Day One
So far, most of this trip has been hurry up and travel. We took a two-hour flight to LA, followed by an eight-hour flight to Lima, where we stayed the night, and then the bulk of today consisted of another flight out to Cusco. But now that we're here I'm excited to finally get to some touring tomorrow!
We enjoyed our new Delta perks on our main flights yesterday (we signed up for their credit card this year to see if it would be worth using with how much we travel—it very much has been). The Sky Club had these hanging basket chairs that were the perfect respite from airline seating. My Delta app never updated the boarding time for the Peru flight, though, so we showed up to the gate half an hour before departure and literally everyone else had already boarded. We didn't have any problems, it was just funny that the gate was fully empty when we got there.
We also had a small misadventure in which I nearly lost my laptop. On our flight from Salt Lake we were sat in front of the bulkhead, so I slipped it under my own seat while we landed, and about an hour after we got to LA, I decided to get it out to work, and Matthew was like, "It's not in my bag." So we low-key panicked and went back to our gate, wondering if the cleaning crew had found it, if there was any chance the plane was still there and we could have someone go look for it... and then as we got to the gate, the first person we encountered was an airport employee hauling away this completely full wagon of stuff people apparently had left on our plane, and there is my laptop, sitting right on top. It was fully insane how it all worked out. Any earlier and we probably would have been fretting trying to send someone onto the plane to find it; any later and we would have had to chase it down in the airport lost and found. So I was immensely grateful that that all worked out the way it did. Absolute divine intervention.
Our hotel here in Cusco is a converted Monastery, so there's a lot of twisty stone corridors and what feels like secret passages, and our room has a few fun little nooks. We had dinner in one of the chapels with our group, and this crazy thing happened where the lighting inside had a yellow hue, and it turned Matthew's blue-purple shirt fully turquoise green! The elevation hasn't been too bad so far. I had a little bit of a headache on and off during the drive to the hotel, and a little shortness of breath after dinner, but other than that, feeling pretty good! They actually pump oxygen into all the rooms, and we've been chugging water, so hopefully we'll be well-adjusted enough for all our activities tomorrow.
Same shirt!!
Day Two
Today we finally got out and did some things!! We started out with a tour where we went up to the tops of the mountains to look out over Cusco valley. They have a statue of Jesus Christ, kind of like a mini version of the one in Brazil, that looks out over the valley, and the mountains all have various drawings, kind of like the letters we have in Utah. Cusco has a few, including the seal of Peru and "VIVA EL PERU."
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Then we went to the local Inca ruins, which were very cool. We got to go through a rock tunnel and slide down a rock slope. The walls were built in a zigzag pattern, which I believe had something to do with earthquake-proofing, but it was very cool to see, and the stones were all perfectly joined together without mortar in the most insane ways.
The second half of our morning tour was to the Temple of the Sun, which of course was taken over by a Catholic church after the Spanish came to Peru, although the church itself was lovely. So we got to see some more original Incan stone overlaid by this very lovely courtyard and gardens. Then we finished at the big cathedral (which is, truly, huge). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was interesting to see the difference from the European churches. This one was just covered wall to wall in ornate art and statuary. So much gold and silver filigree, and much more ornate than what you would see in Europe.
After the morning city tour, we had half an hour to get some lunch, and we stumbled onto this local farmer's market, where Matthew was in his element, ordering us all lunch (there were six of us heading to an ATV tour). The dish was fried guinea pig, which is one of the local specials. It tasted mostly like dark meat chicken, but it wasn't very meaty overall. But it was fun to have like a super authentic meal.
The ATV tour was a lot of fun. We drove the ATVs out to Moray, which is a step-agriculture formation that they used as like a testing ground for growing different crops. While we were there, it sort of started to rain but thankfully held off until we got back to the base camp, where we got into a van to drive out to Maras, which is a salt mine, but it's all aboveground, just sections of salt water that collects and then can be harvested. It's hard to describe but was very cool. The sun was setting, so it made the light reflect off the salt in kind of a neat way.
Getting there
Getting back (with animals!)
When we got back, we had a late dinner at an Andean cuisine restaurant, which was just delicious. I had a pineapple mint drink that was delightfully refreshing, and Matthew tried one made with black corn that was also tasty, kind of a spiced fruit flavor. We tried fried alpaca for an appetizer, which Matthew said he enjoyed—I couldn't really distinguish it from just a generic meat flavor and it was heavily spiced. The pork belly I had for dinner was so delicious and chewy, and then we had the literal best dessert I have ever eaten, which I say absolutely without hesitation. It was a chocolate crème brûlée and it was SO good (we also had some salted chocolate at the Maras, and I will say the chocolate here is generally above average). I'm seriously tempted to go back another day just for that. It came with a little biscuit thing that had some strawberry compote, mint, and edible flowers, and the dish was decorated with cocoa shells, but the brûlée itself was just to die for.
Delicious refreshing drinks The corn kernels were cartoon-sized
Day Three
Today's the day! The centerpiece of our trip: Machu Picchu. We got up early to drive (quite a long way) out to a train station for the Hiram Bingham luxury train. It was very fancy and had tables for dinner. They also had a bar and open-air observation deck at the back of the train. My favorite part of the ride was seeing a small child with their father waving at the train from probably twenty feet off the side of the track, and I smiled and waved back. It also was very neat as the scenery started to change from the arid desert climate of Cusco (no similarities to The Emperor's New Groove, despite its name) to the jungle-y sky-high mountains of the Inca Trail. I also had a funny incident where I came out of the bathroom right as we entered the first tunnel, and so as I closed the door and turned back to the train car, it was like night had fallen and I'd been transported to a different place via the Twilight Zone. It was seriously the trippiest thing and took me at least 10 seconds to figure out what in the heck had happened.
We got to the town at the base of the mountain, where we boarded a bus after crossing through a market that I swear was exactly like the Old City in Jerusalem. It was bizarre walking through and smelling the incense and once again feeling like I'd accidentally teleported somewhere else. The bus wound up the mountain via switchbacks and sometimes it was verrrry close to the edge, but I never felt unsafe. And then, finally, we arrived.
We made our way fairly leisurely up the opposite mountainside, where you can see Machu Picchu all laid out like in the photos, and even still, when we got down into the ruins I found myself wondering if I had really taken it all in. It was beautiful and sunny, much warmer than Cusco, just perfect weather. Each tier gives you a different angle of the view (cue flurry of picture taking). We had our same tour guide from yesterday (Matthew made sure to get us into her group because he "likes her vibe"). Walking through the ruins looked more fun from above, honestly, but we got to experience the whole complex. None of the buildings have a roof because they would have been thatched, but the walls are all full height, which you really don't see with most ruins. It truly is incredible how it's all been preserved. Apparently after the king who built it died, it lost its significance and was just straight up abandoned, then swallowed up and hidden by the jungle.
Another thing that has been just absolutely baffling Matthew especially is all the stray(ish) dogs. They're all super fluffy and friendly, and Matthew finally asked one of the guides about them, who said the government runs a program for vaccinating them. They also just lay around absolutely everywhere, like in the middle of crowds lol.
Now we stay the night here so we can get up early and hike the mountain you can see behind the ruins to look down on them from above.
Day Four
This morning we got up bright and early to hike Huayna Picchu, the mountain across from Machu Picchu. I think I did really well with the altitude. The first 15 minutes had me huffing and puffing and almost feeling a little lightheaded, but it was the same at sea level in Bora Bora, so I think the first part of a hike is just hard while your body adjusts. It was pretty straight up and down, but there were stairs in a switchback pattern, so it was a bit more civilized than Mt Pahia. By the time we got to the top section, I thought, oh, that was it?
It was overcast but still quite warm, and the clouds were starting to burn off right as we got to the top, so we were able to see Machu Picchu from above. I didn't really appreciate this part of it until looking at the photos afterward, but they also call this the "cloud forest," because you're kind of above the clouds and can see them all below, which makes for some very cool pics.
We were the first group up, and on the way down we were encouraging everyone else lol. Then we got to see the iconic tableau one last time before getting on the bus to come down.
We had the whole afternoon before we get on the train to go back (same train, dinner this time), so we asked the hotel porters for a restaurant recommendation, and one of them took us to his apparent favorite. It had a lovely view of the river. Campo is still my favorite meal that I've had, but this place had some very nice creamy fettucini that I enjoyed (it was on Matthew's plate though—I ordered a burger that was ok and honestly could have very well been alpaca meat).
Then we went and wandered around the town. It's very picturesque, tucked among the mountains as it is. They have a hot springs and waterfall you can hike (not very far) up to, so we did that, and then one of the jewelry shop owners offered to show us the jewelry-making process, so we got a back room tour. Then we went back to the hotel where I had an Andean hot stone massage and Matthew took a nap.
Tomorrow we get up even earlier to head out to Rainbow Mountain!
Day Five
What an experience. I actually loved it. Most of the things we've seen on this trip have been like, yep, there it is, pretty cool. This was the first time I legitimately felt wowed by what we were seeing. It's so much more than the pictures, and the hike is crazy.
The tour company picked us up at 3:00 in the morning, then drove us out an hour and a half to a place to eat breakfast, then another hour to the base camp for the hike. This did leave us with time to sleep on the bus, with neck pillows, at least. It was pitch dark when we ate breakfast, but the sun was up by the time we started the hike.
I've never trudged up a hike before. We were being very mindful of pacing with the altitude, as Matthew had a bad experience with altitude sickness last year, so we really just ambled along. It was cold, but with our blood pumping, even at our slow pace, I was plenty warm in my thick sweater and windbreaker. Most of the hike was flat, and it kind of gives you a chance to acclimate a bit. The guides have this essential oils mix that has mint and their local coca leaf in it that they spray into your hand, and when you inhale it, it helps to open up your lungs.
Me inhaling the spray in my hands
I felt pretty good for most of the hike. I could feel my heart really pounding anytime I stopped, and it got a little tough in the first part of the incline, but other than that, very doable. Matthew seemed to struggle more with the hike than I did. He was really nervous about the whole thing, but he pushed through and at least didn't have any major difficulties. The path was all brown rock, but there were these glacier mountains in the distance, including the second-largest glacier in South America on the far side of the hike.
The rainbow mountain was amazing, but there was a whole section you could see in the distance with red and green rock, and with the massive glacier in the background, the whole view was just incredible. Of course, also due to the glacier, it was absolutely freezing up at the summit. Everywhere here in Peru has random dogs hanging out everywhere, and they're all friendly and well cared for, but I was still surprised to see a few on the top of this insanely high mountain!
After we had our fill of the summit, we went over to the Red Valley, which we could see just the top of in the distance. It. Was. Incredible. So much red and green rock in these sweeping formations. Some of the coolest nature I think I've seen, for sure.
As we were making our way over there, I started to feel tingling in my fingers. I was still feeling really good otherwise, but I wasn't sure if that was, like, a danger sign, so I asked our guide about it. He said, "That's one of the first signs of altitude sickness, you should probably go down now." But I REALLY wanted to see the Red Valley and figured it would be worth a little bit of a headache later (it was). Then as we were going down to hike back to base camp, my legs were really struggling (not because of the altitude, just because with my Ehlers-Danlos, my muscles are weak), so I decided to get a horse to ride back (they have them all along the trail for people who can't/don't want to walk). I was pretty committed to hiking in on my own two feet, but there's no pride lost for riding back.
I was inordinately pleased to be riding on this horse down the trail, and about two-thirds of the way down, I suddenly started to wonder, did the lack of oxygen make me high? (My hands were still pretty tingly at this point, and I'd been fairly giddy ever since we started coming down from the summit.) Then we go down about another ten minutes and I'm like, I'm feeling distinctly less high now, so ya, I think that was the altitude sickness... So like, I felt totally fine the whole time—felt good, even, and I'd been a little worried about getting sick and having trouble—but apparently I was suffering from altitude sickness, it just was giving me euphoria instead of difficulty breathing. Anyway, I survived in spite of myself and now I'm back in our oxygenated hotel room, so all's well that ends well. The headache hasn't even been too bad for me.
This afternoon (after the VERY long drive back) we took a brief dip in the hotel's (quite warm) pool, and then Matthew was gracious enough to go out shopping with me, since we hadn't had a chance to do any of that yet with all our running around. We got some nice souvenirs, and I also went back to Campo to have their incredible chocolate crème brûlée again (I will miss Peruvian chocolate, NGL...). Then our program had their farewell dinner. It had the most delicious starter salad, and the dessert was even crème brûlée, but it was coffee flavored, so I just ate the pistachio ice cream that came with it. Everything was garnished with these tiny white flowers, which were kind of neat.
Matthew wants it to be known that I made him
go here first, before going back to the hotel
Day Six
Today was our last day. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was about a 15-minute walk from our hotel, so we went for sacrament meeting (after sleeping in a little). Matthew was able to help pass the sacrament, and we met a returning missionary who was visiting with his family before going home (we saw them again on our flight to Lima later).
Then we went to check out a fountain nearby that I had seen on the initial bus ride from the airport, which we learned was commissioned by the local lawyers' association. It had some neat Inca art on the back and a waterfall that you could walk underneath on the front.
We had to get our bags packed to check out of the hotel two hours before leaving for the airport, so we went to lunch at a place where they seat you on a balcony overlooking the plaza. There was a local parade for the anniversary of the first school founded in Cusco that we got to watch while we ate. I had a really delicious shrimp fettuccine, probably my favorite entree of the week. If I had to assemble a perfect meal out of everything we ate in Peru, it would be the pineapple mint drink from Campo, the smoked trout salad from the farewell dinner, the shrimp fettuccine from today, and of course, the chocolate crème brûlée.
We then spent the rest of the day making our way back by airplane. We were the last ones out on a 12:50 a.m. flight, and that concludes our time in Peru. <3
Our lonely suitcases after everyone else was gone
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