In the Footsteps of the Incas: From Mountains to Jungle to Ancient Ruins About This Page:

[B.M.]

Great pics!

[Mickey Mama]

I'm sure I would faint and fall down if I thought I had to climb those steps! How many steps is that? Kudos to y'all for making that trek!

[DouglasE]

One thing I didn’t mention about our Llama Path Adventure was that part of our daily routine besides receiving boiled water for our water bottles and camelback water systems was that they would distribute a snack to have at some point during the day. Usually the snack consisted of a piece of fruit and a small package of cookies. For example, one day it was an apple with a little package of Oreo cookies. That was very helpful for the other trekkers. I, on the other hand, was ordinarily not eating solid foods.

Also, you may have noticed in the pictures that Craig’s nose was rather red. At first we thought he had somehow injured himself and scraped it. But he couldn’t recall anything happening that would have caused that. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that the altitude must have caused some of the blood vessels that served his nose to burst. It was not painful at all, just a tad unsightly.

Buses run continuously throughout the day taking travelers back and forth between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. After having our refreshing beverage, we felt like returning back to the town. We could have squeezed onto a bus that was just about to leave but who feels like scrambling for seats? We were in no rush. We just sat on a bench to wait for the next bus to depart. We didn’t have long to wait. Within 10 minutes another bus pulled up and we were whisked off to return to Aguas Calientes.

Since we had to watch our money situation, we really had nothing to do. We had already wandered around the town prior to going to bed on the night before our Machu Picchu visit. Instead we walked over to a little square, found a wooden bench, and sat. We spent the afternoon people watching. One thing to be careful of in this region of the world is exposure to the sun. The sun is quite strong since we are higher up in altitude. We took the time to lather ourselves with sun block. The sun is beaming and it is rather warm this afternoon. We took off a lot of layers and sat enjoying the sunshine.

In the middle of the square is a statue of Pachacutec. Hewas the ninth Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the empire Tawantinsuyu or the Inca Empire. In Quechua, Pachakutiq means “He who remakes the world”.During his reign, Cuzco grew from a hamlet into an empire that could compete with, and eventually overtake, the Chimu. Surrounding the statue was a water feature. A fountain flows out from the statue’s base into a basin that surrounds the statue. Both the water and the statue attract a variety of people like a magnet. Tourists had their picture taken in front of Pachacutec. Children would come splash around in the water and chase each other as they raced around the statue in circles. Off of the square new construction was underway. It seemed like the town was undergoing a transformation to improve its services for tourists. I’m sure as Machu Picchu’s popularity continues to increase this town will become more and more modernized. I wouldn’t be surprised if doesn’t become a big wi-fii hot spot in a few years. Be aware that this town is also called Machu Picchu Pueblo. It’s not entirely clear to me which name is the current one and which is the older name.

Pachacutec in the Aguas Calientes Square



Children at play at the base of the statue




At one point while we relaxed in the sun on a park bench, I thought I saw a celebrity. I thought I saw the actress Laura Dern enter a drug store. She was with a boy about 13-15 years old. Craig tried to get me to go over and talk to her. I don’t know what the heck I would say. It’s not like I’m a huge fan. Craig had no idea who she was. She is best known as Dr. Ellie Sattler in the Jurassic Park movies and her starring turn in Citizen Ruth. After getting home I looked her up on imdb.com. It turns out her children aren’t as old as the boy I saw her with so I doubt it was her that I saw after all. I was some distance away. But whoever she was, she was quite pretty in a simple jeans and t-shirt kind of way.

There really isn’t much to do in Aguas Calientes. You can eat or you can shop. With Craig and I not wanting to spend any money, it really limited our options. We just sat in the square for at least three hours. It would have been nice if we could have gone back to the hotel and taken a nap. But we were already officially checked out. The other night Craig said to me that he really enjoyed just sitting and relaxing in town. For me, that was fine for an hour, but after that I got rather bored.

Aguas Calientes



Eventually, enough time had gone by that we decided it was time to have an early dinner. We wandered the streets of Aguas Calientes. In order to have our day run smoothly we decided to find the train station. We wanted to be sure that we would not have any problems meeting our train. Our train was due to leave around 6:30 in the evening. We meandered and explored Aguas Calientes and eventually found the train station.

On the previous evening each eating establishment had a representative out front trying to entice tourists to come and eat at their place. It could get rather annoying rather quickly. Today, it is a bit early. I’m thinking it is around 4:30 in the afternoon. There aren’t many hawkers out to drive a person up the wall. We wander looking at restaurants’ menus posted on sandwich boards or on podiums set discretely by the entrance. We look at the ambience of restaurants from the street. Eventually, we settle on a restaurant that looks inexpensive but filled with the promise of local cuisine.
The owner seats us at our table. He introduces himself as José and then tells us that both Craig and I are named José too. It was very funny. He had a little bit of English and we had a little bit of Spanish. It all worked out in the end. We had a very tasty meal at a really good price. I started with a stuffed avocado salad. It had a lot of cheese. Avocado and cheese, need I say more? It was so yummy. I might have been biased because I had not eaten since before daylight. Next, I had a wonderful corn chowder soup. This was followed by a steak dish smothered in a meaty sauce with fries and vegetables. I really can’t recall the main dish and only have a photograph of a mostly eaten dinner. I just remember we definitely had our fill and it was really good. We took our time eating leisurely. The restroom was directly behind my seat. Although we didn’t realize this at first because the entryway was hidden behind a tapestry. We were the only patrons at the restaurant. This seems to be a theme with Craig and myself. On our first date, we had a French restaurant in the West Village of Manhattan all to ourselves. Both here and in Manhattan, the owner gave us lots of attention and were quite humorous. We also had a French restaurant and a Jimmy Johns all to ourselves in Chicago. We are the trend setters. We sit down and eat and then everyone else follows.

My stuffed avocado..yummy!



Corn chowder made with a local variety of corn



I was way too eager to get to my main dish as you can see...



The view of the restaurant from my seat at the table



Looking into our restaurant from the street. Our table is on the left hand side of the photo closest to the entryway.



We still had hours until our train was due to depart. We wandered around Aguas Calientes and then just decided to sit down and wait at the train station. Right up until a few minutes before we were due to depart we were the only members of our trek that were there. Eventually, five others join us just as we are about to board. We have assigned seats and are seated near one another. Oddly enough Craig is seated next to James and I am seated next to some nice locals.

Want to go shopping?











The entry to the train station





Surprisingly, there isn’t a lot of space on the train for bags. You would think that a train that services all of these hikers and campers would be prepared for that. As our train departs it is now sundown. It is an uneventful journey as we go clackety clack back towards Cusco. What was a nice surprise is that we were served a meal on our trip. It reminded me of airline food from the old days. Definitely better than just the little bag of pretzel bits that I get from Southwest these days. I think I had a sandwich on a baguette, a little salad, a roll, and a little dessert. The train does not make it all the way back to Cusco. The end of the line is in Ollanta. Train times are not confirmed until you have fully paid for your Adventure Trek with Llama Path. Some of our party left Aguas Calientes as early at 3 pm. The last train to depart was 9:20 pm. If organized in advance, the train can be upgraded to Visatadome (larger windows than the backpaker cerrojo train which we were on) for an increased price. Craig and I were so wiped out it would have been a waste of money to go the Vistadome route. Also, Llama Path could have arranged for an extra night stay in Aguas Calientes for an additional price. I actually would recommend taking that option.


We emerge from our train in Ollanta thinking we would see a representative from Llama Path. We do not. There is no one in the train station waiting room. I had to use the bathroom. Is anyone surprised? When I emerge I decide to go explore to find our contact. I discover a gate outside of which all of the people that are there to meet the train passengers are waiting. I quickly see someone holding a sign with the Llama Path logo. I talk to them and let them know I have others with me. I turn around, get the rest of our group and we walk over to our Llama Path bus. For some reason there was a bit of confusion on the part of Llama Path. The bus driver had me talk on the phone to someone from Llama Path. Unfortunately, the woman on the other end of the phone didn’t speak much English. However, I was able to make clear what everyone needed to know. I can’t recall what the problem was now, but by the time I was finished with the phone conversation, the bus driver was happy, the woman on the other end of the phone was happy, and my fellow trekkers were happy because we were going to be on our way back to Cusco.

At Ollanta it is a madhouse of a parking lot. It took quite a bit of time for our bus to be able to depart. It is the same type of bus that took our entire group at the beginning of our trek. It was large enough for 40 and there are only 7 of us. After about a half hour, our bus is able to get underway and we speed our way back to Cusco. I am wiped out and just go to sleep. I awake in time to be dropped off at Plaza Regocijo in Cusco where we originally started this adventure. We all get out of the bus. In the square we each remove our possessions from our red Llama Path duffel bags and put them into big clear plastic bags (think garbage bags) that Llama Path provides. We say our goodbyes to our fellow Trekkers. Craig and I make our way back to Hotel Ninos.

NEXT: I give Craig his birthday surprises in Lima.

[LLaffinPlace]

Douglas, your meal sounds wonderful, and so does your experience at the restaurant.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update Douglas! Glad you were able to translate and get everyone back on the bus! Great pictures and dinner!

[chezp]

What a great meal and what a neat afternoon, although I think I'm with you - about an hour of people watching would have been enough for me as well!

[pamcarey]

Sounds like a great meal! And a very tiring trip back to Cusco.

[rhinohunter]

Nice meal and ride back to Cusco. Glad you were able to get things worked out with Llama Path.

[goofysdtr]

Okay, so now I'm really hungry for a stuffed avocado. I've never heard of such a thing, but it sounds marvelous considering my current hungry state!

[PrincessSharon]

Sounds like you had a wonderful meal to enjoy. After all the hiking you'd done, it seemed like a nice change of pace to spend some time people watching (which I have to admit I rarely make time to do). Glad you were able to get the transportation issue sorted out!

[DouglasE]

We arrived at Hotel Niños before 9:30 pm. Prior to arrival Craig was a bit nervous about the fact that I still had the key to our old room at the hotel. He was concerned that they would charge us for all of the days that we were away. I thought that the worse case scenario was that they might charge us for making a duplicate key. It turns out that they didn’t even notice that the key was missing. In fact, the guy at reception and I had a good laugh about the fact that I still had the key. We paid our bill with a bunch of Peruvian Nuevo soles, which was the equivalent of $130. We were booked into the same room that we had before. This time I made it clear to the staff that we would be leaving the hotel at 5 am. They had stored our stuff in a storage room. I was a bit surprised to see my wine bottle still with our belongings. I figured the housekeeping staff could have had a fun time cleaning while we were away.

Sunday, October 18, 2009


Before hitting the hay we arranged our belongings in our luggage for our trip to Lima. Before we knew it, it was time to get up and head to the Cusco airport. We got ourselves to reception and dropped off our key this time. The hotel staff had offered to call a taxi for us. In my research I discovered that taxis are more expensive when arranged by hotels so I declined with a “No, gracias.” Craig and I emerged onto the streets of Cusco. Even at 5 am there are plenty of taxis buzzing around this neighborhood, not to mention stragglers getting home from their late night escapades. It was very easy to negotiate a price for a ride to the airport.


When we arrived at the airport it wasn’t even open. There were two other individuals waiting at the gate with their backpacks. Gradually we saw airport personnel enter the facility. Craig and I were so concerned about making sure we got to the airport in plenty of time. Obviously, we didn’t have to worry so much. Everything was very uneventful at the airport. We were there so early that while we were waiting for others to get to our gate, the airport changed the gate for our departure. While waiting for our flight, I spotted Seth and Toya at the terminal. We were all on the same flight. It was good catching up with them and comparing what happened to each of us after we separated. The last I had seen either of them was as Craig and I were descending Huayna Picchu and Seth and Toya were ascending.



I had made arrangements with our hotel to have a car meet us at the Lima airport to take us to the hotel. As we were exiting the terminal I scanned for a sign with my name. I didn’t see anything remotely close to my name. A driver saw me looking around for our ride and offered to help. He used his phone to call our hotel to find out what is going on. It turns out our driver had vehicle troubles and would not be coming out to meet us. I don’t blame the hotel because things happen and they had no way to notify us. We weren’t traveling with a telephone that would work in Peru. The man who called our hotel for us asked where exactly was our hotel and how much we were willing to pay. When he found out those details he offered to take us there. Keep in mind I saw him interact with airport personnel all while we were figuring out what happened to our ride. He also had credentials on him. He clearly was someone who does ground transportation from the airport on a regular basis. For me, it was a no brainer. As soon as I found out he would do the same job for the same price, we were hoofing it out to his vehicle right outside the terminal. The driver did try and get us to switch our reservation to a different hotel. I had my heart set on this hotel and wasn’t going to budge. He even indicated that our hotel was in a shady neighborhood going so far as to indicate that it was unsafe. I still wasn’t changing my mind.


Our driver was very personable and engaged us in conversation and before we knew it we were traveling along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. I had never seen the Pacific before so this was a first for me. We are visiting in the spring and it is an overcast, grey day. Not the vibrancy that I was expecting, but at least there wasn’t an earthquake or hurricane in the offing.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you've made it to Lima!! More please!

[DouglasE]

We are dropped off in a residential area. Our hotel looks like a very nice large home which makes sense considering we were staying at Mansìon San Antonio. We were staying in the Miraflores section of Lima. It is an oceanside community at some distance from the city’s center. On its web site Mansìon San Antonio proclaims that it is a heterofriendly hotel. As gay travelers we often look for hotels that are gay friendly. It was nice to see this twist of marketing. It’s a gay hotel that won’t discriminate against its straight clientele. This was the big reason why I didn’t want to change our hotel reservation. I wanted to feel free to not have to pretend as if Craig and I are only two good chums on the road.



In a matter of a few days after our trip ends, Craig will be celebrating his birthday. Since I won’t be there with him, I took this trip as an opportunity to help him celebrate early. He thought we were going to be staying in a standard queen room. When we entered our room I surprised him with the fact that I upgraded the room to a King bed room. The room also comes with a Jacuzzi tub for two. While I settled our stuff in the room, I gave him a birthday card. Over the course of our trip, Craig was paying for the hotel rooms, but in this instance I paid for half. I just wish I had the money to pay for it in full.



The hallway outside our hotel room






Our hotel room. The king sized bed is a far cry from that tent we shared in the Andes mountains. Actually, this is the first time I had ever slept in a king sized bed.






The bathroom in our room






It now was time to explore Lima, capitol of Peru. We already knew that today was a big religious festival, El Señor de los Milagros (Lord of the Miracles). The festival involves a huge procession – among the largest of its kind in the world - in what is one of Peru’s most significant catholic holidays. El Señor de los Milagros is symbolized by an image of Jesus Christ that was painted in colonial times by an Angolan slave on the walls of a poor church. The painting of ‘The Black Christ’ portrays a dark skinned Jesus Christ on the crucifix. There was a terribly violent earthquake in 1746 in which the church wall bearing the image survived among the rubble. Its survival is considered a miracle.Craig and I wanted to be a part of a local festival and felt fortunate that we could witness it all. We walked to a busy street near our hotel and flagged down a taxi to take us to central Lima.


The throngs of festival goers prevented our taxi from reaching the heart of central Lima, Plaza Mayor (formerly Plaza de Armas). He got us as close as he could and we left the taxi. People filled the streets and the sidewalks. Thousands of people were making their way to the plaza. When we arrived the Archbishop was addressing the crowd. It was a sea of humanity.


That all sounds rather exciting. However, I found it to be quite taxing. I don’t do well with crowds. This one was getting larger and larger. Additionally, due to the religious festivities we were not able to get a close look at the Catedral, the Archbishop’s Palace, the GovernmentPalace or City Hall. As more and more people converged onto the square, I got more and more cranky. Craig and I moved away from the square to try and find something to see without all the people. This proved to be quite impossible.

Scenes from Plaza Mayor, Central Lima









Central Lima is a pit. There, I’ve said it. I thoroughly agree with Herman Melville who said it is “the saddest city on Earth”. It is dirty, grimy, and rather tasteless. While the colonial architecture of some of the buildings does enlighten a visit, it can not take away from the ugliness of the majority of central Lima. I would highly recommend avoiding it altogether. When you see grim and gritty do you want to take a picture of it? No, at least I don’t. When I look at my photographs of Central Lima it looks like a charming and wonderful place to visit. But that is only because I took pictures of the examples of beautiful architecture that was on hand and not of all the dirty, grimy parts.


As we wandered about Craig and I realized we are quite hungry and start to look at various establishments to find a place that would offer inexpensive and local food. We finally settled on a fast food type of place that basically is like a Peruvian version of “Boston Market”. I had a combination plate of chicken, fries, and salad. I was so hungry that it seemed quite tasty indeed. I gobbled it up rather quickly.


My lunch









After lunch we walked to find some examples of colonial mansions. We find the Palacio Torre Tagle which is the best surviving colonial mansion in Lima. The balconies have incredibly detailed wooden carvings. Using our guidebooks we seek out other examples of colonial architecture and baroque churches. We find the place where Congress meets. Just after we arrive they open the gates and the hordes of people stream in. Politicians are at the ready to make public addresses since this is among the biggest festivals of the entire year.

Palacio Torre Tagle



The streets of Central Lima



A shopping district in Central Lima



More of Central Lima




When we get to the Monasterio de San Francisco Craig announces that he has had enough of taking tours and is not interested in exploring the monastery. I have sympathy for him. It is rare to find an individual who likes to explore and learn about destinations as much as I do. If I had my druthers I would have liked to see the remains of the original city walls, the catacombs, and the library of antique texts. Instead we continue to meander our way around Central Lima.

Monasterio de San Francisco

[rhinohunter]

Very nice pix. You did good showing some very interesting buildings. Looks like you guys are contnuing to have a great time.

[DouglasE]

Imagine my consternation when we entered an intersection only to find our way blocked in every direction by hordes of people jam packed like sardines in a can. While we weren’t looking to find the procession, it seemed to have found us. Hundreds of thousands of people gather on the streets of Lima to join the procession of a bier carrying the image of the Black Christ. Christ’s image sits atop a 2 ton litter that is adorned with silver, gold and flowers. It is carried by followers dressed in purple tunics – the symbolic color of the saint. Following this litter is a band which helps the pilgrimage keep time as they slowly march their way from one end of town to the other. At every corner and intersection the drums beat and the horns blow. Followers throw confetti. We wait for the procession to make its way down a street so we can pass and make our way. It takes what seems an eternity. The bier moves incredibly slowly through the streets.



The procession moves the litter of the icon through the streets of Lima. The city is decked out in purple.





While we wait and watch the goings on, I am jostled by others. The locals seem to think that if they shove me I will move. I have my feet firmly planted in place and will not move. Shoving me does no good for them. They need to find another way around. Several times people try to bump into me or shove me. At the beginning of this trip report I mentioned how I was tempted to act out. This is that moment. I seriously wanted to strike back at a local and literally hit them. Thank goodness I had some common sense and realize that I can ill afford a stay in jail. Craig is also jostled and moved about, but I ensure that he doesn’t get pushed too far from me. My irritability is nearing an all-time high. Prior to this experience I thought I would want to be a part of local celebrations. Now I know to use a skeptic’s eye and think about does the description of the event sound like something I would enjoy. I have now come to the conclusion that the running of the bulls in Pamplona would probably be best seen on the television rather than having me run for my life in person. Although, I think I hear a beer stein calling my name in Munich during Oktoberfest.








NEXT: The Quintessential Peruvian beverage