After leaving Quito, we had a 10-hour layover in the city of Lima- since it was at night, we didn’t have the opportunity to explore the area. We hopped off the plane, but we couldn’t find the man who was supposed to pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel. I tried converting big Peruvian bills into small ones, then attempted to use a pay phone, but I was sincerely struggling so a man who was watching me allowed me to use his cell phone to call the hotel. Eventually it all worked out, thank goodness! The hotel even had *hot* water for showers, something to take advantage of.
We got up way too early at 3am to head to the airport and catch our 6am flight. The same taxi driver drove us back from the hotel to the airport, and he hadn’t slept all night- quite a terrifying ride! The flight is short from Lima to Cusco, which is the base camp for anything Machu Picchu or surrounding area. We got to the Airbnb at 9am and our host had us drinking coca tea within minutes or arriving. Coca tea is an essential drink in Cusco, as it is at an altitude of 11,000+ ft; the tea is supposed to alleviate the effects of high altitude, such as headaches, dizziness, stomachaches, fatigue, etc. A box of coca tea in Ecuador costs about $6, while in Cusco it only costs $1- so we had to stock up while we were there. The tea is served for all meals and all times of the day, so it’s quite hard to pass up. In the afternoon, we headed to a Free Walking Tour of Cusco. It wasn’t as good as the other walking tours we have done, but it oriented us to the city while learning a bit about the history. Cusco used to be the capital of the Incan Empire, and it was considered middle of the world. That is why Cusco and Quito have a “rivalry”- Quito is literally located in middle earth, but Cusco was once the center of everything Incan. After the tour, we got Chinese food for dinner at 4:00pm and headed to bed straight after. That’s how tired traveling can make you- we slept probably 12 hours that night.
The next day we enjoyed sleeping in, and we spent the day just walking around the city: to the immensely large central market, to the holiday artisan fair in the main square, to the Coca museum in the trendier San Blas neighborhood. For dinner, Mitchell got a toasted lomo saltado sandwich, which he claimed was the best sandwich of his entire life. Lomo saltado is basically a spicy meat dish with fries and veggies, and he probably ordered a lomo saltado at least once a day throughout the entire vacation. And every lomo saltado was the best lomo saltado he had ever eaten… After dinner, we headed to a popular pub in town for a few drinks. Adrianna and I got drinks that were hard to swallow because they were so sweet, but we had a good, relaxing time as a family. However, we saw a University of Michigan flag in the pub, and our next thought was that the bar needed an Ohio State flag next. I guess we’ll have to return one day.
The following morning was our big day to Machu Picchu. We woke up bright and early at 4:30, took an Uber to the train station around 20 minutes away, and made it onto the train after Mom thinking she forgot the passports and nearly experiencing a breakdown. The Inca Rail train took around 3 hours from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the town that is situated in the middle of the mountains for access to Machu Picchu. We had lunch in town with plenty more ají and lomo saltado for Mitchell. We then took a 3 hour nap after again being so tired, then decided to head down to the Mariposaria, or butterfly house around a half hour away. Adrianna truly enjoyed this part of the trip, and we actually did learn a lot about the different types of butterflies and poisonous caterpillars in the area. A dinner and delicious ice cream ended our day, all of us going to bed early.
Christmas Day was the day we chose to enter Machu Picchu. We woke up at 4:30 again, headed down to the bus station, and after 20 minutes were at the entrance. Adrianna forgot her bus return ticket as well as MP entrance ticket in the bus seat pocket…luckily I was able to ask MP employees and they searched her passport number and were able to re-print the tickets. After entering, we hired a guide who walked us thru all the ruins so we could learn about the history of MP. The Incas chose this spot atop the mountains for security purposes and for a retreat for the king; it was constructed over the course of 90 years and it was never finished, as we could tell by the architecture. 80% of the original ruins still stand because the Incas built their walls at angles to avoid destruction from earthquakes- pretty amazing the technology and intelligence the Incas possessed. The Incas knew that Spanish conquistadors were on their way to destroy the city in the mid 1500’s, so they fled the city; for this reason, the ruins were never discovered until centuries later.
Throughout the entire morning, the rain was off and on, and the clouds were covering the ruins. However, around noon, the clouds started to lift and the sun was poking through the clouds. At this time, we started our ascent of Huayna Picchu, which is the large mountain that is often depicted in many MP pictures. It is 2,500 steps up, and is not a trail but rather one large staircase. Mom was not very happy with us for making her do this, and we captured some pretty hysterical pictures of her being angry. She stated that the hike “lost its fun a long time ago.” However, she did make it to the top! She claimed herself to be the “8th Wonder of the World” and that it was “A Christmas Miracle”. We were incredibly lucky to have a clear view of the citadel from atop this viewpoint. It could not have been more perfect. Mom surprised us with a Merry Christmas banner and Santa hats for some great photo ops at the top as well. We sadly had to go back down after around a half hour-hour because we had to catch the train back from Aguas Calientes to Cusco at 3pm. Once back in Cusco, we ate a delicious dinner out and crashed, happy to be back in comfortable beds.
The following day, we had delicious manjar (more or less dulce de leche) crepes for breakfast and some more coca tea. It was a cold and rainy day, but we had dropped off all our laundry to be cleaned so we had no jackets with us that were clean. We headed to a café for coffee and dessert to warm up, but around this time Adrianna got hit hard with altitude sickness. She had no problem the first few days or at MP, but she was out of commission at this time. She had headache, nausea, fatigue, and could barely move herself. Mom took her home, while Mitchell and I decided to go to the feria to buy alpaca sweaters for bargain prices. We couldn’t pass it up! For the night, we headed to a new pub where Mitchell could buy the Guinness that he was craving. Once home, we rekindled our interest in playing Words With Friends…. We played between family members for a few hours… how embarrassing.
The next morning was our travel day from Cusco to Lima to Santiago, Chile. I studied abroad 3.5 years ago in Valparaiso, so we were headed to visit my host family. However, we were sad to leave Peru. The indigenous Quechua culture was highly present in Cusco, and the colors, traditions, and friendliness everywhere made us want to stay longer. The Andean cultures are so breathtaking, and I am so grateful that we had the chance to experience it as a family. Plus, we enjoyed all of the llamas and alpacas during our time in Peru 🙂
