Peru Part 4 Cusco through the Sacred Valley

pisco-ruins-group-portrait

Our night bus from Arequipa to Cusco was fine, if you don’t count me waking up in sheer terror as it seemed the bus was careening wildly down the mountain.  Other than that it was ok.

One thing we learned about riding buses in Peru?  You never know where they will drop you off.   They pick you up at the bus station, but drop you off somewhere in the city, usually on a deserted street or back alley.  That’s what happened in Cusco. About 6 am the bus pulled into a deserted parking lot.  Half asleep, we wandered around getting our luggage, not having a clue where we were.  We were thinking it was going to be like Arequipa, with a nice tourist information booth where perhaps we could get a free taxi to the hotel.  Not a chance.  Besides, technically  we didn’t have a hotel.  Dan had found a great hotel on trip advisor called Torre Dorada.  We had sent an email to the hotel when we were in Arequipa, and Peggy, the hotel owner, thought she had space, but we didn’t actually make a reservation. Undeterred, and since we had no idea where else to go, we showed up at Torre Dorada.  Peggy was very gracious.  She didn’t actually a room for all of us together, but she put together two very  nice rooms next to each other and gave us a family discount.  Peggy could tell we were exhausted and hungry so even though technically we weren’t entitled to it until the next morning, Peggy told us to please help ourselves to the free breakfast.  She didn’t even have us officially check in.  She was more concerned about getting us fed and settled.  WE LOVE HER!

The kids room had 2 twin beds and a big, modern, clean bathroom.  Our room had the same type of bathroom but we had a HUGE California King size bed.  I had never seen such a big bed, or so I thought.  Looking at it I was saying to Dan, “Can you believe this bed?  Why would you ever want a bed this big?”  Suddenly I stopped.  WE had a bed this big in our house in North Carolina!  After sleeping on a much smaller bed on the boat, I had totally forgotten how big our bed was.  As I laid my head on the down comforter, resting my head contentedly on the down pillows, I remembered why I wanted this bed at home. 

“Tristan, Tessa come here,”  I called to them.  We all piled onto the bed together for some great snuggle time.  I missed that.

cusco-2      cusco-3

Torre Dorado is located a little bit from the center of town.  Peggy, always looking out for the welfare of her hotel guests, provides free taxi service to where ever you want to go in the city.  The first day, we took it easy, had a good lunch and toured some of the museums and cathedrals.  We ate lunch at a restaurant called Heidi, having a four course meal, including drink for less than $6.00 US each.  Afterwards we went shopping for a sweater for Tristan.  He’d been wearing his sweatshirt but I was afraid the further south he went, the colder he would get.  Unfortunately, all the shops we went into, the sweaters were too big.  We went to the market to call the Torre Dorada taxi to pick us up.  As we waited, on the steps outside the cathedral for our ride, a constant stream of Peruvian ladies passed by us, trying to entice us into buying their wares.  The good news?  One of them had a sweater that fit Tristan perfectly.  Matching gloves?  Why not?  How about making me a deal on the hat?  Sure.  Dan wants a hat and gloves too.  One stop shopping!  This was fun!

 The next day Dan and I went to the train station to buy our train tickets from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes,  part of the trip to Machu Picchu.  There are several ways to visit Machu Picchu.  Most tourist groups try to do it in one day, leaving Cusco early morning, taking a bus to Ollantaytambo, a train to Aguas Caliente, then a bus to Machu Picchu.  These crowded groups usually get to Machu Picchu around 10:30 (we wanted to get there for sunrise) and only stay about 2 hours at Machu Picchu.  The other option was to make our own bus and train plans.  Peggy and the staff at Torre Dorado were a great help.  Peggy knew we wanted to tour the Sacred Valley, which consists of several former Inca sites.  She suggested, instead of taking a bus to Ollantaytambo, we could hire Richard, the taxi driver they used at the hotel, to take us, and we could stop at all the sites we wanted to.  Great idea.  Peggy suggested a hotel for us in Aguas Caliente  and Rosemary made the reservations for us.  There was some confusion on the name of the hotel, as Rosemary gave us one name and Peggy another, but we thought we understood Rosemary to say it had changed names.  Since we would be getting in late, about 10:30pm, they told the hotel to have someone meet us at the train station.  We were set.

Because we were going to come back to Torre Dorada, we were leaving our main bags there, and taking only our backpacks and daypacks.  This meant we had to pack carefully.  Sweaters, gloves, hats, cameras, toilet paper, at least 2 changes of clothes, etc.  These packs we would leave at the hotel in Aguas Calientes and then take only our daypack to Machu Picchu.   Packing lightly and being organized are not skills that come naturally to the BeDell clan, but we were learning fast.

The next morning, after a great breakfast, Richard was waiting for us.  Danny, who was working the desk, told us to leave our packed bags in our room and they would hold them for us until we got back a few days later.  Dan went to pay for the nights we had stayed and Danny told him not to worry about it.  We could settle up when we got back.   They didn’t even ask for a copy of our credit card.  I guess our dirty clothes were enough collateral.  Our first stop was a place Peggy referred to as seeing the Condors.  It was actually a rehabilitation “zoo” for hurt wild animals.  The “Zoo” had rescued two Pumas which had been doped up and on display in a disco. So sad.  The animals were well taken care of  and you could see the real love for the animals from the handlers. 

me-and-the-condor  showing-off-2

The kids weren’t too sure about this baby Condor

kids-meet-condor   kids-meet-condor-2

puma

 

The guide who was showing us around was very enthusiastic and let us get really close to the animals.  One animal I was interested in seeing more of was an Ocelot.  An Ocelot is a type of cat, about twice the size of a house cat, with spots like a leopard.  It is endangered.  This one was rescued  from the jungles of Peru.  It is deceptively adorable.  You want to pick it up, forgetting it’s a wild animal with sharp fangs.  This one was kept in a small room with a glass window.  I wanted a closer look, and our guide was so accomadating, I asked if it was possible to get a better look.  In broken english he said he needed to get some protection, miming that he needed gloves so the Ocelot wouldn’t claw him.  He came back a few minutes later and said he couldn’t find any.  I couldn’t get a good picture through the glass and he could tell I was disappointed, so he started to open the door so I could take a quick shot.  Here’s where a good deed goes bad.  As soon as he cracked open the door, we all realized the big mistake!  The Ocelot was at the door in a flash, claws wrapped around the edge of the door, trying vainly to get his head out.  Our guide was trying just as vainly to keep him in.  It was man versus beast.  All I could think of was this cat escaping and eating the other poor animals in the zoo.  Our guide would get his claw off the door, then his head would sneak out. He push his head back in and here came the paw.  All this while trying not to get clawed!  It was quite a moment!  Finally the Ocelot was safely back in his cage, and while our guide sought some medical atttention, we beat a hasty retreat.

door-cracks-open  Door cracks open here-he-comes Here he comes!

 here-he-comes-2   quick-action-required Quick action required!

Our next stop was the Artesian center where we saw how the Alpaca wool was sheared, dyed, then woven into rugs and other textiles.  Of course, we saw Llamas, Vicunas and Alpacas.

dan-and-llama  wman-and-child-21

weaving

From there we headed to our first Inca site, the Pisac Ruins.  The view here, is again, incredible.  The citadel sits high on a plateau with deep drop offs into beautiful gorges on either side.  It was some steep walking.  Again we saw the many agricultural terraces of the Incas.  One fascinating thing we learned about the terraces was that the crops did extremely well here becuase of the soil.  The soil is not native to the area, but was carried in, by the Incas and the tribes before them, from the jungle, a 2 day walk away.  It’s mind boggling to see how much dirt was actually brought in, without carts or wagons!  Richard, our taxi driver, waited for us at the bottom as we hiked the 90 minutes down, on cliff hugging trails,  and through tunnels carved out of the rocks.   On the way down we also toured the ceremonial baths, the temples, and saw the Inca tombs carved into the sides of the cliffs high above us.   I know I’ve said it a million times already and will say it a million more, but the views were just jaw dropping beautiful.  Our pictures can’t do it justice.

pisco-ruins-1a pisco-ruins-4a

  Notice the amazing Inca stonework

pisco-ruins-6 

 

pisco-ruin-terraces-3pisco-ruins-8a

pisco-ruins-9a    

  pisco-ruins-tunnel          pisco-ruin-tunnel-2  Tunnels

After Pisco, we drove through the beautiful valley of Urubamba where we stopped for a late lunch.  We were gradually getting higher in altitude.  The scenery was changing into a river valley, where Peruvians worked along the roadside, cutting dirt from the mountainside, making adobe bricks.  Most of the buildings and houses in Urubamba were made from these adobe bricks.  This was a change from the cut stones the Cusco area.  Our last stop was the Ruins of Ollantaytambo.

ollantaytambo  Terraces.  These terraces are actually about 9 feet high.

o-ruins-20a  o-ruins-23a

o-ruins-24a  o-ruins-25a

o-ruins-60a

By now it was nearly 6 pm and Richard dropped us off at the train station.  We had a two and a half hour wait for the train and of we thought we would be spending it in a nice, warm train station.  Not.  The waiting area for the train consisted of cold, concrete benches down by the tracks.  With the sun gone down, it got cold.  We did our best to huddle together, reading books by flashlight, trying to keep warm.

More Pictures Colca Canyon Arequipa

mother-and-child1  I love this picture.  Peruvians love children.

viscacha  Viscacha   Look how well he blends into the rocks

best-condor  Condor

 

hawk-22  The Hawks seemed to love their pictures taken

hawk-31

hawk-6

hawk-7

 

 

  alpalca Alpaca  (Alpaca have short noses than Llamas and Vicunas)

can-i-take-him-home  Baby Vicuna

love-him  Can I please take him home????

look-how-short-she-is1  Normally I don’t consider myself tall but…….

even-tristan-looks-tall  Even Tristan is taller!

and-look-at-tessa And look at Tessa!

  This  rock is found overlooking the canyon.  The carvings on it are rock-carving   the blueprints for the terraces in the background.

colca-canyon-area-11  From the deep canyon, to the heights of the snowpeaks in one view!

colca-canyon-area1     colca-canyon-area-31

colca-canyon-terraces1  Agricultural terraces in the Valley

views-from-our-hotel-7  View from our Hotel  in Arequipa

snow-peaks-colca-canyon-2  Snowy peaks  snow-peaks-colca-canyon1

Peru/Chile Part 3 Colca Canyon (Best trip!) Arequipa Cusco

me-at-colca  Me in my new Peru sweater  (Don’t I look happy?)

 

 

Normally we don’t like group tours.  We prefer to come and go as we please.  Colca Canyon was an exception as we couldn’t work out for ourselves how to get there. It became the highlight of our trip.

My primary interest in Colca Canyon was to see the Condors.  This was one of the few habitats left for them in Peru.  These birds are a legend, living up to 50 years and having a wingspan up to 10 feet.  Because they are so heavy, weigh they tend to live near canyons, counting on the updrafts to keep them aloft.  In addition we would be seeing parts of the Colca Canyon, a canyon nearly the world’s deepest canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, and what we were later to find out, some really high altitude.

The bus came for us at 8:30am.  We had checked out of the hotel and brought our bags along as we would head straight to the bus terminal after the tour, catching a bus for Cusco.  the price of the tour ($20.00 US per person) included the bus to Chivay, hotel room in Chivay, hike to the hot springs, a local folk dance, and the trip back at around 6pm the next evening.  I was still unable to keep any food in, so I knew I would not be eating that day.   Our guidewasIrene and she spoke good English.  Our first stop was a roadside cafe/arts, where Irene suggested we order the tea that would help with altitude sickness.  In addition, Dan and I had bought some Coca leaves, which Irene showed us how to use.  You take a group of leaves, strike them with a rock that has some limestone in it, then put the leaves in your mouth.  After a few minutes your cheek will become numb.  We made a few stops along the way to see the Alpalca and Llamas along the way.  By the second or third stop, there was no way I could get out of the bus.  Irene asked me how I was feeling.  I told her I didn’t think it was just altitude sickness, that it might be food poisoning.  I can’t remember the last time I had food poisoning, let alone had been sick!  But, I did eat the raw spinach at the restaurant in Arequipa (I was the only one) and I think that was it.  Luckily a fellow traveller came to my aid.  A guy named Graham, a nurse from England, asked me what was wrong.  He told me he had something that might help. It was called Cipro.  Cipro!  Only the best, strongest antibiotic in the world!  He said his friend Tony, sitting next to him, had the same symptoms before, and he took a Cipro and it really helped.  He starts assuring me they are safe and reading me the fact sheet, but all I’m hearing is Cipro and I really want it!!!  Sure enough, about an hour later, problem solved.  But now the true altitude sickness kicks in.  At one point, Tristan goes to the world’s highest bathroom and records, with his GPS,  an altitude of over 16000 feet!  Let the nausea and headaches begin!!  We stopped for lunch and I waited outside while the rest of the group ate.  Dan started getting sick at that point.  After a late lunch we headed to our Hostel for the night.  Irene said she would be leading a group hiking to the hot springs in an hour, but Dan and I were in no shape for it. 

We were staying in a Hostel, not a hotel, so that meant single beds for all.  Our room was clean, but small, just enough room for 4 single beds.  Dan and I didn’t care.  Our heads hurt so bad all we wanted to do was sleep.  There  was no TV in our room, or in the Hostel, so it was up to the kids to entertain themselves.  The heat hadn’t come on yet, so it was cold, but the bed had about 4 heavy blankets on it.  It was warm under the covers.  The kids had to entertain themselves.  When I woke up later, the room was dark, Tristan was under the blankets reading the Lonely Planet guide with a flashlight and Tessa was under the blankets with the IPOD.  Dan and I seemed to be getting worse.  I remembered I had the altitude sickness pills, but I thought I only bought a few and I wanted to save them for our trip to Machu Picchu (which I later learned is much lower than where we’ve been!).  Finally I broke down, got the pills our and Dan and I took 1.  That was when I noticed I had actually bought ten pills.  Within the next 2 hours we started feeling better and by morning, after a much needed hot shower,  we took another pill and really felt good. 

Thank goodness, because today was all about the scenery.

Chivay is a unique town.  It technically sits in a valley, but the valley is at an altitude of 3630 feet (11909 feet).   to put that in perspective,  Chivay valley is higher than the mountains at Vail Colorado.  As the bus took us toward where would see the Condors, we pass rings of terraces surrounding the valley and rippling up the mountains.  the agriculture here is amazing.  Peru grows over 1700 varieties of POTATOES.  Can you believe it?  Also on the hillsides, corn, quinoa and onions are grown.  The terraces follow a plan that was laid down over 500 years ago by the Incas.  The lower level is the corn and further up the mountain, hardier vegetables like potatoes.  Even at the lower level, it’s still cold at night for corn, so the Incas came up with a great idea.  They surrounded the square fields with thick fences of rock.  During the day, the sun heats up the rocks, and at night, the wind blows the heat off the rocks and keeps the crops warm.  They invented their own microclimate. 

The scenery here is truly breathtaking.  At certain vantage points, you can see the Canyon and the darkness of its depths, and then look up and see snow capped peaks.  Amazing!  Most importantly, you can feel the mountains.  Really feel them.  And it’s a great feeling.  Like someone loving, watching over you, protecting you.  The mountains feel very much alive and they are.  They are still growing, one guide told us over 10 feet per year (though I’m not sure how accurate that is).  It’s easy to see how the Inca’s thought of them as Gods. They have an energy you can’t forget.

Our bus arrived at Condor Crossing around 9:30 am.  This was the best time to see the Condors.  We weren’t disappointed.  Within a few minutes of our arrival, a huge condor flew right over our head.  We oohed and awed for awhile, then got back into the bus for the second viewing location, where we stayed for an hour.  Here we were rewarded with a male, female and a juvenile condor.  Watching these enormous birds glide so easily on the updrafts from the canyon, you can’t believe they can weigh nearly 30 pounds.  Not to be outdone, a few hawks came by and  demonstrated their gliding ability as well as their ability to hold themselves motionless, in one spot in the air, as their sharp eyes raked the mountainside for food.  We had quite the show!

 condor-6  Condors

condor-3

condor-2

 

Before we headed back to the bus, Tessa and I did a little shopping with the ladies who had set up their wares along the roadside.  I bought a sweater, gloves and a scarf for Tessa and I.  The sweaters were supposed to be hand knit Alpaca.  I’m not sure if it was Alpaca or wool, but at $8.00 US for a sweater, and $2.00 for the gloves, it was a bargain.  Plus, they were so soft and so warm, and they turned out to be lifesavers over the next few weeks.

woman-selling-colca-canyon  Women selling their handicrafts

peru-woman-colca-canyon1

roadside-colca-canyon  Roadside shopping while Tristan checks the altitude with his GPS

It was more great scenery as we headed back toward Arequipa.  The tour bus was due in around 6pm and we were to catch our overnight bus to Cuscoat9 pm.  Along the way back, our tour bus stopped and picked up another tour guide Judy.  She had been leading a hiking group up to the top of the volcano El Misti.  She sat in the back of the bus with us and  overheard me asking Dan (a school teacher from New York) and Graham about a good place to stay in Cusco, as we were headed there tonight.  She interupted and asked me if I had checked to make sure the bus was still going.  Apparently, there was a protest in Juliaca (which we had to go through) and the roads were blocked. 

We had read on the news two weeks before that this had happened.  The farmers were mad about something to do with water rights.  We never got a good answe, mostly because this happens quite frequently, according to Judy.  Thrproblemwas tourists may not know about it until too late.  Here’s the problem.  If you are on the bus and you run into a protest area, the bus won’t go on, and you are left on the roadside in a protest, no refund, no transportation.  If you ask before leaving “Hey.   Any protests, anywhere, I might need to know about?”  They  have to tell you, and give you a choice to rebook or take your chances.  It’s a “If they don’t ask, you don’t have to tell” policy. 

But our bus line Cruz del  Sur  was one of the more expensive ones in Peru, well researched by Tristan just so we wouldn’t have these kinds of issues, (or robberies, or buses going off cliffs, you get the idea).  Really Tristan’s research consisted of part gut instinct and which bus looked the newest and coolest. 

Hey it worked.

When we checked in that night we were  told the bus was cancelled.  We would have to go the next night instead.  The really bad news?  Our seats on this bus was the fully reclining VIP seat, as it was  a nine hour overnight trip.  Those seats for the next night, and the night after that were all booked.  So we were back in our “nearly fully reclining seat” called a semi cama.   At first, she was not going to refund the difference in the ticket amount.  She was as equally surprised that we expected her to as we were that she thought she wasn’t going to.  After a call to her supervisor, we were refunded the difference.

Now we needed a hotel for the night.  The easiest choice was back to Posada de San Juan.  The hotel was fine.  It was a great location, free transport from the bus station, (although taxis in Peru are cheap, around $1.50 US), our room had the amazing view of the volcano, but the front desk people spoke next to no English.  Dan and I differed on our feelings on this.  He felt that since they held themselves out as a tourist hotel, they should speak good English.  I am more of the “We are in a Spanish country, we should speak more Spanish.”  What really got me though was the girls at the front desk, in addition to speaking no English, were low talkers.  I mean they spoke so quietly, I couldn’t ever hear them let alone try to interpret them.  Plus, one of the other ladies there had yelled at Tristan for being on the computer, yelling at him in Spanish.  Tristan figured out she thought he was playing games when he was actually looking up the bus schedule.   Linda  (our Australian friend) explained to them later what he was doing.  Anyway, back to the hotel, back to the same room.  After settling in we dashed across the street for a quick bite.  Dan had the Lomo Saltaldo, and we ordered 2 Fried Rice dishes.  The portions were huge. We couldn’t finish them.  The total price?  $3.00 US.  Unbelievable.  And no one got sick later!

It was actually good to spend another day in Arequipa as we got to see more of the city.  Linda also helped us find a lavenderia to have our clothes washed.  There was one at the hotel, but they were line dried and we were leaving that night.  Also there was one across the street but Linda said that wasn’t a good one.  So she proceeded to take us on a ten block tour trying to find one that was open.  I didn’t think Dan was going to make it.  She walked so fast (another trait of Peruvians, they are quiet and fast)  that he, carrying the heavy bag of laundry at an altitude,  nearly had a heart attack.  Linda was trying to be so helpful, but really she was taking us so far from the hotel, and seemingly wandering in circles, all the while telling us horror stories of Cusco and how people there will “squirt mustard on us and steal our wallets”  or “Slash our backpacks” or  “Watch your children”  and “Don’t even think about wearing an expensive watch there!”  Trying to keep track of the  “do’s and don’t’s  of Cusco”  keeping an eye on Dan’s deteriorating medical condition, and trying to remember how to get back to the hotel, well, it was a little overwhelming.  Every time  I would try to sneak into the conversation that “wasn’t there a laundry across the street from the hotel”, my words fell on deaf ears.  Dan, staggering behind us by about ten feet  is getting very testy though.  He’s stopped being subtle. 

“This is crazy!  There’s a laundry right across from the hotel!”  I shot him a look that told him to stop being rude.  Diane just went on in her Australian accent  “You want to have one that doesn’t wash your clothes with someone else’s.  That’s a trick you know!  They’ll mess up your laundry.  You don’t want your clothes coming out a different color eh?”

I turn to Dan.  “Eh?  Want your clothes a different color?”

We keep going.  Every corner it’s the same.  “One more block this way.”    Behind us Dan is getting louder.  “This is stupid!”  I’m stuck listening to more of Linda’s life story about everything negative that happened to her, hoping she won’t hear Dan.

Dan:  “This is stupid!”

Me:  “Really!  Took all your money huh?”

Dan:  getting louder “I’m going back!”

Me:  “Really!  Stole your house and your husband?  Incredible!”

Dan:  “I mean it!”

Me: “You don’t say!  Just squirt mustard on you and take your money?”

Dan: “Carla”

Me:  “Really!  Your hair just caught on fire huh?”

Finally, we arrive at the laundry, which, after all the circling around, ends up being only 5 blocks from the hotel. 

dan-and-carla-colca-canyon  Dan and I having a great time!

best-family-colca-canyon

vicunas Vicuna

tessa-colca-canyon1  Look at those snow peak mountains in the background

what-a-view  Incredible views

helping-mom-colca-canyon1  Helping Mom at work

mom-and-baby  Mom and baby Vicuna

view-from-our-hotel-el-misti  El Misti  Volcano.  Notice the snow is melted off the peak.  It’s a semi active volcano

view-from-our-hotel-arequipa-1  More snow peak mountains from our hotel

moon-over-arequipa  Moon over Arequipa