Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012

Today begins bright and early even though it is holiday. Our bus first takes us toward Pisaq in the “Sacred Valley of the Incas”. An appropriate place to spend Easter Sunday! Our first stop is at a roadside stand to help support the local economy. Here, a young boy proudly shows us his little sister. We then go to Mirador Taray, an overlook of the Valley, where we get some stunning vistas and our cameras are in their element. We then go through a security checkpoint when we arrive in Pisaq.

We first come to Pisaq Archaeological Park and check out this hilltop Incan citadel with ancient temples, plazas and the Intihuatana, a stone structure thought to have been a sundial. Here we witness the elaborate terracing of the Inca.

We then go into the town market which Pisaq is famous for and we walk around the extensive market where I buy a t-shirt and take photos of the colorful products and even a weaver lady.

Now it is time for lunch and we are taken to “Arco Iris Del Puente Lodge” restaurant for a buffet lunch in the town of Urubamba. We are early for our seating reservation so we get to walk around the grounds for some scenic shots of colorful gardens and even a couple pet Vicunas. A young boy lounges in the grass. When we are called to be seated, we go in and a massive spread of food has been laid out on the buffet and we sit with our bus mates and eat to our hearts delight!

Back on the bus we chat amicably with a younger couple and the conversation turns to them asking me what I do for a living. When I tell them I’m a photographer, I am asked what I shoot. I give them a line a friend and associate taught me and my reply is, “I’ll shoot anything that can stand in front of me with a wallet!” So that was the impetus for this photo!

Shortly we arrive in Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo is a village in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, located on the Urubamba River and surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It’s known for its ruins, a massive Inca fortress with large stone terraces built on a hillside. Attractions include the Sun Temple and the Princess Baths fountain. We are greeted at the entrance by an Inca King or at least he appears to be! Somebody I know has decided to photo-bomb the photo!

The sun sets and we travel wearily back to Cusco where we try out another restaurant and we think we see a celebrity actor in the restaurant. Do you recognize him?

Good night and see you tomorrow!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

We have the morning to ourselves today as our excursion doesn’t start until the afternoon. So we actually get an extra hour of sleep before we partake of a complimentary fruit breakfast in the hotel. The city of Cusco is just over 11,000 feet (3400 meters) above sea level and we are getting very well acclimatized to the altitude. We stroll into the city square and you’d never know there were thousands of revelers here last night. One thing we see in all places we visit here are balconies. They are commonly painted bright colors that rarely match the attached building.

There are more than one church here and it is a very photogenic square. We decide to have an early lunch and we choose “Incanto Ristorante”. We manage to relax over lunch (I don’t remember what we had) and then it’s back outside for some more photos. Two girls dressed in native garb pose for me as we attempt to visit the inside of a church. I manage to take a couple photos before I am told to put the camera away. Oh well, I tried! But I did capture a photo of the painting of the “Last Supper” with a guinea pig depicted as being served!

We see more “INRI” crucifixes and everywhere we go, they put these up for the working people. On each “INRI”, they attach the tools that the local workers use. “INRI” stands for Jesus, in Latin it means, “Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum”

Next we see several examples of different generations of stone work, some more finessed than others.

It is now noon and our bus has arrived to pick us up. We ride for about an hour and arrive at another set of ruins, this one named, “Sacsaywaman”. We chuckle at the word, especially when it is spoken out loud. (Go ahead, say it) Here we get to see and touch amazing stone work constructed thousands of years ago. The stones are carved and stacked perfectly and a piece of paper won’t even fit between them! There is no modern knowledge of how this was done. When the Spaniards invaded Peru in the 1500s, they destroyed quite a lot of Inca building. Modern engineers have attempted to repair this damage and you can see how inferior it is, almost like child’s play in comparison! In the distance, a statue similar to “Christ The Redeemer” is on a hilltop but we never get very close to it.

We then travel a short distance to the home of “Huiracocha”, the god of water. Here, Huiracocha and “Pachamama” (Mother Earth) resided and they say these waters are the purest on earth. (Pronunciations are “Ware-a-ko-cha” and “paach-A-mama”) Once again, vendors display their colorful wares for sale!

A short walk from Huiracocha, we find another set of ruins, the name of which eludes me. I tried to research it to no avail. The sun is setting and the day is coming to a close.

Back in Cusco, we find a new restaurant to try and another great meal is had!

See you tomorrow!

Good Friday, April 6, 2012

We arrive at the Temple of Wiracoccha in Raqchi. This is one of the largest archaeological sites in Peru. The Spaniards destroyed most of it and built their own Catholic Church on the site. It is not known the full reasons for this site but it is speculated it was a barracks for the Inca soldiers. The Temple was the largest roof in the Inca empire. It was 302 feet by 84 feet. (92 meters by 25.5 meters). Some ingenious designs such as stair steps as depicted in the first photo were just an example of Inca brilliance. Custom water systems were an Inca staple.

Wiracoccha was a deity to the Inca, believed to be the giver of all life and the ‘Creator God’. The Temple was built as a tribute to him. It is said that he made fire fall from the sky and burn the area when in reality it was lava from the nearby Volcano of Quimsa Chata. So the Temple was built to recognize the event.

Our bus drives on to Cajamarca where we stop and visit another small town and the Virgen Dolorosa church that is decorating for Easter. The detailed stone plaza has been intrinsically laid. Colorful vendors again line the street displaying their wares. Carved stone figurines of Dolorosa line the street outside the church.

We drive on and pass by a Sun Gate similar to the “Intipunku” of Machu Picchu. On a specific day and time, we are told, the sun rises and shines through the sun gate, illuminating a specific object. Shortly thereafter we descend into Cusco at just over 11,000 feet (3400 meters). We see the “Monumento Inca Pachacutec” as we go through town. The sun sets behind the overcast skies as we arrive at our hotel.

We check in to our clean and comfortable room and leave the hotel in search of food. We walk the 3 blocks to the main square past pretty fountains and come across throngs of worshipers celebrating “Semana Santa”, a mix of Catholicism and Inca traditions. No sooner has the procession passed and the thousands of revelers are gone and the square is empty. So a few night photos are added to my collection.

We find the “Inka Grill” and get seated for dinner. I order Roasted Guinea Pig and it is amazingly delicious. Hundreds of bones make me look like a chipmunk as I gingerly nibble at the meal. A friendly diner from France that we strike up a conversation with poses for a fun photo!

We are tired and don’t want to walk back uphill to our hotel. We have been warned in advance not to hail a taxi ourselves as there are some unscrupulous taxi drivers in the area. We have been instructed to have a restaurant or hotel call for the taxi for us. Well, we have already left the restaurant so what should we do? Then we spot a police car with an officer sitting in it. We approach him and get the message to him that we need a taxi and he gets out, puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles at a taxi. He goes to the driver and has some strong words with him. Then he signals us to get in.

The taxi driver appears terrified and drives us straight to our hotel with his knuckles glued to the wheel. We pay him and he doesn’t drive off until we have gotten safely inside the hotel. We chuckle and wonder whar the police officer told him and retire for the night.

Good Friday, April 6, 2012

We awaken today with the plan to travel on towards Cusco. It will be a long day and may take 2 Blog Posts to get there! Outside of our hotel in Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the normal hustle and bustle carries on in the streets. We walk 2 blocks to a luxury bus that will carry us today. We manage to get front row seats!

We travel through Juliaca, a neighboring city and the sights are interesting.

Into the highlands again and the scenic vistas are breathtaking! Yellow and red quinoa fields abound (pronounced keen-wah) before we arrive in the town of Pukara for a rest stop.

In Pukara (or Pucara) the attraction is the “Sixteen Chapel”, we believe it to be a bad pronunciation of long ago in an effort to mimic the famous Vatican Chapel. But it is Good Friday and they are decorating for Easter Sunday. Outside, children play in the streets and we also see an older woman pulling her delivery bicycle instead of riding it. The road out of town is dirty and muddy, but our bus navigates it okay.

Then it is back into the highlands where we pass through random towns, some with names that are difficult to pronounce.

Soon we come to open pastures where flocks of Llamas and Alpacas graze. The bus stops to let us stretch our legs. Vendors display many products for sale that are made from these animals. We look but don’t buy anything. A sign tells us we are at 14,200 feet!

Driving on, our bus stops at “La Pascana” restaurant ‘Turistico’ for lunch. This is an open air restaurant overlooking a river and pastures that we walk in and are promptly spit at by a feisty Llama! Again, vendors display their wares in hopes of selling us something. The gardens are bright and filled with colorful flowers.

It is time to travel on. We will continue todays story in the next Blog post!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

So we wake up after an amazingly good night’s sleep in a strange bed with a still warm rock at the foot of it and we go into the dining room and have a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit and coffee! Our host, still dressed in her traditional native garb sees us out and down to the docks. We also left her with an amount of Peruvian Pesos but I can’t remember the amount after all these years and it’s not important. Just to know that we did. Our private 50 passenger boat is there with our guide and driver, their names have also eluded me now. They take us down the shore to another dock a mile away and we disembark for our next planned adventure. You can see by the photos what it is comprised of.

Now would be a good time to call us crazy! We are 59 years old and getting into sea kayaks for a 4 mile journey out to Taquile (pronounced Ta-kee lay) Island! Now add to that idea that the surface of Lake Titicaca is at 12,500 feet above sea level (3810 Meters for our friends around the world) and it is a given that breathing is challenging sitting still on dry land at this altitude! But not to worry! We can DO this! So we get suited up and get in the kayaks and get the sea boots sealed up. I have even put my camera in an underwater case for photos! But the exertion is such that not many photos get taken. My camera sobs with disappointment. Okay, so paddling… And paddling some more. I look back. Wow, we are about halfway as the shore in front and the shore in back look equidistant. But I am exhausted. I can rest here for a bit. Just stop paddling and rest for a few minutes. But I didn’t estimate the size of this lake. Calm waves are 18-24 inches. When you stop, they wash over you. It is severely uncomfortable. Have to paddle on… Is this silly excursion going to be my demise? Why am I thinking stupid thoughts?

No, the solution is to paddle on. Wait, I’m feeling better. I think this is what you call ‘getting your second wind’. Okay, I can do this! I paddle and set my sights on the shore ahead. Paddle, damn it! I get into a rhythm and calmly paddle and paddle and paddle. Did I mention that our private 50 passenger boat AND and a small power boat are powering on each side of us? No, I guess I didn’t, LOL. We have never been in any danger. Our guide is in a kayak with us! At the instant we get in trouble, we have a rescue kayak, a power boat and a passenger boat at our rescue. But my story sounded so good, didn’t it?

Well, anyway, I get to shore on Taquile Island first. Our guide actually struggles to catch me because he wants to be ashore first to assist us out of the kayaks! The guide tells us we are his slowest clients. We tell him our ages and ask him if we are his oldest clients and he laughs and says we are!

So now that we are totally exhausted, Our guide suggests lunch and we heartily agree! He says lunch is up on top of the island. What we don’t understand yet is the top of the island is 1200 vertical meters up or 4000 feet which puts the top of the island at 16,500 feet (5030 meters) which is the highest altitude of the entire trip! At least the path is somewhat smooth. So, after exerting yourself in kayaks for 4 miles at high altitude, how do you climb this path? Simple, one foot after the other! So we climb and climb and climb. There are no vehicles on this island, everything is foot powered. We see several people and sights along the way and our cameras do their best to capture the good shots!

We make it to the town on top and think, “Wow, we’re here!”. But there is still another 300 vertical meters to go (1000 feet). So we plod along and Elee almost doesn’t make it. I help her and we walk slowly together and sure enough, we finally come to Restaurant Flor de Rosa and find seats for lunch. This trip was 9 years ago and what we ate eludes me, but getting here was the memory! We even came across a vendor selling raw meat just laying out on a tarp!

So now our bellies are satisfied, it is time to go back down to the lake. Lucky for us, Elee’s knees were in better shape back in 2012 so going down is stressful, but not impossible! We pass many people both on the way up and the way down. One thing our guide explains to us is the color of the tassels that both the men, women, and children wear. They define the marital status that you have and whether or not you are of age and/or available! A young lady who is 18 and single wears a white tassel. A married adult male wears a red tassel with blue strings in it. A young lady under 18 wears a blue tassel to signify she is to young to be betrothed. The rest of the colors are forgotten to me.

We make it to the Lake and board our 50 passenger boat for the trip back to Puno. we witness sunset as we pass back through the Islands of Uros and it has been a good, yet exhausting day! One of the last sights we see is a cloud shaped like a bear, fun to see!

So we check back into our hotel for the night and we’ll see you in the morning!