planes, trains, and automobiles!

This post is written by Daliah...we can finally edit and post it now that we have an internet connection--at home!

Getting from Lake Titicaca to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo), twas the most complex day of travel yet.

Our day began at 5:30 a.m. when we awoke to catch a 1 hour ride to the airport. The flight to Cusco was 1 hour, and we were met by our pre-arranged driver, Jose,  for a 1.5 hour taxi ride to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, where we caught a train for another 1.5 hour ride to Aguas Calientes.
We learned a lot about travel within Peru today:

1. Flight times seem to be approximations and changes in schedule are commonplace. Our flight was delayed by an hour, (each flight we have taken so far - or are scheduled to take - has been rescheduled...)
2. The taxi drivers are calm and dependable when recommended to you. (we've been advised not to jump in a cab off the street). However, things often get lost in translation and today our driver was half an hour late picking us up to go to the airport. Another complication!
3. The drivers in Peru are absolutely insane and the driving ride more treacherous than I have encountered anywhere before. Lorne said it's about as bad as India, which is saying something.
4. We haven't seen a single woman driver on the road! It's like the wild west!
5. Traveling on trains is the best!

On the train, we met a lovely group of teens traveling on a 30 day adventure trip from Leeds, England. Before long, the group of us were sharing stories of our adventures, discussing the ubiquitous nature of synagogue politics (it turned out that their chaperone Dave was a Reform Jew!) while being impressed by the poise and sociability of our teen aged companions. Our journey flew by. What a lovely day of travel and companionship.

In spite of a couple of complications and a stressful start to our travel day (with our delayed drive and rescheduled flight!) we made it to Aguas Calientes by 3 pm and were very pleased with ourselves! Our hotelier was not at the station as expected though, oh-oh, we thought, another glitch! But, experienced in the ways of being met by hotels, Deb asked someone else waiting for guests if he could use his cell phone to call La Cabana, and he did, and told us he would be here to meet us in 5 minutes! There was a huge crafts market adjacent to the station, so we browsed the good nearby while we waited for him to arrive. Literally 5 minutes later, he did, we learned his name, Christian, and he took hold of our suitcase, and explained that it is only walking in the village, so we began using the last vehicle of our day--our legs, and climbed through the winding stone streets to our "home" for the night! It was a great day and we felt proud about getting to where we needed to be, in a country where that is not easy at all.

Lake Titicaca is more than just a great name!

Hey folks...well, I´ve given it the old college try...got some great photos today, including beautiful vistas from the incredible Island of Taquile out over Lago Titicaca with the snowcapped mountains in the distance, the ancient Inca and pre-Inca terraces, still in use in the foreground, the deep azure of the incredibly huge lake in the middle'ground...hard to picture? Well, sorry, uploading a photo seems near impossible unless I want to upload all my photos to this business centre computer in the hotel. And doing it in Spanish adds a nice little challenge to the whole exercise. Given that we have to be up at the literal crack of dawn tomorrow to make our flight back to Cuzco, and then the car and driver ride to Ollantaytambo to catch the train up to Aguas Calientes...well, I have packing to do! So the best is just to stick with words for now, and upload the occasional photo to my Facebook page, until I figure this thing out. Daliah and I have had an amazing time on Lake Titicaca. We have a stunning view of the lake from our room, and we love to watch the fishermen, birds, and excursion boats making their way amongst the reeds that populate this part of the lake. It is truly an incredible sight. Today we saw both hunting and fishing taking place from the same boat! One man fired his musket at a seabird, while the other was fishing at the same time! We had a great tour today, took all day, and we learned a great deal about the cultures and customs of the Amerindian peoples of the islands of the lake. We were served a fabulous lunch by a family on the Island of Taquile, and we shopped for the most beautiful knitted and woven goods in their market place. Before that we stopped for about an hour and met the Uros people of the floating islands. It is a strange and ´¨touristic´thing to do, but it was all pretty amazing. We had a nice siesta on the boat back, too! Taquile Island is normally 4 hours from Puno´s harbour, but we booked ourselves on the ´rapida´ tour, and that brought us back in less than half the time. All good! We have enjoyed two fantastic dinners right here in the hotel, and its been a great little side trip, really worthwhile. The people of Peru have been friendly, warm and kind, going out of their way to be helpful. And we have been marvelling at the strong family bonds we see everywhere...there is much more to say, and no more time tonight. Signing off for now, Deb. PS, we are hopeful the guys are doing well up there on the Inca Trail! Today was, according to what we read in Frommer´s, the most arduous for them. By now they are sleeping soundly in their tent. Today they had to climb the two steepest mountain passes. They would have walked for about 8 hours or so, I think they said. So they are in our thoughts. I will ask Lorne to blog a bit about that experience when they are back ´down´and when he is coherent enough to write something. I´m sure they are having an amazing time too. xoDeb.

At the airport nice and early...on Peru´s National holiday of Independence Day

So this morning there is time to tell a few funny stories. About our adventures in ¨trip preparation¨ here in Cuzco on Tuesday. We had a fantastic drive into the city from the Sacred Valley, with beautiful views of the high plain and mountains as we wound our way up and out of the valley, as well as some incredible scenes of the Andean farmers tending their fields. Its not uncommon to see the local people wearing the traditional dress and carrying their goods on their backs in their hand-woven carry bags and shawls-wraps. After checking into our cute hotel in the barrio of San Blas (a steep climb up from the central (and very ´touristed´) part of town, we decided to go and buy the entrance tickets that Daliah and I would need for Machu Picchu. Now, please keep in mind that we had read this would need to be done in either Cuzco or in Aguas Calientes, the village closest to MP. In order to remove stress and anxiety, we decided this could be done in Cuzco, and then we´d go to the Llama Path office to get the guys checked in for their trek, since they needed to be there 2 days early to pay the rest of their fees in cash, and to find out some more information. So....we set out down the cobble stone street to find our way to wherever we might do this (we thought the purchasing ¨´centre´´ (sorry, the keyboards are different here and I´m paying by the minute in the internet zone of the airport, so I don´t want to stop and figure out which key is the right one for certain punctuation marks!) was in the central Plaza des Armas, so we headed in that direction. We passed by a municipal information office for tourists, and Daliah and I went in to ask about where we would buy los bolletas. Although the helpful lady spoke no English, I used what Spanish I had and she got a map and drew for us where we needed to go. We began walking, with Lorne and Brian figuring out the map, and all of us wondering what was going on. We decided to stop in at one of the ancient sites near the Plaza and asked the man there about the Machu Picchu tickets...he told us they were sold out for several days (which provoked some anxiety of course), and then he confirmed that the tickets were indeed sold at the ¨´INC´ which stands for somethng like the Institute for National Culture, and indeed at the location as marked...so we started walking some more, and confirmed along the way with locals that we were indeed going in the right direction. After 15 or 20 minutes, we wondered why we had not come upon such an important building. The guys were well ahead of us by then, and the road had changed to a local high street, with all manner of shops...seemed to be hardware row...shops where you could buy just lighting acoutrements, shops for just plumbing stuff...and still no INC! We wondered, why is such an important building located out here? But, ours is not to wonder why. By now, the guys were a block or more ahead. Daliah and I came to a cross street and saw a big crowd of people in a kind of line up down the side street. I said, ¨hmm, wonder what that is all about?¨ We walked to catch up with the guys, and they said we should have passed the place already. We went into a cell phone sales place and the guy said we had to go back a ways, and we´d see it. We did that, and at the exact location, all we could see was a high wall made of metal, topped by barbed wire! We walked back some more, and then, only then, did we figure out that the huge line up of people was for the Machu Picchu tickets! We found our way into the  correct line (those who have not pre-ordered), and once there, Daliah said, ´do you think we need our passports for this?´A really nice young woman behind us said she thought we did. Lorne went to the front of the line and a few minutes came back with the information...yes, indeed, we needed our passports, and yes, there were still tickets available for July 31. Thus began an afternoon of  learning about how Peruvian bureacracy has been incredibly inefficiently designed. It seems that the national holiday and the 100th birthday of MP, combined with the opening up of 400 more permitted visitors per day, have made for a rush on tickets, such that purchasing for the next day is very unlikely. Here is what happened over the next hour or so...Lorne and Brian took a cab back to the hotel to get our passports, (no we didn´t have them), Daliah and I waited in the line and made good friends with young Peruvian hotelier who was purchasing tickets for her guests, and with two young travellers who had just come from Lago Titicaca, Lorne and Brian returned with the passports in about 20 minutes. The guard for the entrance to buy the tickets came along the line and stamped everyone in it because they were only going to let so many more people into the building, we got to the front of the line after a long wait and meanwhile, Lorne and Brian helped out other people in the line who did not know what to do, and did not have any of the information we had just learned through experience, we also checked our guide book and learned that indeed you need your passport to purchase, then laughed at ourselves for not reading that first!, then Daliah and I were finally permitted to enter. Now when I say ´´enter´, you need to picture a large sheet metal wall (yes, that is what I said), and a very small hole cut out of it to make a ´door´, so that everyone going in must bend in half to enter. Yes, folks, this is the Institute National of Cultura for entrance to the number one tourist site in South America, the number one historical site in the western hemisphere, some might argue! That is what I¨m saying. Once we entered, we saw many small lines of people. We got into one of the ones on the right, as guided by the guard, and waited again to purchase our tickets...but no, folks, we were NOT purchasing our tickets in this line. Once at the window, we told the lady we wanted 2 tickets for July 31, and she booked us both in on her computer. I asked if we could pay with Visa, and she motioned to another set of wickets at right angles to hers, and yes, folks, that is what I´m saying, another 15 minutes in line to PAY for what we had just booked. It got a little funnier still when Daliah tried to communicate with Brian through the guard who spoke no English, that she needed her credit card. Suffice to say, we finally got what we came for, and we had quite the travellers´experience in so doing, because when you pre-order everything from home, and you pre-arrange all these things, you lose this kind of gritty hands-on interaction with bureacracies, the kind of thing that Lorne and I experienced all the time when we travelled so many years ago. Now that we are older, this is somewhat new to us, but it is replete with that feeling of discovery and adventure, and the guys had helped out a Kiwi travelling with his wife and children (they are homeschooled), and as we left the building, the Kiwi gentleman said, ¨¨your guys really helped me out! Go Canada!¨ This is the kind of thing that makes for great memories and good fun. We all then hopped in a cab and headed for the Llama Path office, and I´ll save that story for the next post...gotta go stretch my legs now.

More later folks. Have a great day! xoDeb.

So much to report, so little time...

Lots of good stories to tell you, and have to figure out the easiest way to upload photos to this blog. But the main thing to know tonight is that Lorne and Brian are busily packing up the last few items for their 3:30 wake up call tomorrow a.m. so they can get to the Llama Path office for their bus that takes them to the beginning of their trek...that Daliah and I have checked in for our noon flight to Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and that the business centre for this hotel quaintly looks out over a Spanish colonial courtyard through massive glass windows...we have spent 2 fascinating days in and around Cuzco, and have had some real fun. Today we hiked up through the old town, shopping along the way of course, to a wonderful Inca ruin atop a hill, overlooking the entire city. We had amazing views (see Lorne´s facebook page for a photo). The altitude has been a bit of a hassle for me but the others are feeling fine. I´m learning to live with all the symptoms and I´m keeping hydrating and drinking the coca leaf tea, etc. We had an incredible meal last night at ChiCha (google it), and I took great photos...once I figure out how to put them up here, I will, or check back later on my facebook page...we are trying to remember to take good food photos. So...tomorrow morning the boys start walking and the girls go exploring at Lake Titicaca...we all plan to meet up at the Watchman´s Hut at Machu Picchu on Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m., we´ll let you know how that goes!!! Until tomorrow (or so), xoDeb.

Hotel Rio Sagrado-a little bit of paradise here on earth

It takes many (fascinating) hours to reach your destination if indeed your destination is the Sacred Valley, Peru. But it is worth it! Hidden between the railroad tracks and the river, nestled between the Andes mountains, and in an otherwise nondescript seeming town (Urubamba), lies the absolutely stunning Orient Express Hotel Rio Sagrado. Lorne (our travel agent and tour guide) was able to find a tour operator at the Cuzco airport who could find us a wonderful car and driver/guide who speaks great English, to take us here, via the village of Pisac-more on that later). Edgar was fantastic, telling us some Inca history, and waiting patiently in Pisac while we made our way through the gigantic market that is set up there on Sundays. We have some fantastic photos, but I will upload one or two of them later. Suffice it to say right now that this place is incredible-peaceful, stunning setting, kind people, every detail is thought out carefully. Our room looks out on the river flowing past over the rapids, and the steep mountain sides across it. All night, the river babbles past, creating a lovely backdrop of sound for our sleep. So far, it is I who has had the hardest time adjusting to the altitude. Several of us had some shortness of breath when we got off the plane in Cuzco, that passed away but then I noticed that with effort, it comes back again. Brian and Lorne seem inured to it! The hotel is built in a number of beautifully appointed buildings, all oriented to the river view, which means that there are some steep climbs from our room to the lobby, and so on. The winding paths through beautiful gardens are quite lovely, and most of all, it is very, very quiet here. It is the first thing you notice when you arrive, and one of my companions thinks perhaps the quiet is created by the mountains. After two days of travel (that is, two mornings where we had to get up for a flight), it was incredibly wonderful to arrive here. Our hostess greeted us with "muna" in a drink, it is the Andean mint they grow here in the garden, and it is supposed to be better for altitude sickness than coca tea. She showed us the resort then, and we have all agreed that we have NEVER stayed anywhere as nice. She gave us several recommendations for dinner and after some discussion, we selected one in town where we could comfortably celebrate our friend Brian's birthday. For 10 soles each way, the hotel arranged for a driver to take us to the restaurant and pick us up again later. The restaurant is on the second floor of a wood and stone building, with wide plank wooden board floors, a roaring fire in the corner (it is chilly here at night!!!), and a beautiful table set for 4 by the fire. When we praised the delicious food (smoked local trout with capers and light vinegar; a salad of asparagus, avocado and hearts of palm, and fabulous butter sauteed mushrooms for appetizers), the owner told us "it is simply rural food, with simple flavourings". It was absolutely perfect, even without wine to accompany (drinking is not allowed when you are trying to adjust to the altitude). I will say more later about the Pisac ruins and the amazing Pisac market. Suffice it to say we are having a wonderful time...today is a "relax" day...beautiful breakfast over looking the river in the gorgeous glass enclosed restaurant (all the doors onto the room terraces are glass too, and the shower is a rain shower, also glass encased totally, with plants growing outside for privacy, it is like taking a shower in the rainforest)...then a stroll around the grounds with cameras, and then massages we booked yesterday. (Last night, before dinner, we had time to soak in the giant hot tubs (one indoor, one outdoors), some of us took a steam in the steam room, and quick cold shower with mountain water pouring out of the rocks! I realize this is a bit jumbled, but I think I'm too relaxed today to write coherently. More later...and maybe a few pictures too. xoDeb.

Get Set!

Packing day...but first...the mandatory mani-pedi! Gotta stick to the priorities.

On Your Mark!

It started with an innocent enough question...on the heels of a decision to go to Ireland for MY 50th birthday last year, I asked Lorne, "what would you like to do for YOUR 50th birthday?" Without a pause, he fired back, "I want to go to Machu Picchu!" I looked at him and said, "where?" Just kidding, but I think I looked at him in serious doubt. And then he said, "I want to hike to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail!" I said, "with me?" I said, "are you joking?" And I said, "no way." I was serious. I'm an old lady. I turned 50 in 2009. I have a chronic back problem due to a herniated disk. I have a million aches and pains. I cannot sleep on the hard ground. I don't like the idea of not being able to take a hot shower for 3 nights, and in that moment, I was just plain incredulous. A few days later he said, "I want you to go with me. I'd want you with me even if you were in a wheelchair." Aw, how sweet. And stupid. Really? I mean, all I could think was, "Baby, what a way to ruin your 50th celebration...you don't want me complaining the whole time." Truly, I was thinking that my going along was a really bad idea. So we were at an impasse...then, in March of 2010, we chatted with an old friend who had been to Peru and had hiked up the Inca Trail too...granted, he was about 1000 times more fit than me, and about 100 times more fit than Lorne. And he had hiked and biked in about a million mountain ranges (okay, I exaggerate, but you get the picture). And he said, brilliantly, "why don't you go to Peru with another couple? The guys can do the trek and the girls can take a side trip, and then take the train up to MP, and meet you there!" I was really excited by this idea. We were at a conference at the time, but I didn't care...ran over to my man with this incredible news..."Hey, listen to this idea!" And that was the beginning of what has become the Peru trip itinerary of a lifetime...it will be fun to describe it all to you....as we travel through the Andes. I know very little about Peru, and I knew even less when we decided to go there. But Lorne it seems had always wanted to go and part of being married is signing on for the adventures you wouldn't have if you weren't with that person. So, it has been many months of reading, talking, studying maps and making decisions, as well as many months of treatments for my back problems, in the hope that I’ll be able to cope with the challenges of this trip. And lately, many days of browsing (me), selecting, buying (him), working out (him) and walking out (me), and tons and tons of reading. We have chosen our travel buddies (who might write here now and then), carefully enough so that I don't have to do the Inca Trail, and Lorne can indeed do the Inca Trail! The boys will climb the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, while the girls take a little trip to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world! It's all going to be wonderful, but whatever it is, you'll likely read about it here. It will definitely be an adventure. The most fun so far has been all the DIY planning we've done. Except for the Inca Trail (which involves a tour group put together by a company called Llama Path) all plans have been researched by Lorne, the best travel agent in the world. We have selected some nice places to stay and we look forward to relaxing and enjoying this fascinating part of the world...eating great food, sleeping in comfort (except when on the trail of course), and learning about a fascinating culture. We depart Saturday morning. I'll write about our itinerary in the next blog...stay tuned. xoxoxDeb.