Last Updated: 29-NOV-2019
DAILY WRITE UP - I've come to the conclusion as well as other people on this program by Road Scholar that this is not a vacation it's an adventure. The 17 people in our group are getting tired, we are tired of bouncing around on back roads in buses but there's no other way you would see all of this, but I'm definitely going to need a vacation after I get back from this adventure. Most days we're getting 25,000 steps on our fitbit's.
Today was more of a travel day. We left Machu Picchu Pueblo which is only accessible by train and traveled back up to the town where the bus was. The train trip is really good but it's slow and they had a landslide somewhere which it screwed up everything and cause the train to be about an hour late.
On the train they had coca leaf tea which is made from the same plant that they make cocaine from so I decided to try some. It's very interesting taste to it and the smell is very unique in fact. I'm saving the tea bags because it still has the smell of the tea in it. This stuff is illegal in the United States but it's sold all over the place down here. I did not feel any different after drinking it but I did some research and you would fail a drug test for a couple days after consuming it.
So once we got to the train station we had close to two hours of driving to a place that they demonstrate how they weave all the alpaca and llama wool. I was not really happy about this but it ended up being very interesting and we had a lunch there that was very local on what they were giving us. The photo below is the guinea pig that was served to us. I did not try it because I used to have pet guinea pigs and I felt this was probably not very respectful of my little friends. But a number of people did and said that it was very strong tasting and it was like extremely dark meat turkey. Also you have to eat the skin because there's just not that much meat. I felt sorry for the little girl in the photo who had to bring out this roasted Piggy, and I'm sure in the United States she would have been able to sue her parents and get millions for the trauma this would cause.
In the rural areas you see a lot of kids dressed just like her but in the city is not so much. One thing we notice about the kids here that none of them ever smile. I bought a little stuffed guinea pig from this girl and even gave her a couple extra bucks for it and she was very thankful but no smile. I guess it's the culture.
Mary ended up buying a woven table runner with llamas and that can either be placed on a mantle or even placed up in a wall you buy it directly from the person who made it and it was many tens of hours that she invested in weaving this. It really puts into perspective how good we got it when it comes to being paid for things. This place was well over 12,000 feet and it finally cleared up over the mountains and you could see probably a hundred fifty miles along the Andes and could actually see the tops of the 22,000 foot high mountains covered in glaciers, which was quite cool.
After that we checked into our hotel in downtown Cusco where will spend the next two nights exploring more historic areas as well as some 500 year old churches. Our hotel is about a 1,000 foot walk from the Town Square and we were just down there eating dinner and apparently on Wednesday nights Elementary School bands play in the Square. They weren't very good but they were trying. There were a lot of dogs running around and it probably is in the upper 40s here since we are at 11,400 feet
Using a GPS tracking software to see exactly where we traveled each day. Here it is overlaid onto Google Earth. We traveled on the train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo then by coach to Cusco.
ROAD SCHOLAR WRITEUP -- Transfer to Cuzco, Weaving Cooperative
Cuzco
B,L
Hotel Costa del Sol Picoaga
Activity note: Walking approx. 1.5 miles total throughout the day; about one hour combined; mostly flat, paved terrain. Getting on/off a train; ride is approx. 28 miles; about 1.5 hours. Driving approx. 51 miles total throughout the day; about two hours combined, with stops. Porters will handle luggage.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: Upon checking out of the hotel, we will walk a short distance to board the train for transfer from Aguas Calientes Station to Ollantaytambo where we will connect with our motor-coach for the remainder of the ride to Cuzco. We will then make a visit to the Traditional Textiles Center Cusco in Chinchero where we will learn from a member of the NGO who will share the history of the cooperative, introduce us to this time-honored cultural art form, and provide a demonstration. The arts of dying, spinning and weaving are a means of interpreting Incan culture through traditional customs. Techniques, designs, and quality, which were once taught to every female child, had fallen into disuse and the traditional craft knowledge was being lost. The Chinchero Cultural Project was created to protect and revive the back-strap weaving traditions of the Chinchero and Cusco regions of Peru.
Lunch: With the women of the weaving cooperative, enjoy a lunch of traditional foods.
Afternoon: We will then transfer to the hotel for check-in.
Dinner: On your own to sample the local fare.
Evening: At leisure.
We walked to the Inkaterra hotel which is close to the train station and river. Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel is an intimate Andean village with terraced hills, waterfalls, stone pathways and 83 whitewashed adobe casitas tucked away in the cloud forest. Member of National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World, the property has 12 acres of exquisite natural beauty, where 214 bird species - such as the golden-headed quetzal and the iconic Andean cock-of-the-rock - and the world's largest native orchid collection (372 species) have been registered. A beautiful property!
The chestnut-breasted coronet is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in humid Andean montane forest in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is generally easily recognized by its contrasting rufous underparts. Like other species of coronet, this is a stout, heavy-bodied hummingbird with a relatively short bill. Chestnut-breasted Coronet forages in the sub canopy and canopy of humid montane forest.
Green-and-white endemic to Peru. This Peruvian endemic is locally common but unevenly distributed on the eastern Andean slopes of central Peru. Green-and-white Hummingbirds inhabit the canopy of humid forests, forest borders, clearings, and second growth. They frequently breed near Pasco and Machu Picchu.
Various views - Aguas Calientes
The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) (also known as Christmas Flower) is a commercially important plant species of the diverse spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). The species is indigenous to Mexico.
Dobsonfly - We have them here in Pennsylvania
The bus line to Machu Picchu
Again its strange how some dogs have coats
Mary looking for birds from our hotel window at El Mapi Hotel
You can hardly see this dog on the steps
Back to the train station for our 2+ hr ride back to the bus at Ollantaytambo
Large bee of some type. It would chew thru the base of the flower to get to the nectar.
Various cool plants
The street light poles are made out of rail
The train schedule and map of the rail yard
Mate de coca is a very popular tea in Peru where it is consumed as a digestive tea and even to treat altitude sickness. (that's why it is so popular among the mountaineers who climb the Andes). Coca tea is a mild stimulant. The alkaloids found in coca leaves are the same used to ultimately produce cocaine.
You are not allowed to bring coca leaves into the USA. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, "It is illegal to bring coca leaves into the U.S. for any purpose, including to use for brewing tea or for chewing."
Not very fast - 23 mph
Entertainment on the train
This is supposed to be a "typical Andean Saqcra dance from Paucartambo, in honor of Our Lady of Carmel". The attendants also do a fashion show and modeled alpaca clothing, which was very nice but pricey.
This could be bad. Train on the same track as us.
Mary enjoying the view
A person sitting on the tracks. Strange
Iris flowers growing along the road
Cool stuff. Wonder if they sell coca plants or seeds ? I bet they do
The new bridge over the Urubamba River
We are climbing over the South America continental divide and out of the Sacred Valley. Looking down at Urubamba as we climb to close to 13,000 feet
So close. A bad shot of the Maras sign - Really cool place - Active evaporative salt-pans, dating to the Inca period. Water from a hot salt spring is fed into thousands of small ponds built on terraces down the side of a steep canyon. They are filled from narrow channels, and then closed for the water to evaporate and leave the salt for collection. The site can be reached on foot from the river, or by car or bus from the hills above.
Mary taking photos on her side of the bus
Working the fields - They grow potatoes up here
Various views of Nevado Chicon (El. 18,140), Sirihuani (El. 17,582), and Sahuasiray which is one of the highest mountains in the Urubamba mountain range in the Andes of Peru, about (19,088 ft) high.
Looking back towards Aguas Calientes and even Machu Picchu and Nevado Bonanta (El. 17,450), Huajahuillca (El. 18,641), Nevado Marconi (El. 17,520), Nevado Veronica (El. 19,335)
Laguna Huaypo off in the distance
More pure rainbows here
We stopped at a overlook offering excellent views to the east and north (various views)
The llama looks old and tired
Free range llama
You can see the top of Sahuasiray which is one of the highest mountains in the Urubamba mountain range in the Andes of Peru, about (19,088 ft) high. just over the front mountain
Looking down at Urubamba close to 3,500 feet below us
Lunch: With the women of the Weaving Cooperative, enjoy a lunch of traditional foods.
The soup and everything else was very good. (Less Guinea pig)
Quinoa is used for breakfast, soup and sides. Quinoa has become a popular food globally thanks to its healthy image. The boom has benefited farmers in Peru, but these gains are now under threat from growing international competition. Peruvian farmers now face another problem. The price of quinoa has fallen by 75% since 2014, as other countries such as the United States, Canada and Argentina have started producing it.
Guinea pig time
Group lunch
I purchased the stuffed Guinea pig from this cute girl at the weaving cooperative
Mary in her poncho. These were $600+
Chinchero is a small Andean Indian village located high up on the windswept plains of Anta at 12,352 ft about 18 miles from Cusco. There are beautiful views overlooking the Sacred Valley of the Incas, with the Cordillera Vilcabamba and the snow-capped peak of Salkantay dominating the western horizon. Chinchero is believed to be the mythical birthplace of the rainbow. The village mainly comprises mud brick (adobe) houses, and locals still go about their business in traditional dress. The village may have been an important town in Inca times. The most striking remnant of this period is the massive stone wall in the main plaza which has ten trapezoidal niches. The construction of the wall and many other ruins and agricultural terraces (which are still in use) are attributed to Inca Tupac Yupanqui who possibly used Chinchero as a kind of country resort.
In the main plaza an adobe colonial church, dating from the early seventeenth century, has been built upon the foundations of an Inca temple or palace. The ceiling and walls are covered in beautiful floral and religious designs. The church is open on Sundays for mass.
Ken in his king poncho. The history of Andean textiles stretches back thousands of years to the first people to settle along the coast of what is modern day Peru. Since ancient times, textiles were valued as the predominate art form as weavers developed original styles, designs and techniques, many of which are unique to these pre-Columbian cultures. Contemporary Andean weavers inherited this rich textile tradition and today proudly continue in the path of their ancestors as they adapt to the changes and opportunities of our modern age.
Various group views watching the program on how they dye & make the fabric
Natural dyes for the wool that had to be boiled for hours
The Weaving Center
Various views - the clouds are clearing off of the 20K foot peaks
Crossing the track somewhere in the Poroy District.
The little piggy I got
Watching people / traffic at the Plaza de Armas del Cuzco
We ate at an upstairs restaurant right on the square. I had fish and Ken had a pizza. The most expensive item was guinea pig, Cuy al Horna, baked with aromatic black mint herbs .
Examples of their many potato and corn varieties.
On to Day 7 - Almudena Cemetery, Qoricancha Palace, Free Time in Cusco
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