Cuzco & Machu Picchu

We arrived in Callo (Lima) Peru early Tuesday morning. We were scheduled to leave the ship immediately upon being cleared, but our flight to Cuzco was delayed, so we were able to hear the diplomatic briefing before our exit. The more the various diplomats talked, the happier I got that we wouldn’t be spending any time in Lima. Crime there is out of control. Corruption exists in their police forces in a big way. Safety in the port was a HUGE concern. Many parents of SAS students joined us in Peru for the parent trip and they must have been thinking “where have I sent my child???” Fortunately SAS provides ample opportunities for those who want to travel with the comfort of a local tour guide and groups.

We boarded our flight just before noon, destination Cuzco. Emma LOVED looking out the window as much of our flight was over the Andes. Upon landing we were met by a tour guide and headed for our buses. A Peruvian male was walking amongst our groups with a camera that looked like a spy camera from an 80s B movie. He kept pushing the button, but no sound was made and there was no flash or visible indication that pictures were actually being taken. Various scenarios were being discussed on the ride into Cuzco, all of them amusing. As it turns out, our second night there a group of people were selling Cuzco postcards with our pictures on them!!!! Wade’s is pretty good, but the one with me and Emma on it looks pretty rough because I kept telling her “Look away! Don’t make eye contact.” I’ve read too many State Department Warnings concerning Child Trafficking in South America, I suppose.

Our hotel “Casa Andina” was great. It was located just across from the main square. We dropped off our bags, donned mosquito repellant, and headed out to explore the Incan City. Dogs were EVERYWHERE. Ugly, ugly dogs. Also everywhere were women and children in local costumes holding small sheep and asking to take photos with tourists. We kept saying no, but eventually gave in and got one with Emma in it. Before we took it, we asked them how much. “Only one Sole, sir.” After the photo, they wanted one for each woman in the picture. Okay, that’s fair. We drew the line though when they wanted another for the sheep! Our main desire for this stop was to see an original Incan wall. Emma’s been reading an Incan History book written for kids, so she was as excited about this as her dad was. While we were looking at the wall, several people came over to try and sell us things. One very smart woman showed us a family of three llamas “Papa, Mama, and Baby”. The pack the baby was carrying was broken, though so we weren’t going to buy it. “One moment.” She takes off running down the hill, completely abandoning her giant sack of items to sell. We joked about setting up shop and Wade did ask a few passing tourists if they’d like to buy a llama. We seriously stood there for ten minutes with her bags because we were afraid to leave them. When she returned, panting, we bought the llama family with the newly acquired baby with pack on its back completely intact. I’m not exactly sure where we’ll display the little guys, but we couldn’t not buy it after all that work she’d done.

We walked around the streets for a while and then set off in search of dinner. Pacamamma’s was our restaurant of choice. Emma ordered Spaghetti, I ordered their house pizza, and Wade their Alpaca special. The owner/cook called Emma over and let her help him make the pizza, which was baked in a clay oven that put out just the right amount of heat for the cool Peruvian evening. We discussed how much Wes would enjoy the atmosphere there. The garlic cheese bread they brought out as an appetizer was to die for and the rest of the meal was tasty too, even the Alpaca. After dinner we went walking back to the square and ran into our ship neighbors, Jill, Oscar, Kyla & Emma Marie. Our two families visited a beautiful church together before hitting the artisian market where we collected some Christmas ornaments before retiring to the hotel.

The wake-up call on Wednesday morning came at 4:30 am. Well, it was a wake-up call for Emma and me. For Wade it was more like a breakfast reminder, as he didn’t sleep a wink the first night in Cuzco. I didn’t sleep well, but I did at least sleep. Wade stayed awake all night. Dr. Milt told him it was probably the altitude. I thought he might sleep on the way to Machu Picchu, since we had to take a bus, a train, and then another bus to get there, but he stayed awake for the entire voyage. Watching the world wake up en-route to Aguas Calientes was amazing. Both the mountains and the sea always leave me awestruck. This mountain experience is like none other I’ve ever had.

We arrived at Machu Picchu just before 9:00am and began our three hour trek. Emma was amazing. She was so enthralled with the history and the archeological finds that she didn’t ask to be carried once through the entire journey! Jess, Emma’s American Girl doll, made the trip with us as well. Since Jess’s parents are archeologists, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to take her to see ruins. Seeing this “lost city” and thinking about the Inca peoples building it without the use of iron tools, horses to carry the rock, or written languages to give directions, etc. is mind blowing. The terrain they had to travel was treacherous. Then, to keep this amazing city completely hidden from the Spanish Conquistadors . . . I need another adjective for incredible. It wasn’t until Hiram Bingham, a Yale University Professor, happened across it in 1911 that this place was rediscovered, completely covered in vegetation. He returned to the US and then came back to Peru with a team and uncovered Machu Picchu. If you have an opportunity to see a documentary on this place, jump on it.

After our three hour tour and a buffet lunch, our trio headed back into Aguas Calientes while some others went to hike part of the Inca trail. I used Emma as an excuse, but truth be told, I’m not in fantastic shape anyway and with the altitude as an added factor, I’d sucked enough wind for one day! We didn’t get back to Cuzco until after 7:00pm and we opted to just snack in the hotel since Wade needed to crash.