Guayaquil, Cuzco, The Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, and Lima, Peru

Besides our classes, we also have designated study trips through our program. One of these trips is to Peru, where we visit Cuzco, hike the Inca Trail, go to Machu Picchu, and visit the capital city, Lima. I left early on October 31st to embark on one of the most epic adventures of my life. This trip was meant for us to contextualize our studies of the Andean region through direct interaction with the culture. As the official language of the Incan Empire, Kichwa fit in nicely with our program and our trip. Our program director, Chris, and our Kichwa teacher, Jose, joined us on the trip as chaperones.
I arrived at the Quito airport at 8am on the 31st. We ended up having a 5 hour layover in the coastal city of Guayaquil, so our chaperones decided to show us around the city. We hopped in some shuttles and took off. Being the largest city in Ecuador, we ended up seeing all the important sites with time to spare. First stop we hit up was the boardwalk which ran parallel to the river Guayas. It was a modern shopping area with built in fans. Because, as I learned really quickly, coastal Ecuador is really really muggy-
A statue of national hero Simon Bolivar

Next stop was the scenic neighborhood of Las Peñas-




After that, we went to a cool lookout point with a fantastic view of the whole city-



After our tour of Guayaquil, we continued onto Lima. Arriving just before dinner time, tired and excited, I went to bed early. We awoke at 3 30 in the morning, (yes, 330) to catch a plane to Cuzco. Arriving at around 7am, we began a day of intensive touring around the city. Cuzco was the capital of the Incan Empire and many ruins, including Machu Picchu, are still preserved in the surrounding areas.
Interestingly enough, after the Spanish conquered the Incan capital of Cuzco, they literally built on top of the ruins. Due to the fantastic architectural integrity of the Incan buildings, they provided great foundations for multiple level Spanish buildings.


A typical Street in Cuzco. The gray bricks on the bottom are original Incan foundations while the white walls on top of the buildings are Spanish additions. The middle features a drain installed by the Spanish.

An example of Spanish Colonial architecture

A cool Cusco street taken from the back seat of a Taxi.

We also visited the Plaza de las Armas, the main square in the city. In typical colonial Spanish fashion, the square was adorned with a giant fountain and a big church.

"¡Viva El Peru!"

Along with the preservation of Incan architecture, the culture is still strong in Cusco as well. While walking along the streets, I stumbled upon a Cuy (guinea pig) vendor and a cute little indigenous girl holding a baby llama.
A cute little llama, an adorable little girl, and some guy.

CUY!!!!

After we toured the city, we went to a really cool Incan ruin called Saksaywaman. (pronounced saaks-sai-woomaan). Jose, our Kichwa teacher, also taught us a traditional song written about this place in particular. He jokingly calls it "sexy woman." Anyways, the site is huge for tourists and many indigenous people work there as guides and vendors to steal the gringo's money. However, one of my first really cool inter-cultural experiences happened here: We were standing by a group of indigenous women when my class and I busted out the song "saksaywaman." This song is really popular in Quechwa culture and needless to say, we surprised them that a bunch of gringos actually knew it! We then proceeded to speak some Kichwa with them. It was obvious that we made an impact on them by proving to be more than just ignorant tourists who come and snap photos. Along with the culture, the place itself was really impressive.
One of the smaller walls at Saksaywaman. The stonework was amazing. They were placed so tightly together that you could not fit a credit card between them. And to think, those stones were stacked on top of each other without the help of modern heavy machinery.



Scenic view of Cusco from Saksaywaman

Due to the intense rains, some of the stones eroded. This pic shows some of the natural "slides"
that were created.
Another pic of the "slides." My buddy and I raced down them on our jackets. They're a lot steeper than you think!

After we visited Saksaywaman, we ate lunch at a really nice restaurant. I ate Lomo a lo pobre, which includes steak, rice, salad, and a hot dog. All for 6 dollars American! The place was nice enough for me to take a picture. And best thing of all, Pitzer payed for it! (along with almost every other thing on the trip as well...)
The too legit to quit restaurant.

We went to bed rather early that night, because, for the second day in a row, we had to wake up literally at the crack of dawn. 430am this time, to start the Incan Trail. We met our tour guides, and our Porteadores (Porters.) While the Incan trail is rather difficult, the trip providers do not sacrifice luxury. Each group of 20 hikers have 9 porters who accompany them. They carry the food, tents, and cooking gear. The average hikers bag weighs approximately 10-20 pounds. The average Porter's bag weighs 70 to 90 pounds. And since they are poor indigenous people, they lack the modern equipment we do. They hike in sandals with large akward bags on their backs. They are Kichwa speakers, and our trip leaders encouraged us to speak with them and practice. The tour guides also spoke Kichwa.

The porters during orientation.

Me, ready to conquer the Incan Trail. I bought a hiking stick for 2 dollars American. It proved to be a great investment.

During orientation, we went around the circle to introduce ourselves. Our Kichwa teacher, Jose, went first. He introduced himself in Kichwa and encouraged the porters to speak with us in Kichwa. We also introduced ourselves in Kichwa and the porter's faces lit up. The tour guides, who are a lot more educated than the porters, were equally surprised that were were studying Kichwa. A majority of the people who hike the Inca trail are rich, white, and do not speak Spanish. Thus, the tour guides are required to be bilingual and the interaction between the client and the porter is pretty much nonexistent. But not with our group. We were prohibited from speaking English. All directions were given in Spanish and Kichwa, and we were encouraged by our trip leaders, (and later the guides) to speak Kichwa with the Porters.

So, we finally embarked on the trail. The whole trail, all 26 miles of it, is paved with bricks. While the trek is not that long, the elevation changes are great. Thus, the mountains traversed are steep and difficult.

The beginning of the trail

A typical example of the Inca trail, paved bricks and all.
Another pic of the Inca Trail, Day 1.


The Inca trail is incredibly popular with tourists. Due to the high traffic in Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, the Peruvian government has placed limits on the number of guests that can go. 1500 people go to Machu Picchu by train every day, while 2500 people (including guides and porters) are on the 26 mile trail at any time.
On the first day of the hike, I befriended Jose and Ernesto, two young porters from another group. They were 18 and 22. I decided to practice my Kichwa with them, and we ended up hiking together for the day. We spoke a hybrid language called "kichwañol," a combination of Kichwa and Spanish. Just like the other porters, they were really timid at first but due to my persistence and knowledge of their native language, I was accepted by them. Soon, we were cracking jokes. It was truly a neat experience, one of inter cultural understanding. I truly felt like I crossed cultural boundaries and found some common ground.
Me and my new buddies. Notice the their backpacks, they told me they each weigh 80 pounds. I had trouble with a modern backpacking backpack that weighed 15 pounds!

So we finally reached our lunch spot. All the porters unpacked their gear and created the most beautiful dining tent I have ever seen in my life. I then proceeded to eat the best backpacking meal I have ever consumed in my existence. I finally realized what consisted of all that weight those porters were carrying!
The dining tent, chairs, plates, silverware, table, and condiments. Somebody lugged all that stuff on the Inca Trail!! And we had this set up for every meal every day for 4 days. Excess does not begin to describe it.
My lunch on Day 1. Pasta with tomato sauce, vegetables, and stuffed chicken. This type of meal was the norm on the trip.

halfway through the day, we came to our first Incan ruins, Patallacta. While the porters are required to hike ahead of the first hiker, in order to set up everything before we arrive, the guides hike with us. They explain the ruins and answer any general questions. Usually they give their descriptions of the ruins in English, but for us, they gave them in Spanish and Kichwa. It was obvious that they felt more comfortable with their native languages, and excited to see Westerners generally interested in more than just tourism.
The ruins of Patallacta, Day 1.


Before dinner on day 1, the Porters set up our tents for us. We went to bed early, having woken up at 430 that morning. Again, we awoke at 430, but this time to fresh tea being served to us in our tents by the porters. By this point, the excess of this trip was a little much, but having fresh tea served to you at 430 in the morning was really nice. On top of the fresh tea, I awoke to a beautiful scene.
The mountains, morning of Day 2.
The mountains with our tents in the foreground. Morning of Day 2.

As they said in orientation, day 2 was the most difficult day of the 4 day hike. That day, we ascended from 8,500 to about 13,500 feet. At that altitude, the air is thin and breathing can be rather difficult. The highest point on the trail, Warmi Wuñuska, (Dead Woman´s pass in Kichwa,) sits at approximately 13,776 feet above sea level.

A view looking down onto the ascent up to Warmi Wuñuska. We climbed from the furthest valley in the background. An ascent of approximately 2,500 feet. (as a reference, Los Angeles is 330 feet above sea level)

Chilling at the top of Warmi Wañuska
Me at the top. I´m pointing to the sign that says 13,776 feet above sea level. We were so high in the air that clouds would roll through the pass! By this point, I was exhausted. We reached this point at 1030 am, with a full day of hiking still ahead of us!

While the ascent was difficult, the descent was almost as bad. It was steep with large uneven stairs. Watching the porters fly up and down the mountain was equally as impressive as the breathtaking scenery we were hiking through.
The treacherous descent down Warmi Wuñuska.

After a delicious lunch, we ascended another mountain, this time not as difficult. Yet we were still at a really high altitude, and the scenery was quite fascinating.
A lake sitting at about 11,000 feet.
Another lake

By this point in the hike, we were really exhausted and cold. We were hiking through clouds and it started to rain. Luckily, I was prepared and whipped out the rain gear.
Me sporting the Lacoste (yes, Lacoste) rain jacket. Notice the sick ass aligator on the right side of the jacket. The rain didn´t stand a chance.

Still at about 11,000 feet, we came across the Runurakay ruins. The Runurakay site used to be a resting spot for foot messengers traversing the Andes to deliver messages.

A view from the ruins towards the mountains
Some clouds that greeted us at Runurakay

We arrived at camp at around 5pm in the middle of a thick fog-rain combination. We ate dinner and fell asleep to the sound of rain drops on our tents. Like a good boy scout knows, I put all my stuff in the middle of the tent to avoid precipitation through the walls. I escaped the night with all my stuff dry. Sadly, others weren´t so lucky. That morning, the morning of day 3, I awoke at 430am to a gorgeous scene. We were all unaware of it the night before due to the fog, but we were greeted by this-
A snow capped mountain range

Another breathtaking snow capped mountain

Day 3 was substantially easier than day 2, and I think the scenery was a lot more pretty. We started our hike, (after camping deep in a valley) hiking through a cloud forest. A cloud forest is any forest at a high altitude with a lot of precipitation.

The cloud forest. For the first few hours, we hiked through this type of scenery.

A winding downward path in the cloud forest.

Me descending into a cave

Another cave

About an hour later, we came upon the Intipunku ruins-

After talking to the guides, a few friends and I decided to hike ahead to see another ruin, usually not visited on the hike. We went to Conchamarka, about 30 minutes off the beaten path. Conchamarka was a farming site that utilized a complex series of terraces to maximize production and minimize soil erosion in the hard Andean rains.



hanging out at the very top of the ruins.

We hustled back to meet up with the rest of our group only to discover the second most impressive ruins on the trip, Wiñawayna-



A cool view out of the main entrance to Wiñawayna.

After Wiñawayna, the guides told us that a surprise waited for us in about an hour. We hiked a little ways up and discovered this-

The first view of Machu Picchu!!

Still about an hour away from the actual site, we hustled to get a better view. I snapped the stereotypical tourist shot.


We arrived at around 430pm, so the sun was at a really cool angle. But we would end up camping the night close to Machu Picchu in order to visit the park early in the morning, and miss the mad rush of tourists. 430 wake up for the 4th day in a row!!

But the early wake up was well worth it. We woke up on November 5th, day after election day in the US. Unlike the other 430 wakeup calls, we were woken up with screams of "Obama won! Obama won!" Camping on the edge of Machu Picchu in Peru is where I heard the historical news. My country just voted in the first Black president in the history of the nation. History was indeed made. Now, I was going to see another type of history. Possibly one of the greatest human engineering achievements in mankind. Content with knowing my country was in good hands, and the excitement of seeing Machu Picchu, I had a fabulous day.





Like the rest of the explanations, our guides explained Machu Picchu to us in Kichwa and Spanish. Speaking the official language of the Incan empire in Machu Picchu was a really neat experience. Along with my classes on Andean Studies, I was able to understand everything just a little more. It was really neat.
As evidenced from the pictures, the level of skill needed to construct Machu Picchu is incredible. The stonework was immaculate and the technology displayed in the observatory was amazing. One room had a sun dial that lit up exactly on the Summer solstice. Fascinatingly, the descendents of the Incans, such as the porters, cannot afford the entrance ticket to Machu Picchu. Due to institutionalized racism and economic discrimination, the indigenous population has remained poor since the Spanish conquered them. Ironically, the white power structure now capitalizes and profits off this monument of their heritage.
A few friends and I decided to go hike to Wiña Picchu, the little brother to Machu. It sits high up on a mountain that overlooks the whole site.

The mountain of Wiña Picchu. The site sits on the upper left corner of the mountain.


We hiked up the steepest path of the whole trip. It was so steep that metal cables were installed to help you ascend it. But it had a magnificent view of Machu Picchu that was well worth the work it took to get up there.

Machu Picchu as seen from Wayña Picchu. The curving road on the right is for busses. It leads down to the town of Aguas calientes, which primarily exists as a tourist town for Machu Picchu.

The ruins of Wayña Picchu. After climbing up there, I cannot imagine how they built this thing this high up on the mountain!

After our sightseeing, we went to the tourist town of Aguas Calientes. We had a train at 6pm back to Cusco, with a few hours to kill. We ate lunch at this really nice restaurant (thanks again Pitzer!!) After being exhausted from waking up at 430 for 4 days in a row, I grubbed on a delicious trout. I took a picture of it because the presentation was so nice!

The trout was delicious.

After lunch, we wandered around the town and checked out the tourist goods. The town itself, situated on the edge of the jungle, is really pretty also.




Having now lost it´s use, I decided to sell my trusty hiking stick. I went to the local market and did my best bargaining skills. Nobody wanted to buy it, so I ended up trading it for 2 lemon candies. Hey, at least I got something for it!!
At 6pm, we boarded the train to head to Cusco. We went to bed only to wake up at 430 for the 5th day in a row. We flew to Lima, the capital city, to have a full day of sightseeing. We went to the Plaza de Armas, (Lima edition) and saw the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace.

The changing of the Guard, (the guys in the red in the background.) Interestingly, while the guard was changing, they were guarded by riot police. This guy wasn´t too into me taking his photo though... what a poor sport!
The Plaza de Armas



After that, we went to a really cool archeology museum that had a monumental collection of pre-Incan art.

There were rooms and rooms full of pottery and jewelry. The quality of the pieces was quite impressive.


A cool hill of multi colored houses with a giant cross on the top. Religious symbols on the top of hills seems to be popular in South America.

While I had a good time at the museum, Lima in general isn´t that exciting. Although it´s close to 9 million people, the city is bland. Luckily for me, I was boarding a plane the next day to head home.
So that was my adventure in Peru! Next chapter- Josh goes and lives in the middle of nowhere with an indigenous family for 10 days!! Until then, Ashtakakaman! (Adios in Kichwa)