Cusco, Machu Picchu and Puerto Maldonado

I arrived in Cusco in time for the Days of the Dead, November 1 and 2. The first thing I did was to head for the Almudena cementary. While the holiday isn't the big deal that it is in Mexico, plenty of Peruvians were washing the graves of their family members and bringing flowers to the cementary, including this lovely old lady in a top hat holding a bouquet of flowers while sitting in a wheel chair. I managed to take a few other discreet photographs that day.  

This man's according music brought comfort to all in his vicinity. Below are two other photos taken at the Cementary, including one of the food and drink offered to the dead.

Right away I signed up for a tour of the Sacred Valley, and for 50 soles (about $17) was on my way to a day of climbing prominent archeological sites in Pisac and Ollantaytambo.  The operative word here is "climbing." I never climbed as much in my life as I did during the month of November, much of it spent in Cusco. Additionally, the hostel I stayed at was high above the city in San Blas, so I hiked the many stairs on a daily basis to the hostel in which I resided.

The cost for the Sacred Valley tour included a delicious lunch. There were 8 of us on board, and the others included young women from the US and South Africa. I found the young women very gracious. Taking tours in Arequipa, Puno and Cusco provided opportunities for sociability while traveling alone.  Others on their own told me they enjoyed the tours for the same reason. I met numerous women traveling on their own in Cusco! I was glad for the contrast to my last months in Dominican Republic, which had been rather lonely for me. I complained at times about the tourism in Cusco, however, I really enjoyed socializing with travelers from around the world.

After hiking the archeological sites, our tour stopped at Chinchero, where we were treated to a demonstration by indigenous women of their methods for dying the wool they wove into textiles. None of us bought any textiles that day and all of us felt somewhat apologetic about not doing so.

Having purchased the Boleto Turistoco at a cost of 130 soles, or nearly 50 dollars, I was on a pursuit to visit every last archeological site and museum included in the price of my ticket. I admit that I enjoyed the sense of purpose buying the Boleto Turistico gave me. I also limited my other expenses, given that I had spent so much to tour Cusco and the surrounding area.

I especially enjoyed my visit to the Museo Historico Regional, also known as Casa Garcilaso, where I went the next day.

The Museo de Sito del Quoricancha is not very large, yet it is on an important Incan archeological site right in the middle of Cusco, and I was glad that I visited.

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I almost forgot to include a photo of Cusco's Plaza de Armas in this blog update! I confess I did not take any tours of Cusco's Cathedrals, having visiting so many in other cities such as Trujillo and Arequipa. I have just had enough church visits lately! Cusco's Plaza de Armas is very striking. And it is surrounded by Cathedrals.

I made a day of taking myself out on a tour of some archeological sites near Cusco. I started out by taking a bus to the furthest location, at Tambomachay, which turned out to be my favorite. It consists of a series of aqueducts, waterfalls and canals that run through the  terraced rocks and may have served as a spa to the Incan elite. Two photos below show the archeological site of Tambomachay.

 I proceeded to walk back toward Cusco and hike sites at Pukapukara, Qenko, Templo de la Luna, and Saqsayhuaman.

 The photo below was taken at Pukapukara.

I'll always remember the helpful young man below, who accompanied me on the hike around the site of the Templo de la Luna (above). His grandmother, a shop owner from whom I had purchased a bottle of water, advised me that this was not the safest locations to be walking in alone. I had also seen this advisory in my guide book & I took her up on the invitation to borrow her grandson!

 The following photo was also taken near the Temple of the Moon.

 The photograph below was taken at Qenco.

 The lovely young woman below accompanied me on a cross country hike to Saqsayhaman. I was most appreciative for her assistance.

 Below is the famous "Christo Blanco," which stands over the city of Cusco.

 Below is a photo of ruins taken at Saqsayhuaman.

The next day I toured another archeological site, Moray, where Incans acclimatized different types of plants to cold weather by using concentric agricultural terraces - they started at the bottom, where it was warmer, and over time moved the seeds up higher. It was a long drive to get to Moray, yet worthwhile. We also went to Salinas de  Maras, where Peruvians have panned for salt over many generations. Each family in the community has access to their own plot of salt. Families are able to accrue a substantial part of their annual income by mining salt.

The following day I toured the Pre-Columbian Art Museum. A Musician was playing as I entered, and his photo is shown below. I've also included other photos taken in this museum, a smaller version of the Larco Museum in Lima, so of course I loved being here.

Moving right along, I took another tour of the archeological sites at Tipón and Pikillacta. There were some women from El Salvador on the tour, as well as some lively Brazilians, and it was far and away the best tour of the three I took of the ruins surrounding Cusco. We went went out for almuerzo of chicharron (fried pork) later even though the tour was technically over. Everyone kept on taking photos of the group, and no one wanted to leave. I had such a wonderful day. 

Wednesday, November 12, I took a taxi to Poroy at 6 am and took the train to Machu Pichu at 7:12am. I had a great time at Machu Picchu! I am glad I did it, because I am never going to do it again. Once is enough for me. It was so expensive! The train ride was beautiful, and I snapped some beautiful photos along the way. The scenery was also gorgeous between Puno and Cusco and I've heard that is a beautiful train ride too. One train ride, at $163 round trip, was expensive enough for me. And I had to pay another $44 for a pass to get into Machu Picchu. The bus from the train station cost another $20. I've had a wonderful time in Peru, but I am also glad to be leaving. It's been expensive for me. Anyway, on to the photos of my day at Machu Picchu.

This last photo was taken in Aguas Calientes, or Machu Pichu town.  All's well that end's well, and I am glad I had a fabulous time in Machu Picchu even if it seemed a little anti-climatic after all of the other wonderful (and less expensive) tours of different ruins I went on. So that's that, and I am happy to report that I even have a Machu Picchu stamp in my passport now (it takes up a whole page). 

Moving right along, a few days later I went with my good friend Anna to Pisac, where we enjoyed the weekend together. We were both so glad to get out of Cusco. We even took San Pedro Cactus together, because I wanted to enjoy the hallucinogenic properties of the cactus. Luis, the co-owner of the hostel I stayed at is shown below cutting up the cactus before we cooked it up for several hours. He was a great help to me in so many ways! His father helped me lots, too. I was proud of myself for getting the cactus at the market (a friend helped me get a good buy on the cactus) for $5 instead of paying a local shaman $100 for a trip on San Pedro, which is common in Cusco, and struck me as a huge rip-off. Anna and I enjoyed our time tripping that weekend.

I was walking in the Pisac valley, enjoying the beautiful quiet of the valley, while coming onto the cactus. The Land even talked to me and welcomed me! It was all I could have ever wanted. The only problem is that we had a little trouble getting to sleep the night after taking the cactus, because we were both wired. We drank some wine and fell asleep sometime after midnight. We weren't even grumpy the next day. In fact, we enjoyed a fabulous swim at the Royal Inka Hotel Swimming Pool.

My last week in Cusco I decided to take a night bus to Puerto Maldonado and spend a few days at the Ecoamazonia Lodge along the Madre de Dios River. The trip to Puerto Maldonado took about ten hours, and I only stayed two nights at the Ecoamazonia Lodge. I wouldn't recommend the lodge to anyone, as it cost way too much for what was provided ($300 for just 2 nights and 2 days), and it was  full of French speaking people on tour groups.

However, I got lucky and had a fabulous time, due in large part to a lively Australian woman named Dee who arrived at the Lodge the same day I did. The following are photos of my days at the Ecoamazonia lodge. We did a lot of hiking in the jungle viewing the trees, plants and wildlife in the area, which really made the time worthwhile. We even fed monkeys in the wild!

I slept in a beautifully appointed cabin with no glass, just mesh, covering the windows. I especially loved waking up to the sounds of the jungle in the morning. Meals were included, and they were generally pretty good. I enjoyed the swimming pool! And I loved our boat trips.

My last few days in Cusco turned out to be quite pleasant, although I was missing my dear friend from Austria, Anna, who left for Bolivia. We had enjoyed so many sweet times together since meeting one another in Arequipa. We knew then we'd both be in Cusco at the same time so kept up an email correspondence. I am sorry I was unable to go to Boliva, or at least decided not to go, due to the expense of obtaining a visa ($160). Europeans do not have to pay the cost Americans are charged, so several of the European friends I'd made at the hostel headed for Bolivia where as I did not. I missed my friends. So many people came and went in the 3 1/2 weeks I was in Cusco. I was glad that I was able to get away that last week and enjoy the Madre de Dios region of Peru. 

As it turned out, Dee was staying at a hostel in San Blas too, and we got together several times after returning from Ecoamazonia. We went to the Market together and ate out at my favorite restaurant, the Sumac II.

The last photo (above) was taken the last night I spent in Cusco, just below the hostel I was staying at. There was a new crescent moon (just visible to the left) and Dee took a photo so I decided to do so. It turned out great, didn't I? Kind of makes me nostalgic. I'll end my update with a few photos of the the hostel I stayed at, the Home Sweet Home Mirador. When I first got to Cusco, climbing up the stairs just to get there was so hard I decided I would move closer to the Plaza de Armas. I even found a hostel that was fairly quiet and also charged 20 soles a night for a dorm room. But the room cost didn't include breakfast, and I loved breakfast at Home Sweet Home Mirador. 

I loved everyone there, too and felt so comfortable. Luis gave me the information I needed as far as getting to Machu Picchu and to Ecoamazonia. He also turned me on to wonderful tours, that didn't cost a lot. He even got the bus tickets I needed and contacted taxis, too.  Right away I fell in love with Serena, his German girlfriend, who was so kindly. Adolfo, Luis's dad was good-natured. Elizabeth, the young woman who cleaned, cooked and did my laundry was stellar. Tanja, Antje, Joel, Alex, Sergio, Nicole and all of the others I met at the hostel were wonderful. 

While I enjoyed the travelers, I was never overwhelmed, because the hostel was small. Many nights I had the dorm room to myself, and the bathroom was right next door. I had a really good deal for $8 night. Yep, there just wasn't a reason to move except that the walk up the steps left me winded. But I got used to it! I ended up staying at the Home Sweet Home Mirador all month long. I should start my little photo tribute with the view of Cusco from the room outside the dorm!

 Below are photos of Adolfo, Elizabeth, Luis, and Serena. I appreciate you all so much!

So, Wednesday, November 26 I took a Star Peru air flight from Cusco's airport to Lima. I left at 11:30 am and arrived in Lima at about 1 pm. That was one of the most beautiful flights I have ever been on. How I loved looking out of my window at the snow capped Andes. I was in shock when I arrived in Lima, and missed Cusco so much. Yes, I was ready to leave Cusco and all of the tourism there. Yet despite of what I said about tourism, I loved that place. I probably won't be going back and I feel sad about that. I really enjoyed all of the camraderie of being there.

Lima has been much more enjoyable then it was before I left. The climate is much warmer and the sun comes out almost every day. I am having a pretty good time here. It was easy catching a bus from the airport and arriving at the home of my hosts in the Jesús María district of Lima. I hope I can prevail on them to take me to the airport when I leave for Quito, Ecuador December 3.

I am so excited about going to Ecuador. I would really rather have a ride to the airport, though, since I am taking two bigger packs with me. All I have is about 45 pounds of luggage, but I need some help! It will be easy getting to Cotacachi from Quito since I have arranged a ride from the airport.

I've already made a connection with some of the American expatriates living in Cotacachi, and am thinking I may possibly end of up living there, at least 6 months out of the year. I may live 6 months every year on the north coast of Peru, and 6 months each year in Ecuador and avoid having to obtain residency in either country. At least that is my thinking right now. I will let you know how it goes!

Thank you for reading my blog update and looking at my photos! I'll be posting a Cotacachi update by the end of the month. January I'm planning to go to Canoa, Ecuador, for a month's stay on the beach. Enjoy your holiday season, and I'll be blogging again soon!