Saturday, 3/2. Today began with heavy clouds and rain in the air. But the day ended up being rain-free with gorgeous views.

The plan called for choosing from several options. Climbs to the mountain seen in most pictures (which isn’t Machu Picchu Mountain) is restricted to only 400 people a day and involves scrambles plus cable handholds. Pass. Climbs to the actual Machu Picchu Mountain (located behind most photographers) also has a 400 person limit and rises 2,000 feet above the site. I had the chance and passed, mostly because of potential of cloud cover making the walk a waste. Options 3 and 4 were relatively short walks to the “Sun Gate’ or to the Inca Bridge. While most did one or the other, two of us chose both. Views were spectacular. The Inca Bridge was very impressive. Building a stone foundation alongside a cliff wall while leaving a section missing was brilliant. The log bridge could be pulled back. Excellent defense. The Sun Gate had two purposes. It was the main (and grand) entrance to Machu Picchu and had seasonal importance with a calendar marker at MP. The sun rises through the pass on the summer solstice (or something like that).

Returned to town in the afternoon for a late lunch and free time. I watched a soccer match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Met two delightful people who shared (too much of) their wine with me.

Machu Picchu totally lived up to expectations.

Friday, 3/1. Before boarding the train to Machu Picchu we visited a shaman(?) to get our spirits cleansed. Long ceremony that loads a host of various material into a wrapping that’s then burned. The tradition goes back before the Incas.

The train was cramped and bumpy. Nice seats though. View was poor since it follows a brown river. The track was laid a hundred years ago not to get people to Machu Picchu but to build a hydroelectric plant. The town of Machu Picchu sits in a sliver of a valley and is clearly a single-purpose center. A large number of people move from train station to bus station. We did the same. Bus ride winds up the mountain slope at an astonishing speed. Entry to the Park is time controlled, so there is a crowd marking time. We all visit the restroom because there are no facilities inside (thought to be a means to get people to leave the park). Entry is followed by a long, steep hike through thick foliage. Our first view of the ruins is from above and is breathtaking. See the view, grab your camera.

We slowly walk through the ruins with frequent stops for interesting tidbits of information. Much the who/what/why of Machu Picchu is based on conjecture. The walking tour is a one way route, to again discourage people to from overstaying. Llamas populate the grounds.

It rained on and off all afternoon, changing the surrounding views constantly. (A theory for the “Why here?” question is its 70 inches of rain per year. Irrigation not required.) One of the key takeaways from the visit is the incredible scenery all around the site. Cliffs covered in greenery. Soaring mountain tops. There is evidence that many terraces were build to hold hanging gardens.

Just breathtaking. Tomorrow we return to do one or two hikes.

Thursday, 2/28. Busy “Day in the Life” segment of the trip. We were fortunate to be here during some kind of women’s day tradition that I can’t find on the internet. Defies description, but it appears to be all in fun. Mannequins are dressed up in weird ways and prizes awarded to the group with the weirdest. A tree is put up, decorated with useful household goods then competitively knocked down on Sunday. The winner gets the goods. A local market makes their mannequin in the likeness of their favorite saleswomen. Foreigners festoon her with confetti and gets hugs. The crowd goes wild.

Had lamb tongue and cheek, plus lamb stew. Preferred the cheek. Had a delicious juice from a local fruit. The “cup” is a plastic bag and straw. Visited a baker with a huge wood-fired oven who also cooks whatever the locals bring to him (for a fee). Guinea pigs again. The oven is hot 360 days a year. Five days off to replace the bricks.

Cemetery is similar to those in Bolivia, but some private ones are much more ornate. They all feature lots of glass for public viewing.

Corn Beer. 1.5% and sweet. Strawberry-flavored option (the “girlie” version). Played a coin-toss game that I was horrible at.

Home-hosted lunch. Traditionally at harvest time everyone helps each other with the expectation of being fed each day by a particular family, so houses are usually equipped with two kitchens and a very large dining room. Got a real lesson in how to convert a living Guinea pig to a main course. Lots of conversation about life in Peru. Courtships are backwards in Peru. Meet, date, move in, have children, buy a house, get married (optional). It was a great time.

Pottery Factory. Frankly Morocco and China had much better products. Lots of Incan reproduction. Not a big fan of abstract art.

Busy day. Tired. Tomorrow, after two weeks of touring, we finally visit one of the two main purposes of the trip. Machu Picchu.

Wednesday, 2/27. A touch of food poisoning impacted my day. We sat on the tarmac for an hour before departing Lima. Met nice bus in Cusco and drove on to our ultimate destination. Several stops.

Massive souvenir center. Baby lama photo ops ($1). Children photo ops ($1). Jewelry, pottery, etc. I’m now among some serious shoppers. Meanwhile, I sat next to the lamas and children and blew up balloons. Kids were happy.

Stopped at a town famed for rotisserie guinea pigs. People drive hours to eat here. Ate a sample. Didn’t really remind me of anything else. Visited a guinea pig growing barn. Cute pigs. No photos due to the sensitivity of a frequent subscriber.

Stopped at a Coca seller’s house. I stayed on the bus. Wasn’t interested. The town is a large source of illegal cocaine. Coca is from the same plant, but it’s mostly legal at 10% the profit. Helps with altitude sickness, dulls the taste buds.

Got to the hotel and went to bed. Nearly missed dinner and it’s entertainment. Went back to bed. Feeling better.

Tuesday, 2/26. Pre-Incan Museum. Lots of pottery, silver, and gold. Very strange rituals involving sacrifices and deaths. Examples: There were tournaments before sacrifices, but authorities are not sure whether the loser was punished by sacrifice or the winner was honored as the sacrifice. Exhaustive display of pottery. Durable stuff.

Visited one of the oldest churches (no photos), including the catacombs. Bones were sorted. Thousands of femurs, then skulls, etc. Considered one of the safest places to be for earthquakes. The artwork in the church was considerably worse than the earlier society’s pottery and metal work.

That was essentially it for the day. Some stayed downtown, some went to another museum. Others followed me to my favorite restaurant, then the Chocolate Museum. I had a large Pisco Sour. Also ordered and shared some coca tea, revered for helping at high altitude. No big deal. We’re at sea level so if there were any effects, we wouldn’t feel them.

Welcome dinner included some dancing exhibition. It was okay. Tomorrow we head back to the mountains.

Monday, 2/26. Slept like the dead. Took steps two at a time. Life is back to normal. Lazy morning while the additional early morning arrivals got some rest. Overly long briefing at 11:00, punctuated by a toast with whiskey sours, the apparent national drink. Much of the briefing was about the dangers of altitude sickness. We won’t get as high as La Paz, so we who were there yawned through it. No early warning signs from the new companions. Everyone seems fit.

Lunch was fine. Beef stew, which in Lima has not stew. Beef covered in gravy, veggies separate. The afternoon was a walking tour of the local area, including a circular trip around a vast mud-brick built pyramid from 1,500 years ago. It’s not earthen fill surrounded by mud bricks, it’s just a very large formation of mud bricks. The outer layers have decayed to where it looks like a hill, but restoration has returned much of it to the original appearance. Until archeologists came forward, the hill was used for mountain biking.

In the evening four of the Bolivian contingent had a late dinner at a very fancy and well known restaurant, Rafael’s. No reservation, but they had a free table after we’d sat at the bar. They do one seating a night. My sea urchin and scallop omelet appetizer was sensational. The main course of stir-fried sirloin steak was also very good. Deserts were too esoteric for me.

A good day, but not much learned or discovered. (A nearby laundry service charged by the kilo. Virtually my entire suitcase, cleaned for $8! Marvelous.)

Sunday, 2/25: (No photos today) Ahhh, sea level. Bolivia was a great experience, but I’ll not go again unless I grow an extra pair of lungs.

Lima is well laid out, being without the handicap of hills. Getting around was easy. “Kennedy Park” is small but cute. The recommended restaurant was so nice I went there twice. Visited a Chocolate Museum/Shop. Bought water. I’ll be sleeping early, hoping to catch up. No sudden wake-ups from the need to suck in air.

Our small Bolivian group of five meets up with our Peru Tour Leader and remaining seven members of the “Base” Tour tomorrow. Today was very relaxing.

Saturday, 02/23: Great view of the Salt Flats from the sky.
From the Airport we took a few cable cars to another market. Interesting. Saw my first Alpaca. Had a hot drink (“Happi”?) of purple and white corn with sugar and cinnamon. Much better than it sounds. Cheese bread accessory was wonderful.
Visited the Valley to the Moon. Local legend says it was so named by Neil Armstrong, who said it looked like the Moon’s surface. He did in fact visit the location, but authenticity is doubtful. Amazing formations of clay. Cactus can take root anywhere.
Lunch was largely skipped by me to prepare for Bolivian Farewell Dinner. Spent much of the PM washing cloths and resting. The Dinner was superb. I had beef with Bolivian wine (2011 cab/merlot blend; excellent).

The five of us have ended the Pre-extension Tour on good terms with great memories. Bolivian citizens are without exception friendly. Hold up your hand and drivers will indeed stop. There is a tendency to think down on countries with horrible roadways. Such thinking would (once again) be a mistake in gaging the intelligence of its citizens. Good roads are not a good representative of individuals.
Tomorrow we fly to Lima for a one-day gap day before the main tour begins. OAT’s planning for this day is spotty. Arrive at 9 AM, check in at 3 PM. What we do in between is up to us. Fine by me, but the women are concerned, with reason.

Friday, 2/23. Uyuni Salt Flats, largest in the world. The hotel is literally built with salt. They cut salt bricks out of the Flats, representing several years of salt accumulation.

The town of Uyuni is now nothing much. It once was a mining hub. (It may be again. A significant share of the world’s lithium reserves hide under the salt, waiting for value or technology to make it profitable.) Outside town is a “Train Cemetery”, slowing disappearing as the metal is scavenged. Downtown had several very nice sculptures representing their past. The train station is part hotel. Rent a rail car.

The Salt Flats defeat adequate description. There is a 2 or more inch layer of brine for most of it. Some spots are door panel deep. We rent rubber boots to walk around (barefoot is safe, but it requires tough skin). We stopped at a remote spot and the drivers set up a lunch. Weird feeling. Very much like an ice covered lake where water has leaked above the ice. Except it’s salt! No risk of breaking through.

We are ants above the surface. Just incredible. The highlight of the trip to Bolivia.

Thursday, 02/21: Relocating to the dry salt flats at Uyuni. After a relaxing morning of doing nothing, we retraced our route with some interesting stops before The Great Detour Part 2. Great view of Lake Titicaca, including their trout farm. Jemina says no other fish handles captive breeding as well. Had silverside fish for lunch. Delicious. We stopped at a reed boat builder who participated in several constructions which sailed across the oceans (RA and RA II, for example). Also visited a weaver. One more way to turn fur/hair into clothing.
The road which had been flooded two days ago was still closed, but the tour organization had sent someone to the area to scout the best detour, which helped a great deal. No detours of detours. But still dirt roads, small streams, mud. Drains everywhere were still overflowing from mountain runoff. Spotted several effigies hanging on power poles, warning thieves of consequences. A sample of vigilantism. Begged the question of what in the area anyone would want to steal. Hundreds of homes in arrested construction.
Beautiful clear day. Remaining drive to the airport was routine. Once again though, taking the obvious route was avoided. Seemingly by everyone.
Takeoff to Uyuni was delayed by warm air. Luggage was deliberately left behind to lighten the plane. Looong rollout. Arrived at hotel (made of salt) at 9:30 for dinner. Luggage arrived at 12:30 AM.