Peru 3 – Sacred Valley (Cusco, Písac, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu)

Lucky me, to have a 2008, a 2011, and now a 2024 visit to the Sacred Valley, each time with at least one of my daughters, whose company is wonderful and whose Spanish gets me out of jams.

This trip, Laura rejoined me, bringing along her partner, Marc, for the first time. It seemed fitting to suggest a trip to see the Inca and pre-Inca ruins since Marc and Laura are building a house of stone themselves.

Here's Marc at the beginnings of the shop he was building
Here’s Marc at the beginnings of the shop he was building, which is now complete.

Some day I’ll negotiate the rights to publish a detailed post on their off-the-grid estate which Marc has rightly named Helm’s Deep.

Cusco and Sacsayhuamán

We flew from Denver to Los Angeles to Lima to Cusco, a typical itinerary, with good treatment from both Delta and LATAM. The bad treatment occurred in LAX where twice someone triggered a security alarm, filling the concourse with an incredibly loud, high-pitched noise that, surprisingly, OSHA has not silenced, a nuisance that that apparently has been occurring for over two years, according to a reddit thread.

On a practical note, I brought my Steripen, a fluorescent light that purifies water, saving us many bottles of purified water. Because it works particularly well in clear water, it’s perfectly suited to the task. Next time I’ll remember to bring a charger for the batteries, which didn’t last the trip. The newer models have built-in chargers.

We landed in Cusco at 11,000 feet, so beautiful a descent. Against our better knowledge, we took a taxi that the boss (el jefe) pressure-talked us into as we exited the airport. His man took us to a relative’s hotel that had no vacancy. Wanting to get away from this situation, we started walking on the least desirable avenue in Cusco, until we reached the plaza and went uphill to nicer parts to find lodging.

Much of what we did in Cusco involved the ruins, walking twice to Sacsayhuamán.

If I ever understand how it was possible for some unknown peoples to erect such massive, uniquely shaped stone walls without mortar, fitting millimeters apart, standing firmly for hundreds or thousands of years, I’ll add a post about it. For now, I’ll just touch on the business while mentioning some interesting and sometimes funny events of the Peru trip.

As we walked toward Sacsayhuamán, we inspected other stone edifaces
As we walked toward Sacsayhuamán, we inspected other stone edifaces.
Here we are at Sacsayhuamán, just outside of Cusco. These rocks anticipate larger, more tightly placed rocks among these indestructible ruins (rendering the word “ruin,” a misnomer)
One descends from Sacsayhuamán to a steep walkway filled with shops and apartments.
One descends from Sacsayhuamán to a steep walkway filled with shops and apartments.

It was in 2008 that I learned to appreciate café cortados—in Cusco. Oddly, I was having a hard time finding a real cortado this trip…generally getting something like a very small cappucino instead…so the hunt was on.

Continuing down the street
Continuing down the flowered street

view of Cusco
While I stayed in our original hotel, Laura and Marc moved to the bargain quarters (1/4 the price with an amazing view)

Louis Laundry
I didn’t really need the laundry since I wash my clothes when I shower on this type of trip…but, there was a laundry for me if I needed it!
juice bar
Our last stop in Cusco was the market, which had a wonderful fresh juice bar. We were recovering from a comical incident…one of the vendors tried to sell us some painting reproductions…Laura understood the price as a dollar…I couldn’t pass up anything, even a reproduction, for a dollar, so we agreed on the purchase only to find out the dollar was for the cardboard tube, not the artwork; the seller had a good sense of humor, calling himself Picasso Junior

Pisac

In 2011, Laura and I ran from Cusco to Pisac, about 20 miles. This time we took a bus.

I’ll always like this town that is bordered on one side by the Urubamba River and on the back side by Inca ruins.

terraces Pisac
Looking at the terraces that lead toward the Pisac ruins
Nice view of Pisac
Nice view of Pisac. As it turned out, Marc and Laura advanced farther and further than I on this outing. At the far end, I took a taxi back to town, while they walked back, finding themselves buying goods from, apparently, the cutest child in Peru when they entered town. While waiting for them, I entered a business that had “electric” in its name, hoping to find a battery charger—but was given an uncharacteristic cold shoulder, only to find out from Laura who found it humorous that I had wandered into a telecommunications company.

Ollantaytambo “oh-yahn-tai-tahm-boh”

We took a collectiva to Ollantaytambo, the only new town for Laura and myself, and one that challenged Pisac for its charm, probably surpassing Pisac for its ruins. We found our hotel by chance, coming across it just as an Anglo woman also walked up to the door, saying, “I used to run this place.” She dropped off a nine-year-old child without going in, but we went in, finding the owner hospitable (but perhaps not to his ex-wife who had dropped off the the child) and informative.

Ollantaytambo
From our hotel roof, a view of Ollantaytambo and its stunning ruins in the background

Because Ollantaytambo is the location from which one train to Machu Picchu departs, many visitors do not enjoy the nearby ruins, but Marc and Laura explored them with typical rigor.

Ollantaytambo ruins
Some of what Laura and Marc saw—this photo not doing full justice to the expanse

Ollantaytambo
Meanwhile, I hiked to some closer ruins

Machu Picchu

Train to Machu Picchu
After a night in Ollantaytambo, we took the train to Machu Picchu
Train to Machu Picchu
Laura picked up her sweater in Pisac, a nice find, although the woman who sold it, also misrepresented as “alpaca” some acrylic cloth…so it might pay to check a few shops before buying
Machu Picchu
Of all the ruins in the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu most clearly conveys the sense of a community, a place where one might have wanted to live. Dodging people and tour groups reminded me that, although I wanted Marc to see Machu Picchu, I would probably not return, finding the less populated areas of the Sacred Valley so attractive
Machu Picchu
Marc and Laura got up earlier and hiked further, seeing more of the stones and mountain and less of the tourists
Machu Picchu
More mountainous beauty. People ask me why I keep returning to the Sacred Valley, much of my response being that I am invigorated and amazed whenever I look at the landscape

Not only did I get to Machu Picchu later, but I left earlier than Laura and Marc. I decided to take the bus down instead of returning on the steep trail that leads back to Aguas Calientes. But the bus queue kept growing and the bus-every-five-minutes event was not happened.

Bus wreck
The reason I had to wait for the bus became clear when, finally catching the bus, I saw that an earlier one had taken a hairpin curve too early (about 20 yards too early!)

train from Santa Maria
In 2008 when we visited Machu Picchu, we took the inexpensive route from Cusco to Santa Maria, walking a few miles along or on the train track to Aquas Calientes…this is the same track and we enjoyed walking part way toward Santa Maria again, where there is now in the jungle a restaurant that Laura and Marc enjoyed

Aguas Calientes
Parting shot: before leaving Aguas Calientes, I found a perfect café cortado and perhaps won a game of chess

We took a different train back, one that heads straight toward Cusco but must stop eight miles outside since the climb would be prohibitively steep for a train. A skilled taxi driver got us through the narrow, busy streets of Cusco at night in time for our return flight. Thank you, driver.

Here’s a nine-minute slideshow of our trip that I put together for friendss who were in the left-behind (outside of Peru) series:

Zion National Park (Angels Landing Again)

My 2019 post, Zion National Park (Angels Landing), is much more informative than this one, this being primarily personal because for the first time I wondered if I’d actually “make it,” respecting the psychological law of hiking that inclines increase several degrees in steepness each year after one turns ~60. Continue reading “Zion National Park (Angels Landing Again)”

Four-day Colorado Road Trip

When my friend from Tulsa, a friend from antiquity (circa 1973), and I planned the road trip about four months ago, it probably involved rigorous backpacking. As it was, we did carry our tents and bags out of his car and set them up nearby in a mist of mosquitoes, and that’s roughing it for a few minutes. Continue reading “Four-day Colorado Road Trip”

Photos of Gijón, Spain & Konstanz, Germany

itinerary:

  • Oct. 5, fly Denver to Miami to Madrid to Gijón, Spain.
  • Oct. 14, fly Gijón to Madrid to Zurich, train to Konstanz, Germany.
  • Oct 18, Reverse that.
  • Oct 29, fly Gijón to Madrid to Chicago. Lose your day-pack with your laptop, razor, rain jacket, headlamp, and favorite hair brush (or have it stolen…dunno—it will have been a very long day). Chicago to Denver. Discover Lyft wants about $125 to go to Lafayette, so bus to Boulder and take Lyft from there.

Madrid

In the Madrid-Barajas airport, you cannot find out certain gate numbers until you get to Terminal 4 (T4, boasting “70 million passengers per year”). There you find T4S is set aside for countries, such as the US, that lie outside of the Schengen Area, the 26 EU countries that abolished their passport requirements. At T4S, you find, you hope, the H-J-K concourses, and only then can you learn the gate. Continue reading “Photos of Gijón, Spain & Konstanz, Germany”

Guest Entry – Balcony at Cliffs Club Kauai

This guest post is by Linda Grounds, née Burkhardt. It arose from her observations while on vacation in Hawaii. – Louis

The view was breathtaking.

From Balcony in Kauai #1
From Balcony in Kauai #1

From Balcony in Kauai #2
From Balcony in Kauai #2

A code of silence, unwritten yet understood, quieted the tongues of the vacationing balcony dwellers. Stilled, in reverence to the ancient emerald cliffs crowned with rainbows. Hushed, so that bird songs floated above a soft ocean roar. Whispered, to preserve rare moments. A whale spouting, a pod of dolphin playing, a turtle shadow beneath the sparkling foam. Continue reading “Guest Entry – Balcony at Cliffs Club Kauai”

Los Zacatitos, Third Visit (!)

This post is about my third trip to Zacatitos; my second trip here and my first trip here.

That I am traveling at all is a testament to the decline of covid19 in some parts of the world.

Yes, I must like this place…as well as el yerno, Don, y la hija, Sarah, who invited me—el suegro—down! (¡And that is the last of my Spanish through which you must suffer!)

burros
Who doesn’t dream of spending a week with a couple nice burros on the ocean’s edge? {photo by Sarah}

Continue reading “Los Zacatitos, Third Visit (!)”

Zion National Park (Angels Landing)

Flying Frontier

I fly Frontier, proudly, knowing at any juncture a flight might be late or canceled. Once I drove back from Tulsa to Denver because (1) the flight was canceled and (2) the Frontier employee told us, “Oh, and we don’t fly out of Tulsa tomorrow, so you’ll have to find a different airline.” Continue reading “Zion National Park (Angels Landing)”

Southern England: Revisited

One year after my previous trip, I repeated the opportunity to visit Chris, a friend from my undergraduate days, and Adrienne, his wife.

This time I came prepared with one request: that we visit the yellow cliffs popularized in the television series Broadchurch. Sometime in the intervening year I had watched and, really, become attached to that scenery. As one of the characters says,

Scene of Jurassic Coast from "Broadchurch"
Scene of Jurassic Coast from “Broadchurch”

It is gorgeous, and, I confess, once again life imitates art. Continue reading “Southern England: Revisited”

Peru 1 – Sacred Valley (Cusco, Machu Picchu & Inca Písac)

Brief and Tedious Preface

No, I have not recently returned from Peru, though I wish I had. Instead, I’m using some annotated photos from a 2008 trip and am converting them into an entry here. There are several unspeakable reasons for this.
Continue reading “Peru 1 – Sacred Valley (Cusco, Machu Picchu & Inca Písac)”

Los Zacatitos, Second Visit (and father East Cape)

This post is about my second trip to Zacatitos; my third trip here and my first trip here.

Baja Sur: Baja (Lower) California Sur (South). This current post is brief, following as it does on the heels of the lengthy post on Southern England, a short history and tour guide to key spots in that area.

Continue reading “Los Zacatitos, Second Visit (and father East Cape)”

Southern England: ‘Tis new to thee’

One would think that someone who had both taught Shakespeare and written a dissertation on the Globe playhouse would have made an early visit to England to know what he was talking about. Not I. Instead I waited about 25 years to visit, and not for a professional reason, but for the opportunity to visit Chris, a friend from my undergraduate days, and Adrienne, his wife.

Continue reading “Southern England: ‘Tis new to thee’”

Guest Entry – Washington D.C. (mostly)

This is adapted from an email Mindy sent (8/14/2017) while on a trip from Missouri to Washington D.C. Between her (un)timely visit to Charlottesville and breakfast in Trump’s hotel, the content may interest more than the original audience (and she’s given me permission to post it). – Louis

Here are the highlights from our (Mindy, Josh, and friends’) time in Washington D.C.

Washington Monument

Preface: Charlottesville

Before we went to D.C. we were in Charlottesville—I don’t have any pictures from it, but it was a really nice town with more cars than I prefer. Josh and I had a great time at a running store where a guy named Turtle sold Josh a new pair of runners and I really enjoyed hanging out with Sarah and Kyle and walking around and looking at the campus and shops and things. 

Continue reading “Guest Entry – Washington D.C. (mostly)”

Los Zacatitos, MX, First Visit

This post is about my first trip to Zacatitos; my second trip here and my third trip here.

Baja (lower) California is a peninsula comprised of two Mexican states, Baja California and the southern half, Baja California Sur. I spent a week at the southern end, a bit to the east of the Southern Cape, the beginning of East Cape. The nearest city with an international airport is San José del Cabo (Saint Joseph of the Cape).

Continue reading “Los Zacatitos, MX, First Visit”

The Road to Veracruz

Why Taxis Were Invented

Flew to Mexico City for a week-long visit with only two goals: meet a friend and return home in one piece. Arriving in the evening, I discovered my cell phone failed to find a signal (guess I forgot to figure that out), but the airport internet service allowed me to email my friend, BR, who was waiting in a different terminal. For fifteen years I had known him, yet we never met in person. Over this time (over the Internet), he proved himself to be a thoughtful, honest man who worked hard, harder than I, translating a gigantic medical book. So it seemed fitting to meet him as a friend, now that I had ended the employment that brought us together.

BR is a medical doctor turned translator. He’s a smart man, often correcting problems in the English text, usually medical inaccuracies but also some grammar.

Continue reading “The Road to Veracruz”

The Colorado Trail as One Can Pick it up at Molas Pass

The Colorado Trail

Starting near Molas Pass (which is about 6 miles outside Silverton), I hiked from Little Molas Lake trailhead westward about 5 miles, to spend the (lightening filled) night on the Colorado Trail.

Continue reading “The Colorado Trail as One Can Pick it up at Molas Pass”