Day 8: Cusco

Spent the day exploring Cusco. Beautiful colonial architecture. I feel conflicted about gushing over anything colonial (like the French concession districts in Asia... etc...), but I can't deny that it's visually attractive. Cusco was the site of the capital of the Inca Empire, so there are ruins lying beneath some of the buildings as well as some preserved around the city.


It also has an artistic city culture, with plenty of galleries and people selling art on the street.


Of the major cities, I think this is the place to shop for souvenirs. But it turns out those little vendors along the tour routes in Colca have the best quality and price. I loved all the little embroidered pouches, headbands, and assorted trinkets.

Peru day 7: Huayna Picchu, Maras, and Cusco

Ok I realized I'm never going to finish these posts so I will just post the pictures and give some quick descriptions. Days 1-6 were timely written but I started getting too exhausted to write my overly long entries :P

In the morning we climbed Huayna Picchu. We almost didn't get to climb-- would you believe the people right in front of us were numbers 199 and 200 to be let in? They wrote the numbers on the tickets. I was like ooooooomg I can't believe this is happening after waking up at 415 and waiting in line. There were a ton of people waiting at the top of the mountain already even though we were the third bus in.

About half the line for the bus that had formed by 5 am. Turned out to be hundreds more already waiting up at Machu Picchu.

Anyway we walked around MP a bit, actually took some amazing llama/cloud pictures, and finally decided to go see what we could do about our situation. We walked to the Huayna Picchu gate, not having much hope since everyone said their cutoff is very strict.

They started letting people in at 7, but very slowly. The last of the group got in around 750 and I realized they were letting people without numbers in because not everyone who got a number ended up using it!!! Even while I was there, a group of middle aged women were saying, "I'm not going up there, I'll shit my pants!" hahaha seriously.

We were numbers 188-190, whew!! So if you end up in the same situation, don't despair! Go to the unofficial standby line :D


The climb was HARD... But certainly doable. It only takes about an hour but that means you are covering a lot of height in a little time, so you are literally climbing on you hands and knees at some points. Definitely not for those who are really out of shape. And not for those scared of heights :). This pic shows our view of Machu Picchu below. Oh it's so crazy, towards the end you are climbing up a narrow walkway with a steep drop, them crawling through a tiny cave, then jumping from boulder to boulder a the very top, and finally sliding down on your butt on a huge slate of rock with no steps to begin climbing back down. Definitely worth doing once, as the views are breathtaking and you have a general feeling of accomplishment, but I don't think I would do it again :P


My brother a the peak. He climbed to a farther boulder than I did. I was happy on my boulder (the first possible boulder on the absolute peak. I was honestly pretty scared ahaha).


Left MP around noon-- wish i had more time. Took a train back to Ollantaytambo, where we took a taxi back to Cusco. On the way passed these salt terraces at Maras (or was it Salinas?) which were very cool and pretty. We also visited the Inca ruins in Pisac, and caught the last of the afternoon sun's rays on the mountain's terracing.

We spent the night in Cusco which has such a pretty City center! Had the worst and most expensive meal of the trip at this place called El Truco. AM's friend had recommended it. Do not go there, it's a tourist trap. Instead there is this amazing place called Cicciolina in Cusco that is 10000x better.

Ah camera pictures... SO much better than the iPhone...

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Peru day 4: Puno & Lake Titicaca

August 20, 2009

Ugh I'm so frustrated because the app I'm using (BlogPress) somehow lost this post, even though it said it successfully uploaded. It was so long too :( I will have to rewrite a cliff notes version now.


Woke up at 6 am to catch our tour of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world at ~3600m above sea level. Sits at the border of Peru and Bolivia; Peruvians (presumably English speaking ones anyway) like to say they own the Titi side and Bolivia owns the Caca side (Titi actually means Puma and Caca describes a grey color). Puno itself doesn't have much to offer in terms of sightseeing; is more of a access point to Titicaca.


Visited the man-made floating Uros islands. Crazy place. About 49 tiny tiny islands made from reeds; pretty much everything about it is made from reeds. Oh except the SOLAR PANEL that each one has, courtesy of ex-President Fujimori (yes a Japanese president, pretty crazy). So they have access to tv and radio but that's it in terms of modernity. They also have:



Guinea pig island!! So cute!! Except it's to keep them contained and fattened up for the kill. Still cute as a strictly visual matter.


Next we headed to Tequille island, a natural island 2 hours away. Totally different culture and language from the Uros people. Tequille inhabitants are Inca descendants and try to preserve their culture as much as possible. They live by Inca codes and use the Inca Terra es that wrap the island, but they dress in Spanish-influenced clothing and live in small rectangular homes.

Anyway great views of the island and lake, but took some effort! Hikin to the top took 40 minutes and was difficult with the altitude. I'm going to keep blaming being tired on the altitude. Even when I'm back at sea level.


Rewarded with a nice 15 soles (5usd) lunch of quinoa soup and trout from the lake. Im loving Peruvian food. Awesome. Took another route down: 540 steep steps. Less tiring but still quite an experience.

With these tours you have to do some research and asking around a bit. Ours only costed 13usd but was initially quoted a LOT more, like over 10x more.


Later we got back to Puno, where we had a great dinner at la Choza deOscar. But first I tried to exchange some money and learned that they won't take bills with even the slightest wear on the edges. So take crisp bills, druglord style.

Anyway my brother tried the alpaca meat pictured above which was really good, much better than last time... I guess it's just like any other meat: it's deliciousness depends on how well it is cooked :)


I finally tried the [in]famous Peruvian roasted guinea pig (cuy). I know, right after I was gushing about how cute guinea pig island was... I'm heartless :( don't know if this makes it any bettter but I had to have the HeAD (complete with two long intact front teeth... Seriously not necessary) covered with a lettuce leaf on the other side of the table before i could continue. Despite my being Chinese it was too much for me because i like hamsters an they look like them. But anyway i must say it was delicious. Crispy skin like pork, meat tastes more like chicken wings. Nomnom.

All in all a great day. I highly recommend adding this place to a Peru itinerary. I haven't even gotten to machu picchu yet and I feel like I've already seen and experienced more than I ever expected.

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Peru day 3: Colca Valley pt II

August 19, 2009

Another early 6 am start. After crawling out of my bed-cave composed of 5 layers of wool blankets and sheets, I got ready for the second leg of our Colca Valley tour. The breakfast and views helped to wake me up.



Today was a big day. We saw better views of the terraced fields in the valley. We made a short hike up Colca Canyon, which is one of the deepest canyon in the world... Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We then finally saw the great Andean condors, but not before almost leaving disheartened because they didn't show up until the last minute. But let's start from the beginning.



These fields were made by both pre-Inca and Inca peoples. The Collagua Terraces, which take up the majority of the valley, were carved out nearly 2000 years ago. They continue to be used today, but they're threatened by the nearby volcanoes and the occasional strong earthquake. Driving through this region is mesmerizing because of how the land has been shaped into sharp curves and cuts by both natural and human forces.




We stayed at an altitude of about 3500m or 11000 ft the whole time... I'm going to have Superlungs by the time I get back. Even though there was only a little climbing here, it's easy to get short of breath (I swear it's not just me-- my brother does Olympic style triathlons and thought so too).

It's hard to believe how high up we are. It's surreal to look down the canyon, because it's so deep that it doesn't look that deep... if that makes sense. Anyway I was just eager to reach the La Cruz del Condor, which is the highest point of the canyon and offers views of the condors soaring about, riding the thermal currents of the canyon.



We reached the peak at about 845 am. The canyon itself was of course pretty magnificent. But all the tourists were waiting to see the condors. By 945, none had showed up and it was time for us to go. I was more than a little depressed about this. I knew I wouldn't be back here for a long time, if ever.

As our van was pulling away, a huge condor literally flew over one of the viewing points and I was like WOW. We went-- ok rushed-- back to the viewing point only to see it disappear behind one of the curves of the canyon ledge. I was happy to at least see one, but about 10 minutes later a condor came back around the bend, followed by another, and another, and soon there were eight to ten condors gliding about in the canyon!! It was truly one of the most majestic things I have ever seen. Some flew right over our heads, which was a bit intimidating to be honest (these condors are about 10 ft in wingspan). All in all, I was so grateful to have caught this sight, as many other groups had already left. Thank you Colca Tours:) I will definitely try to insert some pics and videos when I get back. So amazing.

Not much could beat that, but we continued on our way to more viewing points of the valley and to visit a little town. More of my beloved llamas and alpacas were to be found <3



Our tour ended after lunch where I once again stuffed myself on fried bananas, aji chicken, and flan. Our little tour group was very sweet and they wanted to take a picture altogether.

We then hopped on to another van and one loooong bumpy ride later, we arrived in our hostel in Puno. We're staying at Inka's Rest, which is ok but I don't recommend it because it's hard to find and honestly a bit creepy haha. Maybe my opinion will change in the light of morning--tomorrow's another 6 am start to see the floating islands of Lake Titicaca.

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Peru day 1: Arequipa

Aug 17, 2009

Day 1 of 11 in Peru. After a series of flights through Miami and Lima and total travel time of 13 hours, we arrived at our destination of Arequipa this morning. In Lima, a few airport workers called me "chinita" and I'm pretty sure the guy who checks your passport before you can enter the terminal area said "ching chang" before reading my last name. But they say it in such a pleasant way and then look at me as if they just paid me a compliment, so I just laugh it off and I'm more bemused rather than insulted.

Anyway I love plane rides where you can see the terrain below, and the Lima-Arequipa leg was one of such rides. Really beatiful views of clouds seeping into the crevices of the mountains, and terraced fields wedged into steep valleys. We arrived at the tiny airport and stepped out into beautiful 70 degrees weather and a gorgeous vista of the three surrounding volcanoes: Misti, Chachani, and Pichu Pichu







I didn't know what to expect in Arequipa so it was quite breathtaking. It's not a modern urban city by any means but it has a pretty center square and a lot of character. And of course the surrounding volcanoes provide a picturesque backdrop. Misti is the only active one, but even then the last eruption was a long time ago. The white volcanic rock is widely used for construction in the town, giving Arequipa the nickname the white city.

It's a medium-sized town in the southern part of Peru and sits about 2200m above sea level. My mom had been on my case all week about my not working out and thus supposedly not being able to handle the high altitudes. Well turns out I was the only one amongst my family that didn't feel anything from the altitude--hah! Go non-working outers! Everyone else had some cocoa tea to help with the effects:



The little bag the leaves came in was so cute! Our hotel, la Casa de Margott, provided it. I don't know whether to call this place a hotel or hostel. It's housed in one of the regular courtyard buildings near the city center, is very basic, but is also super cute and has individual rooms and is thus not what I normally consider a hostel.



This is a little sitting area in my room. The arched brick ceiling is so unique for a hotel. I really like it. I also like the comical little tv in the alcove :). I don't watch tv in my hotels anyway.

Anyway we started our day here with some crepes and deep-purple chicha maize drinks at Allianz Francais. I thought it was random that my mom wanted to go there but it was actually very good and right across from the convent, which is the main destination in Arequipa. The Santa Catalina Covenant was built in 1579 and remained a mystery to the public until it opened to visitors in 1970. Pretty crazy. Our guide said it is the only convent in the world that is a 'city within a city.' At its height, the 3-block complex housed 180 nuns and hundreds of workers. These nuns were daughters from very wealthy families, and they were sent here at age 13 and could not leave the covenant for the rest of their lives (which is why it is a town in and of itself). It was considered a privilege and honor for the family and the daughters had no say in the situation. Ah religion and power.



The convent is pretty big and we spent a couple hours in it. You can see the buildings made from the white volcanic rock. The courtyards, bright colors, and alleyways are beautiful to see. The rooms were fairly large (the more wealthy, the more room a nun had at the covenant...). But it's still a bit shocking to me to think the nuns just came here and never left. Before the reformation the nuns were hardly even allowed to talk to each other :X




After the covenant we walked around the city center for a little bit. The views of Misti and Chachani behind the main Cathedral were beautiful. Unfortunately jet lag set in for all of us soon after and we didn't reemerge until dinnertime. We ate in the center square at a place called Cafe Boveda. While I'm pretty wary of restaurants in the middle of a tourist attraction, this turned out to be very good. We ordered various traditional Arequipan foods and this delicious 'papaya juice' unlike any papaya I have tasted before. This was more like some pear-mango-golden kiwi-pineapple papaya :) My favorite dish was a 'shrimp soup'-- chupa camarones?-- that looked kind of like a seafood paella in a curried soup, but also had a poached egg, slabs of white cheese, Peruvian corn on a cob, and various other surprises all thrown in to make a big bowl of awesome. Will try to remember to stick in a picture from my when I get back (these blog pics are all ones I took on my phone).




Nice view of the volcanoes behind the cathedral. Most of the city looks more like this:



Tomorrow we leave at 8 am for Colca Canyon, which I'm very excited about. Til then...

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