sf7307

Having trekked the Salkantay trail and spent time in Cusco, Lima and the Sacred Valley in March, I'm loving reading this - brings me right back to my "Peru high".

For now, I just wanted to comment on a couple of specifics:

And actually, the heights issue really didn't bother me too much, to be honest, even when the trail had a steep drop to one side. I have a much worse time, say, in tall church/clock towers in Europe --- My DH said the same thing. That little Eiffel Tower replica in Prague did him in, but he was fine on the trail, and he climbed Huayna Picchu.

I think we'll be doing the bus from Aguas Calientes

Almost everyone does the bus FROM Aguas Calientes (you can walk, but most don't). We took the bus to MP from AC, having trekked 6 days to get TO Aguas Calientes.

ms_go

We also took the bus down to AC, since the trek enters Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate. Then we took the bus back up and down the next day. I knew it was a steep road with a lot of switchbacks. I probably shouldn’t have <b>assumed</b> it was paved and had barricades between the road and the steep drop-off next to it. Or that the drivers take it at a slow and careful speed. There were a few turns where I was sure we were going over the side.

<b>Eating in Cusco (AKA, the only reason we came back from an Inca Trail trek without losing weight)</b>

In no particular order, we enjoyed the following (hope you’re hungry….):

<b>Inkazuela</b>
Good ceviche, hearty Peruvian stews and the first and perhaps best Pisco sour of the trip!
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...549f#h393e549f

<b>Marcelo Batata</b>
Good all around, including alpaca steak, papa relleno (a stuffed potato) and a particularly tasty shrimp and avocado appetizer. Fellow trekkers took part in the restaurant’s cooking class and reported that to be a good experience.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...549f#h29bc93bb

<b>Chicha</b>
The local restaurant of Peruvian celebrity chef, Gaston Acurio (who also happens to have a restaurant in Chicago!). Probably the best meal of the trip, with focus on checking off some Peruvian specialties: tiradito (kind of a cross between sashimi and carpaccio), lomo saltado and rocoto relleno (stuffed hot pepper).
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...ea0ca#h43ea0ca
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...549f#h3843559e

<b>Cicciolina</b>
A popular restaurant/wine and tapas bar with an upstairs location overlooking the archbishop’s palace. We tried to get in one evening and couldn’t, so we went back a different day and just enjoyed some wine and a tapas plate.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...a0ca#h3b6e9dbf

<b>Baco</b>
Sibling of Cicciolina, a few blocks away. Great South American wine selection and gourmet pizzas (try the one with fig!).

<b>Pachapapa</b>
Fun outdoor courtyard setting with bread cooking in the oven and live music; across from San Blas church. We ordered waaayyyy too much food, but it was all good, including ceviche, causa (a potato dish with tuna) and traditional Peruvian chicken stew, aji de gallina.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...e6fe#h2c06e6fe
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...e6fe#h2b6f7bf5

<b>Trujillo</b>
A more local type of restaurant near Qorikancha. The Lonely Planet book says it has the best aji de gallina in Cusco, and who are we to argue. The taku-taku wasn’t bad either.

<b>La Boheme</b>
Actually our first meal in Cusco. A little creperia on the hill above our hotel with some really refreshing homemade lemonade.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...72d9#h38d272d9

A few other notes. We did not try cuy. We tended to order too much food everywhere. And the atmosphere across the board was very casual, even in the more upscale restaurants. Some other patrons at Chicha were in hiking clothes.

tripplanner001

Enjoyed your report on Cuzco, and thanks for the dining suggestions. It's coming at just the right time. Did you dine at Astrid y Gaston while you were in Lima? I just received my confirmation this past weekend, and cannot wait.

sassy_cat

mlgb, Yes, I know about the train but the trail still appeals to me.
I like hiking, have no problem with heights and haven't experienced any problems except after a couple of cocktails once .
But the camping and the lack of showers.. I'd be miserable!

ms_go

Thanks, tripplanner001! Unfortunately, we did not. We arrived relatively late and didn't want to take chances on missing a reservation (for that or any restaurant) if our flight had been delayed. And on our last evening, we were advised to leave for the airport at 6 pm (which probably wasn't necessary). So we didn't get to enjoy Lima's dining scene or do the city justice, for that matter, other than a brief bit of sightseeing.

FYI, this month's "Three Perfect Days" feature in <i>Hemispheres Magazine</i> is on Lima, for anyone interested. I hadn't noticed that on my flights earlier in May and just discovered it as we started our trip down to Peru!

http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/2...ect-days-lima/

ms_go

<i>But the camping and the lack of showers.. I'd be miserable!</i>

I survived the lack of showers for a few days...but I've never been so happy to see a real, flushing toilet when we reached the main entrance of Machu Picchu!

mr_go

One more note about the excellent food we encountered in Peru... the lomo saltado at Chicha was the #1 best thing I tasted. In case you were wondering.

sf7307

But the camping and the lack of showers.. I'd be miserable!

that's why we did this trek (instead of what our guide pejoratively referred to as the "<I>commercial</I> Inca Trail"). We had both the luxury of the lodges, and many fewer people -- for the first five days of our trek, we saw only 3 people (total) who weren't somehow associated with our group. Once we hooked up with the Inca Trail on the next to last day, it was far more crowded.

http://mountainlodgesofperu.com/trekking.html

Only one person in our group was game enough to try cuy and he didn't like it that much. I certainly wasn't going to try it after the guide at the animal sanctuary we visited outside Cusco pointed to cuy in a cage and said "Lunch"

The food in Peru was uniformly excellent - along a scale from good to great - nothing that wasn't at least good.

mlgb

I am always interested in Peruvian food, at all price levels (although maybe not the over the top Astrid y Gaston). I've also been to two of the Mistura gastronomy fairs (2012 & 2013). Love the markets also, the one in Arequipa is probably my favorite.

It took me a while to try cuy. It was not the whole animal with the head and feet. If properly prepared, which is a skill, it can be quite tasty.

If you anyone would like to see my food albums, you can start here and then click around to find some others. (There are a few cuy in this one).

https://picasaweb.google.com/kiwifann/Mistura2012

P_M

Mr/ms_go, you are so right about Peruvian food, I think it's some of the best in the world and reasonably priced meals are easy to find. When I came back from the Inca Trail I had lost so much weight I felt like my pants were falling off, but after a few days of great food they were snug once again.

ms_go

mlgb, your food photos look amazing! I'll definitely want to spend some more time looking through these... Thanks for sharing!

We didn't put a lot of effort into our food photos. It was iPhones and existing lighting, which are not always a good combination.

<b>Warming up for the big walk: Pisac and Saqsaywaman</b>

<i>Come head on, full circle
Our path blocked but sure we'll
Make records, then set them.</i>

Originally we were planning to visit Pisac on the Thursday following our trek. But on our first full day in Cusco (also a Thursday), we awoke to nice sunshine and decided on the spur of the moment to move that day trip up a week. After breakfast, we had the hotel arrange a driver to take us from Cusco to the top of the ruins at Pisac for 70 soles. And at 9:30, we were off and rolling with Alejandro.

The drive meanders somewhat slowly across the mountains and then descends toward the town of Pisac in the Sacred Valley, then up again toward the top of the ruins. Our plan had been to walk down, explore the town and market and then take the bus back to Cusco. But we were starting to like this private driver thing…

Although Alejandro spoke almost no English and we spoke little Spanish, we managed to come to an understanding that he’d meet us at the market at 3 pm (can’t remember what we increased the payment to, but it seemed within reason).

We purchased our boleto turistico (good for 10 days/ all sites @ 130 soles per) and then set out into the ruins.

This was our first encounter with an Inca site (and stone steps), and we explored the area near the entrance thoroughly and enjoyed the nice views down over the terraces and to the other side of the valley.

Once we started walking on the path toward the town of Pisac, we discovered most visitors to this site (and it wasn’t jam-packed to start with) only explore the area near the entrance and then leave the way they came. From there on, we only saw a handful of people until we were back down in the town.

The Pisac ruins actually consist of several (three?) primary sets of buildings at various points…and those who stay only at the top miss some of the best parts—for example, the Intihuatana (astronomical clock/ calendar) is as notable as the one at Machu Picchu.

We began descending the terraces via a stone staircase that required holding on at some points (we hadn’t thought to bring the poles with us today), and eventually we heard the sounds of children playing on a playground near the town.

We thoroughly enjoyed the ruins (which rivaled pretty much anything we saw on the trip) and the walk. It’s a great walk, but not an insignificant one. And it pretty much ensured that we started the Inca Trail two days later with sore quads.

The remainder of our visit consisted of three notable things.

<b>Horno Colonial San Francisco</b>—a community oven in a courtyard, known for empanadas and other treats. Great! We were hungry, and even thirstier. We settled into chairs and began noticing exactly how quirky this little place was. The empanadas hit the spot, but not as much as the vegetable torte or whatever it was sitting near the oven. We never got a clear name for it.

In one corner of the courtyard is a multi-level “cuy castle,” and the little guys (guinea pigs) come running over every time someone approaches, like they want to be petted. That kind of ruined any interest I had in ordering cuy at any point on this trip.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...9eba0#h289eba0

And the family that runs this establishment was celebrating their son’s 19th birthday, and they were just pounding the beer at 1 pm (we joined for a couple).

Every once and awhile, a tourist or small group would wander in and take pictures of the oven and the guinea pigs (and probably us); occasionally someone would buy an empanada. But it was much more fun to sit for a while and watch all of this going on.

<b>The market.</b> We’re not really shoppers, and we are usually more likely to take photos in markets, which we did. Our real mission here was to look for a particular food vendor.

You see, a year ago, our daughter (DD) visited here and ate some food from this vendor…and several days later she was so sick she could barely set foot inside the gate at Machu Picchu, and one of her fellow Wisconsin Badgers ended up in the hospital in Cusco for two days. No, we weren’t going to do anything about this…she’d just told us to keep an eye out for this vendor under the big tree at the center of the market. And we were curious, that’s all.

But we became even more curious why we could not find the “big tree” at the center of the market that was supposed to be so obvious. Later, we read that it had been destroyed in a thunderstorm later last year after DD’s visit. Go figure!

<b>Going off road with Alejandro.</b> As we killed another couple of drinks on the balcony of the Blue Llama, we saw Alejandro arrive at our meeting spot a few minutes before 3 pm. We were soon heading back toward Cusco.

About 15-20 minutes into the drive, he suddenly pulls over to the side of the road in a small town and mumbles something about “problema.” We thought he’d said “no problema.” He looks ahead for a bit and then gets out and talks to a couple of people sitting on the sidewalk then goes into a building and then comes back out and starts the car—and whips it around. And a few hundred feet later, he pulls out onto a dirt road. Every few minutes, he stops to ask someone something, and the person kind of points him on ahead. As we go along, the dirt road gets rockier, and bumpier, and filled with puddles and holes. At some point, it’s just some tracks in the grass. But after a bit, we could start to see the main road getting closer, so it’s apparent he’s taking the “long route” to avoid something that was on that road—our guess is the police.

We did make it back without further incident, but for about 10-15 minutes, we kind of wondered what was going to come of our trip to Peru.

Pisac photos:
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/pisac

We’ve gone on much too long here, so briefly…

The next day—the day before our trek—we wanted to see Saqsaywaman. But then our tickets also included Tambomachay and a two other sites in between (Puka Pukara and Qenqo), so we figured it would be good to get our money’s worth. We asked the hotel desk about taking a taxi to Tambomachay and then walking down through the other sites, and what we heard that it wasn’t a bad walk…about a kilometer.

I think there was some misunderstanding.

We hired a taxi to take us to Tambomachay for some fairly reasonable price…and we kept driving and driving and driving. So once we got there, we quickly renegotiated and had the driver take us to all four stops. On another day, we’d probably be up for a healthy walk. But we didn’t want to strain our legs further on the day before starting the Inca Trail.

Our visits to the first three sites were relatively brief. They’re all different and interesting in their own way, and all worth the time. This is all kind of like going to Siem Reap: Angkor Wat is the big(gest) attraction, but by no means the only one. The more sites you visit, the richer your visit, the more you appreciate the history and the more all the pieces fit together.

Saqsaywaman is truly impressive. Those stones—both the size and how they fit intricately together and curve in the corners—are amazing.
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/p...46b0#h3e0546b0

We spent quite a bit more time here, over an hour. We returned later in the trip (and managed to talk our way in, even though our tickets were already punched), this time on foot from Cusco. We also climbed the hill to the Cristo Blanco while in the neighborhood. The people who saw Saqsaywaman from the deck of the tourist bus (yes, we saw you taking your photos from the road) missed out!

Saqsaywaman, etc., photos:
http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/saqsaywaman

And <b>finally,</b> we’re ready to move on to the Inca Trail.

P_M

BTW, I skipped the cuy. I was the only person in my group who didn't go to the restaurant where it was served. When the others returned they said it was awful. Maybe they didn't go to a good restaurant but I was quite glad I stayed at the hotel and enjoyed a good meal.

P_M

ms_go, we were posting at the same time. That must have been scary about the "problema," I wonder what he was up to.

Looking forward to more.

ms_go

P_M, it was a little scary, but we'd spent enough time with him at that point that I didn't get the feeling we were in any danger (from him)...just that he was trying to avoid something. Definitely weird, though! And while I feel I ate well in Peru, I don't feel I missed anything by skipping the cuy (I also took a pass on the alpaca).

<b>How on earth do you prepare for hiking the Inca Trail when you live in Northern Illinois (aka, the “flatlands”)?</b>

The Inca Trail covers approximately 26 miles (45 kilometers) over three-plus days, not a lot of it on flat terrain. Altitude or no altitude, it requires decent conditioning.

We have long been avid walkers (note: NOT runners), but we felt it prudent to step that up a bit in the months before our trek. The problem, though, is that our home area offers neither elevation nor anything that could be called a “hill” (aside from the local landfill).

We do have some long walking trails accessible from our home that enable us to take good 2-3 hour, 8-10 mile walks at a healthy pace (4 mph). Unfortunately, this interminable winter ensured that we weren’t able to make many of these walks in advance. In fact, it was virtually impossible to walk outside prior to mid-April. Even if the temperatures hovered above freezing, the icy trails (and/or un-cleared sidewalks) were a recipe for sprained ankles or worse. We finally did get in a few substantial walks during the last few weeks before the trip, and for one weekend we did so in the shoes/boots we’d be using on the trail.

Otherwise, it was religious treadmill action (we have a good one in our guest bedroom). No excuses…get on it at least five days per week, or more, and don’t be afraid to set the incline in the 8-10% range.

We talked about practicing with daypacks on but never did that. For us, I’m not sure it would have made a difference. Our packs weren’t that heavy (we sprung for the extra porter).

We hadn’t used hiking poles before, so perhaps it would have helped to practice with those in advance, but I’m not sure. They were most useful on the downhill steps, and there really isn’t any way to simulate that here.

We went into the trip confident that we’d done what we could. But was it enough??

sf7307

Mr/ms_go, you are so right about Peruvian food, I think it's some of the best in the world and reasonably priced meals are easy to find. When I came back from the Inca Trail I had lost so much weight I felt like my pants were falling off, but after a few days of great food they were snug once again.

No such luck on our trek - the food was too good!

Mr and AMS Go, I also trained mostly on the treadmill, doing a few outdoor hikes up and down the hills in San Francisco. My husband, who is naturally fit, did absolutely nothing to get in shape other than those couple of hikes, and did fine, so it's possible.

sartoric

Thanks for a fascinating report, Peru is high on my long list.

I wouldn't eat the cute guinea pigs either, though Alpaca seems more like a farm animal along the lines of sheep, cows and pigs, which I enjoy with only occasional guilt pangs.

I like your wit and style, please keep it coming.

ms_go

Every time I go to the Bay Area and walk on the hills, I imagine what great shape I <i>could</i> be in if I lived there (wishful thinking).

We'll get to this in a bit, but our trek had good food considering the circumstances, and plenty of it. But despite the exertion, my appetite actually went down for those few days.

Thanks, sartoric. We're working on "the hike" and will start posting today.

colduphere

"And a few hundred feet later, he pulls out onto a dirt road."

I would have thought it was all over. Bandits around the corner. Time to write on my wrist "I leave everything to the kids except my CD collection".

mr_go

<b>The Hike, Part 1: We Meet the Group, the Trail... and the Mule of Shame</b>

<i> Yes a heart should always go one step too far,
Come the morning and the day winding like dreams...</i>

You come to Cusco and you spend the first day resting and adjusting to the altitude. You spend the second day going strange places, seeing cool things, and eating & drinking well. But you spend most of your third day in a state of elevated anticipation, really. And then comes the day you’ve been dreaming of and preparing for.

Our morning started very, very early. The van from Enigma pulled up just before 4:00am, and we were ready for it. Hell, we were ready for anything at that point. We were the first two in our group to be gathered; next came the young honeymoon couple from London, then the German-British baby doctor, then 50-something New Zealand couple (veteran trekkers and marathoners, both), and finally a hip 30-something couple from Brooklyn (but originally Kansas).

For the most part, we rode together in dark and bumpy silence through the early morning hours en route to our destination, the embarkation point of the Camino Inca at kilometer #82 of the rail line. We enjoyed a fast, light breakfast with the group while our guide, Ludwig, went over the particulars of our day’s hike again. Next came a brief, official check of passports at the starting point, and the crossing of a bridge astride the rushing river, and then... we were there. We were walking the Inca Trail, at last.

The walking poles and staffs came out right away, including the recently-acquired sticks brought by the Brit honeymooners... essentially mop-handles with brightly-colored socks covering the top and the rubber foot of your grandma’s cane on the bottom. Ms_go and I each carried a single, sturdy staff that can fold to nearly nothing in a moment. They came in handy, believe me.

After about 90 minutes of relatively flat walking, the trail began to climb. And not long into our climb, we passed a small village and saw a pale, forlorn teen girl coming down the path in the opposite direction, riding on the back of a mule attended by a couple of local porters. A short while later, Ludwig explained to us that this is what happens when Inca Trail hikers can’t make it all the way...they ride back to the train on a pack-mule.

“The Mule of Shame” someone said aloud (ok, it was me, with an ironic touch of doom in my voice), eliciting a few chuckles from the group. And thus was born the first recurring in-joke of our group over the next 4 days, with many more to follow. Hey, it was a jolly group. But there was something just a little bit flinty lurking behind the mirth of that first quip. Like an unspoken challenge, as if we needed yet another. Ask not for whom <i>la mula</i> calls...

The trail climbed higher into the hills, and became something of a workout. Unlike other groups, Enigma likes to start early (we were the first group through the control booth on our morning) and to push well up the mountain on Day 1. That puts us farther along the trail than other groups, so we get the trail and the first two nights’ campsites mostly to ourselves for the rest of the way. It also makes Day 2 less of a chore, which is a good thing.

We fell into a rhythm fairly soon on the first day. Every once in a while we stopped for a brief rest here and there, observed various flora and fauna (there were a few orchid enthusiasts among us, and no shortage of them on the trails!), stopped for lunch midday, and stopped to learn about Inca culture at regular intervals. We also stopped to observe and explore various Inca sites along the way each day... Llactapata on day 1, Runkurakay and Sayaqmarka on day 2, Phuyupatamarca and the astounding Wiñay Wayna on day 3. Ludwig proved to be a knowledgeable and patient teacher of ancient Andean folklore, art and beliefs, and his explanations brought a great deal of context to these sites that would have been lacking otherwise.

A special note about Wiñay Wayna... I said it at the time and I’ll say it again: even if Machu Picchu didn’t exist, this remarkable site would probably be worth the trek all by itself. And that’s exactly the way we got to experience it...all by itself. No other visitors there besides our group! In contrast with the madding crowd of tourists to come later, it served as a welcome prelude.

Coming Next... more about life on the trail.

Inca Trail Day 1 photos:

http://onelittleworld.zenfolio.com/incatrail_day1

Axel2DP

I enjoyed your pictures mr_go.

I do regret not taking enough photographs when I did the Inca Trail back in 2009, but I was really affected by the altitude and was severely lagging behind the rest of my group. I wish I could've spent the time at Winay Wayna like you did. It's gorgeous.