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December 2009
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| Monday, December 7th, 2009 |
Peru and Ecuador - Day 4 - From Lima to Cusco to Urumbamba
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We woke up early to pack for our flight to Cusco. We caught our buss only to realize that Camille had misplaced her pocketbook back at the hotel. Her passport and Teds were in there. I think everyone on the buss had a minor heart attack at the news. Roberto was checking with the hotel, and before we got to the airport he was notified that the pocketbook was found and was being sent over via taxi.
Since it was not clear if the taxi would arrive in time, Roberto sent us ahead with me as acting tour guide while he waited for the Taxi with Ted and Camille. The worst that would happen would be that they would have to jump on one of the following 11 flights that day and meet up with us a tad bit later. Fortunately, Roberto, Ted and Camille all arrived just a few minutes before we were done boarding the plane and we all were able to fly together.
Our flight took us over the Andes. There wasn't much to see since there were quite a few clouds. I was, however, able to track our flight with the GPS this time. It was interesting to see our route over the mountains and see how we approached Cusco and how close to Machu Picchu we got.
We landed in Cuso and immediately started heading towards Urumbamba in the sacred valley, but not before I got a really sweet new hat. Cusco is at 11,000 feet, twice as high as denver and 11 time as high above sea level as Atlanta. We went as high as 12,400 before descending down into the valley.
Along the way we stoped at the ruins of Pisac. our first taste of pre-Incan terraced Architecture. The Pisac were a group of people living in the area before the Inca came and gave them 5 days to join the empire or die. Their leaders were to be made a part of the ruling class if hey accepted. They did accept, but the Inca immediately dispersed them throughout the empire to avoid rebellion. This was a good introduction to thing we were to see in the days to come.
We also visited an Alpaca and Llama farm where we could see, touch, and learn more about these native animals.
The views of the valley are amazing. There are mountains and clouds everywhere you look and it just goes on and on and takes your breath away.
We arrived at our villa, San Augustine Urumbamba Hotel, a quaint little place with about 10 rooms, a little cree, gardens, flowers and an great staff and a great view. Very peaceful. I think we just about had the entire place to ourselves.
After Picas, however, mom starte to not feel well. She went straight in to lie down while I transferred pictures off of my camera. She continued to feel worse as the evening went on. The altitued, 9432 feet was getting to her. We hand't taken any altitude sickness pills and whe was cold, shaking and vomiting. She couldn't keep anything down. I stayed with her throughout dinner but I didn't see her condition improving. She needed rest, but was too ill to get it. I had Roberto call a doctor out. Within 20 minutes Jeffery was by her side. Mom's oxygen level was 88 instead of the 92-95 that it should have been. Also, her blood pressure was 140/70 instead of her usual 115/70. Jeffery gave her a shot to calm her down. Mom was a trooper and the shot quickly took affect. Jeffery also had mom on oxygen for the night. I think mom was out within 5 minutes of getting on that oxygen. I checked in on her ever 15 minutes or so, but she stayed asleep until we woke up at 5 the next morning. It was far and away the best $50 that we spent. Some of it was mental, but extra oxygen and sleep had her ready to go the next day. |
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| Posted by aparker @ 10:00 PM [No Comments] |
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Peru and Ecuador - Day 3 - Lima, Peru
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Day 3 was our optional outing. Most of the 15 of us decided to go. Dante was with us once again and told us about Peru's natural resources. Peru is #1 worldwide for tin production, asparagus and paprika. #2 for copper and #4 for lead and tomatoes.
We arrived at the fishing village as our first stop. It was disappointing that it was Monday because there wasn't much activity and not much to see. We only spent 15-20 minutes there and I don't think we got too much out of it.
We then headed to the next stop, a shanty town called Charillos (trickles of water) via the Pan-American highway. We drove past the drivers license testing center and a huge sand dune. On the side and top of the dune was the town. It is policed, but the families are quite poor. There were dirt roads and very basic structures. We had the chance to meet a few families and see how they live before heading towards a "phase 3" district. Phase 3 is where people are starting small businesses and manufacturing operations. They produced furniture, shoes, belts and prefab items.
The goal was to show how the people are able to use determination and education to pick themselves up out of poverty. I think the message was good and it was good to show us "wealthy" tourists what life is like for some of the 9 million residents of Lima.
Afterwards we headed back to Miraflores where we had a few hours to spend at our leaser. Mom and I went to the mall for some food because it was close and convenient. The food was delicious, I had a good prawn ravioli dish.
With our stomachs full we decided why not go parasailing over Lima! We had to wait a little and it cost $50 but that ride was a great way to see the city and one of the very memorable parts of the entire trip. I thought it would be a little more nerve-racking, but it was a peaceful and smooth flight seeing the sea and the cliffs and the city was an excellent experience.
Once Mom and I both had our turns, we head back to rest a little before dinner. We decided to sit and finish up watching Batman: the Dark Knight.
Dinner tonight was optional as well, but it was very much worth it. We had a great buffet dinner accompanied by different Peruvian dances. There were 6 dances total and my favorites were: the candle dance, where dancers attempt to light rags hanging from their partners hips on fire with a candle. The partner tries to dance vigorously enough so that the rag can't be lit. If the rag is lit then the dancer has to try to dance enough to put the flames out again. Then there was the Incan Scissor Dance. The acrobatics and styles were much like break dancing, only hundreds of years older and with scissors in their hands. Forget running with scissors, try doing a headstand or a back flip with them.
The evening was great. I was glad I brought my flash. In fact, it almost reminded me of shooting a wedding reception.
All in all the day was great and the experiences in Lima were ones to remember. Tomorrow we head out to Cusco for our exploration of the Incan Sacred Valley and eventually Machu Picchu. |
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| Posted by aparker @ 9:57 PM [No Comments] |
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