Tuesday, June 2 - Going Home

Today was back to the USA day. Easy travel day. Cusco to Lima, Lima to San Salvador, 6 hour layover, San Salvador to San Francisco, San Francisco to home. In all it took about 22 hours from the time we got in that Cusco cab to the time we walked through the front door of our home. We were tired and I was ill for the next two days. I think we should stopped half way in Costa Rica and spent a couple of days on the beach. Maybe we will try that next time, but I am always in a rush to get back to work after a trip.

There is one thing I wish we could have done, and that is to have taken more pictures of the "real" Peru. These are the images of the cities, towns, and villiages where people actually live. The crowded dwellings on urban dirt roads, or all the women washing their clothes in the river. I found these images fascinating, but of course the tour buses don't stop for these views and you don't make time to go out on your own to take these pictures. But we did capture a few of those images, so here they are.

Catholic Procession Notice the adobe bricks drying in the sun Taquille Boy

Monday, June 1 - Cusco

This was the final day in Peru. I think we were all ready to go home. We had a half day bus tour of Cusco in the afternoon. For the morning we had nothing planned and so we had a slow breakfast, and then we basically did nothing. We went back to the pizza place for lunch and then waited for our bus to arrive.

The tour wasn't so bad, churches and Inca ruins. You know the usual stuff. I will say that the large ruins just outside of Cusco called Sacsayhuaman were interesting and provided great views of Cusco and the surrounding mountains. The main cathedral in Cusco is very interesting, especially the huge painting of the Last Supper. Except in this painting, Guinea Pig is being served to Jesus and the Apostles. Remember, Guinea Pig is delicacy and eaten for celebrations in Peru. However, we had the most incredibly disrespectful people with us on the tour.

Can you believe it. The worst people we met on the entire trip were from Texas. I suspect incest was involved. They had no interest in listening to the guide. They would have loud conversations while the guide was talking. They would take off from the rest of the group. Actually that was a good thing, except at least one of them was late getting back to the bus at every stop. At one stop the entire bus booed when one of the latecomers finally showed up. Then we couldn't make the last stop, an alpaca wool shop, which we had been told was a good place to buy alpaca wool items and learn about how to determine if a garment is fake alpaca. Becky had a bit of a fit, and finally the Texans were silenced. Why in the world did these people get on the bus in the first place.

So with great relief we were back at the hotel. We went to a restaurant in the San Blas area. The restaurant was called Pacha Papa and was highly recommended by Fodor's. I was tempted to try the Guinea Pig, but opted for clay pot chicken. It was delicious, and was complimented with a glass of Chilean cabernet. The seating was in an outdoor square with heat lamps. A harpest played in the background while we viewed the constellation of the Southern Cross just overhead. You know we had great meals in Peru, but this was the best of all.

Viva Peru!

The ruins of Sacsayhuaman Highest peak near Cusco, Ausangate - 20,943 feet The Cathedral in Cusco

Sunday, May 31 - Sacred Valley

It was Sacred Valley tour day. We took an all inclusive big bus tour. All entrance fees and lunch were included. It was going to to be a full day. The Sacred Valley is one of the standard tourist attractions of Peru. The valley is full of Inca ruins in a picturesque setting.

We were told that the bus would arrive at 8:00am. That was great so we could sleep in and have some breakfast. This was another of those strange situations where the organizer arrives 20 to 25 minutes early to try to get you going faster. I think the organizers must work on commission and the sooner they can get you on the bus the sooner they can get to the next order of business. I was having none of it. We took a leisurely breakfast, a very nice one I might add. The omlettes were excellent. Then we met the organizer at 8:05am and the bus pulled up shortly after.

Here is how the tour went:

• Pisac The town of Pisac was the first stop. The highlight is the open air market. The local Andean population comes to this to market to buy and sell agricultural products and clothing. There are also plenty of usual tourist items as well.
• Pisac Ruins Inca argicultural terraces and gravesites are found here.
• Urubamba We stopped here for our buffet lunch. It was good. I had stewed Alpaca ribs. Very tasty.
• Ollantaytambo This is a large and very interesting ruins with large terraces, living areas, and a temple to the Sun. Aside from the ruins there was a festival going on as part of a Catholic holy day. Some of the particpants were in a large arena where music was being played. There were a number of horses just outside the arena, but we did not see what part they played. There was also a large procession with participants is colorful attire.
• Chinchero A quaint town high on a mountain top. We went to a co-op where they make wool items. We were given a demonstration about how the wool is prepared, dyed, and weaved for garments. Becky bought a table runner, and Tristan and I bought traditional wool hats.

After the tour, we headed for the San Blas section of Cusco. We had stayed in this area the first time we were in Cusco, but we never had time to explore. San Blas is in a hilly area with narrow cobblestone streets. We had a nice dinner at a place called Macondo with an artsy decor. The cusine is Neuevo-Peruvian. For the second time in one day I had Alpaca with a tasty potato dish.

Pisac Market Potatoes!! Pisac Market Pisac Market Fresh meat anyone? Above the Sacred Valley Preparing the Wool The town of Chinchero