Amazon 2002: 1 - San Jose, Costa Rica to Machu Pichu, Peru

This was a rare beginning for one of my trips. Everything went smoothly with passports and visas, the trip to the airport was exactly as planned, security was not a hassle and the flights on COPA to Panama City and on to Lima were comfortable and right on time. Marilynn had just enough time to buy some film in the duty free shopping mall that is Panama Airport, as our connecting flight boarded only half an hour after our arrival.

We were met by Luis, a very efficient guide with A & K at the Lima airport, where he quickly had baggage and transportation in hand. We were taken to the luxurious Swishotel in the San Ignacio district of Lima, where we met up with John & Lee Campbell who very sensibly were waiting for us in the bar. John & Lee are long time friends of Marilynn from her teaching days in Revelstoke, B.C. where they still live.

After checking into a comfortable room we returned to the bar to sample the local specialty drink, Pisco sours. Two of them went down disturbingly well, so not wanting to begin making a night of it at three in the afternoon, John and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood. The hotel was located in a residential and embassy district, so while the streets were beautifully groomed with grass and flowers, there was not a lot of activity.

About a block from the hotel was one of the pyramids for which Lima is famous, in an archaeological site. There are many such pyramids around the city, but this one was reasonably well restored. They are from a pre-Inca civilization which flourished in the area about 200 AD.

Back at the hotel beer seemed an appropriate reward for our exertions, so several were consumed. This led into dinner, which we ate on the outside patio to give Marilynn a break from the air conditioning, to which she is allergic. The dinner was absolutely delicious, well prepared and well served.

In the morning we checked baggage that we would not need in Cusco with the hotel baggage people, had breakfast from the excellent buffet, and headed to the airport with Luis, who showed up right on time. Luis did the check in for us while we sat around, then we went in for boarding. As seems to be my style, I got into an argument with security over a mini-tool kit that I carry that had been OK'd by security everywhere I'd travelled, including the US. As usual, I lost the argument, so headed back to the check in counter to have it sent as checked baggage. This procedure completed we made our way to the LAN Peru plane and on to Cusco.

As usual, A & K were on the spot when we arrived. We were met personally by the area manager, Carlos Gonzales, who was there with a vehicle and driver to take us to our hotel, El Monestario. As the name would apply, it is an old monastery converted to a hotel, and is a wonderful spot with central gardens and cozy rooms. The city itself is a gem. It is old Spanish style of low white buildings with real tile roofs. The streets are narrow, and open up onto charming plazas. The hotel is located directly behind the cathedral, which is on the main plaza, so it is an excellent location to be able to walk from. There are lots of good restaurants and watering holes within easy walking distance.

Upon arrival a rest was recommended for us all to allow our bodies to catch up to the altitude change from sea level to 11,000 feet. Everyone can feel it. It is quite cold here - Marilynn is freezing!

After lying down for an hour, our guide, Eddie and a driver picked us up at 2 PM and we headed off on a tour of the area. There is quite a lot to see and do in Cusco, and we are all regretting that we don't have a free day in our program just to leisurely explore the city.

On the tour, we went first to the central plaza, and then through the cathedral - which is nothing short of spectacular. It is huge, very ornate, and there is no shortage of gold and silver in evidence. We explored some of the key Inca sites from when Cusco was the capital of an Inca Empire that stretched from Peru and Columbia down the continent to Chile and Argentina. It was apparently a city of gold and silver coated temples, and must have been spectacular. The Spanish apparently turned one plaza into an area just to melt down the precious metals for shipment back to Spain.

Cusco is in a valley surrounded by mountains, so our next move was to head out of town and climb to some spectacular Inca ruins at about 12, 800 ft. above sea level. Everyone seems to have acclimatized to the altitude quite well, as we were all able to scramble over the ruins with no ill effects. Each year the Inca celebration of the winter solstice is held here, and is attended by over 100,000 people. It is a big site!

At each of the places we stopped the local Indians had stands set up, or would simply be draped in goods for sale. In some places there was quite the gauntlet to be run. At most of the mountain stops John and Marilynn got into shopping frenzy and seriously bargained their way into everything from hats to dolls to sweaters. Marilynn was delighted to have a kindred soul along!

We returned to our hotel via a couple of other sites, and after a cleanup headed off to Paddy Flaherty's Irish Pub, where we caught happy hour. The two for one drinks soon has us all quite happy. We walked across the main plaza to a small Peruvian restaurant for a delicious dinner, and then wandered the narrow streets of the city on the way home to our hotel.

Morning came early, with a 5 AM wake up and 6 AM departure for the train trip to Machu Pichu. Instead of having to get up even earlier to catch the train in Cusco, we drove 20 minutes to the first station. The first part of the trip by rail is very slow, as the train has to climb a series of switchbacks - backing into one, forward to the next, and so on - to climb out of the valley.

I received a very bit shock. I'd always been under the impression that Machu Pichu was located well above Cusco, and that we'd have to travel up a very steep train route to get there. In reality, the opposite is true. During the 3 ½ hour train ride there is the initial ascent from 11,000 feet at Cusco to get over the mountains, but then the trip is across a high plain in a huge valley, followed by a descent to the town of Machu Pichu, which is at only 6,500 feet and has a semi-tropical climate.

The train was well appointed, but the seats were designed for Peruvians, which meant that I couldn't sit comfortably, so I spent a lot of the time on my feet. There were three "day liner" type cars hooked together, each with it's own diesel power. Food and refreshments were served - no beer. The ride was absolutely spectacular as we descended though snow capped mountain peaks, following a river which gradually increased in both size and ferocity as it tumbled down the steep grade through its high cliff lined valley.

We descended the Eastern slope of the Andes, towards the Amazonian jungle. The river we were following is a tributary of the Amazon. At stops along the way, the Indians would come to the train to try to convince people to lower their windows and buy. Once again, John and Marilynn got into action while Lee and I watched in amusement. John was even leaning out the window watching a last purchase get away from him as the train left the station. I don't know if he or the vendor was more upset!

At the town of Machu Pichu we disembarked from the train, and caught a waiting bus which then snaked up a series of switchbacks on a dirt road. It was a climb of a near vertical cliff, starting at about 6,500 feet to 7,500 feet, where the hotel we were to stay in and the entrance to the ruins are located. The ruins themselves extend upwards to about 8,200 feet.

Once we were checked in we immediately met up with Eddie who took us on a tour of the archaeological site. With something so famous, it is easy to be disappointed, as we were with the Galapagos Islands, but that was certainly not the case here. The location and the site are simply spectacular. The mountain complex goes down to the shear cliff we climbed by bus, which drops to the river which the train had followed, 1,000 feet below us. The restoration work has been amazingly done, and the main "city" part of the site is quite a size - about 700 meters by 300 meters, with an enormous amount of construction in reasonable condition.

After three hours of climbing and descending throughout the area by foot, we were ready for a good lunch, after which we said goodbye to our guide Eddie. He was on the three o'clock train back to Cusco. This is the train we are to catch tomorrow. That has left us on our own to enjoy this spectacular area until train time.