The Very Long Machu Picchu Day

So it was our last day in Cuzco, Peru, we had to get up at three a.m. in the morning in order to see Machu Picchu. I was sick and had diarrhea. I was really worried about being in the taxi or even on Machu Picchu itself and needing “to go” and not having a handy restroom available. I knew it would break my wife Lisa’s heart to be so close now and not be able to actually go there and experience it. What are the odds we would ever come back?

Imagine if you will, even years later talking about being in Peru, doing the whole Inti Raymi Incan Winter Solstice festival, and all the rest, and then the Machu Picchu question would come up. The horror!

So I just took the course that we would go and take it a minute at a time. I had multiple pockets stuffed with tissue. I had to wake up the night clerk in the Terra Andina hotel desk area downstairs. He hurried to get our lunch; I didn’t really want it but wanted to be polite. He unbolted the heavy cross brace on the door. The taxi arrived and of course the driver didn’t speak any English. I had the doorman explain the “situation” as best he could.
We took off in the dark, the driver drove like a fiend possessed. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time, like when Space Mountain first came out. We would approach small three wheeled vehicles at high speed that had no lights. He asked at one point if I needed to stop, on the top of a cold black mountain, I said ah..no, not now.

We arrived at the train station in Ollantaytambo and inexplicably we ended up in a Vistadome Train with only one car and we got to sit in the front seat! The view was incredible and as the train went on the terrain changed to more of a jungle as the sun came up over the Andes. Porters for the Inca trail with heavy packs ran along the tracks at one point. We eventually came to the small town Aguas Calientes. Lost, we ended up following another couple through a crooked market to the bus station.

I started feeling much more stomach stable and was thinking I was going to make it. The bus traveled hairpin turns up the mountain, we passed many other buses. We stopped at a small ski resort looking place where they took our tickets into Machu Picchu. It was a walk in, up many gasping stone steps. We came to a crossroads to go up to the top or straight down to the main part of the ruin, we went up, this turned out to be smart thinking.
We walked back and forth and just took it all in. It had swirling mist which made things seem more veiled and secretive. People always ask me, “was it spiritual”? For me no, but it was cool and more expansive and encompassing than I thought it would be. At one point my wife stopped and hid a special object she had carried up in a tiny nook she found. Several people seemed to be performing rituals, possibly even getting married.

I took all the standard Machu Piichu shots and tried to get a few that were different. It was challenging to try and get perfect photos of the ruins without other touristas in them. I wanted it all for myself, but there will not be that time for anyone I am afraid, it is the number one attraction in South America.
We never did find our guide but due to some reading beforehand we really didn’t need one. Most of the key points were readily identifiable. After hiking around for four hours or so we started back. Lisa had tears in her eyes she was so happy.
Here was where I was glad we had covered the top part first I was a very tired boy. We didn’t get home till quite late.

Quick Hits:Travel in Peru and Elsewhere

First of all Inca dudes what’s with the steps? They are big! The average stone step is about twice as high as a standard step. It is like walking up a flight of stairs always taking two at a time but the two steps are on top of each other not angled. Meanwhile the average native Andean is fairly small, maybe 5’-5’ 5”. Something must be here that I am missing.

The people I met and talked to, and there were a lot of them, were friendly, hard working and helpful. Yes, I know they considered me to be a “money mill” and I paid my way, but still the vibe was very good, very positive. I felt safe walking around town.

The old part of Cuzco (oldest continually inhabited city in the western hemisphere), was clean and well maintained. I thought it was nicer and cleaner than Mexico or Spain for instance. There was a fairly heavy presence of police and para-military, there appear to be about 25 different branches of people in uniforms there. None of them however, screwed with us.

The food was good too and varied. I had Alpaca and Guinea Pig along with some fruits and vegetables I have never seen before. Bottled water and Coke was available damn near everywhere, even way off the beaten track. Baked goods seemed to be a special point of pride and there were too many delicious treats to mention. Money was about three for one and that was about the rate for most things. A good dinner there would run about a third of the same thing here, or a pedicure or massage or whatever. Taxis were cheap but I did not hail unknown providers on the street.
Swine flu scare was big in Peru, especially at the airport, many people there work 12 hours a day and have to wear surgical masks all day at restaurants. One worker said a government inspector came in and saw two restaurants with people not wearing masks and he shut them down for a month.
Everyone, including small children have been trained to ask for money around Cuzco, if you take their picture. At times it is comical. I had children three years old when seeing their picture taken, instantly stick out their hands. One demanded 10 soles, HA!

We stayed at the Terra Andina Hotel and I can recommend it, but it was just nice to be within walking distance of the main square, we saw many interesting things in town and got a real feel for it just walking from the hotel. This saved time and money being able to cruise around easily on foot. P.S. My patience for tour buses is very limited. I would rather have the hotel negotiate a private driver for us, if you take a good book of the area, and look on the net you should have a pretty good idea of places that you want to see anyway.

We usually travel fast and light, just taking carry on items. We ran into a couple at the Lima airport where their luggage had been lost. After two days we happened on the same couple, inexplicably, at the Pisac market. At this point the woman of the two was speaking in tones of dark violence about her precious missing items. Let’s face it this kind of thing can ruin the trip, not having your personal kit, no underwear, and trying to buy new stuff that fits is tough on the road. With more carriers now saying they will want to be going to carry on only anyway~ (see Ryan Air, and all the talk of “stand up” flights), maybe you should look at running this way. Taking along: One carry-on bag, one laptop bag, and camera for me, one carry-on and small backpack for wife, which holds small purse etc. I usually wear the heavy walking shoes and full pants, and long sleeve dress shirt and jacket, putting lighter stuff in the carry on.

Once again Peru people I have to ask: (and this goes for you Thailand people too), IF you people actually want to SELL t-shirts and the like to tourists, check out our size. I am two feet taller than you and I outweigh most of you by about 100 pounds. I know you can get bigger stuff if you really want it. The “medium” t-shirt you sell will maybe cover a malnourished 9 year-old American boy, and they have no money. Think about it.

This is to you guys out there. Yes the massages are cheap and god knows full well if they were cheaper stateside I would be going at least once a month. However there are other things to consider. For instance when waiting with time to kill (read: the dreaded airport layover), think about a pedicure or facial. Know, it will not make you queer (or even metrosexual) and it feels good. Women have been hiding this from us. The facial thing.. you are lying down and might even doze off in pleasure. You might be able to get a full do up for a small price and come out feeling good, refreshed and tingly. Try it.

I always ask around when I run across people that speak decent English about where they would go to eat for a special celebration, or which sites they think are the best ones in their city. Oftentimes they will come up with things not in the tour book. Think about it. If you were talking to someone about your favorite place in Seattle would you say the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market? Most likely not.