In the Sacred Valley, Part 2

Mike and I went into our next adventure, climbing the Inca granaries, or Pinkuylluna Mountain, thinking it would be good practice for Machu Picchu.  And in a way it was.

Our friends from Orlando told us that you had to go through someone's backyard in order to get there, so we did some guess work with trying to find it.  Luckily, we had an awesome guide helping us.  Here she is in all her furry glory:

Puppy!

It was the funniest thing.  Mike and I were walking down a side street, trying to find the entrance to this place, when this dog just decided to follow us.  Since she wasn't being aggressive, we decided to let her come with us.  We thought that as soon as we started our climb, she'd go home.  But nope.  The little gal stuck with us the entire way up.  She was in better shape than either Mike or I.  She would run ahead of us and then come back if we were taking too long.

When we looked up at the ruins above us, I couldn't decide if the trek up was going to be difficult or not.  Turns out it wasn't.  But the altitude that made it somewhat hard.  I was taking video of us walking up and you can hear me panting.  Our hearts were racing, but we made it to the top.  And the view was amazing.  Because we went up so early, we were able to get awesome pictures of the fortress without a lot of people on it.

Our view from the top.

We hung out at the top for awhile and then decided to head back.  Our furry guide left us about halfway down because apparently we were going too slow for her liking.  She went down with another group that was moving faster than we were.  Mike said it was because she knew we didn't need her help.  After we got back into town, we grabbed our bags and hung out at a cafe for a little while since we had time to kill before our train left.

Mike and I lucked out with our train seats.  Since we had booked them so early, we got to sit in the very front of the first car, meaning that we got a side view and a massive front view since the conductor's cabin was to the right of us.  We were both already very excited for the train ride, and being up front made it that much better.

View from the train.

We arrived in Aguas Calentes around 5:30 and proceeded to check in to our freaking sweet hotel.  We staid in a tree house.  Yep, a tree house.  It. Was. AWESOME!  We were upgraded to a suite, which meant that we had a two-story tree house.  The upstairs is where we slept and it had a killer view of the mountains.  We could see a tiny bit of Machu Picchu.  Our reservation also came with dinner, so we got to eat at the amazing on-site restaurant.  I had cuy for dinner.  Google it.  I won't ruin the surprise for you guys.

Sadly, half way through dinner, Mike started to not feel so great.  He stuck around for as long as he could, then went upstairs to sleep.  Since we were going to be getting up at 5:15 to be at the bus for Machu Picchu at 6, we needed to get all the sleep we could.  Up next, we tackle Machu Picchu at an ungodly hour.

In the Sacred Valley, Part I

I'm a few days behind on posts, mainly because we didn't take our computer to the Sacred Valley/Machu Picchu.  So let's pick up where I left off.

During our last full morning in Cusco, we got up to see a few things before we left for the Sacred Valley.  We started at Hathun Rumiyoq, one of the main streets in ancient Cusco.  It took a little while for us to find it because some roads around it were closed off.  But it was worth finding.  The Inca stonework is impressive and the size of the stones that were used is absolutely jaw dropping.  To think that people carved these stones so they would fit perfectly to the ones around it is impressive.  I don't think that I've fully wrapped my mind around the amount of work that went into making this wall.

To give you some perspective, Mike is 6'1.
And the wall also went down.

Our next stop that morning was the Mercado Central. If you're in Cusco, it is worth the visit. One of the first things you see in the market is rows of women working at juice stands, waving menus at people walking by, trying to lure them into purchasing a glass of juice from them.  Mike and I made a mental note to come back.

The juice stands.

We walked around and looked at all the different products that were being sold.  There was just about everything for sale there,  They had cat food, clothes, and fresh meat and veggies, just to name a few.  It was colorful and jammed packed full of people.  I really liked that there were mostly locals there.  And since it was about lunchtime, there were a lot of people crowding the stalls that served a hot meal.  We picked one that was packed with people, sat down, and had a massive bowl of hen soup.  We were lucky enough to get seats at the counter.  There were rows of benches behind the counter so that many people could eat there.  Our soup was really good, but we defiantly got ripped off by the women running the stall because we were tourists.  Granted, our meal ended up being about $6 for the two of us but it really rubbed Mike the wrong way.  But the lesson we learned was to eat somewhere with posted prices.  As we were walking out of the market, we decided to get some juice before we left.  Nothing beats fresh juice.  It was a nice way to end our market adventure.

One of the stalls serving a hot meal.

Then it was off to the Sacred Valley, or more specifically, Ollyantatambo.  Ollyantatambo was built as an Inca administrative center.  It was also the gateway for the Inca's to the Amazonian portion of their empire.  The city was the only one to resist Spanish attacks.

We took a taxi from Cusco to Ollyantatambo.  Before your eyeballs pop completely out of your head, it only cost about $30 to make the hour and a half drive.  It was a beautiful drive.  The Andes are absolutely amazing.  Mike and I kept saying "wow" every time we turned a corner.

This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.

I'm glad we made to drive.  We were able to see where the locals in Cusco live, the farms and the people working in them, and what other towns in Peru look like.  Not surprisingly, there is a lot of poverty.  What was really interesting to me is that the women working in the fields wore traditional Andean clothing.

Around 3:00, we arrived in Ollyantatambo.  We checked into our hotel, which was surprisingly hard to find, and then decided to go explore.  On the edge of the Plaza Manay Raquy, which is filled with stalls of women selling souvenirs, there is a massive Inca fortress that towers over the city.  We wanted to climb up it, but it was not cheap.  For whatever reason, you couldn't buy a ticket for just that one site but rather a pass to multiple attractions in the Sacred Valley.  So we turned around and left.

The fortress.

Later that night, after dinner, we went to a bar for a pisco sour.  While we were there, we met a couple from Orlando and one pisco sour turned into three.  Over the course of these pisco sours, we learned that the other set of ruins we saw towering over the city were free to climb.  Now three pisco sours doesn't sound like a lot, but when you're close to 9,200 feet above sea level, alcohol hits you hard.  We decided to call it a night so that we could get up the next morning to climb it.

My next post will focus on our morning climb, our absolutely adorable guide, and our train ride to Augas Calients, the jumping off point for Machu Picchu.

Come to Peru for the...pizza?

Good evening dear readers!  It's been an eventful, and long, day.  Let's get to it, shall we?

As much as I love our hotel, the walls aren't very thick. I woke up around six this morning to people screaming at each other on the street.  I figured I'd just roll over and go back to sleep, but then at seven, one of those bands I mentioned in my previous post started up and did not stop.  Despite my aversion to getting out of bed early in the morning, I decided that there was no way I was going to sleep through the music.  So I got up and grabbed some breakfast.

The first thing Mike and I saw today was the Iglesia y Convento de la Merced.  We were the only people there, which was great.  I love exploring places when no one else is around. The ceilings were pieces of art in themselves and there were Cusquena paintings that lined the cloisters.  The most amazing thing we saw there was a monstrance that had over 600 pearls, 1500 diamonds, and about 22 kilograms of gold.  It stood a meter high and was absolutely stunning.

 The Monstrance (via)

After we finished exploring there, we decided to head back to the Plaza de Armas.  Thoe bands I mentioned earlier were there, along with dancers in beautiful costumes.  It looked like a continuation of the Corpus Christi festival, which was (and still is) confusing to us. We were under the impression that Corpus Christi ended yesterday, but from what I gathered from a Google search, at dawn the day after Corpus Christi ends, there is another procession of five virgins and four saints around the square.  The Saints then go back to the cathedral to receive homage.  I think that the band and the dancers tie into that.  Honestly, I'm still not quite sure I understand all this, so if I'm totally wrong, please feel free to correct me.

Confused or not, the costumes of those passing by us were amazing.  Since the video I took wouldn't upload, here are some pictures:

After the parade was done, we headed a little bit north of the Plaza to check out the Museo Inka.  It has 10,000 artifacts, including mummies.  There were pieces in there that were as old as 8000 B.C.  It was pretty neat to see since I haven't really seen many artifacts that old from this part of the world.  Then we headed over to the Cathedral in the main square.  Let me tell you, the cathedral is much, much bigger than it looks.  There are three parts to the church, and ten smaller chapels in the nave that were incredibly elaborate.  It was one of the more expensive sites to get into, but it was well worth it.

Outside the Cathedral.

After doing our fair share of walking, Mike and I got lunch.  Between a food coma and sleep deprivation, we came back to the hotel to take a nap.  Of course, as soon as we got to lie down, the cleaners came in to tidy our room.  We vacated the room, drank some coca tea, then got bored.  We decided to go check out the Convento de Santo Domingo del Cusco, or Qorikancha, since it's across the street from where we are staying.  Honestly, we didn't expect much.  But to our surprise, it ended up being our favorite place that we went to today.

Qorikancha was the Inca sun temple and one of the most important temples in the empire. The walls used to be covered in gold, but that didn't survive the Spanish's conquest.  The Spanish then decided to build the Church of Santo Domingo on top of the Inca foundations, after destroying the temple they found there. Mike and I had a lot of fun walking around and exploring the Inca ruins and the gardens outside.

Some of the Inca stonework.

The gardens and Cusco in the background.

We came back, took a nap, and then decided to go out for dinner.  After referencing my TripAdvisor app, I learned that one of the best pizza places in Cusco, La Pizza Carlo, is down the street from our hotel.  Fun fact about this part of Peru - the people here love their Italian food.  I've had pasta twice and just about everywhere offers pizza.  So we made the three minute walk to dinner and were not disappointed.  This restaurant only had room for four tables and you got to watch as they made the pizza and put it in the clay oven.  If you're going to Cusco, I highly recommend this place.

It's been a long day.  Mike is currently asleep next to me and I'm trying very hard to keep my eyes open.  Tomorrow we're going to a town in the Sacred Valley called Ollantaytambo. I guess I should get some sleep if I want to go exploring when we get there.  Until the next time I have reliable internet!

Bienvenido a Perú!

Peru!  Oh man, I can already tell that I'm falling in love.   The people are so nice and the food is good.  Granted, I've been here for less than 24 hours so that feeling might change. But I think it will be difficult to change my mind.

On our way...in business class.  Holla!

We landed in Lima last night around 9 o'clock and had someone from our hotel waiting to pick us up.  It was nice to not have to worry about transportation.  After we checked in, Mike and I got into bed, thinking that our flight to Cusco was at 6:00 AM.  I decided to double check and I'm glad I did.  Our flight was actual at 5:20.  So that meant we got about four hours of sleep last night.  Boo.

I've been to my fair share of airports, and I have to say, the airport in Lima is really nice. When we got there at 3:30 (ugh) everything was open.  It was super clean and people felt safe enough to crash on the seats with their backpacks at their feet.  I was afraid it was going to be a bit of a dump like the airport in Rio, so that was a pleasant early morning surprise.

We arrived in Cusco at about 6:00 this morning.  When we got to our hotel, we were greeted with coco leaf tea that's used to help with altitude sickness.  Thankfully, neither Mike nor I have experienced any of that.  We finished our tea, had some breakfast and then headed up to our room to sleep.  I was beyond happy that our room was ready so early.

After we got up, we decided to go out exploring,  We walked over to the Plaza de Armas, which is the main square in town.  There are lots of people trying to sell you something everywhere you turn, but unlike other places I've been, the vendors weren't super pushy. Mike and I got hungry, so we went to a restaurant just off the square and had a late lunch. When we were heading back to the square, we noticed lots and lots of people hanging out around the perimeter.  We were intrigued and decided to check it out.

Turns out today is the end of Corpus Christi, which is celebrated nine weeks after Easter. The Inca had a tradition of parading around ancestral mummies, but when the Spanish invaded, they replaced the mummies with effigies of saints.  The effigies are left inside the cathedral on the Plaza de Armas for eight days.  Then they are then taken back to their churches and accompanied by musicians and firecrackers.

The first effigy we saw.

And the band behind it.  Every effigy had its own band.

This parade was slow.  The men carrying the effigies would march forward, backwards, then stop, put the effigy down on a wooden stand and chill for awhile.  Mike and I got bored with standing around in one place (that and it was chilly and I left my fleece in our room - stupid mistake) so we walked around different parts of the square to get different views.

If you look closely, it says "Viva El Peru" in the mountains.

It seemed like this parade was never going to end.  We weren't bothered by that, but rather impressed that more and more effigies kept coming out of the cathedral.  There were something like fourteen of them.  And since the parade was moving so slowly, it was hard to know when it was going to end.  We started to leave because we thought it was done, but there turned out to be one more.

An effigy coming out of the cathedral.

This was a very cool event to witness.  There were people there of all ages.  I'm glad that we accidentally stumbled upon this.  Tomorrow we're going to go explore Cusco.  I think it's safe to say that we were sidetracked by this.

Canada With Mom - Part II

Our second day in Canada, Mom and I got up at about a quarter after nine to got ready to see the Falls.  Our first stop was (obviously) Tim Horton's.  Even the monkey got in on some of the action.

Since our waiter from the night before warned us that parking was going to be a nightmare, the two of us walked over after we were done eating.  The view that awaited us was beautiful.

We continued our walk over to the Maid of the Mist.  For those of you not familiar with the Maid of the Mist, it's the boat that you go on to get up close to the Falls.  As you board the boat, you are given a silly blue poncho with a hood to wear, which at first you think you won't need.  Observe how neither of us are wearing our hoods.

Little did we know...

The boat ride started out calm enough.  We were on the bottom deck of the two-story boat.  I had read that was the place to be because when you get close to the Falls, everyone starts coming downstairs.  We were also on the side of the boat that was farthest from the Falls while at the dock.  Pro-tip for those of you going on the Maid of the Mist: stand on the side of the boat closest to the dock when you first get on.  Everyone rushes to the other side, but the boat loops back around and you get to view the Falls on your way back into port.

We tried to listen to the recording that rattled off facts about the Falls in English and French, but it was nearly impossible to hear.  So Mom and I chatted until the mist started to descend upon us.  Then the wind started up.  We looked like this:

I consider myself very lucky that I didn't cause any major water damage to my phone.  The wind was unpredictable, so just when you thought it might be safe to snap a picture, you got a huge gust of wind and water in your face.  But it was a lot of fun.  The three year old girl who with her family next to us didn't think so.  There were lots of tears. 

After we got off the boat, we walked around a little bit.  The tulips were in bloom and it was beautiful to take in everything.  We stopped at a restaurant that overlooked the Falls for a drink and a snack, and then headed back to the hotel.  That night after dinner, we went back to look at the Falls.  At night, different colored lights shine on them.  It was pretty to look at.

The next morning, we got up early to allow ourselves plenty of time to get across the border.  Luckily, it only took us about 45 minutes, so we decided to go explore the US side of the Falls.

The Falls were pretty on the US side, but we definitely got the better experience taking them in from Canada.  We were able to get up closer to them on the US side.  I think that's because we didn't walk over to where you could when we were in Ontario.  It made for a cool contrasting experience.

Overall, it was a good trip.  The Falls weren't as tall as we thought they might be.  But it didn't lack in awe-factor.  The roar of the water going over and the width of not one, but three falls, was incredibly impressive.  And you can see the mist coming off the water from a long way away.  I'd say that it's something you should see and experience at least once in your life.  But I'm not sure that it's a trip I'd take again anytime soon.

Thanks for reading about this round of my adventures!  Stay tuned for posts about my upcoming trip to Peru.  Mike & I are leaving in about two weeks (!!) for the land of the Incas.  Should be a good time.

Canada With Mom - Part I

I love our neighbor to the north.  I really do.  I always have a great time whenever I'm there.  This round, my mom and I spent time in Ontario near Niagara Falls.  We flew into Buffalo on Friday and drove 45 minutes to Canada.  Of course, our first stop was at Tim Hortons.  My mom didn't get why I was so excited until she tried it.  She is now a fan, and rightfully so.

For those of you not familiar with this chain, Tim Hortons is the Dunkin Donuts of Canada and is as ubiquitous as Starbucks.  There were some locations in New York, but I couldn't bring myself to go to them.  It's like going to McDonalds overseas.  You just...don't.  That is unless you really have to pee.

We got a little lost trying to find our hotel because my cell service crapped out (thanks, Verizon) but it meant that we got to drive around a little.  A few words come to mind when it comes to the town of Niagara Falls.  Two I can think of off the top of my head are "kitschy" and "run-down." Let me explain:

• Kitschy: There were all sorts of stores there that I don't feel like you see anywhere else except at big tourist attractions or the boardwalk at the beach.  For example, there was a Margaritaville (because nothing screams Canada like Jimmy Buffett), a Hershey store, a Ripley's Believe It or Not, and so on.  Now, I realize that this is a vacation area, but still.  It felt like a little much.
• Run-Down: There were a lot of borded up and unloved houses that we drove by in the town.  It was sad to see.  The juxtaposition of rich tourists and poor locals caught me off guard.

Eventually, we found our hotel.  We checked in, took a quick nap, and then headed off to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a beautiful town about half an hour from the Falls.  I had booked us appointments at the Shaw Spa and it was amazing.  If you're ever there, I highly recommend them.  I had never been to the spa before, so I didn't know what to expect.  My mom and I both got body wraps and they were amazing.  After our appointment, we got a quick bite to eat and then decided to check out Lake Ontario, which was a stones throw away from where we were.

Lake Ontario

It was really, really beautiful.  I feel like this picture doesn't do it justice.  As I was looking around, I noticed a skyline across the lake.  I was trying to figure out what city it was when I noticed a needle-shaped building in the distance.  Then it hit me.  I was looking right at Toronto!  How cool.

On our way back, we noticed that there were lots and lots of vineyards between Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Falls.  I was kind of surprised.  We both thought it would be too cold up there to grow grapes, but I guess people do good business since there were a ton of vineyards.  Later I learned that we were driving on the Ontario Wine Route.

When we got back, we walked around a little bit, ate dinner at an amazing steak restaurant and watched fireworks that went off over the Falls.  It was pretty neat.  We then poured ourselves into bed so that we could get a (relatively) early start on our adventures at the Falls in the morning.  That part of our adventure is coming up in Part II...

Celebrating Mom

Happy Mother's Day to all!  I know lots of awesome moms and mommas to be.  You are truly amazing ladies and I tip my hat to all of you.  But there is one lady in particular that I have to take a moment to honor.  And that's my mom, Margot.

My amazing mother with me.  Man, I totally rocked that bowl cut.

My mom's pretty awesome.  Here are five reasons why:

1. She started a business with my dad 10 days before I was born.  Can you imagine being that pregnant and starting a new business?  I can't.
2. Over the years, she has lived in four different states, DC, and Australia. 
3. She has worked at and attended Inaugural Balls in DC.
4. Not only was she my Girl Scout Troop leader, but my sister's as well.
5. She can really sew! For my 50s-themed birthday party in second grade, she made felt poodle skirts for 20-some odd children to decorate and take home.  And pretty much every single Halloween costume and Christmas dress I wore growing up was made by her.

This Friday the two of us are jetting off to Niagara Falls, Ontario for a long weekend of sight-seeing and pampering.  I'm really excited to be spending time with her in Canada.  Now I realize that the word "abroad" is in the name of this blog and that not many Americans consider Canada as abroad.  But I looked up the meaning of the word, and here's Google's definition:

via

Looks like it does count.  Plus, you need a passport in order to get in so that has to count for something.  So I've decided to write about our long weekend in Canada.  It's going to be nice to take a long break with her before my wedding, which is only a little over four months away (woah - what?!?).  I love you, Mom and I can't wait to explore Niagara with you!

Me, my sister, and our mom at my sister's college graduation.