Peru (2008)

Day 1: Friday – March 28th, 2008

We woke up early in the morning. The luggages were already “parked” in the living room, as of last night. We had our morning coffee and a toasted bagel with crème cheese and headed to the airport with Emly. We boarded LAN Peru flight# 601 and landed eight hours later in Lima, the Capital of Peru.

Juan, the driver who was sent to pick us up was waiting outside the terminal. He gave us a brief description of the city: Lima was founded in 1535 and in a short period of time became the most important city in the Americas. Today, there are close to nine million inhabitants here, and the city shelters immigrants from all corners of the globe, which has transformed it into a mixed city par excellence. There are 3,000 Chinese restaurants in the city (they are called Chifas) and the Peruvian are just in love with Chinese Food. There are also many casinos in the city, all owned by South Koreans.

After a short drive we were at the Basadre Suits Hotel in the San Isidro District. The room was quite comfortable and as it turned out was the largest suite the

y have. It included a Jacuzzi inside the room and a balcony. We jumped into the hot Jacuzzi and spent the next hour enjoying the hot bubbling water.

As we got out of the spa (the time was around 2:00am), the earth started to shake. At the beginning I thought it was a train passing by, as the room shook a bit, but when the shaking lasted more than 15 seconds, we realized that an earthquake has just hit Lima.

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Day 2: Saturday – March 29th, 2008

We woke up at around 7:00 and as we were dressing up we felt the building was swaying from side to side. Another earthquake was upon us. This time it lasted 40 seconds (or more). I looked outside our balcony and saw the rest of the hotel’s guests and employees in the large yard, in the back of the hotel. They looked terrified.

At the reception desk they gave us some information: The first quake was a 4.8 magnitude and the 2nd one was a whopping 5.5 on the Richter scale. Peru has a history of earthquakes. The last major one (a 7.9 in the Richter scale) was in August of 2007 where some 1,000 people had lost their lives, 48 of them in Lima itself.

After a good breakfast, sitting alongside the hotel’s pool, we crossed the main street (Ave. Javier Prado Oeste), to reach the business district as we needed to use the ATM, and wanted to get familiar with the neighborhood. We also stopped at an awesome supermarket to buy water bottles. The place was nice, colorful, clean and neat. The homes around the neighborhood had electric fences and armed guards were stationed in most of them. We also saw a number of policemen patrolling the neighborhood, which brought to mind the following exchange: It is safe to walk here but why so many policemen?

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We returned to the hotel about an hour later to meet our tour guide (Veronika) and her driver (Marten) for our scheduled “city tour”, in a large mini bus.

We first stopped at the large Plaza San Martin, with fountains at its center. The Plaza has seen most of Lima's political rallies this century and the sight of rioting office workers and attendant police with water cannons and tear gas. In the center of the plaza we found the statue of General Jose San Martin, known as Santo de la Espada and the Knight of the Andes. The statue was erected in 1921. At the base of the statue I saw two women, Indian descent

(Quechan’s), who wore very peculiar hats. (I found out in the next few days that these hats were the common hats used by the Quechan’s women around Peru.)

We walked a short distance and arrived to Hotel Gran Bolivar, built in 1924 for the purpose to give services to the rich and famous. It had a beautiful ceiling

and a small museum.

We stopped at a nice church (forgot its name) where a wedding ceremony was going on and then walked on a beautiful street, leading to the Rimac River. Veronika mentioned to us that the river is most important source of potable water for the Lima Metropolitan Area. Next to the river we found arm police and soldiers protecting the Presidential Palace building.

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We continued to walk for about 5 minutes and arrived to the Plaza de Armas, (or Plaza

Mayor), which is the historical center of Lima. This is the original city center, founded in 1535, although almost all of the original structures were lost in the earthquake of 1746 where 5,000 people were killed and half of the city was destroyed. The only original structure remaining in the plaza is the beautiful bronze fountain in the center. This main square was reconstructed following the quake and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The plaza is beautiful in its unique South American colors and is super clean.

We entered the impressive, twin-towered Cathedral, founded in 1612 and largely rebuilt in the 19th Century having been repeatedly damaged by earthquakes and fire. Inside we found a fine Belgian organ and elaborately-carved wooden pulpit.

We continued our tour and arrived at the San Francisco Church and Convent. Hundreds of pigeons were flying around the church.

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This handsome eighteenth century colonial architectural complex is made up of the Church, Convent, and two chapels. Its Seville-tiled walkways and patios are outstanding, the old library is truly spectacular and the squared yard is breathtaking with many flowers and beautiful trees. In one of the rooms we found an 18th century painting of “The Last Supper”, Peruvian style. It was an interesting painting, as it was drawn by a South American, who had no information of prior paintings on the subject and created this painting purely by his imagination.

When we returned to the Plaza De Armas, a changing of the guards’ ceremony had started, inside the Presidential Palace, guarded by dozens of soldiers and secret police.

We found our van, parked by the Plaza and rode it to Huaca Pullana, the archaeological center, dates back to 200-700 AD. To our disappointed, we were not scheduled to visit the site. However, Veronika told us that since we are scheduled to visit the Cusco area the following week, we have not missed much by not entering the site.

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The time was 1:00pm when we arrived at a local seafood restaurant Alfresco, located not far

from the ocean for lunch. Veronika promised to return to pick us up in one hour. We ordered Ceviche, composed of chunks of raw fish, with lime, sliced onion, and the popular Andean chili. The mixture was marinated and served at room temperature along with chunks of corn-on-the-cob, and slices of cooked sweet potato. We also ordered a trout that was simply delicious and sipped the local popular drink: Pisco Sour, made of a brandy, lemon, and egg whites

At around 2:00 we finished our lunch and waited for the van to return. After 20 minutes we gave up on them, as they have not shown up and walked a short distance to the beach area, after telling the restaurant’s hostess that if anyone will be looking for us, to let them know we headed toward the beach.

We arrived to Parque Del Amor (The Park of Love), in the Miraflores neighborhood, where a huge statue, portraying two people kissing passionately, was in its middle.

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We learned that every year couples are coming to this park, in order to break the Guinness Book of Records of the “Longest Kiss”. The Park features some great, colorful mosaic tile walls, romantic quotes scripted in the walls, and great views to the famous Rosa Nautica Restaurant on the pier and the Pacific Ocean. We walked around between couples who were, kissing or snuggled close together. So romantic!!!

Around this time the van had arrived with an apologetic Veronika, who explained to us that they got stuck in traffic. Tova noticed that she was very pale, probably from worrying that we had disappeared or even worse. We asked her to wait for us as we walked to the nearby lighthouse standing tall on top of the cliffs.

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The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Artisans' Market, also called the Indian Market, which had a wide variety of handicrafts of varying quality, but at lower prices than most tourist-oriented shops in Lima, according to Veronika. We bought souvenirs, jewlery and gifts after haggling with each merchant, as it is a common practice in South America.

We were back in our hotel at around 4:30pm, very tired (or maybe it was the affects of the Pisco Sour?) and very happy (must be the Pisco Sour!).

We were sound asleep at 7:00!!

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Day 3: Sunday– March 30th, 2008

We woke up at 3:30am and after grabbing a delicious cappuccino in the hotel’s dining room. Juan showed up to take us to the airport as we were scheduled to spend the

next couple of days in the Puno area.

The flight to Juliaca (via Cusco) lasted about 3 hours and we landed at the airport around 9:30. A trio of singers greeted us at the terminal, singing & playing some folklore songs. A driver was waiting for us.

Juliaca is the region's largest city. It is located at 3,825 meters (12,550 ft) above sea level. We drove through the center of town and witnessed soldiers and civilians marching to commemorate something (don’t know what). I asked the driver to stop as I followed them to the city's center, taking some nice pictures of the participants and the locals.

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What caught my eyes was a strange vehicle called Mototaxi, the popular transport in the countryside of Peru. It is actually a 3 wheels moped covered with some garment (essentially a rickshaw on a motorcycle), which is very economic and maneuvers around the narrow streets of the villages very efficiently.

At one point we stopped to pick up our tour guide, Genova, and continued to our first attraction stop: Sillustani - an ancient burial ground near Lake Titikaka, located 4,000 meters (13.123 ft) above sea level and overlooking the Umayo Lagoon. We climbed a small hill and discovered some tombs on top of it. Genove explained to us that the reason the tombs are built above the ground, has much symbolism. The tombs are called chullpas and were built centuries ago by the Inca and pre-Inca civilizations.

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The inside of the tombs are shaped like a woman’s uterus. The ancient people in Peru believed in

a mother earth that created and regulated life. When a person died, they were mummified in the fetal position, just like they came into the world. The doors of the tombs face east, because it is believed that that is where the sun is born each and everyday. Some of the tombs were blown up by grave robbers, looking for treasures.

We discovered that our tour guide’s knowledge of English was very limited. As it turned out she knew (by heart) the whole script of the ruins in Sillustani but when we started to talk to her and asked questions she did not understand what we really said.

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We returned to our van and per our request (English and sign language!) stopped in the village nearby to visit a local family.

We were welcomed to a 2 units home, made of bricks, and met the couple who lives there along with their son (who sleeps with his parents) and the grandmother. In order to make a living they work in the adjacent field and grow corn, which some of it is consumed by them as they barter the rest with their neighbors for milk, rice, and other necessities. The woman offered us lunch, which includes goat cheese, potato and some grains. It was delicious!! We took some pictures of the family, the hut, the outside kitchen and their pets: a couple of llamas and some guinea pigs.

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The guinea pigs are raised by Peruvian families as pets and are also considered as a delicacy in many kitchens (Which in my opinion may cause a big dilemma). We gave the couple a nice tip, which was a lot for this family, who kept thanking us by holding our hand with both of their hands. Tova told me later that she thinks this couple made enough money with our tip to last them for a long while, as they do not really need any money to keep on living. There is no electricity, nor running water; they do not have to pay any taxes and there is no mortgage, as the farm was there for hundreds of years.

We continued our drive and arrived at the gates of Puno where we stopped, at the city’s entrance on top of a mountain for a few minutes, to absorb the beauty of the city lying alongside the mountains and kissing Lake Titikaka at the bottom.

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The city, whose full name is San Carlos de Puno, was founded in 1668 following the discovery of nearby silver mines and it has the title of 'Folkloric Capital of Peru'

As we drove through the streets of the city, we felt as we are driving in the poorest place on earth. The opened sewer, the dirty streets, the barefooted kids running in the streets, the look on the people faces, and the many stray (and very skinny) dogs and cats made an impression on us that we will probably carry for a long time.

We found the Casa Andina Hotel at the other end of the city and it was as if we crossed into a different world, when we found luxury and cleanness all around the 4 stars hotel, situated on the bank of Titikaka Lake, with breathtaking views from any corner. A hostess offered us some delicious tea as we entered the hotel’s lobby. As it turned out the tea was made of Coca Leaves.

We said goodbye to Genova and were relieved to know that tomorrow we will have a different guide, who speaks better English. We checked-in and decided to have lunch and visit some attractions in the city.

The hotel’s receptionist was very cautious when we asked her to recommend a restaurant in the city and super cautious about where we go and what we see. She stopped a mini bus for us on the main road, and instructed the driver to drop us in downtown next to the Cathedral on Calle Lime street.

Upon arrival, we walked in the main street and found a nice Italian restaurant, La Fontana, recommended by another tourist we met on the street and after a very good late lunch we walked around the downtown, visiting the open market, shopped around, and then decided to walk the 3 miles stretch back to the hotel. At one point we saw many locals sitting around in a circle. A policeman explained to us (in perfect English) that this gathering takes place each Sunday and it gives an opportunity to the people to listen to the city’s leaders talking about the issues of the city.

We arrived to our hotel an hour later and both agreed that except for the city’s desirable geography, it is an unimpressive place without any chance for a better future as if it was God forgotten city.

We used the internet facilities in the hotel for the next hour and then went to our room.

It was a rough night for me as I suffered from high altitude illness (Puno’s altitude is about 3,800 meters or 12,467 ft above sea level), which made my breathing very difficult.

Note: I remembered that a few weeks ago Donovan from Simply Peru, the company we used to organize this trip, warned me about it and told me that the major cause of altitude illnesses is going too high too fast. Given time, he added, your body can adapt to the decrease in oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 3-4 days at that altitude. This is why he suggested to visit Puno first as we were scheduled to walk the 45 kilometers Inca Trail in a few days.

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Day 4: Monday– March 31st, 2008

A beautiful day welcomed us when we woke up at 5:30am. However, the symptoms of the high altitude illness were upon me, which included breathing difficulties and loss of appetite. Tova packed my breakfast, as I could not swallow anything through my mouth.

Roberto, our guide for today, was waiting in the lobby. We crossed the bridge, at the back of the hotel, and arrived to our private boat. The captain, a 70 plus years old Indian and his son (both from the island Taquile) welcomed us to the boat and we started to tour in the deep blue Lake Titikaka, located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 meters (12,507 ft) above sea level making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America.

The captain, despite his older age, was very active. He kept attending the boat’s motor, constantly cleaning the front windshield, by climbing the boat’s hood, and in some occasions became the boat’s compass (as they did not have a modern compass on the boat), by standing tall on top of the boat’s hood and directing the driver (his son) to maneuver the boat between some reed passages.

Roberto was very informative, and spoke pretty good English.

He gave us the “whole story” and the legend about the lake: Lake Titikaka was, according to Andean legend, the birthplace of civilization. Wiracocha, the creator god, brought light into a dark world by directing the Sun, Moon and stars to rise up out of the lake and take their place in the sky. With time the Sun and Moon had children who also rose from the depths of the lake. These new people were sent out from Titikaka to the four corners of the earth, with Manco Capac and his sister-wife Mama Ocllo and their family clan being sent off to inhabit the Cusco region. Inca legend believed that Manco was the first Inca and a direct descendent from the Sun.

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The supposed location in Titikaka of the birthplace of the Sun, Moon and Manco Capac is actually on the Bolivian side of the

lake on the islands Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) and Isla de la Luna (Island of the Moon).

At one point Roberto pulled out a “weird” calendar out of his briefcase. The calendar had 13 different months. He explained to us the theory about the Inca Calendar: Instead of 12 months which are 28, 30, or 31 days long, the year was instead measured into 13 periods, each one with an even 28 days for the total of 364 days - plus 1 "day out of time," a day of celebration and forgiveness, to acknowledge the passing year and welcome in the new year.

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We sailed for about 45 minutes and arrived to our first attraction: The Reed Islands.

The floating islands are solely made out of reed. There are about 40 of such islands and 3,000 people live on them. The Uros created these islands to avoid conflict with other tribes (including the Incas) and started doing this over 600 years ago. The islands are, depending on their age, somewhere between 3 and 17 meter deep and need constant maintenance, in form of a fresh reed layer, every couple of weeks. Normally the islands have reed buildings on top (basically everything is made out of reed) and the reed is even used as a food source. Some of the bigger islands have “proper” buildings which include a post office and a school and one island has a telephone, to be used in case of emergencies.

The beauty about these reed islands is that if you have a disagreement with another family on the island then you can saw off your bit of the island and start a new one. (Just kiddin’).

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We arrived to one of the islands, greeted by four families.

Roberto gave us a brief explanation on how they live, barter their goods with other islands, how they cook, fish and maintain their homes. We noticed that the women were wearing layers of colorful skirts and Roberto told us that the skirts are made from hand-woven wool cloth called bayeta; Women may wear 3 or 4 skirts in a graduated layer effect. On special occasions, such as festivals, women may wear up to 15 layers!

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We boarded the boat and Roberto asked the captain to stop at another reed floating island, so he could say hello to his friends (or maybe relatives).

We continued for about another one and a half hours and arrived at the beautiful Island of Taquile, sitting about 28 miles from Puno. We started to tour the island and Roberto provided us with the following information:

There are about 1,700 people (400 families)

on the island, known as Taquileños, and they are Quechua speakers, which was also Roberto’s native language. (Taquile, whose Quechua name is Intika, was part of the Inca Empire). The island, which has a number of Inca ruins, was one of the last locations in Peru to surrender to Spanish domination during the Spanish conquest of Peru. It was captured and then passed to Count Rodrigo of Taquila, who inspired the island's current name.

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The Spanish wore traditional dress and the islanders adopted the Spanish peasant dress that they are known for and still using today. The men wear wool hats and the colors of the hats represent their marital status (light colors mean a bachelor and dark color means married). The men of the island are specialist weavers and the women, besides taking care of the household are very talented merchants. All of the island population is vegetarians most of the year (they eat meat only on special holidays.)

Another interesting fact was that each family deposits their income to the “village account” and their elected treasurer manages the budget of the whole island as a whole, which means that, they all working for one purpose: better future to the island.

Upon hearing us huffing and puffing when we walked uphill, Roberto mentioned to us that chewing Coca Leaves makes the blood vessels wider and Oxygen flows more freely. He said that most of the people who live in high altitude in Peru adopt this method. (Coca Leaves are illegal outside Peru, since when mixed with some chemicals, it becomes Cocaine). The way to use them is to take three leaves and place them between the teeth and the upper gum in both side of your mouth. Once they are mixed with your saliva, you then swallow the liquid.

Another important piece of information was about the Quinoa grains, which has been an important food for 6,000 years and is part of the Peruvian dietary supplement as it has been proven to reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure. The Peruvians eat the grains three times a day! Europe and the rest of the world have just started to find out the qualities of the grains and Peru exports the grain in large quantities.

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We walked around the beautiful and peaceful island and after a steep climb (300 steps), arrived at the island Main Square. Tova purchased wool gloves and we also made it to the grocery store and bought the Coca Leaves (the cost was a ridicules one dollar for a bag’s full!).

We climbed some more steps to reach the island’s peak of 3,900 meters (12,795 ft) and settled down in a nice, cozy restaurant overlooking the magnificent lake. In the horizons we identified the hills of neighboring Bolivia. The lunch included Quinoa soup, salad, cooked vegetables, a trout fish and local (yellow) potatoes along with Inca Cola (Very tasty) and the cost for all three of us was $12. Roberto, upon entering the restaurant, was helping the owner setup some tables and even waited on some table. The owner is one of his good friends, he explained to us.

We walked (downhill) to our awaiting boat and sailed away from the beautiful island. As we approached Puno, strong wind, rain and huge waves welcomed us.

The Captain took 3 leaves of Coca Leaves from his pouch and used them as offering to Mother Earth along with a dance and a prayer. He then took a bottle of alcohol (of some sort) and after whistling by blowing his lip at the bottle opening, he offered some of the alcohol to Mother Earth, by pouring some of the beverage into the lake and drinking the rest. To our surprise (and shock) the wind had calmed down in a matter of minutes. Seriously!

We arrived to our hotel at around 6:00pm, used the Internet once again and went to bed. Once again I suffered from breathing difficulties. It seems that the symptoms are stronger when you lay down.

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Day 5: Tuesday – April 1st, 2008

Once again I could not swallow my breakfast and once again Tova packed it “to go”. I decided to try out the leaves we bought yesterday and about an hour later I felt 300% better!

The driver,

who picked us up a couple of days ago from the airport, showed up and took us to Puno’s Central Bus Station, where we boarded the first class and very comfortable Inka Express, anticipating our ride to Cusco. The bus offered a variety of drinks and snacks and had a hostess plus a tour guide for the entire trip. It also had a semi comfortable bathroom. All of the passengers were tourists from the four corners of the world.

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Along the way we stopped in five different locations:

Pucara, where we visited the Lithic Museum. This museum allowed us to appreciate the evolution of Andean people from the first men until the Inca's time and had few statues and paintings from the Inca times. We also visited the local unique church in the main square of the city.

La Raya, the highest point of our route (and the entire Peru trip), at 4,335 meters above sea level (14,222 feet)

Sicuani, a town 4,000 meters above sea level (13,123 feet) known for its Indian markets for llama skins and alpaca wool. There we stopped for lunch, which was buffet style and offered many kind of Peruvian dishes. It was surprisingly very tasty and included typical Andean choices as well as International cuisine; the choices included legumes, grains, vegetables, red and white meats, and delicious desert plates.

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Raqchi, the highlight of the day, where we saw the Temple of Wiracocha, an enormous two-story roofed structure, which consists of a central wall about 20 meters in height with a row of twelve columns on each side. Prior to its destruction by the Spaniards, the temple had what is believed to be the largest single roof in the Incan Empire, having its peak at the central wall, then stretching over the columns and some 25 meters beyond on each side. Adjoining the temple to the north were the living quarters, which would have housed both priests and local administrators.

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Andahuaylillas, a town located at 45 km southeast of Cusco;

it has a Church, by the name of San Pedro that keeps one of the most valuable jewels of the colonial art in Peru. The interior of the Church is an explosion of Baroque art with great quantity of decorations. It was built in 1631, and has the nickname of the “Sistine Chapel of Peru”. There were people inside and outside the church attending funeral services.

The 9 hours ride came to a conclusion when we arrived to the Central Bus Station in Cusco. A driver was waiting for us with a sign and we climbed into a nice van, which took us to the Casa Andina hotel (They have hotels all over the country!) in a nice section of Cusco. Five minutes walk from Plaza De Armas.

After checking in the beautiful and elegant hotel and after drinking the traditional coca leaves tea we walked to a busy street, had dinner in a local Café’ (some dough’s filled with fried onions, mushrooms and other vegetables, sweet cakes and cappuccino for the total of $5).

We returned to our hotel at 9:00, had a Pisco Sour at the hotel’s bar, checked our email and then went to sleep. This was the best night sleep I had had in the last couple of days. Looks like I got acclimated at last!! (Or was it the Coca Leaves?)

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Day 6: Wednesday – April 2nd, 2008

We woke up at 7:30 and headed to the dining room, which offered a large variety of dishes for breakfast. With my appetite back I filled up my stomach with delicious food. Tova noticed that the dining room has some bowls and plates made out of ceramic and are not “touristy”. She made it a mission to find those ceramic plates and purchase them!

Our itinerary indicated that we are “free” until 1:30pm and we decided to walk the city streets. Cusco (navel in the Quechua language) is located at an altitude of over 3,300 meters above sea level (11,000 ft) in the heart of the Andes Mountains. It is also known to be the capital of the ancient Inca Empire, and it has served as a travelers’ Mecca for hundreds of years.

We started our tour at Plaza de Armas, very much the hub of the city, looking and admiring the Baroque style structure of the main Cathedral and the beautiful fountain,

in the middle of the square (We will return to the square later on, with our tour guide). We then strolled on Av. El Sol, the main street of the city,

which is a wide boulevard with official offices such as the main court house, main post office, many small shops, cafés and more. We stopped at a magnificent fountain, which marks the start of the avenue when entering the city. It has a symbolic image of the sun over a water fountain.

We continued to stroll and arrived to the huge Manco Capac Statue.

It was dedicated to the first king of Cusco: According to the Inti legend, Manco Cápac and his siblings were sent up to the earth by the sun god and emerged from a cave carrying a golden rock and instructed to create a Temple of the Sun in Cusco. They traveled to Cusco via underground caves and there built the Temple.

On a mountain, overlooking the avenue, we noticed another statue and decided to climb all the way up there to see the statue up close. We walked in narrow streets and then climbed some 300 steps to reach the top of the mountain. The climb was hard (to say the least) as we had problems breathing. Few Coca Leaves took care of the problem though.

When we arrived to the statue we found out that it was that of the moon: Mamakilla. The statue is looking directly at Manco Capac statue down below, as if she is watching over him and giving him strength. The view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking. The entire city of Cusco was out there at the palm of our hands with all its beauty.

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After a short break we started to walk back to our hotel stopping at a local market, used by the locals) and shopped for a backpack. We also looked (but did not find) those ceramic plates Tova saw at the hotel. We arrived at the hotel to meet Hilda, our new tour guide for the next couple of days.

Our first stop was at the Cathedral in Plaza De Armas.

Cusco's Cathedral was one of the most impressive churches that I have ever visited. Hilda told us that construction of the Cathedral began in 1560 and was completed a hundred years later. The Cathedral houses an impressive collection of art work, with over 400 paintings. These paintings from the 16th and 17th century are unique in that they are European style with an obvious Andean Indian influence. We were impressed by the 400 kg main altar made from silver, the cedar choir stalls, and other wood carvings but mostly impressed by two early paintings in particular. The Last Supper, which aims to make the gospels understandable to a local audience. Here Jesus and the disciples are enjoying glasses of chicha (local alcoholic drink made out of corn) and a roasted guinea pig. Our Lord of the Earthquakes shows how a miraculous figure of Christ saved the town from the fires that raged through the colony following the 1650 earthquake. This is the oldest surviving painting in Cusco.

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We climbed our luxurious van and drove

outside the city to Sacsayhuaman (Pronounced as Sexy Woman), the most significant ruin in the Cusco area and thought to have been a fortress, with both military and religious significance. Hilda told us that Cusco was designed in the shape of a puma, with Sacsayhuaman forming the puma’s head and three zigzagging defense walls extend for almost 300 meters forming the teeth of the puma.

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Although this is a huge site, what we saw there was only about 20% of the original complex. Up until the 1930's blocks from Sacsayhuaman were being hauled away to use for construction in Cusco. Most of the largest stones, which were more difficult to move, were left at the site. Some of the largest stones measure over 8 meters high and weigh more than 350 tons! Despite the massive size of these stones, they are fitted together so perfectly, which until today engineers are wondering at how the Incas managed such a feat.
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Our next stop was Tombo Machay. This site sometimes referred to as Inca's Bath and is thought to have been used for religious functions. Some theories suggest that Tombo Machay was involved in an Inca water cult. Fountains or waterfalls fed by spring water were used to channel water to a ceremonial stone bath. The fountains are still functional at this well preserved site.

Next on our agenda was Puca Pucara (across the road from Tombo Machay). Puca Pucara means "red fort" but was more likely a storage area, hunting lodge, or stopping area for travelers rather than a fort. Hilda told us that in ancient times, soldiers in the fort would warn the spiritual leaders at Tombo Machay, if any unwanted people are nearby.

A short drive has taken us to Qenko (means zigzag),

which is a small shrine with a large limestone rock that is exposed on the surface of the ground with symbolic carvings and steps which lead to nowhere. Zigzagging channels are carved into the rock and were probably used for draining llama blood in ceremonial rituals. We saw some engravings of puma, llama, and condors at the top of the rock. Below were a series of caves and tunnels with altars cut into the stone.

We returned to the city to visit the Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha), which was the most important temple in the Inca Empire and the highest point of the Incas' naturalistic belief system. Some 4,000 of the highest-ranking priests and their attendants were housed here, dedicated to worship of the sun. Qoricancha means "golden courtyard" in Quechua, and in addition to hundreds of gold panels lining its walls, there were life-size gold figures, solid-gold altars, and a huge golden sun disc, which reflected the sun and bathed the temple in light. During the summer solstice (December 21st), the sun still shines directly into a niche where only the Inca tribal chief was permitted to sit. Unfortunately all of the gold was looted by the Spanish soon after they arrived in Cusco, and was simply melted down and shipped to Spain. All that remains today of the once glorious Qoricancha is the fine Inca stonework, which forms the foundation of the Church of Santo Domingo. The Inca wall has withstood all of the major earthquakes that have rocked Cusco. At one point, at a corner of two walls, we found a rock that had fourteen angles so it could fit with precision other rocks and forms the corner. It was amazing to realize how smart those builders were some six hundreds years ago.

We returned to our hotel and met with a Andrew from Simply Peru, who treated us to a cool and tasty Pisco Sour, and a representative from Wayki Trek, in regarding to our upcoming Inca Trail adventure in a couple of days.

Our dinner plans included a nice restaurant in the Las Ramblas section, one of the city's major pedestrian areas. We found a small restaurant where the owner was also our waiter and yes, our cook as well. The enormous dishes were absolutely delicious and the price was just right!

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Day 7: Thursday – April 3rd, 2008

After breakfast we met with Hilda and started our Sacred Valley tour. We drove for about an hour, through beautiful scenery and isolated villages as we arrived to Chinchero, located much higher than the rest of the Sacred Valley and Cusco at an elevation of 3,800 meters (12,500 ft) above sea level. The location of the village provided great views of the surrounding mountains. The main attraction in Chinchero is an adobe colonial church (pretty amazingly decorated with beautiful paintings) built in 1607 on top of Inca foundations, and some Inca terracing in the surrounding area.

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We continued our drive through breathtaking views and arrived to the

massive citadel Ollantaytambo, only 2,800 meters (9,186 ft) above sea level, which is at the eastern end of the Sacred Valley. The valley is narrower here, with the mountains closer on each side. Nestled at the foot of an ancient Inca site, the small town, population 2,000, is the most beautiful town in the Sacred Valley. The cobblestone streets and main plaza give the place an ancient feel. It is best known for its ruins, and for the spot where the Inca emperor, Manco Inca, was able to defeat the Spanish in a famous battle. According to historians after

Monca Inca was defeated at Sacsayhuaman and driven out of Cusco, he came here and summoned up more of his people. Together they successfully fought off the Conquistadors. They diverted the Urubamba River causing the valley below them to flood.

The Spaniards' horses slowed down in the wet grounds and they retreated, only to rally forth more troops and return. The Spaniards captured Manco's favorite wife, tortured her, killed her and sent her body down river on a raft as a message to the Incan people. Manco's men retrieved her body from the river. Manco Inca fled into the Amazon jungle where he lived for 7 more years, constantly resisting the Spanish conquerors.

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We were very impressed from the stone work visible here, and the

precision fit of large stone

blocks. It is hardly imaginable, that all of this was done by pure manual work alone. Across from the ruins, on the side of a mountain we spotted a number storage structures, built into the sheer rock walls. Apparently the winds and humidity made the location perfect for long term storage of grain and their inaccessibility made them that much easier to defend. We noticed that one of the rocks was formed in a shape of an old Indian face.

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At one point we witnessed a sad sight when a girl (no more than 15) was demonstrating to her two young children how to pose and beg for donations from the many visitors passing by the gate to the ruins. This made a huge impression on me and I will never forget her sad eyes when she realized that I am watching her.
We continued our trip and arrived to Hilda’s hometown, Urubamba, where we visited a “local bar”. Hilda had lived here until she moved to Cusco fifteen years ago. She has fond memories from the city. The “local bar” has a unique game in the front of the restaurant, where the players throw 15 discs (shaped like coins) into a machine and need to aim into various holes, spread around the machine. Each hole has its value in points and the loser buys a drink to the winner. The price for half a litter is one Sole (about 40 cents).

The drink is called Chica, which is named after corn-based liquor favored by the Incas. The owner of the bar poured two flavor drinks, from huge barrels, into half litter glasses and we cheered and drank the sour drink. The bar area was a huge room, where guinea pigs are raised there as well. The backyard of the bar, which is also the residence of the owner, has a great view of the valley.

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We ended up our Sacred Valley trip in Pisac, a pretty village with plenty of small handicraft shops. We stopped for lunch at Hilda’s favorite restaurant and had trout fish and pumpkin soup, while sitting outside enjoying the fresh air.
We returned to Cusco and stopped at a supermarket to buy some necessary items for our upcoming trip to the Inca Trail such as water and snacks and then rode the short distance to our hotel and arrived at around 6:00 pm. We were also looking for the ceramics that Tova wanted so much but could not find them. Hilda told us that she thinks they are made in Lima.

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Last night I asked Andrew (from Simply Peru) to let me know if he could arrange a half a day excursion in Lima, on Saturday (4/12) and since he has not called to let me know what he could do for us, I decided to arrange it myself. I called Juan from Lima (the nice driver we have met a week or so ago) and he agreed to be our guide for the six hours we had to spend in the Peru’s Capital next week. He would wait for us on Saturday at 3:30 pm, at the airport.
We checked our email’s packed our luggage and then turned in as tomorrow we are going to wake up at 3:30 am.

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Day 8: Friday – April 4th, 2008

We were out of the room at 4:15am. We called the front desk and a bell boy showed up and took our luggage into a storage room, as we were scheduled to return to the hotel in 5 days. All we took with us were two backpacks with fresh underwear, socks, and clean shirts, sanitation items plus snacks and water. The hotel was more than kind when they opened the dining room especially for us to enjoy their breakfast, even though they were scheduled to open at 5:00.

Edgar, the head guide from Wayki Trek Company, came around 5:00 and we boarded a mini bus, which made its rounds in the city to pickup the rest of the group and staff. We then drove to the Sacred Valley only that this time we made our ways through the valley’s backdoor, driving through small villages, still asleep at this early hour of the morning.
We finally arrived at a house in one of the villages. We were treated to a unique and authentic breakfast (Our 2nd breakfast of the day!). The rest of the staff, which included 17 porters; a cook along with his two assistants; and the second guide by the name of Jose, were already in the house, which belongs to no other but the company’s owner.

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Our group consisted of 5 Australian’s, 5 Brits, a girl from Norway, 2 Irish and us. After breakfast we rode once again through the backdoor of the valley and arrived to (the now familiar) Ollantaytambo. Here we stopped to purchase walking canes, recommended by Edgar (who called the cane “your third leg”), and last minute items. As we continued our drive we saw few kids walking to school. Edgar told us that in many cases these kids could walk 4 hours round trip from home to school and back as there is no public transpiration around thses villages.
We arrived an hour later to kilometer 82, the starting point of our 4 day hike.

There, we introduced ourselves (name, country and age) as the crew did the same. One of the porters was 62(!) years old. The group handed over the excess bags,

sleeping bags, etc to the porters (Tova and I kept the backpacks, which turned out to be a mistake…) and advanced to the first Control Point of the trail, where officials compared our names to those on the passport before they let us entering the trail.

There are many trails and many programs in the Inca Trail (we took the “Classic 4 Days”). The government allows only 500 people a day to enter the trail (including porters, cooks and guides, who need permits as well), so they could have a better control on what is going on and be able to clean up the mess left by the visitors.

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The first couple of hours were pretty easy. We walked on a comfortable path, the breathing was okay and the level of difficulty was pretty easy.
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As we were walking on the trail, the porters were zooming by, carrying huge bags (some weigh more than 30 kg), which included some of the group's personal stuff, food (for the next four days), chairs, tables, tents, etc. I could not stop admiring the shape they were in. They weighed no more than 50 kg each and carried on their back more than half of their weight. WOW!
The porters' salary, by the way, is about $10 a day.

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We reached the valley of the Cusichaca River and arrived to the archeology site of Patallacta, one of the largest and most important sites in the whole area.
It was first discovered by Hiram Bingham (I will write about him in more details later on) in 1911. Edgar described the importance of Patallacta, which was primarily an agricultural station set amongst extensive terraced land that was used for growing corn and it supplied Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo with part of their food. We spotted a group of archeologists digging in the site.
A short while later we stopped at a campsite

and to our astonishment, the crew had set up a tent and a table with (a hot!) lunch. It was simply delicious! We rested for about an hour and then started the hardest part of the day. A steep climb for about two hours, which left us breathless as the air was thin in this high altitude. I was huffing and puffing and realized that the 8 kg backpack on my back felt like 80 kg burden. I really mean it. Each kg felt like 10 kg during the hike. Rain has started to fall, heavy at times, which made the climb even harder.

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We finally arrived to Huayllabamba, a village built above Inca terraces, where we found our campsite and located our group. The group sat down to have dinner, while Tova and I decided to call it a night as we were both exhausted and not hungry at all (symptoms of high altitude illness). Edgar was really nice and checked three times to make sure we are fine. We spent the night in a tent, which was set up by the porters (God bless them!) and before you could say “Huayllabamba” we were sound asleep.

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Day 9: Saturday– April 5th, 2008

Wake up call was at 6:00 when the porters came to our tents, woke us up and served coffee, while we were still in the tent, ala “Coffee in bed”. When we stepped outside the tent, we found, to our pleasant surprise, a small bucket with hot water and soap. Breakfast was great and since we skipped dinner, we had a huge appetite.

I talked to Edgar, regarding our backpacks and he told me that for (a ridiculous) $20, a porter will carry them for the next three days. We agreed immediately.

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The 2nd day of the trail, considered as the hardest day, started rough and continued to be so for the next 7 hours as we began to climb slowly through fairly dense sub tropical vegetation,

known to be the highest cloud forest in the world at 3,800 meters (12,467 ft) above sea level. We were huffing and puffing again and even the Coca Leaves did not help as much in the high altitude trail. We stopped many times to catch our breath. One of the tricks to stop was to make way to the running porters, who were now rushing to our next campsite, with huge bags on their back, and be there in time to prepare it for us. As soon as someone announced (out laud): “Porter”, we all merged to the left of the path and waited for the porter(s) to go through. It was enough time though, to catch our breath. The porters were also an inspiration for us.

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Watching them run up the steep mountains, carrying the heavy baggage and wearing sandals, made us feel that it is not as hard as we feel it is. In one case we saw a porter running down the mountain (while we were climbing up the mountain) with

no baggage on him. Edgar explained: “

Look guys: he has already made it to the campsite and now is running back to help other porters, who are not as fast”. It was hard to believe. The porter already made it “home” and had a choice to rest at the campsite, waiting for the rest to arrive, but he chose to help his friends instead. About 15 minutes later we saw the same porter, running uphill this time, and carrying a huge bag on his back. Behind him was the 62 year old porter. I asked Edgar if there is any record that indicates the “fastest porter”, to which he replied that each year the porters hold a race to see who can run the 45 kilometers Inca Trail the quickest. A 46 year old porter from Peru Treks Company holds the record for the race. He did it in 3 hours and 45 minutes (without any baggage), which is unbelievable: We will walk the same distance during the next three and a half days (roughly 30 hours). Very impressive!!

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Jose kept reminding us: “It is not a race. Take it easy and enjoy it”

It took us about four hours to arrive to the half point of the climb as we reached Llupachayoc (“Place of Offering”), a camp with running water and wonderful views down the valley. There were vendors selling ice cold drinks and on the top tier of the site we found a “real” toilet. A snack (popcorn) and juice were provided to us, by a member of our crew.

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After the break we continued to climb up for the next three hours, as the woodland gave way to scrub, then to bleak grassland and bare slopes. The ascent became increasingly steep and the terrain increasingly rugged as we hiked upward toward the “first pass”, the Abra De Huarmihuanusca aka “Dead Woman’s Pass”, which got its name because the pass looks like a dead woman’s face. (The face became obvious only after Edgar pointed it out to us..)

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“The hardest part of the hike is behind us”, proclaimed Edgar and our grim faces changed at once to huge smiles from ear to ear.
While sitting on the top of the pass at 4,215 meters (13,828 ft) above sea level,

I thought that it was probably the hardest physical challenge I ever took. I was a paratrooper in the Israeli army and I went through hard physical challenges before, but they were never were so hard and if you add the age factor into the formula, it was definitely a challenge from the books, which I will never forget. I kept telling myself: “If it doesn’t kill you it will make you stronger” and even though in some occasions I cursed myself for selecting the 4 day trek as part of our trip, I had a great satisfaction in being there on top of the world!! I also looked with admiration at Tova, who kept on walking with bad knees and who, at the beginning of the hike told me: “It is so hard, but I am already here, so I might as well just do it!”

The rest of the hike was going down the mountain. It was so much easier. At one point we watched a huge falcon hunting and in many places we stopped to admire the most beautiful scenery taking million of pictures of waterfalls, birds, butterflies, and flowers. We were just having a great time.

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We arrived to the Pacaymayu Campsite at around 5:00 after walking a total of 12 kilometers and as soon as we arrived we were welcomed by warm applause from the porters and served with a delicious hot dinner, which was all based on starch food: soup with pasta, meat with potatoes, rice, and plenty of bread. At the end of dinner we celebrated the birthday of one of the brits in the group and to our pleasant surprise we were served with a (fried) delicious cake and wine.

Edgar gave us a choice to leave tomorrow in 2 groups where the first group (the older guys) would leave an hour earlier so we would all arrive at the same time tomorrow to our next camp. Tova & I accepted the offer.

In the middle of the night we woke up to the sound of rain drops hitting our tent. The rain became heavy and the temperatures dropped to at least zero degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, the tent and the sleeping bags kept us warm and dry during the storm.

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Day 10: Sunday– April 6th, 2008

Wake up was at 5:30 when Jose himself came over to our tent with 2 cups of delicious hot coffee. The temperatures were around the zero mark. We enjoyed another delicious breakfast, which consisted of an omelet, fried bananas, toasts and Coca tea. I kept wondering when the cook prepared all this. What time did he have to wake up?

We started our 3rd day of the trail.

From the valley of Pacaymayu, the trail climbed steeply up the opposite side of the valley wall, towards the second pass. About halfway up we saw a small round roofless stone building. We stopped there and listened to Jose, who explained that this Inca ruin is known as Runkuracay ("Pile of Ruins"). The building is thought to have been a tambo, a kind of post for couriers following the trail to Machu Picchu, 600 hundred years ago.

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The trail continued to climb towards the second pass, the Abra de Runkuracay at 3,900 meters above sea level. As we arrived, Jose looked at his watch and congratulated us for reaching the second pass 30 minutes earlier than he expected. We took a short break, looking at the beautiful valley underneath us.

The trail descended towards a valley containing a shallow lake. At around this point, the trail changed from a dirt path to a narrow stone roadway.

Heavy rain started again as we arrived to a second, larger Inca ruin, Sayacmarca ("Town in a Steep Place"). We opted not to climb the narrow path, leading to the ruins as the rain was really heavy at this time and there was no way we could appreciate or even see the buildings.

We stopped at a campsite, a short distance from Sayacmarca. The time was 10:00 and Jose told us that we are about 2 hours (!) ahead of the rest of the group as we really walked like troopers. We arrived just in time as the rain became a storm and we sat in the tent shivering and wet. To my luck, I saw the porter who was carrying my backpack. I asked Jose to ask him (the porters speaks only Quechua) to let me take my coat out of the backpack. It saved my day!!
The rest of the group arrived at 12:00 and we all had a great lunch. We started the last part of the day at 2:00 after having a four hours break!!

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The trail began to ascend once again. The roadway represents a remarkable work of engineering, including an 8 meters tunnel section where the Inca engineers widened a natural crack in the rock into a tunnel large enough to allow the passage of men and mules. We finally arrived to the third pass and just beyond it we discovered another Inca ruin, Phayupatamarca("Cloud-level Town").

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From there on the trail was descending and steep. Edgar mentioned that there are about 3,000 stairs leading to our next (and last) campsite,

1,100 meters lower than the third pass. This section of the trail is known as “Gringo Killer” as the stairs were narrow and slippery. Tova was having a real hard time from this point onward. It was much harder for her than the uphill portion, as her knees and toes were hurting her tremendously. At one point she fell on her butt and started crying. Edgar was really helpful, staying with her and encouraged her to continue.
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civilization in the valley, the first one in the last 3 days: It was the city of Aguas Calientes and its Hydro Electric Plant in the far distance. After another hour of going down the mountain we arrived at Winaywayna, ("Forever Young"), the site of another Inca ruin and our next (and last) campsite. This was by far the largest campsite as all the other groups hiking the Inca Trail were assembled here for the last night before entering Machu Picchu. When we arrived to the campsite we discovered that there were 18 different groups there.

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The campsite is equipped with (hot) shower facilities, a restaurant and a bar, which I visited as soon as we arrived to camp. For some reason a “Cold Beer” sounded so good!! Tova collapsed in the tent and only surfaced when “dinner time” was announced.

After yet another delicious meal (This time the chef surprised us with delicious Lasagna) we had the “tips ceremony”. We each contributed 50 soles (for a total of 750 Soles or $300) to be divided by the 20 crew members (not including Edgar & Jose, who we tipped separately the next day). The 62 years old porter represented his friends as he received the money from us and started to count it with cheers coming from the rest of his group.

We went to our tents in anticipations for tomorrow’s treat: Only six more kilometers of hiking separated us from Machu Picchu.

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Day 11: Monday– April 7th, 2008

Day 4 of the trail started at 4:30 as once again we enjoyed coffee, brought to our tent by one of the porters, and after a quick breakfast we lined up, holding our flashlights, in front of a checkpoint ahead of Machu Picchu.

The trail was quite easy and after about two hours it became a narrow flight of stone steps leading upwards into a small stone structure, where we had to use both feet and hands to climb. We arrived to Intipunku, (Gateway of the Sun).

The time was around 7:00 and clouds covered the valley but after a short walk down the mountain, the sun has started to rise, chasing away the clouds and Machu Picchu became visible.

My heart was racing and I had this “high” all over my body, realizing that I am now at one of The Seven Wonders of the World and that I was fulfilling one of my dreams.

After yet another checkpoint, Edgar approached us and suggested that Jose would give us a private tour of the site. We “jumped” all over the opportunity to have a private tour with our favorite guide. Jose led the way to a point where we were able to “capture” the wonder of the “Lost City of the Inca” and gave us the full story behind the discovery of Machu Picchu:

Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire, and was abandoned less than 100 years later, as the empire collapsed under Spanish conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 50 miles from Cusco, the Inca capital, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew to cover the site, and few knew of its existence. The common belief is that the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca people or the spiritual center of the “virgins of the sun,” while administrators of a recent exhibit have speculated that Machu Picchu was a royal retreat. Regardless, the presence of numerous temples and ritual structures proves that Machu Picchu held spiritual significance for the Inca.

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On July 23, 1911, Hiram Bingham, a doctor in philosophy and history at Yale University, and his 7 members expedition party camped by the river at a place called Mandor Pampa (2 kilometers from Aguas Calientes), heading down the Urubamba Valley. A local farmer who lived there had told Bingham, through his interpreter, that there were extensive ruins on top of the ridge opposite the camp. He called it Machu Picchu, or "Old Mountain" in Quechua.

According to Bingham he

had offered to pay the farmer if he showed him the ruins. The farmer accepted the offer when he learned that Bingham is offering him one sol, three or four times his daily wage. When asked just where the ruins were, he pointed straight up to the top of the mountain. Accompanied only by his interpreter and the farmer, Bingham left the camp, as heavy rain was pouring down. They found a bridge over a river and from there they climbed a steep slope until they reached the top. Here they met 2 farmers, who told him that they grow their crops on an extensive system of terraces. They offered to give him a guide, an 11-year old boy, to lead them to the terraces.

Led by the boy, they entered the forest beyond the terraces. Here the boy began to reveal to Bingham a series of white granite walls which the historian immediately judged to be the finest examples of granite that he had ever seen. They were in fact, the remains of what we call today the Royal Tomb, the Main Temple, and the Temple of the Three Windows.

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Bingham swore his interpreter to secrecy, and without revealing his discovery to anyone, he returned to Yale University and asked for additional money, so he could continue with his mission. Having succeeded in raising sufficient sponsorship, Bingham returned to Machu Picchu the following year (1912) to commence the huge task of clearing the ruins of vegetation - a job that took 3 years. During this time many ceramics, stone objects and bones were found and taken back to the United States (There is an ongoing dispute between the governments of Peru and the USA, regarding the subject). Bingham discovered the Inca Trail as well.

Construction of a railway from Cusco, began in 1913 and finally reached Aguas Calientes in 1928. The road up to the Lost City of the Inca was completed in 1948 and inaugurated by Bingham himself. In 1981 a 325 square kilometers around Machu Picchu was declared a Historical Sanctuary by the Peruvian Government, and given the status of a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1983. Access to Machu Picchu was given to the public in 1965 and the Inca Trail was opened to the public in 1970. On July 7th, 2007 (7/7/07) Machu Picchu was declared as one of The Wonder of the World.

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Jose guided us through the ruins, telling us facts and showing us documents, he brought along with him. It was purely fascinating and we were impressed by his knowledge, his ability to explain, his gentleness, politeness, and integrity.
Machu Picchu is comprised of approximately 200 buildings, most being residences, although there are temples, storage structures and other public buildings. About 1,000 people lived in and around Machu Picchu, most of them women and children (most of the bones found in graves were of women and children). The buildings are thought to have been planned and built under the supervision of professional Inca architects.

Most of the structures are built of granite blocks cut with bronze or stone tools, and smoothed with sand.

The blocks fit together perfectly, although none of the blocks are the same size and have many corners (some have as many as 30 corners). The joints are so tight that even the thinnest of knife blades can't be forced between the stones, as Jose demonstrated. Another unique thing about Machu Picchu is the integration of the architecture into the landscape. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through stone channels, and temples hang on steep high cliffs.

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The houses have steep roofs and trapezoidal doors.

Some of the houses are two stories high; the second story was probably reached by ladder, which likely was made of rope. The houses, in groups of up to ten gathered around a communal courtyard, or aligned on narrow terraces, were connected by narrow alleys.
The tour lasted three and a half hours and ended only after we visited any possible site of the Lost City of the Inca. Exhausted but extremely satisfied we headed down to the bus stop heading to Aguas Calientes, the village at the base of Machu Picchu. We asked Jose to join us for lunch in the city, and he agreed.

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After a short 10 kilometers (6 miles) ride, we arrived to the city, which has many hotels and restaurants for tourists, as well as natural hot baths, giving the town its name ("hot waters" in Spanish).

We entered an Italian restaurant, recommended by Jose, and were greeted by a trio if Inca players, which were very talented. The food was excellent and the cold beer made it even better! It was nice to use a real toilet at last: a clean one that has a seat as well!

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The porters, who arrived to the city early in the morning, were waiting for us, guarding our luggage. Jose led the way to our hotel, as we tagged along and arrived at the Pueblo Hotel, after a short walk. We thanked Jose for all he has done for us as said our goodbyes to this special person. We checked-in the five-star hotel and as soon as we arrived to the luxurious room we made reservations for a massage and enjoyed a well deserved hot long shower.

After the massage we returned to our room and slept the rest of the afternoon, waking up at 7:00 pm. We entered the elegant dining room and enjoyed a five course dinner, which was excellent. We then went to the bar and enjoyed a complimentary Pisco Sour before returning to our room for a long night sleep.

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Day 12: Tuesday– April 8th, 2008

We woke up at 7:30 and after a remarkable delicious breakfast we left our luggage at the hotel and joined a combined Eco tour offered by the hotel.

The tour started at the Tea Plantation where Marco, our tour guide, demonstrated the ancient tea making process as freshly picked leaves are hand-grinded over rocks, or slowly dried over an open fire.

Our next stop was at the Spectacled Bear Project: There are 2 bears in captivity both very shy and preferred to stay at the cage instead of greeting us. Marco told us that they used to be common throughout the Andes, but now they are critically endangered. The purpose of the project is to prepare bears in captivity to return to their natural habitat.

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We arrived at the next stop: the Rocotal Observatory to appreciate sacred pre-Inca pictographs on a wall above a cave featuring a llama and a farmer. We learned that this place served as an offering place where ancient Peruvians offered rituals to Mother Earth.

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We continued the Eco tour to do some birds watching and were informed by Marco that in all over the U.S.A there are 13 hummingbirds species. However, in the 15 hectares hotel forest there are 16 species, in addition of other 141 birds’ species and 111 species of butterflies.

The last stop of the tour was the Orchids Garden. According to Marco, "The American Orchids Society" has acknowledged that Pueblo Hotel has the world’s largest native orchid species collection set in a natural environment in a private facility. There are 372 (!) native orchids in the gardens. Marco seems to be excited as he introduced us to few of them.

We thanked Marco and headed to town, where we found a small restaurant and enjoyed a tasty home made soup and stuffed avocado with cheese.

After a short visit to the local market we headed towards the train station where we located the hotel’s bell boy, who brought our luggage to the station.

We boarded the “First-Class”

train and started our way back to Cusco. A sandwich and fruits were served to us along with soft drinks as we started this fabulous ride.

It was the most beautiful and entertaining train rides we have ever taken. The four hour ride climbed up the Urubamba and Santa Ana Valleys and gave us stunning sunset views. We passed farmers working in their fields, kids playing soccer, women herding sheep and a

market town. This was in addition to the entertainment on board, which consisted of a traditional Inca dance (in costume) and an alpaca fashion show put on by the attractive crew. All this with fabulous mountain views too.
As we arrived to our destination (one stop before Cusco) we located our Cusco Coordinator and the driver (were the same people we met few days back in Cusco) and they drove us back to Casa Andina Hotel. We collected our luggage from storage and repacked them to accommodate us in our upcoming trip to the Amazon.

We walked the streets, which now were very familiar and after meeting with some Israelis in Plaza De Armas, we decided to try their recommendation for dinner: An Israeli restaurant with Peruvian influence, by the name of Narguilla. While biting on the delicious food, we talked to some Israelis, sitting in an adjacent table and found out that Tova’s brother is their supervisor back in Israel. What a small world!
On the way back to our hotel we finally found the ceramics Tova was looking for and bought a nice set.

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Day 13: Wednesday– April 9th, 2008

After breakfast we headed to Cusco Airport to board the short flight to Puerto Maldonado in Southeast Peru. While in the air, the pilot discovered mechanical problems with the airplane’s wheels and returned to Cusco Airport for emergency landing. This was an experience we will never forget. We were told, by a panic and paled flight attendant, to put our hands on our foreheads and lean forward against the sit in front of us. Some people panicked but most of us remained calm. The plane finally landed with squeaking noises and as I looked at the back of the plane I saw many ambulances and fire trucks following the plane. We were asked to move fast and were led to a terminal, where we were treated to drinks and chocolate and after an hour were boarded on a different plane.

This time we landed safely in Puerto Maldonado and met our new tour guides for the Amazon leg of our trip: Fernando and Maite from Amazona Posadas Company.

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The temperature was around 95 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity in the upper 80%. We boarded the company bus, along with other passengers and arrived to the company’s headquarter, which was a bungalow in a middle of nowhere. We were treated to cold drinks and a snacks and were given the option to store the excesses luggage, which we did.
After about an hour of riding the bus on dirt and bumpy roads, through tiny villages in a dense forest, we arrived to the Tambopata River, which flows from the Andean slopes of Puno, near Lake Titikaka, through the low foothills and terraces of the Amazon plain before ultimately draining into the Amazon River.

Two boats were waiting for us. We were asked to board one of them and were treated to a unique lunch, consisted of rice and steamed vegetables packed in a banana leaf, which was used as our plate. Fernando briefed us of what we will do in the next three days. He was informative, smiley and very polite. We liked him instantly. Maite, who just graduated from the university with a Biology Degree, was his trainee. She was extremely nice as well.
Fernando talked about the lodge and told us that it was built 12 years ago and is very unique because of the fact that it is co-owned and managed by an 80 year old Indian from the Ese-Eje (“True People”) tribe and some other Andean families and that their main goal is to keep the forest's authenticity and help the community.

The boat arrived to a tiny pier, thirty minutes later, and we used a set of stairs to climb from the river’s bank to the forest where we put some boots on, as the rain forest was very muddy. After a short walk we arrived to the Posada Eco Lodge and were greeted by some screaming monkey on top of a tree and a hostess, who offered us a delicious pineapple juice.

Along with us in the lodge were 3 other groups: 2 Peruvian sisters and their friend, a group of seven (!) brothers from Tucson, AZ who are traveling together every a couple of year, and a man along with his terminally ill mother.
The lodge was lovely, basic but very comfy; our huge bamboo bungalow room had no windows or doors anywhere, so that we were always in touch with the sounds and the sights of the jungle. Also in the room was a large bathroom, including a shower (cold water only!). There was no electricity in the room and the only source of light at night was a couple of candles in the room plus a couple of kerosene lamps.

We showered and then rested a bit until 4:00pm when we met with our guides, who led the way to a 39 meter high canopy in the middle of the rainforest. We climbed the 192 steps with ease (after the Inca Trail, every climb seems to be a breeze) and witnessed a marvelous view of the forest and the river as the sun set in the horizons.

On the way back to the lodge we saw some more monkeys on the trees, beautiful flowers, some magnificent crawlers, including a giant black tarantula,

colorful butterflies in all sizes, and exotic birds, including a giant owl called Pygmy, and a gold headed woodpecker.

We returned to the lodge and were treated to a nice dinner (buffet style), sitting with our guides and mingling with the other groups. After dinner we had some drinks in the bar and then retired to our room at around 8:00pm.
We went to sleep listening to the strangest sounds of howler monkeys and an array of birds that made the most amazing sounds.
What can I say: It was a jungle out there!
Day 14: Thursday– April 10th, 2008

We woke up at 4:00am and went to watch birds and giant river otters in the Oxbow Lake. We had to use flashlights at the beginning of the journey as the forest was pitched dark. I can't remember most of the birds we saw but I do remember Kingfishers, Macaws and Vultures. We were not lucky at all in regards to the otters though, as we did not see any.

One of the activities on the lake was fishing. I tried my luck and the technique taught by Fernando but for no avail. Fernando caught a Piranha and after watching the fish’s deadly teeth and feeding him with a leaf, he let it go back to the lake.

We returned to the lodge at 10:30 and were told we have the rest of the morning and afternoon off. After a much needed shower (cold water…brrr..) we napped until 1:00 then joined our guides for lunch and went back to our room resting until 3:30.

We met with our guides and with boots on went to the medical garden, Ese-Eja Nape, the Ethno cultural Center. We met with the forest’s “doctor”, a Shaman (spiritualist) who gave us the grand tour. We saw, heard explanations, and even tried various plants that are used to treat illness for the local people. One plant was a Natural Viagra and according to the Shaman, the effects lasted up to 3 months (when required!) Another plant is called Cats Claw and is used to treat cancer (it has already been patented and is used as conventional medicine in the West today). Another plant helps your blood clot, another which is used as an anesthetic, one for pain relief, another for mosquito repellent, and one that it’s leaves are used as a natural perfume to help you get a partner! (It does smell gorgeous). There was one plant, which produces a lovely red dye and many more. I kept thinking how many other unknown species there are in the Amazon, which we could use to make our life better.
We returned to the lodge, showered (cold water again!) and arrived just in time for dinner. Once again we visited the bar for a delicious local cocktail (Banana Mania) and retired to our room.

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Day 15: Friday– April 11th, 2008

Wake up was at 7:00 and after breakfast we put our boots on and walked for about 45 minutes to one of the highlights of our jungle adventure: The Parrots Clay Lick. We waited patiently for about an hour, inside a hut 20 meters away from the river bank, and it paid off as dozens of parrots and parakeets descended to ingest the clay. I met a freelance photographer (and her son) from Australia, who sat next to me. She specializes in taking pictures of wild life and works for the National Geography Magazine.

We visited a farm (which was not impressive at all) and then, on the way back to the lodge, per my special request, we jumped into the river, an experience I will never forget, as I was fighting the river’s strong current, trying to make it safe to shore.

After a rest in the room and lunch we continued our day and went to see the largest tree in the forest and then experienced once again the night life in the forest, watching some exotic frogs, huge spiders and some other creatures.
Upon our return to the lodge, we had dinner and were sound asleep a short while later.

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Day 16: Saturday – April 12th, 2008

We woke up at 6:00 and while packing Tova announced that we now have 2 sets of cloths: "dirty and dry" and "dirty and wet"!

After breakfast we boarded the boat, and then rode in the bus to the company’s headquarters where we found our stored luggage. We were then transferred to the airport and boarded a plane back to Lima. During the flight we sat next to a rock-star (who was swarmed by screaming teenagers earlier at the airport). He turned out to be a very nice guy.

We landed as scheduled in Lima and the reliable Juan was there waiting for us. We pre-checked-in our night flight to Los Angeles and then rode in his car to a nice restaurant on the beach by the name of Mi Propiedad Privada, named after the much loved Peruvian waltz and located in the middle-class San Miguel district of Lima. Juan told us that this was his favorite restaurant in all of Lima and that the seafood was superb. Boy was he right!! We had a great lunch!

We drove around downtown and arrived to Huaca Huallamarca, a highly restored pyramid dating from 200 to 500 AD. The museum was already closed but the guard was kind enough to let me in and take some pictures of the exterior. The site is awkwardly situated in a neighborhood between some apartment houses and hotels, which makes it also very unique.

We were on our way to the beautiful Circuito Magico del Agua (Fountain Park), in Parque De La Reserva, with a dozen or more different cybernetic fountains.

This newly revamped park (was opened in May 2007) is a pride of Lima's citizens and holds two world records (according to Guinness Book of Records): the largest water fountain complex and the tallest fountain in the world.

We spent the next couple of hours in the park enjoying the attractions and the dancing-water show, which featured colorful jets of water swaying to the Latin music. At one point, during the show, the water jets were used as a simulated screen and laser beams created many metaphors and geometric images. It was spectacular!

We ended our short Lima tour in a modern mall, sipping cappuccino and watching the shoppers and then taken to the airport for our flight back home, which was scheduled to leave at 1:00am.
We arrived at LAX the following day (Sunday) to the open arms of Emly, who was waiting for us at the terminal. Sharone, Gary, Yaara, and Elan were waiting for us at home.

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Peru (2008)

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Peru (2008)

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