Cusco, Peru - Day 5

Today we walked around to a couple museums and had a tasting smorgasbord at a local restaurant somewhat off the beaten path. It was still in Cusco but there were a ton of locals there, no tourists, and the place was well priced. Here is a list of foods that we tried in the order of how they appear in the pictures. I borrowed the food descriptions from this website.

Papa Rellena: Basically a variation of your stuffed potato. It is mashed potato rolled into balls or ovals and then stuffed with ground meat and spices. They are then deep fried is the outside is a crispy brown.

Papa a la Huancaina: Sliced Boiled Potatoes covered in a cheesy, slightly spicy yellow sauce (which contains Turmeric) served on top of lettuce. This dish is usually garnished with a quarter of a hard-boiled egg and sometimes with olives too.

Lomo Saltado: If you are on diet, we don't recommend this dish. Peruvians take strips of steak and sauté it with soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, chilies, onions and tomatoes. It is then served over a bed of rice with a large helping of chips (french fries). It is often served with a small side of salad too. It is a hearty meal that is served in many of the cheaper restaurants.

Picarones: These look like thin donuts (with a biggish hole in the center) that are not perfectly round. They are a type of pumpkin fritters which are normally served with syrup on top. It is sweet, but not overly so, and it is a filling dessert or snack.

Lucuma (In the ice cream): This 'nutty' flavored, orange colored fruit can frequently be found in Peruvian desserts. Peru is the only place in the world that has a large production of the lucuma fruit, although you will also find smaller lucuma farms throughout South America. The most common way to find this unique flavor is in ice-cream.

During other meals while in Peru we also sampled:

Anticuchos: Skewered meat (brochettes) that are sold throughout the streets of Peru and of course in restaurants. We recommend that you ask what type of meat it is before ordering one, as the most general kind is called anticucho de corazón, which is marinated beef hearts grilled on a stick.

Ceviche: There are many different variations of the dish which can be found in almost every restaurant in Peru. It is generally made with bite size chunks of raw white fish, normally sea bass. The fish is marinated in lemon / lime juice, onions and chilies. Traditionally it is served with boiled sweet potatoes or corn.

Tiradito: is similar to Ceviche though the fish is cut into strips instead of the chunks and it is made without onions giving it a lighter flavor.

Rocoto Relleno: Stuffed Rocoto peppers with a kick (they're a little hot/spicy). They are usually filled with meat, onions, egg whites, olives and sometimes with nuts. This dish originally comes from Arequipa.

Cuy Chactado: Here is where Peruvian cuisine might get a little scary for you. Fried Guinea pig! It was once eaten by Incan royalty and today remains a special food in Peru. While some restaurants serve it cut into small pieces and marinated others prefer a more dramatic presentation. It isn't uncommon to see the entire animal, head, feet and all grilled and served on a platter. Beware of the word Cuy (Guinea Pig) on any menu you see.

Cusco, Peru - Day 5

Machu Picchu Trek Fauna, Peru

So in the four days of hiking up to Machu Picchu we experienced quite a varietal of fauna and vegetation. Some huge aloe looking plants here. A vivid assortment of purple, blue, red, and yellow unique flowers which ran the gamut of the rainbow sprinkled the trail over there. A veritable rain forest greeted us on the third day of the hike. All flushed against the jaw dropping snow capped mountain back drop. In this photo album of about 140 pictures, all the pictures are of different plants with the exception of a couple favorites.

Yellow Lady Slipper Flowers

Machu Picchu Trek Fauna

Machu Picchu Trek, Peru - Day 4

So today we woke up at 3:45 in the morning to be one of the first three groups at the gate which opens at 5:30 in the morning. While we grumbled a bit at the early morning rise in the pitch black, we were very grateful in hindsight. Matt and I ran the last part of the trek in 45 minutes which normally takes 1 – 1.5 hours to walk to get to the Sun Gate. From there we had to wait for the rest of the group to catch up so we could go to Wayna Picchu to get tickets. Only 400 people are allowed access per day to the soaring mountain which rises over Machu Picchu and gives stunning panoramic views of the ruins and valley below. This would be the one of the highlights of the trip!

We were racing against the masses of people who would be taking a slightly easier route and catching an early bus from Aquas Calientes, a neighboring town, up to Machu Picchu. They would be getting there around 7am so we were trying to get there in that timeframe so we could get one of those magical tickets. We must have looked like quite a circus show running into Machu Picchu; all harried, unshowered and unkempt with exhausted gaunt, sunken eyes bestowing the pain of waking up before the sun and carrying our bags for the last 4 days. Some of the other tourists who took the bus appeared rather refreshed and springy in their dapper sweaters resting over their shoulders and crossed in front, and glanced at us with a mixture of awe and interest. Perhaps it was more shock and disbelief. I prefer to believe that they were inspired.

So after all that running we got to the WP ticket counter and got the 392 to 400th ticket. I got the LAST ONE! It was crazy, I actually felt bad because a couple of the guys had walked through Machu Picchu and they missed out on tickets to Waynu Picchu. Wow the euphoria of getting the last ticket was like winning the lottery. Despite my calm demeanor and even keeled personality, I don’t think I would have stood up well to being number 401 in line.

Half way up Waynu Picchu, I was starting to wonder if it would have been better to be number 401. My legs were burning like I had just run a marathon with a 50lb bag on. The effects of the three day trek and waking up early were getting the best of me. I was getting light headed and had to lean heavily on the steel cables that lined the steep mountain walls. This mountain was steep, at some points only had space for one person to cross, and did not have cables in some sections. At the top, we had to crawl under a huge rock for about 20 feet on our hands and knees through some water which was only big enough for barely me to fit. I have no idea how a large unathletic person managed this natural obstacle course. We emerged on the other side of the fallen rock where after climbing up another flight of steps we arrived at the top of the mountain, which was a huge pile of enormous boulders. It was really cool to run around on top of huge rocks overlooking the valley and Machu Picchu, until you realize that there are no cables up here. That it’s raining and the rocks are slippery. And that this is probably where that tourist fell of the mountain about 9 months ago. Then it gets realistically scary rather quickly. After slowing edging our way around the precipitous boulders, we edged our way down and properly explored Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is as amazing as everybody says it is. I’m not going to bore you with superlatives which you can read by googling Machu Picchu. Just know that if you haven’t been already you should go. I would rank it on par with the Great Wall, Ankor Wat and the Forbidden City in terms of awesome man-made beauty and engineering. It should be on everybody’s bucket list.

Machu Picchu Trek, Peru - Day 4