Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Road to Ruins; Lew in Peru - June/July, 2008
“So how do I get to the Sacred Valley?” asked the middle-aged American - at Norton’s Rat Tavern – No Disco, my favorite bar in downtown Cuzco, Peru. “You staying at a nice hotel?” She nodded and I said, “They’ll know a driver or two. They’ll set you up.”
As for me, traveling independently, five weeks in Peru, mostly in Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, it got weirder when the locals began asking me for directions. At any rate, I could get to the Sacred Valley for just a fistful of soles, Peru’s latest currency.
Lying north of Cuzco on the tourist route to Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley includes Inca ruins, interesting towns (Pisaq, Ollantaytambo, Urubamba), ancient villages, towering mountains and fast-flowing rivers (the Vilcanota/Urubamba River).
Cuzco, center of the Inca Empire, laid out in the shape of a puma, is the center of the world for tourists visiting Peru. Originally called the navel of the world, a gorgeous city and World Heritage site, it looks and feels dream-like and that’s not just the altitude. At 11,000 feet and relatively near the equator, it gets dark by 5:30PM and it gets cold. Real cold. Nighttime June temps hover between 30 to 35 Fahrenheit and most places don’t even have heat. Ritzier hotels may provide heat (and oxygen) but most do not. The only warm places at night are selected restaurants and bars. Due to the cold it’s surprising how early tourists and travelers find themselves going to bed.
I was leaving Cuzco the next morning for the Sacred Valley. One route goes northeast through Sacsayhuaman and Pisaq while the other goes due north through Chinchero, towards the middle of the valley, which runs north of Cuzco. If you follow the Vilcanota River west, you’ll arrive at the foot of Machu Picchu. But getting there gets complicated.
And it highlights some dualities about contemporary Peru. There are two ways to travel in Peru; on a group tour or independently. Peru is inundated with group tours which generally separate the tourists from the Peruvians. Likewise, you could also differentiate between local vs. foreign and cheap vs. expensive. The closer you are to where you’re going, the cheaper your costs. Make tour arrangements at home, chances are you’ll pay more. Make them in Cuzco, it’s less and make them traveling locally and independently and it’s even cheaper.
Someone once said, “No one learns anything traveling first class”, and it defines how and why
my wife and I travel so much. For us it’s the greatest chance to learn about another place in depth; language, culture, people, politics, food, music. Peruvian music alone is worthy of a long visit as there are traditional huaynos (remember Paul Simon’s “El Condor Pasa”?) and cheesy, electronic Musica Chicha, blasting from every bus and storefront.
Getting to Machu Picchu is the goal of most visitors, as the Peruvians remind you, “Machu Picchu is Peru.” Tourists must take the “foreigners only” trains at foreign prices, from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. We of course chose another way. We were staying in Urubamba for a week, a small city in the Sacred Valley, studying Spanish and living with a sweet Peruvian family. They suggested, “Instead of leaving from Cuzco, why don’t you skip class Wednesday and go to Machu Picchu instead? It’s the quietest day; fewer tours.”
So here’s what we did: Got up at 4:30AM and left at 5 for nearby Ollantaytambo, where a train left at 6. Ollantaytambo is more than halfway to Machu Picchu from Cuzco, so the trip is way shorter and theoretically less expensive. We took a motorcycle taxi from our house to the bus station, caught a combi - combis are well used Toyota vans - for the half hour ride to Ollantaytambo, then another motorcycle taxi to the train station, arriving with barely two minutes to spare. Motorcycle taxis, called motos, are motorcycles with two wheels in the back used for local in-town trips. They can hold two people and a bit of luggage.
Peru’s transportation system seems anarchic but it works; sort of. Each bus line has its own bus station in every town. A few towns have a central bus station, but don’t necessarily include every bus line. That’s why you always tell the taxi drivers where you are ultimately going, so they know where and at what station to drop you off. Besides taxis and combis, there are colectivos, costing less than taxis, more than combis and are usually sedans, not vans - with fewer passengers and fewer stops. Cheaper combis pick up as many people as they can stuff, sometimes 15 or 20 with luggage on top. Buses are slow but dirt cheap. Most stop everywhere, but if not in a rush you can meet the locals and often a chicken or two. Hence the phrase “chicken bus”.
Our train to Machu Picchu took an hour and a half to get to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes is accessible only by train, sometimes never, as there can be landslides, flooding and labor or peasant unrest. There are local Peruvian trains that travel this route and several strictly available for foreigners. You can even walk, using the Inca Trail bypassing Aguas Calientes but that takes four days and costs just as much. For that matter you can hike for free from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu up a well marked trail, but you’ll probably be too tired to enjoy the ruins.
Upon arrival I began calling Aguas Calientes, Gatlinburg, as it’s the same kind of ultra commercial, touristy burg at the foot of scenic mountains, beside a rushing river. Like Gatlinburg, everything is for sale, minus the candied apples. Being Peru however, the power was out, and we purchased our Machu Picchu admission at the park entrance on top of the mountain. To get there we rode fancy, comfy Mercedes buses, though the road up was on a narrow one lane dirt road; fourteen switchbacks, no railings, no chickens. At the top admission was $40.00 dollars US, payable only in Peru’s nuevo soles. When prices are quoted in US dollars, that’s usually what’s required. But, with the weakening of our currency, it’s in less demand. Official park rules for admission state “no backpacks” and “no food” so you can imagine the high cost of food and lodging there. We smuggled in our daypacks as they were filled with massive homemade lunches - sandwiches, fruit and a thermos of hot coca tea, the local cure for altitude, hunger and upset stomachs. By the way, a room at the Machu Picchu Lodge costs a cool $915.00 dollars; over $1,000 with a view!
It was raining in Aguas Calientes and a chilly rain was waiting for us at the summit.No postcard, sunrise arrival for us, just gray mist and no view. Instead of awe inspiring grandeur, all we saw were tourists in multicolored plastic rain ponchos walking into clouds. So much for the dry season.
Eventually, the clouds lifted and we were treated to a spectacle of an ancient city clinging to a mountaintop surrounded by fluffy, white clouds, both above and below. It was OK waiting out the rain by sheltering in a 500 year old Inca hut, but it was even better getting out and exploring the vast acropolis. Unfortunately, the crowds were awesome as well so we made a beeline in the opposite direction. A friendly park attendant had suggested we head away from the ruins on an Inca trail heading towards Intipunku, the Doorway of the Sun, the official end of the Inca Trail, where exhausted hikers get their first glimpse of the ruins. The hikers we met were too exhausted to appreciate the spectacle saying, “We just want a hot shower. We’re soooo tired.”
These ruins are extraordinary simply because they were never discovered nor seen by the conquistadores. They were not seen by outsiders until 1911 when intrepid American Hiram Bingham first took note. As a result, the buildings weren’t leveled nor were other buildings built upon the foundations. Here the entire city is intact and the mountaintop is dotted with buildings, ruins, trails and unexcavated sites. In fact throughout Peru people are regularly discovering new sites, buildings and even mummies. Traveling here one feels like an explorer rather than a tourist and the mountains are so inspirational that many say the sights bring them to tears.
We took the trail to Intupunku, winding along a cliff. There were various stopping points, many unmarked, all of them mini-Machus or what looked like Inca rest stops. Now the weather was hot in the sun and cool in the shade. The snow packed peaks of the surrounding cordillera became visible. By 2:30PM the massive tour groups left the ruined city and we made our way back, descending past the Inca guardhouse and wandering through the roofless remnants of a once powerful city.
The park closes at sunset and we caught one of the last buses down. We returned to Aguas Calientes - still no power - but we found cold Cusqueno beers at the foreigners-only train station. This train station had power, using generators, hence the cold beer plus working computers, enabling us to catch an earlier train. We found the correct train (no signs); tired, sun-baked and altitude sickened, but we didn’t care. As long as we got back to Urubamba, we were happy. We were back in sweet home Urubamba by 8 and exhausted, in bed by nine.
In Peru, we spent most of our time in Cuzco and the Sacred Valley but managed several trips beyond. Places like Quillabamba are beyond the mountains surrounding the Sacred Valley. Called the high jungle, it’s warmer, as it’s at a lower altitude, and much buggier. Buses and combis are irregular and we once rode back to town on top of a farm truck. Nice views from up there. We shared the space with some Quechua speaking folk, sacks of coffee, organic bananas – they offered us some – a dog and a chicken.
Another trip was to Lares with possibly the best hot springs in Peru. It’s a rough dirt-road, bus trip over and around 20,000 foot peaks but worth the effort. There’s nothing like sitting in natural, volcanic hot springs in the middle of the night, looking up at millions of stars on a clear, crisp night and letting the water massage away your aches and pains.
Peru is making rapid economic progress but is still is not a toilet paper country. Hot showers are readily available but mostly they are the dangerous electric-wiring-above-the-shower-head variety. Lima, Cuzco and the Sacred Valley are the most expensive places in Peru to visit, though still a bargain for most Americans. No visas are necessary, unlike many other South American countries now practicing reciprocity.
Foodies take note: you should recognize differing cultural attitudes toward food, as you wouldn’t want to eat what at home would be considered your pet. For example, the most popular meal on special occasions in Peru is cuy or guinea pig and cuyerias abound. We were roped into eating one and I must say, they don’t taste like chicken. They’re actually better.
Other foods, especially soups are great. Soups use quinoa, a high altitude wheat/barley substance that is healthful and tasty. On the other hand many dishes use llama or alpaca and the favorite Peruvian street meat, called anticuchos, are actually sliced beef hearts on a stick.
On your way out of Peru beware the hefty airport exit tax, provided you find the hidden alcove
where you pay. You can’t leave until your boarding pass is stamped paid. In Peru it’s $30.00 dollars and change. Cash only. And if you’re stuck at the Lima Airport, like I was, the Starbuck’s on the second floor has some really comfy chairs.
Written by Lew Herman, August, 2008.
Featured in Uptown Charlotte Magazine, October 2008
http://uptownclt.com/content/view/214/2/
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