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Summer 2008 Andes Trip

Saturday, 12 July 2008

Day 27: Puno to Lima

The trip home began as we returned to sea level and warmth in Lima for a day before the flight to Miami tomorrow night. The experience of the ride to the airport was enhanced by a police check point stop at which the bus driver used a bribe to get us to the flight from Puno on time.
Day 26: Lake Titicaca

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The high,cold, deep, huge lake is named for the puma and is inhabited by indigenous people who build floating islands from the reed root mats and homes from the reeds of the lake. We were treated to a reed boat ride and invited into the homes of a family.
Day 25 Cusco to Puno

The Inka Express bus carried us on an extended 9-hour ride through the Andes from Cusco south to the high plain of Puno, across Lake Titicaca from Bolivia. The ride was slowed by the boulders and other obstacles remaining in the roads from the national strike.

Although skilled and professional, the bus driver was unable to avoid a bicycling man who veered unexpectedly into the bus, requiring a physician passenger's assistance and rides to the clinic and hospital. Fortunately, the man emerged from the accident in better condition than the bus window.

Our destination, Puno, is the driest, highest, and most industrial area we have seen, with a large proportion of the transportation provided by gas and human powered tricycles.

Wednesday, 09 July 2008

Day 24 Ollantaytambo, Peru

It was a relaxing day in the village with only a small group of strikers. We learned that the bus that would have evacuated us was stopped along the way and the protests became violent. The innkeepers ran around the town to gather breakfast for us and helped us with laundry--our saviors! We got a 10 PM bus back to Cusco where our hotel has space for the night--along with hot showers and our luggage with the clean clothes we could not carry on the backpacker train.
Days 22-23 Machu Picchu, Peru

Over two exciting days, we took the 90-minute backpacker train from Cusco to the town at the base of Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, and visited the park twice: in the afternoon and at sunrise. Llamas roamed as living lawnmowers.
Although we planned to return to Cusco on the afternoon train, a train strike pushed our travel to an evening train part of the distance. Then, because of a national labor strike blocking the roads to Cusco, we could not leave the village where the train stopped. It would have been impossible to find lodging for the night among the other stranded travelers if our travel company did not have a local contact with a family member preparing an inn to open. The inn took our group, building beds to accommodate us in triple rooms.
In the middle of the night, the travel company sent a bus to evacuate us to Cusco, threatening that if we did not leave we could be stuck for days and the town might not receive food or operate business during the strike. The innkeeper´s husband, a military captain, advised us that the road was not safe, so we stayed.
Day 21 Sacred Valley, Peru

In the Sacred Valley of Inca villages outside Cusco, we climbed the huge Ollantaytambo fort and saw an indigenous celebration in the village of Chinchero.
Days 19-20 Cusco, Peru

In the city of Cusco, colonial structures top Inca walls.

Around the city, archaeological parks protect Inca and pre-Inca fortresses, like the Saqsaywaman fort built in the shape of the revered puma.

At dinner, alpaca was an option, along with local beans, corn, and quinoa.

Thursday, 03 July 2008

Days 15-18: Lima, Peru

Cultures old and new were on the agenda: pre-Incan and Incan temples built of stone and adobe at Pachacamac archaeological park, and music and dance of the Lake Titicaca region at a dinner show.

The food highlights included thick cups of chocolate with hot churros, and fresh cheese with giant corn called choclos.

While enjoying the churros at Manolo's, we met a public school administrator who invited us for a visit. The school has three shifts of students and teachers every day to accommodate the teenagers who must work to help their families. We got front row seats to a dance exhibition on the school playground. Being a public school, it has no gym, auditorium, cafeteria, classroom computers or Internet service.

Tuesday, 01 July 2008

Days 15-18: Lima, Peru

With joy, we breathe the warm, O2-rich air, gaze at the Pacific, and eat fresh seafood. With disappointment, we suffer lost sleep because of the city noise and headaches due to the polluted haze. Under the protection of assault tanks and machine-gun-armed national police, we began with a tour of the city's historic centro, hearing about the effects of earthquakes and tsunamis on very old construction.

Monday, 30 June 2008

Day 14: Guayaquil

Today's cultural lesson: futbol rules. An Ecuadorian team advanced to a playoff with Brazil later in the week, which bumped us off of our flight from Quito to Lima to make space for fans. Our bonus was an afternoon layover in the coastal city of Guayaquil, where we got a van, driver and guide for $30. We used our sea-level energy to walk up 444 steps from the Malecon boardwalk to the lighthouse.