adventures in the andes // peru
F E B R U A R Y 1 5 , 2 0 0 6
rainbow children 🌈 cusco, peru
cusco::
february 8, 2006
it begins, and it’s pure magic.
cusco is breathtaking. our hotel is directly off of the main square (Plaza de Armas) down a little cobblestone alley.
we were greeted with such kindness and generosity -- and a big pot of coca leaf tea, which truly does help with the altitude sickness.
we’re in the mountains!!
our hotel bedroom wall is made of exposed stone originally built by the incas… mind blowing!
the incans are known for their pristine rock cutting/fitting, and to this day there is no sign of separation between the stones.
february 10, 2006
yesterday we went up into the cathedral towers which overlook the Plaza de Armas and visited the grotto and the basement catacombs.
after a day of sightseeing and playing around we returned to the hotel and went to sleep early.
when we woke we met mercedes (our travel guide for the day) and headed to the train station. off we go on a 4-hour journey through the Andean mountains to the town of machu picchu!
when we got to the train station mercedes started freaking out and asked us to wait. after returning almost half an hour later, well after our train had left, she informed us that the woman who was supposed to meet us with our tickets was locked out of the office and couldn’t get to them.
as luck would have it, the train moves slower than an automobile, so we were able to take a taxi, tickets in hand, to the next train station. it was a blessing in disguise -- the ride to the train station brought us up the mountain and we got to see an aerial view of the entire city of cusco.
we wound through the mountain passes and approached what looked more like a pasture than a train station. we waited for a bit and then boarded our train.
the ride was breathtaking.
at one of the stops, pat opened the compartment window and paid a peruvian woman s/2 (~ 66 cents) for a huge ear of corn which was still hot from the pot, with a big slab of some delicious, mystery, sheeps-milk cheese on top. best ever.
the train followed a river through the Andes mountains for 4 hours until we came to the jungle village of machu picchu. we were both speechless! the town is literally embedded in a tiny mountain valley. a lush green andean jungle, with a fierce, rapid river flowing through the heart of it. the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen.
machu picchu:
february 11, 2006
when we arrived we were greeted by a sign that read ‘bautcher kohl’. we were escorted down a steep mountain sidewalk to our hotel, which was at the very base of the road (the last of few hotels on the strip).
we were elated to find that our bedroom had a balcony that hung over the tremendous river, and our bathroom had a hot shower. bliss!
after getting settled in, we decided to explore and climbed the hill to a sweet, cozy italian joint. later that night we found a market and bought a medley of green olives, cheese and crackers and had a picnic in bed listening to the raging river.
tomorrow we explore the ancient ruins of machu picchu…
(below are the only remaining photos of our trip. we had a little digital camera that converted all of our pictures to thumbnails at an international internet cafe (!!) and somehow even those got lost over the years. old school #technology)
