¡Chau Perú!

Lessons Learned: what to do, where to visit and what to eat in Perú:

General:

1.     Try bread.  Everywhere

2.     Always travel with hand sanitizer and toilet paper.

3.     Bring Peanut Butter or other favorite foods if you think they can’t be found in your destination!

4.     I think under-packing, rather than over-packing, is actually better, but in general, pack wisely!  (I need to work on this..)

5.     Track exchange rates for a while and change your money when it is around the highest point

6.     Nothing can be put down the toilets in Perú, no toilet paper, tampons, nada!

7.     Explore the local markets: goods, foods, whatever!

8.     Peru cheese is just not the same

9.     Papas secas (dried potatoes) are disgusting.  Beware.

10.  Take pictures, lots.  And with you in them

11.  Travel with someone who likes taking pictures and get them to take photos of you

12.  Set your camera on the correct setting for the picture (dusk, dawn, etc)

13.  Bargaining is widely accepted, just don’t insult people too much, especially those that hand make their crafts

14.  Visit antique shops

15.  Dune buggies are awesome!  Definitely an activity to try out, along with sandboarding

16.  Fruit in Peru is delicious, try it all

17.  Check that your dish is vegetarian, and make sure that you ask about chicken as well, some places consider vegetarian to only include red meats

18.  Falafel and Chinese (Chifa) is pretty good the world over

19.  Churros, every chance you get

20.  Buy a map

21.  Talk to locals about the best spots to check out

22.  Playa means parking in Perú, along with the typical meaning of beach

23.  Try the food, but be smart, being sick away from home is terrible

24.  Don’t drink the water if not recommended

25.  Carry a copy of your passport with you

26.  Bring water to the restaurants, it is pricey there!

27.  Keep all papers given to you at the airport, it just might be a $35 replacement fee entrance/exit paper!  (Not a personal lesson learned)

28.  Manajar Blanco (Dulce de Leche) should be eaten whenever possible.  In fact dessert should be eaten as much as possible

29.  Bring an assortment of money and cards so that you are never without funds

30.  Talk to taxi drivers!

31.  Avocado+Bread serves as a good meal any time of the day

32.  Soup is served before almost every dinner…good at some times but BLAH at others

33.  Food here seems to be extra salty

34.  Two words: Platanos Maduras

Ica:

35.  There are some crazy waitresses in this town, beware!

36.  Chifa place on the Hotel de Ica street is good and fairly cheap

37.  The Confetti Maní sold by almost every street vendor is tasty and addicting

38.  Plaza food here isn’t as expensive as other cities, but it is still definitely more near the plaza rather than a bit off the beaten path

Lima:

39.  Taco place on Avenida El Sol, not a taco but delicious nonetheless

40.  The bread at Metro Supermarket is cheap and delicious, the flat one is especially amazing, if not a bit greasy

41.  Get ready for some honking, Lima drivers never stop

42.  Arroz a la Cubana at the terrace restaurant 3 floors up next to the Plaza de Armas is cheap (S./ 8 for appetizer, entrée and drink) as well as delicious

43.  Negotiate your taxi driver down as much as possible before getting in the cab.  General rule?  Split his given price in half and go from there, normally you will end up in the middle, or if it is still too high don’t worry about finding a different cab

44.  The sticker cabs (without the actual taxi sign) are generally cleaner, cheaper, and know where they are going compared to other cabs.  Mi favorita!

45.  Pizza in this city is not the best, especially Las Pizzas Bar

46.  Taxi drivers here don’t know where they are going, it is not unusual to stop 2+ times to ask pedestrians for directions

Cusco:

47.  Eat empanadas in Peru, especially the veggie one at the Plaza Regocijo

48.  Go to the Bagel Café and try all 3 of the mint shakes, especially the Limonana.  And if you are craving fresh veggies that is the place to get a salad as well, just don’t expect a hearty American bagel (Gringo Alley)

49.  Cabs here should not charge more than S./ 3 for areas close to the Plaza de Armas, but you will pay more at night

50.  Our ‘Vegetarian Place’ had great prices and great food.  It was one of the best restaurant finds of the trip (you are welcome guys!) (Calle Tigre)

51.  Chocolate Museum!  Need I say more? (Plaza Regocijo)

52.  You can either negotiate the price before getting in the cab or get in and pay what you think is a fair price.  The second option is generally more successful but can end up with an upset taxi driver

53.  San Pedro Market, buy and eat a mango right from the stand, the owner will cut it for you (cortar: to cut)

54.  Honey in San Pedro tastes just like fresh flowers, yum!

55.  McDonalds has free wi-fi and MUCH better fries than in the states.  The Iberica McFlurry can also hit the spot on a hot day

56.  Try the trout (trucha) and cebiche, Peruvian specialties!

57.  Jugo at the Mercado is cheap and good, and you get at least 2 glasses with every purchase (the Jugo Especial includes malt beer and comes with 5 glasses, bring friends!)

Aquas Calientes:

58.  The restaurant owners will bargain and give you free stuff almost without you having to do anything, but it is still more expensive

Arequipa:

59.  S./ 3.50 all around!  YES

60.  A little off the plaza everything gets wayyyy cheaper

61.  There is a legitimate Crabby Patty burger place off of the Plaza de Armas.  I naturally didn’t try the burger but it looked great and I only heard good things.  A newly cut bun, papas fritas and vegetables topped off the freshly grilled meat which can be eaten in the Spongebob decked out store, or for one confused look the meal can be para llevar.

Well that about sums up my trip to Peru.  Fun times, good people and amazing experiences all around.  I feel like I have definitely seen a large portion of the country but can't wait to explore more.  ¡Hasta luego Perú!

Cuzco: Last Day

Grammar test at Amauta School today finished off our official schooling in Peru.  Afterwards we went to San Pedro Market for the best 2 mangoes, a juicy slice of watermelon.  In addition we shared juices: strawberry+milk, mixto+milk, pineapple+banana and banana+milk as well S./ 1 cookies from the bread ladies.  As we were leaving we also got some Manajar Blanco for the road.

Then back to the Artisian market to finish off last minute souvenir shopping and I also finally got the blanket I have been debating for our whole 2 weeks in Cusco.  Back to the hotel for homework and email before our last fancy dinner at Hotel Monestario.

At the restaurant we enjoyed tabouleh salad, spinach and cheese ravioli and the oddest strudel I have ever had.  It was a wonderful last meal and the heartfelt ending toasts were the perfect ending to a wonderful trip.

Cuzco: Inti Raymi

Time to celebrate Inti Raymi!  The Sun God of the Incas!


To start off the day we went to see the first performance of dancers calling out the Sun at one of the Dominican/Incan Churches/Temples that we had visited earlier.  Dancers representing the 4 districts of the Incan empire performed before Inti Raymi came down to the field.  The whole ensemble was elegantly dressed in colorful outfits, but a little limping dog that flitted between the dancers caught everyone's eyes.

Perrito!

We then returned home to change clothes (a bit hotter than expected) and lather on the sunscreen before meeting at the Plaza de Armas to take our bus to the main celebration at Sacsayhuaman.  When we got to the Plaza the 2nd celebration of the day was just finishing up, basically a repeat of the first ceremony.  The center fountain was unveiled as a rock with Inti Raymi on top of it, a pleasant surprise as it has been covered for the 2 weeks that we've been here, presumably undergoing repairs.  

Next we went to Sacsayhauman to see the full Inti Raymi celebration.  With our $110 tickets we took our seats and waited for the performance to begin.  Similar to the previous representations dancers from the 4 Suyos came out with offerings to Inti Raymi which the High Priest accepted and dealt with accordingly (burning llama innards, lighting incense, etc.)  The ordeal ended with a good forecast for the next year and a celebration of the Incas successes in uniting people up and down the Peruvian coast.

After, a group of us walked back to the city and got the chance to take pictures with many of the dancers who had just performed.  From what I hear the main priest was a famous Peruvian actor while many of the dancers were part of the Army or University students.  Evidently there is also some amount of indigenous blood needed for one to be in the celebration.

Fabulous find of the day was a giant slice of S./ 2 cake from a little shop 2 streets up from us.  The Vanilla and Chocolate is delicious while the plain Chocolate fell a little flat.  An amazing deal and a must try when in Cusco!

Cusco: Corpus Christi

This time we had a 13 hour bus ride!  Thanks to some on-the-road repair work we made it but between the thrown-off-your-seat gravel roads and 2 hrs of mechanical work everyone was so glad to get off of the bus at 9am.

We returned to our previous hotel, showered and then Kris and I headed to the Artisanal Market to finish off souvenir shopping.  Next up was delicious empanadas and ice cream at a wi-fi café. 

As we neared the Plaza the crowds got crazier and crazier and we switched our backpacks to be in front of us.  Braving the swarms we held onto each other and pushed forward to see the parades.  Each church held a parade with different saints which they marched with music, floats and banners into the main church where they will stay for a week.

We then went to explore the food stands located in a neighboring plaza.  Stacks of roasted cuy, chickens and a corn-bread looking starch filled each stand and it was intriguing to see that there was absolutely no variation in the foods being offered.  Families sat at the tables and chowed down as they shared large bottles of Peruvian beer.

Todays craziness was just an appetizer to the madness that tomorrow’s Inti Raymi celebration I’m sure!

Arequipa: Colca Canyon

We left the hotel at 6:00 am for a two-hour drive to Colca Canyon, the fourth-deepest canyon in the world.  Stopping at several miradors along the way, we were able to see the usual terraces and snow-capped mountains. 

Finally reaching Colca Canyon (Canyon of the Condors), we were chased about evil, spiny-nosed bumblebee, but we were soon distracted by multiple 3m long wingspan condors which glided about the canyon.  These 12kg birds are endangered in Perú and Bolivia but extinct in other South American countries.  We were able to tell the difference between young and old, male and female by the color of their feathers ¡¡¡.  One condor decided to take a thirty minute bathroom break on a nearby rock and as the crowd waited with bated breath, the condor fooled us twice before spreading its wing and clumsily gliding away.

We then took the 5 hour drive back to Arequipa to explore the city square.  Arroz Chaufa and ice cream completed the night before we got back on the bus to Cusco for another 11 hours!

Arequipa:

8am arrival at Arequipa saw all of us in bad moods with aching backs, freezing limbs and hungry stomachs.  We drove to the breakfast place for eggs and bread before getting back on different buses for a 3 hour bus tour of the city. 

We learned more about the volcanoes that surround Arequipa at the various miradors that we stopped at.  As the tour continued we began to wonder just how far the city extended, but it turns out that we were actually going to a different city, Chivay, where we would eat lunch and find our hotel.

On the way we stopped at one of the highest points in the area to view the stone statues that represented offerings to the Land Gods.  We also saw tons of wild llamas, vicunas and alpacas roaming the mountainside.

Towers of rocks, offerings to the God of the Earth

For lunch we stopped at a buffet for tasty rice, fried bananas, and avocadoes before finding the hotel for a much needed shower.

Dinner was at the nearby Peña where I tried trucha (trout), a Peruvian speciality; which was served with potatoes, rice and green beans.  Traditional dancers whipped each other and a band performed with guitars, flutes and drums.

Cusco: Free Day

With a free day we headed back to our favorite San Pedro Market to grab some snacks for the day.  

Next we went on the search for one of the bargain, but not too sketchy massage place!  Leslie and I settled on a S./20 deal for one hour, and enjoyed our relaxation.  We then headed back to the hotel to grab computers and continue the constant search for internet.

After lunch at an empanada place we headed back to the hotel to find out what we would be doing now that Puno was cancelled.  Informed that we would be getting on an 11 hour bus ride to Arequipa where we would see the Canyon of Condors.  Grabbing more dinner to go we packed up and met at 7pm.

Arriving at the bus station we headed to the 2^nd floor of our semi-cama bus where Rachel and I claimed seats at the front.  At 9:35pm we departed and after catching up on one blog post I was exhausted and fell asleep.  However it wasn’t a restful sleep with distractions from other passengers, frequent stops and gravel roads.

At 3am while I was up and everyone else was asleep I saw a frightening site, a flipped semi-truck abandoned on the side of the road followed by a little fire about 20 ft farther down.  As I was searching for someone else to confirm this sighting I saw another truck in almost the same position, this time only lacking the fire.  Luckily the rest of the trip went fine, despite the freezing temperatures (8° C with ice on the inside of the windows), uncomfortable seats and absolutely disgusting bathroom.

We arrived to Arequipa at around 8am after the expected 11 hr. trip exhausted and in great need of a shower.  More on Arequipa tomorrow!

MACHU PICCHU

Slept at 10pm, woke up at 2:45 to meet at 3:00am, which turned into 3:30 naturally, but nonetheless this is the day!  Machu Picchu, finally.

We started off at a brisk walk to the bridge which lets you into Machu Picchu park, we were going at a good pace, and at good spirits until we reached the bridge, and realized that it actually opened in an hour.  Why had we gotten up at 3 then?

But, this being Perú, Henry soon came around and in hushed tones informed us that we could each pay 1 Sol and get in now.  Since that equals about $0.76, we of course paid and went on our merry way.  And thank goodness we got to enter an hour early, because as we walked up an hours worth of stairs we had to stop for breaks multiple times. 

Huffing and puffing we slowly worked our way up the mountain stopping at every crossroad.  With lots of water, bug spray and encouraging words we all made it up and collapsed on the floor outside of the gates.  We then waited around 40 minutes for the gates to open, and got our tickets stamped for Huayna Picchu, a neighboring mountain which only 400 people are let up each day.

We raced up to the overlook for a fabulous first view of Machu Picchu.  As much as you may have seen it on postcards, the first hand view is more than you can imagine.  Buildings, commons, terraces and of course llamas completed the view, but most of us agreed that it still felt like a picture.  The only drawback was the echoing lawn mower that the groundskeepers were trimming with.

The Inca's Face is slowly illuminated by the sun

As the sun slowly illuminated the mountains behind us we waited patiently for it to hit us and Machu Picchu.  As the site slowly lit up, you could see the sun rise straight though a V in the tip of a mountain.  People snapped pictures as we all gasped at the view before being shooed off the wall that we were sitting on.

Tyler and I then went to explore the actual ruins before catching up with the tour and learning more about the city.  We saw parts of the religious side of the city, recognizable by the finer stonework, with little mortar and flat-faced rocks, and also saw the sundial, an important large stone that comes with multiple stories.   The guide told us that it could be a sacrifice stone for the most important sacrifice, a black llama whose insides foretold the future as interpreted by the priests.  Another hypothesis is that it served as a sundial allowing the Incas to track the solstices and plan their year accordingly.

After the tour we took a short siesta with the llamas before utilizing our 10am time ticket to go hike up Hayna Picchu, another 40 min walk of stairs.  Climbing through a tunnel that represented Panchamama (Mother Earth) giving birth, we finally reached the top by climbing up a short ladder.  Who knew that the top of the mountain was really just a couple of large rocks stacked on top of each other, which we are allowed to sit on.  We spent an hour or so relaxing from the hikes before going back down, during which the exertion of the past 8 hours was felt as my legs started shaking a bit.

Hayna Picchu as seen from Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu as seen from Hayna Picchu

Rachel and I resting at the top

More relaxing with llamas followed, and then Leslie, Rachel and I decided to undertake the easy hike to the Inka Bridge, a supposed stone bridge.  We first had to hike up Mt. Machu Picchu a bit but then hit the flat part, which after about 20 min took us to the bridge, which was a bit underwhelming.  Instead of being a stone bridge it really seemed to be a wooden bridge covering a gap in the stones that built the rest of the walkway.  From my point of view the whole thing didn’t seem to make much sense, but it was an interesting thing to see.

Some short exploring in the civilian part of Machu Picchu followed, but we all quickly agreed that we were exhausted and it’d be best to take the bus home, a good 11 hours since we first arrived at the gates.

Dinner, a train to Ollatamba, and a bus to Cusco completed the day and at 2am we arrived at our hotel.  After one of the best showers ever to remove the sun screen, bug spray and dirt that I had accumulated over the day I collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

Cusco: Last Day + Aquas Calientes

Leaving Cusco and our host families was sad, but knowing that Machu Picchu was only a day away helped minimize the sadness.

We met the rest of the group at 9am and took off for our bus ride to Moras & Moray, 2 separate terrace/irrigation sites that displayed circular terraces with free floating stone steps allowing for movement between the different layers.

We also went to a salt mine where families owned around 10 different pools which they filled once a week with salty water from the mountain.  Evaporation slowly took away the water and left about 15cm of salt every few months. 

A hike down from the salt mines took us to lunch, an impressive looking buffet with tasty garlic bread and guacamole but so-so entrees and desserts.  After eating we found more llamas and a talking Macaw that greeted us with ‘Hola!’ and ‘What’s up?’  Post-eating we drove back to Ollatambo that we had visited a week before the frantically food shopped for the next day’s hike.

I purchased a yogurt drink, apples, bread, avocadoes and some churros for right then to go along with the bananas and cookies that I already had.  We got on the Machu Picchu Train to go to Aqua Calientes, the closest town, and arrived at 9pm to see the other half of our group.

Sleep at 10pm to prepare for the next day’s 2:40am wake up time!

Cusco: Last Day

I am loving Cusco (evidently it should be spelled with an ´s´ rather than a ´z`).  From the people to the the scenery the city is wonderful in all ways (not counting the painful altitude).

All too soon we have to leave, and with that on my mind I had a number of things to complete.  First up was our last day of school at Amauta, which started off perfectly with a trip to my favorite Mercado San Pedro.  On the way there we did a little exercise where we talked to a travel agent to learn about the various mountain treks offered to get to Machu Picchu.  Amazingly enough the 3 of us understood all or at least the gist of everything the guide said.  After we went to the market, and I got my bread as usual, as well as some flowers for our host mom.

After we returned to school for Culture class, which was actually extremely interesting as we watched a National Geographic video and also talked about various topics relating to present-day politics, culture and language.  It was definitely our best culture class of the week.

We then had our end of the school celebration filled with kind words, potato chips, and Inca Cola.  We hugged our teachers goodbye and then headed home for a not-so-great lunch of burnt potatoes, cheesy potatoes and rice.  Then it was on to the Artisianal Market and completed most of my souvenir/gift shopping.

Next we will have our last dinner together and then go home to pack at watch Mercado Mollino movies!

Cuzco: Terrorism & Chocolate Museum

Yesterday and on Monday we talked extensively about terrorism. In viewing the movie Tarara and hearing about our professor's own personal experiences with terrorism I have come to much further appreciate Peru's recent history. The bombings and power outages in Lima cast the city into fear and finally caused the government to recognize the threat that the Shining Path posed to Peru.


Terrorism also played a large party in President Fujimori's term. Citing anti-terrorism measures Fujimori suspended Congress and reformed the Constitution. Comparing Peru and the US it is astounding to recognize the differences and realize everything that we take for granted.  Constitutional security, peaceful transitions of power and a truthful police force are just some of the things I have always expected, but cannot be taken for granted.


Yet when you look at where Peru is now, with successful tourism, a fairly stable economy and happy people, it is amazing to think that only a little over 20 years ago the cities and countrysides were filled with scared citizens dreading the next attack.


In other words...

Today was Kat's last day which was sad for all of us to see her go. However besides that, the day started off as usual with class and lunch at home.

Rachel, Kris and I then went to El Museo Chocolate to learn more about the history of Peruvian chocolate making and of course to try some samples. We ended up lucking out and getting 2 samples as well as cocoa bean tea, and after we had chocolate fondue and I got a delicious chai white chocolate bar.

Overall it was an extremely enjoyable process and I learned much about how to make chocolate in addition to harvesting techniques.

For dinner we went back to our favorite vegetarian place where I got a lentil burger, and brought in a delicious lemon+mint slushie from the Bagel Place!

Tasty tasty!