The Equator, Machu Picchu, and Lima, Peru

We crossed the equator a little after midnight on January 12th and will be in the Southern Hemisphere for a while.  We’re assuming since it was so late and we’ll be crossing again, there was not big ceremony.  This is the third crossing for us.  We had our Pollywog Ceremony on a cruise up the Amazon River a few years ago.  The ship will cross back into the Northern Hemisphere toward the end of February.

We can mark Machu Picchu off our bucket list.  It was an great trip full of just the right number of adventures to make it really memorable.  We started our journey in Manta, Ecuador on January 12th.  After a look around the city we took a charter flight to Lima, Peru.  From Lima we took a LAN commercial flight to Cusco.  Cusco is the primary jumping off point for trips to Machu Picchu.  It is also at 11,00+ feet altitude.  The altitude had a definite effect on both of us.  It was very easy to get winded just going up a flight of stairs.  The hotel we stayed at is a former monastery established in 1626, Hotel Monasterio.  You can see more about the hotel at  Hotel Monasterio

This is what Cusco looks like.  All the towns are built in valleys and spread up ridge lines.

Everyone has a cell phone and PC.  If you wonder how they get a signal over the mountains and into the valley, look at the mountain tops.  They have a few antennas.

The picture below, taken outside of Cusco, shows a group of local women with some Lamas moving up a mountain trail.  Note the hats.  The high hats and the flat hats (see woman on extreme right) indicates their heritage as original Inca (flat hat) or post Inca period (high hat). 

 

The next morning, January 13th, we were scheduled to take the train to Machu Picchu.  We were under the impression that the train left from the station in town, about 10 minutes away.  In fact we had to go to a train station located two hours away due to rainy season flooding.  The roads were bumpy and narrow in many places and it was a long trip.  However we got a very good feel for the country-side, housing, and local commerce as we drove and stopped along the route.  We also got to travel through the Sacred Valley and see some of the sights along the Urubamba River.  We began our journey from Cusco’s 11,000 feet to Machu Picchu’s 7,000+ feet.  Everyone began to feel better after the first drop of 1,000 feet.

The picture below shows an Inca grain storage facility in the Valley.  The corn was dried and stored in these buildings until needed.

The picture below shows construction of a large house.  You can see the bricks which are made locally from mud and grass as a binder.  This is a very nice and larger house than normal but it shows the construction material.  It is unfinished.  Many structures are unfinished as the taxes are much less on unfinished homes.  Some call Peru the unfinished country for this reason.

 

We took the Hiram Bingham train (Hiram Bingham Train).  The trip to Machu Picchu was scheduled for two hours but ended up taking five.  You may have read about Machu Picchu being cut off by mud slides periodically.  Well, we were caught in a mud slide about 30 minutes from our destination.  We were very happy to have a dinning car and club car.  There are two ways to get to Machu Picchu, by the Inca Trail or the train.  On the Trail you have the choice of a four, two, or one day trek across the mountains.  After the train you have a 20 minute shuttle ride from the station to Machu Picchu.  Being adventurous Noreen and I chose the three minute walk across the train station to the shuttle.

The picture below show hikers and porters at the start of the Inca Trail getting ready to go.  They use the porters and donkeys to carry the luggage and camping supplies.  Note the power of the river showing we are in the rainy season.

The bridge crossing the river to the start of the Inca Trail.

As I mentioned earlier, our train ride was made more memorable by the mud slide covering the tracks.  Below is a picture of Noreen at our dinning car table and the club car.

A shot of our club car.

I would like to say at this point that Noreen and I would have much preferred the four day hike along the Inca Trail and camping in the rainy season.  We just didn’t have the time.  Maybe on our next visit.

This is a picture of the mud slide area that held everything up.  There is only one rail line and it is narrow gage.  There are occasional sidings that allow trains to pass each other or clear the track for mud slide clearing equipment.  The other picture below is the train behind us also stopped for the mud slide.  This is one of the standard trains you would take if you weren’t on the Hiram Bingham.

 

Finally we arrive at Aguas Calientes, the town supporting Macho Picchu.  I’d love to show you a picture but we were running very late (mud slide and all).  We had to rush to the shuttle to still have some daylight at Macho Picchu.  You can walk up to Macho Picchu in two hours or take the shuttle.  While walking takes longer, the shuttle is more adventurous.  It is straight up a very steep grade and the road is just a series of switchbacks.  Very few guard rails and very steep drops.  The shuttles have been known to overturn now and then.  To give you an idea of the trip, this is a picture from Macho Picchu to the town area. 

This picture shows the end of the Inca Trail as taken from Machu Picchu.  It is the line running from upper left to lower right.

 

At Last!!

I’m not going to go into a history of Machu Picchu.  You can get very big books about that.  Here are some highlights we found.

This picture gives you an idea of the inaccessible location.

And the slope of the area.

Now some general shots of Macho Picchu.

 

Noreen says we have to have a picture with me in it.

And we were both there.

Our return trip was much less eventful.  No mudslides so we had a quick trip back on the Hiram Bingham.  Dinner aboard was very nice.  Another two hour bus ride but it was dark so not much to report from that.  Our original schedule was to be back by 7:00 PM so we could see some night activities around Cusco.  With all the delays we didn’t back until 11:30.  To bed after a long day and up early the next morning for a quick 50 minute flight to Lima.  You know how much Noreen loves to fly and not a bar is sight at the airport.  No big concern until we had to turn back from the taxiway with a problem.  Next takeoff attempt was more successful and we arrived back at the ship about 1:30 PM.  The next day we spent in Lima recovering from the altitude and seeing the city.  We set sail from Lima the evening of January 16th.

We are currently two days out of Lima for Easter Island.  The Island is 2.237 miles from the mainland of Chile and four days at sea for us.  The seas are running with a 10 foot swell and temperature 72⁰.  The ship is rolling at just the right amount to rock you to sleep.  Sea depth is 14, 447 feet.

We hope you found this interesting.  Please post comments and let us know what you think.  We expect the next entry will be after Easter Island (January 20th) in about a week.