Last Day in Lima - Day 17

We slept in pretty late on our last day of the epic South American vacation - it was hard not too in the amazing beds at the Hilton

We got up and had breakfast at the executive club (again, best $40 ever spent). Then, we headed out to explore the neighborhood. We walked to the Miraflores church which had a beautiful beach view, and then walked along "el Malecon" which is like a beach boardwalk. Beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean from it. The city is working on a second boardwalk closer to the beach and there is construction everywhere. It should be really nice in about 2-3 years - another excuse to come back!!

We spent sometime back in the lounge killing time before heading to dinner and the airport. There were free drinks! And what a better place to watch my last sunset in South America for a while! (see pics below).

Headed off to dinner now, and then to the airport for a 1:40am flight. It's only 6.5 hours back to Dallas (luckily a direct flight) so I'll be back in Dallas at about 8:30am tomorrow.

Adios! I hope you've enjoyed keeping up with me as much as I have enjoyed my trip :)

Pictures:
1. Miraflores church
2. View from el Malecon of Lima
3. Sunset over Miraflores
4. Sunset over Miraflores

Cusco to Lima - Day 16

We woke up this morning still sunburned, but refreshed after a good nights sleep. I think we are both finally used to the air at 12,000 feet above sea level. We had a great breakfast this morning and talked with Carlos, who owns Second Home Cusco. He let us know that we were going to have to walk a few blocks to get our taxi because the Peruvian government decided to start doing roadworks without warning this morning. He was so kind and carried my suitcase all the way down the steps to the taxi.

I checked the flight this morning, and all was in order. We got to the airport to check in and found out our flight was cancelled for "mechanical issues." After a 40 minute wait in the rebook line, we were rebooked on the next flight.

We spent our extra two hours in a quaint little airport cafe - decor was something you might find in a 1980s communist bloc country cafe, but the food was good and we had a great view of Cusco and the runway.

We got into Lima 2 hours later than planned - not so bad after the initial panic of the flight being cancelled.

We checked into the Hilton Miraflores - a brand new hotel just opened 2 months ago. I used my Hilton credit I won from American Airlines (thank you to AA!). It is a beautiful hotel with excellent attention to detail - I better not get used to this.

We paid the extra $40 to use the executive lounge - which is definitely well worth it - food all day, drinks in the evening, and free wifi.

We were pretty pooped from all the travel, so we had a quiet afternoon, and had a great Peruvian dinner at Tanta - conveniently located less than 2 blocks from the hotel.

Buenas noches - last day in Lima tomorrow!

Pics:
View of downtown Lima from the executive lounge

Machu Picchu!! - Day 15

Today is the day I finally get to go to Machu Picchu! I have been learning about this place and seeing pictures of it all through middle and high school. We had originally planned to get up to catch the 5:30am bus up to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes (the town we were staying in) to see the sunrise. It was pouring down with rain, so we decided to scrap that idea.

7am - still raining. 8am - still raining, now torrentially. We had to get up to get out of the room by 9am (very early check out). At 9am, still raining. Luckily we had brought rain jackets and an umbrella, but not torrential down pour gear. Our train back to Cusco wasn't until 5:30 that evening so we had plenty of time to see if the weather would cooperate a bit more.

Thankfully around 9:30am, the rain lifted just as we were finishing breakfast. We headed down to the bus station armed with our rain jackets and umbrellas just in case the heavens decided to open again.

The bus ride up took about 30 minutes, up a very windy and small mountain road. I didn't like to look down when we got up because there were sheer cliffs off the roadside. I made it back in one piece. The bus drivers were very good though - they do this several times every day so this is probably a piece of cake for them. It was very cloudy when we got up there, so much so that you couldn't see the surrounding peaks.

At the top, we decided to hire a tour guide to lead us around the ruins. Let's see how much I remember. Machu Picchu was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911 (an American, of course) - but there are some claims of people who supposedly discovered it earlier, but he who has the most media coverage wins. Hiram was a pretty active guy - later a governor and Senator in the US. Through the years, he excavated the site and restored it, but taking lots of artifacts back to the US (the Peru government is still working to recover these). Machu Picchu was founded in the 9th century by the Incas, and was under constant construction until 1536 when the Spanish invaded the town. The Incas had heard about the Spanish arrival in Cusco the year earlier, and left with all of their belongings and prized possessions and headed about 200km away. When the Spanish reached Machu Picchu, they couldn't find anything of value, and luckily left mostly everything intact.

Machu Picchu had sophisticated urban planning - with a sewer system and earthquake proof houses. They built nothing along the fault line which goes through the middle of the ruins - I wonder how on earth they were able to determine that with such precision so long ago - very smart Incas!

Because of the rock cliffs, very little farmland existed, so they built terraces with an extensive fertilizing system to grow crops. The society was communal with no private property and every working for the common good - whether it was growing food, protecting the land, fighting in the army, etc. The workers lived toward the bottom of the town either in one room houses or barracks. The king had his own palace further up the hill.

There was a sun god temple in the middle of the city with the only circular wall built in the city. Sacrifices were often - animals (including lots of llamas - they have found lots of llama bones in the excavations) and humans - usually from the nobility.

After our 2 hour tour, we grabbed a bite to eat at the local cafe. We then headed back to retrace our steps and get the famous Machu Picchu postcard picture. We went up to the guardhouse which had an amazing view. The clouds had all cleared and the sun was coming out. We had a clear view of all of the peaks around, including Wayna Picchu - a separate hike that we could have done if tickets hadn't sold out.

We took loads of pictures and admired the view. My brain was having a hard time processing the incredible grandeur and beauty of what I was seeing. We both got loads of Machu Picchu pics. We rounded the corner to walk a little further up and in front of us was a llama.

About 20 llamas graze Machu Picchu. According to the tour guide, they are the best lawn mowers ever. Our llama was munching on some grass and was in the perfect location for a picture - so we went camera crazy and took lots of the llama - he will be famous (see pic below).

We walked around the ruins some more and just kept looking around in amazement, but then noticed our skin was a bit pink. We were getting fried alive under the sun, so we thought it would be best to take the bus back before we completely turned into lobsters.

We had an hour to kill and grabbed lunch in a highly recommended place called Indio Feliz. It was incredibly delicious and just what we needed after a long day at Machu Picchu.

We were back on the train on time for 5:30pm for the approximate 4 hour journey home. We were thinking it would be a nice quiet train ride home, but boy we were wrong. We were served another snack on board - this time a pasta salad with mini pizza. Not bad for just an hour and a half train ride. And then, the entertainment began. From my vague understanding of the Spanish announcement - every year in the Sacred Valley (where we were switching to the bus to go home to Cusco) there is some type of festival where lots of dancing is involved. Next pops out a masked man dressed almost in a circus costume dancing down the aisle to some type of Peruvian techno. He got a few of the passengers up to dance. We weren't quite sure what was going on, but couldn't stop laughing. Next up was a fashion show of all sorts of alpaca clothing that was for sale. Only in Peru...

After the odd, but very fun train ride, we boarded the 2 hour bus back to Cusco. We were very glad to finally get home, get to bed, and nurse our sunburned arms. Fantastic day in Machu Picchu, and well worth all the travel to get there!

Pics below:
1. The clouds when we got there
2. View of the terraces on Machu Picchu
3. Machu Picchu without llama
4. Machu Picchu with llama!!
5. View from the guardhouse
6. The masked man on the train with the fashion show Perurail employees - what an experience!

Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Day 14

Today was the day we set off to Machu Picchu - Day #3 of travel. We started out at 8am on the bus to the Sacred Valley where we would catch the train. Usually, you can take the train all the way from Cusco, but due to rain season there was a landslide and the tracks were not safe.

The bus was a little small by American standards, but for 2 hours it wasn't bad. We wound through the local roads in Cusco and then were amazed with the Andes scenery with lush grasslands (it is rainy season here after all). The pinnacle of the vistas was coming into Sacred Valley (known in Peru as Urubamba) which is surrounded by huge mountains. It was quite a site to see that I don't think we would have seen on the train.

We then arrived at the train station and boarded the PeruRail vistadome train. There are only 2 train companies that run to the town of Agua Calientes, which is about another 20 minute bus ride to the Machu Picchu ruins.

The train has giant panorama windows to enjoy the views and windows at the top so that you can follow the huge mountains all the way up. The train seats were really nice and comfortable - it looked brand new. While on board, we got served a small snack (pic below) of cous-cous and potatoes with cheese. Kyle tried the Inka Cola - a very popular fizzy drink in Peru - it is very yellow and has its own distinctive taste. You definitely have to try it just once if you come to Peru!

We arrived at the train station in about 1.5 hours and were greeted by someone from the hotel who walked us up the hill to where we were staying. It was a little bit of a hike up the hill, but the views are worth it. After a little mix up with the rooms, we got into a really huge and nice room overlooking the town. It might be a bit noisy, but I'm sure that will quiet down tonight. After the lack of sleep last night due to altitude, I'll be able to fall asleep anywhere tonight.

For the afternoon, we found a great lunch place at Chullpi - which has a three course lunch for about $15 - it is located right next to the train tracks and we had several train passings during lunch. After lunch, we headed to explore the tiny town of Aguas Calientes (which stands for hot springs in Spanish). We walked around the main square (pictured below) and up and down the streets to enjoy the beautiful views. We also braved the artesan market which was filled with all sorts of llama knick knacks. Kyle bought something and was able to haggle the price down quite a big - he's a good bargainer.

For dinner, we went to another suggestion from the loyal guide book - called the Tree House in the Rupi Wasi inn - less than 5 minute walk from where we are - located "across town," - HaHa. The chef is a local Peruvian, and he makes some amazing dishes with beautiful presentation. I had Thai Chicken (best I've ever had) and Kyle had eggplant parmesean. I finally tried a drink with Pisco (local peruvian liquor) that I liked called a Passion Fruit Pisco Sour.

Off tomorrow to Machu Picchu, I hope the weather holds up, and it is too rainy!

Photos:
1. The train which took us to Aguacalientes
2. Inside the train - great windows for looking up at the scenery - called the Vistadome train
3. Our meal on the train
4. A view of Sacred Valley
5. Another view of Sacred Valley - on the way
6. The Aguacalientes main square
7. The beer of Machu Picchu - Cusquena
8. Simba's long lost twin in Aguas Calientes (my cat from home)

We Made it to Cusco! - Day 13

Today began Day #2 of our journey to get to Machu Picchu - it's not the easiest place in the world to get to, but I'm sure it will be more than worth it when we get there.

We stayed at the hotel across the street from the airport - which was highly convenient and provided a good night sleep, but was not the cheapest thing in the world. Oh well - sometimes the easy thing is not the cheap thing. We arrived last night about midnight into Lima - got straight through customs no problem.

We were at the Hotel Costa del Sol - Ramada and they had a great buffet breakfast - you could even get your own omelette or pancakes made. And plus they had the Peruvian version of cocoa puffs - how awesome is that? AND they had brownies for breakfast.. obviously the best idea ever.

We got up and headed straight back to the airport - it was like deja vu, but this time we headed to the national departures as we were headed from Lima, Peru to Cusco, Peru. A lot of tourists take this route to get to Machu Picchu, and I saw the most Japanese tourists and American tourists I have seen all trip.

We boarded the plane and were in the premium section on LAN (yes, I'm spoiled rotten) which was a really nice surprise - with more leg room. The flight was just over an hour over the Andes mountains to the mini city of Cusco. We arrived, and a man from the hotel met us - he even had a sign with my name on it - I felt important!

We drove through the cobbled streets of Cusco up a hill and arrived at our bed and breakfast for the night. You enter through a big blue door, and are in a haven in the city. We are staying at Second Home Cusco - great location, very reasonable, and killer breakfast in the morning. The room we stayed in had a bedroom and a living room - it was huge! Only bummer was the entrance was a tad low and you had to duck to avoid bumping your head - definitely gave the place character. And people probably were not as tall as we are nowadays. Carlos the owner kindly greeted us and served us coca tea which is supposed to help you with altitude sickness. I tried a sip, but I'm glad I didn't drink the whole thing because you can have a positive drug screen for cocaine metabolites.. haha - that would not be a good way to start of my job!

We then headed to explore Cusco during the afternoon. It is like stepping back in time walking the cobblestone streets of the city. The streets are very narrow in parts - definitely not built in the time of cars, maybe even when horses and carriages were a mainstay. The Incas were long inhabitants of the Cusco region, but in 1535 the Spaniards entered. We walked around the main square called Plaza de Armas which is a large green area bordered by 2 churches and shops on the sides. We had to do our daily religious venture, and visited The Cathedral - which set us back $10 - all in the name of travel.

The cathedral is a very imposing building (see picture below) which was started to be built in 1559. The inside is even more incredible with countless works of colonial art with many altars covered in gold leaf. We visited on Easter Sunday and the church was filled with flowers from the service which made it smell amazing.

After getting our religious fix, we decided to check out the shopping and buy some souvenirs - we've both been relatively well behaved so far, so we figured it was okay to look. I got a gorgeous oil painting, and I broke down and brought a furry llama. His name is Lorenzo. Kyle invested in some alpaca gear for a friend. And I finally found a Christmas ornament in South America for my collection. A very successful shopping outing.

I forgot to mention lunch. We had a fabulous lunch at Cicciolina - recommended by both the hotel and the guidebook. 1. the setting was fantastic - upstairs overlookng the street and 2. the food was out of this world. We had to try to local delicacies so we ordered guinea pig and alpaca. Both were surprisingly tasty.

We were getting a bit thirsty and decided to try one of the many local watering holes. We found out there is a large expat population, and couldn't pass up the chance of going to an English pub. We went to Cross Keys where I was able to get a cider in Cusco, Peru - who knew that even existed. Talking of England - thank you to all those at Marie Curie reading along - hope you are enjoying it!

That night, we had another fabulous dinner at Boca - which was owned by the same man that owns Cicciolina - highly recommended. No guinea pig this time for me. Although Kyle did has the alpaca burger.

Off to pack my backpack for the trip to Aguacalientes tomorrow!

Photos:
1. my cup of coca tea
2. the view right out side of our hotel
3. the same view at night
4. The Cathedral of Cusco
5. Menu at the Cross Keys pub - who knew you could get an English breakfast in Cusco
6. our chariot from Lima to Cusco
7. My sign at the airport :)

Leaving Buenos Aires, arriving Buenos Aires and the most interesting cab ride of my life - Day 12

Our last day in Buenos Aires was spent finally getting to take a tour of the inside of Casa Rosada. It is open to the public on holidays and weekends (but of course wasn't open yesterday - Good Friday) when we attempted to go. But today was the day!

We checked out of the hotel and walked over to the Pink House and were permitted inside; there was a long snaking line which we couldn't quite figure out, but finally realized you had to get in line to get a piece of paper with your tour group on their, and then line up when your tour time was called. A little disorganized, but everything run by the government usually is.

We had a fabulous tour guide who spoke in Spanish and English (bonus) - otherwise I was going to have to feed a broken Spanish translation to Kyle. The Pink House is where the Argentine president works. Their presidential residence is 1 hour away, which would be awful to drive to and fro ever morning in Buenos Aires traffic, but good thing there is a helipad right next to the Pink House. We went through the press room where the president gives all official press conferences. We also got to stand on the famous balcony where Eva Peron addressed the Argentines in the 1950s and where Pope John Paul addressed the people in the 1980s. Great tour to end our stint in Buenos Aires.

Our next important task before leaving was to find a Pope key chain for Kyle. Luckily the main city cathedral was surrounded with many souvenir sellers hawking many pope items.

We returned to the hotel to meet our airport taxi. We had reserved one online at the cost of 180 argentine pesos (about $36 US). The airport wanted $80US for a car, or would set up a taxi for about $50US. You know me and my deals, so I set off to look for a reasonable ride to the airport that was secure with good reviews. I found Taxi Ezeiza.

We approached the taxi driver in the lobby of the hotel who was flustered searching for us because the hotel said "no one by that name is here." I knew to look out for him, so I was able to find him. Christian, the taxi driver, explained the "the hotels like to rob you" in his broken English with an Spanish\Italian accent with some random Portuguese words which we took to mean there was not much cooperation between taxi airport companies and the hotel. He was there 20 minutes early, which was great.

We get in the white station wagon marked with Taxi Ezeiza and take off for the airport. Christian immediately doubts our knowledge of the proper airport we are supposed to be going to - beenasthough there are two Buenos Aires airports - he says "the silly tourists have ended up at the wrong airport before." You know me - I had done my research :)

We start off, and Christian informs he is always a tour guide, and immediately begins pointing things out and telling Kyle where to find the "expensive prostitutes that you pay in USD, not Argentinian pesos that live in Recoleta" which was Kyle's favorite neighborhood before he found out this gem of knowledge.

Our tour continues on the highway, and then Christian realizes all of a sudden we have no gas, and says we must stop at the gas station. Kyle and I both look at each other with a little concern, but we really have no choice. Christian seems quite harmless, and I think we both could take him. He resembles a young, slightly awkward Tim Curry. We pull off the highway and stop at a gas station. Christian informs that we have to get out of the car while gas is being put in the car through a valve in the hood. I am starting to internally freak out, but then Christian points to the sign that all passengers must get out of the car - I internally calm down a little bit. We learned most cars run on natural gas in Argentina, and getting out of the car is to probably avoid being blown to smithereens if something goes wrong. It was quite mindblowing that these cars all run on natural gas.

Back in the car, and back on the highway our tour continues. We find out about Ciudad Evita which the original street plan looks like the profile of Eva Peron - quite incredible. Because of the messed up streets due to the odd shape - each address has 6 parts to it. After this exit, Christian informs us that we are going to stop by his mothers to get his dinner because the restaurants at Ezeiza "are too damn expensive." Kyle and I look at each other again. We had survived the potential gas station incident, so hopefully we would be okay on this one. Luckily we had left with plenty of time to get the airport.

We head into what Christian describes as an Italian neighborhood (we also get his life story with the free tour). He was born in Italy, moved to Argentina. Has a French father and Italian mother. He got a degree in graphic design, and spent some time in Canada during university. Now, he serves a taxi driver and tour guide for his father's company. We arrive at a house, and out pops this older lady with something in a sack with a vitamin water. Sure enough, this is Christian's mother who we were introduced to. After being wished "buen viaje" (safe trip in Spanish) we were finally off to the airport.

We finally arrived about an hour later - the trip should usually take 40 minutes. We now have Christian's card and information AND his home phone number if anyone needs a tour or crazy taxi ride in Buenos Aires.

Tonight, we flew to Lima, Peru, and tomorrow we fly to Cusco. Good night all!

Pics
1. Inside of the Casa Rosada
2. The press conference room of the president in Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires, Argentina
3. The view from the balcony Eva Peron spoke from, view of Plaza de Mayo

San Telmo and UT Southwestern reunion in Buenos Aires - Day 11

Today we headed over to San Telmo - another neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Given that it was Good Friday, we expected many things to be closed and we were right. We figured it was a good day to walk the streets of Buenos Aires and enjoy the relative quiet in the city.

Everywhere was closed for lunch so we made the once trip visit to the Mecca of McDonalds. Very expensive compared to the states - a meal was around $8-$10. But when you are hungry and it is the only thing open it doesn't matter. The food was decent, and I was happy that I could get a Fanta there :)

Next stop was San Telmo, located south of Puerto Madero where we are staying. Our first stop was ... wait for it... a church. We were able to go into the Nuestra Basilica de la Senora between the Good Friday services. Really beautiful church - I know it had some significance and I will add that here later :)

Then we headed down "La Defensa" - a street famous for its shopping and antique markets - watch out wallet. On Sundays they have a huge market that stretches for blocks, bummer we were not there on a Sunday. Walking down the street - we found some really cute shops with unique knick knacks. Yes - I did buy something :)

Heading back to the hotel, we passed lots of graffiti, but honestly it was more like art than any of the graffiti back in the states.

That afternoon we met up with Lindsey and Tessa, who are two of my medical school classmates. They are spending time in Buenos Aires taking Spanish classes and working in a local hospital on a research project. We had a great time catching up and trying to speak Spanish. We enjoyed a Malbec (of course, we are in Argentina) on the pool deck.

The night, Kyle and I headed to a Tango show at the local cultural center. The footwork was amazing and mindboggling - and the traditional tango music with an accordion player was fantastic as well. The tickets were about $25USD each, and the tango shows in town with dinner start at $100 USD (talk about overpriced). We were really happy to find this gem through tripadvisor.

That night, we met back up with Lindsey and Tessa for dinner at Broccolino (it was so good we had to go back twice). A really fun last full day in Buenos Aires. Off to Lima manana!

Pics
1. Shop in San Telmo
2. Graffiti in San Telmo
3. From left to right: Lindsey, me, and Tessa on the rooftop deck overlooking San Telmo - UT Southwestern reunion in Buenos Aires
4. Basilica de Nuestra Senora
5. Bottle of wine we enjoyed that afternoon
6. The tango show in Centro Cultural de Borges