice, and a main plate.
Afterwards, we separate for a siesta. Mike, Tariz, and Stu are leaving for the Salkantay Trail together tomorrow and I'm having lots of FOMO. I wish I could do it with them. Knowing it's our last night together is weighing on the mood. I make everyone take their Myers Briggs Test and we talk about it for hours over pizza and whiskey.
Eventually realizing we can't stay up all night, we say our goodbyes and head our separate ways. It's amazing how strangers on the road can feel as close as best friends back home. I'm confident I'll see the Bolivia boys again. Until next time...