Just Kidding....Lots of Rain

Today we are supposed to fly from Cusco to Arequipa where we will spend the remainder of our time in Peru. Our plane leaves in about two hours but it is pouring which may mean no flight for us. It is the start of the rainy season (though the official start date is the 15th of December) and there is the definite possibility that we could spend the rest of our time here in Cusco-which wouldn't necessarily be bad.



To continue from my last post (we did indeed find pancakes) on our way to Macchu Picchu, we stopped at the Pisac market which is ultra touristy but also retains some authenticity as Quechua-speaking women are also there with their produce. The market is huge and one could spend hours on end there. We only got one hour but managed to do some damage. Just about anything you could want is available there, as well as a few things you don't. We also ran into some of our housemates who were trying to get to Macchu Picchu without much luck. We hooked them up with our guide who gave them instructions on the best method to get there. It is sort of ironic that we keep meeting up with people from the house, however, there is a definite path that most tourists follow called the "Gringo Trail". It is annoying in one way, but at least we had a bit of a more authentic experience by staying in Ayacucho for two weeks and of course by volunteering at our placements.



After the market, we drove to Ollantaytambo which is one of the most well-preserved examples of an Inca village. The little town was beautiful, with amazing stonework and the original drainage system still in tact. The Incas were very into straight lines and cleanliness....they would probably be diagnosed with OCD today. From Ollantaytambo, we took the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes, also known as Macchu Picchu Pueblo, and the jumping off point to visit the ruins. The train ride wound down into the cloud forest of the jungle, following the Rio Urubamba all the way. At many points, we couldn't see the ground below us and it looked like the train was floating on mid-air. There were lots of great tunnels cut straight through the mountains and bromeliads contrasted with mile-high snow capped peaks. After about an hour and a half, we reached Aguas Calientes. The Lonely Planet guide had described this town as unpleasant with uncontrolled development, however, I found it one of the cutest little places we've been. There are no cars in Aguas Calientes, only the train tracks, and the Aguas Calientes river cuts through the main square before shortly meeting the Rio Urubamba in a raging torrent. We stayed at Gringo Bill's, a hostel run by Margarita and her son Lawrence as Gringo Bill is no longer in the picture. We loved the atmosphere and our rooms were the most comfortable so far. Unfortunately, we only had one night there.



The next morning we got up bright and early to take the bus to the ruins. The bus went through tropical scenery at break-neck speed, around switchbacks on the edge of the cliffs. We did, however, make it in one piece. I was disappointed when our guide strongly urged against hiking up Waynu Picchu, but once we started up just the basic trail to the ruins, I realized he was more than right. The Incas were obviously extremely healthy and fit people. Everywhere is stone steps and steep inclines. In fact, our guide said that the people in the Andean highlands today, Incan descendants, have more blood and larger hearts and lungs than those of us that live at reasonable altitudes. Macchu Picchu itself was beyond words. The shear immensity of the scenery surrounding the site is overwhelming. Wandering through the ruins and imagining what life was like here 500 years ago is something I could do all day. And here again one finds the attention to detail in the stonework and the ingenuity of a people that had their own "universities", sanitation systems, aqueducts, and hierarchy which allowed for the construction of these massive stone buildings. These are the same people that the Spanish felt were no better than animals-and treated them as such.



We spent about five hours at the ruins and by then we were sun burnt, out of water, and exhausted. We were only too happy to head back to the bus, then the train, then the private van back to Cusco for a good nights rest. Our guide bade us goodbye once we were back in Cusco as he needed to get back to his restaurant in Nazca. We consulted our guide books and chose to eat at Jack's Cafe in the San Blas district of Cusco. It was a fantastic meal, the first of several we have had here. I am always interested in trying the local foods, however, most Peruvian food seems to be spicy and laden with meat, two things that I am not fond of. So it has been a nice break to have some international choices while we are in Cusco. Touristy places do have some benefits, much as we hate to admit it.

Jenny