On the Road to Macchu Picchu

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First stop: Cuzco, Peru via Lima.

Landing late at night in Lima is beyond scary. We left the airport into sheer chaos with people all over the place vying to give us a ride.

After talking to a few of the airport staff, we decided to be brave and get into a shady looking van taxi. (I made sure the window could open first in case I needed to hop out).

Our "hotel" was a 1/2 star at best. But after I don´t know how many hours of flights, it was pretty easy to fall asleep.

The next morning we took one of the craziest flights ever to Cuzco. Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incan Empire, is about 11,000 feet up in the Andes Mountains and, this day happened to be very cloudy...but the clouds were far below us and just above the airport. As we´d start to make our decent deep into the clouds the pilot would all of a sudden push the engine full throttle and direct the plane upward, as though to avoid all of the surrounding mountains. This happened 2 or 3 times. You don´t need caffine for a week after a flight like that.

Finally in Cuzco, we toured around the city and saw all of the ancient Incan Ruins. Many of which had been destroyed by the Spainish.

Note: If you´re ever in Cuzco, watch out for all of the pedlars (hundreds of them). We timed it, you´ll get hit up once every 60 seconds. And don´t assume they can´t speak English, they can and will to get you to buy something. Also, don´t take pictures with native women wearing traditional garb holding a goat/llama without asking them how much first...yes, they expect to be paid and will make a big scene if you don´t.

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Photos

Qoricancha Sun Temple
The Spaniards built over the temple (lower left) with this church.

Sacsayhuaman Ruins
Pronounced Sax-Say-Woman. Am I too old to find that funny?