Machu Picchu & Lima

So just to let everybody know - we went to Machu Picchu. We enjoyed it very much, although it was everything we had heard... beautiful, breathtaking setting, and VERY touristy. Although we used a travel agency to arrange our trip, it nonetheless involved a great deal of stress and uncertainty. First we did not have any tickets until a random taxi arrived outside our hostel at 6:30am, and then we boarded a bus, which was an hour and a half to the train station, then we waited for 4 hours at the train station, before our train went to Aguas Caliente, the city just below machu picchu.

We had no idea where we staying, but luckily our travel agency had someone sent to walk us from the train station to the hotel. We had to wait at the hotel until after 8:00 when our guide showed up to explain what was happening the next morning, when we were to visit Machu Picchu. Our guide was also supposed to have our train tickets back (without which we would be completely stranded and miss our flight back to Lima). Our guide showed up, only a half hour late.

He did not have our train tickets, but he told us the name of a restaurant where we were supposed to pick up our train tickets the next day. He didn´t know when our train left, and so we had to anticipate either leaving Aguas Caliente at 2 or 6 pm the next day, and all morning we would be at Machu Picchu.

So we went to get in line for the bus to Machu Picchu just before 5:00 am. We were told we would be in the first bus guaranteed. However, there was already a long line ahead of us when we got there. We got on the 4th or 5th bus up to the site, which is a 20 minute bus ride up 1km vertical. The switchbacks are incredible.

We walked around Machu Picchu, got the (incredible & classic) photos, and we got our ticket to climb Wayna Picchu, the steep mountain seen directly behind the classic pictures of Machu Picchu. Our tickets allowed up to climb the mountain between 10 & 11 am. So we then walked around more, and eventually went to meet our tour group, when our guide would tell us again where to pick up our tickets, and what time we were leaving that afternoon.

We then found out that our train was leaving at 2:26, and our tickets were in fact back in Aguas Caliente, at a small pizza place. So we had to leave our tour group prematurely so we could climb Wayna Picchu. It was another long line just to start climbing the mountain, and we were told it was a 45 min. to 1.5 hour climb to the summit. By the time we got started climbing the mountain, after waiting in line almost an hour, it was 11:15, and we had to be back on a bus to Aguas Caliente before 1:00, because we still had to find the restaurant which (hopefully) had our train tickets.

So we climbed to the summit in less than half an hour. It was lung busting. Emily and I were tearing up the trail. We had a brief (less than 10 minutes) at the summit, looking down on Machu Picchu, before we had to race back down the trail. Once we tore down the track we made it back onto a bus to Aguas Caliente, where we found the restaurant relatively quickly after I asked a police officer for directions to the restaurant. (& I hate asking for directions).

It ended up okay, we got our train and subsequent bus tickets back to Cusco, but we were pretty nervous about it because a lot of people get ripped off when using such tourist agencies. I would say that most of the people we talked to got ripped off in some way, but we made it through successfully.

Once back in Cusco, we had one night before we caught a flight to Lima (yesterday). We are now in Lima, and I have to say that this city is the most different of any we have visited thus far. We were warned much about how dangerous La Paz is, however Lima is most definitely much more dangerous than La Paz. On the way from the airport to the tourist barrio we are staying in (Miraflores), I saw a vicious fistfight between two guys that spilled out of a bus and onto the street just in front of us.

Once we arrived, we were hassled by this big guy who acted as our tour guide, helped us a get beds at a disgusting hostel, and then followed us around and essentially extorted us out of money in exchange for his help (which until the end he insisted he was doing out of the goodness of his heart). Thankfully, tonight we are in a much more pleasant hostel.

After that unpleasant experience, we disliked Lima even more, however, the city does totally redeem itself with the amazingly fresh sushi & sashimi. We have enjoyed the fresh fish very much, and today while we were en route from the oceanside to a tasty sushi restaurant, we were interrupted by a gigantic anti-government demonstration. There were thousands upon thousands of protesters, and hundreds of riot police. We have already witnessed a few protests thus far, and seen many riot police, but none as big as this. We managed to get onto the other side of the march when there was a tiny space to run through the protesters, and we got to the restaurant, where we heard the march continuing throughout our lunch.

Lima is most certainly a very exciting city, however it is quite evidently the most dangerous we have visited thus far. We have one more day of delicious sashimi and the exciting unpredictability of South America before we return. We are both very excited to get back, but we are very sad to leave the continent as well. (I keep telling Emily she will miss it more once she gets back). In her defense, she loves it down here, but does miss the family, friends, & comforts of home (as do i). When I get home, I will be posting more photos, as I have not been able to do so for quite some time. I ought to get to bed now, although we tried to stay up late tonight so we would have a long sleep in the morning, as we are anticipating minimal sleep on the airplane tomorrow.

Cusco y otras cosas

Emily and I are currently staying in Cusco, and while she naps before dinner, I am here to update everythang. Cusco is a beautiful city, as it is the oldest continuously inhabited city in North and South America. It is quite shocking to go from the Peruvian countryside, which is very poor and looks only slightly more prosperous than Bolivia, to the historic centre of Cusco, which looks exactly like Europe. The buildings and churches here are absolutely incredible, I always thought that Quebec city looked the most like Europe, but I don´t think so anymore.

Most of the churches in this area were built (or began construction) in the 16th century, and it looks like almost all of the buildings range from 16th-18th century. The walls are incredibly thick, doorways are tiny, all the streets are cobblestone, and there are gorgeous alleyways everywhere. Unfortunately, it is incredibly touristy, which is quite irritating, but the urban scenery makes up for it.

We leave tomorrow morning for Aguas Caliente, the small city just below Machu Picchu, which in of itself is supposed to be awful, due to the tourism. However, it is necessary to stay here if you want to visit Machu Picchu at 6 in the morning, for the sunrise. The plus side is that if you arrive there that early, the site is relatively empty until 10am when all the tourists from Cusco arrive. Then you can climb a mountain beside the site and get some of the classic pictures of the site. We will then bus back to Aguas Caliente in the afternoon, and take an early evening train back to Cusco. We spend Sunday night in Cusco, before heading to Lima on Monday. We will be flying back to Lima, so we have a few days to enjoy there.

We will be flying back home on Thursday, August 7th at 1:30am, which means we arrive back at 10:30am in Toronto. We are looking forward to the last part of our trip, and we have been enjoying Cusco, but we really miss Bolivia. Peru is slightly more polished, more rules, more tourists, and a bit less friendly (because of all the other tourists). Some things we have noticed, it seems here that you have to wear a seatbelt, which is irritating. There is no smoking in some restaurants, which we must admit we do appreciate. I´m also not sure if you are allowed to drink in public here, rather unfortunate. Bolivia has its flaws, but it also has more liberty.

I will publish another post once we get to Lima, to give some details about Machu Picchu. Other than that, I had better get going, as Emily is waiting (sleeping) at the hotel, it´s 8:20 and we haven´t had dinner yet. I think we will go to the same Japanese place as last night because it is easy on the stomach.

Buen Provecho!