The HIKES!

We took the Vistadome train from the Urubamba valley to the 104 drop off. Here we begin our 6 hour hike.

Great hike. It is humid & steep!

Entrance to Winaywayna - an archaeological complex with terraces, and lots of steps UP!

Onward & upward!

Made it to the top of Winaywayna, now we continue to Intipunku, the Sun Gate. 

The tents are where the campers stay if you do the 4 day Inca Trail. I am glad we didn't do that trek. Two days of hiking were enough for us. John, Tim & Craig would have liked it, but the girls and I were glad to sleep in a bed each night!

Our first views of Machu Picchu!

See the tall mountain off to the right? We hiked this the next day. It is called Waynapicchu.

Strolled around Machu Picchu & then took a bus to our hotel. Next day back on the bus...EARLY ...    to be able to be one of the 400 allowed a day onto Waynapicchu.

Taking a rest before we move on up!

Our view from the top, now looking down on Machu Picchu.

Not an easy hike...even had to crawl through a tunnel.

Erin's feet do not fit on these narrow steps!

Now for the tour of Machu Picchu.

We were so exhausted from our hike, we could barely listen, hence comprehend how the Inca's built this unbelievable site!

Food!

People have asked us about the food. It was VERY GOOD! Most of us lost weight, more than likely from all of our hiking. 

How about some cuy? The guinea pig is small, flavorful with just the right amount of fatty crispness...according to the Peruvians!

Which guinea pig would you like to eat, Craig?

Cheese empanadas in Pisca.

Shrimp, mangos & avocado.

Salad with potatoes, palm hearts & tomatoes.

Agua sin gas & Cusquena beer are good choices for drinks.

Crackers anyone?

At this restaurant, we all had carved figurines of animals made out of carrots.

If I recall correctly, this was some sort of stuffed pepper with potatoes & vegetables.

We were always offered coca tea at every restaurant and hotel. Not only do the Peruvians make tea from coca, they chew it too. They just fold or roll up leaves to help them get energy or fight the effects of the altitude. Mike & the boys did this, but I think my gag reflex would have been activated had I tried it.

This stuff does not have the same effect as cocaine....even though they use the same leaves.....

no kerosene added!

Alpaca, chicken & pork

Osscobuco - veal shank

Ribs

Quinoa, pronounced keen-wah, a high protein grain. I liked it. The boys thought it looked gross.

Seafood in Lima. We especially liked the ceviche - raw fish marinated in lime juice, with onion, chilies & cilantro.

The description was something like: Wet chocolate, chocolate & more!

The girls had to wait 20 minutes for their chocolate souffle. It was worth it!

Trout, potatoes & rice on Taquille Island. Lots of starch in their meals.

Pisco Sours! The national drink made with local grape brandy, fresh lime juice, sugar, egg whites and a splash of bitters.

Salute!

Last Day in Lima

Here are a few pics from our last day in Lima. We drove home carefully this afternoon as accidents happen closest to home. We were welcomed to icy & snowy conditions. Happy to be home. Hope you enjoyed the posts!

Lynn

Lima's Historical Center

Monasterio de San Francisco...a monastery & church. Famous for its bone lined catacombs.  An estimate of 70,000 people are buried here. 

Don't think we were supposed to snap pictures here but Mike could not resist.

No pics of the areas where they stacked bodies and covered them with lime. The bodies or I should say bones, were later moved and lined up so they could make room for more bodies to be buried. 

Huaca Pucllana archaeological center that was built sometime between the 5th & 8th centuries A.D

Found lots of human sacrifices here! Always women.

A nativity scene at Casa Luna. Mr. Luna has three rooms displayed with nativity scenes from all over the world. We went into his home to tour this "Exclusive Lima Tours" site. My mom would have LOVED this. The collection was amazing.

This sort of decoration is called a retablo. Tiny human figures, animals from the area, images of Christian saints and pre-Colombian deities, stars, mountains and lakes are often the theme. This tradition came from the Spaniards. You simply fold the box together and take with you.

We liked Mr. Luna's house even better. Back yard pool, covered courtyard with seating for maybe 50+ people. I especially liked his upside down Christmas tree.

Best upside down Christmas tree I've seen!

Beach in Lima. The beach is rocky & the water is cold. That did not stop swimmers and surfers!

Juliaca to Lima!

All went well flying out of Juliaca. This shot was taken from our bus while it was raining. This is a corner stand where a family is selling some goods. Notice the buildings with rebar sticking up. We didn't see anything that looked much better than this. One reason they don't finish the buildings is because then they don't have to pay any taxes on the building. No taxes = the type of street you see here!

Funny Phrases

1. Louis, our tour guide, kept asking us questions. We had NO CLUE how to answer. Many times they were about how the Incas could have done what they did with so little. One time after a long pause, Tim came up with an answer.....ALIENS! We used that answer several more times during his questioning.
Phrases the kids remember Louis liked to say: "Don't forget it" "Seriously" "This is very important" "Let's rock & roll"
We really enjoyed Louis. He made us laugh.

2. One of our tour guides, Erica, was explaining about the archeology site where they performed lots of human sacrifices. She said "they put jello all over the walls." I said WHAT do you mean by jello? The kids burst out laughing at me and all answered YELLOW. They couldn't stop laughing, but tried  not to so they wouldn't make Erica feel bad.

3. One tour guide, NOT from Lima Tours, was showing us a catholic church and explaining how difficult it was for the Incas to understand hibbing. He said, they didn't know the language and the churches teachings. I thought, I've spent my childhood going to a catholic church and I have no idea what hibbing is. Later he mentioned hibbing & hell so we figured out he was talking about "heaven & hell,"

4. "We are going to see the mumins" .... mummies.
    "Notice the iter" ....alter.
  
5. Louis asked us who our patron saint is in the US. We stood there not able to answer.
   He said he thought it was Obama! We got a laugh out of that one.

6. One of our transfer guides who spent very little time with us said, "We were funny", poor guy,
we all burst out laughing. I'm sure he meant we were fun to work with but it just struck our funny bone!

Craig on Cipro

No pictures of Craig curled up in the fetal position. He missed dinner and had the comforts of a bedroom. Supposedly, his brother got up with him and got him water and rubbed his back.
We are not sure what he ate, unlike John.....Maybe it was the dark yellow water he took a bath in! Yes, the water came out of the bath/shower dark yellow. Otherwise the hotel was nice. Remember we are in a third world country!

The sanitary conditions were not too great in Puno. Lake Titicaca is beautiful where the islands are located, but take a look at the shore where we got on the boat! Tim asked if he could swim in the lake (the day before) and our guide said NO there is cah-cah in the water.

We are now in Lima. So glad to be in a modern city once again. The altitude was REALLY hard on our bodies. It sort of felt like being hit in the head with a sledge hammer. It was an 8 Advil day for me! We drank plenty of water which meant you had to get up in the middle of the night 2-3 times. I could hear myself breathing heavy for a minute before I could get back to sleep. I also had a feeling of dread last night because we left from the Juliaca airport. Driving through the city on the way to Puno made me nervous. No buildings or "homes" were finished. Each one had rebar sticking out of the top of the building. They do this so they don't have to pay taxes.

Lake Titicaca

We left at 7 this morning to visit Uros Islands. This is where the people live as they did centuries ago...on  floating islands. They use totora reeds that grow on the lake. There are about 50 floating islands. About 10 of them are NOT accepting tourist so they cut the reed and have separated from the group and have anchored elsewhere. The island we visited had 8 families with 35 people and 6 children, a cat, a flamingo and a some birds. Delfina, our guide, said the number of islands can change quickly, possibly there can be a fight between families, they just cut off from the island and join another.

The islanders trade with the people in Puna for what they need. They have to get in their boats and row to town.

Or they go by motorboat.

Welome to one of the floating islands in Uro!

They do not have bathrooms on their island. They have to get in a boat and row to a bathroom, off the island. That would be miserable!

We sat down to have a little education class on how they live.

They cut the base that the totora reeds grow out of and anchor them in the lake.

Add the cut reeds on top, build your house of reeds and voila! You have a community!

They have to continue to add reeds on the top because as they rot the "ground" sinks.

The people are wanting tourist's money so they do all they can to show us a good time and then take us to their homemade items. Tim & Alisha are being led to a hut.....Mike and I were also lead to a hut.

Doesn't he look like a local?

Nice hat!

Mike and I were dying laughing. He couldn't get the shirt on and we heard a big rip. He gestured to the lady that he was too big. She made him take off his coat and pulled it over him.

We also bought a few trinkets. Our tour guide said it is expected.

Sort of the price to visit the island. I bought a mobil for our pontoon boat.

Another way you can spend your money on the island is by taking a boat ride. It cost 10 soles per person. 

Now entering Taquile  Islalnd. 580 steps UP! The population is 2,500 people on this small 7 sq km island. The Quechua speaking islanders rarely marry non-Taquile. They have deeply ingrained social customs. 

Wonder how Mike's cousins would like farming this land?

The lake is beautiful here. 

Delfina, our guide, shows us the knitted hat men HAVE to knit before they can get married. The hat HAS to hold water with no leaks. He will have to start over if it does.

The colors of hats and skirts are important. Colors & designs are important. It can tells of their social status....married, single, etc. 

 Men wear belts around their middle with intricate designs made by their wives. They also contain hair in them to make them stronger. This is not a very good pic but we saw two guys carrying up 6-8 cases of beer & soda in one pack (in glass bottles) we were impressed. I think the belt around their middle helps protect their backs.