Lima

Hotel in Miraflores - Antigua Miraflores

We toured the historic centre of Lima, and a highlight was the Monastery of San Francisco: Amazing Spanish style wooden carved ceiling (actually Moorish). We also saw an ancient library with huge books. Last, we saw the catacombs which were used as the city cemetery.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Museo Larco, a private museum of pre-Columbian archaeology. It is filled with wonderful objects and our guide Elise was very knowledgeable. The pottery, jewelry and a mummy bundle of a young boy were fascinating. The boy had been placed with his knees up and then later wrapped in colourful cloth. The very early cloth was found in a desert area so was well-preserved.

We also visited the storeroom that had rows and rows of ceramics. Particularly interesting were the ones of the shaman or healer "examining" the patient - the sick person across his knees and the shaman with eyes shut in s trance state. The erotic art was as you would expect except they also had small statues of elderly couples cuddling (sitting side by side) but they were dead!  Even in the next life….!

Dinner at Dama Juana restaurant:

A buffet dinner which gave you the opportunity to sample many local favourites, but the highlight was the dancing from all regions. The scissors dance (Danza de las tijeras) featured men tumbling and air somersaults and flips using their heads only, and moving across the floor by flexing their muscles so they moved sideways about a foot along the floor. The finale was a weird dance, the Alcatraz (albatross), an Afro-Peruvian fire dance. The dancers had white cotton tails or ties hanging from their waists. Once it was lighted by the opposite gender using a candle, the dancer extinguished it by vigorously shaking their hips. Then they got some audience members up to do it. Not us!

Flight to Cusco:

Cusco city's altitude is 11000 feet. Our guide said hydrate, eat lightly and don't drink alcohol today. But drink lots of coca tea which is free at the hotel. I took my doctor-prescribed medicine to help adjust quicker to the altitude and avoid altitude sickness.

Cusco

Los Portales Cucso hotel

We liked Cusco which is full of colourful streets with many people wearing traditional costumes as well as quite a few churches as well as a cathedral.

Lunch at Limo, an upscale restaurant recommended by our tour guide was a highlight. Richard had alpaca and he recommends it. His side was quinoa risotto (quinoa with yellow chilli and  mushrooms). I had chicken breast stuffed with asparagus and Peruvian red peppers. There was a delicious aromatic pepper sauce that contained oyster sauce.  My starch was potatoes with corn, cream, and Parmesan  cheese and yellow chilli . All delicious.

We visited the Inka museum with interesting dioramas. I managed to get some photos of a weaver in traditional costume in exchange for a small coin.

Machu Picchu

We got a very early start for our bus ride from Cusco to Ollanta in the Sacred Valley and from there, we took the 9 a.m. PeruRail vistadome train. It's about an hour and a half train ride. On the high green mountains you can see the remains of the Inca terraces. Fascinating to see palm trees, cacti and snow peaked mountains!

The scenery is stunning. The track follows a deep river valley and the countryside is wild. We did see some hikers who take 4 days to walk.

From the bustling town (pueblo) of Machu Picchu, we took a park shuttle bus to the archeological site. It was a rough ride zigzagging up the mountain.

As you can imagine, Machu Picchu is amazing!  We spent about 3 1/2 hours at the site. In the background there are the stunning mountains - including the famous one that stands tall overlooking the site. There are stone buildings, stairs, rocky paths, and terraces up the sides of the mountains..

Our guides told us about the history and construction techniques. Evidently the smoothness of the finish on the stones and the squareness depends on the status of the building. We saw a few temples - of the sun, condor, the moon, and storage buildings and others too. The Incas knew how to make the buildings earthquake proof by building trapezoid windows and doors which withstand movement. Additionally, the walls lean a little for stability.

Richard climbed a huge flight of stairs to see where there is a guards’ watchtower and sacrificial stone. I stayed with the second guide and took an easier path.

We had perfect weather. Grey at first but once we were on site, the sun was out. It actually got a bit too warm with my fleece jacket and I didn't need my rain jacket!

After getting our passports stamped with the Machu Picchu logo, we took the shuttle bus back to the town of Machu Picchu for a very late lunch.  We had local trout with potatoes and canned vegetables, and local beer. Then we checked out the craft market before our train back. The train crew enlivened the journey by a costumed masked dancer and a fashion show of woollen clothing.

By bus from Cusco to Puno through the Andes and the Altiplano

We travelled on a modern highway through high hills, mostly green and in a wide valley through an area with small farms.

We stopped at a school where Gate1 Travel was donating some computers. A tech support guy  had come along to install them with some Gate1 staff. We were treated to a song from the children and we reciprocated by singing Eensy Weensy Spider.

We also stopped at the ruins of an Inkan temple, Wiracocha at Raqch'i. The Inca trail runs by this site and it was a primary control point on a road system that originated in Cusco and expanded as the Inka empire grew.

After a long ride, we arrived in Puno on Lake Titicaca and the floating islands. Although it was long, we were on a large modern bus with a fancy hot water dispenser on board with tea bags and instant coffee. And we were given a box lunch of a chilled chicken empanada, strawberry tart, juice box, chocolate bar, orange and a few other things. And there were a few documentaries shown on the bus TV monitors. Additionally we did have several photo stops.

Puno and Lake Titicaca

Hotel:  Hotel Casona Plaza, Puno near the main square and pedestrian street.

Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable fresh water lake is shared by Peru and Bolivia.

Just offshore from Puno, Peru,  there are floating islands, islands formed by the residents. We visited two islands in the Uros group. There is another more distant group of islands that are more isolated and don’t welcome tourists.

The first island we visited was home to five families. The president gave us an explanation of how they build the islands. Our guide translated the Aymara, a pre-Incan language. It took them a year to build the island for 15 people. First, they cut root balls (about 1.5 metres thick) from the reeds that grow in the lake and tie them together to make a big enough block. They spread reeds on top - again about 1.5 metres deep to provide a dry surface. The top layer has to be renewed regularly.

It is strange to walk on the islands - soft and cushiony. He showed us how wet it was below the top layer of reeds. The islands last about 40 years and then build a new one. And strangely they have to anchor the islands with strong poles on the shallowest side. Or they might drift to Bolivia!

We were able to see inside their reed houses and purchase handmade crafts. On that island, they have a couple of solar panels so they have light and a radio.  We also went to a second island that was for tourists that had a bar and restaurant.

It was fascinating to see a culture that still maintains the old ways and is almost self-sufficient. They fish and dry them. They do have to get potatoes and grain from the mainland. They have schools on special islands and a permanent soccer field built on the dredged up mud.

Flight to Lima and home

We flew from Juliaca, about an hour from Puno to Lima, and we went back to the same hotel in Miraflores. We had a tasty farewell dinner at El Senorio de Sulco and an early flight the next day to Miami. Due to the crazy Lima traffic, we had to get an early start.

This was a short, hectic and amazing trip in an unfamiliar milieu, culturally rich and a long history.