At first, I found myself struggling with comparisons of India…Cusco is easy to navigate, relatively calm and clean. In fact, I almost wanted to call it boring! No beggars. No chaos. Normal driving. The most unique thing I saw were the little Quechuan ladies wearing their colorful blankets filled with child on their backs and walking llamas through the center of town. I seized the opportunity for a photo opp only to come to learn that they dressed that way so tourists would take their photos for money. Hey, at least they were working! Soon enough, I settled into the Peruvian culture and came to the conclusion that “boring” is the new cool.
Before my husband Adam arrived, my goal was to do as much mountain adventure “scoping” as I could. My first adventure was a mountain bike ride with my awesome guide Duillio and an ex-BMX racer from Atlanta. I rarely travel with Americans but it was fun to be with a Southerner (borderline redneck complete with jeans and a hoody). From the Sacred Valley we drove an hour up a dirt road. By the time we got the top it was totally hailing. Needless to say, none of us were that fired up. Luckily, it stopped hailing but the dusting of ice made for some interesting travel, especially since the trail started off with a steep downhill and big rocks. I got a monster adrenaline rush straight out of the gate and did my best to hang on. The technical trail on a new bike definitely tested my nerves.
I’m not sure which was more ridiculous..the super drunk potato farmers who insisted I drink their homemade Chicha (local moonshine) or the Quechuan woman who wanted me to hold a dead hummingbird?
The next day I headed off on my next adventure with a new guide Huber and a couple from St. Louis. This 4-day trek headed to a pass below the massive Salkantay Mountain (20,574ft). Our first campsite located in the valley floor near the mountain was spectacular (and cold). Day 2 we climbed a pass reaching 15,000+ feet. According to Huber, we crushed the record for climbing the pass by over an hour…Good work team!
Surprisingly, just over the pass the scenery quickly turned lush and tropical. We must have seen 15 types of orchids, brommalids living on tree branches and all sorts of crazy flora and fauna. Huber carefully explained each plant’s uses as we scampered down the valley floor. After that long, hard day of hiking, we were stoked to wake up the next morning and immediately hit a hot springs pool in the middle of the forest. Best $1 I’d spent yet!
The trek ended at a train that took us to Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. I had arranged transport for Adam who was traveling from the US to meet our group. So many things could have gone wrong with him coming from the States and me being in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, his travels went smoothly and I arrived at his train just in time. Phew!
We woke up at 5am to catch the bus for Machu Picchu. The misty weather wasn’t in our favor but we went anyway and lucky we did because when we left, the rain started and didn’t stop for hours. Nonetheless, Machu Picchu is deservedly one of the Wonders of the World and something everyone should see once in their lifetime! It totally lived up to the hype (although I could have done without the dorky tourists in yellow and red ponchos) and we enjoyed Huber’s guidance through its history.
From Machu Picchu we spent the next several days in the Sacred Valley, an incredibly scenic area dotted with historic ruins, corn farms and surrounded by the Andes Mountains. We splurged on a beautiful yoga retreat center for 2 nights. The only drawbacks were its location just off the main road and there wasn’t a ton of stuff to do in the immediate vecinity. One day we cruised around the main town of Urubamba, which was a pleasant place with a fantastic restaurant and interesting pottery studio by the famous artist Seminario. The other day we hiked to a salt mine where salt literally poured out of a mountainside…Very unusual and cool.
Our guide Duillio had suggested we stay next door to him at a hotel that just opened. He said we’d like it. His recommendations were so good that we went for it and traveled to the other end of the Valley to stay there. A nice British guy answered the gate and brought us in to this newfound paradise. Nestled at the base of some amazing peaks, the stunning views from the glass reception area immediately felt right. With hiking trails galore, a yoga camp just 20 minutes away, and Duillio’s guiding facilities next door, this was the spot. The energy was right, the service good, and it’s a brand new hotel so not many people know about it. Jackpot! Strange how life turns…
The next morning we shipped off for our mountain bike ride. Adam warned me about 10 times that if we were mountain biking and if he fell, we’d be sleeping in different hotels that night. I was a bit nervous but Duillio said he’d be fine so we went. The ride was spectacular and easy enough for Adam but also presented us with some challenging technical sections. He did great and actually “caught the buzz.” Welcome to my world! In between navigating singletrack and an ancient trade road used by the Spanish, we stopped at the Moray Ruins and again at the salt mine which not only broke up the ride, but also were interesting historical features. After the ride, Duillio and his wife Andrea had us over for a long, delicious lunch. A young couple with a 2-year old daughter and western ways, we hit it off immediately and talked for hours. They invited us to stay at their house, which we did for the night. We now had real Peruvian friends ☺
On our way back to Cusco, we made a quick stop in Pisaq to visit the famous ruins, which were now looking all the same, and the touristy market, which had the same stuff we had seen everywhere. The best part by far was the “Choclo con Queso” the women sold in the market. This corn on the cob had huge kernels which and was with 2 pieces of cheese (that squishy, rubbery white kind that every other country has but ours) and a green pesto sauce. Delicious!
We spent the last 2 nights and one full day back in Cusco. I felt like a regular at this point and we shopped a little and ate at more amazing restaurants per Duillio’s recommendations. We were even able to find a crepe shop with WiFi for Adam to do a little work. We also randomly found a great jazz band that played in an intimate, funky bar. Aside from the cigarette smoke, it was cool to be listening to a funky, younga band in a bar where at least 5 languages were spoken.
Getting home was a long, drawn out process that involves an afternoon in Lima and a late flight home…Not worth writing about.
So that’s it. Once again, another amazing international adventure. It was so nice to not read the paper, not talk or hear about the economy and meet new people. What a treat to wake up to an Obama victory and the world giving us a thumb’s up for making a good decision (we hope!). When we won, we were staying at a hotel with a French Canadian couple, a Dutch couple, an Argentinian, a Brit and us. It was interesting how involved they were in our election. But I guess everyone was watching, huh?
I’m officially awesome at traveling abroad. I love that I am able to write and photograph my experience so others can vicariously enjoy the experience. We Americans are blessed with creativity and energy and freedom. It is my desire to use these gifts as a way to better my life as well as the lives of those around me. Stepping outside the comfort box and into someone else’s world is so liberating. It’s always reassuring to see that no matter where you are, life is about filling it with family, friends, good food and a warm bed.
‘Til the next adventure….Ciao!
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