” Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.”                              -Rabindranath Tagore

I love firsts!

This was my first trip to South America, and  my first trip solo.  I’m talking about ten magical days of exploring and managing on my own in a place where many locals spoke no English at all…and I loved every minute!

This day was coming.  It was only a matter of time before my travel ambitions ran out of able-bodied companions.  So, this was my 30th birthday gift to myself.  I had my travel journal, my rough itinerary and my duffel bag, which was all I needed for the adventure.

From the beginning, there were many differences to note.  I knew this trip was going to be unlike any other I’d ever taken.  That notion was apparent on the flight from Miami to Lima when I noticed I was one of three caucasian travelers.  But I must also say that there was no reason to be uncomfortable either, especially when the entire cabin of passengers erupted with applause and cheers when the plane landed safely.  That celebration set the tone of the rest of my excursion.

After an overnight layover in Lima, I easily made my way through the Cusco airport, into a taxi and into my hostel.  It was located near the Cusco city-center, so walking around was very easy.

The church of San Blas was my first stop.  It’s a beautiful church that’s known for its elaborate wood carvings.  The audio headsets were all being used, so a nice young man offered to personally give me a tour…how sweet! (The blonde hair and green eyes got a lot of attention….)  After that, I had a chance to walk around the main streets, do some window shopping and make some travel arrangements for later in the week.  I also enjoyed a delicious pina/orange blended juice and some coca tea to prevent against altitude sickness…which was a serious concern. 

After 11 glorious hours of sleep, I was ready to begin my journey.  I checked out, hopped a group taxi to Ollantaytambo (1hr, 40mins), then caught my train to Aguas Calientes (2hrs).  The journey was amazingly beautiful, every minute of the way.  I saw so many people from all over the world in this tiny town at the base of Machu Picchu.  I only had one night there, so I decided to walk all around the town square, scope out the necessities for the next morning and treat myself to a delicious alpaca dinner.  The hot springs were a 10 minute walk outside of town, but I decided to forgo them.  I’ve been to enough hot springs in enough countries.  Plus, I wanted to conserve my energy for all the hiking I’d be doing the next day. 

Ahhh, the big day had arrived!  After checking out, eating my complimentary breakfast and getting my bus ticket, I was in line at about 5am to wait for a bus.  At 5:40 I was finally on a bus, switch-backing all the way to the entrance.  After showing my passport and ticket and picking up a map, I headed out (sans guide) to explore on my own.  It was a misty, foggy, chilly morning, but luckily it did not stay that way for very long.  I had about 1 hour to get myself to the entrance of Huayna Picchu.  (I purchased the combination ticket which let me climb both mountains.)  The gate opened at 7am and I had to climb up and back by 10am.  No small feat mind you!  Machu Picchu is already about 8,000 feet above sea level and many people get nasty altitude sickness and fatigue.  Just climbing around the site is exhausting.  Huayna Picchu is the large mountain behind Machu Picchu.  It’s an extra 1,000 feet taller which you are supposed to climb in about an hour!  I guess they figure an hour up, an hour to look around and rest, and then an hour down (which is not easier at all).  I can honestly say that was the most rigorous physical exertion I’ve ever been though, but worth the pain.  The entire experience was magical and something I’ll never forget.

Machu Picchu, with Huayna Picchu peak in the background

After I spent a few more hours at the Machu Picchu site and taken a ton of pictures, I got a bus back down the mountain, a train back to Ollantaytambo and a group taxi back to Cusco before crashing after an action-packed day. 

The day after Machu Picchu I was sick 😦  I think it was a combination of things.  I had a cold the week before my trip that may not have been completely out of my system.  Plus, I had done 5 hours of strenuous hiking at a high altitude in an extremely dry country.  I woke up, unable to move or breathe very well.  I think I strained every muscle from the waist down, plus I was congested and my throat was a little swollen.  I managed to drag myself out of bed and down three blocks to the mini pharmacy to get medicine and then went back to bed. 

After getting plenty of sleep and spending some time massaging and stretching my legs, I got up and went on a wonderful excursion the next day.  The first stop was the town of Chinchero.  It’s an artesian town where the families spin, dye and weave yarn into beautiful articles of clothing and pieces of art.  We saw a demonstration and got to talk with the locals before going to the next stop which was the Maras Salt Mines.  Very cool!  Apparently, a natural warm salt water stream was found flowing through the mountain.  Locals channeled the water through little irrigation chutes to fill up bays.  After about six days, the stream gets diverted so the water in the bays can evaporate and then the salt can be harvasted…awesome and beautiful.

salt mine

My last stop was the Moray ceremonial cite.  There are many stepped concentric circles arranged for unknown reasons, but the place was huge and fun to walk around.  During this excursion I met a really nice girl who took me out to lunch after our day was over.  She was a perfect example of Peruvian hospitality.

My time in Cusco was almost over and I now had to get myself to Puno, a little town on the edge of Lake Titicaca.  I signed up for a scenic bus.  I figured if I was going to spend a lot of time on a bus anyway, I may as well go for the longer bus route so that I could make a few nice stops.  I also recognized a couple from the day before.  It’s sad to say that I don’t remember their names, but the Chilean woman and Australian man were awesome and we had fun hanging out all day together. 

Our first stop was a quick one at a church in Andahuaylillas, which was called the Sistine Chapel of the Americas.  Next we stopped in Raqchi to see some beautiful temple ruins and got a sense of what life is like in the Peruvian countryside.  The next point of interest was lunch in Sicuani.  It seemed like the only thing in this town was the restaurant!  And it was perfect.  I had rice, curry potatoes, alpaca, and chicken with peppers.  My dessert consisted of white rice pudding (arroz con leche) and flan…two of my favorites.  Then we made our way to La Raya, where we literally stopped on the side of the road to take pictures with the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background.  And finally, our last stop before getting into Puno, was to see a museum in Pucara.  There was lots of pottery being showcased, as well as intricate stone carvings that honored human sacrifice. 

temple ruins at Raqchi

After about 10 hours of bus riding, and sight-seeing, we arrived in Puno around 6pm.  I checked into my hotel, ate dinner with my new friends and called it a day.

Since I’m drawn to water, a lake tour was in order.  I went on a three-hour tour of the Uros floating islands.  We learned how the islands were constructed, ate some “island bamboo” and got to take a short ride in a traditional reed boat.  It was a gorgeous day to be out on the water, soaking up the 80 degree weather and enjoying friendly conversation with my little group.  There was quite a mix.  Besides me, (and Paul from PA), there were two Israeli boys, three people from northern Peru, and one from New Zealand. 

Lake Titicaca

After returning to dry land, I grabbed lunch at the “Sweet Cafe restaurant” which played American music videos only from the 80’s…awesome.  The Plaza de Armas is always fun to walk around to see people from all over the world.  Being near the water made Puno get chilly pretty quickly, so after my window shopping, I decided to get a cappuccino at a local coffee shop.  The town itself is a bit run-down with one real busy street in the middle that clearly thrives due to the tourists.  So, after warming up, I headed back early for a good nights sleep. 

I have to say that the Puno bus station is much less creepy when the sun is out.  I had my voucher, found my bus (a double-decker) and opted to sit in the front seat on the top level.  The trip was supposed to be a six-hour straight run back to Cusco, but outside Puno we stopped for an hour to have the bus tires changed.  The locals were not happy and it was funny to watch them get fired up.  We also ran into road work in the middle of nowhere which held us up.  Apparently, an entire section of road gets shut down for extended amounts of time when “work” is being done.  Reducing traffic to one lane doesn’t fly in Peru. 

I finally got in around 4:30pm and I was starving, and had to pee, (the bus bathroom was not open!)  I headed over to a little restaurant called Paprika and ordered a passion fruit juice and “curry” chicken, which was really just chicken in sauce that happened to be yellow in color, mixed with banana pieces, but it was still really good.  I also tried a mocha cappuccino and a fruit pancake, which was interesting.  I’m sure that altitude has something to do with it, but unless there is a sauce on your food, everything comes out dry…everything.

I took one last turn around the main square that evening to drink in the beautiful lights and sounds of this majestic area before turning in one last time. 

Since I still had unfinished business to attend to on my last morning in Cusco, I checked out and had the hostel hold my bag so my exploration could continue.  The first thing I did was get a taxi to the site of Saqsayhuaman (pronounced Sexy Woman).  I walked around for about an hour climbing the trails and taking some amazing photos.  This site had some of the best monolith construction, and you can easily see that the stones fit together perfectly without using any mortar.  The area is already high on a mountain overlooking downtown Cusco.  Since my legs felt back to normal, I decided to climb to the peak to see Cristo Blanco (the White Christ).  The view was great and it was cool to be at the foot of the statue.  Every evening it gets illuminated so that it is forever watching over the city.

monolith construction

The next taxi I hailed brought me to the Pachacuteq monument and museum.  It was 7 floors of history, artifacts, and interactive displays.  The observation tower at the top was a nice touch as well.  From there I walked up the main street to take some pictures and pop into the largest artesian market in town.  After grabbing some lunch, I had to retrieve my bag and begin my return journey.  It’s amazing how fast 10 days went and how easy it was to see so many things.  Adios Peru! Until next time….