On Wednesday, June 13th, I flew from Buenos Aires to Lima, Peru, where I arrived just before 5:30pm. My parents were meeting me in Lima to spend the last week of my trip with me before I flew back to the U.S. after 11 months away. They had told me they were sending a taxi to come pick me up at the airport, but when I walked out of customs into the waiting area, they were standing there with a sign (as if I wouldn't recognize them.) It was definitely a surprise to see them, though I'd had a secret suspicion that they might come meet to me so it wasn't a total shock.
It was rush hour when we left the airport so it took a little while to drive over to the Miraflores neighborhood where our hotel was located a few blocks from the beach. We finally did arrive and I dropped my bag off in our room before we left again to go get some dinner. None of us were all that hungry and my parents had eaten a big lunch so we found a cafe within walking distance where all had some sandwiches. It was warmer than it had been in Buenos Aires so even after the sun set it was a nice walk back to the hotel.
The next morning, we had to get up early again to catch one of the first flights out to Cuzco. We took a cab to the airport and then had a short, direct flight to the 11,000-foot high Andean city. An English-speaking guide with the tour company that my dad had booked our trip to Cuzco and Machu Picchu through, met us at the airport with a driver. She drove with us to our hotel and explained a bit about the city and our four-day tour along the way. I was feeling a bit woozy from the plane flight and my mother also seemed to be affected by the altitude so when we got to the hotel we took a short rest while my dad went off exploring. Then in the afternoon we all wandered over to the main Plaza de Armas where celebrations were underway for the final day of the Catholic Corpus Christi festival. As we stood in the crowded square, the 14 saints of Cuzco were carried on floats from the main cathedral in a procession around the plaza. Somber bands played over one another in a cacophony of music. It reminded my parents and I of the Semana Santa festivities that we had witnessed in Sevilla, Spain, when they visited me during my semester abroad.
As my dad ran around taking pictures, my mom had to sit down because she had a pounding headache. After watching the procession for about an hour, we'd all had just about enough sensory overload and so we headed back to the hotel. The high altitude was really getting to my mom so she drank cup after cup of coca tea and then lay back in bed. At that point, my dad and I were for the most part feeling fine so we went out to dinner at a nice organic (or so they said) Peruvian restaurant. I decided to be adventurous and order the alpaca steak because I couldn't bring myself to try guinea pig since I'd had one as a pet. The alpaca was actually not all that bad. We brought my mom some plain pasta back and she was able to eat a few bites.
All seemed fine until the middle of the night when my dad suddenly woke up and started getting sick. It woke me up too and I felt really bad, but there was not much that I could do. In the morning I offered to get everyone coca tea (which is supposed to help with the altitude) but my dad was not a big fan. My mom, however, drank the stuff like it was water. I went off to get my laundry washed and then in the afternoon we had our city tour of Cuzco. My dad still wasn't feeling well, but my mom was doing better so the two of us went by ourselves.
We met up with the rest of the group in the Plaza de Armas and went inside the Cathedral of Santo Domingo where we got to see some of the saints from the day before up close. It was interesting to learn how Peruvian traditions had been interwoven into the Catholic symbolism. A painting of the Last Supper, for example, included a cooked guinea pig as the main course. The choir loft appeared to be made of a dark wood carved with traditional religious symbols, but on closer inspection also featured naked Incan idols.
From the church, we traveled to an actual Incan site downtown called the Korichanca or Temple of the Sun. During the time of the Incas around 4000 priests and their attendants lived in the temple confines. It was a glittering palace with gold panels lining the walls. The gold is now gone, but many of the original walls still remain intact, integrated into a Dominican convent, which has since taken over the space.
Getting back on board the bus, our tour group headed out of the city center into the hills surrounding Cuzco to visit some of the Incan archaeological sites. The first stop was Tambomachay where we had to climb a small hill to get to the ruins. During Incan times the stonework was used as a site for ritual bathing and hydraulic cascades of waters still remain, though they're no longer accessible. From Tambomachay, we went down to Q'enqo, another Incan ruin that features an underground chamber. No one is exactly certain of the chamber's function, but the theory is that the cold stone slab shaded from the sun was used for ritual sacrifices or embalming nobles. The last stop on the tour was at the Sacsayhuaman Fortress where we arrived just as the sun was setting. The site is known as a fortress because of its immense terrace walls made out of large polished dry stones that fit tightly together without mortar. It was definitely a magical sight to see as the sunset turned the rocks a rosy color.
On the way back down to Cuzco, we stopped at a warehouse where vendors tried to sell us all manner of alpaca wool garments, but the prices were pretty steep. When we arrived at the hotel, we convinced my dad to come join us for dinner where my mom and I ate pasta, but my dad could barely manage a few spoonfuls of soup. We learned the likely reason why a few days later. Apparently when up at high altitude, it can take a longer time to digest food. That's why my dad had trouble when he lay down in certain positions and why he had no appetite. Unfortunately, we realized this a bit too late, but luckily the problem soon solved itself when we headed down to a lower altitude the following day.
I'll post the photos tomorrow.
It was rush hour when we left the airport so it took a little while to drive over to the Miraflores neighborhood where our hotel was located a few blocks from the beach. We finally did arrive and I dropped my bag off in our room before we left again to go get some dinner. None of us were all that hungry and my parents had eaten a big lunch so we found a cafe within walking distance where all had some sandwiches. It was warmer than it had been in Buenos Aires so even after the sun set it was a nice walk back to the hotel.
The next morning, we had to get up early again to catch one of the first flights out to Cuzco. We took a cab to the airport and then had a short, direct flight to the 11,000-foot high Andean city. An English-speaking guide with the tour company that my dad had booked our trip to Cuzco and Machu Picchu through, met us at the airport with a driver. She drove with us to our hotel and explained a bit about the city and our four-day tour along the way. I was feeling a bit woozy from the plane flight and my mother also seemed to be affected by the altitude so when we got to the hotel we took a short rest while my dad went off exploring. Then in the afternoon we all wandered over to the main Plaza de Armas where celebrations were underway for the final day of the Catholic Corpus Christi festival. As we stood in the crowded square, the 14 saints of Cuzco were carried on floats from the main cathedral in a procession around the plaza. Somber bands played over one another in a cacophony of music. It reminded my parents and I of the Semana Santa festivities that we had witnessed in Sevilla, Spain, when they visited me during my semester abroad.
As my dad ran around taking pictures, my mom had to sit down because she had a pounding headache. After watching the procession for about an hour, we'd all had just about enough sensory overload and so we headed back to the hotel. The high altitude was really getting to my mom so she drank cup after cup of coca tea and then lay back in bed. At that point, my dad and I were for the most part feeling fine so we went out to dinner at a nice organic (or so they said) Peruvian restaurant. I decided to be adventurous and order the alpaca steak because I couldn't bring myself to try guinea pig since I'd had one as a pet. The alpaca was actually not all that bad. We brought my mom some plain pasta back and she was able to eat a few bites.
All seemed fine until the middle of the night when my dad suddenly woke up and started getting sick. It woke me up too and I felt really bad, but there was not much that I could do. In the morning I offered to get everyone coca tea (which is supposed to help with the altitude) but my dad was not a big fan. My mom, however, drank the stuff like it was water. I went off to get my laundry washed and then in the afternoon we had our city tour of Cuzco. My dad still wasn't feeling well, but my mom was doing better so the two of us went by ourselves.
We met up with the rest of the group in the Plaza de Armas and went inside the Cathedral of Santo Domingo where we got to see some of the saints from the day before up close. It was interesting to learn how Peruvian traditions had been interwoven into the Catholic symbolism. A painting of the Last Supper, for example, included a cooked guinea pig as the main course. The choir loft appeared to be made of a dark wood carved with traditional religious symbols, but on closer inspection also featured naked Incan idols.
From the church, we traveled to an actual Incan site downtown called the Korichanca or Temple of the Sun. During the time of the Incas around 4000 priests and their attendants lived in the temple confines. It was a glittering palace with gold panels lining the walls. The gold is now gone, but many of the original walls still remain intact, integrated into a Dominican convent, which has since taken over the space.
Getting back on board the bus, our tour group headed out of the city center into the hills surrounding Cuzco to visit some of the Incan archaeological sites. The first stop was Tambomachay where we had to climb a small hill to get to the ruins. During Incan times the stonework was used as a site for ritual bathing and hydraulic cascades of waters still remain, though they're no longer accessible. From Tambomachay, we went down to Q'enqo, another Incan ruin that features an underground chamber. No one is exactly certain of the chamber's function, but the theory is that the cold stone slab shaded from the sun was used for ritual sacrifices or embalming nobles. The last stop on the tour was at the Sacsayhuaman Fortress where we arrived just as the sun was setting. The site is known as a fortress because of its immense terrace walls made out of large polished dry stones that fit tightly together without mortar. It was definitely a magical sight to see as the sunset turned the rocks a rosy color.
On the way back down to Cuzco, we stopped at a warehouse where vendors tried to sell us all manner of alpaca wool garments, but the prices were pretty steep. When we arrived at the hotel, we convinced my dad to come join us for dinner where my mom and I ate pasta, but my dad could barely manage a few spoonfuls of soup. We learned the likely reason why a few days later. Apparently when up at high altitude, it can take a longer time to digest food. That's why my dad had trouble when he lay down in certain positions and why he had no appetite. Unfortunately, we realized this a bit too late, but luckily the problem soon solved itself when we headed down to a lower altitude the following day.
I'll post the photos tomorrow.
pictures please! :)
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