Pisac and Beyond (Or Rather, Closer)

After a day of "rest" in Cusco, we (I) were eager to get in some exploring. So I loaded Jeremy up with a cocktail of drugs and we set outto see some ruins in the Sacred Valley.

We really wanted to visit Pisac, a small town 30 km outside Cusco that has a great market and Incan ruins 4 km from the Plaza de Armas. (Like Spain, every town has a main square. It was always Plaza Mayor in Spain; here in Peru it is Plaza de Armas.)

To get there, we hopped in a local taxi, which we found in a rather shady part of Cusco which our concierge said, "isn't on the map, but can be found by listening for men yelling 'Pisac!' just over here..."

It wasn't too dodgy of a walk, and we did easily find a taxi, that we shared with two locals. And 10 soles later, we were flying at 100 km/hr around curves, over mountain passes, and by ruins that we decided to visit more closely on foot on the way home.

We reached (but nearly missed) Pisac 45 minutes later. Our taxi driver was so focused on pushing the speed limit to new heights that he forgot to stop and let us out. A quick, "adonde vas?!" reminded him though, and we were soon walking through the very tiny town of Pisac.

We immediately began our journey to the ruins, figuring that the 4 km walk would take about an hour, leaving us a bit of time to snap pics and then return to Pisac Plaza for shopping and lunch. Boy were we wrong! The 4 km walk could be more accurately described as a 4 km mountain scramble, up old, tiny, steep Inca steps. Thousands of steps.

We kept on climbing, wondering if we'd ever reach the top - can those Incas build! Two hours later, after many breaks to catch our breath (have you ever climbed 1000+ steps at 3000 meters above sea level?) we made it to the top.

It was so worth it! The Pisac ruins were our first glance at truly impressive Incan stone and terracing work. It is unbelievable to see what these people built with so little tools so long ago. And it is amazing that it is still standing.







After another hour of exploring, we made our way down the mountain. Quite the quad workout - our legs were shaking as we sat down to a delicious three course lunch at The Blue Llama, an adorable, eco-friendly, sustainable cafe. Invigorated after pumpkin soup, veggie lasgna, and a scoop of ice cream, we were ready for more ruins.

We hopped into another taxi - this one a major rip off at 20 soles -and headed back towards Cusco to view the ruins closer to town, including Tambomachay (ceremonial baths), Pukapukara (fort / hunting lodge), and finally Saqsaywaman (another fort and one of the last places captured by the Spanish in 1536.)

The walk back to Cusco from Tambomachay was about 8 km. Add that to the 8 km we climbed in Pisac, and we had a very long day, which we celebrated by packing up and preparing for our trek to Machu Picchu. If the lost city of the Incas is anything like Pisac, we are in for a treat!

Typical food, Typical Arequipa

Typically, Nicole and I seek high end fusion joints for la cena (dinner). Instead, last night, Nicole busted out some improv and took us to a "typical" Arequipena restaurant.

The menu consisted of designer pets (guinea pig and llama/alpaca) and other local favorites, including hot peppers stuffed with mystery meats and avocados stuffed with mayonaise. We enjoyed all of the above, except for the famed guinea pig, or cuy. (I plan to dine on this delicacy in Cusco.)

Halfway through our meal, we were delighted to find a Peruvian quintet serenading us to typical Andean tunes. We loved them so much we bought their CD...

So much typical fare, but we just couldn't get enough. Luckily, our most favorite of the typical fare, Arequipena Cerveza, comes in 750 ml bottles. Salud!






-- Posted from my iPhone

Livin Large in Araquipa

Let's just say the US Dollar holds up pretty nicely to the Peruvian Nuevo Soles; we feel like millionaires in this town!

To start, we are staying in a beautiful 18th century building constructed from the off white volcanic rocks called sillar used in most buildings in this town, thus giving Arequipa the nickname, "White City." A combination of Gothic and Spanish charm, Jeremy can hardly fall asleep at night. (Remember, he is a huge fan of entryways.) This place is like a castle and a campground at the same time. Heaven, for only $50 USD!

After getting settled last night, Jeremy decided to lead me to La Trattoria del Monasterio, one of Araquipa's most sought after restaurants. Gaston Arcurio is the famous Peruvian chef behind this place, and as Lonely Planet promised, it was an epicurean delight. For only $50 USD!

We spent today exploring the city, starting early at the Plaza de Armas. There we joined all 750,000 of Arequipa's inhabitants, out for a morning stroll/parade/protest. Viva Peru!

Next, we headed to Arequipa's prized touristic site, El Monasterio de Santa Catalina. This convent is a 20,000 square meter complex that has been around since 1580. We got lost in this city within the city, which really was quite beautiful, even if it did bore me rather quickly.

If you've followed our past travel and blogging tales, by now, even though it wasn't quite yet noon, we needed a drink, so in search of cerveza we went. We found a small cafe with a roof top patio and gorgeous views of El Misti, Arequipa's nearest mountain and volcano. And so we dined on "typical fare" that was spicy and delicious: rocotto relleno, a stuffed pepper full of meat, veggies, and cheese served over potatoes and eggs.

The relleno got our hunger started, which means only one thing in Peru: time for mas ceviche! Fory Fay was the destination of choice: no frills, authentic, diner-like in nature. We were served a bowl of fish and onions and seaweed swimming in a citric acid of lemon and lime juice. Scary, but superb. And way less than $50 USD! Our two course lunch probably cost us $25, drinks included. Ay caramba!

With money to spare, we headed to a local alpaca shop and dropped 100 soles ($33) on a bad ass hoodie and reversible stocking hat (Jeremy) plus a poncho sweater and striped hat (Nicole).




And here we are now, blogging on Jeremy's phone from the courtyard of our hostal, La Casa de Melgar, sipping an Argentine Malbec and figuring out plans for dinner. Viva Arequipa!


-- Posted from my iPhone

Lima: A Stop Over

A wise man once said to us... Well what he said isn't very nice, and he's not really that wise, so let's just say we had no intention of spending much time in Lima. That said, Jeremy and I are not the types of people to pass up a free warm cookie and a free welcome pisco sour cocktail, so we booked a free night's stay at the Doubletree El Pardo in Miraflores, a suburan city district of Lima.





And so we arrived for our brief stay to aclimatize ouselves to the ways of Peru. Constant honking, near death experiences crossing the street, air pollution, and a form of public transportstion that is beyond description seem to make up the majority of culture in Lima. However, those pisco sours are dangerously delicioso, and that ceviche is magnifico. Our night on the town in Miraflores was the perfect jump start to a two week excursion in Peru.

We awoke early on Saturday to make the most of the small amount of time we had to see the sights. In the end, we didn't even venture to down town Lima, but we did check out Parque del Amor along the coast, which somewhat reminded of us of Park Guell in Barcelona, but on a much smaller scale.

We strolled south to Larco Mar, a cheese tastic display of chain restaurants and an over the top, gaudy J.W. Marriott. Deciding against breakfast at Tony Roma's, we returned to our strip of Miraflores for desayuno de huevos, pan, y tamale. We chatted with some Peruvian natives, and then headed on to Parque Tahuantinsuyo Huaca Juliana.

Home of ancient Incan ruins, this adobe pyramidal structure dates back to the year 400AD. It promised to be chock full of Alpacas and history. If only we actually saw it!

Somehow, we walked directly past this site without noticing, which took us out of Miraflores and deep in San Isidro. Like a whole one or two miles deep. The neighborhood was pleasant with lots of cute shops, so I guess that's why we didn't realize we had strayed off course. And since the land of the Incas isn't hurting for Alpacas and history, we managed to stumble upon another adobe pyramid: Huaca Huallamarca, which translates to sugar loaf. (We don't get it, either.)

It was a nice easy day of touristing, but the fact that Jeremy and I - yes Jeremy and I - made it to the airport two hours ahead of our flight signals that we were eager to move on to Arequipa. Ciao, Lima! We will be back in two weeks!


-- Posted from my iPhone

We Be Trekin

Security show me love up in the club! Yay yay!

Apologies for the 1996 rap reference, but after three flights of double security checks due to lack of identification, I just made it through airport security with my very own passport! Thank you Jeremy for picking it up for me today. We are ready to go...

See you in the Southern hemisphere! I for one cannot wait to see the toilets flush counter clockwise. Yay yay!


-- Posted from my iPhone

Misadventures #1 and #2

Two weeks ago, I flew to Chicago. (Typical.) Much to my surprise, I was upgraded to First Class on a packed flight, so I thought luck was on my side. And although I took advantage of nothing that First Class has to offer - meaning the free refills on wine - and worked the entire four hour flight to Chicago. I got *everything* done, and left the flight on top of the world. A good night's leep prior to the week of intense meetings? Unheard of! Lucky me!

However, upon reaching the Hertz Counter to pick up my rental car, I realized my jacket and small change purse, in which I was carrying one credit card, one debit card, and one shiny California license, were still on the plane. Back to the O'Hare United Terminal I went, in search of my jacket and money and identification. But after calls to the cleaning, gate, and in flight crews, nothing showed up. Unlucky me.

At least I was not traveling alone. I was well fed though not lucky enough to be served alcohol, as that restaurant "Cards Hard." But luckily enough, another co-worker was joining me in two more days. So luckily, my passport and a back-up credit card made their way to Chicago, and I was able to deal with my hotel and food expenses, not to mention my travel home, with no issues. Misadventure #1 could have been worse.

For example, Misadventure #1 could have been Misadventure #2, in which yours truly journeys to Charlottesville, VA for a wedding. And while dancing the night away at the Bachelorette party, puts down her purse in a pile with everyone else's purses. Only to go back to the pile at the end of the night to find the purse - which was holding my passport and phone - gone. Very unlucky me!

Although again, as luck would have it, my lone remaining credit card was holding a tab at the bar the entire time, so it escaped the theft. It is still safe and secure with me, although at this rate, who knows for how long!

To make matters worse, Peru has been rescheduled and is set to begin Friday, September 11, at 12:05 AM! So I spent the weekend canceling cards and printing documentation. I spent Tuesday morning at the DMV. And I am spending Wednesday at the San Francisco Passport Agency, praying that my expired DC license is sufficient proof of photo identification so that I can get a new passport and make it to Peru - the vacation that seems to never get here...

Only two more days to go. Fingers crossed there will be no Misadventure #3.

Peru Postponed

Tuesday morning, 7AM. Six hours to go until we were set to take off for Peru. The phone rings, and it is my boss's boss. And yes, he asks the unthinkable: will we delay our trip in exchange for fame and fortune?

Accountability. Responsibility. Success. Dedication. Leadership. All qualities that are really annoying to posess when we're trying to take a vacation!

And so Peru is on hold until September. A few more weeks of hard work to go before rest and adventure in South America.