Foreword:

Welcome to the record of our incredible trip throughout the jungles, mountains and coast of Peru. This blog is a complete record of the trip journal kept by Jordan, written carefully during the trip, then re-typed afterward. The photographs are from his dad, Brent Muhlestein.

Please navigate this site by clicking on the separate days of the trip, as recorded in the archive on the right side of the page.

We hope that this tale of our brief adventure in the southern hemisphere will entertain you, teach you and make you want to make your own pilgrimage to the Land of the Inca.

Friday May 4, 2007

We arrived in Lima, Peru about 12:30 a.m. and found our guide from Southern Explorations waiting for us as the airport. We got on a small bus and went to our hotel – a four-star number in Lima’s Miraflores Sector called El Condado. We went to our rooms, which were quite nice (Mother’s and Daddy’s had a sauna!) Oh, by the way, this trip to Peru is with my parents and my lovely, awesome, amazing, fun wife Crystal. We flew from Salt Lake City to Houston and then to Lima on Thursday.

We got up and ate breakfast, a very European-style breakfast, at the hotel. We were in a lovely dining area with lots of wood paneling and art. It seemed very colonial.

Then, we went on a walk around the Miraflores sector, down one of the main roads to the beach. The ocean is about 200 feet down a steep escarpment from the main level of the city, so it was beautiful view. There was a park on one part of the cliff with a big statue of a couple kissing. One area of the park had a sign “Area desratizado” – which means, literally “de-ratted area” – and had a picture of crossed-out rat. I got big kick out of it. “Desratizado” seems like a word I would make up. I guess it was nice to know that there were no rats in the area. Parts of the hillside were covered with green vines, some with beautiful purple flowers. We walked down to the beach along a very steep concrete path (passing a tennis club with clay courts! I’ve always wanted to play on a clay court, or at least see one with someone playing on it, and I’ve got one of those now.)

When we got to the beach, we saw a couple dozen guys out surfing. The waves were probably five or six feet tall, so they got some good rides in. It was nice to just watch. There were guys renting surfboards and wet suits at the beach, which had a rocky shore and apparently a very uneven bottom, because the waves broke at least twice before the hit the actual shore.

I want to live by the ocean someday, partly because it is fun to play in, but mostly because of the peace and tranquility I get by watching it.

After the beach, we went and caught a taxi and had the driver take us to La Molina sector, to the Lima LDS Temple. There we met Sister Glade, the temple matron, and wife of President Royden Glade. The Glades are good friends of Dr. Jeff Anderson, Daddy’s partner at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake, and his wife. Sister Glade showed us all around the temple grounds, including the room where children go when waiting to be sealed, and the president’s house, which is a little home built right on the temple grounds. Wouldn’t it be rad to life right by the temple and to be able to see it out your window every morning? I also bought some clear plastic consecrated oil vials because they don’t sell them in the U.S. for some reason.

After the temple, we got a taxi and went to Huaca Pucllana, (pronounced “waka”) – a huaca is a ruin, and there are more than 100 in Lima. There we learned about how the ancient, pre-Inca inhabitants of Lima built a giant pyrimaid completely out of adobe bricks made from only water and the local clay. The structure was thought to be just a hill in town (it even had dirt bikes and a VW bug driving on it for recreation) until the 1980s, when the people learned it was a ceremonial pyramid. It has since been excavated and partially reconstructed. Our guid, Omar, said the ceremonial pyramid area had been built for two basic purposes: breaking things and sacrificing people. Breaking things consisted of making large, decorated clay pots and having the priest use a special stone the shatter them. The pieces were buried in the ground. The bodies found by arcaelogoists seem to indicate they mostly sacrificed women, but they don’t know why. For that reason, and the use of yellow (a traditionally feminine color) on some of the pyramid walls, archaelogists think it may have been a matriarchal society. I was mostly happy that our guide explained that the place’s two purposes were simply breaking things and killing people.

Lima is very dry – only 1 or 2 inches of rain a year – so the artifacts were all fairly well preserved, such as an ancient footprint dried into an adobe-making pit.

After the tour, we ate a fancy restaurant, curiously named Restaurant Huaca Pucllana, which was right at the site. It was fancy and expensive and delicious! I had my first ceviche (a raw fish dish with onions) and delicious risotto with ratatouille and chicken breast stuffed with cheese and basil, then breaded and fried. Crystal got a yummy pumpkin ravioli dish. Mother got ceviche and Daddy got sea bass, all of which were very yummy. Our appetizers had lots of seafood (shrimps, scallops) and potatoes. Peru grows more than 1,000 types of potatoes, including purple and yellow varieties. We had yellow ones for lunch.

Then, we walked a few blocks to the Indian Market, where we looked at all the souvenirs we can buy later in the trip. We did buy a set of Perudo dice, though. Perudo is a liar’s dice game that is very fun. Then we walked back to our hotel and took a much-needed and much-appreciated nap. After the siesta, we headed out to the streets and found a little café, La Casita. We had fast food, which was good, and for all of us to eat cost less than one of the appetizers at lunch. I got “salchipapas,” which was basically a plate of French fries and fried hot dogs, as did Daddy. Mother got fries and fried chicken wings and Crystal had an empanada. We all had “chichi morada” to drink. It is a purple drink made from purple corn with cinnamon and nutmeg. I quite liked it. Then we bought some churros and ice cream cones. Great food day, huh? I plan to continue that on the this trip.

We got back to the hotel and all played Perudo in our room for a while. I went out first each time, but it was very fun nonetheless. We said family prayers and Mother and Daddy went back to their room. Our room had two double beds, so Crystal and I slept in separate beds last night, because when I am really tired I get fidgety and then she can’t sleep. Tonight, we’ll sleep in the same bed.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Well, I was really tired last night, too, because I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and when I finished, I couldn’t honestly remember if I had been in the same bed as Crystal or not, so I climbed into the other one and fell asleep. When the alarm went off at 5:30 a.m., Crystal came to cuddle me and was confused as to why I was in a different bed. I was too, although the fact that I had to pull down the blanket and the sheet from the bed in the middle of the night should have clued me off to the fact that I had been in the same bed as her. Oh well, fun times with Jordan and lack of sleep!

We ate breakfast and met our guide (who rode on the bus with us to the airport and then stuck us in line at the wrong airline – lucky we figured that out eventually.) The guide left before I could give her the prescribed tip, but the whole wrong airline thing made me not feel so bad about it. We also met other people going to Puerto Maldonado, in the Amazon basin, with us, and some going to Cuzco to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

We got on our airplane, on AeroCondor Airline, and it took us to Puerto Maldonado, via a stop in Cuzco. The flight over the Andes was beautiful, with some great views of snow-capped peaks. I am very excited to see more of the mountains in the next few days.

In Puerto Maldonado, we met up with more people headed to Posada Amazonas with us, namely couple from Hereford, Arizona, Steve and Geri Bressinek, and an Irish-born New Yorker, Pamela Maloney. Pamela is from West Ireland, but has lived in the US for the past 13 years, becoming a U.S. citizen in 2006.

We went to the Posada Amazonas office in Puerto Maldonado, where we stayed for a few minutes, then got back on the bus with our group and group of Brits and Canadians who were also headed for the jungle. After a quick stop at the market so people without flashlights could buy some (I just bought candy instead), we rode a few bumpy miles to the “port.” The port was a set of steps cut into the clay of the river bank going down to the boat on the Tambopata River. Our guide, Oscar Mishiaja, got us all into a large canoe-type boat which had a row of benches down each side, a canopy cover and an outboard motor. We got on the boat and headed up the river. Pretty soon, Oscar handed out lunch, a delicious portion of fried rice wrapped up in a banana leaf. After finishing, we were instructed to simply toss our leaf into the river.

We rode along the Tambopata River for two hours, looking at the people living and working along the river, as well as the grass and cane huts they live in. I enjoyed looking at the vegetation, much of which was similar to part of Venezuela. When we arrived at the Posada, we climbed out of the boat, up some 50 steps from the river to the rainforest, and walked about 10 minutes into the jungle. We arrived at the lodge and were promptly given some cold starfruit juice. At this point it was about 98 degrees and VERY humid. It was actually kind of difficult to take a deep breath because the air felt so thick. We sweated constantly, but it was OK because we always drank a lot of water. Right after we sat down, Oscar called everyone over to one side of the lobby pavilion and showed us two Basket-Eating Monkeys just hanging out in a tree next to the lodge. So cool!

We went to our room, which had a double bed, and single bed, a hammock, a wooden chair, some shelves and a bathroom with a toilet and cold shower. The structure is built of wood, with dried cane for walls. The wall opposite the front had only a single wooden railing so that you can see, and hear, the forest directly. We put our bags down (well, our backpacks, porters carried our bags up from the river – the bags were heavy, I do not envy that job!) and went back to the lobby area, where Mother, Daddy, Crystal and I took off with Oscar on a hike to a 120-feet-tall tower constructed in the jungle for people to go up and check out the area. We went up and were able to watch the sunset, which was about 6 p.m. due to us being south of the equator, and saw a few birds in the distance. We also saw a huge Brazil nut tree. While on our way up the tower, people were walking above us and bits and flecks of mud dropped from their feet through the stairs on to us.

Mud became a large part of the adventure, as it was on all the trails we used through the forest. At the lodge, there were racks with dozens of pairs of rubber boots, all arranged by size. I am a 45 in European style! We did not get any boots the night we walked to the tower, but that changed later.

After the tower, we hiked back in the dark of the tree canopy. I brought a headlamp and a mini Maglight flashlight, so we could see fairly well. Oscar showed us various insects and spiders along the way. When we returned, it was time for dinner, which was great. The food at the Posada was incredible, and all made from fresh local ingredients. We had soup, rice and pork chops, with chocolate cake for dessert. Mother did not eat the cake as she does not eat chocolate. Oscar informed us at dinner that we would be leaving for the next excursion at 5 a.m. Sunday, which meant he’d be waking us up at 4 a.m.

Sunday May 6, 2007

As it usually does, 4 a.m. came early, but we actually woke up before Oscar came to get us. Well, by “we,” I mean Crystal, who woke up when one of the lodge staff lit the six kerosene lanterns in our room. We had three above our shelves and three on the wall between the bathroom and the entrance way. Each room was lighted by these lamps, which sat in holes in the wall about 7 feet up, as there was no electricity in the rooms. We also had two candles in our room. Needless to say, lighting was very minimalist in design at the lodge. A generator provided electricity for people to charge batteries from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. and that was it. When the kerosene lights were extinguished, the room plunged into a deep darkness, despite the open wall. The jungle blocks out light so well that even the stunning stars were invisible from our room.

Crystal had been sleeping with ear plugs because the jungle creatures were loud, a chorus of thousands of insects accompanied by birds and, I like to think, monkeys. The lights were what woke her up, though. We had slept in the double bed, under a large mosquito net, and it was sweaty, warm night.

I put on the same clothes from the day before, since they were already sweaty and dirty and it was inevitable that more sweat and dirt were coming. I woke up fairly easily as we had gone to bed at 8 a.m. the night before – hey, a hot day full of travel on a boat, buses and planes, as well as hiking and sweating and a big, yummy dinner will wipe you out! The cold shower sealed the deal, as I was unable to stop sweating for about 5 minutes and get in bed.

After getting ready, we went to breakfast, where Crystal revealed that her tummy was not well. I revealed nothing, because my love for scrambled eggs and fresh-baked bread are already well-established facts; thus breakfast was quite enjoyable for me. I walked Crystal back to our room, where she said she would go back to bed and try to feel better, as well as probably keep the toilet busy.

I went back to the lobby pavilion. The lodge is divided into several different pavilions or buildings, all made from wood and cane and set on posts about 3 feet above the ground. There are five rooming buildings, where all the guests sleep (there are 30 rooms total, with a maximum capacity of 70 people), a lobby pavilion (with several couches, a gift shop and restrooms) with a ground level section connected by stairs which held six well-used hammocks and the muddy boot racks, a classroom pavilion for ecological discussions, a kitchen building, a dining pavilion (with a bar and several bar tables topped with wooden games of chess, dominoes, Connect-4 and backgammon) and the staff pavilion. The structures are all connected by 6-feet-wide boardwalks and ringed by the dense forest. They are spread out so that each one feels directly connected to the environment.

As we left the lobby to catch the 5:15 a.m. boat up the river, I was glad to have my headlamp, as it was still very dark. We got to the river and shared a boat again with the Brit/Canadian group, and Italian couple and their guide, and Steve, Geri and Pamela. We rode upriver for about 30 minutes and then stopped and headed into the jungle on foot. After about a minute of hiking we stopped because three more Basket-Eating Monkeys were playing in the trees and bamboo. We saw probably 10 more monkeys on the hike. After a mile or so, we came to Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake, a large oxbow lake that was left when the river changed course long ago. The lake is slowly being reclaimed by the jungle, first with sections of floating grasses, which die and pile up on the bottom, allowing small trees to eventually take root (these are mainly palms, Oscar said) and finally for large trees to return. We (Mother, Daddy and I, as well as the Italians, Pamela, Steve and Geri) got on one catamaran boat and the Brits/Candians got on another. Our catamaran was rowed by a man named Francisco.

The boats consisted of two large canoe-type boats (20 feet long, 4 feet wide) sitting side-by-side, with a 15-feet by 12-feet platform built on top. Several wood benches, painted blue, were built on the platform. The craft was not covered and was propelled and steered by a single rudder/paddle. It was about 12 feet long, with a horizontal handle and a vertical handle, which Francisco grabbed, a hand on both of them. The paddle/rudder (I know I wrote them in the opposite order before, but the use is very interchangeable, so from now on I’ll just call it a “pruddle”) was then resting on a fulcrum/pivot point (don’t worry, I won’t combine that term into one word) made of wood in a sort of ball-and-socket style. The pruddle’s end in the water was trapezoidal, with the longest side deepest in the water and the diagonals going upward toward the surface. Francisco pruddled in a smooth back and forth motion, both rocking it from side to side and moving it left and right. He rotated along the three axes used in airplane flying, pitch, yaw and roll, which rotate along the side-to-side axis, the vertical axis and the front-to-back axis respectively. Francisco made it look ridiculously easy, but I had a feeling it would take me a long time to go anywhere … maybe so long the oxbow lake would be overtaken by the jungle and I’d be assimilated into the Basket-Eating Monkey Clan!

So, we set out and soon Oscar started pointing out birds on the grass and small bushes on the forest-reclamation area of the lake. The floating grasses stretched out like a large field on the end of the lake. We pruddled around the edges of the lake looking at birds with a spotting scope the guides had set up on the front of the boat platform.

We continued around the lake and were surprised by group of large, squawking Hoatsin birds. They are about as big as chickens and have blue faces and orange Mohawk-style feathers – I joked that there are some people who try to look the same way sometimes. The birds are also loud. The locals call them “stinky birds,” because they are ruminants, with two stomachs for digesting their leafy diet. Such digestion produces an unpleasant odor, which makes the local not particularly prone to eating them. We also saw a group of bats hanging on a tree overhanging the water.

We had pruddled on for a few minutes when Oscar suddenly told Francisco to take the boat to shore. He had spotted something only about 20 percent of the groups who go to the lake get to see – Giant River Otters. They are rarely seen because they are night hunters and consider the whole lake their territory, while tourists can only visit half the lake, because the other part is a protected environmental area. Anyway, we got to see three members of the otter family as they swam along the other side of the lake, about 150-200 yards away. WE could see their heads pop up, then their backs humped above the water and they went down, to reappear a few feet ahead. Oscar said they grow to about 6 feet long. Very cool!

A few minutes after the otters passed, we saw a Black Cayman swim by in the same area. Oscar said that species of Cayman can grow to about 18 feet long. While we were talking about the Cayman, Francisco nonchalantly picked up a sticke with about 6 feet of fishing line tied to it, baited a hook with some raw beef and started dangling it in the water. He would plop it in a couple times, pulling it out quickly, then finally dangling it in. He flicked his wrist quickly and pulled it out, but this time it brought with it a 6-inch piranha. He gave it to Oscar, who took it off the hook and showed us its tiny set of razor-sharp teeth. It was a white piranha, one of four species in the lake (yellow, black and red are the others.) We all got to try our hand at piranha fishing, and I was amazed at how quickly the little fish would strike the bait. I didn’t catch any, but I did get one out of the water before it got away. Oscar caught a couple more and stuck a leaf in their mouths to show how their jaws can chomp. Francisco almost caught a red piranha (it flew in the air and almost landed on the boat), which he said are the biggest, getting about as big around as a dinner plate. People do eat piranha, he said, but they are bony and don’t have a lot of meat.

While on the lake, the clouds built up and looked like they were going to rain on us, but didn’t, for which I was grateful. The clouds did make the day stay cooler, for which Mother was grateful. After our angling, we returned to the dock and once we were back in the forest, Oscar showed us some cool plants, including a tree whose bark smells like garlic and, as it grows older and needs more nutrients, allows its base to become hollow so that bats can live inside it and nourish the soil with their guano. We also saw a large termite colony built on a tree – it was as big as a beach ball. Oscar broke a small hole in it and allowed the termites that came swarming out to crawl all over his fingers. The insects didn’t bite, but he did make us smell them – they smelled delightfully like pine sap. The termites use live trees to hole their homes, but only eat dead wood.

Once we were back to the boat, we went to the lodge, where we got a small sandwich and some juice and headed out on our next hike. Crystal was still convalescing in the room, so Mother, Daddy and I took off with Oscar to a clay lick on the river bank where jungle birds come for their daily salt intake. The others in our group decided to rest. The path to the lick was quite muddy, but we had decided against the mud boots again, so our shoes got dirty and we had to walk carefully so it wouldn’t get worse.

While hiking, we saw a couple of monkeys, and while Daddy was trying to photograph them, Oscar picked up a leaf, folded it, put it between his thumbs and blew on it. It created a shrill whistle, and he did it repeatedly for several moments, then stopped. Shortly after he stopped, a squawking and rustling of feathers and flapping of wings approached us as four Red-throated CaraCaras (large raptor birds that live in the forest) flew in from other parts of the jungle. Oscar had called them to us! So cool! He leaf-whistled a few more times and the birds squawked back, the whistle was quite similar to their vocalizations.

We kept hiking and eventually came to the clay lick. No birds were anywhere to be seen, although the blind we hid in was quite neat and worth the hike. It was a dirt-floored hut, completely covered with woven palm fronds tied to sections of wood. Those sections were layered, shingle-like, and were completely waterproof. The high roofs of the lodge pavilions were made from the same thing. Oscar said the woven palms last 10 to 15 years. Small holes were cut out of the palm mats on the wall of the blind so people could look at the clay lick without frightening the birds. After a half-hour of no birds, we walked back to the lodge for lunch, and to see Crystal who was feeling a little better.

Another home run meal by the staff! I think the amount of hiking and sweating helps the food be even better, but it would be great in a restaurant. We had rice with chicken in an orangish/yellowish sauce called huancaina and made from peppers. It can be spicy, but this one wasn’t very spicy. Then, there were fresh veggies and more star fruit juice. We were then told we had until 3:30 p.m. before our next excursion. It was 1:45 p.m., so we went back to the room.

I showered – so nice – and took a nap until it was time to go again. The clouds that had been threatening all day started to rain right when we got back to the room, so we had a cooler time for napping. Plus, mega-bonus!, it stopped raining right before we had to leave again. It was cool to watch the water cascading off the roof onto the small clearing outside our room’s not-wall. The sound of the rain on the roof is what lulled me to sleep.

We met back at the lobby pavilion (Crystal came this time, yeah!) and all put on mud boots in order to avoid more muddy shoes. What a difference they made! It was so much less stressful to walk without having to prance along the firm edges of the trail to avoid mud. We hiked to the river and rode downstream for 20 minutes or so to a medicinal garden area.

We were met by the local “Chaman” – a shaman, spiritual-type, natural healer guy. We went on a tour of one of the several gardens, one which holds various jungle plants used as medicines. Among the plants were a natural anesthetic (we all chewed a piece and it made our tongues numb) and an anti-impotence plant called “Para Para” (which means “get up, get up” in Spanish). We also saw a plant used to make a love potion and another than made a natural dye. We ground those leaves into out palms and the green leaves produced a deep-red dye. The shaman, who was Oscar’s uncle, would explain each plant in Spanish, then Oscar would translate in English. By hearing it twice, I could understand it all pretty well, which was nice. The last plant they showed us was Ayahuasca, a special vine the shaman uses to gain insight and enlightenment into how to treat people. It is slightly hallucinogenic, Oscar said, but it is not addictive or hangover-causing. We went into the shaman’s “laboratory,” where he prepares the medicines with a cool-looking set of chemistry gear. We were offered tries of some of the medicines, but they had all been prepared with alcohol, so we declined.

By then, it was getting dark, (it was about 5:45 p.m.), and so we got back in the boat and went back to the lodge. There, we had dinner, which was more yummy rice, soup, plantain bananas and beef stir-fry noodles, as well as juice and cake. After that, we sat around talking and Daddy pulled out his laptop to show Pamela some the pictures and video he took. Pretty soon, Oscar and six other members of the lodge staff were watching, too, entranced by the pictures of the flight from Lima over the mountains and the trip up the river. Oscar said he had never been to Cuzco and I felt humbled and blessed for my chance to travel so much. I should never complain about not getting to go on vacation as much as I’d like to ever again!

It was fun to see how Oscar and the others liked the pictures so much. Oscar knew or was related to about two-thirds of the people who Daddy had taken pictures of while they were on the river in canoes or washing clothes on the banks. Oscar identified each person as the pictures came up. After dinner, it was time for bed.

Monday May 7, 2007

I’m 26 years old, and for one of the few times in my life I was awake at the time I was born, 5:29 a.m. I got up at 5 a.m. to hike with Daddy, Pamela and Oscar to the clay lick again in search of more birds. No dice, again, but it was a great walk in the jungle. We wore the mud boots again, which was good because the mud was 6 inches deep in places. I had fun talking to Pamela and splashing in the mud. I got back, met Crystal and got ready for breakfast, which was fresh fruit and hot rolls (awesome, once again). Then we packed up and headed from the lodge to the river for the last time.

As the boat pulled away from the bank, I thought wistfully of how, in a few days, the whole experience will seem kind of a like a dream. A good dream, yet it won’t seem completely real after the sweat and bug bites fade away. That is part of the reason I am trying to keep such a detailed account of this trip – so that it doesn’t ever fade completely.

My visit was just a transitory passing in my life, but for the people at the lodge, this is life. It makes me think and feel grateful to have known them, albeit briefly. I know that good people are to be found in all places, which helps me know even more that we are children of a loving God who granted the Light of Christ to each of us.

We rode downriver for about 45 minutes, then got off the boat and loaded into a bus for a very bumpy ride to Puerto Maldonado. We arrived with time to spare for our scheduled 11:30 a.m. flight to Cuzco, but ended up waiting in the airport for a couple hours, because somehow the flight became a 1:30 p.m. flight.

The structure of the Puerto Maldonado airport was interesting and different, to say the least. We got our tickets, waiting inside the building, which was build like a large airplane hangar. It had a tin roof and walls made of open bricks, which means they were shaped kind of like a chain-link fence, with open holes. It was the first airport I’ve ever seen without air conditioning, and one of the few I’ve been to that could use such environmental control year-round. After we got our tickets, we headed for the departure area, which was separated from the ticket area by a 15-foot wall, leaving an open area for air to pass between the areas, as the roof was probably 45 feet high. The ticket area consisted of about one-third of the airport, with the departure area (two gates that were doors leading right to the tarmac) on one side and the arrival area, with a small conveyor belt for luggage. I was impressed by the skill the workers showed in moving the luggage back and forth from plane to airport, especially because they had to move some of the luggage carts by hand.

We went to security, which consisted of a gloved security officer man going through our carry-ons and then sliding them along an unmoving conveyor belt attached to a non-functioning x-ray system to another security agent guy, who watched us walk through the detector and gave us back our bags. When planes landed, as did two that were not ours while we waited, they parked about 100 feet from the airport building to let passengers walk stair platforms (also pushed into place by hand by airport workers) which were put at exit doors on the front and the back of the plane. This two-door get on and off approach made for the fastest deboarding/reboarding cycle I’ve ever seen. People just got on and sat down; that’s how air travel should be! The open walls of the airport also made it interesting when the jets started their engines; the wind through the building was wonderful, but the sound was almost deafening.

Finally, our plane came and we flew to Cuzco. When we landed, I was not sweating anymore, but rather I felt a little chilly. We got our bags and found a Southern Explorations guide and bus waiting for us. We drove through Cuzco to our hotel, The Casa Andina, which is a block from the main plaza.

I was feeling light-headed, probably from the 11,000 feet-above-sea-level elevation (Puerto Maldonado is about 600 feet), so after I helped Crystal wash some of our stinky jungle clothes (I wore the same thing the whole time so that only one set got all the sweat) I took a nap.

Also, right after we got to the hotel, Crystal gave me my birthday present, or at least a letter describing it. I will get a t-shirt with references to a joke in our favorite TV show, “The Office,” in which a character loves waking up to the smell of cooking bacon, but burns his foot on a grill he set up near his bed to cook bacon in the mornings. She also promised me a dinner with bacon in it and a round of golf with her. I haven’t been golfing since we met, and I am excited! Crystal had a bad experience with the sport in high school, so I am hoping we have lots of fun and she can see some enjoyment in our excursion. I know she loves me tons, because golf would not be her choice for an outing. I am so blessed to be married to her!

After the nap, I put on warmer clothes and we met Mother and Daddy to go to dinner. We found a restaurant on the other side of the block, with a balcony overlooking the main square. It was called El Meson del Espadero (The Swordsman’s Table). For appetizers, we had some salad and some “palta a la reyna,” (Queen’s Avocado), a half avocado filled with potato and chicken salad. It was supergood. Then, I ordered a “family grill,” which the waiter said had enough for four people. Boy did it ever! It came with four t-bone steaks, two pork chops, two grilled chicken breasts, four meat skewers with four kinds of sausage and some beef hearts, French fries and two whole baked potatoes.

We all ate all we could and the “Parilla Familiar” defeated us soundly. Not wanting the food to go to waste, I called over our pleasant waiter and told him we couldn’t eat it, but would he have friends or family he could share it with. His whole countenance brightened and he said “Si, gracias.” He came and grabbed the tray with the food (he had to use a hot pad to handle it because it had coals in the bottom of it to keep the meat warm) and quickly took it back to the kitchen. When we left, he came over to thank us again, smiling widely. His obvious gratitude for the food helped us know it wouldn’t be wasted and we talked several times of the good feeling we had by making his day better.

After dinner, we waddled over to the plaza for a minute, then went back to the hotel, where we played Perudo and laughed and laughed. It was a fun night and a happy birthday.

Tuesday May 8, 2007

We woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel’s café, which overlooked the central plaza in Cuzco. There were delicious scrambled eggs and hashbrowns and bacon, for which I was glad. After the meal, we met our group in the lobby. It was us four, Steve and Geri (Steve works as the captain of an ocean-going tug boat), John and Jamie, a couple from Boulder, Colo. and Sally Ebeling, a lady from Boston. We also met Harry Cavero, our tour guide. We got on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter bus and drove above the city to Sacsayhuaman, a huge Incan temple complex. We passed through some gorgeous Eucalyptus groves to get there. The trees are not native to the area, but grow there like crazy.

At Sacsayhuaman, I was amazed at the rock carving abilities of the Incas, with the way their giant stones fit together with perfect seams and no mortar. The largest stone in the complex is about 360 tons. The complex is laid out in three terraces, with the largest wall at the bottom. At the site, we got to see more of the local vendors, selling everything from “alpaca” clothing of dubious origin (could have been sheep wool or synthetic or who knows), knit hats, trinkets, etc. Some of the people dress up in typical, bright-colored clothes and go around offering pictures for 1 sol (about 33 cents). Some little children do it, too, and so do some ladies who carry around lambs or goats in shawls wrapped around their necks. Harry explained how the Spanish sacked and destroyed parts of the gorgeous complex. Jerks.

After Sacsayhuaman, we stopped briefly at a place called Puka Pukaru, another Incan site, but where we never left the bus. I did see three people mountain biking there, though, and it made me want to go riding. The Cuzco area is beautiful, with a delightful climate and good food, so Crystal and I talked about what it would be like to get a job and live there for a while. It would be an exciting way to spend a couple years, I think.

After the brief stop at Puka Pukaru, we went Tampumachay, a water temple, where we saw our first example of the wonderful way Incas used underground springs in their construction. They found the water and built stone structures around it, channeling it into pools, fountains and small channels. In some areas, the water was sent to irrigate the terraces covering the mountain sides. Crystal pretended to be a llama drinking at a special fountain built for such beasts of burden that walked along the Incan road by the temple.

After that ruin, we went to Kenko, a man-made cave complex where the Incas prepared people for mummification. On top of the complex were rocks which made the shadow outline of a puma head on a certain day’s sunrise.

The Incas believed in three afterlife worlds, one in heaven, one on earth and one below the earth (not a hell, more of a cave world), and their construction frequently makes reference to the “Trilogy” of animals representing each world: the condor, the puma and the snake, respectively.

After Kenko, we went to an alpaca and silver factory, where we were shown how they melt and mold the silver, then inlay jewels and other stones. We saw the raw alpaca fibers and got to feel the difference in softness between alpaca wool, baby alpaca wool and vicuña wool. Vicuña is supposed to be the best wool in the world, but it is rare because the animals can only be shorn every three years and they are hard to domesticate.

After the demonstrations, we were, of course, allowed to purchase some of the alpaca and silver goods.

After the factory, we went back to the hotel for a few minutes, then met again as a group and left for lunch. We ate at a restaurant on the main plaza. Daddy had “papa a la huancaina,” a traditional plate with potatoes in a yellow pepper sauce that is quite delicious. Another plate I tried was a “causa” – mashed potatoes rolled into a sheet then wrapped around chicken and avocado or whatever. We learned later that “causa” was a traditional dish so named because during a war Peruvian soldiers wandered from house to house asking for food for the “cause,” (or “causa” in Spanish) and this is what they were given. It is very good and available at most of the restaurants we’ve been to.

After lunch, we toured one of the churches on the main square and saw some enormous gold altarpieces and lots of small statues with interesting statues. After the cathedral, we walked down from the plaza a couple blocks to the Coricancha, the temple of the Sun in Cuzco. The temple of the Sun (and we saw one in each of the major Incan cities we toured) is always a rounded stone wall, with the best possible stone work, large stones put together masterfully without mortar. The temples usually have a large sun stone in the middle, set to have light shine on it through a single window on the Winter Solstice, June 21. The sun temple in Cuzco, however, does not have much in the way of original Incan furnishings, though, because there was a monastery built on top of it. It does, however, still have various special rooms, which archaeologists have determined to be dedicated to the sun, the moon, the stars, rainbows and lightning.

We marveled at the smooth craftsmanship of the Incan stones. The doors were all trapezoidal in shape, tapering at the top and with stone lintels on top, and each room had several trapezoidal niches in the wall, most likely used for holding items and for seating.

After the Coricancha, we had some free time, so Mother went back to the hotel (she wasn’t feeling well) and Daddy, Crystal and I wandered around for bit, leaving the tourist area and going to the “real” Cuzco. It was fun to wander around, and we even found an LDS church building. We then got a taxi back up town to the Inca museum just off the main square. The museum was fascinating, with a history of the natives of Peru, from Pre-Incan times to the Incan Empire’s heyday in the 15^th Century. We saw dozens of artifacts and even a group of mummies – including a baby mummy and a man mummified with his dog. We saw some impressive period drawings of how the Incas built suspension bridges, among other things.

We also learned about the historian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, who had an Incan princess mother and a Spanish conquistador father. His book about the history of the Incas was banned by the Spanish government when it was printed in the 16^th Century, but is one of the best resources we have now to know about Incan society.

After the museum, we hurried back to the hotel and met Mother and Harry, who led us down the Avenida del Sol (Sun Avenue – the main street) to a theater where we saw a really cool presentation of local traditional dances. Each dance had a purpose (such as represent the love of a couple, appreciate the harvest or commemorate a battle) and each one featured performers with wonderfully colorful costumes. My favorite dance was the battle dance, where one group “killed” the other group, stole their women and danced around with a skull representing the bones of the conquered enemies. The dances were all accompanied by a live orchestra, which was fun to watch as well.

After the show, we were all pretty tired, so we hurried back to a restaurant near the hotel and ate dinner. It was an Italian/Peruvian restaurant, and had “palta a la reyna” again with Crystal, then we shared a pizza. While we were at the restaurant, they had a Tom Jones CD playing in the background. We talked about the music several times during the meal, but the memorable moment was when Jones’ hit “It’s Not Unusual (to be Loved by Anyone)” came on, Daddy used it for a little serenade for Mother. The only problem was he totally messed up on the words, singing, “You’re not so beautiful to be loved by anyone else.” Wow! Worst way to flatter a woman ever! Daddy quickly realized what he had said and Mother laughed about it. Then we all had a big laugh over it. It was hard for me to write just barely because it still cracks me up. It was a classic moment from a great trip. After that, it was bed time, so we went back to the hotel and hit the sack.

Wednesday May 9, 2007

We got up and ate breakfast then Harry picked up our nine-person group and we piled into the Sprinter. First, we went to a local food market, where we saw many Cuzqueños having breakfast and shopping for food. Harry bought a large (like a bike tire) loaf of sweet bread for us to try, as well as a delicious fruit called cherimoya or masasamba, which had a green skin and a juicy white flesh that was very sweet. Daddy loved it! Then, we left the market and drove out of Cuzco, past Sacsayhuaman and the other sites we saw earlier, and over the pass into the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

The pass was beautiful, and as we drove we got wonderful views of the valley below us. We stopped at a particularly stunning vista and Crystal bought some green earrings from one of the ever-present vendors. Green being her favorite color, when the man approached her with a board full of about 70 pairs of earrings, each with at least one green stone, she couldn’t help herself. I was glad to oblige her request for a pair because it was only about $3.

We continued down the valley (we also stopped and looked at some llamas and alpacas in a pen on the side of the road) and finally go to the town of Pisac next to the Urubamba river, the river which flows down the sacred valley, eventually going past Machu Picchu. We drove through town and headed up a side canyon to nearly the top of one mountain. There, while we waited to enter the Pisac ruins site, local ladies came to windows of the van peddling water. This one woman was fairly insistent, so I reached onto the seat between Crystal and me and held up a 2.5-liter bottle we brought with us. The woman’s eyes widened and her mouth said “oh,” then she walked away. Crystal and I were quite amused by her reaction, especially because it was through the window so we couldn’t hear her, but knew exactly what she was saying.

We then went into the ruins at Pisac (the modern town was named after the ruins) and wandered all over the mountain following the Incan paths, some of which were right on the cliffs. Most of the non-cliff mountain side was terraced; with irrigation canals coming form springs at the top of the mountain. We hiked over one point to the ruins of the city’s main complex and there saw another Temple of the Sun, this one with a semi-intact sun stone. Outside the temple was an interesting rock, shaped like half of the Incan cross. The Incan cross is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation, which the Incas used for navigation. It is an equilateral cross, with several steps on each quarter like this: (get picture of Incan cross). The amount of steps does not have to be uniform. Anyway, the rock with half the cross carved out of it showed the shadow of the whole cross when the sun hit the right place.

The temple also had a spring by it, with several of the Incan water structures, of pools and channels and fountains, with which I am so impressed. I took a plastic water bottle out of a garbage can and plugged up one channel for a few minutes, then delighted in watching an increased stream of water go down the hill when I removed the bottle.

We hiked back to the van, which again put us on a steep staircase on the side of a cliff. It was exhilarating. After everyone made it back to the van, we drove back down to Pisac where we ate lunch and went to a market and did some shopping. Then, we got back on the bus and drove down the Sacred Valley along the Urubamba River.

Along the way, Harry played us a CD showing examples of Peruvian music and its influence on world music. One example was the tune “Condor Pasa,” which was written in the 1950s in Cuzco, then used by an Argentine group in the ‘60s and Paul Simon in the ‘70s in his song, “If I Could.” The tune for the song “Guantanamera” is also Peruvian. It was a fun way to learn more about Peru, and explained why many of the local bands play “Condor Pasa.” Interestingly, world music has also influenced Peru, in that the Beatles were and are very popular, so we heard lots of local musicians playing Beatles music (especially “Hey, Jude”) on their typical instruments.

We kept driving down the valley, seeing various rock fences around homes. Some of the fences had cactus growing on them like natural barbed wire, which reminded me of seeing people in Venezuela cement pieces of broken glass bottles on the top of their brick walls, and it reminded Crystal of her dad driving nails part-way into fence then cutting the nail heads off and making spikes. I assume they all keep people out.

We also saw many homes with long poles topped with red plastic flags posted near their doors. The poles represented that at that home was a vendor of corn beer. We stopped at one such place to see how the corn beer was made (mostly by fermenting one of the dozens of types of corn grown in the area) and try some of the beer, from which we abstained. Then we got to see what the lady did with the fermented corn mush left over from the “brewing” … she fed it to a roomful of guinea pigs! She had dozens of the furry little rodents running around in that room. They were cute, but I knew they were each meant to be dinner for someone. Also at the corn beer stop, we played a local bar game where we threw metal tokens at a target trying to get them to fall into various holes for various amounts of points. My team lost, and Crystal (who was NOT on my team) turned out to be way better than me at the game. I was proud of her, and grateful that she didn’t rub too much of my earlier trash talk back into my face.

We got back on the bus and headed to Ollantaytambo, which is both the name of a large ruins complex and of the last town on the road before you get to Machu Picchu. When we arrived, we only had about an hour before night fall, so we hurried to the ruins and Crystal, Daddy and I were the only ones to go to the top of the ruins with Harry. There, we could see down over the town and across to another large hill with more, smaller ruins. At the top of the ruins, Harry told us the largest stone on top was 190 tons, and that the stones were quarried on a peak on the other side of the valley, dragged down to the river, across an ancient stone bridge, then down the valley a few hundred meters and up the other side to the temple site. I was continually impressed by those resourceful Incas.

After wandering around the beautiful ruins for a while, we went to our hotel, Hotel Pakaritampu, which was near the river and the train station where the train to Machu Picchu leaves. The hotel had six separate buildings (four with rooms, one with a front desk and another with a restaurant), all of which were beautifully set in a landscaped area, with stone terraces rising behind it. One terrace had a patio with a large oven (where they baked bread for the restaurant) and, at the other end, a pen with two alpacas.

Harry told us that the next day’s lunch at Machu Picchu would be quite expensive ($40 for a lunch buffet or $18 for sandwich), so we opted to buy food at a local tienda for lunch rather than pay the exorbitant sums at the ruins. We bought some tuna fish, cheese, crackers, olives (for Daddy, of course), wafers and peanut-butter Oreos. We got enough for lunch for Thursday and Friday.

Then, we were going to find a place for dinner (we even got shown a menu for one restaurant by a midget in classic Andean garb (see above)), when we ran into Harry and invited him to eat with us. We went to a delightful restaurant, Mayupata, and had fun chatting with Harry. I had some delicious trout and a local band, Munay Sonqó, came and played for us. Daddy bought their CD. On the way back to the hotel from dinner, I looked up at the stars and started wondering where the Southern Cross was located. I finally found it just above the mountains to our south (the valley runs east-west). It was cool to see it, and Daddy got a picture of it.

The stars were bright and beautiful, at least those that could bee seen despite the towering mountains surrounding us (an effect that was surprisingly similar to the jungle, where the trees blocked out many of the stars).

Crystal and I went to see the alpacas at the hotel, and when I tried to touch one, it kicked its back left leg and sent a big cloud of dust all over Crystal. She laughed about it and was a good sport, for which I was appreciative. Then, we went to bed, excited about going to Machu Picchu in the morning.

Thursday May 10, 2007

We got up and ate at the hotel, just like every day this trip, which is very nice – good, free food within a 30-second walk from your bedroom. Just like home, except for the whole no washing dishes, four types of fresh fruit juice, all-you-can-eat part. Then, we went down to the train station, a 5-minute walk, and waited for the train to come from Cuzco so we could get on it. A train coming up the canyon stopped first, bringing with it droves of uniformed school children, who scrambled off and ran down the platform and up the hill to the town. Behind the children came lots of the porters coming back from taking people hiking on the four-day trek to Machu Picchu along the Inca Trail. Most of the porters were significantly smaller than I am, yet they carried large loads, many with tents, propane tanks, sleeping bags and tarps. They literally ran past us carrying about 100 pounds of gear. It was very impressive.

After a while longer, I started talking to Steve about his job as an ocean-going tug boat captain. It was very interesting and I enjoyed learning about his work tugging large barges all over the west coast of North America, including back and forth from Hawaii.

When the train came, we got on and the car we were assigned to was empty except for our group and a couple others, including a tour guide from another company. He said his group was sitting on a different car, and asked if he could tell us stuff along the way because he wanted to guide even if his group wasn’t there. We were glad to learn from him. He explained that the porters, while they had to work hard, like their job because it pays way better than any other job they can get and they only have to do it as often as they want. Most do a few treks a month to supplement their income from agricultural work.

As we went down the valley, we saw it slowly turn from a wide plain to a narrow canyon, with Urubamba raging through the bottom. The river has many large rocks in it, making incredible rapids. They are too dangerous for rafting or kayaking, although people do so farther upstream. As we rode along, we could see glimpses of Incan terraces along the mountains, and they heightened our excitement to see Machu Picchu.

The train stopped in Aguas Calientes, the town below the ruins, so named (it means “hot waters” in Spanish) because there are hot springs in the area. Harry met us at the train station, as he had traveled on the train the night before. We left our luggage with people from the hotel and got on the bus to go up to Machu Picchu.The bus drove farther down the canyon, along the edge of some cliffs (one section of rode was a one-lane bridge built right out of the edge of the cliff), then crossed the river on a bridge and went up, up, up, following a dirt switchback road. The trek from town is about 5 miles, and rises 1,100 feet. We could see bits of terraces and stone buildings as we rose. We stopped at the top and waited while Harry took all our passports to get them stamped with a special Machu Picchu stamp, which wasn’t technically diplomatically necessary, but got us a really cool stamp! Then, we started hiking.

Instead of going straight to the main city complex, Harry guided us up a modern set of stone steps through some trees which blocked our view of the ruins. That way, we came out of the woods on the trail above the main ruins, giving us a better first look. We walked out onto an overlook and I was speechless. The beauty and majesty of the site is amazing, as it is nestled between two large mountain peaks: Machu Picchu – “the old mountain,” and Huayna Picchu – “the young mountain.” The terraces and buildings accentuate the hills’ natural features, and every spot in the whole city has a beautiful view of the peaks surrounding the valley. We climbed even higher, stopping frequently both because of the steep climb and the intoxicating beauty of the site.

Instead of going down to the ruins, we hiked along the base of Machu Picchu Peak, following an old Incan road built as an evacuation route in case the city was ever attacked. In all, seven roads lead into Machu Picchu from all parts of the Incan Empire. The trail we were on skirted the cliffs, and eventually stopped at an overlook where the rocks piled up to build a path on a sheer cliff had collapsed. Still intact, however, was an Incan bridge, with about 50 feet of rock piled up the rock face on either end, and a few boards placed across the chasm. It was amazing and dizzying to see that structure at such a height, several hundred feet up on the cliff. The Urubamba River, thousands of feet below us, was roaring over some rapids and could be heard clearly from our lofty perch.

The river is an ever-present part of the site, because it flows next to the base of the mountain, around Huayna Picchu Peak, then on the other side of the site, making a natural moat of sorts surrounding the site with 300 degrees of protection. Such heights and powerful water made it an easily defensible place. Watch towers were built on Huyana Picchu and several of the surrounding mountains, as well.

After the hike to the bridge, we walked back down to the main gate for lunch since you aren’t supposed to eat in the park itself. We pulled out our money-saving tuna fish feast and enjoyed it quite a lot. We ate under the green umbrellas set up on a modern terrace, then, when Daddy started talking to a guy who turned out to be a fellow photographer, Crystal, Mother and I wandered down some stone steps and found a cool, shady stone-foundation bowery where we rested for a few minutes until it was time to meet everyone again for our tour of the city. We decided a hammock would have been nice in that cool, shady bowery.

We toured all over Machu Picchu, seeing the 16 water fountains near the Temple of the Sun, seeing the beautiful stone work and the playful way the water was channeled down the hillside. We also went to the Grand Temple, a temple on a hill on one side of the complex, where we saw a sun stone and could look out over the whole area. A camera crew from a TV channel, Canal Sur, was around doing interviews with people about Machu Picchu, and if they had voted for the site to be one of the 7 New World Wonders. I had voted several months earlier online, and they interviewed me on camera. I did the interview in Spanish, and I think I impressed the guy. He said the show would air in the U.S., but I never found out when or how I could see it.

We walked around some more and saw several “echo” rocks, which were carved in the same shape as the surrounding peaks. We then went to the Temple of the Condor, where the natural rock formations was slightly altered to show a condor in flight, with a carved stone, making the head and neck, placed on the ground close to two huge “wings” – stones that sprawl out, up and away from the head. Then, the tour was over, but our family stayed for a few more minutes exploring the housing of the area before we had to get on the bus to go down. We saw three chinchillas, rabbit-like rodents that live in the complex, and some llamas, which wander all over the site serving as photo subjects and grass trimmers. The llamas also freely fertilize the grass, so you have to watch your step as you walk around. The last bus leaves at 5:30 p.m., so we got on the 5:15 p.m. bus as the sun was going down and made it back to Aguas Calientes in about 30 minutes.

Crystal and I stopped by our room at the hotel briefly, and then went off to explore the town. We wandered through the tourist market, where Crystal indulged herself with some cool black-and-white ceramic dishes. We also stumbled upon the local food market, where Crystal again indulged herself with a large, fresh avocado, which only cost 1 sol (or about 35 cents), and was twice as big as the ones we can buy in the U.S. We bought it for Friday’s lunch, to supplement the tuna and crackers. Also while in the market, we got hungry, so I bought a pack of Cheese Tris, a Cheetos-like snack, and in it I got a prize of a fake eyebrow piercing. I wore it for a while and it was funny.

We went back to the hotel and met the whole group for dinner. We went to a place in town and I ordered cui, or guinea pig, Crystal got a pizza and I liked her food more than mine! The little critter was roasted whole, and the meat was sparse, tough and bland. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t particularly good, either. I do recommend anyone try it at least once, though, to know what it is like and to know that in time of famine they could totally raid a pet store for meat! It was kind of weird to look at the rodent’s charred ears and bared teeth. Most of the meat I could find was on the ribs and legs. I ate it with my hands and actually passed my whole plate around the table for everyone to try.

After dinner, Steve and Geri said good-bye to everyone, as they were leaving Friday morning to go back to the states. Steve came up to Crystal and me specifically, shook our hands, and said we are an impressive young couple. It was very nice and a very great compliment which we will not soon forget. After dinner, Crystal had some ice cream, then we went back to the hotel to go to bed because Daddy and I had big plans for an early day Friday.

Friday May 11, 2007

I got up at 4:45 a.m. and met Daddy for breakfast in the hotel restaurant at 5 a.m. I had my first, and sadly, my last, cantaloupe juice on the trip, and it was very delicious. We ate quickly, then headed up the street for the first bus to Machu Picchu, which left at 5:30 a.m. We were the second and third people in line, and as we drove up the mountain, we could see that the tops of the mountains were covered by fog.

We were going to hike to Intipunku, or The Sun Gate, the pass on the mountain east of Machu Picchu where the Inca Trail hikers get their first view of the ruined city, and where you are supposed to get a good view of the sunrise. We were the fourth and fifth people through the main gate at 6:06 a.m. and made the 1-mile hike (which includes a 900 feet rise in elevation) in about 50 minutes. We arrived just in time to see … the fog continue to cover the area. We talked to several of the Inca Trail hikers, who had hiked since 4 a.m. to see the sunrise over the ruins, and they were obviously a little disappointed that the fog blocked off the view. I was disappointed to too, but my hike was a lot shorter than theirs, I had already seen Machu Picchu and they didn’t get that great cantaloupe juice for breakfast, so I didn’t feel too bad.

We waited at the Sun Gate until about 8 a.m., hoping for the fog to clear, but all we got was a little sun peeking through from the other side of the mountain and a short view of some blue sky and another distant peak. We hiked back down through the fog, which was very beautiful and cool – literally and figuratively. It left fine dew on everything and kept the morning comfortable, despite the increased humidity. We made it back down to Machu Picchu about 8:45 a.m., just in time to see the clouds lifting off the ruins, which was spectacular.

We went back to the main gate and met Mother, Crystal and the others as they got off the 8:30 a.m. bus. Then, Harry led our family to the western end of the ruins for our hike of Huayna Picchu, the large mountain overlooking the city. Only 400 people are allowed to hike the peak each day, and each person has to sign in and receive a number so that park staff can keep track of people going and coming. We were numbers 152 through 155. The trail was steep, with carved stone steps going up the sheer face of the mountain. We were on the shady side of the peak, so the steps were wet from the earlier fog, but not slippery, as the water mixed with the dirt to form a gritty paste. On many of the steepest spots, a large cable had been bolted to the rock to give us support and something to hold. The hike was about an hour, and we climbed about 1,000 feet. It was exhilarating at the top as we enjoyed the feeling of floating over the beautiful ruins. Near the top, we had to crawl through an Incan-built tunnel/cave, which was really cool.

We all got our picture taken on top, and we are all proud of making the big hike. On the way down, we had to come off a steep, steep set of steps going down several terraces. The steps were only about 5 inches deep in places, which made putting your feet sideways the best way to walk them. The hike down took almost as long as the hike up because the constant descent took a toll on our joints, making it hard to go very fast. We had spectacular views throughout the whole hike, so stopping to rest always had two rewards – new energy and a prolonged view! We made it to the trailhead about 12:30 p.m. and signed out so they didn’t think we died, then went and wandered around the ruins some more. The whole place is amazing; we loved it.

After exploring for a while, we met Harry, said goodbye to John and Jamie, who were staying an extra day at Machu Picchu, then got on the bus with Harry and Sally (yes, I made jokes about that time when they met…) and rode back to Aguas Calientes, saying goodbye to Machu Picchu, as well. The ruins almost immediately became almost like a beautiful dream in our memories, such is the almost unbelievable grandeur of the ruins in their mountain setting.

We had lunch at the Aguas Calientes train station (Crystal’s avocado selection was predictably delicious) and then said goodbye to Harry and got on the train. The train took us almost back to Cuzco this time, but we got off at Poroy, the second-to-last stop before Cuzco, because it was faster to take a bus back from there than to ride the train on switchbacks into Cuzco. Along the train ride, Daddy talked to Sally about the Church, sharing with her the Articles of Faith. He did a great job of being a missionary, and I need to follow his example – in that, and in so many other things.

Once back in Cuzco, we went back to the Casa Andina Hotel right off the main plaza. We put our stuff in the rooms, and then went with Sally to a restaurant, Inka Grill, on the square. I had some delicious gnocchi (potato pasta), and for dessert, shared some passion fruit crepes with Crystal. They were delicious and she said she would figure out how to make them some time. Score! The restaurant, being built right on the plaza, still had some of the original walls from when it was an Incan palace. The stone work still never ceases to amaze me. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Saturday May 12, 2007

We got up and ate at the hotel, then Daddy went out to take pictures of people in Cuzco, and Mother, Crystal and I went to the market to some souvenirs and gifts. We walked down to the market and only three vendors were open, so we walked around town a little bit. We about a dozen shops with hundreds of cakes decorated beautifully for Mother’s Day the next day. We also saw a parade with about 50 people marching along the middle of the street, with four people in front carrying a cross commemorating the 100-year anniversary of some society in the city. Behind the marchers was a military band, with all the marching musicians in camouflage fatigues. It was really cool. They just marched down the middle of the street and the cars all had to drive around them.

We then wandered back to the market (on the way I bought a delicious piece of bread at a panadería, a bakery) and we bought some things like woven belts for my sisters (and Crystal) and a woven alpaca-fiber wall hanging for our home. After shopping, we walked back to the hotel and met Daddy and Sally and went to the airport.

The flight to Lima was fairly uneventful, except for the guy sitting next to me was right behind Crystal, and he kept tapping and hitting her chair and just being fidgety in general. I think he was a smoker and was craving his next cigarette. That is another reason for someone to not smoke, not that I need any convincing. In the past year, I have become allergic to cigarette smoke; it makes my eyes water and my nose run.

When we got to Lima, we got off the plane and our guide, Adrian, came to get us, although he did arrive a little late. We drove out of the airport, along the beach, to an older section of town called Barranca.

Barranca is a colonial-style place with lots of buildings built after the 1890s war between Peru and Chile (which they fought over bat guano, which is a great fertilizer), during which the Chileans attacked Lima and burned a lot of buildings. We wandered through a weekly cooking festival and had some delicious desserts.

We got back on the bus (another Merced Sprinter) and drove through the San Isidro sector, an old, pretty portion of the city. There, we saw some gorgeous homes and loads of olive trees. Adrian said the olives were crushed into oil and used for lighting lamps throughout the old city. At this point, Crystal leaned over to me and said Daddy, who loves olive oil on food, was probably thinking, “They burned it! What!?!”

We then drove downtown and saw the central plaza and cathedral. Downtown Lima used to be pretty crime-ridden, but it has been cleaned up a lot in the last few years and we quite liked it. We saw how parts of the cathedral were older than other parts because an earthquake destroyed some its façade. The city has many buildings with incredibly beautiful architecture, including a plaza built to look like the buildings in Paris, France, and the Presidential Palace, which had lots of guys parked outside with guns and tanks, etc.

After the plaze, we toured a Franciscan monastery, which was one of the few buildings to survive the earthquake. It was gorgeous inside, but my favorite part was the catacombs underneath the building. The catacombs are in a section of the monastery that uses the underground structures to protect the building from earthquakes, with arched ceilings and special columns built to spread the out the shock of the quake. In the catacombs were lots of bones and skulls.

I was impressed with what happened when I walked into the catacombs … I felt the Holy Ghost. This makes me think about why I love cemeteries, because I have a testimony of the resurrection, which makes death not as much of a sad thing. I know that one day all those people will be able to live again, thanks to Christ’s atonement, and I am reminded of that fact every time I go into a cemetery.

After the catacombs, we saw more of the monastery, including a huge library full of books from the 1500s on. The library reminded me of something on the Harry Potter movies, with circular staircases, huge book stands and that great musty book smell.

When we left the monastery, we went to a museum with a huge private collection of Incan and pre-Incan artifacts, most of them collected by a rich family that paid people for the spoils of grave robbery. I was amazed at the sheer number (about 40,000) of pieces of pottery, which were sculpted into all sorts of people and animal shapes. The majority of the pieces were found in burial sites throughout Peru. We also saw lots of gold and silver ceremonial ornaments, like crowns, head-dresses and giant ear gauges. The gauges were so big, the men had to have them stuck through their ears and connected to their head-dresses, or else they would rip out their lobes.

After the museum, our family got dropped off at the Indian Market (where we were a week earlier) and the guide and driver took Sally back to the airport. We found the rest of our souvenirs (I bought an alpaca tie!) and ate dinner at Pepe’s, a fast-food place that was pretty good. Then, we walked to a grocery store and bought some candy to take home to people at work, and we also got some aji pepper sauce for Daddy, because he became quite enamored with it during the trip. Then, at 9:30 p.m. Adrian and the driver returned to pick us up and we went back to the airport. After a goodly wait, I told Mother “Happy Mother’s Day!” at midnight, and we got on our plane to Mexico City at 12:15 a.m. I, thankfully, slept the whole flight.

Sunday May 13, 2007

We woke up as the plane landed in Mexico City and we were mistakenly told that we had to go through immigration during our layover, so we filled out all the forms and got stamps in our passports allowing us into the country. Then, they sent us right back into the same terminal we came from. So now we have stamps for entering the country, but none for leaving. Oh well, I hope the federales don’t hunt us down and make us get another stamp!

After a couple hours, we flew to Houston, where we had a four-hour layover. We ate some Mexican food for lunch (ironically, it was hard to find such food to eat in Mexico City’s airport), then played Scrabble, and I incredibly won (mostly because Daddy set me up for four, count ‘em, triple word scores). Because I won, I got to buy banana splits for us all. They were yummy.

Finally, we got to fly home, but when we arrived at Salt Lake International Airport, our luggage did not. We went back to my parents’ house in Bountiful and my brother David had made a delicious Mother’s Day dinner. We talked to Michael, who is on a mission in Japan, for a few minutes (he gets to call home twice a year, on Mother’s Day and on Christmas). Then, Crystal and I drove to Ogden, grateful to be home and to have had such a wonderful trip. Our bags appeared in Bountiful later that night, and Mother brought them up to us on Monday morning.