Peru and the trek to Machu Pichu 2015

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015



Todd woke up at 5:00 am and went to the lobby of our hotel in Machu Picchu, El Mapi. Today we have a little free time in the morning.



Cindy and I ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant around 8:00 am. The breakfast was pretty good at this hotel, however the selection of items was much less than other hotels, but still good. One thing that was awesome about the breakfast was the large glass window with an awesome view of part of the Andes. Probably one of the top best breakfast views, next to the Marriott Hotel in Budapest overlooking at the Castle District.



Following breakfast we went to the hotel lobby and worked on the computers. Cindy Skyped and Todd worked on his blog. We needed to have our overnight bags checked at the front desk and checked out by 11:00 am. Following our check out, Cindy and I ventured out to explore the Machu Picchu city area. We ended up running into the Main Plaza named Machu Picchu Pueblo. It is small park however is pretty in its own way. It has a statue in the middle surrounded by several wooden buildings, mostly business. There is also a small catholic church. I took a few photos.



After our quick main plaza visit, we walked around town a little more than stopped a local restaurant that served pizza. The name was Toto’s. Cindy and I sat outside on the porch next to the street and train tracks. We both ordered a spirit and then a medium cheese and ham pizza. This seems very odd that we were eating pizza in a Peru where the food is so good. The two seems like a cliché. While waiting for pizza, it was fun just watching the people walking around and all the loose dogs. They were quite active. We even so a small boy riding in a remote car down the sidewalk. While eating our pizza, others from our tour came by and had pizza. Today lunch was on our own. There was also a local group starting to play music on the patio area. A very nice touch before we leave. We were only here for less than 24 hours.



Following eating our lunch we needed to head to the train station. While at the train station we needed to collect our handbags and train tickets from our tour guide and then proceed to the waiting room at the train station.



We boarded train and we sat backwards again. Oh well. The bummer this trip is we had to sit away from the rest of our tour group since there were only so many seats in the one section. During our train ride we rode in another vistadome train where we could all the way around our surroundings. The views were just a beautiful as the day before. We had a small snack on the train, however it was not too exciting, I never wrote down what we ate. Following our snack, the crew on the train danced wearing native clothing. They asked fellow passengers to dance. Fun time. Later after their performance then fashioned various clothing for us to buy. We did not purchase anything.



Our train ride lasted about 1.5 hours, however the return trip it seems like we had to stop multiple times. One of the train employees had to get off the train to switch tracks. We still made it on time. At the train station with exited off the train after the hand luggage was put outside next to the train. We gathered our bags and then headed to the bus we will take to Cusco.



The bus ride was quiet, however it was good to rest some. On our way to the first stop, we stopped in a small town to watch a small carnival parade. How fun is this. Carnival here goes until the end of the week, past ash Wednesday. When the carnival parade was finished we drove a little longer to our first stop. This stop was a Chicheria. A Chicheria is a home or place where they serve Chica. To know there is a Chicheria, you will see a pole in front of someone’s home or business with a red cloth or something red hanging. Chica is “In South and Central America, chicha is a fermented or non-fermented beverage usually derived from maize. Chicha includes corn beer known as chicha de jora and non-alcoholic beverages such as chicha morada. Chichas can also be made from manioc root (also called yuca or cassava), grape, apple or various other fruits. While chicha is most commonly associated with maize, the word is used in the Andes for almost any homemade fermented drink, and many unfermented drinks. Many different grains or fruits are used to make "chicha" in different regions.” Here is a little more information on Chicha. http://southamerica.amateurtraveler.com/chicha-the-infamous-saliva-fermented-beer-from-peru/

Our tour guide showed us how this drink was made and did hands on demonstration. Everyone that wanted to taste the drink was given a very small sample in a small plastic cup. Before drinking it, the tour guide proposed a toast. To propose a toast made was a toast to mother earth. He poured a small amount on the ground. Here is the reason why from an outside source “No ceremony began without the Inca lord or priest's pouring chicha on the ground to honor the corn goddess, Mama Sara. Even today, no Peruvian will drink chicha without first spilling a few drops on the ground or floor.” This was really neat to see that. The taste was pretty bland, but interesting. We were also allowed to try a fruity drink called the Fruitullada. This was good. Out tour guide showed some of the instruments handing on all the walls.

Following our Chica demonstration, in the court yard there was a game called Sapo. It was a ton of fun. Here is a brief history of the game. “An ancient Sapos in the sacred lake of the Incas, Pukllay Sapo."” I nailed the gold coin in the frogs mouth. Before we left, Cindy noticed three ladies sitting at a table against the far wall. She made a comment that it was ladies night out. Our tour guide repeated this to them and then said their husbands were home cooking.

After our fun stop, we reboarded the bus and started our journey back to Cuzco. The drive back was not real eventful, however we were able to catch a quick nap. The tour guide did mention in one area that the Cuzco airport was being relocated from its current location to a location about 45 minutes away. He pointed out that several homes were being built on the side of the hill so developers could free up the land below for the airport. The airport completion is not for another 7-8 years. The countryside is absolutely beautiful particularly since there were no clouds or rain. This is the rainy season, we are so lucky not to encounter any rain. When getting closer to Cuzco, we noticed the roads were really poorly maintained, very bumpy. Cindy and I commented that if they are relocated the airport, they need to work on repairing the roads. Just before we arrived in the city center of Cuzco, we had to change busses. Our bus was too large to navigate through the streets of Cuzco and also not allowed by authorities. We split up into two busses.

Once we departing the transfer location, it took about 20 minutes to arrive at our hotel in Cuzco. Our hotel was another Novotel hotel, same name as the Lima property. The exterior of the hotel was simple, however the interior and lobby was beautiful. We will be spending the next two nights here. Here is a link to our hotel for additional information and photos. http://www.novotel.com/es/hotel-3254-novotel-cusco/index.shtml.

The hotel lobby depicts an outside courtyard with a fountain in the center, however it is indoors. The roof structure consists of large skylights. During the day the lobby gets so bright, there umbrellas covering the sitting various sitting areas. The hotel room is fairly basic and not as speculator as the other hotels we stayed at, however this hotel is still super nice. While driving to the hotel the tour guide said there is not A/C in the rooms, just central heat. If we wanted to cool off the room we needed to open up the windows.

Dinner this evening was on our own. The tour guide recommended several local favorites, however we decided to eat at the hotel. The restaurant was totally booked and the seating was overflowing into the courtyard. I believe they were not ready for such a large group. There were other tours staying at the hotel. Todd met a group of Australian tourists when we were in Machu Picchu, there were also staying at this hotel so I was able talk with here too. Cindy ordered spaghetti and Todd ordered a chicken. This dish was called Pollo en salsa pachamancha con tuberculos andinos. It was described as “succulent chicken breast in a delicate combination of Andean ingredients (black mint, American worm seed and other spices), served with seasonal produce oca tubers, mashua tubers, native potatoes or sweet potatoes. This was by far the best chicken dish I have ever eaten. Cindy and I both had a glass of wine, however we did not get a Peruvian wine, and they served Chilean wines. The wine was much better.

Following our awesome dinner, Cindy and I thought this would be a good night to visit the city square and do shopping. All the shops are open until at least 10:00 pm or later. The tour guide recommended a great store for purchasing alpaca (Llama) clothing. We in particular wanted to buy baby alpaca clothing. Baby alpaca is the first shaving off a Llama. We found the recommended store, Alpaca III, Kuna. We did purchase several items, ones that I can share here because they are for Christmas gifts. I purchased a baby alpaca sweater, it was on sale. I absolutely love it.



We were done shopping and back to the hotel by 10:00 pm. Tomorrow is a busy day. We are doing a walking tour in the morning, and since there is free time in the afternoon, we booked an extra tour, visiting a salt mine and then Moray.

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