Machu Picchu

The first sight of Machu Picchu is from the Sun Gate, where the Inca Trail ends. That little white line squiggling up the hill is the road the bus takes up and down with tourists who didn't hike the trail.

llamas!

These 2 large natural stones form the wings of a condor, a sacred animal representing the upper sphere. 

perfect stonework without modern tools or mortar.

and we're off to the beach......!

Camino Inca | Inca Trail

We survived the Inca Trail! It was probably the most challenging, but most rewarding and spectacular thing we have done yet. We were blessed with excellent weather...shocking for the rainy season, but we barely needed rain gear at all. We would wake up each morning to coca tea and a warm breakfast prepared by the 10 porters traveling with us. They carried about 50lbs on their backs and still managed to pack up the tents and gear, pass us on the trail, and have lunch set up and prepared before we reached the break spot. Same for dinner, and the cook prepared some really lovely food. The trail itself, combined with the altitude was a real challenge...3 major mountain passes and lots of stone steps made for some sore knees in the end, but the views were so spectacular it was well worth it. It's truly remarkable to sleep on a remote mountain top with not a soul in sight except a few llamas, especially knowing your two little feet were all that got you up there. Our guide organized our trek so we started before anyone else and never saw another group until the last day---it made all the difference in the world to have the trail and the campsites to ourselves, but we did have to push harder on the trail to stay ahead. (our guide: Eric at Enigma--- highly, highly recommend him!)  

When we arrived to Machu Picchu on the third day, it was a sight to behold, but for us it was mostly the remoteness of the location and the journey getting there that made it so beautiful and interesting. Now that we've done the trek, I feel like it's pretty essential to a Machu Picchu visit. The site itself is pretty remarkable of its own merit, but I would very strongly encourage anyone to do the trail. 

Jon took most of these amazing photos, and also carried our sleeping bags the whole 26 miles. I am very grateful!

Start of the Inca Trail with our group. a great crew! Km 82

The Urubamba River: headwater of the Amazon River

with our porters and the cook

first campsite: Llulluchapampa, at 12,303 feet. excellent view

view from the top of our first mountain pass: Dead Woman's Pass at 13,779 feet

Boom. you can see the little path winding up the valley

Temple of the Sun in Sayacmarca, an Incan ruin along the trail. 11,578 feet

Second night campsite. Phuyupatamarca , at 11,818 feet

This portion of the trail through the cloud forest is 80% original 

tarantula. yikes!!

wild orchids along the trail

and on to Machu Picchu....

Arequipa | Cusco

We had begun to feel a bit disheartened after the disastrous mountain bike excursion, but the last few days have been really lovely. I suppose traveling is always that way-- you have to be a bit resilient and just expect that some things will go wrong. Nonetheless, our last day in Arequipa was a good one. We spent the morning exploring the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, founded in 1580 by a wealthy widow who donated her riches and became a nun. She selected nuns from the best Spanish families who paid substantial dowries. For the next 3 centuries, the nuns kept servants, slaves, and their lavish Spanish lifestyle intact with fiestas, live music, etc. Finally in 1871, Pope Pius IX sent Sister Cadena to straighten things out. It's unbelievable and hilarious that they got away with it for so long. There are still 30 nuns living a cloistered life in a small, modern corner of the complex. We really enjoyed getting lost in the maze of archways, the orange groves, and connected cloisters. I am fascinated by the idea of living a life of silence and solitude--what an immense sacrifice that must be. It's hard for me to imagine because I don't exactly share their specific convictions, but making more time for silence and solitude amidst the madness of my normal life is something I hope to do this coming year.

That evening in Arequipa, on some small street with little shops we ran into an old acquaintance of mine...what a small small world! We later met him and some of his Peruvian friends out for drinks at a local bar. So fun!

And on to Cusco! We love Cusco! It reminds us a lot of Northern Vietnam, actually. Both cultures and landscapes have some remarkable similarities. One of the obvious similarities is the importance of textiles and the tradition of spinning thread, dyeing and weaving it into gorgeous patterns and cloths. I was in heaven at the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco Museo. They had local women weaving as part of the exhibition. My mother knows how to weave and I have wanted to learn for a long time. I hope we can do it together someday soon. I found this part of the exhibition to be very moving (from a placard): "The grandparents, and their memories, endure like the stones. The elders weave with their entire heart, spirit, and strength and the memory of many generations is woven into their cloth. This is why we must revere the cloth as much as we honor our elders."

The altitude has given us a little bit of trouble, but we are drinking plenty of coca tea and doing our best to rest up for the big trek. I have a terrible cold, which makes me furious, but hopefully we will both be ship shape by tomorrow when our guide picks us up at 4am for the Inca Trail!!!
Ciao for now!
xoxo
jesikah

Photos:
1-3: Monasterio
4: Arequipa at night
5-6: weavers at the centro de textiles, and image from the collection: little girl singing with her grandfather
7. Jon in front of the Sun Temple, Cusco
8. Me in rainy San Blas neighborhood
9-10. Plaza de Armas, Cusco

Mount Chachani

Today I left a piece of my manhood on Mt. Chachani. I guess I should have known it would be a bad day when I woke up with a cold and stomach bug that normally I wouldn't have gotten out of bed for. We had booked a mountain bike tour the day before and didn't want to back out of it. The women at the office had told us before hand that we would be taken up to 4800 (15,800 feet) meters, droped off then would downhill bike the whole way back. I didn't even think about "4800 meters" again until I got out of the 4wd and was wobbling around with a pounding headache. Turns out that where we were dropped off would be the 16th highest summit in North America and the highest in the lower 48. The actual summit of Mt. Chachani is 19,931 ft. Halfway up the mountain our land cruiser broke its front axle and couldn't be fixed.  (It was our driver's car and he is still up on the mountain waiting for a mechanic to meet him sometime tomorrow). Lucky enough his buddy was about 20 min behind us and would bring us the rest of the way. The whole ride up it was sunny and relatively warm. However, when we were approaching the drop off location a dark cloud was forming over the mountain. We got out and started gearing up, helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. During this time the temp dropped and it started to sleet just a tiny bit. If we were smart, we would have just jumped back into the 4wd and went back down to town. But that's not the case. We jumped on the bikes and headed in to a mini hail storm that forced me to quit about halfway down. At this point there was about a 2 mile climb and the way I was feeling I just couldn't go on. We actually finished the climb but the hail and cold was relentless. Jesikah was kind enough to jump on board even though she didn't get altitude sickness. We rode the rest of the way down in the 4wd and couldn't wait for hot coffee, tea, and a warm shower. We are hoping tomorrow will be better
-Jon

Bienvenidos a Peru!

Hello from Lima! We arrived safe and sound late last night around 1:30 am...first time spending New Years in the sky! We met a really friendly fellow traveller on the plane who offered us some great advice, and so far everyone we've come in contact with has been incredibly friendly and kind. We are staying at 3B Barranco's Bed and Breakfast and couldn't recommend it more. Very clean, quiet, excellent breakfast, great location, and the staff is super helpful. 

Plaza San Martin

Plaza de Armas

We spent the day wandering around Lima's Centro Historico,and our neighborhood Barranco, the arts district. The architecture reminded us a lot of Spain, with central plazas and lots of pedestrian streets.

Barranco

We were a little but disappointed that almost everything was closed today for New Years, and the city was pretty quiet. But we soon discovered where everyone was.....

....a la playa!

Lima is stretched out along the Pacific coast, literally at the edge of a cliff. Down below is a rocky beach which was absolutely swarming with people today, but we couldn't resist a dip on this hot, humid day. So refreshing!

We look forward to exploring the Miraflores neighborhood tomorrow, trying some local ceviche, and sampling the national drink: pisco sour (Peruvian grape flavored brandy). We are very happy to be here!

Ciao for now! Happy New Year!
Xoxo
jesikah

MORE LIMA:

local specialties: pisco sour, yellow potato with arequepen cheese sauce and shrimp, trio of ceviche

Canta Rana: owned by an ex-Argentine soccer player. filled with soccer and sporting memorabilia

Bridge of Sighs