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Food
Traveling the mountain highlands at 13,000 feet above sea level, the farmlands stretched out further than the eye could see. Above them loomed the ever present Andes. At one point, I could count five over 18,000 feet peaks that were snow/glacier covered. It was breathtaking. One could think I would get used to the sight, but I am mesmerized every time. We boarded the domed PeruRail in the early afternoon in Machu Picchu Town for an almost two hour ride to Ollantaytambo. It was fun. The staff dressed in costume for dancing and also for a fashion show of native arts. Of course, the scenery along the way was fantastic, since we followed the river the entire way.
Once in Ollantaytambo, we boarded a bus for our ride to Cusco, the imperial capital of the Incas and now a city of around 500,000. We stopped along the way at a brewery named the best in all of South America. We had a tasting of five of their beers that have won major awards as the brew master explained each one. Really cool!
Peruvian beers brewed in South America’s best craft brewery
We have been treated to some excellent food along the way. Our hotel in Machu Picchu Town hosted a cooking class for us. We learned how to make Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru, as well as cerviche. We learned some important culinary tricks, such as, squeeze only 3/4 of the juice from the lime used in cerviche because, if you squeeze the lime next to the pith, it will sour the fish used in the dish. It was a great time, and we have an apron to prove we passed the class.
Our food has been excellent, and I did try the grilled alpaca. Delicious! One thing we have noticed is that much care is placed on appearance of the dish. The food looks good before you ever take a bite. Next, we have learned that only fresh and organic foods are used. Finally, Peruvian food is complex. The cerviche, for instance, had twelve ingredients, each used in a specific way at a specific time. I can say that Peruvian food is some of best looking and best tasting food I have eaten.
As we close out the day, we are encouraged and at rest. We have been blessed to have an adventure far beyond our expectations and, since it is fall of the year here in the Southern Hemisphere, the weather is gorgeous. WEG
Machu Picchu
This is the view the Incas had of the mountains from one side of Machu Picchu.
One mountain peak stacked upon another and another and another; deep valleys running in several directions with more mountain peaks, like ducks in a row; tropical foliage with bromeliads growing in the trees and colorful flowers, even orchids, adding color to the green landscape and then steep sheer cliffs adding drama. This was our amazing ride up from Machu Picchu Town to the World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the wonder city of the Incas, Machu Picchu.
We arose early from our mountain retreat and took the dome car PeruRail, itself known as one of the best train rides in the world, to Machu Picchu Town at the base of the mountains leading up to the famed ancient city. The sights were wonderful. First, we were in high country farm land, and all of the sudden, in the tropics along the river that is a tributary to the Amazon, which originates in Peru. Snow-capped mountain peaks could be seen here and there. We pulled into the handsome train station in Machu Picchu Town and walked across bridges above rushing streams to the bus terminal, with buses leaving every five minutes to take visitors up the mountains to the famed archeological site. What a ride! The bus drivers make those hairpin curves quickly.
And then, there it was, the mountain city of Machu Picchu. Only the leader of the ancient peoples was known as the Inca, the Son of the Sun, his wife, the Daughter of the Moon. The Temple of the Sun was clad in gold and the Temple of the Moon in silver. While the imperial city was in Cusco, the Incas loved Machu Picchu, and it was a royal retreat. I can see why–the scenery is stunning, overwhelming, impressive, captivating, astounding! It was a citadel, surrounded by imposing peaks, some snow-covered with steep cliffs. It was isolated, in fact, so much so that the Spanish conquistadors did not find it to destroy it as they did every other Inca city. Canals were built from the glaciers of nearby mountains to bring fresh water into the city for hygiene, irrigation and drinking purposes. Here in Machu Picchu, the astronomers developed the calendar that was precise. By watching the stars, through water plates that reflected the stars on the surface like a mirror, strategically located throughout the city, they mapped and chronicled the movement of the stars and created an accurate knowledge of the heavens, and their sun dials were marvels of time keeping.
Machu Picchu is a wondrous city. Its buildings climb up and down the hills. There was a place for the common people, with a farming area, with fabulous terraces built down the mountain sides for agricultural purposes. What human might it must have taken to carry the stones and build the walls on such steep inclines. And, there was a place for the Inca and the elite. Here the temples were built and the royal homes. There were gates to the city and garrisons for soldiers. It is a large archeological site. We walked up and down steps, marveling at the sites and listening to the history and explanations of the site given to us by our guide. You had to be careful in walking. It was so marvelous that you could easily forget your bearings. While we walked, in fact, two tourists had major accidents–one backing up too far to take a picture and falling over the ledge for a five foot drop, and another gazing in wonderment, not noticing the steps and breaking her leg in the fall. I held onto the rock walls to stabilize my path! What can I say about Machu Picchu but that it is a marvel of industry and might and ingenuity and science. It is breath taking!
Our evening is spent in a very nice hotel in Machu Picchu Town. We were greeted after our rather grueling day with iced tea and hors d’oeuvres. Hors d’oeuvres were also delivered to our room. The mountain stream passes by and the mountains rise up before us. My mind is and will be occupied at how these people built such a magnificent place for us to marvel over today. WEG
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