"and to the left we have the women's prison"

I'll get to the quote later since I'm a day behind.

Yesterday we flew from Cusco back to Lima (I like Cusco better...).   It's amazing how close the coast is to the mountains.  The flight attendant told us we'd be landing in Lima in 10 minutes and we were still surrounded by mountains!

In the afternoon we walked around Lima and ended up at the archaeological site of Huaca Pucllana.  I was built by the Lima people around 200CE.  The ruins are in the middle of a neighborhood and there is a restaurant on site (the restaurant pays for the lighting at the site and give some money to the restoration).  We walked around the exterior of the ruins to get there and saw some of the work they were doing on the site.  at the restaurant I had GUINEA PIG for lunch and so did dad!  It was pretty fatty, but yummy.  We also had delicious corn tamales, shrimp battered and fried in quinoa (delicious!!!) and I had some scallop ceviche.  I ordered a dessert sampler and it was quite yummy.

Today (Wednesday) we woke up and got on a bus to get a tour of Pachacamac.  Safety dad was well behaved today and let us sit on the top of a double decker bus that drove down the Pan American Highway....  On the way to Pachacamac we drove along the Pacific and learned about the history of the neighborhoods along the coast.   The waves were ridiculous and there were some surfers despite he crappy weather.

It was super foggy when we arrive at Pachacamac, but it was still an amazing place to visit!  The earliest people built at the site from 200BCE through 600CE.  They built in very dry area of Peru in the sandstone.  There were a lot of structures at the site and there were some excavations going on as well.  When you arrived at the Temple of the Sun you were overlooking the religious site as well as the Pacific Ocean.  It was pretty cool.

For lunch we and sweet potato sandwiches (everyone should make these!) at D'paso and we got to see a random horse dancing show....

When we got back we started organizing ourselves for packing.  Then we went to Alfresco for dinner where I had some amazing saffron risotto with shrimp and dad had shrimp and artichoke lasagna.  For dessert we had churros at Manolo. Dad had never experienced churros dipped in chocolate his new retirement plan may involve opening a churros shop....

Oh, the prison comment?  On our tour today the woman was pointing out various important buildings. Then, she said "And to out left is the prison."  Dad and I looked at each other as if we'd both misunderstood and then she went on to explain that it was a woman's prison and other stuff about the site....  Weird.   My comment dad "well, now you know where to find me if I get arrested, and hopefully she'll show us the men's prison so I can find you (she never did show us....).

First two pictures are of Huaca Pucllana, then Pachacamac.

Who doesn't like to go in pitch black labyrinths?

Today we had a full day in Cusco.

We started the morning by driving up to 12,000 feet to check out some inca and pre-Incan sites on the outskirts of the city.  On the way up the mountain we saw some adobe houses and dad, being the architect that he is, asked many questions about the various structures.  We also learned that the inca created artificial lakes on the mountains for irrigation and we had the chance to see one of the only ones still in use.

Tambomachay was our first stop.  It was an Incan holy place and there is still water running through it as it never stopped from Incan times.   

After that we headed to Qenco.  This was a religious center as well and they discovered several burials.  The Inca liked to mummify the dead and then keep they close by, in case they need to consult them.  There also use to be a pool there and there's a huge stone (picture below) that is suppose to look like a puma.... It doesn't our guide (Vidal, who was with us the whole week and was awesome!) told us that many people came and looked at the stone to try and see the puma, with no luck.  Then, one day someone came by and saw the puma... It was the shadows of the huge stone cast upon a flat piece of rock behind it.

Last site, Sacsayhuaman (kind of pronounced like "sexy woman")' which was HUGE.  It is an Inca site, but archaeologists have uncovered evidence of pre-Incan work as well.  Here we went into a small labyrinth that was pitch black and pretty tiny ( I had my right hand on my head to watch for short ceilings and my left hand on the wall to follow along.  Pretty cool.  Vidal showed us another labyrinth that has been closed off because people have gone in and not come out.  It starts at one path and then forks.  Then, at the end of each of those paths, it forks again, and so on and so on.  Nobody is quite sure how long/deep it is!   We also saw an area that use to be one of their man made lakes as some volcanic rock that was being utilized like one of those huge slides at amusement parks that use burlap sacks.  Then we saw the main structure.... It was insane!!  It's suppose to be the head of a puma (Cusco is laid out in the shape of a puma) and the rocks were ridiculously large and fit together so well!!

After that we headed back to the hotel, then to the craft market.

We had a group dinner in the evening since we're all heading in different directions tomorrow.  Dad and I head back to Lima tomorrow morning for a couple of days.

Former lake, now place for llama and alpaca to do some speed dating.

4am is always a logical time to wake up.

Today was a freakin' long day!

Dad and I woke up at 4am!!  We got dressed, ate breakfast and were in line by 5am for the 5:30 bus to Machu Picchu (which was a pretty long line).  Down in the valley you could see the stars outlining the mountains.  We started the drive up the mountain in complete darkness.  Safety dad immediately started looking for his seat belt.  I pointed out "if this bus gets in any sort of accident it will definitely involve going over a cliff... That seatbelt will do nothing."  As we rode up along the switchbacks it began to dawn. 

We got to the entrance to Machu Picchu just before the gates open at 6am (side note, you ca get your passport stamped with a Machu Picchu stamp... Which we did yesterday).  The gates opened and we were in by 6:15 to begin our hike up Machu Picchu mountain to the Sun Gate (Intipunka) and watch the sun rise over the valley of Machu Picchu.    It was a bit of a hike, but awesome to watch the sun rise over the Andes and watch the shadow move across the city of Machu Picchu. 

The path to the Sun Gate is kind of long, and not really that bad... Except for that whole walking from just under 8,000 feet above sea level to just under 9000 feet above sea level part.  Tom really wanted to hike Huaynapicchu (google it... Now), but Safety Dad kicked in:). He hiked up about half way to the Sun Gate and then stopped to get a series of pictures.   Tom is the one who let me go up the mountain, not Safety Dad....

I made it up to the Sun Gate (pictures below) and it was BEAUTIFUL!  I made a phone call to my nephews to tell the where I was (shocking cell service).  On the way down I found Tom who had decided to try hiking up some more so I went back up the mountain for a bit... Then we were done.

We headed back down, got on the bus and took a nap before we grabbed some lunch and headed to the train.  

The train ride..... Great views of the valley.  Saw some oxen plowing fields and tons of farm animals.  Then, something weird happened.... I closed my eyes and this really loud music started playing. Then, I heard som noise that sounded like someone walking by us.  I open my eyes.... ahhhhhh!!  Saqra!!  Quechua for "little devil" dancing around our train.   I've never been afraid of clowns... This was frightening (if there is someone in your life you want to cause emotional damage toward, tell them to do  a google search of "saqra Peru rail." ).  Dad wanted me to get up an dance with Saqra... I said no.  It brought back memories of a Busch Gardens trip where Julie and I had to do some ribbon dance at the beer garden....

After the train we had a two hour drive to Cuzco and saw some more great view, oxen plowing the fields and locals working the fields as well.

Once back at the hotel, I went for some hot chocolate and dad went to try and get some photos of the moon rising over Cuzco.  Early bedtime tonight since we woke up so early. Tomorrow we have a full day in Cuzco, but luckily that doesn't start until 8:30am!

Btw, below was what was on our bathroom mirror at the as hotel... It was odd.

Tom and Jennie go to Machu Picchu (safety dad would not have approved)

This morning we woke up and headed to catch the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.  The train ride was a bit over an hour and goes through the mountains.  The views are great and you even get to see some of the snow capped peaks.

Once we arrived to Agua Calientes, we checked into our hotel, el MaPi, and the headed to catch a bus up the mountain.  This is where Tom (the version of my dad where he kind of lets us do dangerous things or things we're not suppose to do) joined the trip and left safety dad down in the town.  The road up to Machu Picchu was pretty darn windy with lots of switchbacks and drop offs, but we made it to the top.  We had a 3 hour tour of Machu Picchu and I'm still amazed how the Inca were able to create such amazing and complex structures without modern machinery.  

I'm not going into detail because that would take forever.  Instead, just lots of pictures (taken from the iPad, better photos to come eventually).

We then headed back down (by bus) and are getting ready for dinner.

Tomorrow dad and I are waking up at 4:30am to get to the sunbathe overlooking Machu Picchu in time for the sunrise!

My dad has taken a million great photos but doesn't know how to post them, so he's invited everyone to our house (that's what he wanted me to write)

We luckily got to sleep in a bit this morning since we did not leave until 9am.  We then boarded a van and started our drive to a local town.  The roads are windy like Greece, but add in 12,000 feet above sea level, and not only goats and sheep in the road, but also pigs, dogs, donkeys and an occasional alpaca.   The scenery was great and in the distance you could see the snow covered parts of the Andes.

We arrived in the village of Chinchero.  He we learned about the dying and weaving process the Inca have used for many years.  They showed us the various roots, flowers and bugs used to dye the wool (either sheep or alpaca).  Then they showed us how they turn it into yarn and then use it to weave various textiles.   After that we had the chance to look at some of the work the women had done (there are 13 different communities represented).

We next went on a walking tour of the city and saw the Incan foundation walls and a church where we continued to learn about how the Inca adapted Christianity to their own beliefs.  We also had the chance to see some locals drying potatoes on the hillside and the preservation of the terrace walls.

Next we did some driving on really bumpy gravel roads, which then turned into really bumpy dirt roads as we drove through a valley and saw people working in fields.   We ended up at the archaeological site of Moray.  There we got to see some great examples of terrace farming and also learned about how the Inca dug down into the hills to essentially block out the wind and create greenhouses that allowed them to adapt different plants to the climate.  We learned about the whole process and it was pretty cool.

Next, a bit more time on the dirt road and then a real road to the town of Urubamba where we stopped for lunch.  They had this delicious dessert that was like tiny funnel cakes, but made with a delicious pumpkin dough.... Amazing.

After lunch we headed toward Ollantaytambo.  Here we saw some fabulous ruins of what was something tied to religion...  The sun hits a certain point during solstice and probably led people to build there.   "tambo" means storage and on the mountainside across from the religious ruins were ruins of storehouses.  The masonry work on the Inca at this site (and the other sites we've visited) is amazing!!  The stones fit together almost seamlessly and they're huge!!  They were brought from a quarry up further in the mountain, down to Ollantaytambo and up the hill to the site.

It seemed like a long day, so we went to dinner (nothing exciting) and are now getting packed for the train ride to Machu Picchu and the hike up!

Alpaca tastes like pork chops, kind of

So this morning we woke up just before six to get ready for our flight to Cuzco!   We get to the airport and the flight was pushed back because our original flight was canceled, but security was kind of lengthy so it wasn't a big deal.
The flight to Cuzco was just over an hour.  I got to see some cool snow-capped mountains.  Now, Cuzco's airport is the 8th highest commercial airport in the world.  So, what is it like to land at an airport like that?  Well, pretend like maybe you think your plane is going to crash in the mountains, mix in a little of the movie Con Air and then add thoughts of "what did I learn from watching the movie Alive?"  And I've never seen it, but maybe some Snakes on a Plane scenes.  Then the plane landed just fine.
We met our driver at the airport and he took us and the other people in our group (5 total) to our hotel in Cuzco.  The hotel is right of the plaza so it makes it easy to get around.   I felt a bit winded walking up the stairs, but no more than if I were to walk up the 7 flights of stairs at work:).
We got our room and then met our guide for the next 4-5 days, Vidal, and he first took us to the main plaza and explained some of Cuzco's history then took us on a tour of Cuzco Cathedral.  After spending a summer in Spain and then visiting Rome I kinda maxed out on cathedrals a few years ago, but this was impressive!  It was probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen.  Then I started thinking.... Oh, slave labor and cheap labor.  Thanks Masters degree! The Spaniards basically worked the Inca to death in the gold and silver mines alon with construction.
However, some native painters did some fantastic religious paintings.  The Virgin Mary is often depicted in paintings as having a triangular body. Tis was the result of the artists combining Incan religious elements into Catholic art.  Pacha Mama is Incan Mother Earth and is symbolized by a triangle, thus, since Mary gave birth to Jesus, see where I'm going?  Also, in the paintings of the Last Supper they're serving guniea pig.... And Judas is dark skinned while all the other disciples are white (which is a not so subtle commentary on how the Spaniards may have felt about the Inca....)
Lastly, in order to help convert the Inca they brought a statue of Jesus, but they made him dark skinned (which, seeing as how he was Middle Eastern makes a heck of a lot more sense than blonde hair blue eyed Jesus) and the statue is still here and it is seen as a protector from earthquakes.
Next, we all needed some food so we went to eat.  Dad had a quinoa dish with cheese that tasted like polenta and I had alpaca meat.  It kind of tasted like lamb chops, but was a bit tough.
After that people were getting pretty tired from the altitude (even though I got winded that once, I'm okay, maybe because I'm use to having breathing problems?). Dad and I walked around the plaza, looked for some alpaca clothing (because I need some gloves!).
Now we're packing (much) smaller bags for the next three days when we go to the Scared Valley and Machu Pichu.
We leave in the morning to head to Pisac and then Ollantaytambo for the night.  Apparently their are ruins next to our hotel (not near our hotel, near to).

Skulls and Femurs (and a chocolate museum)

This is by far one of my favorite post titles.
Today was spent in Lima and we started with a bus tour of the city.   Here's a description of Lima in the winter: San Francisco fog.    On the bus tour we went through a lot of neighborhoods, one of which resembled the French Quarter in New Orleans, if it had been hit by an earthquake immediately following Katrina.   The buildings are a hodge podge of architecture as a result of earthquakes and so it looks like colonial South America meets 1970's Lain American dictatorships (think lots of concrete.... Or, my least favorite city, Bucharest), meets modern glass buildings.  It's quite confusing.
Wait, where do the skulls come in?
Well, we went to the Convent of San Francisco (no photos allowed... Pretty sure Tom broke this rule) and went into the catacombs (which involved dad walking around hunched over for a lengthy period of time as the ceiling was probably 6 inches higher than my head).  In the catacombs are the skulls a femurs (because they preserve well) of roughly 25,000 people.  There was no cemetery in Lima early on, so they buried people under the convent so they could be "closer to God" (yes, I'm thinking what you're thinking... Isn't underground closer to someone else...?).
We then walked to the Plaza Mayor and walked around.  There were police and military personnel everywhere because there were strikes going on and they were keeping them off the plaza (after my ETA experience in Spain and my police with riot gear experience in DC, things like that don't bother me much).
Eventually we made our way back to Miraflores and to Lorcamar, which is a giant outdoor mall built into the cliffs along the Pacific.  There we had some lunch ( I had ceviche!) and then went for a walk along the cliff side.   It's about 65 degrees, but there were plenty of people out surfing.
Next we walked to the ChocoMuseo.... Museum of chocolate.  There we learned how chocolate was made (dad watched a really long video and can now make choclate from scratch...maybe).  We had cacao (chocolate) tea and then I had Mayan hot chocolate, which was delicious.  After that we headed back to the hotel and are taking a break before we head to dinner.
Tomorrow morning we board a flight for Cuzco!!

Tom and I have begun our adventure!

We have arrived in Peru!
1) abandon all you think you know about conventional traffic laws/patterns.  The meaning behind the color of a light changes when you want it to and lanes are optional.  Speed bumps also show up as frequently as New York City potholes.
2) Ugh.... TGIF, Chili's, Papa John's, KFC, and that's just the beginning of the list of American chains down here... Things to avoid.


We successfully managed to check no luggage and only had carry-ons for the trip which makes life easier.  Also, cutting off almost a foot and a half of hair really allowed to fit my liquids in that silly quart bag.  A few weeks ago and there's no way the amount of conditioner my hair required would have fit!!  It's also quite nice (and somewhat odd) to only change one time zone on a trip!!
We're in Lima, in the Miraflores district, so we're just going to look at flowers all day tomorrow.... :)
No set plans tomorrow, just going to explore (and eat!).
Also, I have promised that I will neither write embarrassing things nor take embarrassing photos of my father for this blog (that will be for a separate blog I didn't make any promises about!).
Also... All spelling and rules of grammar are optional for this blog:)

Getting ready for the next trip!

This time around I'm passing on Europe and heading to South America.  I figure that with a MA in Latin American History I should probably have gotten down there by now.
This trip is pretty sure compared to those in the past, only 10 days:(  
I'll be heading to Peru and enjoying what some food critics had deemed the best food in Latin America (so of course I've already done tons of food research).
So, there is one other difference with this trip.... I'm not traveling solo, my dad is coming along!