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December 3, 2009 We leave in the morning on a six hour bus ride that will take us to Guayaquil, Ecuador. From there we will take a quick taxi ride to the airport for our flight to Lima. It is a first class bus but the music they are blaring from the overhead speakers is anything but first class. Nobody else seems to mind in the bus, so we just do our best to ignore it for the next five plus hours. Arriving in Guayaquil, we see more of the dry desert conditions like in Bahía and litter everywhere. Mini-landfills cascade down to the road, filling small ravines wherever there are homes. We are in the midst of a bad draught, the worst in forty years that is making for dry conditions everywhere. The lack of vegetation indicates that this region is predominatly desert. There has to be somewhere in Ecuador that has grasslands and trees, but we haven’t even come close to finding it yet. Quick taxi to the adjacent airport and soon we arrive in Lima, Peru. We are greeted by our taxi driver, which was prearranged by our hostel. Fifteen minutes later we are in Miraflores, an upscale area of Lima.
December 4, 2009 We eat the provided breakfast from the hostel; a nearly continental style breakfast. John & Sean arrive around 10:00 as planned, but before we set out for the day’s activities, we hit a snafu at the hostel. Seems that we won’t be able to have our room for the second night. Our room has been reserved for the night, a fact that they forgot to mention when we checked in to the hostel. When we checked in, they said we could stay an additional night if we wanted. It now seems that that won’t be the case. Possession being 9/10th of the law, I thought we would be able to force the issue and stay in the room. But the people coming must have an in with the management because we were told that there was no way we would be able to stay. The dorm rooms were available, but we weren’t going to stay in there, not that there is anything wrong with them. We just like our privacy. The funniest thing about the whole ordeal was that we were just planning on heading out for the entire day. What would have happened if I hadn’t said anything to the front desk assuming that it was no problem about us staying another night? They would have entered our room and found all our belongings scattered about. With John & Sean helping, we grab our bags and head to another hostel around the corner. There are a dozen hostels located around the plaza in Miraflores and finding another accommodation is not a problem. A short half-hour later and we were on our way to a museum across town. Museum Larco houses a vast collection of ceramic pottery, jewelry, tapestries and metal work, showcasing 3000 years of development of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. The collections does an excellent job illustrating the progression of skills as they evolved over time. The museum is also home to the famous erotic archaeological collection. The highlight of the museum for us was that visitors are allowed to enter the storage rooms, where approximately 45,000 objects are arranged, catalogued and classified by culture. It was quite impressive.
Leaving the museum, we have a quick lunch and say our goodbyes for now to Sean and John. We will catch up with them again somewhere in the South Pacific I’m sure. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Lima, visiting churches with underground crypts and the presidential palace at Plaza de Armas. Amazing architechure can be seen as you stroll the streets. Getting around is easy as cab rides around town are inexpensive.
The dog in the photo above doesn't seem to mind the people walking around him. We found the stray dogs in Peru seemed to be carefree and not afraid of being harrased. Tails up everyone. All over town there were artistic cows on display. We found out that they were being auctioned for a local charity.
Just before dusk we arrive at the water fountain park, Parque de la Reserva. As night falls, the fountains are illuminated with colored lights and music is broadcast throughout the park. Because it was Christmas, Santa paid the park a visit and the line to sit on his lap was quite long. The funnest thing to watch was the circular fountain where the children could play inside (despite the cool weather).
December 5-7, 2009 Quick flight out of Lima and to Cusco. We arrive without any reservation for a room. We were going to book a hostel before leaving Ecuador, but the places with an online presence seemed a bit pricey. Or the affordable ones were far from the city center. Our plan now is to head to the central plaza and look for a hostel nearby. Our first experience in Cusco is an onslaught of tour guides and over priced taxis. At three Peruvian Soles per U.S. Dollar, we are quoted twenty soles as the cab fare to the central plaza. A short walk into the parking lot and the price drops to fifteen. I haggle insisting that the plaza is only five kilometers away but the taxi “agent” won’t budge, stating that it is a twenty minute ride with traffic. Ignorant, I agree and ten minutes later we are at the plaza in the taxi that the agent had gotten for us. I grab our bag from the driver and give him ten soles and say, “No mas.” He seems satisfied and I know I’ve still overpaid. We find out later that six soles ($2) is the correct price. Five if we would have walked a little off the parking lot to the street fronting the airport. Around the plaza things are bustling with activity and we head off on a side street. Our two backpacks at Cusco’s ten thousand foot elevation are making walking difficult to put it mildly. Walking without the pack would be difficult. Headachy and out of breath we look for a place to stay.
We get the room and crash. The elevation is taking a toll on both of us with headaches and fatigue. They are common symptoms and we are told to take it easy for a few days. No argument there. We do venture out to get some food nearby, there is no lack of good places to eat. By the second day, Jodie is feeling a bit more acclimated to the elevation than I am. We venture out for short walks, exploring the streets around us. Around the plaza, we and every other tourist is hit by a barrage of street solicitors selling tour packages, shoe shines and massages. Away from the plaza things settle down and one can walk around with only the occasional salesperson. Each Sunday, Cusco has a flag raising ceremony in the main plaza. We discovered this as we were eating breaking at a restaurant and the parade cruised below our balcony seating. The tourism board sells a “Boleto Touristco” which allows entry into sixteen museums and archeological sites around Cusco. It is the only pass that allows entry and you cannot get into the sites in the Sacred Valley without one. It is a bit pricey at $130 soles, but if you visit all sixteen it comes to twenty four soles per site or $8.30. But no one visits all the sites. In a way it was nice since it included sites that we might not have spent the time going to otherwise. Getting our Boleto, we hit the local museums around town that are included on it. Nothing really ground breaking except the art work by Jesus Venero Calderon. Stellar and out of this world. His sculptures are made of bleached bone.
We checked out the tour packages to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, as well as a few other hostels as we roamed around Cusco. We couldn’t find another hostel even close to ours. Most went for 70 soles a night compared to ours at 40. Machu Picchu tour prices varied as well. All are overnight trips and include transportation, entry into the park and accommodations. Prices ranged from $120 US to $300 US p.p. depending on the travel arrangements. We chose to go the less expensive route, which would have us bussing most of the way to Machu Picchu I was coming down with some flu like symptoms and still being affected by the high altitude after three days. So when we chose to have dinner at a nice restaurant inside a hotel, we ate the soup there then decided to have the main meal packed to go. I could barely sit in the chair.
December 8, 2009 We are up early for our trip to Machu. I am feeling much better today, almost back to normal. Our driver was supposed to pick us up at our hostel at eight a.m., so we were a bit surprised when at seven he showed up. A little bit of miscommunication but luckily we were already packed and just enjoying a cup of coffee when he arrived. Five minutes later we were in his cab for the quick ride to a mini-van that would take us to the train station for the final short train trip to Aguas Caliente.
The high mountains of the Andes are spectacular, a sight to behold and after a tremendously long ride (ten hours cramped in a nine passenger van), we arrive at the Peru rail train station located on the northern side of Aguas Calientes.
Over dinner, we discuss our plans for meeting tomorrow. Half our group is choosing to walk the 1200 steps up the mountain to Machu. Jodie, myself and our guide will take the bus. We figure we will do plenty of walking around Machu during the day, and we don’t want to push Jodie’s back, which is still healing. Meeting time for the bus to Machu is 5:00 a.m. with the bus departing at 5:30. That means that anyone who wants to do the stairs has to be climbing by 4:30 a.m. to meet us at the gate at 6:00.
December 9, 2009 After the short drive up the mountain, we lose any hope of a clear sunrise. The mountains are obscured by clouds and visibility is around 300 feet. The second half of our group is just arriving at the gate as we wait in line at the entrance of the ruins. They all made it on time, but without exception, all looked tired and drenched with sweat. A couple of them had the foresight to pack dry shirts to change into. Once inside Machu, our group of six is placed with five others, forming one group of thirty. Then our guide introduces us to another, who will lead us through the ruins for the next two hours. So the person we thought was our guide was just a tour company employee who makes sure we get to our lodging and into the park on time. Our new guide is a trained park employee and gives us the trained park spiel. When he diverts from the pre-recorded, spoon fed hyperbole, he displays his distaste for politicians, universities and corporate outsiders and what they have done to damage the site and distort the history of Machu Picchu. No lie. It was quite amusing. Also, the descriptions of ruins is based on best guesses, but described mostly as being factual. The truth is that like many ruins in the world, the true nature of the site is lost in antiquity. But none of that takes away from the magic that the Incan people created when they constructed Machu Picchu. The masterful stone work is inspiring, magnitude of construction is breathtaking and the setting high in the Andes is beyond compare. In short, it’s a pretty cool place. By ten in the morning, the clouds have lifted and we were able to capture some wonderful photos.
Back in Cusco after another long ride, this time we transferred to a larger bus with comfy seats which made things a bit nicer. All in all, it’s a tough call if we;d choose the road trip vs. the train if we had to do it again. We saved nearly two hundred dollars opting for the road trip in a van, but it was a long, uncomfortable and twisty ride.
December 10-13, 2009 There is a group of four sites that is a short distance from Cusco and it is possible to take a bus to the farthest one and walk back into town, stopping at the remaining three along the way. Best of all, it’s a downhill walk coming back. On the bus ride out to the first site we meet Heidi, here from Alaska, and we spend the rest of the day with her as we explore the ruins. First up is Tambomachay, which means “Resort” and is also known as “The bath of the Princess”. Two aquaducts provide spring water year round and it has a ritual fountain and three terraces built with, you guessed it, irregular polyhedral stones fitted without mortar of any kind. It was cool.
Next we walk down the road to Puka Pukara, thought to be a road checkpoint and small military fortress. Puka Pukara means “Red Fortress” and is built upon a buttress and surrounded by a tall wall. Not much is left here and we search in vain to find the water springs that form a waterfall. We enjoy the view and watch as a local woman “guide” her sheep around a field with a stick.
Q’enqo has carved stone alters and feels a bit cramped as one walks through the cerimonial chamber.
The last of our four stops is the most dramatic: Saqsaywaman. Saqsaywaman (pronounced sexywoman and people love to say it) means “Satisfied Falcon”. What remains after the Spanish took much of the stones to build cathedrals and homes in Cusco is still impressive. Massive stones fitted to perfection are combined to form a large jagged wall, representing the teeth of a puma, a sacred creature of the Incans. The largest stones weigh approximately 70 tons each.
Back in Cusco, we venture around town, seeing the oldest town walls (taken from Saqsaywaman) and the infamous “12 sided stone”. Next to the 12 sided stone is a man dressed in Incan ceremonial outfit. We didn’t take his picture because we didn’t want to pay him. He looked absolutely ridicules.
Another trip takes us to Chincero a small city on the plateau above the Sacred Valley. It is the former royal estate of Incan Tupac Yupanqui. The church located here has been built upon the Incan rock foundations of an older building, typical of many historical buildings we have seen. The view from the site is scenic overlooking a valley and lake.
From there we continued on to Ollantaytambo, one of the best preserved Incan towns, mainly due to the fact that’s it has been continuously inhabited by direct descendents of the Incans for more than 700 years. The houses, streets and waterways have remained as they were constructed, with residences on one side of the Patakancha River and ceremonial buildings and square on the other. Ollantaytambo is famously known for the hillside fortress here that dealt the Spanish Conquistadors its only major defeat and prevented them from ever discovering the location of Machu Picchu.
Not mentioned in the guide books are the intricate waterway channels that are buried in the earth and carved in the rock hillsides.
Truthfully, we are beginning to be burnt out on seeing so many ruins. So after a quick tour though the ruins, we decide we have seen enough rock walls (man those joints are tight) and begin looking for the trailhead that leads us down to town. Now this is a historic, bona-fide Inca trail, used for centuries. So we can now say we have walked an Incan trail. Maybe not the trail to Machu Picchu mind you, but still an Incan trail. Ha.
As we round one of the first corners in the trail, we see a long set of steps that will join the trail ahead. To our dismay, we see that the staircase is full of people. Possibly a hundred or more. We begin to hustle, not wanting to get stuck behind the pack on the narrow trail. Quickly we pass ahead at the bottom of the stairs with just a few steps remaining for the first person of the group. Safely in front, we meander down the mountain. But with all the walking we have done on this trip, my calves are killing me. The downward slope and the many steps are taking their toll and when we reach the bottom, I gratefully sit down on a small rock ledge.
Afterwards, we tour through the bazaar and see much of the same tourist souvenirs that we have seen before. Quality varies and we have been pricing things out during our stay. We pickup a few items that we’ve been looking for. Tomorrow will be our final day here and we will purchase our final few keepsakes back in Cusco.
December 14, 2009 Final day in Cusco. We’re glad. Time to go home. We do our shopping and get our fill of haggling. Bargaining is an absolute must as most vendors will sell an item for half of their first offer. And if I never hear, “How much do you want to pay?” again, I will die happy. The most ridiculous thing is the sheer volume of vendors. They are everywhere, literally right next to one another and all selling identical items. We have been to many tourist spots during our trip and never have we seen such competition as we have here in Cusco. It has to be a tough life for them. Also on our final day, we discovered the best burger in Cusco. Nortons is located in the Southeast corner of the Plaza and has the narrowest balcony in the world that allows you to gaze down to the street and plaza below. And, as with most restaurants in Cusco, very affordable food. We leave Cusco with so many memories. It was the people however that made the largest impression on us. People in Peru are happy. It showed up in so many countless ways.
Some other sights from Cusco:
December 15, 2009 We rise early to catch our flight out of Cusco. Six soles taxi fare to get dropped off at the terminal. As we check in to the airline, I am informed that my passport is going to expire in five months. “Thanks”, I say. “I’ll take care of that”. Well, turns out that this is a big problem. Ecuador requires passports to be valid for at least SIX months to be allowed into the country. And the airlines must enforce the rules as they will be held responsible for any person being denied entry. Basically, if I arrive in Ecuador and am denied entry, the airline has to fly me back out and put me up in a hotel. The airline ticking agent gets on the phone, but it is early in the morning and no supervisor is on duty and the immigration office in Ecuador is still closed. My passport won’t interfere with our flight in Lima, only out of Peru and into Ecuador. So I get flagged in the system and we board our flight to Lima. Jodie is worried sick all the way there, and I just figure that I get to hang in Lima for a couple weeks till my new passport arrives. We arrive and try to get my ticket at the airline counter without bringing up the passport issue. It doesn’t work as the agent immediately informs me that my passport is going to expire in five months. Now, really worried, we explain our unusual situation. How we are traveling by boat (show boat documentation). That the boat is in Ecuador (show port of entry documentation, aka Zarpe), and we traveled from there less than two weeks ago. Not to mention that their airline counterpart in Ecuador issued us a ticket to enter Peru with a passport that was going to expire in less than six months. Did I mention, dear reader, that our connecting flight was leaving fifty-six minutes after touchdown in Lima? We are stressing here. Understanding nods from the ticketing agent. A phone call to the supervisor. Supervisor appears and looks through our boat docs. Smiles, says hello and pulls out her phone. Long wait now. We are informed that there is no immigration supervisor available in Guayaquil, where we are landing in Ecuador. Another phone call, this time to the immigration office in Quito, the capitol. Then, success. We get a nod from the supervisor. Immigration in Quito will inform the office in Guayaquill to allow us entry. Two boarding passes and we rush to pay our airport fees. Outside the States, this fee is not collected by the airlines when you purchase your ticket. You must stand in yet another line to pay the fee before you go through security. And they want cash. Jodie heads out into the terminal to find an ATM machine while I stand at the front of the line and allow people to pass one by one until she returns. Now through security. All we can think is, “HURRY UP!” We get through security but Jodie loses some of her favorite hair products. The containers can hold too much liquid. It doesn’t matter that they allowed her to bring it in on the flight to Peru. It also doesn’t matter that the product is half gone in the bottle. The bottle itself is too big. Swipe. Into the trash. Saddened, Jodie repacks her bag and we rush through a strategically placed duty free gift shop and then through the terminal itself to our gate. Now you know what happened next, don’t you? Yep. Our flight boarding is being delayed by forty minutes. Well, at least we didn’t miss the flight after the close call with my passport. We arrive back at Puerto Amistad in Bahía at eight that evening after the flight and the five hour bus ride. When we enter the marina, we find everyone seated in the restaurant. Seems that during our absence, a string of thefts have occurred and Tripp was having a meeting to discuss the problem and try to find a solution. We arrived as things were winding down and were greeted by our friends from Victoria and Neos. Pierre and Kim from Victoria and their two boys, Thomas and Patrick, were taking care of Logan while we were away. They let us know that he was fine (still fine as they had emaiedl us on occasion) and we let them know how our trip went. We were exhausted from the travel and Roger and Sue from Neos helped us with our bags and gave us a lift back to Savannah. We crashed as soon as we got inside, but not before Logan told us all about his own adventures with his near constant meowing.
December 16-22, 2009 Ah, it’s good to be back on the boat! We had an incredible time in Peru, but there really is no place like home, even if that home floats around various parts of the world. Logan was very happy to have us back as well. Thomas and Patrick from Victoria took care of him while we were away, which seems to have really helped reducing his neediness for attention from us when we returned from Peru.
It’s been a rather uneventful week. Mostly catching up on boat chores and relaxing after our busy time in Peru. We only have about 45 days remaining on our Ecuadorian visas, so we’ve been trying to figure out when we’ll be leaving Bahía and where our next stops will be. I think we’ve decided to leave for Panama with Victoria and Bruce on 5th Element in mid-January.
December 23-25, 2009 Having done little travel within Ecuador since we’ve been here, we had been thinking about spending Christmas in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Though as Christmas week approached we both decided that we just weren’t up to the 10+ hour bus ride it takes to get there. Just back from Peru a week, we’re still feeling a bit traveled out. Instead we decide to spend a quiet Christmas here in Bahía. The three of us enjoyed a very relaxing Christmas Eve on Savannah. Jodie prepared a pork roast with all the fixings and we just kicked back and enjoyed the day.
There are just a few other cruisers around the marina, everyone is either home visiting family or off traveling in South America. We join Pierre, Kim, Thomas and Patrick aboard Victoria and Steve, Portia and Portia’s son Mako aboard Dream Caper for a potluck Christmas dinner. Steve and Portia volunteered to have the festivities aboard their boat Dream Caper, a 47’ catamaran. For those who have never been on a catamaran, they are very roomy and are very stable in the water, making them a perfect entertaining boat.
December 27, 2009 Bahía is dominated by Mirador La Cruz, a large concrete cross with stairs that lead to a viewing platform that offers a panoramic view of the city. Today we kidnapped Thomas and Patrick from Kim and Pierre and headed up to check it out. After hiking up 700 or so stairs we reached the cross and headed up the last flight of stairs to the top of the cross. We had brought along some paper so we could have a paper airplane contest from the top. Jodie and Thomas end up the big winners.
On our way back to Puerto Amistad, we head a different direction and spot a dirt trail heading down the hill. It looks like its going the right direction and the boys ask “can we go this way”? We wind our way down and come out near Amistad where we are greeted by a group of young men and women doing some early afternoon post-Christmas celebrations. We pass through and one offers me a shot glass filled with some kind of spirits. Of course I take it and with a hearty, “Salute”, drink it down. It tastes like a moonshine and orange juice mix. We exchange holiday greetings and continue down to Puerto Amistad.
December 31, 2009 Tonight is the eve of the new year, starting a new decade in a new millennium. This is another big holiday in Ecuador and very different from any New Year’s Eve celebration we have ever experienced. An important Ecuadorian tradition for ringing in the New Year is the making and burning of elaborate effigies, called Años Viejos (Old Years). The effigies are created to represent local and international politicians, famous celebrities, cartoon characters, or many other imaginative creations. The dummies are made from paper mache or old clothes sewn together and stuffed with firecrackers and sawdust (newspaper or any other flammable material can also be used). At midnight the effigies are lit on fire in the middle of the streets to symbolize burning away of the past year and welcoming of the New Year. Bahía’s most creative and popular effigies this year were a life size water truck, the Terminator and the Incredible Hulk.
So that is another year in the books, and what an incredible year it was for us! To all our family and friends, Feliz Navidad and Feliz Ano Nuevo (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year).
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