Peru - Day 8, 9 & 10

Friday, May 23, 2008 – Cusco, Peru – Monestario Hotel

So another night of tossing and turning. I think I am ready to attribute my sleeplessness to the altitude. We are really close to nature here – river running and birds chirping. My little bungalow was apparently near the path of the bird tour, so that was what initially woke me up at 5am. Then when I tried to burrow back under the covers, I looked at the wall and… a HUGE spider. HUGE, bigger than my hand HUGE! That pretty much woke me up and there was no going back to sleep!

At that point, I figured I might as well grab breakfast and start the day. I wandered the streets and did a little shopping - bought some jewelry and a few trinkets. Then I found a little street café and watched the world go by – so many excited tourists!

At noon, I jumped on the train to Ollantaytambo. I met five guys from Houston on a Bachelor’s Party TRIP and so it was a ton of fun to talk to them. It made the 1.5hrs go by very quickly. There was also a “show” on the train – they had some native dancers perform and sing in the aisle. Neat idea, except the singing was horrible. Being a horrible singer myself, I can recognize horrible singing and THAT was horrible singing! But amusing/entertaining nonetheless! The singing and dancing were followed by an Alpaca wool fashion show (to ABBA’s Dancing Queen) and then naturally, we could buy the sweaters, hats and shawls they were modeling. It doesn't get cold enough in California for wool so I didn't buy anything!

I parted ways with my new Texas friends at the train station and I found my way back to Cusco. The route back to Cusco was through the Sacred Valley, but it was so pretty that I enjoyed seeing it all again.

I made it back to Cusco by 4pm which barely gave me enough time to check-in to the hotel – The Monsaterio (Probably the nicest hotel I have EVER stayed in - I could get used to 5-star hotels :)) – grab a guide and see a few things in the city. Thankfully the hotel was centrally located so it was easy to see a lot of the main sights. Cusco is an amazing city – I really enjoyed it.

The first stop was the Plaza de Armas – the main square. The Festival de Corpus Christi had started that week and I was, inadvertently, lucky I was there that week. I couldn’t take pictures inside La Catedral, but it was amazing. As part of the festival, all the local churches march the statues of their Patron Saints into La Catedral and so there were 17 (?) statues on display inside the church. They will be there the whole week and then they will be marched back to their home churches. It was quite unique.

The church itself was also amazing. It was built in 1550 (a LONG time ago!) and had some awesome colonial art and intricate woodwork throughout. One of the most interesting pieces of art was a painting of the Last Supper, but the main dish in the center of the table was a Guinea Pig!

After leaving the church, we then headed to Qorikancha, Temple of the Sun. The temple was used by Incan priests to monitor celestial activities, but is currently the base of the Convent Santo Domingo. The stonework was amazing. At one time the walls were covered in Gold, but were looted by the Spaniards and so we can only guess at what it must have looked like.

Because we were crunched for time, we dashed to Incan ruins, Saqsaywaman, which were 15 minutes outside of the city. The ruins have both religious and military significance. The site is one of the bitterest battles of Spanish Conquest and marks the end of the Incan Rebellion. By the time we finished walking the ruins, it was cold and I was wiped out so it was back to the hotel for me!

I had a chance to explore the grounds of the hotel for a bit and even in the dark, the grounds and gardens were amazing. The hotel is on the site of 16th century cloisters with Jesuit roots.

After exploring a bit, I showered, ordered room service and then watched a little TV. Even in Spanish, “Full House” is funny :). Get this – the hotel is so fancy that to help with the elevation, the pump Oxygen into the rooms! Hopefully, I’ll sleep well!


Saturday, May 24, 2008 – Puno, Peru – Libertador Hotel

I was up bright and early to catch a ride to the train station. Today, I rode the Orient Express (in Peru) from Cusco to Puno. Our train was called the “Andean Explorer.” I had the option to take a bus, hire a car or fly, but I thought the train ride sounded fun and a neat way to see the countryside. So for the next 10 hours I saw a lot of the Peruvian countryside.

The train itself was very comfortable and I had my own little dining table. There was a couple from Colorado at the table next to me, an Italian couple on their Honeymoon in front of me, an Australian Couple and a German couple behind me. It made for quite an interesting journey.

I am glad I did the train option, but 10 hours is a long time! They served us food, kept us entertained and let us walk around. As we passed through the various towns, people would come out of their houses to wave at us. The cutest were the kids who were waving so hard I thought they’d fall over!

So for 10 hours I chatted with the people around me, listened to my Ipod, read a book, wrote in my journal and looked out the window. The train only made one stop and so we were able to get off and walk around a little bit. Naturally, the stop also had street vendors selling Peruvian trinkets.

All in all, it was a nice way to see the country and slowly climb to 14,000ft. By the time we pulled into the Puno Train Station, it was dark. But I managed to find my luggage and get to the hotel – Libertador, same chain I stayed at in Arequipa. Very nice, but I am tired and ready to go to bed!

Sunday, May 25, 2008 – Puno, Peru – Libertador Hotel

I was up at 5am because the hotel clerk told me I would have an amazing view of the sunrise and he wasn’t lying! It was spectacular and I watched the sunrise over Lake Titicaca!

Today my tour guide was Betty. Betty picked me up at 7am and we took a speedboat to the Uros Islands in Lake Titicaca. I am not even sure how to describe the islands! They aren’t even islands; they are floating boats – made of straw. Each “island” is home to about 7 families and if you want you can actually spend the night with one of the families – not an option I chose! The islands are obviously very wet and cold and we were allowed to look in the homes. Sadly they are a bit commercialized, but still nothing like I have ever seen! We visited two islands and traveled between them on a reed boat. I was on the boat with the couple from Colorado I had met on the train, so it was fun to chat and take pictures with them.

After we were done exploring the Uros Islands, then it was back on the speed boat to go to Taquile Island. Taquile is a really island of about 2,000 inhabitants and it is like traveling back in time. We hiked for about two hours and the altitude was a bit daunting. I was definitely breathing heavily, but we made it to the top of the island and the view was worth the effort!

The Main Square was interesting and fun to explore. It included a church and you often hear that Peru is 95% Catholic. However, I *think* their Catholicism is more broadminded than what I expected. Many have never attended a Mass and their churches, at least in the rural communities, have heavy Incan influences with Sun, Mountain and Water worship.

The people of the island were very friendly and opened up their homes to us for lunch. I even ate trout :( so as to not appear rude! The bread was yummy. And as entertainment, the children performed various native dances for us. It was a nice experience and I enjoyed the glimpse of a different culture largely untouched my modern conveniences.

After lunch we caught the boat back to Puno and I was barely able to keep my eyes open for dinner!

Love,
Kathleen