Finishing the log of my Peru trip, we move from the Amazon, up into the Andes mountains!
There was one person from my group that flew out of Iquitos with me. We shared a taxi to the airport. Our plane seats weren’t near
each other though. I had a window seat, but it was very misty over
the Amazon, so I didn’t get very many good views. There was very little time between arriving in Lima and flying to Cusco. I made it, but no window seat this time. I craned my neck to watch the Andes
through the window. Of course now the view was lovely and clear. The
mountains are beautiful, with some ridges still covered in snow.
I had one meal since
leaving the boat (not counting the PB&J sandwich I brought from the boat so
I’d have a breakfast this morning). And my stomach’s weird. Maybe it was the
coconut? Everything else I ate was cooked. I thought the coconut would be okay because it' you know, wrapped in a shell and a big husk. But maybe not.
When I arrived in Cusco, I rode two hours down the eastern side of the Andes, to the
Sacred Valley. The driver didn’t speak English, but he told me in Spanish some of what
we were passing. I understood pretty good. Though I usually think of the best
response (considering my limited vocabulary) after the topic has passed. As we talked and drove, I watched
everything out the window. Alpacas, burros, and cows were tethered near the road, grazing. The tethers were usually attached to stakes in the ground. Some
of the agave were flowering, with stalks reaching higher than the telephone
poles.
My hotel in the Sacred Valley had a restaurant. For dinner, I
ordered alpaca steaks with risotto. It was good. But my stomach meant I
couldn’t finish it all. I couldn’t really place the alpaca flavor, because of
the sauce. The texture was like beef, and I feel like the flavor was
pretty distinct.
November 11 2022
I had a lot of trouble with the travel agency I used. It was the first time I'd used one. And it may be the last. Which is ironic, because apparently everyone else loves the agency. This morning, I was told I’d be picked up at 7:30.
Which was different than my papers said. I waited half an hour, then tried
texting her. No response. I was starting to get worried. Was I going to miss my
upcoming tour? Finally the driver came at 8:15. I was still nervous as we drove
20-30 minutes back up the way we’d come yesterday, to the town of Chinchero. Luckily
the group was there to meet me.
Our guide switched between Spanish to
English, since we had speakers of both in our group. It must be hard to keep
track of what you’ve said in each language. Considering how many tours I've given, it's fascinating to take a tour now. See different styles, you know?
We went to a shop and had a demonstration of how to turn alpaca wool into cloth. There was a
root they pulp up and mix into water. It immediately cleaned the wool,
from dirty gray to white. The lady demonstrated spinning it into yarn. On the ground were laid out
several baskets with seeds and other plant parts. In each basket was a ball
of yarn. It showed what colors of dye each material would make. It was an
amazing variety, from gold to gray. And of course alpacas come in a few
different colors too. One of the baskets held cactus pads covered in a strange white
fluff. I thought it was fungus. But she scraped some off and squished it in her
hands. It became bright red. Cochineal bugs. She added some of the other
ingredients and made two more shades of red. Next we went to look at the
weaving process. A woman was working on a loom to make a gorgeous table runner.
After the demonstrations, they turned us loose in the shop. I found an alpaca-print hoodie. After trying on a few, I found one that fits.
I had to use my first pay toilet. It’s not
expensive, but the concept is frustrating.
At our next stop, we learned about chicha. Sort of like Peruvian beer, made with corn. On one side of the room was a
little guinea pig palace. A literal two-story house in tiny scale with about
half a dozen guinea pigs running around. There was a fence around it, which
they could easily scale to have free-reign of the room.
For lunch, there was a buffet
at the top of this fancy building. I haven’t been to a proper buffet since
pre-covid. Normally I would have been excited. But my stomach was still funky,
so I just sampled. But they had this pudding that was like hot, thick chicha
morada: masamora morada. It was really good, and it felt good so I drank three
little cups of it.
I sat next to an English couple,
and we chatted through the meal.
Our next stop was Ollantaytambo. Old Incan ruins ran up the side of the mountain like steps on a giant staircase. We climbed to the top, taking a
couple breaks for the altitude. The rock for this site was actually taken from the next mountain
over. That means that they had to haul it down the neighboring mountain, across the valley, and back up this mountain. Some of the blocks are carved into perfect shapes to lock into place with
the surrounding blocks. To shape them, the Inca drilled holes and then pounding
in a wooden wedge. When they added water, the wood would expand and help the
stone crack along the drilled holes.
Our guide showed us the Inca
system of keeping records: quipus. It’s like a cord, with several strings hanging from
it. The strings had
knots at different intervals, and in different colors. It could represent how
much of any certain food they had in storage, for example. Or maybe how many warriors were in the army. Specialists trained
for four years to be fluent in the knots. But the system of quipus ended with
the arrival of the Spaniards. There’s no way to decipher them now, because we
don’t know what the different knots and colors stand for.
The Incan empire was surprisingly
short lived. The first Incans were around the year 1100. The last Incan leader was
executed in 1572.
November 12 2022
I left most of my luggage behind, because you’re only allowed one backpack on the
train to Aguas Calientes. A bus dropped me off at the station.
I had a window seat, which was
great. The train ride was 1 ½ hours and 27 miles, down the valley and alongside
the river. Some of the great
river stones are strange and glassy. We passed a bunch of burros too. There are
communities along here, but no roads. The people have to get their supplies by
burro and horse. The train ends at the town of Aguas Calientes, which is below
Machu Picchu. Their stuff has to come in by train too, including the busses. People also have to come in by rail or
trail. There’s the four-day hike along the Inca trail. It must be gorgeous. But
utterly exhausting too. If I ever come back, I’d like to try it. Though I’d
like to go slower and enjoy the walk. I wonder if they allow that. Usually you
go as a group with guides.
Machu Picchu is down the
eastern side of the Andes, where the rainforest creeps up the mountains before
fading into a drier climate. It’s at a lower elevation than Cusco, which
surprised me. I thought it was much higher.
At the top of the mountain, near the entrance to
Machu Picchu, there’s a nice restaurant. I was facing
another buffet lunch. And still, I don’t really want food. But I did sample
some stuff. And I found a beef soup that felt good to eat. I never know if the
drinks have tap water in them, so I stay away from juices and such. They had
chicha morada here, and I allowed myself one small sip. Though if it had
anything weird in it, that surely would have been enough to make me sick. But
I’ll bet they use filtered water. Machu Picchu is a huge tourist site, so
they’d probably get a lot of angry calls if they were making foreigners sick.
There are a few frustrating things
about the Machu Picchu trails. It’s one-way, so you can’t go back. There are
guards all over the place, enforcing this. And they also make sure you keep
moving. At least in certain places. There’s also no bathrooms, or anywhere to
get water. You have to leave the main gate, and then you’re not allowed back
in. They also charge you to use the toilet. As if you haven’t already paid for
the bus and entrance. A couple of the areas inside have limited hours too– the sun temple and the condor temple.
But Machu Picchu is amazing. As we
reached the top of the steps, we found ourselves overlooking the ancient city.
The terraces that face east are
for growing crops. The stone forming these terraces would have absorbed the heat from the sun, and as they slowly let the heat out through the night, it may have protected the crops from frost. Terraces on the other side of the mountain are for erosion
control, since they wouldn't get enough light for crops.
Machu Picchu is very centered around nature. It’s built along the curves of the mountain. And every building faces specific directions, to maximize the light they get. High above us is the sun gate. It would have been the main entrance to the city when it was in use. But nowadays, the only people that can use it are those that take the Inca trail. On the summer solstice (the reverse of ours, since this is the southern hemisphere) the morning light comes through the sun gate and lands on a specific part of the city. And on the winter solstice, when the sun first shines over the mountains, the same thing happens in a different spot.
We came around and into the city.
Well, it’s not really a city. This was a religious site, so it wasn’t a place
where normal people came to live. Unlike the terraces we visited yesterday, the buildings of Machu Picchu were made with rock from right here. They didn’t need to haul it up and down mountains. And some of the larger stones they left in place, working them into the walls.
You can actually see the process of how the Inca carved and moved the stones, because some of it was left behind while it was in progress. Like a big stone block that still had the stone rollers under it. The site was likely built from the
bottom of the mountain up. They started with the terraces, to help stabilize the structures. If
they’d started building from the top down, it could have caused landslides
below.
You can generally tell what kind of
building you're looking at by the way they built the walls. Homes have mortar between the
stones to help with insulation. Temples don’t – the stones are carved to fit
together with no mortar. But this makes drafts.
We saw a couple viscachas. Adorable
chinchilla-like animals. They were hanging out in the windows of the ancient
buildings, not paying any attention to us humans below. My guide said that in
the afternoon, when the morning rush has died down, they jump and play around
the stone quarry area. The first one we saw looked rather old and patchy. The
second, later on, looked sleeker.
There were also llamas. The park
looks after them, and each animal has an ear tag for identification. They seem to
wander where they please, unlike most of the livestock you see tethered by the
road. The llamas just look so great strolling along the terraces.
Right in the middle of the city is
a huge open area. It’s the meeting square. People up here worked hard and
partied hard. Parties lasted a week or more.
There are a couple stones that have
been carved to resemble nearby mountains. And they were set up so that the two
line up when you stand at the right spot.
The buildings are all missing their
roofs, because they would have been thatched with grass. But they have a couple
roofs they’ve remade, to show you what it would have looked like. The outer
walls have pegs where they could be lashed in place. The grass would have been
layered in a way top keep out the plentiful rain. And some of the beautiful stone
walls would have actually been covered in plaster, and painted.
At the far end of town is the
entrance to another trail. You need special tickets for it. There’s a steep
dome mountain above us, and you can see terraces and structures at the top.
It’s about an hour to the top, up an intimidating cliff trail. Two hours round
trip. There’s another structure at the back, which has been closed
since Covid started. But going there would be four hours. It looks daunting.
But it must be a stunning view.
Machu Picchu has granaries, to save
up enough food to get through drought years. The eastern end of the city was
where the “normal” people lived. Many of the houses here were two-storied. The
upper level would have been like an attic to store food. Buildings built to store food had
air circulation, which helped preserve the food.
Windows are shaped like rectangles,
but with a narrower top. This helps stabilize buildings during earthquakes. And
the buildings themselves have this shape, with the two end walls slightly
sloping inward. Many of them are built with pegs and niches in the stone walls,
as shelves and hangers.
There are elaborate drains around
the city. Gutters and even holes through walls to help channel the water during
the rainy season (there’s a lot of rain, so this is very important). Near the
exit to the park, there are a few working fountains too.
Actually, Machu Picchu isn’t even the real name. It's the name of the highest mountain above the site, and means “old mountain.” The other main mountain is the “young mountain.” No one knows the original name of Machu Picchu, because the Inca didn’t have a written language. Just those knots. And the Spaniards didn’t make much, if any, effort to save knowledge. They wanted to loot treasure. Machu Picchu was never finished.
When the Spaniards started invading, the people abandoned the city. It was a
religious site, and they didn’t want the Spaniards finding it. So you’ll see
walls and buildings that haven’t been completed. They also took many of their
valuables when they left. Only one gold artifact was found when the ruins were
excavated.
Machu Picchu hasn't been fully excavated yet. Down below are more terraces, buried beneath
forest. They’re steadily working on it. Though there’s an interesting struggle
between the restoration team, and those that want to preserve the forest. Both
sides have good arguments.
While I was up here, I ran into the
English couple from my Sacred Valley tour! The two I’d eaten lunch with.
Stumbling upon people multiple times in distant lands seems to build a kinship.
You’re only allowed in Machu Picchu
for 4 hours. Assuming you don’t need to leave for a bathroom break. But I
didn’t stay that long. I guess if you can’t double back or anything, there’s
not much you can do beyond a certain point.
I took the bus back to town. The town is called Aguas Calientes
because there's a hot spring. I thought I’d check it
out. It’s a small town- I reached the edge in about five minutes. There are
lots of… interesting statues to draw the eye of tourists. Like a huge statue of
a guinea pig dressed as an Incan warrior. I think. I had
people calling to me to come get massages, or eat at their restaurants. Or at
the very top, to rent bathing suits for the hot springs.
Once outside town, there was a
trail that went a little further into the mountains. At the top was the hot springs. I
thought it would be natural pools, but it was set up like hot tubs. They had
lockers to store your shoes, and changing rooms.
You shower before getting in.
There’s a cold pool, and then several hot tubs marked with the temperature.
Most are the same temperature. And there were faucets where you could let the
hot water run over you.
Back at the hotel, I had a dinner
included with my room. I’m still not really feeling it with food. I ordered
trout, which was simple and sounded like it wouldn’t bother me. And a papa
relleno, which is like mashed potatoes wrapped around filling, such as meat,
hardboiled egg, and olive. And then the whole thing is fried. Delicious. The
fish was delicious too, as were the roasted vegetables. I haven’t been able to
eat much fresh vegetables, since it’s hard to find ones that look like they’re
safe to eat. Dinner also came with a side of mashed yucca – like mashed
potatoes. But it was really rich, and my stomach couldn’t handle it. I barely
ate one forkful. And even that was in little nibbles.
I also got a free drink at the bar.
Lemonade, since I don’t drink. I went to the hotel front desk and asked if it
was made with tap water. Whenever I’ve asked if food or drinks are made with
tap water, or are safe for pitiful foreigner stomachs, people just stare at me.
But finally I got a proper answer. The lemonade is made with filtered water. So
I happily got my free drink, which came with a side of cancha (Peruvian corn
nuts). It was delicious. Nice to have a refreshing drink besides water, or
water with electrolytes (although the electrolytes I’ve brought are very good).
November 13 2022
There are different routes you can
take through Machu Picchu. There are about three through the main city, and
then some that go other places, like the mountains above. Yesterday we took one
route. It splits before you get to the city, and each path goes to a different
area. Though there’s also a shortcut you can take to skip the back part of the
city. I suppose if the altitude’s getting you, or if you have a bathroom
emergency. It’s kinda evil that you can’t see
the entire city in one visit. Even though it takes so much time and planning to
get up here.
I had to time it right. The sun
temple is open until ten. But the condor temple doesn’t open until ten. My
entry time was 6 AM. I got there half an hour late to try to get to the condor
temple when it opened. I pulled out my video camera and
started trying to recreate the tour I’d gotten yesterday. I wanted to record
everything while I remembered it. Though since I took a different route, there
were several things I missed.
As I was approachingthe main
entrance of the city, there was a llama on the terrace above. One of the
guards was standing opposite her, and she was snorting at him. As I headed up
the stairs, I realized she was standing right on the path. The guard said it
was okay to go, so I walked past her. She didn’t even care.
They keep you moving through the
sun temple. I focused on taking a video, and kind of missed seeing it in
person. Dumb. Oh well, I can watch it at home and see what I missed. Usually I
don’t fall into that trap too much. Probably because I focus more on what I’m
doing than on making a quality video. I need to remember to walk slowly while
taping. And while moving the camera. It’s always more sensitive than I expect. But
this temple is built to allow the sunlight in on the solstice.
By the time I’d gotten to the back
of Machu Picchu, I realized that I’d misjudged my timing. I had two hours left
until the condor temple opened. And you can’t double back to look at anything
else. I wasn’t in a particularly interesting part of the city either. So I
walked very slowly, just taking a video of the surroundings. Even so, I arrived
an hour and a half early.
I found a little rock in the shade
and sat down. I wondered if any guards would shout at me for not continuing to
move. But none of them were around, luckily. I guess it’s only certain popular
areas where they enforce that rule. I pulled out my camera and started deleting a
bunch of blurry or duplicate photos. It would save a little time organizing
them when I got home, and it gave me something to do. Typical. I’m in Machu
Picchu, playing on an electronic device.
The temple finally opened and
everyone poured inside. There are these two huge rocks spreading out like
wings, and a smooth rock in the middle which could be the bald head of a
condor. It takes a bit of imagination, but you can see it.
And so I said farewell to Machu
Picchu. I started
walking down the hill. I wanted a good hike. The Amazon hikes were easy, except
for the heat and humidity which made them feel hard. The lack of humidity up
here was a blessing. I had plenty of time before my train left, and I wanted to
go on a hike by myself in the forest. The trail zig-zags and
crosses the bus road several times. The trail is mostly stairs. Going up stairs
is utterly exhausting. Ramps are far easier. But going down is a lot harder on
the legs. Whenever I’ve gone down too fast on tough trails, my legs have been
wrecked after. So I took the steps lightly. Which means slowly. One of my knees
started twinging a bit, so I tried not to lead with it too much. Luckily it
felt fine after.
There weren’t a ton of walkers, and
most of them were going down. But several people passed me coming up. Most looked like locals that were probably used to these steep paths. I heard a group of girls
approaching from the opposite direction. One of them was talking in Spanish, and I heard the word “gringo”
a couple times. They came around the corner and saw me. The girl who had been
talking exclaimed, “Oh!” And the others started laughing, mimicking her “oh” of
surprise. Smirking, I greeted them and walked past. I wonder what they were
talking about. I hadn’t caught most of it.
At the bottom of the mountain was a butterfly farm. I bought a ticket and a guide showed me around. There was a dish of hatching baby caterpillars
under a microscope. It’s easy to forget how tiny they start off. Just specks. Then
he showed me a row of vases of different plants. There were caterpillars
munching on them, of several different species. They were stunning.
Across the room were shelves of
containers, each holding a cocoon. Some of them had already opened up to
release the butterflies. The guide handed me one of these containers, which
held an orange butterfly with black stripes. Then he lead me into a big
outdoor aviary. I opened the lid and let the new butterfly out. He collects the eggs from the
aviary, and sometimes from outside (hopefully in a sustainable manner - I don’t
know). It may seem impossible to find minuscule eggs in a big aviary, but
butterflies choose specific plants to lay on. Different species have
different choices. An example from back home is the monarch butterfly, which
uses milkweed. Or the pipevine swallowtail which uses pipevine.
I continued on, walking the rest of the way to
Aguas Calientes and trying to avoid the dust from passing busses. I had time until
my train, so I went back to the bar for another lemonade. It was expensive, at
least compared to other Peru prices. But in America, that would be a normal
price at a bar. I hung out in there for a while, nursing my lemonade. Then it was time to take the train back to the Sacred Valley.
On board the train, I got another
window seat. The woman next to me had just hiked the Inca trail. She told me
about her trek, and I told her about the Earthwatch expedition. She’s
interested in signing up for it. Then I found out that she’s written a few
books, so we started talking about writing. I even pulled out my computer and
showed her my query letter. She said it was good, and made a suggestion that
I’d also been thinking of.
Then was a two hour drive to Cusco (I'm not sure why - I think the train goes all the way through). At my new hotel, the Casa Andina, the
rest of my luggage was waiting for me.
November 14 2022
My legs were a little sore in the
morning, but nothing bad. My downhill pacing was successful!
I had the morning free, so I went
to explore. The first stop was the most important. Well, maybe not, but still.
The chocolate museum. They had signs explaining the process of making chocolate.
And there was a glass-fronted kitchen so you could see them at work. It smelled
amazing.
You can’t really walk anywhere in the city
without street vendors swarming you. The pushier
people are, the less I want to buy from them. I had an idea. Mom did something similar
once, to hide a nasty bruise she got from a fall. So I shoved my ponytail under
my hat and wore my sunglasses. I hoped that hiding my paler hair and blue eyes make me stand out less. It maybe kinda worked a little?
On to the museum
of pre-Spanish art. They
had some amazing stuff. Beautiful animal designs, pottery, masks, staffs,
metalwork.
I want one of these owl bowls.
One thing I’ve seen a couple places
is that they charge foreigners more for entrance fees. It costs twice as much if you’re from another country. I guess
they figure anyone who can afford to come to Peru can afford the difference. I
mean, it’s still not expensive. Entrance here was only 20 soles. 10 for locals.
So it was only about $5 for me. $30 isn’t unusual where I live.
In the afternoon, I had one last
tour. They picked me up at the hotel and lead me to the Plaza de Armas. A
couple people were there already. They deposited us in the Cusco Cathedral,
where we waited. They rounded up more people one by one until our whole group
was seated together. Then our tour guide started.
There was once an old Incan temple on
this site, devoted to the god of cosmic energy. The Spanish took Incan sites
and “gifted” them to important Spanish figures. They used part of the original
temple to build the cathedral. It took nearly 100 years, starting in the mid
1500’s. The Spanish spread Christian artwork through the area to help spread
the religion. And this cathedral was full of it. They have a painting of The
Last Supper, with several Peruvian details thrown in. For example, the center
dish of the meal is cuy – guinea pig.
And there’s an oval stone about
three feet tall, which is an important Incan artifact tucked inside a Spanish cathedral.
It’s called the K’uya, the god of Earthquakes. People come to leave offerings
of coca leaves, and to touch it to get energy.
All around the original Cusco city,
there are remnants of ancient Incan walls. And those walls are used in new
buildings. For example, the hotel I’m staying at has an Incan stone wall alongside the lobby. And
there are many others lining the roads. You can tell which walls are Incan,
because they’re built without mortar.
The original old city of Cusco was
shaped like a leaping puma (an abstract one). And this site was the head of the
puma.
Then we headed to another Incan site: Qorikancha. You can see some of the loose stone blocks that
they use to build the walls. There are notches and matching pegs, so the blocks
lock together. Like legos, our guide said. The walls of this site were once
topped in gold. Which, of course, was looted by Europeans.
Our guide was friendly
and knowledgeable. Having experience as a tour guide,
I can relate to some of his behaviors. Like how he frequently counts heads, to make sure no one’s lost.
Or as he said, “sometimes not all of the babies are in the nest.”
We got on a small bus for the next leg of the tour. Our guide shared more
information with us. Like in Peru, they don’t say “it’s raining cats and dogs.”
They say “It’s raining llamas and guinea pigs.”
We came to an old Incan temple: Q'enqu.
On the winter solstice, the sun hits some holes carve in the wall, and
illuminates the shadows into the shape of a puma head. The holes are the glowing eyes.
The next stop was Saqsaywaman. Not
to be confused with “sexy woman,” our guide reminded us. He’s a native Quechua
speaker. They don’t teach Quechua in schools – people learn it from their
families. I only heard a few words of it. Like the names of these sights. I
wish I’d heard more. This is one of those languages that uses catches in
the sound, like on the “k.” When I tried to replicate the catch, I sounded like
I was choking. I’ll have to practice.
Saqsaywaman actually means “full
falcon.” As in a falcon that’s just eaten. It’s an old fortress. Its building
started before the Incan empire. It’s an incredible sight. It took 20,000
people 30 years to build. When the Spaniards first saw it, they didn’t believe the
Peruvians could have built such a thing. Unfortunately during the colonial
period, people took many of the blocks from Saqsaywaman to build other things.
Eventually that was prohibited, at least.
Our final stop was another alpaca
wool shop. They gave us a presentation on how to spot all of the fake alpaca
products people sell. For example, alpaca wool garments feel cool, and heavy.
Whereas synthetic fabrics are light-weight, and you can kind of feel faint snags from the fibers as they run over your fingers (compared to the silky alpaca fibers).
November 15 2022
My time in the Andes is done. I boarded a plane and flew back to Lima.
I still had a lot of the afternoon
left, so I picked up a map of the surrounding area and headed for a place
several blocks away, called Mercado de las artesanias. But I was
disappointed. It was rows upon rows of shops like the street stands around
Cusco. All the same things. Well, almost. There were a few things that were
new, or actually hand-made. When I first saw a shop selling paintings, I was
interested. But then I saw more shops, selling exactly the same paintings. Are
they prints? Or is there just some model people use over and over?
I walked back through the Park Central y Kennedy.
There are tons of cats there. They must be strays, because people come to feed
them. They look well-fed. And they’re friendly, letting people pet them. I took
a bunch of photos of cats with the flowers in the gardens.
I’d been thinking about ceviche, so
I asked the hotel about a good place. They pointed me toward Punto Azul, which
was a few blocks away. I'd never had it before and it was
delicious. At least my appetite was starting to return.
I wish I could have tried more
Peruvian food while I was here. But my stomach had other ideas.
November 16 – November 17 2022
Several blocks from my hotel was another
ancient ruin: Huaca Pucllana. I circled around the
outside, and stumbled upon the entrance. It’s an
ancient step pyramid of hand-made mud bricks. They stack the bricks like books
on a shelf. This
bookcase style helps with earthquake stability. It took 300 years to build, and had been a
temple to the ocean and moon, as well as a burial site. There aren’t any rooms inside
it. Just the little burial nooks.
There was a little native garden in the back. I never knew there was a tara plant before!
They’re still excavating this site.
It will take 25-30 more years. Although much of the site has already been built
over by the surrounding city. It was originally 20 hectares. But only 6 is visible.
I still had many hours to kill, so I headed over to a big shopping mall: Larco Mar. I’d been hoping to walk down to the
beach from there. But it was a cliff, with no visible way down.
As dinner time neared, I found I
was hungry. So I asked the hotel if there was anywhere I could try cuy. Guinea pig.
The girl at the desk looked on the computer, and marked my map. I was lucky, because that dish is mostly found up in the Andes. I headed up
beyond the park and found the restaurant: La Tranquera. It was the most
expensive Peruvian restaurant I’d been to. But it wouldn’t have been that
expensive in the Bay Area. I ordered cuy.
They brought out this bowl full of
glowing coals, with a dish balanced on top. The guinea pig was on
it, just the meat, bones, and legs. I put a piece on my plate and tried it. It
was delicious. It could have been dark meat chicken. Except it was a lot
finer-grain. There wasn’t really much spice added to it, so I could taste the
meat. Other people who’d tried it said that the spices disguised the flavor. And
it was easier on my stomach than some of the sauces have been. The skin was
nice and crispy. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. But I’d definitely
get it again if it was cooked like this.
My flight left late at night. Once more I boarded a plane, and flew to Los Angeles. I disembarked,
grabbing my suitcase. They had me walk half way across the airport, dragging my
suitcase and backpack. I got to the next airline and stood in line. I checked
in my bag, and they let me in. I got through security, and sat down at the
departure gate. The last bit of travel before I got home. It was a good trip,
but I was ready to get home. And I was tired from failing to get much sleep on the plane. I grabbed a yogurt parfait at a
café, relieved that I didn’t have to worry about food safety anymore. And I
thought yogurt might be good for my stomach.
I noticed my boarding pass didn’t
have a seat number. So I went to the desk to ask. Suddenly it was a nightmare. The
travel agency never cancelled my plane ticket from yesterday. Even though I’d been
talking to the staff in Peru, and back in California. And somehow
Latam Airlines had marked me as taking that previous flight. United
Airlines checked me in and let me through security without telling me any of
this. They sent me to customer service as the plane was starting to board. And
it took them a long time to figure anything out. I was pacing and freaking out
because I wanted to go home. I was sleep deprived and had so much to do before
work tomorrow. And my suitcase was already on this plane.
After an infinite amount of time,
she told me to run to the boarding gate. I ran. But they still didn’t know if
they had room on the plane for me. They let me into the boarding door, but told
me to wait. There was another lady waiting there on standby. I stood, taking
deep breaths and trying to keep calm. The thought of several more hours stuck here was too much. The poor lady said
that if there was an empty seat, I could have it. Especially after she heard I
was coming from Peru, and that they'd messed up tickets I was supposed to have.
Finally they let me on. The other
lady would catch the next flight. Thank you. I'd had trouble with almost every flight on this trip, but this one was the worst. Luckily it was also the last. I made it back to my home airport, and my family gave me a ride home. (Though one cool thing - from the window I saw a strange reservoir in southern CA that was shaped like a dragon).
Days after I got out of Peru, all
hell broke loose. There was a sort of coup, with a power grab, an arrest, and someone else taking charge. People wanted attention for their cause, and tried to disrupt the
country to make themselves heard. All this lead to protests, suspended rights,
blocked roads, and vandalism. A bunch of tourists were stuck in Aguas Calientes
for a while. The government was in a national state of emergency. And the government that took over does not seem good for the people. I had good timing for my trip, but the normal people of Peru didn't. Best of luck to them.
