300,000 Views Celebration - Picture of the Day #4

To continue my one-picture-a-day-this-week in celebration of 300,000 views of my pictures online, I've selected a travel-related picture.

Travel - both foreign and domestic - is an important part of my life and my wife's. We enjoy seeing new places, meeting people, experiencing a diversity of cultures, trying the local food and drink and visiting historic places to learn more about them. All of that helps inform and - I believe - improve our understanding of the world beyond experiencing it through the media or staying put in our own city or even country.

You can see a bunch of pictures I've taken on our travels at my Tour of the World set online HERE

For the shot of the day - the Pyramids of Giza.

Picture by Marc Osborn, (C) Marc Osborn

A few comments about this picture:

• We visited Egypt in 2010 - before the revolution happened there. We had a great time visiting Cairo, taking a river cruise on the Nile to see all of the amazing historical sites and then out to beach resort town Sharm el-Sheikh. 
• But, seeing the amount of military and police present to protect tourists and also the president of Egypt (miles long lines of guards on main roads leading to/from the presidential palace for example) on this trip and seeing the amount of poverty meant that we were not that surprised when the uprising occurred a short time later. The country was fed up.
• I took this picture because I liked how the three camels mirrored the three pyramids. 
• What's a bit crazy is that this picture makes it look like the structures are out on a desert plane and not much else is going on right there. Sure, you can see the city in the far background, but otherwise this looks pretty much how it might have a long, long time ago. Not true in reality. Just outside of the frame are a load of tourists, more camels and their masters, a few buses and assorted souvenir vendors. Also, I had to wait a bit for a car to drive through along the barely visible road in the left of the picture. 

Exploring Peru - Cusco Again, Lake Titicaca, Home

Well, it's time for the big wrap up...the last post in my "Exploring Peru" series recapping our August trip to Peru. This time, I'll re-cap our second stint in Cusco, describe our trip to another part of Peru and our nine hour Lima stopover on the way home.

If interested in catching up on previous posts in this series, you can do so in sequence by going HERE, HERE, HERE and then HERE.

And, as usual, I've updated my Flickr Photostream with new pictures that match this post. Just go HERE to see the entire set. The ones in the lower quarter of the page will relate to this post.

CUSCO AGAIN, LAKE TITICACA, HOME

Cusco - Take Two

Our group at Chicha in Cusco

Our first stop in Cusco was short. Just about 24 hours. So, we did not have the time to really look around and check the city out. Sure, I went on that half day tour to see some of the historical highlights...and I was glad I did...but really seeing a place involves walking around, getting off the tourist track a bit (but not too much in this case), doing a bit of shopping...and eating...and just, well, people watching and soaking up the atmosphere. Luckily, on our second stint in Cusco on this trip we would have an evening, a whole day and then another half day to do just that.

After saying our goodbyes to our guides and, we thought, our fellow tour mates, Diane and I cleaned up and rested some at the hotel. We had made arrangements to meet up with our now good buddies Kevin and Josh for dinner, so we went to the lobby to meet them as discussed. As we waited, other members of the tour group filtered in. Naturally, they asked what we were up to for the evening. Learning that we were off for dinner, they all decided to tag along. So, suddenly we had a group of 10 and not four. Hey, the more the merrier! I also thought this was a good sign that our group overall had been a good one for the tour. After all, they would not have wanted to hang out if they didn't like each other - or us!

As it turned out, we found a great place called Chicha not far away and cajoled the greeter there to set up a table for ten people. Chica is an upscale place with a wide ranging menu...and hence why we thought it would be good for a group of ten people. Want nicely done and presented alpaca? They had it. Want delicious pizza? Done. How about some Peruvian classics done up in a "gastro pub style"? No problem. Something for everyone. And speaking of everyone, I was impressed with the camaraderie and openness exhibited by each member of our group. Diane and I had quickly go to know Kevin and Josh right off the top of the tour, but most of the rest of the group already knew each other...so, nice and cordial as they were, it took some time to break the ice. And at this last meal together, the ice truly was broken and we all had a great time. Full and contented, we called it a night after the meal...strolling back through the nigh time Cusco Plaza de Armas and back down the narrow streets to our hotel.

We awoke the next morning and saw that the weather was going to be very nice...perfect for a walking tour, shopping and lunch. By 10 a.m. we out of our hotel and checking into another for one more night in the city. We stayed at the delightful Hotel Arqueologo. After that, we were on the streets looking for knit hats, sweaters, art and souvenirs of all different types with Josh and Kevin along for the fun too.  We visited nice boutiques, typical tourist stalls and pretty much everything in between. Lucky for Kevin and Josh, Diane was there to lend her keen eye to their potential clothes and art purchases. I can summarize our shopping thusly: we went to a lot of shops, it took most of the day, it was fun, we bought many items (art, sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves, etc.), it's all nice and unique stuff and it was a good way to see the old town.

Early in our adventure this day, we came across a woman dressed in typical highlands attire and holding a small baby alpaca. Very cute. Naturally, we had to get a picture. Now, with situations like this, you know you're going to have to pay the person something for taking their picture. Typically, you ask how much and they say, "whatever you want" or "it is your choice." Also typically, no matter how much you give ($1, $2, $5, $10) they respond with a look or a reply that is along the lines of, "you've got to be kidding...that's all you're going to give me?" So, the thing to do is just figure out how much you think the picture you're taking is worth to you and give them that amount undeterred. My feeling is not to be a cheapskate just because I can. So, I gave this woman the equivalent of $5 U.S. She didn't like it, but I didn't think twice about it.

In between all that, we all visited the Inca Museum for a short look around at art and artifacts from the Cusco and highlands area of Peru...you know, learn a little something! We also spent a little time at the Plaza de Armas to people watch. And, out on the street, we ran into a couple other members of our tour - Sally and Evelyn. Together, we hit lunch at a great little place in the San Blas area of Cuco called Jack's Cafe. Later in the afternoon, Diane and I toured through the big Cathedral on the plaza.

Inca foundations on Spanish buildings in Cusco

One thing I thought interesting about Cusco was the architecture...at least in the old town...because the ancient Inca foundations remained on most the buildings. They were easy to spot: big, insanely tightly fit together blocks of carefully carved rock rising from street level. These were the foundations of Inca palaces, temples and everyday buildings. When the Spanish arrived and took over, they eventually tore all of those structures down, building their own buildings - what you see today - on top of the Inca solid foundations. I could not help think about what those original Inca buildings would look like today. How tall? How big? What shape? Some clues were given when we saw things like the Temple of the Sun across town, Machu Picchu and the ruins at Tarawasi. But who knows?

In the evening, we had a nice stroll around the old town - down cobbled streets, under pleasant streetlights and among the hustle bustle created by the mix of fascinated tourists, working people on their way home or our to dinner and school children trotting along to some sort of function or another. We ended up at a nice restaurant off the Plaza de Armas called Tupananchis. There we sat next to the window and had a great meal of causas (little pillars of potatoes with differing toppings), alpaca, Peruvian red wine and a dreamy desert. Behind us sat a large group of German tourists, clearly having a good time. As we ate, a few children came up to the window and inevitably tried to sell us something from the other side of the glass. The only thing that works to get them to leave you alone is to ignore them.

Cusco Plaza de Armas at night

After dinner, we met up with Kevin and Josh for a little bar hopping. Before we got started, curiosity got the better of us and we decided to try chewing coca leaves. Hey, why not? Your there, it's available. Just so happened that Josh procured a bag of leaves when he and Kevin visited the coca museum in Cusco earlier in the day. Excellent. With that we each took 4-5 leaves and stuck them in our mouths, chewed on them for a while, then repeated. After a few minutes, we all conceded that while there was  a mild stimulant affect (very mild) and a bit of numbness in the gums, the leaves were having  surprisingly little effect. After a while we just gave up and agreed that a good stiff drink was the better way to go. Later in our trip in Puno, Diane and I figured out why the leaves didn't have as big an effect as we thought they would. Check out the section of the blog post below for that.

Anyway, not much later that evening, we ended up at a place on the plaza called Mama Africa. This was a typical nightclub. As we sat sipping our Peruvian beers, we speculated that a couple shady guys sitting at the bar might actually be pimps for a few of the "service" staff. Who knows. I will say that a couple the waitresses seemed a bit over the top friendly. Another interesting thing was that while we sat there in a maybe 1/3 full club...all of a sudden a big pack of people came walking in all wearing some sort of wig. Yep. Wig party. Turns out these were recently accepted students to the Kellogg Business School. As they told the story, as a class they were given some options of places around the world to go to "bond," and Cusco was one of the choices. That's why they were there. As for the wigs? Well, even really smart people can have bad ideas.

The night got late and we called it...walking back though the nighttime Cusco streets bathed in street light glow. The next morning we had a few hours to kill before our flight to another part of Peru to continue our trip. We used the time to finish up our shopping spree, say our goodbyes to friends Josh and Kevin and to have a stunningly delicious ceviche lunch at Limo. Soon, we were back at the hotel and into a car headed to the airport for our next destination - Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca
That's right...Lake Titicaca. You read that right. Titicaca. That's the name of the lake we visited. Giggle, giggle, laugh, laugh. Yes, it is a funny name. But, it's ancient and translates to "Rock Puma" as many locals have said the shape of the lake resembles a puma chasing a rabbit. Pumas are another traditional sacred beast in Peru along with Condors.

OK, now that we got that out of the way, I can also tell you that the lake is at 12,000+ feet (higher than Cusco) and the highest "navigable" lake in the world. This means there is no other lake in the world higher in altitude that is also deep enough to enable "vessels" to ply its waters - vessels being large ships. It's also a huge, huge lake...and very pretty. Our thought was that after 10 days hiking through the Andes, it would be good to spend some down time at the lakeside and relax.

Following a few hours on our last morning in Cusco, we packed up our stuff and headed to the airport where we took the short 45 minute flight to the airport at Juliaca - the nearest one to our final destination. Juliaca is not a city you'd want to stay in as a tourist. It's large, dirty and without any real tourist or historical attractions. It literally was built around the airport and today serves as a trade center.

By prior arrangement, we were picked up by a driver and a local contact named Omar who drove us from the inner city of Juliaca out to the lakeside - and much nicer - town of Puno. As the sun set, we made our way through the Juliacan streets choked with cars, carts, moto-taxis, pedestrians, stray dogs. As we moved along in our nice private vehicle, we could see into each shop or dwelling we passed by - seeing what was up with the locals all along the way through town. We also noticed that on every block in this city, there were dentist offices - each with its own clever sign advertising dental services on offer. Diane asked Omar about this and he said that, yes, many, many Peruvians went to dental school with the thought that they could make a good living only to find out that the market is flooded and they cannot make enough money. He further said that the signs we saw were for actual businesses, but there were many more who either moved to another city or country to practice or just quit to become something else.

View from our hotel room in Puno

Our drive to Puno lasted just about an hour and a half. By the time we arrived at our hotel, the Libertador, it had been dark for an hour already. This big, white hotel is part of the Westin chain, and sits on a peninsula just outside Puno - situated so on one side you can look back at town and on the other you look out to the lake. We checked in and went to get dinner at the dining room on premises. It had been a long day and we had no desire to go into town. Funny enough, as we were checking in, we ran into the same German tour group who had been at the restaurant we had eaten at the night before in Cusco. We talked for a minute and went on our separate ways.

For the first of three full days in the Puno area, we decided to just relax, go into town for lunch, see the sights and go back later for diner. However, we had thought that as part of the "relax" portion of our stay at the hotel, we'd have access to a pool and pool deck, spa, nice gym and related facilities. We were wrong. Nice though it was, the hotel had none of those things. So all of a sudden, we had a lot more time to kill on our hands than we originally thought. This was primarily filled with extended shopping and walking around Puno town. Arriving in the sunny afternoon, we toured around the main plaza, went into the cathedral, strolled down the pedestrian streets, hung out at another plaza where we saw a kids parade and perhaps the aftermath of a wedding and just generally indulged in people watching.

We also took in the city's Coca Museum. Yes. The coca leaf is quite important in the tradition of the Peruvian culture. Dating back many centuries, the affect of chewing of the coca leaf for its stimulant powers, its utility as a medicinal substance...and related reverence of it for both those properties...made possession and distribution of the leaves a duty only for those in power or control - tribal or village leaders, shamans and similar. He who has the coca leaf (and it was always a he) shall be respected.

Oh, and just for the record...yes, the coca leaf is where cocaine comes from. But, making cocaine requires a complex process of extracting a specific alkaloid from the leaf and processing it in certain way. And apparently that "business" is still going strong because we learned that Peru is the number one producer and exporter of the raw coca leaf.

While there is a stimulant affect of coca in tea, candy or chewing the leaves, it's not a"cocaine" like affect. None the less, after learning from the various displays, one thing we came to realize was that our earlier attempts to chew the coca leaf in Cusco were not done properly. More specifically, we should have jammed a whole wad of leaves in our yappers and not just three or four. No wonder we were unimpressed.

The other thing the museum had was a pretty good collection of wild and traditional costumes that the locals have come up with over the centuries and wear in annual festival parades and celebrations - complete with a video to explain it all. What this had to do with coca was never explained nor evident. But, it was kind of interesting to learn about the different festivals, what each costume represented and why it was created.

More walking around, a rest back and the hotel and dinner back in town rounded out or first day at the lake.

Urus Islands

The next day, we got ourselves out on the water to visit some of the islands. The first stop on this clear, sunny day tour was to the Urus Islands. Not more than four kilometers from the Puno harbor dock,these islands were interesting because they are man made. That is, way back in the centuries, the Urus tribe decided it did not want to be dominated by the Incas, so instead of fleeting over land...they simply decided to make their own floating islands safely off in the lake. These would be much easier to defend and literally separated them from the control of the Incas. That tradition has held up over several hundred years, and today the islands still exist. Urus people still live on them. However, it must also be said that today their continued existence is directly related to them being primarily a tourist attraction.

After that, we boarded our boat again and struck out for an actual island way, way out in the lake called Taquile Island. The attraction here is not only the view, but also the traditional town and culture of the people on the island. Sure enough, as we approached the island, we could see a massive white capped mountain range on the horizon. We quickly learned that this was Boliva on the other side of the lake. Docking, we walked uphill to the town square. Every 50 yards or so, we'd pass under a traditional rock gateway or encounter girls and old women selling local handcrafts. Up at the town square, we took in the view again, and also looked around at the various shops - all offering island-woven hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters and other items. Lets just say, we went Christmas shopping in August. Next, our little day-trip tour group went to a local restaurant for a nice lunch of fish and frijtes.

View on Taquile Island

The rest of our time on the island was spent strolling across it's width on stone paths that took us through little villages and, ultimately, back downhill to the water's edge at a different dock where our boat awaited. Along the way, we got to chat with our fellow tour group members and met quite a few very nice people - including a guy named John from California and his girlfriend Stephanie from Australia. Satisfied with our visit, the boat cast off for the two hour ride back to Puno. Mostly, people in our group napped or read on the way back. We arrived back to town about 5 p.m. As we walked off the boat and up the ramp, we made plans for dinner with John and Stephanie. Later, we met up with them, hung out and even met some other travelers - a woman from L.A. and a couple backpackers from the Netherlands. That's a cool thing about travel, you can have these pleasant run-ins with fellow travelers, hang with them for a few hours and gain their perspective on things (from soccer, beer, politics, the country you're all in and more). It's one way that I think travel really is valuable - you gain access to very different world views and perspectives than your own. Whether you like them or not...well, who knows...either way you come away with a better appreciation of just how big and different AND similar at the same time the people of the world are.

Pre-Inca tombs outside Puno

Our final full day in the Puno area was spent half at the hotel resting and then an afternoon tour out to some ancient tombs in the countryside. These monolithic style tombs dated from pre-Inca, Inca and post-Inca time frames, but in total were quite interesting to look at. This is doubly so because of the beautiful place they are located near a pretty lake. Among the many things we learned was that the tombs really didn't fall apart and crumble as they appear to have over the centuries. Rather, the main reason most were torn down or have sections ripped out of them is that the Spanish who came to Peru in the 1500s deconstructed them because they believed that surely these tombs would have gold in them. They didn't.

On the way back to Puno, our group stopped at a typical Peruvian homestead...complete with housing, a courtyard, kitchen, llamas, and of course a pen full of "cuy." One last dinner in Puno and then back to the hotel. The next morning we were on our way back to Juliaca airport for our flight to Lima and, ultimately, home.

Lima and then Home

Sunset over the ocean in Lima

We arrived in Lima at about 3 p.m., but our flight back to the U.S. didn't leave until 12:30 a.m. the next morning. So we had about nine hours to kill. What to do? Not sit around the airport, that's for sure. Instead, before our REI tour had ended, we had asked our guide what he would advise we do. He said that going into the old center of Lima would not be a good idea after 2 p.m. because it was too dangerous for tourists. He'd lived in Lima for several years and said that we should trust him on this. Instead, he suggested we head to one of the upscale seaside neighborhoods - in particular a place called Miraflores. So we did. We went to a massive shopping center overlooking the ocean and spent our time eating, drinking and shopping. One of us also visited a couple spas for some face and nail treatments. I'll leave it to you to guess if it was me or Diane.

All and all though, not too bad! By 9 p.m. it was time to head back to the airport. We boarded our flight - first class seats! - and lifted off for home. After a three hour layover in Atlanta, we were on our way to Seattle.

And that was it folks. Trip over. What an adventure. Physically challenging, natural beauty the likes of which we had not seen, ancient culture explored, Machu Picchu visited, new friends made and a new culture experienced. Will we go back? Hard to say. Peru is like so many other places we've been...yes, notionally, we'd love to go back. But will we? Probably not...or not soon. There are just so many other new places around the world to go. However, I would say that our appetite is whetted for more South American travel. We've discussed going to Buenos Ares and Patagonia in Argentina, as well as Rio and the Amazon in Brazil. Those would be high on our list now because of our experience in Peru. We shall see!

Thanks to everyone who has read my posts about the trip. Soon, I'll do one more post that aggregates links to all the posts in this series, as well as the related photo set on Flickr so everything is all in one place long term.


NOTE: All pictures in this post were taken by Marc Osborn. No use of these pictures for any purpose is permitted without advanced written permission from Marc Osborn.

Exploring Peru - Trekking in the Andes Mountains I

I hope you enjoyed the kickoff post to my "Exploring Peru" series that will recap our recent trip. You can check out that post HERE if you haven't seen it and want to catch up.

Also, I've posted a new round of pictures that correspond to this new post in the "Peru" set on my Flickr Photostream. See them HERE for more visuals from this and earlier portions of the trip.

And now, picking up where my last post left off, on to...

TREKKING IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS - PART I
My initial thought was to do one big post retelling all of our hiking adventures, but then I thought that might be way too long as we did and saw quite a bit. I mean, I know you're interested, but I'm not going to make you read through one massive post. So, I'll divide it up a bit...probably three parts. Today, we'll look at our trip to our first trail head and Day 1 of trekking.

Hitting the Road
Awaking in Cusco on the second day of our trip, the group had a delightful breakfast at the hotel and then loaded up into two vehicles for a drive through the Peruvian countryside and to the first trail head. REI Adventures advised that each of us "pack light" for the hiking portion of the tour as donkeys would be carrying our bags for a great deal of the journey. I scaled back my pack and left a lot of stuff in Cusco for when we returned. Diane took a different approach, which was to bring her whole bag. We kind of laughed about it, and I said to her, "I want to shake the hoof of the donkey that carries that bag on our hikes."

Typical scene on the side of the road

In any case, off we went. Driving up out of the city, our guide Miguel informed us that the street we were taking was also the route that the Spanish took in the opposite directly when they arrived in Cusco the very first time. Soon we were in the countryside and whizzing past fields, farms, huts and brick-built villages. It was along these roads that you could see how much of Peru lived their daily existence - buying produce on the side of the road, waiting for a bus, walking to a job and more.

Some in our group had not brought bandannas for the hike, and we stopped in a town along the way to so they could pick some up. Miguel assured us that we'd want them on certain portions of the trek where it was dusty. Back on the road, our vehicles wound up and down hillsides, cresting passes and circumnavigating ridge lines...ever deeper into the Peruvian wilds. As the green and brown valleys came and went, towns gave way to villages, villages gave way to clusters of two or three huts. Suddenly we rolled up and stopped at a valley site that featured Inca ruins, a spot called Tarawasi.


Tarawasi Ruins

Inca Tarawasi Ruins

In a valley, near a river and strategically placed on an Inca trade route radiating out from Cusco, one could easily see why the Incas decided to build a temple and other structures here. Similar in construction to what we saw in Cusco at the Temple of the Sun, the ancient structure featured tightly fit stones and alcoves. Because it was an important location to the Incas, the Spanish of course built their own structure here when they arrived in force. That building was also still standing. Interestingly, here the Spanish did not build a church or chapel over the top of the Inca structure. Rather, they built their building alongside near by. In any case, the two structures offer a stark contrast of the two cultures and styles.

Another important thing Tarawasi included was a restroom. Yes, the family living right next to the ruins had a restroom that we could use. Remember, we're drinking, drinking, drinking water continuously to avoid altitude sickness...and this creates a pretty much continuous need to, well, pee.

Relieved and educated, we jumped back in our vehicles and continued onward.

Mollepata

Mollepata market

About an hour later we disembarked out of our transports and alighted in the town of Mollepata where we learned a little bit about how Peruvian artisans color their wool yarn to create the hats, scarfs, sweaters and sock they are so well known for. Turns out that most the colors come from various plant leaves, bean innards, molds and other natural compounds. Next we walked through the town square where there was some sort of festival or town market happening.

We popped in the front of a little shop and then quickly out its back door into a quiet courtyard where we had a snack and some hot coca tea. That's not chocolate tea people, we're talking "coca" - as in the same leaf that cocaine is made from. To my mild disappointment the tea did not have a "cocaine affect," but it is supposed to be good for avoiding altitude sickness. It tasted OK too. More on the importance of the coca leaf to Peruvian culture in a future post in this series. For now, suffice it to say it was a pleasant and very mild stimulant (like any tea really) addition to the round of snacks we were having.

"Cuy" in Mollepata

We humans weren't the only beings in the courtyard either. Right behind our tables stood a hutch with, mmm, I'd say about 30 cute little guinea pigs ("cuy" to the Peruvians). Now, the shop owner didn't have these as pets. No, they were future meals for him and his family. You only needed to look at the rather explicit poster on the wall showing the steps of a sanitary butchering of a "cuy" and you knew that these little critters were on borrowed time.

At this point we changed into hiking gear, slathered on sun screen and slapped on our hats as we were finally near our first hike. After about 20 min. of driving outside of the village, we got out, geared up and hit our first trail.

First Hike, First Lodge
Today's hike was billed as a "4 mile warm up," but the group consensus was that it was more like "a 7 mile challenge." No joke, even one of the guides said it was actually seven miles. And, for the first part it was all up, steep. That's challenging for people still acclimating. But I'm not complaining. The views were spectacular as we ascended up through meadows to the first ridge, then we hiked along that ridge going up sometimes, down others as we paced our way toward our first lodge destination.

First valley of our first hike

Perhaps the highlight of the hike was the lunch stop. Situated at a bend in the trail, this vantage point offered views of where we had came from, but - enticingly - where we were going...with the main feature being our first view of both the Humantay and the towering Salkantay peaks. Yep, from where we sat on the hillside munching our lunch, we could see the simply stunning peak and ponder its beauty, its history and, well, just how tall it is.

First hike, nearing our final destination

Speaking of the history of the mountain, the Andes range was formed by two great tectonic plates running into each other and the land being shoved up...way, way up. So, similar to the Rocky Mountains in the U.S., there are not any volcanoes. Also, the Incas worshiped the mountains given their obvious immensity and proximity to what people thought of as "heaven" or "the spirit world." This practice endures today among the indigenous people of the Peruvian highlands.

Anyway, we packed ourselves up after lunch and moved out toward the lodge - eventually arriving at Salkantay Lodge about 4 p.m.. With sweeping and spectacular views of the mountain, llamas plodding around the grounds, a warm and welcoming interior, private rooms and a hot tub...the lodge was a welcome oasis. We would spend two nights here as further acclimation before heading up to Salkantay Pass.

Our arrival at Salkantay Lodge

The next two days would bring hikes up to Humantay Lake and then the big push to the tall Salkantay Pass at 15,000 feet - subjects I will cover in my next post. But for this evening, we rested, ate well and called it a happy night. Slipping into our bed, contented with a tough day of hiking and views, we drifted off in the absolute darkness only possible when you are literally out in the middle of nowhere.

Check back in a week for my next post!





NOTE: All pictures included in this post were taken by Marc Osborn and are not permitted for any use by any part without prior written permission from Marc Osborn.

Exploring Peru - Series Kickoff & Cusco

When most people think of Peru, majestic and misty visions of the "lost Inca city" of Machu Picchu come to mind. And sure, if you were paying attention in high school when you were forced to read Moby Dick, you would remember the artfully crafted passage referring to the typically gray/white pallor of fog and clouds that hover over and inundate the coastal capital city of Lima. And OK, if you think for a minute you realize that virtually all nations south of the United States speak Spanish, so you might deduce that the Spanish must have arrived in Peru at some point in history.

But that's about it. End of common American knowledge about Peru.

Well, Diane and I knew a few more things about that country that tipped the balance in its favor as our big travel destination for 2012. For example, neither of us had been anywhere in the Americas south of Costa Rica, so Peru offered a first foray into South America. That was an enticing prospect, and we'd known others who had been there and liked it. We also knew that the Andes Mountains are among the world's tallest and most spectacular landscapes. And, we knew that hiking through those mountains would offer us not only a visual feast, but also a bracing physical challenge that would focus our minds and clear our stresses. All things we were up for and enjoy. And finally, we knew that one could do all that in a small tour group via the excellent REI Adventures.

We had to get some of that! And of course visit Machu Picchu. So, we booked our trip and set off last month for an adventure of a lifetime.

For those interested, I will be writing about some of the highlights and anecdotes from our journey over the coming weeks under the series title of "Exploring Peru." Just check back to this blog a few times this fall to read new chapters. First up is a bit on how we traveled to Peru and our initial visit to the city of Cusco.

Also, while I have posted some of my pictures directly in this piece, you can see more that go along with this post on my Flickr Photostream HERE. I will add more pictures as I add more reports. Another reason to check back!

EXPLORING PERU - CUSCO TAKE ONE

Travel Trevails from the Get-Go

Getting to Peru proved to be a bit of a hassle. No, not because it's difficult to book flights, but because of the airlines themselves on the day of travel. Let me explain. We arrived at SeaTac airport on time - or so we believed - and attempted to check in at the Delta desk for our flights to Atlanta, then on to Lima. The kiosk I was using said I could not check in and to talk with an attendant. I did and she asked what flight I was on...and I said, "The 8:10 a.m. flight to Atlanta." She said, "Oh, that's not our flight, it's code share with Alaska...go down there." We did, but time was ticking away and the line at Alaska was really long and REALLY slow.

Eventually, I realized we were going to miss our flight if we stayed in the Alaska line, so I asked for help from a manager who was walking by. He took our passports and looked into it. He came back and said that no, we were not on an Alaska flight and that we really were on Delta...and the kicker...that the flight had been changed to 7:30 a.m. Given that it was about 7 a.m. already, we knew our goose was cooked.

We hustled back to Delta and to make a long story short, they initially said "too bad, you'll have to re-book for tomorrow," but after I reminded them of how they sent us to Alaska Airlines...they swung into action to see if they could get us to Lima some other way so we could arrive on time for the start of our tour. 

At this point, I'd just like to say, "UGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" At least that (or a more profane version of it) was what I was thinking at that point on that morning. But, it turned out OK as the lady behind the desk did get us on a series of American Airlines flights (Seattle to Dallas, Dallas to Miami, and then Miami to Lima) that would ensure we could catch our plane from Lima to Cusco and the start of our trip as planned. More rushed, more exhausted...but there on time.

Except for the super long day of travel and a few wee hours in the Lima airport Saturday morning, everything else went fine from there.

Instant Altitude

We live in Seattle. That is at sea level. So is Lima - the capital of Peru and our point of entry to the country. Cusco, on the other hand, is at 11,200 feet above sea level, and it only takes an hour to fly there from Lima. So, when we went there by air, we experienced a quick altitude gain and it was obvious as soon as we disembarked from our airplane.

Cusco, Peru

Now, we didn't have any dramatic problems, but for sure we could tell the air was thinner. Any slight uphill incline elicited heavier breathing, we both had very mild (but present) headaches and we had a bit of tingling in the legs. And the sun seemed unduly harsh on the skin. All of these are symptoms of altitude on someone not acclimated. We agreed that while it was a bit uncomfortable, if this was the worst of it we'd be fine. And, you know what? That's pretty much how it played out. We spent the next couple days getting used to the altitude and drinking a lot of water...and all was good. By the way, drinking a lot of water is the key to altitude acclimation. The thin, dry air just sucks you dry so you gotta stay hydrated.

Seeing the Town & Starting the Tour

Arriving by transport to our hotel at about 9 a.m., we met one of our fellow tour mates, Josh, but were also told that we couldn't check in until 12 p.m. So, we took our sleep deprived and altitude challenged bodies on a stroll around the old part of Cusco in search of some views, some food and, well, just a place to sit and rest! We quickly learned that virtually no restaurants in Cusco is open for lunch until 12 p.m. at the earliest. We were forced into a 24 hour pub along the Plaza de Armas where we ordered omelets, lots of water and...eventually...some local beer.

Yes, I know. People say you shouldn't drink alcohol at altitude or when you're trying to acclimate. But you know what? Screw it. We did anyway. It was sunny, we had a nice view of the plaza and all the colorful people and activity going on there...it just made sense. And it tasted great! Cusquena beer ladies and gentlemen. That's the stuff.


Woman selling tamales

While sitting in our second story pub perch, we noticed a woman roll up and establish a table nearby on the street. Out of nowhere, a crowd of locals and tourists appeared and started buying and eating whatever she was selling. Diane said, "You should go down there and get us some of whatever that is." I was tired and put up a little resistance, and she just repeated her opinion...to which I got up and went down there. I'm glad I did because what the woman was selling hot, fresh tamales. You could either get sweet or savory. "Con azucar?" "Si!"I got to sweet ones and brought them back for us to eat in the pub. Wow! What a sugary treat.

Soon after, we worked our way back the hotel and checked into our quiet room. With our tour starting at 1 p.m., we had a choice to make...go on the tour or crash in bed. Diane opted to stay in the room and I decided to link up with the group and participate in the tour of Cusco town.

Temple of the Sun detail

After meeting our guide Miguel and and the rest of the group, we headed out for a three-stop tour of  the city. First up was the former site of the Inca Temple of the Sun. This is right in the old part of town, and as you might expect in an area conquered by the Spanish...they stripped it of any and all gold right away and then, of course, built a church over the top of it. Today, you actually enter a church and courtyard, but then inside there are sections of the temple still present. This site, therefore, served as a good jumping off place for the tour for Miguel to explain not only Inca culture, architecture and religion, but also the Spanish conquest. (Side note: I read the excellent "The Last Days of the Incas" before our trip and I have to say it was fascinating. I'd recommend it to anyone, whether or not you ever go to Peru...it's just an engrossing and compelling story).

Ruins of Sachsayhuman fortress

Our next stop took us just outside of town to a ridge overlooking the city. Here sits the ruins of a massive Inca fortress built for the defense of Cusco well before they knew anything about the Spanish. Named Sachsayhuman, the fort actually did not prevent the Spanish from taking over the city in the early 1500s. Rather, at the time, the Inca king invited them in with the hope that by acquiescing to the Spanish desire for gold, they would either leave the Inca kingdom be or - better yet - go home. Oh how tragically wrong they were! The fort did come into play later once the Incas figured out they were being grossly exploited, disrespected, abused and murdered. They massed a great army outside of Cusco and inhabited the fortress. From there they rained fire bombs down on the Spanish in the town. They almost succeeded in driving them out. Standing on the fort and looking down on the city, you can see how this might have worked.

Ultimately, however, the Spanish were desperate enough to mount attacks up from the city on the fortress and were able to overtake it with their superior weapons - horses, steel armor, swords, lances and rudimentary muskets. Going forward, the huge stones of the fortress were dissembled by the Spanish for us in building structures in Cusco. This is why today the fort is just a ruins rather than standing tall as it did all those centuries ago.

We took in the view from the top of the fortress, then visited another site nearby where Inca shamans used to sacrifice llamas and then we returned to the city for a look inside the huge Cathedral.

Cusco Cathedral

Diane and I have been to Europe many times and, to a large degree, we're "Cathedraled out." You know what I mean...how many churches can a person possibly take in? Most all of them look the same and feature similar art - Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Saints, Jesus again, Mary, Mary, Mary and so forth. It's just a matter of which architectural style they are built in and if they happen to have any out of the ordinary artwork.

In the case of the Cusco Cathedral, it's the later that is of interest because you see in many of the pieces a blending of traditional Catholic themes along with local Inca ideas. This is for two reasons: 1) the Spanish wanted to co-opt the Incas religion to trick them - or at least make it more palatable - to convert to Catholicism, and 2) the Incas wanted to retain elements of their beliefs while avoiding imprisonment or execution by converting to Catholicism. For example, the Incas worshiped the mountains and the sun. Therefore, in the Cusco Cathedral you see paintings or sculptures of Mary wearing a dress that lo and behold looks a lot like the silhouette of a mountain. You also see her wearing a crown that looks a lot like the sun. Another example is in the locally created Last Supper painting that hangs near the main alter. The featured dish in the middle of the table is the distinctly Peruvian fare of guinea pig ("cuy" in their language).

At this point, my exhaustion caught up with me and I probably resembled a zombie more than a happy tourist. Somehow I made it back to the hotel when we finished at the church. There I happily jumped into bed and rested for a couple hours until we hit the streets for dinner.

Dinner and Done
Our final act on our first day in Peru was to head out with two of our tour mates for dinner at a great restaurant called Ciccolina's in the old quarter of Cusco. After or pub fare at lunch, we were ready to delve into something a bit more refined and this place did not disappoint. Most of us went "all in" on Peruvian style food. We got "causas" which are short, soft potato pillars usually with something inside them or on top of them. Their construction varies based on the restaurant you order them at. In this case, Ciccolina's causas are served...with guinea pig on top. You wouldn't have known it by looking as it was just a little strip of meat on top of the potatoes, but yep...guinea pig. The three guys in the group ordered alpaca, which tasted to me like a combination of beef and pork. Somewhere in the middle. But good as prepared. And we had a nice Peruvian wine to go with it all. Again, don't believe the hype on not drinking at altitude. Don't be stupid and go overboard, but please...enjoy yourself.

With a nice walk back to the hotel, thus ended our first day in Peru. We would be returning to Cusco later in our trip, with more adventures to come - shopping, eating, drinking and more sight seeing among them. But until then, questioned materialized. Would we like the rest of our tour group? Would we get altitude sickness later at even greater heights? How would the weather be? Would we get "gut sick" due to eating or drinking something our American systems could not handle? How would the trekking be? What would be be seeing?

I'll answer these and talk about our further exploration of Peru starting in my next post - which will be about the hiking we did in the Andes Mountains. And yes, I'll revisit Cusco to detail our second stint there following all the hiking.

Check back in a week or so for the next post, updated pictures on my Flickr Photostream set, and then come back again later for more installments.


NOTE: All pictures in this post were taken by Marc Osborn and are not authorized for any use by any party without written permission by Marc Osborn.

Egypt's Elections May Change Tourism There - And Not for the Better

Given the NEWS TODAY about the religiously fundamental Muslim Brotherhood winning Egypt's national elections over the weekend, I'm glad Diane and I were able to go to and tour Egypt when we did.

My review of our trip is HERE, and you can see pictures I took while there on my Photostream HERE.


At the Giza Pyramids in 2010

With the election results, Egypt might not be as open, friendly or accommodating to western tourists going forward. I recall reading a while ago that one thing the Muslim Brotherhood was considering if it won power was that it would legislate that all tourism would have to be solely for educational purposes and - of course - the country would not allow tourists to wear things like bathing suits, shorts or any form of dress considered immodest by their religious standards. That is basically the same as them saying, "western tourists not welcome." Tourism is such a huge element of their economy, that such policies would be - to me - economic suicide. And that won't be good for anyone in Egypt or in the Middle East. For example, you think Israel is excited about the prospect of an economically depressed Egypt run by fundamentalist Islamic party? Ah...no.

But hey, if the majority of Egyptians want a conservative religious political party running their nation and voted them into power democratically in hopes that their approach will help lift masses out of poverty and division, all we can do from afar is sit back and see how it goes. I'm  not confident, but we'll see.

In the meantime...we went to Egypt in calmer times, saw it, had a great time and am glad we can count that among our lifetime achievements.


NOTE: Above photo taken by me, Marc Osborn. It is not authorized for any use without prior written permission from me.

Italy: La Dolce Vita - The Series

Below is the consolidated and complete series re-capping the Italy portion of our European Trip in the summer of 2011. For the full report on the Romania portion of the trip, go HERE.


Italy: La Dolce Vita - The Series
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• Venice - seeing the sights, great places to eat and the beauty of Venetian canals
• Florence - our afternoon and one evening in this beautiful city
• Photo Feature - a set of photos I took while in Italy
• Tuscany - we drive south of Florence and spend a few days soaking up rural Tuscany
• Rome - The Eternal City hits and highlights

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Also, for those interested, you can read other stories of our travels in a number of series that I've written. For example, check these out...

Excursion To Egypt

Visiting the U.S. South

The China Reports

Romania: On The Trail of Dracula - Biertan, Gypsies, Sibiu and Tilisca Village

As we left Sighisoara behind us, we ventured out into next to last full day in Romania. Our first stop on the road was another typically beautiful Romanian village, Biertan.

As a reminder, you can see more pictures from the Romanian portion of our trip by going to my Flickr Photostream HERE. I've updated the set to include supplemental pictures that go along with each post up to and including this one. Once there, just scroll down to the last 4-5 lines of the set to see the pictures related to this post.

Biertan
If you've been following my posts about this trip, you get the idea on how these villages are organized: German style houses mostly, linear street layout, hilltop church with fortification. Biertan is no different. Perhaps a bit more beautiful than some, however. So, this time, I'm just going to let the pictures do the talking. Check out these shots from Biertan...

Inspired by our breakfast the day before, before leaving the village, we bought some wonderful local honey. With that we were on our way.

Gypsies

Aiming for the city of Sibiu, we did stop once on the way to see some Gypsies on the roadside selling copper pots and other such items. Gypsies - or Romani as they are often referred to - are an ethnic minority in Europe. The stereotype is nomadic families or groups of Gypsies wandering around Europe picking up work or selling things when and where they can. I cannot speak to whether the Gypsies we saw moved around, but I can say that when we saw them they were indeed either doing manual labor (such as helping build haystacks as we observed) or selling things (such as we saw on the roadside.) (Left: Gypsies sell their copper wares on the side of the road.)

Sibiu
Sibiu is a larger city, along the lines of Brasov. Vlad Dracula would have been here a few times and his son was killed and buried there. So, we checked it out. After parking and walking in the muggy afternoon down picturesque streets we settled in for a lunch overlooking the old city square. After, we walked through the old town some more and went half way across a pedestrian bridge that our guide Andrei said was the "liars bridge." He said that the superstition is that if you are a liar and you cross the bridge to the other side you will drop dead. None of us decided to test the theory, most especially Andrei who said that he had told enough lies in his life that he would not want to tempt fate. Turning to go back the way we came, we ventured over to the huge Cathedral that is the centerpiece of the old town.

Now, by this time we had been in a number of Romanian churches and normally seeing yet another one might be going "a church too far." But, actually, this was not the case here. We got a nice tour by a local youth whose school was doing a tour of duty as guides for the church interior. The cool tempature inside the church was most welcome as  this obviously well educated kid showed us some interesting frescoes, how the local big wigs (including the son of Vlad Dracula) were buried within the walls of the church - noting that the more wealthy the person was, the more ornate and detailed the sculpted coffin covers were. (Right: Main square in Sibiu.)

There must have been some money in that town back in the day because quite a few coffin covers had virtually life-like renderings of the deceased carved into them, just as the people now inside would have wanted to be remembered. Our youthful church guide also noted that the particularly fancy ones would have been created before the person died so they were sculpted exactly what the person wanted to represent him (and it was always a him) on the outside of his coffin - another sign of wealth.

As we looked around the ancient interior of this church, a thunderstorm broke out and doused the city for about a half hour. A real soaker. We passed the time under the church awning watching it all come down on the old roofs of the town. When it lifted, we ambled back across the old town and to our car, stopping for pick-me-up espresso from a vending machine along the way. Side note - look for these little vending machines to hit the USA sometime. They typcially kick out your choice of espresso, capuchino, cafe with milk or straight coffee. Sounds a bit sketchy I know, but I have to say we never had a bad espresso from one of these. The best ever? No, but not bad by any means. Oh, and cheap. (Left: Cathedral in Sibiu.)

Our timing back to the truck proved excellent as not more than two minutes after we were back in, another - larger - thunderstorm broke out. Andrei piloted the truck through the streets, but he might as well have been driving inside a washing machine. I'm not sure I've ever seen so much rain come down in such a short period of time.

Outdoor Museum
Cris-crossing the city in this downpour, Andrei set a course for our next destination of the day, an outdoor history museum as he put it. As the rain let up, we parked and got out. Essentially a huge, leafy park, this museum had real life examples of old Romanian homes, mills, windmills, recreational activities and more. We toured this sight for about and hour and then set off for our next guesthouse village for the night. (Right: Traditional windmills.)

Tilisca Village
Off the main freeway we wound our way through rough and uneven roads, through a couple villages to ultimately arrive in Tilisca Village - site of our guesthouse. Right in the middle of all the normal older buildings and homes, this place actually was quite modern. Situated adjacent to a roaring stream and looking out on a green forested hillside where ancient fort ruins poked through, we instantly knew we'd like this place. The house owners were home - a school teacher and a musician - and happily greeted us. After a rest, we ate a wonderful home cooked meal of lamb and, at last, tried the regional "hooch" called Palinka. This is a sort of distilled plumb wine that is clear in color and super powerful. Think ouzo or grappa. (Below: The streets of Tilisca Village at sundown.)

After dinner, Andrei and I took a walk around the village as the sun set and darkness took hold - casting what turned out to be a bluish wash over the town. We walked past very old churches, through alleyways, over cobbled streets, across small bridges. Mostly quiet, the streets did yield some activity when we got near one of the bars - naturally. And yep, the youth of Tilisca were out for a good time as they could be seen and heard living it up as we walked by. After we returned, Andrei and I sat up with the guesthouse owners in their courtyard, drank beer, and compared notes on the world as the stars sparkled overhead in between big cloud formations. Fun. But, it was getting late so after a while I decided to call it a night. Good thing too. I think Andrei could have stayed up all night talking - which of course is a complement. It had been a long day and I just couldn't.

Diane had already turned in and was asleep, and so with the sound of the lulling stream sounding continually outside and below our room...I quickly dropped off as well and slept the sleep of another great day in Romania. Knowing that tomorrow would be our last full day in the country, as I drifted off I relished our last big stop on our tour - hiking up to the real Vlad Dracula's castle.


(Below: Diane and Marc with guesthouse owner Elina in Tilisca.)

NOTE: Pictures in this post were taken by or are the property of Marc Osborn and are not permitted for any use without prior written permission of Marc Osborn.

Romania: On The Trail of Dracula - Viscri and Sighisoara

Pulling out of Simon Village, we hit the road with the well preserved medieval town of Sigishoara as our ultimate destination. To be sure, there would be plenty of driving on this day, but to me watching the countryside, the villages and the people go by out the window was endlessly fascinating.

I think the things we saw on the drive were typical of what we observed every day in Transylvania. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, check out some pictures I took as we drove along below. Also note that I've updated my set of Romania pictures on my Flickry Photostream HERE to include pictures relevant to this post.

The other thing that was going on as we drove was the temperature was going up - way up. Sure, it'd been hot in Brasov but now I think it was getting into the mid 90s if not hotter. Eventually, the fairly populated countryside because quite rural again and eventually we exited the main freeway for a side road that would take us to the picturesque and off-the-beaten path village called Viscri.

Viscri
Viscri is one of those places that is consistently cited by travel books as a wonderful chance to see how typical Romanian village life is today and was in the past. However, it's also a place that not many tourists go because a) it is so off the beaten path, and b) the "beaten path" is a REALLY rough road. But, as Andrei our guide says, good things are worth the effort. (Below: Viscri home, Viscri stork nest.)

So we made the effort. Pulling into the village after a jostling ride, the first thing you see is a row of houses on each side of the dirt main street. These German-style houses are bathed in bright colors and seem to connect together to form an almost sold wall going all the way through the village as it rises up the hill.

We got out into the heat and walked up the hill, noticing both some guys sitting outside in the shade at the local (and only?) bar in town. We also spied a stork in her nest atop one of the house's chimneys. Cute. Turning to the right and into some shade, we made our way up to the town's primary visitors site - the fortified church.

Back in history, these villages would always have a church, but they typically also fortified it so it was a fortress as well. Often these were placed on the highest hill in the village boundary. This would give people a place retreat to if an ill-intending army or bad guys showed up. From there, the town could either wait out the trouble or fend of the interlopers from their positions.

We walked around the complex, got up into the rafters and defense positions, toured the church and generally looked around. I also bought a pair of home made wool socks from the woman in charge of the gate. Kinda funny doing that when it's 100 degrees outside, but I figured that come next winter I'd appreciate them. Anyway, this was an intriguing look at how typical villages were structured and how they organized themselves. We were glad to have stopped. But, we were getting hungry so off we went - hitting a roadside diner (another score for Andrei!) before heading directly to our next and final stop of the day. (Left: Viscri fortified church.)

Sighisoara
Located in the heart of Transylvania, Sighisoara (pronounced sig-y-shore-ah) is one of the best preserved hilltop medieval towns in all of Europe and the only one like it in Eastern Europe still inhabited. It is also the birthplace of, you guessed it, Vlad Dracula.

Winding our way up the hill toward the old town center in our vehicle, we eventually broached the old city walls and emerged into a wonderfully colorful town square. Diane and I got out and found some shade as Andrei squared off with the hotel staff over whether or not he could park our truck across the very narrow street from the hotel. Andrei won out. (Left: Medieval tower in Sighisoara.) 

Our plan from here was to see the sights first and then dodge the heat with some shade, a beer or two and then some rest in the late afternoon. The first thing was saw was the massive clock/defensive tower in the middle of the old town. It's impressive from the outside, but then also we climbed up inside and emerged at the top where there was a nice breezy balcony to survey the entire region.

Back on the ground, we next stopped at the birthplace of Vlad Dracula. Vlad's father, Vlad Dracul, lived in this town in an house right on the square. "Dracul" is a name he was given after he joined "the order of the Dragon" earlier in his life. Upon the birth of his son, Vlad, he gave him the name "Dracula" as in, from Dracul or Dracul's child. And that's how the name "Dracula" came into being. Today, the house is actually a restaurant on the ground floor, and yes, they do play up the fictional Dracula angle a bit. But, you can also see the order of the Dragon symbol over the doorway too and there is a plaque noting the building as the home of Vlad Dracul and the birthplace of Dracula. Across town in a small square, there is also a bust of Vlad Dracula.

Next, we  hit the torture museum, and why not? About this time we were overheating and getting tired so we headed for a shady side street and sat down to have beer. Wiling away a good hour there, we then adjourned to our hotel - situated right on the main town square - where we checked in and rested up. (Right: Building where Vlad Dracula was born.)

As it turned out, there was a film festival happening in Sighisoara that evening. Initially we thought that this would be a pain because it was taking place right in the town square...right in front of our hotel. But, as it turned out it was fine. We actually ended up sitting in the audience, enjoying the finally cool weather and watching some of the festivities and the film - in this case a recently-produced historical drama about the Ceausescu days. (Below: Colorful scenes around Sighisoara.)

Before that, however, we took a walk up to the top of the fortified hill for a view and a look at the church up there. While still hot, this was a nice way to see more of the back streets of the town. We ate dinner back near our hotel in a delightful courtyard restaurant, and then strolled the streets some more before sitting down to watch some of the movie.

Thus ended a very busy, but very rewarding day. With no problem sleeping whatsoever, we awoke ready for a new day. I actually got up a bit early and walked the streets of town to see it in the morning sun. Pretty.

After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we saddled up and headed out for the day with the town of Sibui as the main point for us to visit.


NOTE: All pictures in this post were taken by Marc Osborn and are not authorized for use without prior written permission.