Crossing the Border to Chile

The route to Chile


We leave our hostel by 6:00 am.  Our host helps flag a taxi, one of Arequipa’s tiny cars, the driver puts our big packs on the front seat and off we go, the driver is singing and seat dancing to his Latin music with his bobble head dog and pictures of his wife and kids on the dashboard swaying with him.  We take this as a good sign for the day to come.

The bus station is easy and after a short delay we board a new bus line for us, Moquegua, this is more of a local bus but the seats are fine and off we go. We travel 5 hours to the town of Tacna.  The agent we purchased all of the tickets from assured us we would be greeted by “Mr. Pablo”.  After entering the small dingy bus terminal, Mr. Pablo came up to us and after a nice introduction we were instructed to follow him up to the top floor to the bus company office where Mr. Pablo and another gentleman explained to us that normally we would go to the Chile border by taxi and that same taxi would take us across the border to the next town bus terminal in Arica, BUT, the Chile taxi drivers at the border are on STRIKE and now we would be transported to the border and dropped off!!  Mr. Pablo then opened his wallet and handed us 2 $2,000 Chilean Peso bills and told us this would be enough to get the next taxi.  Now we go back downstairs with Mr. Pablo and he hails a taxi for us and hands us some forms to fill out on the drive.  As we were sitting in his rather old sedan, three more Peruvian men get into the taxi and off we go, three in front, three in back.  The ride to the border is around 30 minutes.  After the driver parks he jesters us to get out and we get in line on the Peru side.  The border officer looks at our paperwork and passports and tells us that our visa was only good for 10 days and we have exceeded that by 14 days.  He informs us now we must pay him to exit the country.  We had very little Peru Sols on us, by design since we are leaving and now Frank and I are scrambling for every US dollar and Sol we can find.  We need $18 and we have $16!!  At some point I tell the immigration officer that I have Euro’s, my stash for Europe and he takes us to a back room “cash lady”. She counts and recounts every bill and coin and uses her calculator and low and behold we have enough and she gives our documents some type of official stamp

 

Rolls of toilet paper

Out we go, back in the taxi, all the other guys have been waiting all this time!!.  We drive about 500 yards, park again and the driver walks with us to a Chilean immigration officer, he stamps our passports and we think we are good.  Then the taxi driver points to the very long line in the middle of a car lane and tells us to get in the line and he is gone, we are now on our own.  The line is full of Chilean’s who cross the border to shop, the goods are cheaper in Peru.  Almost every person is carrying large plastic bags of stuff and several cases of toilet paper.  There must have been 500 people in the line, that is over 1,000 cases of toilet paper.  After 2.5 hours we make it to the entry of the building to discover the only thing we are waiting for is to put our bags through an airport type X-ray conveyor.  Unbelievable.

The back of the line at the Chile Border

The Front of the Line

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The view on the Chile Side of the border

We are greeted by lots of Chilean taxi drivers and one of them quickly takes us down the road to the town of Arica and the bus station.  This is really a desert, look at the picture.  After 30 minutes we arrive at the bus station and hand him our two bills, he gets visibility upset and without any English explains that this is no where near enough money, he needs $12,000 and we have $4,000.  With the help of Google translate we explain that we just need an ATM.  He directs us to the next building and get the money.   Frank and the luggage must stay with him, I have 5 minutes.  So now I am running, in the dark around these building with buses and food stalls, but I find and ATM, get the money and run back.  In the end the taxi driver was all smiles.  I am sure we got ripped off, but we did get to the station on time for our next bus.  FYI, the price was around $18 for a 30 minute ride, too much for South America but cheap in the US.

Finally we board our next bus for the long 14 hours from Arica to San Pedro de Atacama.  Our seats were good and we promptly fall asleep.  At 5:00 am the agent woke us up, and told us off the bus, get your stuff.  So out of a sound sleep we pack our stuff, got our bags and had to go through a security check point, then back on the bus.  What a bizarre event, the next day Frank and I both ask, was that a nightmare?  Or did it happen?

So finally after 26 hours we roll into San Pedro de Atacama, 75 degrees and sunny and we have our first cup of coffee in 2 days!!  What a trip.

After 26 hours finally a cup of coffee

Arequipa and Colca Canyon Peru

 

We arrived in Arequipa Peru by bus from Cusco.  Thankfully this bus ride was uneventful and thanks to the easy to use pharmacy we both had motion meds that keep us nausea free and helped with sleeping.  Our hostel is a close taxi ride from the station and we negotiate breakfast and an early check in.  After cleaning up we opt for the free walking tour of the city at 10, and off we go.

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru of around 1 million people.  It is nicknamed The White City.  We were provided two explanations for this.  1. Most of the buildings are made of cut volcanic rock and are chalk white, and 2. When the Spanish conquered Peru this area had a huge influx of Spanish settlers, with their white skin the cities population became white.  You can see the Spanish influence throughout the city. The city has great weather, mid 70’s all year and reminded us of San Diego.  The architecture is very much Spanish, with open courtyards incorporated into the living spaces and large walls protecting the exterior, not the prettiest from the street but when you peer in it is very nice.  The city is surrounded by 3 volcanos El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu.   El Misti  is active and we can see steam at the top most days.  

Our walking tour is small and we move quickly from one side of the city to the next, covering the Plaza de Armas, the major church's, the market and the nice neighborhoods.  In most of the cities in South America, the sidewalks are in pretty bad shape, they are uneven, have lots of holes, dog poop and and times end to dirt.  We have been careful in our navigation when traveling, which can be tricky because they are always very crowded.  In Arequipa, this time Janet was not so lucky.  We were moving quickly down a street and she stepped in a hole that was deep, around 8 inches and fell, twisting her ankle in the process.  We left the tour and eventually found our way to a McDonalds for ice.  Now up to this point we have only seen McDonalds in Lima and Cusco and have avoided them at all costs, but in a county that does not use ice we thought this was our best bet.  For no charge they supplied us with several large glasses on ice.  After a short rest we found a taxi back to our hostel.  Our hosts were great, the best we have had on the trip, they took one look and Janet and promptly told us to use the Coco leafs, the instructions were to chew them into mush and spread around the ankle.  All of our hostels in Peru and Ecuador have provided these leafs, in tea or just raw, the locals chew them for all kinds of aliments, for the travelers they are recommended to prevent altitude sickness.  So we took their advice and spent the balance of the day with Janet’s leg propped, covered in Coco leafs and ice and watched a really bad MSU football game.  That night Frank ordered the famous Peru chicken dinner for us, it is good, cheap and large enough for several meals.  See picture below.  

 

Sunday was a slow down day. After our banana pancakes, more like crepes, with the cake wrapped around cut fruit and topped with maple glaze, we set out to the Plaza de Armas, aka Plaza of Weapons, which as you've guessed every Spanish town has. We wanted to purchase bus tickets for our next adventure. We noticed many people walking up the steps of the Cathedral and realized Mass  was going to start, so why not, let's go. The Cathedral is gigantic, with the second largest pipe organ in South America and a fantastic wood carved pulpit that has the “devil” contorted and crushed as the foundation. The church does not have the customary cross configuration, just a long rectangle. We walked in and we're herded into a side alcove with temporary chairs and a large tv screen. It turns out that the Archbishop of Peru is performing the Mass. A very stately individual, whom was more easily seen on the TV then he would have been with the naked eye. He had much staff helping with all aspects of the service. It  was a very positive and pleasant experience. As we walked out into the morning sun the Plaza square was filled with people. We then walked to 111 San. Carolina St.,which was the location of the tour shop. We had many questions for “Nancy”, because we would be traveling to 3 cities in one day and crossing the border into Chile. First leg was to take a day bus from A to Tacna, 12 hours, then take a collective to Arica on the Peru border, cross the border, and get to the Chilean bus station for another bus, a night bus, to our final destination San Pedro de Atacama. We will talk more about the actual trip later. 

We also scheduled a local trip to Colca Canyon, Peru’s Grand Canyon lite, for a couple of days later, but at the hostel.  Our original plan was a three day hike into the canyon but with Janet’s ankle we opted for the easy bus ride instead.  

We took a break, and had a super duper Club Sandwich at this local restaurant, a quadruple decker. It was great, as is most the food in Peru. The portions here are so large that we always share meals. It's funny because we are walking and hiking so much, but we are actually eating smaller amounts of  food and feeling satisfied. We wonder how our eating habits may change back in the USA. We do not need doggie bags.   

 

Monday is our day to walk the city and visit the most acclaimed sites. The first stop is at the Monastery of St. Catalina. This is a city within the city and takes up a full square block. Founded in 1850 by a wealthy Spanish widow, she selected her nuns from wealthy Spanish families in the area, usually the 2nd oldest daughter, and extracted a hefty price for the education and life style. The grounds are spectacular with bath houses, running water, gardens, observation platforms, as well as the customary chapels, saintly oil paintings, and meeting rooms. Unconventionally, these rich nuns could live it up as they were accustomed and bring their servants and certain material effects. Many had separate apartments with private kitchens and servant or teachers quarters. After 300 years, a strict Dominican Mother Superior was assigned by the church to straighten things up, gone went the servants and private homes, in comes dorms and require labor like cooking and emptying their own chamber pots!!  It was not until 1970 that the complex was open to the public. 

 Our second stop is the famous Museum de Santuarios Andinos. Here the frozen Inca Ice maiden known as  “Juanita”is the star attraction. This museum is dedicated to the scientific exploration of the Mt. Ampato volcano which towers above the city and which was the site of Inca sacrifices. The back story is fascinating. Over 500 years ago there was an apparent eruption of the volcano. In order to please the various gods in which the Inca believed, for this event and others, they had selected and cultivated a group of children to be sacrificed if needed. This was apparently a high honor for the family giving up their child, girls and boys, because the child would forever live with the deities. In Juanita’s case she walked over 400 miles from Cuzco accompanied with her group of  holy men, other offerings, and supplies for the afterworld, similar to the Egyptian tombs. Juanita was sacrificed, placed in a fetal position wrapped with special garments, and buried. Her body was only recently discovered when the volcano acted up and melted the ice at the summit. The scientists found her exposed burial location and that of others. Juanita’s mummified remains are on frozen display.  Her hair is in place and face intact. MRI testing in the USA, determined that she suffered a blunt trauma to the back of the head. It is believed she would have imbibed a coca drink as part of the ceremony.         

We also viewed the  oldest church named Iglesias de la Compania. This is a Jesuit order church which is noted for its ornate main facade which integrates  figures of the Peruvian natives.  
Unlike the militant Dominican order of Cuzco and most of Peru, the Jesuits built schools, albeit segregated, next to the church and sought to educate the natives to Christianity as well as the Spanish youth. In my opinion, the Jesuits Appeared more respectful of the cultures they sought to assimilate.   

We finished  the tour day by seeking out a small restaurant, more like a hole in the wall bar, which had good reviews from Trip Advisor. The proprietor, only one we saw, looked like a “Mario Brother” with bushy mustache. He made suggestions in broken English. We went with the flow. We shared trout with Frita, which is like corn grits, and Ceviche, fish marinated in lime juice with cilantro. Of course, we ordered our customary gas water and a beer. You know, in this constant hot climate I am really digging drinking the local brew. I have a renewed pleasure for beer.

We left for our Canyon trip at 8:00 leaving our luggage at the hostel and taking just the basics in our day packs.  Our host are so great, when we tried to pay, they said, no, no you return and pay later.  Our tour is a more traditional vacation type of tour, something that we have avoided but we want to see the canyon and the price was right.  Over the next 4 hours we travel out to a very dry barren countryside.  We see and stop for many native animals.  There are three primary mammals, Llama and Alpaca, both domesticated and bred for sheering like sheep and then the wild Vicuña which are smaller and have fir rather than hair.  See the pictures below of all three.  We stop for a group buffet lunch which was ok but overpriced and finally reach our destination of the town of Chivay, Lonely Planet describes this town at a small, dusty transit hub.  That is a kind description, it is very poor and rather depressing.  Our hostel that we were assured was “good” is the worst we have stayed in, even positive Frank did not shower in the morning, the stall was just to scary, see picture below.  After a short rest we change and head out to a volcanic hot spring, the water was hot, hotter and boiling.  Typical to South America getting there required traversing over rocks and another plank.  In the evening we were offered a traditional dinner with entertainment.  It was fun, bad food but our fellow travelers are great and we have a good time.  Frank even danced a line dance that is similar Greek dancing, he did not have a hankie in his hand but still looked very much like the Greek guy, not Peruvian.

We depart for the canyon the next day at 5:00 am. It is a 2 hour drive to the canyon and we must make 2 stops for more junkie trinket shops.  We arrive at the canyon and the sky is perfect, no clouds, not too hot yet.  Frank and I opt to get away from the crowds and travel down to the far lower level.  Just as we arrive we look over the canyon and see shadows of Condors, then just like that we have Condors over our heads.  It was really spectator, they are huge and just float on the air.  Frank has a great video and I will post it once I have my computer back.  Our 2 hours goes by quickly and although this trip was not what we planned, seeing the Condors was really great.  After being there I am sure I could not have made the 3 day trek, see the pic below of me resting my leg after  just 2 hours of hiking, ouch this was a bad fall!  The rest of the day is bus time with some great conversations with the other passages.  We make it back to our hostel by 5:00 pm, lots of time to get ready to leave Arequipa and Peru.  

Amazon jungle

For this leg of the trip we purchased air flight tickets from Star Peru Airlines to fly from Cuzco to Puerto Moldavia in the Amazon. We had decided to negotiate our tour and accommodations once we arrived. We wanted 4 nights and 5 days at a river retreat jungle lodge. Janet did a good job on this negotiation saving us 30%.  The transport picked us up within the hour and took us to the dock at the water edge. We had signed up with Carlos Expeditions, with its trip advisor award, and headed downstream to the Monte Amazona Eco Lodge in a 24 foot wooden boat with simple canopy. Our boat group included a Peruvian family with a teenage daughter, Alejandra, who ospoke wonderful English, and the rambucsious 5 year old named "Ricardo".  Ricardo became famous right away when the van transport was pulling away and he was walking down the street in the opposite direction. Mama yells out "Ricardo , Ricardo"---we stop and pick him up. The rest of the week Ricardo became a mascot of sorts with his devil may care attitude. 

We were again inspired, boating down the Amazon River - who would have thought we would be  doing this in our life. The air was fresh, the water was light tan, not green or blue. The Amazon was about 1/2 mile wide in this stretch, but you could observe 10-12 foot cliffs at the shore, indicative of the high water the rainy season would bring in the next few months. If fully flooded the Amazon would expand to 1 mile wide or even wider. All the cabins and the lodge at Monte are  on stilts and the walk ways were elevated; our guides said in the rainy season the lodge would close and the water may come over the banks and reach the lodge well inland. 

When we arrive at the lodge there are gang blanks leading to stairs up the cliff to a small pavilion.  See picture below

Our Eco lodge, like most others is rustic. We have a cabin with private shower and bath. The cabin has screens on 3 sides with pull curtains for privacy and mosquito nets over the bed---but no wifi, no hot water and electric only from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. Our cabin was by the pool which is great since it gets so hot and humid in the jungle. Our first lunch was at a table with Ricardo's family. The teenage sister spoke English well enough and translated between us. She worried about her ability as she did not practice much, but we praised her and thanked her. It was very pleasant. The lunch was good. In fact all the meals were very flavorful. And after a hot day, the cervasa (beer) never tasted better.

We settle in and then meet for our first activity-- feed the monkeys on "Monkey Island"; back on the wood boat again up stream to the beach of the island. Our guide leads us into the bush and then the jungle hacking away with a machete. As we reach a clearing our guide sticks the machete in the ground and our group then could hear monkey howls and jump between trees. While we are looking into the trees, little Ricardo goes for the machete, which is snatched away by.  The monkeys quickly arrive and the guild feeds them cut fruit.  He assures us that the monkeys do not live off the food from the lodge, but clearly they are use to humans, see the picture below of how close they came to us. As the monkeys came down the trees I gently guided Ricardo's head to the view. He started counting and was mesmerized. The guide directed our attention to this Alpha female that came to him and simply reached into his bag and took the fruit she wanted. At one point she jumped down between us all and strutted down the path on which were standing. We all moved back to clear the way. She did not seem bothered by us. It was pretty amazing.

That first night we got back on the transport boat and went shining for caiman on the shores of the Amazon. The driver floats the boat toward the shore--engine off. The quide shines his powerful light toward the shore looking for sparkling eyes. When we see the eyes we move silently closer. The caiman, look like skinny alligators, and scatter on the beach or duck under the water. Their skin is alternating light and dark bands. We repeated the process several times. It was a nice outing especially in the dark.

Our Second  day in the jungle starts early, breakfast at 4:30, good and simple, eggs, fresh rolls with jam and coffee that is so strong we are provided hot water to cut in in half.  We are on the boat by 5:00 am and head up river to the Reservea National Tambopata lead by Johan. Our group is large so we split up-- English speakers and Spanish group. Ricardo is with the  Spanish group--I wonder if he can keep quiet enough so as not to scare the animals. Our large canoe carries 10 people. We shove off down a narrow channel and meet up with the incoming ranger-- side by side-- the ranger accuses our guide of taking one of his paddles--an argument in Spanish ensues. I'm sure Johan promises to bring it back but finally our guide relents, as he should because he did jump over a couple boats to get a better paddle-- he paddles us backwards, exchanges paddles and off we go to the most tranquil, beautiful and virtually round lake. We move at a very slow pace along the shore. Here we see some wonderful creatures--colorful birds, a tree trunk lined with bats in a straight line, and camin-- both small and large--we have a video of an adult camin swimming in the middle of the lake (once our computer is fixed we will post it & other videos as well). Luckily the sky is hazy, no direct sun, making the 2 hour trip cooler. We return to the dock and stop at the ranger station for a special passport stamp, then walk through the jungle back to our transport boat. This was an especially nice trip both for the nature and because the English speakers started to bond-- not just people on a ride, but now cordially interacting. Janet makes many friends as our little group was composed of 2 women from Australia (formerly from Russia), 2 young women who met in the UK--one Brit and one New Zelander, and a lovely Peruvian from Lima. We took all our future excursions together. As both groups prepared to ship back on the Amazon, our departure was delayed; Ricardo was clinging to drift wood on the beach and would not leave. We started to back the entire boat into the river, but he would not budge. That bit of child psychology failed, so his dad jumped off the boat and swung him over his shoulder without a peep from the dad or Ricardo. Lodge bound and looking forward to a jump in the nice clean pool that was right by our cabin; cold but refreshing.

 

At dusk we meet our guide and group for a jungle night walk.  Our first stop is less than 5 feet from our lodge to watch a huge tarantula on a tree!  It was as big as my hand and very hairy. We actually saw 3 types of tarantulas--brown, pink footed, and the giant black--no scientific jargon here. 

On day three our group has shrunk to 5 people and we have a new guide.  Today is a combo day.  We start with kayaking on the Amazon. We the boat and travel up river, Marco our guide offers no suggestions other the "don't lose the paddle or you pay for it".  These are plastic two person kayaks that sit in the water, it was easy the current is good and we have a nice trip down.  Wow kayaking in the Amazon.   We meet up with the boat and Marco our guide back at monkey island for a swim.  The water is warm and the current is surprisingly strong.

In the afternoon  we meet for zip-lining and canopy walk.  The zip is easy and no worries.  The first canopy walk was a 2x4 plank suspended with a cable, the board had several places where the wood had rotted and was wrapped with rope, we had to walk hand over hand on this plank about 50 feet in the air, it was scary for some.

In the afternoon we had rest time and we again took advantage of the pool, it was hot over 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity.  At 4:00 pm (the top heat of day) a small group of us walked with Marco  through the jungle with simple fishing sticks and line until we reached a pond and creek. The bait was cubes of  meat. Drop the line and you can see small Paranea nibble and strike at the meat. These fish are not catchable, so we have to be patient-very patient- as we fished for about 2 hours without much luck. I didn't fret-- it was ok--after all I was fishing in the Amazon basin and as the sun set over the creek the reflective view of the dusk was spectacular. As I dreamed on I did get a hard strike and waited to make sure the bait was taken-- I had me a fish! Our initial story to our friends was it was a large Parana, but we confessed it actually it was a catfish. Thankfully our guide caught 2 catfish so at dinner we were treated to the fresh fish as appetizers--so tasty and perfectly spiced -- even with the heads on. We did not eat the electric eel our guide also caught. UGLY-- flat head like a giant worm, light brown with spots, it wiggled and curled up the line. The home trek through the jungle was in the dark, but no problem with out IPhone lights.

 

Last day in the the jungle

Buzz, buzz, buzz--snooze--buzz, buzz, turn off the alarm 3:45. Get up and dress in the clothes set out the night before--back pack ok-- out the door at 4:00. We walk down to the dock house in the dark using our IPhone lights. We are first to arrive. Then comes Marco-- handsome guide guy--who calls for driver. No answer so he rouses him out of bed. He bangs the boat off another boat and Marco hands us life jackets. Finally we clear the dock and head up stream at high RPMs to watch parrots eat breakfast. We pass the city and go under a mini version of the Machinac bridge. As I look back I see the sunrise. The Amazon twist like a snake, so later the sunrise is to starboard. The wind is high due to our speed--we flip up our hoods and cross our arms for warmth. We both closed our eyes for awhile too. This is the dry season so the banks rise 10 feet and at this point the river is about 50 meters wide says our guide. But these banks and the beaches forecast an immense influx of water in the rainy season that starts in late October/ early November and will widen the river to 1 KM in some places. We are told the entire lodge and camp will be flooded and closed; that is why the buildings are on 5 foot stilts.

We are the first boat to arrive from all the lodges to the special place where parrots and macaws congregate for morning breakfast. We first saw a large macaw --red, yellow tail-- sitting on a nearby fence. With powerful binoculars we watched the tree line for parrots--and saw small green birds--parrots-- jumping from branch to branch. We backed the boat up went downstream to a high red cliff at waters edge, with vines hanging down. Now comes the fun!  All of a sudden hundreds of green parrots, some with blue head feathers & some with yellow cheeks, land in the vines. Then in waves they jumped to the red banks and pecked at the salts and minerals in the dirt. These mineral apparently enhance the color of their feathers and make them more attractive for mates. It is like a blanket of parrots. There are a few larger macaws as well-- they have long tail feathers. The feeding frenzie goes on for about 15-20 minutes. What a treat. We had a box breakfast with hot coffee as we watched. It was a great early morning. We got back to the dock at 7:50 am. No more planned activities until late afternoon.

We prepared for a walk in the jungle again; this walk is for vegetation review with Marco, a self proclaimed floral specialist. He lead us, just Janet and me, with a machete through the jungle. At first we were on a path then went into more dense jungle. No scientific terms here. We observed the following:

Hard shell palm tree that is good house for tarantulas; a shedding bark tree; poison mushrooms; thistle tree with spikes that move under your skin; giant Amazon trees, giant red Amazon trees, strangler trees that wrap around and envelope the trunks of other trees, termite nests, red ants nesting inside trees, army ants marching in a long row, large black ants in clusters, monkey fruit with hard shells, beetle fruit with hard shell where beetle drills a hole and and lays egg that grows to larvae, tremendous Tarzan vines hanging from massive trees, and walking trees that have roots that grow out and shift location to move the tree toward sunlight. 

I should note that the guide and I split a beetle larvae which tastes like coconut; we cut out about 1 inch of a termite tunnel that was repaired at the end of our trek; crushed termites give off an evergreen oil scent  that is a natural bug repellant. We walked back in the dark on an alternate path that was blocked by a fallen tree and had to follow our guide with his machete cutting a new path. Home safely and very instructive. Jumped in the pool to cool down. A great day. Pack for tomorrow's 8:00 am transfer.

in conclusion, Janet and I talked about this jungle lodge. It was a treat. It allowed for us time for reflection and communing with nature. The pace was slow but the activities worthwhile and downtime welcomed. Swimming in the pool, swinging in the hammock-- no suntanning too hot; but writing notes on the porch and absorbing the surroundings--both the sights and sounds. The animals ,insects and birds sounding off at 6:00 ---7:00 am then quiet until dusk when the volume cranks up again , intertwined  like a melody. In our wildest dreams we never thought we would travel the Amazon basin of South America. An experience to savor!

Machu Picchu

We left our 3 day tour in the town of Ollantaytambo And checked into a hostel near the train station.  This will be our base for three days, one day of rest, our full day at Machu Picchu and then an early morning return to Cusco.  The hostel tuned out to be basic again but was clean, no bugs and Internet acces's. That evening we treated ourselves to a great dinner, at the train station which was rated the best restaurant in the town.  We had a 5 star dinner complete with beverages and desert for $38.

We woke up early the next day for rest and preparing for the big Machu Picchu trip, the site is really picky about documents, you need paper pickets and your passport to enter.  Going through all the documents I prepared before we left I discovered I had 4 copies of Frank's ticket and no Janet ticket  Over the next few hours I went through several layers of panic and at one point dispair when I thought a actually had no ticket, Frank actually offered me his ticket (what a nice guy)  After some breakfast and rational thought we found a way to access the system and reprint the tickets.  After a quick walk to town to the local Internet cafe we had tickets.  So much for our day of rest.  

 

We woke at 4:00 and we were at the train station by 4:30 for the 5:00 train. This train is really more of a ride than a means of transportation  it reminded us of Disney where getting to the ride is part of the fun.  

The train takes you as far as the town of Aguas Calientes, here we needed to exit the train and take a bus, we found this confusing and by the time we purchased the tickets ($52 for A 20 minute ride) the line was down the street, not so much like Disney organization.

The line to get on the bus

The line to get on the bus

when  you purchase your tickets on-line you have several choices, one of these is a duel ticket for the traditional site and "Wayna Picchu" Only 400 tickets are issued each day for Wayna Picchu.  The guild book describes this site as "it takes 40 to 90 minutes to scramble up the hill... For a spectacular view.  Sounded good to us so we purchased the dual ticket.

Over the last several weeks we have encountered many other travelers that have already been to Machu Picchu, some of them also talked about the extremely hard climb they did to the top of the mountain. One group of 5 (younger than us) told us how is was so hard only one of them made it to the top. Frank and I were perplexed, could this be the dual ticket we bought to scramble up?  That morning we both discussed it and made the decision to give it a try.  So after getting to the site we found our way to the next entrance to the mountain.  The ticket was date stamped to had to start the climb by 8:00 am. We made it at 7:56, signed in and started the climb. In the beginning it was OK about the same as our other climbs, then we got to the actual mountain and the trail became large steps at a 130 degree angle. It was hard, really hard, at one point we started meeting people on their way down and one guy told me that he was "near death " before reaching the summit. Well we were not near death but it took us 2 hours and lots of stops to catch our breath and it was spectacular 

the gallery below shows our way up, Frank's Spartan pride, how we signed  in and out of the mountain and the view from the top.

 

Now I will turn it over to Frank to talk about touring the traditional site.

This is actually the second time I am writing this portion of the blog. It was all done but our Mac Pro computer locked up, so we are trying to retrieve our thoughts if not in fact the original text to keep our friends happy. We are also having some problem with the photos. After scaling Wayna Picchu in about 2 hours and then coming down in about 1 hour we sought food and drink, and sought out a guide. Most photos show Wayna Picchu in the background hovering over theMachu Picchu site-we are very proud of the first photo of this section--we are at the peak of the mountain. We were so spiritually invigorated and uplifted by our successful trek. Janet teared up at the peak. Frank took photos of his father and sons. We hiked up 2700 meters altitude.  We could not find a group to join so we hired a solo guide to see the temple site. Her name was Gracelia, and she had graduated from the University of Cuzco. She was of Inca ancestors and made our tour fantastic. One question we had was about the origin of the Inca. We knew that the Inca reign was relatively short; 500 years with 150 years in control of Peru, Ecaudor, Chile, and Columbia; whereas the Chimu, Moche, Nazcans of the coastal region survived for thousand of years. We had been told by other guides that the Inca was a merger of "scientific tribes" and warrior tribes, but they did not explain further and gave no details. We also knew of the folktales about the Inca brothers that Janet will describe elsewhere. When the question was directed to Gracelia, she brought out her map and pen and gave us a history lesson. She advised, or at least we understood, that the " Ticahaunaco" tribe of the Amazonian jungle portion of Peru, were the scientists/ engineers, who formed a treaty with the warrior tribe, the "Wari",  (Hauri) of the Andean region.     As these 2 tribes quietly grew and prospered together, the coastal residing Chimu, Moche, and Nizcans, thrived for thousands of year. Eventually the Inca gained a leader, the ninth leader--Pachacutec--who rallied the Inca army against an aggressive highland tribe, the Chankas, who were on the doorstep of Cuzco. This was 1438, and the victory buoyed the Inca expansion to come. Many Inca citadels were built, including Machu Picchu. But the Spanish have no chronical on Machu Picchu. Apart from the local tribe known as Quechuas, no one knew of MP until American historian Hiram Bingham came upon the thickly overgrown ruins in 1911. This gives rise as to what the purpose of this site was to be. The guide's  position was that MP was a scientific site bringing together the brightest minds of the empire. The Inca assimilated rather than destroy the tribes they conquered. The quality of stonework and ornamentation also indicate that MP was an important ceremonial center; the circular stone turret comprising the Temple of the Sun, displays a large stone sun dial, and sits above the royal tomb. There are many other temples on site as well as residential sectors. The  guide advised that MP was purposefully barricaded and hidden from the Spanish and left dormant until the 20th century. The site itself displays clever engineering and scientific projects and processes. The Inca protected the site by creating stepped up walls to stabilize the mountain slopes, to fight erosion, and to direct irrigation. MP like Moyà had experimental agricultural terraces. MP was recognized by an international engineering group for exceptional  civil engineering. We hope these photos give you some insight as to the wonders and complexity of the site.

After visiting the costal and Andean regions of Peru we are now off to the Amazonian jungle.

Site view from train

3 Days in Cusco Peru

 OMG! The worse bus trip ever. 14 hours with switchback mountains right and left traveling at between 70 km/h down to 30 km/h and back up. Did the driver really have to make up the 2 hours delay on our leg of the trip, or more accurately—at our stomachs expense? We were seated on the second level in semi-cami for sleeping which is usually ok, but in this case the many rapid turns had the whole bus swaying which is exaggerated on the top. At one point Frank (me) was trying to use the bathroom, like in an airplane, which had a urinal too—ok that’s cool—but thank god there were two handles on either side, because the entire bus was swaying so hard I thought I would crash against the lousy door and break out into the aisle with (should I say it) my Johnson in hand or semi commando. Held on tight-that’s a sigh of relief you hear. At 3:00 am Janet fumbled around for some prescription anti-motion meds. The pills were all crushed for some reason, but she ordered: “Don’t worry about that—"lick your fingers take a scoop".

A view from the bus coming into Cusco

In any event, we had some experience with this bus motion, but not on a trip of this much time. It was like being seasick after a while. We ended up both nauseous and developed headaches. As well, we were gaining altitude, 3300 meter, which contributed to the headaches. Frank really had a hard time sleeping. We felt like we had hangovers. When we got to town and our hostel we had to take a long nap. Our host had hot water and tea available, ie., coca leaf tea, which Frank drank for the altitude; which calms you right down.  We finally got up for dinner and went to “Jack’s Cafe”, an American take on Peruvian cuisine. We ordered bland comfort food, ie., chicken noodle soup and salad, due to remaining stomach issues, which stayed with Frank for several days. FYI- Frank has had tummy issues twice, this time and then back in Ecuador for 2 days. Grin and bear it.  After a short walk around the square or Plaza de Armes we relaxed with a show "Homeland" again and went to bed early, really early (6:00 pm)

 

The bus view of city

Cuzco was the capital of the Inca world and empire. It was like Washington DC, being the major area of government policy.  It was originally mapped out in the form of a PUMA, representing their God on earth. The major god was the God of the Sun. It is also the major launching point for the mountain citadel, Machu Picchu, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world. Surrounding the City there are ten (10) separate temples in close proximity. We will discuss these more, but I want to discuss a phenomenon that we have experienced here that has not seemed so prevalent in other portions of Peru that we have visited. This is not an opinion based on exhaustive research, but it seems reasonably accurate from our interaction with our guides who by occupation extol the virtues of the Inca Empire. The Cuzco guides, as opposed to the Lima guides or others, are passionately against their Spanish conquerors. They openly talk about the genocide of the Inca people and the eradication of Inca culture by the General Pizarro and Spanish soldiers and particularly the Spanish missionaries, which in this country were Dominican Order. The guides complain that the Inca language has been lost and most of the temples we have been seeing were defaced to eliminate Inca religious symbols and also robbed of gold and silver by the Spanish. FYI—Gold and silver had no value to the Inca; they used the substances for decoration, but they did not value it monetarily. We can observe that most Inca Temples within Cuzco have been destroyed in part and a Catholic church placed in its stead. This was the strategy of the missionaries to eradicate the Inca religion and lead them to Christianity; for the military it was simply to conquer and to steal wealth starting in the year 1532. One Guide spoke proudly of the resistance movement, and the capture, torture and fight against death of their final Inca leader, Tupaq Amaru. The “Regional Historico Museum” has a video about his torture. The center plaza location of the torture, ie., drawn and quarter, etc., was originally called the Plaza of Weapons, but now has been renamed “Plaza of Tears” for the crying masses that witnessed the demise.

The Lima guide’s philosophy was that the Spanish conquest was part of the history of the country, is why Peru is as it is, and should be embraced. Of course, after Cuzco was captured the capital of Peru was moved to Lima in the year 1535.

We started our day with another “free walking tour” Our tour guide was a very spunky woman of Inca heritage.  This tour was very focused on a few sites, several with “opportunities” to buy goods at the BEST places according to the guide.  Our preference is to see the full city layout on the walking tour, then we can plan our remaining days by the sites of interest to us.  Our guide did review the Inca building expertise with examples of city walls where the Spanish builders overlap the Inca, see the photo below.  She also provided an excellent cooking demonstration focusing on ceviches.  After the demo we opted to eat at the restaurant.

In the afternoon we visited the Convento de Santo Domingo.  This is a very nice church but the site is actually the most important temple of the Inca empire called the Coricancha.  We hired a local guide, these can be found outside all of the important sites.  His English was good and this turned out to be a great visit.  Per our guide this site would be the equivalent to the Vatican and dedicated to the Sun God.  The walls were originally covered in Gold.  When the Spanish conquered, they required the Inca to surrender the gold as ransom for their lives.  Then the Spanish built the church on top of the temple. Thankfully the Spanish incorporated the Inca stonework into the structure.  After several major earthquakes, the Spanish church required rebuilding but the Inca stonework, far superior in design survived 

After the church we did not have a plan on how to visit the massive area, so we took a chance and went into one of the dozens of tourist offices and ended up negotiated a three-day tour.  By doing a tour we were able to see many temples and ruins surrounding Cusco which was the center of Inca empire. However, their empire stretched to Ecuador, where we also saw ruins, and also into Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

In Cuzco city the Inca’s built massive walls lining the steep cobblestone streets and plazas. In addition to purchasing the tour we also needed to purchase a “Boleto Turistico” a/k/a BTC—or tourist ticket allowing entrance into 17 sites.  The sites we visited are:

  • Saqsayhuaman (a/k/a sexywoman):
  • Qengo:
  • Puka Pukara:
  • Moray:
  • Saltadas:
  • Tambomachay:
  • Pisac
  • Ollantaytambo 

We will not bore you with the details of all of these sites, our favorates were Ollantaytambo, Moray and Saltadas.  See the large gallery below of our highlights. 

After day one of our tour we visited the local food market and stocked up on two days of food for $8 and gave our tummies a rest with some home cooking at our hostel.

We negotiated a drop off with our tour guide at Ollantaytombo after the ruin site visit.  This will be our hostel location for the next three nights.  One day of rest and then our Machu Picchu trip, then back to Cusco. 

The Nazca Lines

View from bus ride to Nazca

The Nazca lines are a series of straight lines and figures carved into the desert.  They are large, some up to 1,200 ft.  You can only see all the lines by air, in small planes.  Going to Nazca has been on Janet’s must do list for many years as was the Macho Picchu trip. 

It  is a short bus ride from Paracas of 4 hours. In the rural area, at street level traveling at 89km/h you can see cut outs in the flat, flat valley plain with mountains far off. You can’t make out shapes, just the cuts evidence a process; deep gauges (2—3 ft.)in the plain. Occasionally you can see round or curving cuts that appear manmade, not natural. We passed an observation platform 2-3 stories high; Costs S/1.00 we found out. 

 

City square - Nazca

We arrived at our hostel,  Nazca House B&B in a city that was larger than expected with 22,000 pop, about the size as the beach town Haunchaco. But here there is no beach, in fact no water—just desert in every direction with distant grey mountains. The city square was very large with polished tile and fountains bordered by 2 churches and a school. Described in books as:

“Bone dry and baking hot, Nazca was a desert scorched dead town until 1939 when American scientist Paul Kosok did a flyover and revealed the Nazca Lines.” This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later, German scientist Maria Reiche opined the figures were an astronomical calendar. Who knows—could be Aliens!  Especially when you see the kooky, so-called “Astronaut” figure. It looks like a spacesuit—or could be a walking squid. Take your pick.

We were picked up at 7:15 by our transport Alex. He drove us to a small air field lined with propeller planes, most that were six passenger plus pilots. Our plane was a shiny, two passenger Cessna with pilot and co-pilot from Air Santos. Cost: $155 pp @ S/580 pp. for a one hour flight over 17 figures. We paid our Airport tax of S/25 pp., went through a metal detector and showed passports. It is a perfect day; the wind socks are limp. Our plane was ready and we were called-- “Frank & Janet”—so we pressed by a group of Dutch who awaited a larger plane. This was going to be “mucho/muy distracion”= “very fun”. However, we did forego breakfast and we both did take ½ pill of Dramamine just in case. In fact, our Hostel mothers insisted we not eat, but would have food ready when we returned. They were sisters who came through for us when Movil Air emailed a cancellation.  We picked Movil Air by recommendations as the safest company to fly, but when our plans fell through we just needed a plane and with the help of our hotel attendant (the sisters speak no English) in Lima we called our Nazca host and ask if they could help and they got it for us, the hell with what the safety record is, find us a plane!!

The Flight:

The co-pilot reminded me “ladies first”, so Janet stepped into the backseat first, stowed her backpack behind our seat, and then I stepped in and sat in a comfortable, but small space next to her. We greeted the pilot and co-pilot again. We were given maps of the site and flight plan.

We were to see the Nazca “prehistoric” lines and the Nazca classical lines, about 17 figures. When I say lines this include figures and geometric shapes miles in size and diameter. The pilot winds the engine of our little plane and we taxied.  We are looking over his shoulder at the instrumentation. At the launch point he increases the throttle to a roar—vibrating the plane. Then he throttles back, gets on line and increases power—down the runway (will we rise?). When we took off, it was as smooth as a pillow. We gained altitude gradually, observing the town fall away and the surrounding mountains rise up. It is really beautiful flying over the desertat a higher altitude.

You cannot overstate the magnificence of the Nazca lines and figures:

  •  The chiseled stripes of rock and the clear geometric shapes extending miles look like runways to me.
  • The mathematical precision is amazing, emphasized by the many quadrangle shapes. Imagining Ancients creating these figures in this desert land is hard, but then again we do have the Egyptian pyramids and Greek Acropolis.   
  • On the side of a smoky grey hill is a figure that appears to be waving or saying hello. But to who? The figure is the so-called  “Astronaut”. It looks like a road side welcome sign.
  •  Some configurations on top of flattened mountain ranges, look like a heliport.
  •  The many other giant figures sit between the mountains on flat plans. In fact, there is a striking network of 800 +lines, 300 geometric figures and 70 animal and plant biomorphs. Some of these are described as classical forms which are simpler, more like drawings then the mathematical figures.
  •  The most famous figures we saw, and we saw them all, are named: Lizard, frog, tree, monkey, spider, condor, flamingo, parrot, whale, dog, snake and others! We did our best to provide some photos and video, but it was difficult with the angles, lighting and flight path. 

 

Our view from the plane

The vastness of it all. We flew from one end and back in our one hour trip—very inspirational.

So inspirational in fact that after our breakfast we walked to the city museum, “Museo Didactic Antonini” to learn more. This museum focused on the results archeological teams from Europe that investigated this area.  The Nazca lines are given relatively brief mention. The current Nazca’s believe the Lines were formed by ancestors as a way to track the seasons and the path of the sun for both religious and farming purposes. The earlier figures this tribe drew were less sophisticated than the “Lines”, and possibly they just got bigger and better at it. The tribe had some unusual customs of note: They re-shaped and elongated the form of the skulls of royalty infants with wrapping, and the strangest—they cut a small circular hole in the forehead of the infant and inserted the ends of several one foot strands of rope/twine into the hole which are secured by the healing skull bone and flesh.(Is this a caricature of an astronaut space helmet with O2 hose?)  The Nazca’s were a very early tribe of Peru, 500 BC to 500 AD and were accomplished in mathematics, textiles, and war.

The day was ending and we hung out in the sister’s hostel most of the afternoon to rest, make notes, and do some blogging until 5:00 pm. It would not be F&J around the planet if one weird thing didn’t happen that day. We wanted to pay for the flight by credit card, but our driver and apparent expediter, Alex, who did in fact step behind the counter with the sales rep at Santos Air says: “Our visa machine is broken, can you pay in cash?” We didn’t bring that much cash, i.e. S/ 1160.00. Alex says: “You can pay me after the flight--FOR ME--later”. I do look around and see all these other airline desks with VISA signs, but see crowded lines everywhere and I know we got closed out with the other airline for lack of space.  Janet and I huddle together; we don’t care if its cash or charge as long as the price is the same as quoted by the Sisters; If the plane seems old or beat up we will bail on this deal before we pay anything.  So as we said before, the plane looked shiny new, we jumped the line, and we had a great flight. Alex drove us back to town and straight to an ATM as requested. As I paid him I said: “You’re going to pay the pilots—right!”. “Oh yeh”! Alex says, then he drives us back to the hostel for breakfast. Mission accomplished for all of us, I guess.

 We settled our bill and left to walk to the bus station. On the way, we passed the open central church and stopped in for the 6:00 pm Mass and communion. We reached the rather shabby bus station at 7:15 pm (especially for Cruz Del Sur standards), but our bus was over 2 hours late so we didn’t get on board until 10:30pm for a 14 hour night trip. The only thing that made the wait less than miserable was meeting up with Janet’s friend, Marie from Quebec, Canada, who was going in a different direction but had to sit around too. She did get motion sickness on her flight and was given smelling salts. She was in a six passenger plane and the pilot rolls the plane so people on each side can see the Lines. We had other laughs and stories, showing photos of our families before we parted.     

 

The Saturday local market across from our hostel

Last note on the Nazca lines.  We could not capture high quality photos to share.  If you want to read more about the lines or see some great pictures we suggest:

http://www.crystalinks.com/nazca.html as a good resource

 

2 days in Paracas Peru

Paracas—meaning “Sand Rain” I’m told, is a waterfront fishing town 4 hours south of Lima. The bus ride was smooth; the scenery unusual. Coastal Peru is relatively flat and dry, and the seemingly new tolled express highway we drove follows near the coastline.

On the costal side you can see large irrigated plots growing what appears to be grape vines, avocados, and corn. To the opposite side you can see petro or gas refineries in the distance, with small homes and some shanty towns closer to the highway. Periodically, as we drive the road winds closer to the coast and you can easily observe the sea. We are surprised when on the coastal side there starts to be advertisements and billboards for housing developments. Later we actually see very large gated residential communities painted blazing white. I mention the color because most places in Peru are concrete grey or unfinished at least in part. Who would live there--Expats or Peruvians?  As the drive continued we were so hungry we actually ate Teriyaki flavored beef jerky. Thanks--you know who. We arrived at the Cruz Del Sur bus terminal in Paracas. The station was brand new, with a little construction going on. We could

actually order our excursions at the station—very quick and easy and unexpected. You come to Paracas for 2 reasons: (1) visit the Iles of Ballentas, and (2) visit the National Preserve of Paracas. 

Ballentas Iles:

Our quirky hotel in Paracas

We awake at the Grand Palma hostel, new but a quirky lay out with twin beds. We have breakfast on the 4th floor deck overlooking the harbor. The fresh mango/papaya mixed fruit drink was the best. It is picturesque with fishing boats tied up or moving out to sea and the promenade and docks becoming busy. FYI-busy or not, the air is always pierced with honking car horns, not just taxis, but show offs too. In any event, transport picks us up at 7:15 and we gather at a city park by the shore. This is going to be a mixed group--mostly Spanish speakers. Other transports arrive and our guide appears-a very tall and handsome young man with a great smile. He gives us a short history lesson by the question and answer method. If you guess right you get a candy treat and he showed he had lots of treats. It is a hoot; all laughed; broke the ice. He does a really good job of talking in sentences and phrases of Spanish and English; easily understood. One particularly funny thing was the roll call where one of the quests was Japanese. Her first name was Keiko. “We have the famous Keiko here”, he said—“You didn’t know you would be so famous in my country.” The shy Japanese women smiled and shook her head-- yes. The thing is KEIKO Fujimori, is running for president of Peru in the 2016 election, and her first name is painted all over the country; as is the name of ATUNA, the other candidate.  Keiko’s father, Alberto Fujimori (son of Japanese immigrants) was the former president of Peru until he lost the public trust AND was charged with bribery. But Keiko was elected to congress anyway and appears to have a good chance to win now—if winning the political sign wars means anything.

 

We walk the shoreline sidewalk passed 5-6 summer mansions that are just being refreshed by workers for the return of the owner. Summer starts in December here. We stop, and enter at one of many large docks where the 39 person capacity boat awaits. We 30 enter orderly, filling the back seats first for proper hydroplaning. Just as we are on our way, the guide goes on and on praising the magnificent, fantastic Captain. The Captain finally turns, like on cue, and flashes his pearly whites. Again another good comedy bit. He was a really good captain actually—moving us in very close to the rock formations that were being splashed by surf and waves. The isles appear to be partly formed of iron oxide as the islands are mostly metallic red. As we approached and passed the side of an adjoining peninsula we observed a giant sculpture that was carved through the sand and into the rock. This figure has been assigned a variety of names; “Devil’s Trident” or “Candelabra”—you can guess its shape; for political types, it has been offered that revolutionary “free Masons” drew the symbol to identify the beachhead landing place for the victorious Argentinian General San Martin, to land his troops to begin his fight to rid Peru of the Spaniards. I don’t know if that is true or not, but the image is impressive--an added treat. Gen. Martin did win and designed the first Peru flag with Flamingos and Palm Trees.

 

We approach these reddish isles with their amazing deep cut caves from wave action, some that could be passed through, and are greeted by tens of thousands of birds and tens of thousands of pounds of Guano staining the cliffs and everything else.  The birds are squawking away, flapping their wings, and cover the entire islands. Be cautious about the over flight of the birds—do you have a hat? The guide starts pointing to the Penguins, first at the cliffs and then on the near shoreline, saying these are the same as on Galapagos. Many shoreline penguins wait for the wave to hit the rock and then slide into the surf. It is an impressive site. Then, even more exciting is seeing the sea lions sunbathing on spires of rock; each crowding or cuddling on top of the other, except for a few that are solo and crane their necks to see us as the captain moves the boat close to the spires of rock through crashing waves. One particularly large male sea lion was named “Frank” by the guide. As we circumvent the islands, the scene repeats, and we also see an elevated docking system for large ships. Apparently the guano is harvested and used as a component of commercial fertilizer. The show is over so we head back to shore and boy is sure has become it windy and cold. We return to tour transport and are driven to our next pickup point—to the national preserve.

National Preserve of Paracas: This preserve was an unexpectedly spectacular. Desert mountains surrounding a mammoth valley that runs to the sea in parts, composed of salt crystals and oxide iron particles.

 

When a hand full of soil is thrown up in the desert wind the particles blow apart like heavy rains, i.e. “Sand rain" or Paracas. The winds are high here. The colors are fantastic. The multi shaded sands run up and over rolling hills and then down to the blue sea, with fishing boats in a close harbor. “It never rains here, this is the driest place on the planet”, the guide says. She draws a diagram in the sand as she explains the ocean current effects on this unusual coastal area composed of salt flats, multi colored hills and terrain, and in one area the “Red Beach”. This too, is an amazing place.

Frank with  Ceviche and INCA GOLD

A side note: (1) Janet was conversing with the female guide and asked where she was from? The guide responded “Chanca Alta, 2 hours north.” She then volunteered: “My ancestors were brought from Africa to be slaves by the Spanish. They worked very hard”. (Actually earlier, I thought she looked Mayan; pretty, slightly darker skin but thin nosed). FYI-currently, there are 3% African/ Peruvians in the population. (2) I finally drank “INCA GOLD”, the soft drink of the gods. It looks like Mountain Dew soda in the bottle, BUT taste like Faygo Rock and Rye. (3) Ate Peruvian Scallop Ceviche at a restaurant at the desert harbor—tasted great--spicy with lime of course. 

Day done until the next day bus trip.  Off to Nazca