Final day in Lima, and final thoughts about Peru

Our final full day in Peru! We're not sure what to do, and don't wanna spend any $$. From our hostel in Miraflores, we decide to walk 2km to see this adobe pyramid that the LP guidebook says is free. They LIED. It costs 7 soles. and looked really pathetic from the outside, so we didn't go in.

Instead, that afternoon we catch a bus to Lima Centrale. That was definately an experience. The main plaza was filled (as usual) with lovely colonial buildings. We were intrigued by the presence of a police armored vehicle with a water cannon mounted on its roof:


We also went to Chinatown. It was the most chaotic Chinatown I've ever seen. In my entire life. There were people EVERYWHERE. and half of them were trying to sell you underwear, skipping ropes, brooms... it was incredible. Also of note were the men with the big boobs and cute behinds:


*grin*

We had a good time exploring Chinatown. Not much else to say about Lima, apart from the fact that Chris, whom we first met on day 1 without his camera, is STILL at the Samay Wasi, waiting for his mother to send him a new one.


In summary, Peru was awesome. The food was generally good, the sights were spectacular, the people were friendly, and the entire south american vibe was weird and wonderful. Much thanks to JM, Jon, Bert and Char for coming along, and being great travel companions. (One observation about traveling with guys-- they are ALWAYS hungry. ALWAYS.)

I also got a deep dark tan, and nice rosy cheeks that last to this day.

My next trip: Bolivia! Details to follow next year. =).

Machu Picchu At Last!

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to buy our MP tix (a hefty 60 soles pax for students), and caught the first bus (5.30am) up to the site (round trip tix costs 36 soles -- this is turning out to be an expensive trip).

Upon entering the site, we dutifully take the first left turn as instructed by the guidebook, and emerge upon a terrace with the classic postcard view of Machu Picchu:


There! Isn't it pretty??? Note how the mountains behind kinda looks like the face of an Inca -- on the right is the forehead, the big one (Wayna Picchu) is the nose, followed by the lips and the chin. Cool, right?? At the time the picture was taken, the sun was still taking it's time to emerge from behind the surrounding mountains, so only Wayna Picchu is nicely illuminated. But when the sun came completely out, the view was even more spectacular.

We spent the next couple hours just exploring the site,


glorifying at the incredible stonework,


watching the free-roaming llamas that were grazing on the grass,


and climbing Wayna Picchu.


It was great. I was almost afraid of going because with such anticipation, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. But MP did not disappoint. It was every bit as beautiful and spectacular and wonderful as all the guidebooks and blogs and websites say it is. I mean, it's a charming stone-city set atop a hill, surrounded by awe-inspiring mountains. Just the sun reflecting off the buildings is cool. Add the lush surroundings and you've got a sure-winner. It's amazing to imagine the Incans living here, terracing the slopes, running off on the trail to other cities... btw, the rows upon rows of agricultural terraces make me dizzy. If you're an Incan suffering from vertigo, you're in big big trouble.

Then we took the bus back and looked for lunch. To our amazement and delight, all the restuarants at Aguas Calientes had cuy! Finally! They roast it in a stone oven, and it tastes pretty good. A little stringy (think tough village chicken) but I like the slight chewyness. Charmaine couldn't eat very much because she kept thinking of how cute they look when they were alive-- ironic because she was such a proponent of eating cuy in the first place.


Not much else to say about MP. The next morning we returned to Cusco, and the morning after flew back to Lima. One quick observation about the Cusco airport: it kinda worked like a bus terminal: We check in, and give them our bags. They staple number tags on your bag, put them on a cart, and bring it to the back of the office, which leads to.... the runway. It was a bit of a surprise. but we ended up safely in Lima, so all is well.

Cusco and the Sacred Valley

It was with great excitement that we set off for the last leg of our journey-- Cusco and Machu Picchu! MP, the legendary 'Lost City of the Incas', was my primary motivation for coming to Peru in the first place.

After an epic 9hr bus ride from Puno to Cusco (involving a bus driver who would stop for inordinately long and unexplainable lengths of time; loud latin music, all of which seem to be lamenting this woman named 'Mariesol'; lights that would flash on and off; a little girl that started playing footsie with me...), we finally arrive with our nerves shaken, but intact. We drop our bags off at the Pirwa Hotel at the Plaza de San Francisco (nice place, free internet, but barely any hot water in the evenings), and head to the Plaza des Armes for some chow.

Cusco is wonderfully quaint. Cobblestone streets, narrow roadways, beautiful plazas. Unfortunately, the Plaza is a huge tourist trap. We were immediately accosted by one heckler after another, promoting this bar, or that restaurant, promising free Pisco Sours, etc. Didn't help that it was 10pm, and there were hardly any tourists around except us. Still. We wanted to have guinea pig (cuy), but it takes 2 hrs to prepare, so we settled for a place that had alpaca meat. Alpaca is a llama relative. 100% alpaca wool feels like merino, but smoother, and is well worth the hefty price tag. Alpaca meat is very tender-- slightly more succulent than beef. But it has a slight gamy-ness, though not as strong as lamb. It reminds me of venison. I really liked it. *salivating at the memory*

The next day was Christmas eve! The entire stretch of Plaza de SF - Plaza des Armes became a huge fair/market. Vendors had little stalls as far as the eye could see, selling typical Christmas wares-- fireworks, fruit cake, brandy, and cute little animal figurines for DIY nativity scenes!!! There was also the usual tourist stuff. It was fun. We were very tempted to buy a fruitcake. None of us liked fruitcake... but we somehow felt this incredible peer pressure (?) to get one, since they were everywhere, and everyone seemed to be buying them. I am happy to report our success at resisting temptation. Instead, we bought our train tix to MP and took a collectivo taxi to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. (On the way, our driver made a stop at his home in Urubamba, so he could drop off some tires with his parents. We were told to hang out at the Plaza to take pictures...)


The next day, we decided to explore the ruins at Pisac. It's an Incan fortress perched on the hillside, and the entire site is way larger than MP. It was surprisingly fun to explore. The guys especially were scrambling up the omg-are-these-steps-or-crumbling-slides, going through the tunnels, climbing to the top of little outposts etc with evident enjoyment. Charmaine and I were pretending to be Incan guards on patrol, scanning the hills opposite and valley floor below for signs of invaders. It was great!!! We also met a German couple who had lived in Singapore for some years, and were delighted to once again meet *german accent*: "SING-GA-PORE GIRLS".


We search in vain for cuy (guinea pig) for lunch. After lunch, I finally ask a nice man if he's heard of these 'castles of cuy'. We follow his directions, and end up... HERE:


Oh Joy! They are so cute! And they make cute gobbledy noises! We're really upset that we didn't find this place before lunch, although how would we be able to eat roast cuy while sitting next to their adorable and alive brethren???

Ah well. We catch a bus back to Olly, passing towns that had multiple processions of maidens in white dresses and weird face masks, in celebration of Christmas (Navidad). ???

That evening we take the train to Aguas Calientes, the nearest town to MP.