Hold the Presses!
Lima, Peru

Well, we've just had a fairly dramatic change of plans just now, and what was a fleeting idea has just sprung into reality. We've just booked ourselves on a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina, that departs in less than nine hours from now. We don't know anything about Buenos Aires, but hear from other travellers that it is a city not to be missed. I'm not sure if we'll be doing much in the way of salsa or flamenco dancing, given the fact that it's going to be pretty chilly there, but in the five days that we're there, we'll hopefully get a taste of what this cosmopolitan city has to offer.

We then return back to Lima on June 21, and head straight back to Cuzco again, to take in the famous Inti Raymi festival. On June 25th, a long bus ride will take us down to Arequipa to see condors and frozen mummies, and then one more bus ride (we think) will take us up to Ayacucho to visit a friend who lives there. Finally, our last domestic flight will pop us back to Lima in time for the long haul home on June 30th.

So, we've got a few last minute things to scramble around to do (like round up some US cash) before we head down to Argentina! Being spontaneous and following our noses has always been fun in the past; we'll see how this particular spontaneous adventure turns out!

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Trailing the Incas
Lima, Peru

It has been a fantastic past week as we have trounced around Peru. In fact, we have enjoyed it so much that we've decided to spend the last two weeks of our trip exploring parts of Peru that we haven't seen yet.

Jen last left you in Agua Calientes, where she and Rochelle were waiting for the rest of the tour group to complete the Inca Trail. For those who don't know, the Inca Trail is a very popular four-day trek that takes hikers up to 4,200 meters above sea level, through three passes, and along parts of the original pathways that the Inca people used, to the inspiring city of Machu Picchu, an archeological site that ranks up in the 'must-do's' of any travel junkie.

Hiking the trail itself is a very organized affair, with the guides and porters following a system that is not unlike that used in Nepal. New regulations prevent trekkers from hiking the trail independently, which is a bit of a shame. However, it was still a fantastic experience, as there is now a maximum cap imposed on the numbers of hikers allowed on the trail at any one time. Apparently 5 or 6 years ago, things weren't limited, and we saw shocking pictures of campers with tents set up on archeological ruins in their efforts to find a place to stay during high season.

I won't go into the details of the hike itself, as I think that might detract from the experience of those who are contemplating doing it themselves. I get the sense that everyone's experience is quite different, depending on level of fitness and overall expectation. I would be lying if I said that the Inca Trail totally met the standard of difficulty that the pre-hike briefings seemed to indicate. There was quite a bit of talk and speculation about altitude sickness and difficult terrain, but on the whole, I can't say that I honestly thought it was as challenging as it was originally made out to be.

Having said that, we do know that the trail has claimed its fair share of victims. We met a few travellers who had to descend because of altitude sickness, and our friend Scott had to return after the first night due to a nasty bout of food poisoning. It's not for everybody, but in my opinion, even if you're not all that fit, if you pace yourself and take your time, it's certainly quite feasible to be able to complete each day's walking before nightfall. The last hour of the first day was definitely challenging, as that was the eighth hour of hiking and we were getting to the point where the altitude was indeed taking an effect. Things got progressively easier from Day 1 to Day 4, so by then, the worst was over.

The scenery is wonderful as are the Inca ruins that you pass along the way. Our guide Freddy was an enthusiastic story-teller, who kept us informed with tidbits of Inca trivia and stories all along the way. Like our trek in Nepal, there was almost a two to one ratio of support staff (porters, cooks, and guides) to tourists, which seemed somewhat excessive but relieving at the same time. They were all friendly, but since they spoke primarily Cechua, we had a bit of a difficult time communicating with any of them, except for Freddy.

I was a bit skeptical of the cocoa leaves that we were encouraged to chew at first, but after trying it out, I became a true believer. I don't know what is in that foul tasting stuff, but it certainly does open up the lungs and somehow allows you to hike in relatively thin air with a lot more energy that you ought to have. You even get used to the taste after a while, but the numbing sensation caused by the black catalyst that is added to the cocoa leaves is always unnerving. I'm not sure if we'd be able to get much of those leaves back into North America past Customs though.

For the most part, we were able to enjoy the solitude and the scenery of the Andean mountains in peace and quiet, but that was until the last night and morning. The last campsite was near a hostel that played loud music and had a bit of a party scene; that was pretty odd for a location that was in the middle of some pretty dramatically isolated mountains. I had a beer with Freddy that night, and we reflected on how the scene was the kind of thing that we were trying to avoid on this trip. The following morning, when we all got up to do the final walk to Machu Picchu, I was amazed to see a lineup of about 100 tourists/hikers at the entrance gate at 5:20am. I suppose with a site as amazing as Machu Picchu, you're not ever going to get it to yourself.

The Machu Picchu site itself is pretty incredible, and neither words nor pictures can really do it justice. In fact, I'm somewhat disappointed with the quality of the pictures I took, seeing as the light wasn't all that great the time that we were there. A big highlight though, was hiking up Wynapicchu with Barton, Jill, and Steve; we had a pretty tight time restraint, so we practically ran up the steep path, sometimes using all four limbs, and so made it to the top in about 25 minutes. After enjoying the fabulous view for just a few minutes, we pretty much ran/tripped/stumbled down in order to catch the bus that would take us down to catch our train. Superb views though, and THAT hike was definitely a challenge.

I enjoyed a nice reunion with Jen, Scott and Rochelle, and then it was back to Cusco for a very welcome shower. We lucked out with the timing of our free day in Cusco, because it coincided with the Corpus Christi festival, which had 15 saints paraded into the main square by thousands of devout and celebrating Christians. We enjoyed the festive atmosphere for a while before making our way up to see two of Cusco's local archeological attractions, Sacsayhuaman and K'enko.

Cusco appealed to us enough that we've actually made plans to return there next week for the Inti Raymi festival, the largest festival that the city has to offer. It's apparently a bit of a tourist extravaganza, but the opportunity to see a re-enactment of the Inca Winter Solstice Sun festival is too good to pass up. The city itself has a wonderful feel to it, with its colonial architecture, old world charm, and its lively restaurant and cafe scene.

After a day there, our group flew over to Puerto Maldonado, where we were again taken by surprise by the appeal of staying in very simple but comfortable accomodations in the middle of the Amazon River basin. We were booked for two nights at Posada Amazonas, a joint-venture between local communities and private investors. Our experience there left us longing for more; we saw all kinds of colourful birds like macaws and parrots, marvelled at strange creatures like capybaras and cayman, and chilled out in the comfort of our rooms that had one wall completly open to the sounds and smells of the rainforest.

Unfortunately, our visit coincided with a cold front that came in, which meant that we didn't see nearly as many animals and birds as we could have, had it been warmer. I suppose the highlight of the visit for me was a climb up a 120 foot tower that allowed us to look over the canopy of the rainforest; a bit of patience rewarded us with a good look at a couple of brilliantly coloured macaws. My mind still reels at the image of their incredibly colourful wings as they screeched their way across the canopy of the jungle.

Today took us from the rainforest back to Lima, where we had our final farewell dinner with the rest of our tourmates. As always, we made good friends on this trip, and it was surreal to be bidding adieu to people with whom you had lived with non-stop for the last three weeks. To our fellow travellers, may our paths cross again! And thanks Raquel for taking such good care of us along the way.

Jen, Rochelle and I will be making our way down to Nazca tomorrow to ponder the mystery of the Nazca Lines, while Scott stays in Lima to focus on some writing. With our last two weeks of our trip, Jen and I are thinking of spending our time in Peru still, heading south to Arequipa to visit the deepest canyons in the world and perhaps to spot a condor or two. We have a friend in Ayacucho that we'd like to visit, and of course, there is the Inti Raymi festival in Cusco that we're planning on checking out. If there are specials available, we thought we might hop over to Buenes Aires for a few days, time and budget permitting. This remains to be seen, but for now I'm going to post this blog before I fall asleep. Pictures of Peru will hopefully be posted in three or four days!

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