So, I went to Peru. It was super last minute and I didn’t really tell that many people, but I have been pretty overdue for a good adventure. I planned it because I was supposed to be starting a new job soon that would have me moving to the the Sothern United States, but unfortunately, that whole timeline has been pushed and it is up in the air at this point. Regardless, I had the trip planned so I went. $240 round trip on Spirit Airlines will get you to Lima, Peru as you can see in the picture above of a hike I went on once I got to Lima.
First stop on the Peruvian journey was enjoying some local cuisine. The first meal I had was a local favorite, Pan con Chicharron, pictured on the left. For lunch, I enjoyed some seafood since I was near the Pacific while in Lima. I had my first experience with the famous Ceviche (upper right corner of the plate on the right-most image above). Ceviche is a raw fish dish that is soaked in a delicious lime and milky sauce. The excess sauce is often put into a shot glass and drank as “Leche de Tigre” or milk of the tiger, which is an interesting experience drinking chunks of fish. However, it was surprisingly delicious. Inca Kola is the local favorite for pops and it has an interesting cream soda-like taste.
The first photo is from Lima and from there I went to Cusco, which is shown in the second photo. I spent the night there before waking up at 3:30 am to get to my bus for Machu Picchu. A little foreshadowing for the next blog post, but Cusco is at 11,000 ft and that first night I experienced some mild elevation sickness while trying to sleep. From the bus, I got to the train station and had an absolutely beautiful ride through a mountain valley into the heart of where Machu Picchu is located.
When the train dropped me off I made my way to the middle of Agua Caliente (the town right outside of Machu Picchu) and got in line at the tourist center for a ticket. Had I been coming during a busier tourist time, outside of Covid, I would have booked ahead. Instead, I enjoyed the flexibility of the times. I did observe many tourists from other South American countries like Columbia and Chile, as well as many from other parts of Peru coming to Machu Picchi rather than the typical European and American crowd.
From the town, you have the option of taking a bus to the park’s entrance or you could save some money and hike the way up. I decided to enjoy the journey on a hike to the top. The middle picture above shows the stairs I was climbing and then the picture on the right shows the bus path up which the stairs intersect on their way to the park entrance.
After wandering through the park and seeing some other ruins you get the choice of going to the upper or lower platform. If you pick one you can’t do the other. I happened to hear an English-speaking guide ahead of me say that he thought the upper platform was better so that’s what I picked. The view was incredible, but the only bummer was that on the lower platform there were a bunch of Alpacas roaming around which would have been pretty cool to play with. I still think I got the better end of the deal for the views though. After the upper platform, you descend into the actual city and there you can get a really good look at all the different architecture and the buildings to really appreciate how big this scared city actually was.
As I wandered behind different English-speaking guides I learned a lot about the significance of this place and the intricate planning of the Incans to build it in that location. The location is actually in a perfect location to maximize time in the sunlight and the terraced walls and layers they built have a lot of unseen underground support to keep the city stable and impervious to slipping off the edge of the cliffs. It’s interesting to be somewhere that the Incans believed was sacred hundreds of years ago. I’ve been to a couple of places that Native Americans have held sacred and every time it’s as if I can feel that energy. There is just something special about certain places and I think it’s a very raw feeling to stand there overlooking Machu Picchu seeing it very similarly as they would have seen it hundreds of years ago. I like to think that I am appreciating it in the same way that they did. It makes me think of how similar we all are as humans whether past or present. Certain things, like the beauty of Machu Picchu, transcend time and cultures and that’s just super cool.
Traveling and adventure has been pretty important to who I am and with COVID it has felt like a part of who I was had been silenced in a way. This is an excerpt from my journal on the day I went to Machu Picchu:
But really, I’ve been thinking this trip has just been so good for me. This morning I had the thought that I’m rediscovering who I am. I love who I have become, but I know the person I’ve been the last year wasn’t the true me I had come to know. I’ve felt robbed of opportunities and I had lost a sense of gratitude. This trip has shifted my perspective so much back to perspectives I’ve already known, but I guess I needed a reminder. Relationally, spiritually, and emotionally, yesterday and today have changed me. There is no doubt about it. I’m so grateful to God for this opportunity at a time where it is becoming self evident that I needed it. Blessed beyond measure is all I can say!
Being back home now and reading this entry and comparing the feelings I had at Machu Picchu to the feelings I have back in my normal routine I can say that the gratitude is still there. Even here when I am waiting on job offers and a little disappointed in how my life hasn’t progressed as far or fast as I wanted it to I still have more blessings and opportunities to go out and do certain things than some of the Peruvians I witnessed will ever have. We live good lives here in America and I’m a little ashamed how much I had lost sight of that. Yes, I gained a lot of cool experiences on this trip, but most importantly I regained my sense of gratitude. God is good!
While waiting for my entry into Machu Picchu I tried some grilled Alpaca as you can see in the left photo. It had a pretty good flavor, but it was a lot chewier than I expected. Then after Machu Picchu, I took the train back to Cusco. In Cusco is where I tried an Incan delicacy that is probably horrifying to some; Guinea Pig. It was actually way more tender than I expected with a delicious flavor. If I see it on the menu anywhere in America I would definitely order it again.
Up next is my adventure in the North of Peru, Huaraz. Huaraz is known for being an international climber mecca and it is home to Huascaran National Park. Huascaran is the tallest mountain in a tropical region in the whole world. Check back for Part 2 soon.