Peru: Days 7-8

So I’m going to combine the last two days because it has sort of run together, although it’s been great. 

The night of Day 6 I headed to Cusco via train from Machu Piccu. I bought a bimodal ticket through Peru Rail because it only dropped from Machu Piccu to Ollantaytambo (left around 5pm and took about 2.5 hours). From there, I had to hop a bus to Cusco which was about a 2 hour ride. 

The rail ride was fun! Some traditional Peruvian dancing up and down the aisle by this guy:

Next was a fashion show featuring all of the alpaca goods. I think I may be alpaca’d out (I don’t know how to write that). Anyhoo lots of nice looking stuff, and I fell prey to humbre muy guapo and caved for yet another scarf. Hahaha 😀

No, I did not buy a man’s scarf, I’m just showing the variety. 🙂

They worked it and we fell for it. We, meaning the Australian couple sitting across from me. She bought that black wrap and I bought a scarf. We were the only ones in the car to buy anything, which probably says something, but who cares. HA! 

Anyway, finally arrived at my hotel around 9pm. The hotel sent a car for me after a local call to them (local phone on the side of the road). The hotel was quiet and two twin beds again. It was late and I was hungry but there really wasn’t anything around (hotel was called Torre Dorada) so I ordered some chicken soup. I think they made it fresh for me because it tasted so. 

Anyway, 5am wake up call today to catch my flight to Arequipa (geez, can’t believe all this has been in one day). Got in around 8am and I’m staying in the most lovely hotel. They sent a car for me last minute and got my room ready so that I was able to check in at 9am! Staying at Hotel Katari and somehow I got the presidential suite for about $165 US a night. This room and hotel es muy bonita!!!

View from my room down into the plaza:

Ridiculous. In this pic from the outside, my room is the one on the right, so only a couple with this view:

Anyway, lovely. I also made it in time for breakfast, which is on the rooftop with this view:

Gorgeous. 

Anyway, changed my clothes to shorts (first time this trip!!) and headed out. First I stopped at a little place to finish booking my trip and tickets and voila! Done. Will head to Cabanaconde 4/1 and from there do Colca Canyon and then bus to Puno and do Lake Titicaca. Lots of travel and tickets in there that I had to book. Turns out the little agency I stopped in was super helpful (thank you, Yudy) and didn’t mess with me (as far as I know, hahha!). 

Next off to the Santa Catalina Monastery, which was awesome. Once again, hung around for a few minutes at the front to see if I could join anyone (20 soles by myself or 10 with others). Thanks to Jan and Mike, we had our group!  While I’m on a 5 week vacation from work,  Jan and Mike are on a three week vacation from their children (21 and 22)…ha!! Great couple from California and we had a fun time chatting after the tour. The tour guide seemed displeased with us for some reason and would start talking in places before we were even there. 😒 But we laughed it off and made the best of it. Mike and Jan were in a tour with eight people and were pleased with the planning aspect being taken care of, which is nice. For those of you that are planning Peru, I do think there are good tours, you might just have to look around. They are also doing the Inca Trail, which is AWESOME! This is a 3 night/4 day tour through the Inca Trail. Parts can be very difficult and it is very tiring but sounds amazing from what I’ve read. 

Anyway, a few pics from the monastery. They say it’s a city within a city, and it truly is:

Once again, I could post pics all day but I won’t. 😀 Thanks to Jan and Mike for letting me join them and for the good conversation!

Next was lunch at Zig Zag and it was ridiculously DELICIOUS! I finally found the good food. First I had raw trout and salmon with dill, olive oils and capers:

So amazing. Next was tomato soup with basil and some gorgonzola:

So yum. Yum Yum Yum. 

Headed back to my high society life at the Katari for a chat with my bestie (much needed, thank you friend!! 😘) and a quick siesta.

Woke up and headed out to catch a little street show:

Then to Museo de Pisco AQP for dinner. I keep wanting salads and fresh vegetables and fruits, but I like to stay on the super safe side on the food. Concerns around rinsing the lettuce or fruit in water are enough to keep me from eating them. So, I ordered wings! Ha. Super breaded so not real good, but given the late lunch it hit the spot okay. Fun little restaurant to sit at, though, and write my blog. They’re playing red hot chili peppers, so it can’t be that bad. Haha! 

Speaking of, they play a lot of American music here… I think for the tourists. You have to hit more of the local small spots to hear something else. 

Anyway, will head back soon and sink into my lovely bed and appreciate a good night sleep after a very long day. I feel blessed to have grabbed this hotel. I treated myself, but it feels good. 

I’m once again extremely thankful for the opportunity to do this and for the pleasures I am enjoying from my hard work. It’s totally worth it. It feels like I have been working so hard for so long and I just plain forgot how to live and how to take care of myself. It’s such a good reminder when I talk with people about living life and doing it while you can because there is no promise of tomorrow. 

Signing off… 

#workinghardpaysoff #thisisliving #stopandsmelltheroses #rememberyou

 

Peru: Day 6

Day 6 was some much needed downtime and planning the remainder of my trip. Since I wasn’t able to hop to Ollantaytambo, I used the time to get a little extra rest, do some planning, and have a leisurely lunch in the Plaza. Lunch was at Incontri del Pueblo Viejo, recommended by the hotel and also received very good ratings. So good that I’m here again today updating my blog 🙂 

Decided that I’m going to do Colca Canyon (near Arequipa) on my own and then book a boat tour for Lake Titicaca in Puno. So, I got more reservations confirmed and learned more about what I’m going to do. 

After lunch I headed to the hot springs. It was rather crowded and grossed me out a little, but I did it anyway. Ha! 

The pool closest in the photo is the cold one and then they get progressively and the other four are warm, getting progressively warmer. The third, crowded one has a rocky bottom (like small pebbles) which was interesting. 

I braved the cold pool twice and ended on it because it was exhilarating. It’s that shock to the system that sometimes you really need! 

Oh, I found this entertaining 😆

Hehehe!! 

Then I sat upstairs for a bit just to relax and people watch. Hit on a drum for a few with a guy who was playing which was fun, haha. 

Then I headed back, showered quickly, and headed out for dinner. I ended up back at Treehouse since it was so good before and got some phenomenal pasta…yum!!!

Then back to the hotel and bed. Not a whole lot to share but needed a day of downtime which felt really good! 

Tomorrow is the train to Cusco where I’ll stay the night and fly to Arequipa on 3/30 for my next stop. 

Oh, this pic is for my mom. So random as I was walking by and I thought of how much you’d love it! 😘

Until tomorrow… 

Peru: Day 5

Wow. I must say, every day seems to get a little better, which is surprising since every day feels so awesome. 
Today I started early (around 5) to check out of my hotel and head to the train station. My taxi was waiting for me and I made it in plenty of time. 

The rail ride was AWESOME. Peru Rail is a great experience. The views were spectacular and the service was great. Coffee and some kind of quinoa fig pastry that was actually really good.

The views were seriously amazing. That’s Carmen, in the first picture who was with her husband Cesar. They are from Spain but Cesar travels between Chile and Spain for his job, one month in each. His English was very good so we had some very good conversation. Carmen’s wasn’t bad but not as strong. They were a really great couple and made the ride more enjoyable. I had some questions about my Machu Piccu ticket and Cesar was able to translate them to one of the rail guys to get answers for me. 

Also, we passed this:

Welcome to the Skylodge… three transparent pods (and a restaurant on the right) clinging to the side of a 400 ft cliff, and you have to scale a sheer rock face to reach them. Read about it here, but no thank you!! Haha. 

Peru Skylodge

This is a thing!!!!!! My God. 

Anyway, some other great views, and we finally arrived in Machu Piccu in Aguas Calientes. I was smart enough to book a hotel walking distance (like literally two mins) from the terminal so I dropped my bags at the hotel and headed off to the bus terminal to buy a ticket to get up to Machu Piccu. You can walk it, but it’s about an hour and a half and strenuous and I was concerned I’d be pooped by the time I got up with a lot more hiking to do. 

The ride up was a bit frightening on the edge of the cliff, but I convinced myself that they do this all the time and I’m not in control. 🙂 

Hard to get many pics from the bus, but I did catch this one, mainly because I think this must be a Hermes (maybe?? I don’t know my brands all that well) scarf this guy was wearing and I’m wondering who wears that to hike Manchu Piccu, lol??! 

Anyway that’s just rude of me and I digress. 

Once we got there, I considered checking it out on my own first. I freaked out a little at the beginning because I somehow lost my ticket or forgot it at the hotel, but I was able to provide my passport and they brought it up and I could get right in. Once in, I met an American couple from Seattle that said they had done it with a tour guide and without a tour guide and recommended a guide. So, I went back outside to the entrance and started talking to a few people. Basically there are a lot of individual guides outside and many people that want to form small groups to save money on the tour. I talked to a couple of groups and found a good one for 20 sols per person, which is really cheap from what I heard. There was a couple from South Carolina, four British guys on holiday, and three siblings from Canada. Great group and we had a great time. Totally worth the guide because you learn a lot of history and he explained everything we saw. Everything was just amazing. Some pics from the tour:

(You have to love his hat!) 

Those are just a handful of the photos I took and other things that we got to see. It’s hard with the blog because I really want to explain all of the pictures, but I’d be here all day and I have more to do haha!! 

A note for people wanting to travel to Peru: Huayna Picchu is supposedly a great hike to take (the largest mountain you see in the pics) but you have to sign up pretty far in advance since they only take 200 people a day. There were people in my tour group who had done it and described how challenging and terrifying it was at times with no guard rails and being on your hands and knees! It is a very strenuous hike but evidently very much worth it for the views. So if you want to do this, make sure to sign up far in advance. 

Also, when booking your tickets, it can be very confusing. I had signed up for a mountain hike along with Machu Picchu, which is the smaller mountain to the left of Huayna Picchu, but the entrance time was at 7 a.m. only, which I did not realize, and wasn’t able to make it given when my train got in.

Anyway, after the tour was over and hearing what the rest of this group had done already with their day, I wasn’t satisfied to just be done. I was hungry but one of the siblings mentioned they heard a lot of people got sick at the cafe. So, even though I was hungry, I went for another hike to Sun Gate. Now, if I thought I was conquering my fear of heights before, I definitely did it on this hike. It started raining towards the end of our tour, and never stopped after, so I did this hike in the rain. Some of the rocks were kind of slippery, but it was rather intense uphill. Nothing that can’t be done, but some rather scary moments where the trail got tight. It took me about 2 hours round-trip. Interestingly enough, at this point the fog had rolled in and there were very few views for much of the hike. 

Another tip to those wanting to travel to Peru: I would honestly just spend the money and buy two days of tickets for Machu Picchu. The weather is extremely unpredictable here, and apparently on Sunday it was foggy the entire time and no views could be seen. Imagine how disappointed you would be if you planned your trip around this and weren’t able to see anything. I was very thankful that I got the views I did. And it was kind of cool to see the fog roll in and see nothing once I took my own hike. Clouds rolled in and out and I finally made it to the top, and felt accomplished. A few pics from this hike:

My boot shows how close I made it to the edge, haha! 

Me, soaked, and looking mighty fine:

And one final pic to show the difference in views between the beginning of the day and the end:

Again, I could go on and on with pictures. It was an incredible day.
Made it back down to catch one of the last buses back to Auguas Calientes. Now, I will say that the nicest hotel isn’t always important to me, but the safest and closest is. For the couple of nights here in Machu Piccu though, I booked a pretty good hotel (Casa del Sol). Some might think or say the hotel isn’t that important because you’re not spending much time there (I say that sometimes), but being soaking wet from hiking through the chilly rain for the past five hours, Karla at reception being so friendly and able to speak English very clearly, receiving a pineapple mint welcome drink, getting to my hotel room where my bags were already there, music playing, chocolates waiting, and the sounds of the river coming through the window, made all the difference in the world. 

The above is right out my window. 

A hot shower and I headed down for a glass of wine at the bar. 

Met a couple from Australia, Will and Jackie, and we talked for quite awhile. They had arranged a personal tour guide for their entire trip to took care of all of their scheduling, reservations, etc. They said all in, including airfare, for 22 days they probably spent about 35,000 Australian dollars total (so about $17.5 each who would be like $13K or so US). It sounds like a lot, but probably worth it for those who want to travel to Peru and not deal with making all of the plans themselves as I have, especially given how long their trip is. 

Anyhoo, I went to dinner at a nearby restaurant that was recommended (Treehouse) and it was delicious. I tried Alpaca for the first time (I know, I know, taking pictures of the guys and then eating them, but just focus on the circle of life). It’s sort of like steak, and you order it cooked the same way, it’s just a little bit tougher. Also tomato soup that was phenomenal. 

Yum, Yum, and Yum. I heard English (Yay, Hahah!!) and met a couple sitting next to me from Boston, Colleen and Ben. Colleen was accepted into medical residency in New York, and Ben was about to enter law school, so their move to New York is soon. We chatted for quite a while about the different things we were doing. Super awesome couple who are very driven and going to have a great life together! 

Between Will and Jackie and Ben and Colleen,  it was great to be able to connect and communicate again in my language. While the exploration so far has been phenomenal, it is very different in that I have not been meeting as many people along the way.

Anyway, time to end this so I can get out into the day. Evidently no train tickets are available to Ollantaytambo, which was my plan for today, so instead I’m going to go to the hot springs for a little relaxation. Another tip for Peru travelers is to make sure all train tickets are booked in advance. 🙂 

Another incredible day. So fortunate and blessed. And heights, I’m kicking your butt! 

#brittbefierce#thankful

Peru: Day 4

Wow. So this journey is FOR REAL. If I didn’t think yesterday was interesting enough, today beat it by a landslide.

Words for today: smarts, risk, balance, vulnerability, patience, understanding, strength. 

Yeah, today was quite the day. 

Thinking I now had this whole thing down, I walked outside this morning to get a motorcar, head held high, knowing exactly where I was going, ruling this place like a local. Within the first 2 mins, the first guy I hailed wasn’t understanding or taking me anywhere. I said forget it and walked on (as the shame made its way in and I started to feel a little defeated already). He came back around and somehow we agreed he would take me to find a bus to Pisac (wth, I said 2 sol and hopped in)!

He went to the bus terminal, after trying to stop a few along the way via some quick honks. (PS, the honking here is just weird and crazy and totally out of hand, although potentially necessary depending on what I’ve seen). Everyone honks. Like even more than in Chicago. They honk for dogs, they honk in case someone wants a ride, they honk to pass, they honk when they’re at a stop and they don’t like it, they honk when there’s a light, they honk when there’s a person, they honk FOR EVERYTHING. Seriously I thought Chicago fire dept had the biggest honkers… I was wrong. 

Anyway, ahem. 

Having learned what I did yesterday, I promptly told the motorcar driver that this wasn’t right, that I couldn’t go direct to Pisac from the terminal (yesterday we stopped there first until the motorcar understood I needed to get to Pisac and explained the same). Evidently all the shared rides were full so I’d have to take a personal taxi. He sat for a minute while literally about ten taxi drivers showed up for the bidding. I paid him his two soles as he left me to deal with the bidding war. Started with one who wanted 80 soles to get me to Pisac. Recall that this is already so much better than the 150 the taxi wanted direct yesterday (note that the terminal is only like 5-8 mins from my hotel (2 soles) so it doesn’t really make a difference in price) . A few more came up and then one for 50 soles. He had words with the other guys (hahahha) and I accepted and he swept me off. 

So, what I needed to get to was the Pisac Ruins at the top of the mountain. From what I read online, you have to agree with a taxi on the cost once you get to the entry point (where you buy your ticket) to get to the top (where you start your hike). So, I thought I’d go ahead and try to negotiate with my current driver. Luckily I knew from researching that it would likely be another 20-25 soles to get to the top, so we agreed on 75 total. That worked for me. Granted, you need to understand that this guy doesn’t speak a lick of English and I barely speak a lick of Spanish, so we used the Google app to communicate. Agreed on cost up the mountain. He would take me there and make sure I got in. 

When we got there he asked if I wanted a companion and basically what I was doing the rest of the day (remember, all via Google translate app). We talked about different places I wanted to go etc. And he said he would wait there until I was done with my hike and then take me to Pisac for lunch and then to Moray ruins and then back to Urubamba. We agreed at 150 total and I said great. Didn’t pay him anything and left him at the base of the mountain. 

Meanwhile, holy crap with the Inka Ruins… Words cannot express nor can pictures capture but I’ll try with pics only:

I could honestly post pics all night, but it won’t capture the magnificence. Trust me. 

I hiked off the beaten path a bit, but didn’t do the whole thing all around because I had a couple more destinations in mind for the day, and I knew I had to head to Machu Piccu tomorrow early. For those of you that are planning this trip (Molly!) you should follow the path around the mountain as you can see in the below pic to really explore and allow yourself closer to three hours depending on how much you want to stop and look around, take pics, etc. 

Also a helpful guide:

http://theonlyperuguide.com/2014/12/hiking-pisac-ruins/

Anyway, I made it back up (hiked my way down and then back up)  and Cesar was still there. I asked him and learned, once again via Google translate app, that while he waited he listened to music. Inquiring minds like mine need to know. Ha. (And crap, how boring is that?)  

Next on what we agreed to was Pisac for lunch. He took me there, picked the restaurant, and we shared a beer and got two personal pizzas. 

I sat outside for a bit while I was waiting and listened to the dancing and music at the market and then joined back inside with Cesar to eat our pizza. It was really delicious, and I can say that since I live in one of the pizza capitals of the US. YUMMMMM! 

Meanwhile, keep in mind that we cannot communicate at all minus the Google app and understanding something here and there. His English was literally as bad as my Spanish. So we sat and ate. I learned that he had a daughter and a girlfriend and he learned I did not. Bahahahha. 🙂 

Next we decided instead of Moray we would head to Chinchero district (per my request). Now I thought this would be more convenient than Moray, which is beyond Urubamba but I didn’t understand that we had to go through Urubamba to get to Chinchero, so totally had to go around. Anyway, we decided on that (and agreed on 170 soles at this point for the day and to get me home)  and he first took me to the textile market there. It was very cool to learn how they cleaned and died the alpaca wool. I bought a little scarf and had some lovely tea. 

By this time it was raining hard. When we got back in the car, Cesar said I should see the ruins so he drove me up. Although it was raining, it was still amazing. 

After that it was time to head back to Urubamba. The rain was hard but it was beautiful, this experience of just driving through the rain in silence, just enjoying the views. 

We got to the hotel and Cesar asked if I wanted to grab a drink in the Plaza de Armas. I hadn’t been there yet and have to get up super early for my train to Manchu Piccu (meaning I wouldn’t have the opportunity) so I agreed. We found a little spot and had a drink and chatted more via Google translate. Ha! 

(PS, please don’t judge… One of the most amazing things about this trip has been to not put makeup on). Also that scarf is what I bought at the textile place. He then dropped me at my hotel and I thanked him profusely for such an awesome day. I gave him 200 soles, plus the lunch and the beer. All in all, that was a great day and a great deal to have a personal tour guide all day. Who knew???? 

Today I feel accomplished and happy. It is risky to travel by yourself and you have to be careful and also trust your instincts. You have to keep a certain smarts about you (e.g., Cesar knew that I was meeting a friend for dinner at my hotel. Was I? Of course not!!! I don’t have friends here, lol! But you have to think the entire time when you’re a woman alone) and also be willing to risk a little for the adventure. Being aware and smart and prepared is everything. You have to know enough to know exactly where you’re going (even if you don’t) and that you know exactly how you can get there (even if you don’t). 🙂 

Shew, did not see today coming. Who knows what is in store for tomorrow. Peru rail to Machu Piccu in the morning and hoping to be able to drop my bags at the hotel before my hike. 

If not, I suppose I’ll figure it out. 

#goodnightfromperu#youcanamazeyourself#lifeisgreatwhenyoucanletgotoliveit

Peru: Day 3

I don’t have any idea where to even begin about today. 

Word of the day is most certainly “thankful.” Other words that come to mind are proud and courageous, but I’m definitely settling on thankful. 

Thankful for (only to name a few):

• eventually finding my hotel this morning 
• technology (I very rarely say this but it saved me today in several cases being able to follow the map, even with my taxi driver, and using the translate app for things I really needed) 
• electricity that is back tonight but wasn’t working this morning 
• the man getting off the bus who told me to ride to Calka and then transfer because the direct bus to Urubamba stopped running at a certain hour 
• getting back to my hotel safely in the dark with two bus rides and a motorcar 
• negotiation skills
• not getting mugged or screwed over monetarily
• my strength, courage, confidence, intelligence, health, and sensibilities 

Honestly that just touches the surface. My morning taxi arrived Cusco at 730 and we left shortly thereafter. Cost was 80 sol which is pretty cheap for an hour long ride. It was a beautiful drive and managed to communicate with my driver un poquito. 😊 If you look closely you can see the town I was headed to… 

We finally found the hotel, but not without having to stop twice to ask directions from a local. This hotel is in the middle of nowhere, although it seems everything is in the middle of nowhere here. Dirt rock roads and no names, but we finally found it. It’s quite beautiful on the inside but I will admit I was concerned and anxious. We had to turn around several times because we dead ended on dirt roads to nowhere!

Took advantage of arriving early with a nap because I didn’t sleep last night… I think a bit of anxiety about today and my next locations. Still need to firm up reservations for the next part of my trip which I’ll do a bit of tonight. 

Headed out for lunch and requested a taxi to Pisac, which is supposed to have some lovely views, some spectacular Inca ruins and a couple of good spots for lunch. Personal taxi would be $150 sol but the bus was only $4 sol if I could get to the terminal. So, I left the hotel gates (already scary leaving my little commune here haha) and caught a motorcar to a bus sitting by itself supposedly going to Pisac. What I rode in basically looks like this:

Here’s the pic I took from the backseat :

And yes, I fit!! Anyway, a few others joined the bus and we headed off. Many stops along the way and good views. Kind of cool to pass through all the towns and happenings. Such a different world here, but the scenery is breathtaking. 

Made it to Pisac for my 4 sols. All I had was 5 so he got a tip. Took a little over an hour. Anyhoo instead of paying $50 US I ended up paying about $1.50 and got a good experience out of it. 

Started poking around and headed to lunch. 

Ate a late lunch at Ulrike’s and got a three course meal… Pumpkin soup, lasagna, carrot cake, and a local beer for $11 US dollars. Not bad!! Great food and a great view. 

Next I went through the market. I got there toward the end but saw as much as I needed. Noticed the tour buses with people sitting on them waiting and I was once again thankful that I was on my own. 

Time was passing quickly and I needed to get back before dark. I needed change so stopped by a couple of places before I realized I’d need to buy something to get it. So I stopped at a hotel and got what I needed. Sat outside for a minute and lo and behold… Haiiiiiiiii baby alpaca!!!!!! Lol. 

Just hanging out. Hilarious.

Then I was off. This is where things got a bit dicey. Kept asking the buses that went by if they were going to Urubamba but none were. The drivers indicated one was coming but I don’t think we were communicating (bahahhahaha, no crap). Thanks to the older man on the bus, I figured out what to do. Once I caught that bus, that driver helped me and walked me to pick up the connector after making the other stops nd emptying the bus. By this time it was dark and still a long way to go. A bunch of people joined along the way and it was so crowded people were standing. Pitch black on a bus in the middle of nowhere, Peru, by myself with no Americans or anyone who spoke English in sight. Got to Urubamba, found a motorcar to drop me at the hotel for 2 sol. He knew where he was going, thankfully. Entered the gates and felt an amazing sigh of relief when I saw this:

Now I’m back, about to eat some dinner and confirm some reservations for next week. 

I feel really proud that I conquered today. Talk about a culture shock and just a complete 180 from where I was… I go from being out west and meeting tons of people (in my element) to being here, where it’s just me, myself, and I – – struggling to communicate and not sure what’s next (totally out of my comfort zone). What a day. 

Turns out I didn’t have time for the Inca ruins, which are supposed to be phenomenal and rival Machu Piccu so I’m changing my plan a bit and going to head back out there tomorrow just to hike the ruins. Then will head to Machu Piccu on Monday. 

Until tomorrow… 

#thankful#encouraged#bravegirl