When in Peru, Do as the Tourist Do

Growing up in Peru I was really busy with normal teenage stuff, but trying to be a competitive swimmer kept me busier than the normal kid on the block. Partially because of swimming and mostly because I did not want to be caught doing what tourists do, I really never paid attention to the history and culture that Peru had to offer. In Rome you do as the Romans. In Peru you do not do as the tourist.

Occasionally swim meets would take me to other cities in Peru, where we would be able to spend some time in ancient Inca ruins. One trip in 1968, took me to Trujillo a few hours drive north of Lima. When we arrived in this colonial city, I was impressed by the Spanish architecture and the homes with large ornate balconies.

But, even more impressive were the ruins of Chan-Chan. This Inca city is the largest adobe construction that I have ever seen. Turns out that it is the largest adobe city in the world. How about that?

When we went into this old city it was like going into a maze. High ornate walls separated the city into several compounds; I think that they were different areas for different families. Each area had at one time running water, garden plots and small burial areas.

The most impressive thing of these ruins was definitely its size, and the fact that almost all the walls are still standing and have been able to conserve decorations carved into the walls. These decorations represent animals, birds and other geometrical patterns, that may have had some meaning to the inhabitants, but none to me.

I never could understand how a sand castle that I built on the beach would only last a few hours, and yet these ruins and their decorations built thousands of years ago look as if they were just completed. I wish I had photos of my own to show you. Here is a link that has some good shots.

Another swim meet took me to Arequipa. This colonial city is at an approximate altitude of 8000 feet above sea level, way up in the mountains.

The preliminaries were in the morning, the near freezing morning, and I remember that after my first race I got out of the pool with a bloody nose and a pounding headache. It was the hardest race I had ever been in. Not because of the competition, I won by a few meters, but because of the fact that the swimming pool had water near freezing.

Since I qualified for the finals and did not have to swim again until later in the evening, I went with a group of swimmers to tour the city.

Since we arrived during the night, you could not really appreciate the beauty of this city. As we drove towards the downtown area we were busy in conversation, but as we came to the plaza in front of the Cathedral, I remember one of my teammates letting out a loud gasp. As we looked up we noticed that behind the Cathedral stood the "Misti," an active snow capped volcano. The white snow just seemed to make the "White City" even prettier. Now if you can imagine a car full of 16 and 17 year old kids being awestruck by the beauty of a church and a mountain, just wait until you see it for yourself. Unfortunately again, I did not take any photos; this was way before my interest in travel and beautiful things. I was a teenager, remember? Here is a link to some photos of Arequipa.

Arequipa is called the "White City" because of the stone used in the construction of most of its buildings. This colonial city is by far the prettiest city in Peru, and may be one of the prettiest cities I remember from all my travels. Unfortunately, Arequipa does have many earthquakes so if there were any pre-colonial Inca buildings I did not see them.

I left Peru to come to the United States in 1972 and even though I did return in 1976 and 1995 it was not until September of 2001 that I actually saw the most impressive landscape of my life.

I decided that it was time to take my family to see the country where I grew up. We had saved enough miles on our credit card for roundtrip tickets for the four of us. Leaving us enough money to travel once inside Peru.

Luckily we arrived into Lima after dark. I say luckily because the drive to the city from the airport winds through some of the ugliest areas of the capital city. I mean when I grew up in Lima, I remember the beautiful parks and medians separating the large avenues. In 1995 I was shocked at how quickly a city could go from beautiful to ugly. Trees were cut down to 10-foot height; parks had tall grass and trash had collected in their unruly growth. The flowers that once were everywhere were no longer. Now, even in the dark I could see that there was no improvement. Thanks for the darkness.

We started our tour of Lima the next morning. After a very scary Taxi ride we arrived at the Plaza de Armas in downtown Lima. The Plaza, much to my surprise, was getting a new change of flowers. Maybe there was hope for the city. Maybe it was because the Presidential Palace and the Mayors Home were situated at opposite sides of the Plaza.

Presidential Palace and Fountain

The large bronze fountain in the middle of the plaza with it’s running water made you think that you were in a European city. Our reason for coming downtown was to see the Cathedral of Lima.

I remember when I was thirteen my mother and one of my aunts took me to the Cathedral for a procession honoring “El Senor de los Milagros.” I remember missing school to see thousands of people honor “Our Lord of the Miracles.” A sea of purple people, or people wearing purple tunics covered the plaza as a life size image was carried out of the church among loud trumpets and songs from the faithful. From the archbishop’s house located next to the cathedral you could see large groups of people looking out of the ornate wooden balconies.

With Victor in Front of Cathedral

Now for the first time I was going to enter the cathedral. Reconstructed after two earthquakes, the cathedral is built upon a raised foundation that makes the entrance to the church seem more impressive.

The large faded brown, worn-out doors however are not very impressive. These large doors were hardly open and in order to enter you had to turn your body sideways to fit through the barely open doors. Assisi walked in without having to do this, Victor and I got in by doing a sidestep, butt (I am sorry I think I meant but) no matter how much Sandra tried she could not fit, so they opened the door another foot for her to enter.

Victor, Assisi and Sandra at Cathedral Doors

Once inside, you were in awe by the different chapels off the side of the main sanctuary. What was interesting is that some of these smaller chapels had altars that were prettier than the main altar. These small chapels displayed statues of Mary, Jesus and some of the patron saints of Peru.

Victor really loved the chapel that held the headless remains of Fransico Pizzaro, that Spanish conquistador who stole from the Incas, sending many ships carrying gold and other riches back to Spain. Actually his head was in a different, much smaller casket placed at the end of the casket that contained the rest of his body. I cannot figure out why they would give him such an honorable location.

In the church there is a museum that contains religious art, and has a great collection of beautiful paintings, vestments adorned with rubies, diamonds and other precious stones.

Not necessarily the prettiest, but the most incredible structure in the cathedral is the main altar and the choir’s pews. These pews were located around the main altar and were carved out of wood, a beautiful piece of work that took many years to finish. The massive altar is wrapped in silver and gold and has a huge spiral staircase off to one side that leads to nowhere. Our tour guide said that there is an office on top of the altar, but I think that it is a stairway to heaven. Led Zepplin visited Lima and decided to write a song about the stairway. (Not True)

One interesting thing that we were able to find out is that the massive columns that hold up the ceiling are hollow. Inside the impressive looking structures are … Bamboo stalks. These are there to sway with the movement of the ground during earthquakes.

The Red Carpet Treatment at the Palace

As we left the cathedral we noticed some commotion to our left, at just what so happens to be the Presidential Palace. The president of Peru was coming down the stairs to greet us. It seems that word got out that the Rohde family was visiting Peru and that Mr. Rohde the not so famous nursery owner was willing to meet him.

From the center of Lima we took another terrifying taxi ride to the suburb La Molina, to visit the Museo de Oro. This privately owned museum has a collection of weapons that will entertain any teenager. Small guns that would shoot two bullets smaller then peas, rifles that would leave a hole in the unfortunate recipient the size of a watermelon. Swords, knives, and other weapons that would hurt you really bad, were displayed in glass cases that were so crowded you could spend days looking at these and forget the main attraction. The jewelry made out of gold that belonged to Inca hierarchy is on display in the basement. Gold facemasks, gloves, rings; an incredible display of Inca riches.

I must point out an interesting observation. There are signs everywhere claiming that many of these artifacts are fakes. Well, why did they not tell us this before we paid $20.00 each to get in? We could have gone to the market to look at cheap reproductions for free.

Even if they were forgeries it was still an interesting display. And since you did not know which of the pieces were real and which were not, it still made you wonder how an ancient civilization made and used similar pieces in their ceremonies.

After a few days in Lima visiting with friends and touring around the old hood we left for Cusco.

The flight to Cusco was uneventful. We took Lan Peru, a national airline that uses Boeing 737’s just like Southwest Airlines. The plane left on time and the service on board was adequate. Upon our arrival to Cusco I noticed that the airplane was landing at a much greater rate of speed. When the airplane touched down some of the passengers feared for their lives. They really started to panic when those sitting on the right side of the airplane saw the terminal go by really fast. Cusco is at an elevation of 11,400 feet.

As a flight attendant for long gone Braniff International, I landed in Mexico City many times and knew what was going on. Because of the high altitude airplanes must land at a faster speed to have the necessary lift to stay up. But, when passengers started screaming, I too felt nervous.

Upon arrival in Cusco we took a short ride to our hotel “San Agustine,” a quaint hotel in the center of town.

They say that the way to prevent altitude sickness is to slowly increase your altitude. After 7000 feet go up another 1000 every day. We arrived on an airplane starting at 600 feet above sea level and 55 minutes later we were at 11,400 feet. Just 20 minutes after we arrived in Cusco we were in our room located on the third floor and already I was weak, dizzy and had a terrible headache. I mentioned this to the bellhop and he promised to bring us up some coca tea.

The bellhop told me to relax, enjoy the tea and after a while take a short slow walk to the Plaza and the Cathedral. If I felt sick again he thought that I should go into any café and order another tea made from the coca leaf.

An hour passed and I was feeling better. Sandra complained of only a mild headache, the kids said they felt good, so we decided that we would take a short walk to see some of the sights that were not included in the next day’s tour. We made our way to the Plaza de Armas and the Cathedral.

Once in the center of the plaza we hired a local teenager to guide us through the city. He took us past the cathedral and up a narrow street with steep narrow steps on either side of a very narrow road. If you started to feel dizzy and fell into the road you would be squashed by one of the cars coming down hill.

We made our way past the Museum of Religious Art, where our young guide stopped in front of a large rock and asked me to count the angles.

The Time Consuming Art of Perfect Stonework

The large, perfectly smooth stone had 14 angles and an array of stones around it to make a perfect fit. Each of the interlocking stones also had a number of angles somehow chiseled in them. This photo shows the lower section of the 14 angle stone and the intricate interlocking system.

If you can not see the puma click here for some help.

On the backside of the museum the wall is about 100 yards long. The bottom half of the wall is original Inca; the top part was rebuilt by the Spaniards. Clearly visible is the workmanship of the two cultures. After our guide stopped almost near the middle section of the wall he asked us if we saw something extraordinary. Not wanting to sound ignorant, I said nothing, so he pulled out a diagram of the wall from his pocket and showed me the outline of an animal, a puma to be exact. The Incas built Cusco in the shape of a puma. Some people say this may be an outline of the city

Photo Op in Front of Saint Blas

Climbing higher up the narrow street we reached the Church of San Blas. The small but interesting exterior hid the beauty within. Notice the blue door into the church and across the plaza. For some reason 90% of the doors in Cusco are blue. The stonewalls are original the plaster is Spanish influence.

Inside the church there is a hand carved pulpit with so much detail that you know it had to be a labor of love. As a way to honor the woodcarver his skull is kept at the top of the pulpit for all to see.

The main altar was covered in gold and next to it there was a black Jesus on a cross. They said that since the Incas saw the white Spaniards as evil, the best way to introduce Jesus to the new converts was to depict him as a person of a different race than the Spaniards.

When we left the church it started to rain really hard. The kids and I were wearing nylon rain breakers, but Sandra had on a cotton sweater and got soaked. It took us a while to flag down a taxi and by the time we made it back to the hotel Sandra’s teeth were rattling from the cold. She decided that she was going to close all the windows and turn on the heater. I thought it would be okay and we kept the heater on for the rest of the night, until Sandra woke me up. From her voice you could tell something was wrong. “Greg, I can’t breath I feel like I am dying. I think I am going to be sick When I got up to go to the bathroom I felt dizzy and fell back into bed,” she lamented.

Not knowing if a phone call would get quick attention, I ran down three flights of stairs to the reception desk where I woke the night manager. I explained to him what was happening to Sandra. He told me that we should go back up and give her some oxygen. We walked up the stairs and went back into the room. As soon as I got back to the room I felt dizzy and could hardly breath. By the time I laid down on the bed Sandra was already breathing through an oxygen mask.

The manager turned the radiator off and opened the balcony door to let fresh air in.

With the fresh air coming in to our room Sandra started to feel better and so did I. The next day Sandra and I walked around the city and then took our prepaid tour, which started at the Temple of The Sun, or Qorikancha.

We were told that way before the Spaniards arrived the Incas had lived in Cusco for hundreds of years. Cusco is the oldest continuously inhabited city in America. The foundation of many of the buildings still standing today were built hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spaniards, but were destroyed by earthquakes or by greedy conquistadors who later rebuilt structures using the original foundation of many Inca buildings.

On the outside, the western wall is circular and overlooks a large, but not pretty, park. However, beyond that you have a nice view of the northeast neighborhoods built on the side of the mountain. Here you can see one of the many churches in Cusco.

Inside the Temple of Sun Cusco

One of these buildings was Qorikancha, the Sun Temple. The foundation and many existing walls were used to build a convent for the Dominicans. You enter through large doors that lead you into a convent where most of the walls to the old Temple still stand. The interesting thing about the walls is that they are built with a thick base and narrow top, giving it apparently a lot of support since they were able to withstand some very strong earthquakes.

The walls inside the temple were covered in gold and silver - surely a way to reflect the sun into and throughout the interior.

From the Temple of The Sun we made our way to Sexywoman, I mean Saqsayhuaman. Built with huge rocks, the exterior wall to this fortress is about 1000 feet long and is built around the eastern rim of the city of Cusco. I think it is the eastern rim?

We walked along flat grasslands that were used for many kinds of ceremonies. As you cross this flatland you walk next to a zigzagged wall made from some boulders that are 15 foot tall and 10 foot wide. The rockwork is not as impressive as that of the walls in Cusco, but the size of the stone makes you wonder how they got there and how they were put in place.

At the end of the flatland there is large Statue of Jesus. When you walk up to it you will see a spectacular view of Cusco. From here you will notice the terraced levels that the homes are built on and all the terra cotta rooftops.

From Sexywoman we went to Quenqo, a religious site built from limestone. The Incas had placed the stone as pathways that led into underground galleries and a semicircular amphitheater. There is a passage that goes between rocks that lead into the sacred chamber with an altar that was used for sacrifices.

The last part of our tour around the Cusco area took us to Tambomachay, thought to be the Inca Baths. Out of nowhere small cascades of water come out of the ground and are channeled through aqueducts to what our guide called the fountain of youth. Of course I had to touch the water and splash some on my wrinkled face. For a few seconds the cold water stunned me, as it took my breath away, I could feel the forces of nature removing the wrinkles. But, not long enough for Sandra to photograph my short lasting, smooth as a babies butt face. As blood returned to the areas I had splashed so did the wrinkles.

The next day we went to Machu Picchu by train. As we left Cusco the train went through a series of switchbacks in order to climb the steep edges of the mountains surrounding the city. After a short distance you could see snow covered mountains from afar and then the train started to follow the Urubamaba River leading us pass Ollyantambo.

After a two hour train ride we arrived at Aguas Callientes a small tourist town at the base of Machu Picchu.

The hotel porters took our luggage and we headed up by bus through narrow roads carved out of the side of the mountain below Machu Picchu. At times the road is so narrow that as you look out the window of the bus you only see the branches of trees and other plants below you. Oh..my..God..! Where’s the road?

Finally, as the bus went around a bend you thought you were there. The ruins were visible for only a short while, just enough to take your breath away, and then again the ruins disappear into the jungle, growing around them as they did hundreds of years ago. They say that the conquistadors knew about the existence of Machu Picchu and the amount of treasures that were here. The jungle’s rapid growth hid the city from the Spaniards. It was not until Hiram Bingham rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911 that the modern world found out about these Inca ruins.

Machu Picchu (Ancient Peak) is actually not the name of the mountain used as a background in all the photographs of the ruins. Machu Picchu is the name of the large mountain to the south, above the ruins.

The mountain to the north, called Huayna Picchu (Young Peak) is photographed in almost every picture of the ruins used in advertising. There is a steep trail that takes about two hours to climb and about four hours to come down because of the narrow steps. I was told that many people suffer vertigo and actually scoot down the steps on their butts. Some of these people actually arrive at the bottom with their bottoms exposed having left clothing and blood on the steps.

There are many theories about the purpose of Machu Picchu. It appears to have been a place of learning of some kind and an important ceremonial center. Astronomical studies were obvious here as the city was built around the sun temple.

We spent two days in Machu Picchu. The first day the sun was shining and there were only a few puffs of clouds dotting the beautiful blue sky. You could see all the ruins from wherever you were. There is no single photograph - let me rephrase that - there is no visual aid that will show you the true beauty of this breathtaking wonder of the world.

It is not yet considered a Wonder of the World, but there is a petition going on now to try to have Machu Picchu declared as the Eighth Wonder. On this day the tour guide kept us on the lower levels of Machu Picchu showing us the important architectural details, the astrological remains, the agricultural sector of the city, the upper and lower urban sector, and the Temple of the Sun.

Sun Temple on Top of Urubamba Valley

As with all Inca Sun Temples, it is shaped like a semi-circle. Inside there is a large granite boulder that has been formed into the same shape as the exterior walls. The windows are strategically lined up to the sunrays of the summer solstice and the equinox. In the first photo you can see the round wall typical to Inca sun Temples. Dwelling walls were squared off.

Nearby the sun dial, or INTIWATANA, sits on the upper courtyard. Made from a single large boulder it has three steps carved into it leading to the altar and to a large upright carving approximately three feet high that points to the North. This was used to tell time, as well as the solstice and the equinox.

A falling scaffold used for filming a beer commecial broke off the right corner recently.

The second day was rainy. The clouds were so heavy that they hung low over the city giving a mystical view. We now know why some people call Machu Picchu the Cloud City.

On this day we were on our own and wanted to explore the upper areas of Machu Picchu. We made our way to the upper cemetery. We saw the remains of ancient tombs, and a large sculptured boulder with steps used for ritual purposes.

As we waited underneath the thatched roof in the guardhouse for the clouds to lift llamas that permitted us wonderful photographic opportunities visited us.

We chatted with many tourists from around the world. Every person that we talked to was eager to share his or her experiences. They would tell you where they thought were the best view of the ruins and what they thought was the most interesting structure. Do you know that no two people agreed on anything?

Machu Picchu is too much for someone like me to describe. It is something that you cannot see through typed words, or even a photograph, to realize the beauty. It is something that you must see for yourself.

Now I really cannot finish telling you about my trip to Peru just yet. I have to let you in on a secret that we walked into. In Aguas Callinetes there is a hotel called Machu Picchu Pueblo. This hotel consists of individual bungalows accessed by meandering sidewalks surrounded by beautiful flowers, ferns and other tropical vegetation growing underneath the thick canopy of the jungle.

Assisi’s smile makes my heart flutter like the butterflies we saw.

As you walk past the last bungalow you find a sign that points to “The Orchid Trail” and away from civilization. Assisi who normally is a follower led the way. She stopped to see hummingbirds suck nectar from hibiscus; she was amused by butterflies that fluttered around appearing to be large flowers. We were so taken back by the beauty that we almost walked into side of a mountain and as we looked up to see where we were the jungle blocked our view.

Orchids, ferns, birds of paradise, lichens, moss and other flora that I would not be able to identify caught our attention. I lost track of time and did not realize how long we had been on this trail. As cheap as I am I would have gladly paid an admission fee into the Orchid Trail.

To get to Peru we used our American Express miles on Continental Airlines, so round trip from Dallas to Lima cost all four of us $56.00 and that was mostly taxes. While we were in Lima we stayed at the Holiday Inn Miraflores. Remember that 18 or under stay free at Holiday Inn and the suites were very comfortable.

The Abdala and Rohde family meet. I went to school with Abraham.

Miraflores is a suburb of Lima located in the heart of my old neighborhood. I did not stay at my brothers Bed And Breakfast called CASA DEL GRINGO in Cieneguilla because I had a lot of socializing to do. But, if any one wants information about his place just click onto the hyperlink and email Walter Rohde. Walter will also be able to help you with travel arrangements if needed.

I was always the best looking in our neighborhood.
And yes they are as crazy as they look.

Our tour of Cusco and Machu Picchu was handled through Solmatours. I probably paid for more services that I really needed, such as having a private car take us to and from the airports in Lima and Cusco, but since I was traveling with my family I could not see the harm in a little extra security. In Cusco we stayed at the Hotel San Agustine and in Aguas Callientes, we were very pleased with our accommodations at The Machu Picchu Inn. I have heard some disturbing news about the hotel we stayed in Aguas Calientes so I will not give a link to it. I did find out that the Hotel Machu Picchu Pueblo that had the Orchid Trail does have seasonal discounts and I would like to stay there next time if the price is right. All the hotels served a very generous buffet style breakfast included with our room price of about $70.00 per night. In Peru we traveled on Lan Peru and were very pleased with the timely performance and service. If you are a brave sort, when you arrive into Lima or Cusco airports cab drivers will greet you just outside baggage claim and will take you to your hotel anywhere in Lima for less then $7.00. Beware that not all Taxi drivers are registered and some may be waiting for an unsuspecting tourist that can easily be mugged. I asked several of my friends and the hotel clerks about this possibility and they all said that that was not a thing to worry about.