Cusco and Getting to Machu Picchu

After our finding-the-airport adventure, we took a quick, uneventful flight to Cusco (where the flight attendants noted my affinity for Inca Kola and offered me seconds and then thirds).

A lot more pumped about going to Cusco than I am about this lighting!

We checked into our hotel and tried to get adjusted to the altitude. Some shots from the place where we stayed:

View from the balcony.

More balcony.

Outside our room.

Being that far up is no joke! I definitely underestimated how weak the lack of oxygen would make me feel. I got a pretty painful headache (and I rarely get headaches) and got really tired as well. So, I napped my way through most of our first day there. 

I did, however, get to try coca leaf tea for the first time!

I liked it a lot more than my face indicated.

That evening, which we spent sitting in the hotel lobby, chatting with other guests, I overheard the front desk clerk saying something to another guest about not being able to go to Machu Picchu on the train the following day (the exact same day we were scheduled to get there).

So, I immediately went up to the desk to ask what was going on. We were informed that there were scheduled protests the following day, and that the protesters target the railroad tracks to put a financial hurt on the tourism industry (since the train is the only way people can get to Aguas Calientes, which is the village next to Machu Picchu). Thus, we would have to visit the railroad company to reschedule our trip.

I immediately started panicking because we had already purchased our tickets to Machu Picchu. I had to jump through quite a few hoops to get the tickets, and they were nontransferable. Plus, from everything I had read in my guidebooks, tickets sell out months in advance. So, we couldn't have even eaten the cost and bought new tickets.

So we made our way down to the Peru Rail office in Cusco's city center and waited in line for what seemed like forever.

Finally, we were told by a clerk that the first half of the train trip (which is normally a four hour journey) would be closed by the protesters, and that if we wanted to get to Aguas Calientes we could "try out luck at getting a cab." We were also told that since the protesters often make fires and push boulders into the middle of the roads to block them, that we would have to leave at 4 am to beat them.

I didn't even think there were roads that cars could go on to get to Aguas Calientes. I thought it was nothing but hiking trails up the mountains and train tracks.

We felt defeated and went back to the front desk, asking the front desk person to call us a 4 am cab.

When 4 am rolled around, our cab never showed up. Luckily, there was a family of three from Canada who had also ordered a cab. We begged them to let us go with them and that we'd pay half the fare. They reluctantly agreed, so I got in front, and the three of them and Keith piled in the back.

Immediately as we got out of Cusco, the driver got onto a "road" (and I definitely use that term loosely) that resembled a mix of a narrow, dirt path and a muddy rock pit.

Oh, and did I mention that it went straight up? Because, it did.

It also had no guardrail, which I would think is kind of crucial when traveling at nearly 90 degrees straight up the Andes Mountains. Apparently not though.

I'm just glad it was dark because I couldn't see how far the cab would have plummeted if we were to go off the "road."

Honestly, this was like something out of Ice Road Truckers (sans the ice, of course).

Now might also be a good time to mention that the entire thing was muddy. At one point, I was convinced we were going to get stuck in the mud and that we all would have had to get out and push.

At another point, the cab driver stopped the car and got out. I asked him what was going on, to which he replied that he was "looking for the road" (apparently, this thing was so muddy and undefined, it was hard to tell what was road and what was us about to fall off the mountain).

And at yet another point, when we approached a gathering of a few houses, our driver got out of the car as these stereotypical Sopranos-looking guys got out of their cars (which were blocking the road) to have a chat with our driver.

Our driver looked scared, which prompted me to be scared. Since I was the only one who spoke Spanish, I asked if everything was okay. He nodded.

I translated to the Canadian family and Keith and just said, "he says everything is okay, so let's just go with that."

I asked him if he had taken this trip a lot before, and he said yes.

It was at this point I seriously questioned my Spanish abilities because I couldn't believe another car had been on this road in the last year.

After several very nerve-wracking hours, we finally pulled into Estacion Ollantaytambo!

And we were in luck as there was a train leaving right as we got to the station! So, we quickly traded our tickets, ran, and got on.

So relieved!

We ended up sitting next to two ex-pats who currently live in Cusco (one from Canada and one from the U.S.). The one was vegan, too, so we had a nice little chat about all the recent advancements in soy cheese.

Some views from the train:



After a couple hour ride to Aguas Calientes, we finally made it!

Nazca Lines

What Macchu Picchu was to me, the Nazca Lines were to Keith. So, as soon as we arrived in Lima, we began researching ways to see them. We realized that they were a fair distance way from the city, so all of the tours left around 3 a.m. Keith and I are morning people, but not that sort of morning people. Plus, most of the buses didn't return to Lima until super late at night, meaning we'd be on buses for a really long time. We weighed the pros and cons to to the various trip, before finally it hit me: we could rent a car.

After all, we'd driven in pretty much all conditions for gigs, so how bad could it be?

Keith dug this idea, and within 10 minutes, we had a rental car booked.

I'm an anal retentive planner, but decided to give into Keith's spontaneity when he suggested that we just head down to Nazca and then try to book a flight. To be honest, little planes scare the living daylights out of me, so my plan was to just smile and wave as Keith made his way up into the sky in a tiny death machine (and then show people pictures he had taken and pass them off as my own). I have a degree in acting; I might as well use it to lie to people to tell them about experiences I didn't really have.

So, we rented a car, and sent off for Pisco (where the airport is). I was more than a little pumped about driving in Peru.

We quickly realized that driving in Peru is slightly really different than it is in the United States. For example, people seem to think nothing of it to cross five lanes of traffic. With no turn signal. In fact, I'm pretty sure we were the only car on the road using our signal. We finally got with the program, tried to be like locals, and just used our horn when we wanted to cross a lane. When in Rome, right?

We drove along the Pacific coast for the majority of the drive, which was beautiful!

Okay, so that's not the coast, but it is a billboard we saw along the way.

At one point, we stopped at a gas station/rest area. I didn't think to tell Keith that one of my guidebooks said that rest areas in Peru do not have toilet paper, so it's common for people to bring their own. I started laughing to myself as I could hear Keith, who speaks no Spanish, trying to ask the clerk, who speaks no English, for toilet paper. After some confusion and bewilderment on the part of the clerk, Keith finally got his point across by pointing to his rear end and then signaling toward the bathroom.

Ah yes, the butt point: the universal symbol for toilet paper. Take notes, kids.

I also got a chance to try Inca Kola, which is all the rage in Peru. I tried the diet kind first, which left a bit to be desired. But, once I had the regular version, I could see why people love it. I dug it so much that I even bought an Inca Kola t-shirt later in the trip.


After winding our way down the coast, and sighting quite a bit of tuk-tuks, which we affectionately started calling "scooter taxis," we made it to Pisco.


Despite looking it up in our GPS and looking for signs, we saw no traces of an airport.

So, I rolled down my window to ask a cab driver. He was so sweet, and not only gave us directions, but he pointed out his window when we were supposed to turn.

He immediately pointed us down a dirt road, and I began questiiniog my ability to speak Spanish. Surely, no airport is located off of a dirt road, right?

So, after traveling several miles on the dirt road and stumbling into what appeared to be a tiny fishing village, I asked another person. He confirmed that we were in the right place and pointed us down an even narrower dirt road. I might even dare to call it a path.

We finally saw what looked like it could be an airport, but the entire thing was under construction. Again, I thought, "surely, this can't be it, right?"

I found a security guard at the airport/construction site, and he assured me that yes, this was the airport, and we were in the right spot. I asked him where we could park, and he pointed me in the direction of what looked to be a gravel pit. I asked him over and over again to confirm that we could, indeed, leave our car there (again, questioning my Spanish abilities the entire time), and he kept saying yes. I know he was probably confused with all the questions, but I've never parked in a gravel pit, at an airport, that contains no other vehicles before.

Our conversation went a little something like this:

"Park here?"

"Yes."

"Like, right here?"

"Yes."

"Um...are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Uh...okay, so, the fact that there are no other cars here is okay?"

"Yes."

"Um....uh...okay...so, we can park here all day?"

"Yes."

I'm sure he was annoyed, and I think Keith was, too. But, I can only imagine how fun it would be tell Hertz that our rental car was in the impound in a tiny fishing village that apparently GPS can't locate.

So, finally, we parked, and we found the front door to the airport.

We walked in and asked if we Keith could get on a flight. Sadly, we were informed that the last flight left a half hour ago.

Then, one of the airport employees takes us aside and in the most mobster way says, "Hey...I gotta guy."

He then proceeds to tell us how his "guy" will take just us in the air for $1,200.00 and give us our own private tour.

Again, maybe I'm a big 'fraidy cat, but I am not about to get into a crop duster with just anyone at the wheel. Besides, "having a guy" is totally cool for things like a mechanic or house-painter. But, a pilot? Um, no thank you.

So, we piled back into the car, feeling defeated. Although, we did see some amazing sunsets on the way back.

 And I took a picture of the town square:


In the morning, we had to return our rental car to the airport, but the GPS we rented stopped working. We didn't have a lot of time to spare, and as luck with have it, I saw a bus that had the word "air" on it just as we were leaving the hotel, so I told Keith "follow that bus!"

We followed this thing as it swerved, cut people off, and weaved in and out of traffic. During this time, I noted two things: 1. Keith is an amazing driver, and 2. it would be really hard to be a private investigator in Peru because tailing someone in a car would be nearly impossible.

But, by goodness, that bus got us right to the airport! Then, it was off to Cusco!

Lima Part 2

On our second day in Lima, we decided to tour around the city in a tour bus.

We even got badges. I know, you're impressed.

We saw so many beautiful sites, and I couldn't get how scenic the architecture was. We also got a sampling of the variety of Lima's neighborhoods. Here's some pictures:

We even got a chance to get out and see the Basilica de San Francisco de Jesus, which was absolutely gorgeous (although I probably could've done without seeing all of the skulls in the catacombs). 

And, then, it was back on the bus and time for falafel! I realize I probably found the only falafel joint in Lima (and it also served pizza and traditional Peruvian food, too), and I was so happy I did because it was great!