Sacred Valley and Salkantay Trek - Peru Fall 2016
In 2015 my friend Bob Hill and I embarked on a trip to Base Camp Mount Everest for my 65^th birthday. This year it was Bob’s turn to pick a destination for his 70^th. In early September we left St. John’s for Lima, Peru to spend a couple of weeks exploring the Sacred Valley and trekking the Salkantay and Inca Trails. Over the course of the 2 ½ weeks we trekked through tropical rain forests; three high mountain passes; cloud forest; jungle forest and learned about the Inca Culture in a beautiful land. We were to encounter incredible flora and fauna; have an excellent guide in Edwin; dine on exceptional cuisine prepared by our chef Marcos and meet some warm and wonderful native people. Most importantly we were to push our own personal boundaries beyond what we thought was possible. In pictures and words join us in on this special trip.

 Bob and I arrived in Lima on different flights and met up at our hotel in Miaflores where we were to stay the night before flying to Cusco. Miaflores is a district of the Lima Province in Peru and is an exclusive residential and upscale shopping district south of downtown. It is also one of the most affluent districts that make up the city. Home to various hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and department stores, Miaflores is one of the main tourist attractions in Lima.

Cusco

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Our second day we arrived in Cusco and settled in the Hotel Rumi Punku. We were to stay here three times over the next few weeks as we explored the Sacred Valley and the Salkantay Trek. Cusco was once capital of the Inca Empire, and is now known for its archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture. Plaza de Armas is the central square in the old city, with arcades, carved wooden balconies and Incan wall ruins. The baroque Santo Domingo Convent was built on top of the Incan Temple of the Sun (Qoricancha), and has archaeological remains of Inca stonework. The site was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th century Spanish conquest. In 1983 Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Inca History

The Incas were most notable for establishing the Inca Empire in pre-Columbian America, which was centered in what is now Peru from 1438 to 1533 AD and represented the height of the Inca civilization. Over the course of the Inca Empire, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate in their empire a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges.

The origin of the Inca stems from four myths but the Inca people began as a tribe in the Cusco area around the 12th century AD under the leadership of Manco Cápac. Various Inca leaders built an empire that stretched from present day Columbia, Ecuador, through Bolivia into parts of Chile and Argentina. In 1438 AD, under the command of Pachacuti, whose name meant "world-shaker", they began a far-reaching expansion. Túpac Inca, his son, and Huayna Capac son of Túpac continued the Inca expansion.

Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro explored south from Panama, reaching Inca territory by 1526. There were wealthy prospects and Francisco received permission from the King of Spain to return to Peru in 1532. At the time they returned to Peru there was a war of succession between Huayna Capac's sons Huascar and Atahualpa and unrest among newly conquered territories—and perhaps more importantly, smallpox, which had spread from Central America and considerably weakened the empire.

Pizarro did not have a formidable force; with just 170 men, 1 cannon and only 27 horses, he often needed to talk his way out of potential confrontations that could have easily wiped out his party. The Spanish met with the Inca, Atahualpa, who had recently defeated his brother, Huascar, in the civil war and was resting at Cajamarca with his army of 80,000 troops.

Pizarro met with the Atahualpa, who had brought only a small retinue, and through interpreters demanded that he convert to Christianity. The Inca did not understand the request and the Spanish attacked the Inca's retinue capturing Atahualpa.

Pizarro used the capture to gain gold as a ransom. Atahualpa offered the Spaniards enough gold to fill the room he was imprisoned in and twice that amount of silver. The Incas fulfilled this ransom. Over four months, almost 8 tons of gold was collected. Pizarro was supposed to let the ruler of the Incas free once the ransom was paid, but he refused to release the Inca after that and instead had him strangled in public. During Atahualpa's imprisonment Huascar was assassinated.

The Spanish installed Atahualpa’s half brother Manco Inca Yupanqui to power as a puppet Inca; for some time Manco cooperated with the Spanish, while the Spanish fought to put down resistance in the north. Meanwhile, an associate of Pizarro's, Diego de Almagro, attempted to claim Cusco for himself. Manco tried to use this intra-Spanish feud to his advantage, recapturing Cusco in 1536, but the Spanish retook the city.

Manco Inca then retreated to the mountains of Vilcabamba and founded the Neo-Inca State, where he and his successors ruled for another 36 years, sometimes raiding the Spanish or inciting revolts against them. In 1572 the last Inca stronghold was discovered, and the last ruler, Túpa Amaru, Manco's son, was captured and executed, bringing the Inca Empire to an end.

CUSCO

We spent two days in Cusco at 3400 meters (11,200ft) to acclimatize before going onto the Sacred Valley and then the Salkantay Trek. It was a wise decision to spend time acclimatizing because the first night we did find the elevation after arrived from sea level the day before. 

One of the Churches in the Square

Cusco is a colorful city with plenty of tourists about. It is the entry point for many who wish to visit the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Every day there seemed to be a parade or festival in honor of some saint or simply a reason to have dancing and marching in the streets.

Qoriacancha

Cusco's stone streets are epitomized by the Qoriacancha palace and the church of Santo Domingo flanking the Plaza de Armas. Incas deemed this spot the belly button of the world. If we believe the ancient myths Cusco is shaped like a Puma with the Plaza de Armas being its navel and the ancient site of   Sacsayhuaman its head and teeth. A visit to Cuzco tumbles you back into the cosmic realm of ancient Andean culture – knocked down and then fused with the colonial splendors of the Spanish conquest; only to be repackaged once again as a thriving tourist Mecca.

The Main Square Cusco

Yet Cuzco is only the gateway. Beyond lies the Sacred Valley, Andean countryside dotted with villages, high altitude hamlets and ruins linked by trail and railway tracks to the continent's biggest draw – Machu Picchu. Old ways are not forgotten here. Colorful textiles keep vivid the past, as do the wild fiestas and carnivals where pagan tradition meets solemn Catholic ritual. Bob and I were to spend two days here exploring its museums, churches and monasteries before embarking on the first phase of our trip a two day excursion into the Sacred Valley.

Colorful costumed characters and  the streets of Cusco

The Streets of Cusco and the twelve sided stone

Sacred Valley Tour

After two days in Cusco we left the city on a two day tour of the Sacred Valley that would allow us to further acclimatize before starting the seven day high altitude Salcantay Trek. The Sacred Valley tour included the Inca sites of Sacsayhuaman, Pisaq and Ollantaytambo. We had an overnight at a beautiful hotel in Ollantaytambo and continued on the next day to the Inca agricultural site of Moray and the salt mines of Maras. This tour introduced us to some of the Inca sites and provided us greater appreciation of the advancement of the Inca Culture.

Sacsayhuaman

Sacsayhuaman which overlooks the city of Cusco cannot fail impress due to its monumental scale of Inca construction. It was believed that the city of Cusco was set out in the form of a puma whose head was the hill of Sacsayhuaman. The origins are generally attributed to the period of Inca Pachacuti, the man who essentially founded the Inca Empire. 

The main ramparts consist of three massive parallel walls zigzagging for some 400m, designed to make any attacker expose his flanks. The massive blocks, the largest being 8.5m high and weighing nearly 300 tonnes, are fitted together with absolute perfection. Using only natural fibre ropes, stone hammers and bronze chisels it was an enormous task. 

Sacsayhuaman played an important part in the final defeat of the Inca Empire by the Spanish. Pizarro's party entered Cusco unopposed in 1533 and lived there securely for more than two years before finally being caught unprepared by the rebellion of Manco Inca in 1536.    

Manco's troops took Sacsayhuaman and used it as his base to attack the Spanish. After weeks under siege in the city the Spanish broke out and charged into the surrounding hills to the northwest above the city. It was said that during the battle a leading Inca nobleman, armed with a Spanish sword and shield, caused havoc by repulsing every enemy who tried to scale the last tower left in Inca hands. Having sworn to fight to the death, he leapt from the top of the tower when defeat was inevitable, rather than accept humiliation and dishonour.

Walls of Sacayhuaman

Following the collapse of the Inca Empire after the Spanish invasion, most of the stonework of Sacsayhuaman was used to construct the colonial churches and buildings in Cusco. The ruins were covered with earth by the Spanish so it could not be used by the rebel Inca forces. It was not rediscovered again until its excavation in 1934 CE.

After leaving Sacsayhuaman we continued on past small adobe homesteads and stopped at an animal protection farm and weaving center at Awanacancha.

At the weaving center it was interesting to see the plants that produce the beautiful colors in the Peruvian textiles. The guide couldn’t resist the Simon and Garfunkel reference when we had to step off the bridge to allow the Condor to pass, “Let El Condor Pasa”. We did manage later to see one of these majestic birds in the wild.

Let "El Condor Pasa"                           Plants to make textile dyes    

 Pisaq and the Sacred Valley            

On our way to the ruins at Pisac and the market town we caught our first glimpse of the Sacred Valley. First we were to visit the Inca ruins and see the hundreds of terraces for agriculture where the Inca farmed corn, potatoes and quinoa. After the ruins we were to spend some time shopping in the traditional handicraft market.

Pisac is a village in southern Peru’s Sacred Valley. It is known for its lively handicrafts market in the main square. A path winds from the square past agricultural terraces up to Pisac Archaeological Site. This was a hilltop Incan citadel with ancient temples, plazas and the Intihuatana; a stone structure thought to have been a sundial. Across the valley we can see the tombs of the Inca that were raided by the Spanish soldiers.

Completing Crafts in the Market of Pisac

Pisac Market

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo is set on the Urubamba River amid the mountains. It is known for the massive Inca ruins with large stone terraces on a hillside. Major sites within the complex include the huge Sun Temple and the Princess Baths fountain. Across the valley can be seen face carvings in the mountain and the Incas built storehouses.  A carved cleft in the mountain allows the sun to penetrate the temple at a specific location and time. The storehouses across the valley at high altitudes provide more wind and lower temperatures to defend the contents against decay. The village's old town is an Inca-era grid of cobblestoned streets and adobe buildings that has been continuously inhabited since the 13^th century.

Grain storehouses

Face in the Mountain

We were to stay at a beautiful hotel in Ollantaytambo before continuing on the next day to the Inca farming site of Moray and the salt mines of Maras. The Sacred valley is generally understood to include everything between Pisac, and Ollantaytambo. The valley was formed by the Urubamba River. The river in Quechua, still the spoken language of Native Peru, is Willkamayu, meaning the sacred river. It is fed by numerous rivers which descend through adjoining valleys and gorges, and contains numerous archaeological remains and villages. The valley was sacred to the Incas due to its special geographical and climatic qualities. It was one of the empire's main points for the extraction of natural wealth, and one of the most important areas for maize production in Peru.

Ed with the native ladies at the hotel in Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo``

Moray Inca Archeological Center

Moray Inca Archeological Site

We were picked up at the hotel early the next morning for our second day in the Sacred Valley. We took a dirt road mountain pass that took us past adobe farm houses and stunning views back through the Sacred Valley. This pass was to take us to the Moray Inca Archeological Center, a site that was thought to be used by the Inca to study farming. The Inca built terraces and experimented with different vegetables. The terraces provided heat through the ground and down in the circles you could notice the difference in temperature even though we were at altitude.

Maras Salt Mines

Can't Imagine a Tour Bus Tumbling Over These Cliffs

As we headed off to our next stop the Maras Salt
Mines you could never quite be sure what you might encounter on the roadways.

As we left the plains and headed down into the valley we could see the salt mines ahead of us. We got quite a surprise when we arrived as a tour group on quads had arrived before us and one young driver didn’t stop but tumbled down over the high cliffs. We were told he was quite beat up with several broken bones but otherwise he was very lucky. Our guide also told us that a wash out a few years previous had caused a tour bus to go over with several deaths. That didn’t make us feel particularly “warm and fuzzy”.

The Salt Ponds

Maras is a town in the Sacred Valley, 40 kilometers north of Cuzco. The town is well known for its nearby salt evaporation ponds, in use since pre-Inca times. The salt is obtained by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream. The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several thousand ancient terraced ponds. Almost all the ponds are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth. The villagers of Maras are considered wealthy because each of the villagers owns one of the salt pools.

Chinchero

Chinchero

The final stop on our Sacred Valley Tour was in the village of Chinchero. There we were to see a unique colonial church built by the Spanish on top of a former Inca Palace. We were to see a great number of terraces; this being a major area for growing potatoes in Inca times. It is believed that most of the potatoes in the Inca Empire would have been grown here. In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe. Over 4000 varieties of potatoes grow in Peru. Today Chinchero is a textile centre.

 

The terraces of Chinchero

Craft Ladies at Chinchero

Driving back into Cusco we were to pass adobe houses and much traffic typical of South American cities. It is sometimes hard to distinguish between what is new construction and what might actually be being torn down.  We were to remain in Cusco sightseeing for another day before starting the Salkantay Trek.

Coricancha

Coricancha

In Inca times Coricancha, a Quechua term for ‘Golden Courtyard’, was literally covered with gold. The temple walls were lined with some 700 solid-gold sheets each weighing about 2kg. There were life-sized gold and silver replicas of corn, which were ceremonially ‘planted’ in agricultural rituals. Also reported were solid-gold treasures such as altars, llamas and babies, as well as a replica of the sun. Various other religious rites took place in the temple. Mummified bodies of several previous Incas were kept here, brought out into the sunlight each day and offered food and drink, which was then ritually burnt.  Coricancha was also an observatory where high priests monitored celestial activities from the Sun Temple and Moon Temple. Astronomy was used extensively for agricultural purposes. The Inca built temples to the sun and studied the sun’s position to decide when to plant certain crops at specific altitude. The Sun Temple at Coricancha was the most important to the Inca. The people ritually made sacrifices to the Sun asking him to rise in the proper place for planting.

Inside Corichancha

After capturing Cusco the Spanish demolished most of Coricancha and melted down its gold plating and sculptures to be sent back to Spain. The Spanish required the Inca to raise a ransom in gold for the life of the leader Atahualpa and most of the gold came from Coricancha^. The Spanish then built a cathedral on the site, though they maintained its stone foundations. But ultimately, it was the Incas who had the last laugh. Centuries later, an earthquake completely destroyed the Spanish-made cathedral but left the foundations of the temple intact.

Inca Walls Inside Corichancha

Colorful Characters

Parades are abundant in Cusco

After returning from Coricancha we were able to see another parade in the Plaza de Armas. We never did figure out what the parades were about but they were colorful and accompanied by dancers and music. They seemed to take place every other day and involve Saints with a mixture of Pagan ceremonies.

Later at a museum we were able to get a better understanding of some of the characters in the parade. Cusco is lively and a great city simply to stroll about taking in the sights, sounds and smells.

Satirical dance of colonial origin represents the malaria outbreak that peasants suffered while working large farms in the jungle. The movements in the dance recreate convulsions characteristic of the disease.

In the Andean peasants the buffoons of the festival were in charge of joking with the audience and engaging in dialogues. Paradoxically his mission was also to maintain the public order.

The Negrillos dance represents slavery times. The dancers use beautiful multicolored suits and black masks.

Salkantay Seven Day Trek

The day had finally arrived when we would start what we came for: The seven day six nights Salkantay Trek. We left our hotel in Cusco at 4:30am in the morning to arrive at the trailhead at Marccoccasa at 3300m. Soon our cook and assistant arrived and began to prepare the first of what was to become memorable meals that we would look forward to each day. We met our chef Marcos, his assistant Ishmael, horseman Juan and guide Edwin. The first day would be an easier walk pass lovely waterfalls and lush valleys but we would sleep at the foot of the Humantay snow capped mountain at Soyapampa at 3800m. The temperature would be much cooler and require hats, fleece and gloves.

Our Alpaca Team - Ishmael, Marco, Juan and Edmund

Ed and Bob

Great Temperatures the First Day

An Easy First Day

Our guide, Edwin was a wealth of knowledge on the Inca culture, and the flora and fauna of Peru. We were to come to enjoy his talks and learn a lot about this beautiful country. The day would begin and end with coca tea that is thought to alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness. We learned to like it and looked forward to it especially in the morning after a cold night.

What a way to wake up, a spectacularly beautiful mountain view. We could see the Inca cross far up on the hills above the camp. Our goal this morning would be a two hour hike up to the glacial lake at the bottom of the Humantay glacier before proceeding back down and onwards on our days trek.

As we get down to camp from the lake and proceed on for the day we note the land is dry here. As you walk dust kicks up and it is quite easy to get dehydrated. You have to be conscious of this and ensure you carry and drink 2-3 liters of water per day.

We would spend the day climbing and sleep that night at the base of Salkantay Peak. When we arrived we could hear avalanches but we were too tired to hear them throughout the night. Thankfully there was a valley between us and the avalanches. Our campsite would be our highest at 4300m at Ichupata.

The weather would change during the day before we reach our camp at Ichupata. We could count on Marcos to have hot coca tea prepared for us and another great meal to end the day. Darkness comes early so it is to bed at around 7:30pm only to come wide awake at 11:00pm. The nights became long. This was hard to get used to. The next day we were to wake up to a surprise.

Yes, we do have to get out of the warm sleeping bag and go outside. It is a nice warm breakfast and then a cool morning hike until we go through the knife edge pass at Chiriasca.

This will be our highest elevation at 5000m (17,060ft). It would be cold and damp but again we could count on Marcos to arrive with hot coca tea. The afternoon was much better as we headed down again to Incacanal 3800m.

Chiriasca pass was truly a knife edge pass. It was straight up one side and straight down the other. This day had been challenging but in a few days we would have two mountain passes over 13,000ft in one day.

After coming through Chiriasca Pass the terrain would change and the weather improve somewhat. We would catch our last glimpse of the snow capped high mountains.

Edwin would teach us a ceremonial offering with coca leaves. The natives find many uses for the coca leaves but do hold it with some reverence in their ceremonies. Shortly afterwards Ed was to find a stone he was to carry for the rest of the trip to bring home to his daughter Christa. The stone was a carved piece found in an unlikely place.

Our next campsite was near a small village, the home of our horseman Juan. He and his wife were proud to show us their home. We shared a glass of chicha. In Peru chicha is a fermented beverage derived from maize. Ishmael did quite enjoy it but Bob and Ed were skeptical. Running about were guinea pigs that are a delicacy in Peru known as Cuy served at special times of year and rather expensive in restaurants in Cusco or Lima.

On the return to camp from Juan’s homestead, Marcos was to teach us the art of planting potatoes in Peru. We quickly realized we wouldn’t want to plant out an entire field using the primitive tools.

The next day as we left our campsite we were to get more lessons from Edwin on the flora of the mountains. In particular we were to sample the many varieties of mint and blackberries. Marcos would pick fresh herbs and plants to cook with each day. It continued to amaze us what he could do with such simple ingredients.

We wandered through hillside paths used by traditional Peruvian farmers, living the same since the time of the Incas. We were to arrive at the first Inca ruins we were to encounter along the way.

   

The Inca ruins at Wayllabamba include the typical terrace farming and there are some preserved buildings where it is better to understand living conditions. On the inside walls are niches make out of the stone masonry. These niches were used to store valuables, stand to eat or other daily chores.

Coming down from the ruins at Wayllabamba we were to meet up with our team, “The Green Team”, who had prepared lunch for us. We were to say goodbye to our horseman Juan and meet our four porters who were to carry our gear from this point. After lunch we were to enter the controlled Inca Trail. Horses are not allowed on the trail. The next three days we would be on the trail leading to Machu Picchu. 

 

After lunch we would climb for the rest of the day up massive steps along the Inca Trail. Along the way we will encounter the magnificent views and beautiful plants of this unique ecosystem in the cloud forest.

The Inca Trail started off like a groomed stone path but was soon to give way to massive uneven steps that seemed to go on forever. Smaller ruins could be seen from time to time and at the end of a long day we would see our camp already set up by our porters. Not far away would be Marcos, our masterful chef, with hot coca tea and snacks. We would be bothered by mosquitoes at this campsite. It wasn’t long before we were seeking the sanctuary of our tents.

The next day we are to climb early in the morning through dry areas with little vegetation to approach our first pass, Dead Women’s Pass. Part way we visit the ruins at Runcuraccay. This place was thought to have functioned as a watchtower because of its oval shape. The descent would be through the cloud forest observing hummingbirds and flowers including wild orchards that grow abundantly in the mountains, before climbing once again to the second pass of the day. On the second descent we would visit the Inca ruins of Sayacmarca where we can observe Inca houses, water fountains and channels.

If you hike the Inca Trail on the way to Machu Picchu you must summit Dead Woman's pass. The good news is that the pass got its name because the silhouette of the mountain resembles a supine woman, not because you'll be a dead woman (or man) by the time you reach the top; although the thought did cross our minds.

Sayacmarca is a difficult site to access. A single long stone staircase brings you to the site hanging over ridge partway up the mountain.

Over the course of the Inca Trail portion of the trek we were to encounter many more people, particularly as we got nearer to Machu Picchu. Along the way we would walk through beautiful cloud and rain forest, see spectacular wild life including condors, wild chickens, and hummingbirds. The flora changed daily and we were to see the famous orchids of Peru as we approached Winaywayna and Machu Picchu.

The spectacular ruins of Winaywayna would be our last campsite and one where we had only a few inches on a ledge that had a massive drop to a chasm below. The final night we had a thunder and lightning storm like we had never seen or heard before. It sounded as if the mountains were crashing down around us and we feared being washed over the ledge to the chasm below.  It was a restless night only to be awakened at 3:30am to get in line to walk the 45 minutes to the Sun Gate above Macchu Picchu.

At the Winawayna campsite we were to see many more of the “Green Team” groups. All were camped out on the ledges at various levels. After the night of the big storm we awakened at 3:30 to stand in line at 4:30 in order to enter the trail to the Sun Gate and the two hours more to Machu Picchu. The trail to the sun Gate took us up more stone steps, over precipitous bridges with great drops and awesome scenery. When we arrived at the Sun Gate Machu Picchu was clouded over but we were to wait only a few minutes when the cloud started to dissipate.

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s the cloud moved off we could finally see the Machu Picchu take shape. We still had two hours to walk down to the actual site. Along the way we were to pass the few tourists that venture up to the Sun Gate. We had approached Machu Picchu from an unique position, from the top through the Sun Gate.

Walking down to Machu Picchu the trail got a little easier. We passed a sacred site where many make offerings of coca leaves to the Gods. 

These views are what we had come for; having endured days of heat, snow, rain, fog, extreme altitude and a storm we didn’t think we would survive; we had finally made it.

Bob broke out the “Single Malt” to celebrate his 70^th birthday. Ed helped share the occasion but also emotionally took in the site and what it might have meant to a culture that had disappeared or in reality had been eliminated.

Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas”; this title is more accurately applied to (Vilcabamba). Machu Picchu is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls.

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ts three primary structures are the Inti Watana, (a notable ritual stone associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the Inca).

The Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared.

The Temple of the Condor in Machu Picchu is a breathtaking example of Inca stonemasonry. A natural rock formation began to take shape millions of years ago and the Inca skillfully shaped the rock into the outspread wings of a condor in flight. On the floor of the temple is a rock carved in the shape of the condor's head and neck feathers, completing the figure of a three-dimensional bird. Historians speculate that the head of the condor was used as a sacrificial altar. Under the temple is a small cave that contained a mummy. A prison complex stands directly behind the temple, and is comprised of human-sized niches and an underground maze of dungeons.

We were finally done our touring of Machu Picchu. By lunchtime it had already been a long day since getting up at 3:30am to line up for access to the Sun Gate. We now needed to take the bus down to the town of Aquas Calientes. From the bus the road doesn’t seem quite as bad as it does from the picture but there were too many switchbacks to count.

Aquas Calientes is a busy tourist town built strictly to ferry tourists to Machu Picchu. Trains arrive early in the morning from Ollantaytambo and return late into the evening. It is also a market town selling every conceivable trinket at prices far higher than in Cusco.

We had a great lunch with our guide Edwin over a few beers and Pisco Sours. There was an array of items on the menu including Cuy, Alpaca, and Ceviche. We were to return to Ollantaytambo on the afternoon train. A driver was to pick us up in Ollantaytambo and take us back for our final day in Cusco before going to Lima and home.

Without a doubt these were our two favorite people in Peru. Edwin our guide taught us so much about Peruvian history and was always cheerful.  Marcos was our miracle worker with food. The next page will attest to that as you see only a sampling of the food he prepared for us.

Never did camp food look or taste so good. We had everything possible; salads with llamas, carved turtles from melons, and a birthday cake for Bob with Machu Picchu in the icing. The only mystery was how Marcos did it with a two burner hob and a pressure cooker. Simply amazing!

After returning to Cusco we spent our last day doing a final bit of shopping. Bob went for a massage. Ed finally got his silver Inca cross jewelry. Ed also spent some time getting a prayer scarf for Christa. Unfortunately he couldn’t find a Shaman to provide a blessing for the stone he had found and the prayer shawl. After a final dinner at our special restaurant we were to leave for Lima and home the next day.

In the final hours before going to the airport and after having sampled a number of Pisco Sours while in Peru we figured it was time to understand a little more about this colorless yellow to amber brandy that seemed to be a national drink of Peru. It was time for an official tasting.

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It goes without saying that this was a totally awesome trip. Last year in Nepal and again this year we challenged our mental and physical beings beyond what we thought was possible. Along the way we had a spiritual and historical journey to a very special country; met and engaged with very extraordinary people. The Inca culture lasted little more than 100 years but was more highly developed in many ways then its’ conquerors. In the name of King, Country and God the Spanish decimated the Inca way of life simply because they had horses, swords and superior armour. What survives today is a testament to the Inca culture and its superiority. 

This is view from our tent after a long days hiking. How awesome is that!!!!!

The Author

Ed Evelly is 67 years old. He is a member of the Mount Pearl Sports Alliance Hall of Fame as a builder in Swimming. An athlete in his own right Ed has competed in four World Championships of Triathlon, three World Championships of Swimming and completed an Ironman Triathlon at age 49. He is currently the Chairman of the Masters Technical Committee for FINA, the World Sports Governing Body for Aquatics. Ed is a record holder, along with eleven others, in the Cross Island Relay, an 800 kilometer bike race across the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Over the past 5 years Ed has trekked to base camp Aconcagua in Argentina, base camp Mount Everest in Nepal, the Walk of the Gods in Southern Italy and Salcantay Trek in Peru. He has parachuted off the Remarkables in New Zealand. Ed doesn’t consider himself an adventure tourist but rather a tourist who seeks adventure. He continues to travel and seek out new adventures.