Cusco Peru 2019 - Our First Trip to South America

With lots of research, back and forth on itineraries with multiple tour agencies, dinner and ice cream with Liz, a drop in at the Ferreris, none of it prepared me for the most unexpected, magical, exhausting and memorable trip I have ever taken in my lifetime.  I finally did find a starting point itinerary that fit the bill with a couple of minor adjustments, and in hindsight, all the decisions made were the right ones even though we didn't think so at the time.

Day 1 - Flying into Cusco

We happened to fly into Lima from LAX a little after midnight hoping for a quick run through customs so we can catch some zz's before the flight into Cusco at 6am only to find us with at least 800-1000 Argentinian and Brazilian futbol fans coming into the lines to watch a Pan American Cup match - it was surreal. Two hours later with fans breaking into song and chant every couple of minutes, we made it through with at least an hour to dose stretched out.


The doze continued on our way to Cusco and luckily, woke up to see he Andes spiking through the clouds into the blue.  That feeling of seeing something I've never seen before came back, pure excitement and thrill.



We spent the rest of the day coming in and out of our hotel into Cusco just exploring, drinking lots of water, and had dinner at the best steak place with a spectacular chocolate desert,  Uchu, recommended by Amy.  Cusco is on the same time zone as the east coast so we were all hanging in there pretty well for not getting too much sleep, but we were were definitely well rested for the next day.

We stayed at Antigua Casona San Blas, a really cute and literally, a hole in the wall you pop into and you walk into this beautiful courtyard.  This is where we cheated and did have our first Pisco Sour even though we were not supposed to drink our first day in.  The restaurant and bar - gorgeous and the breakfast was delicious and included.

Day 2 - Adventure Acclimation

Before starting for the Inca Trail, we needed to continue our acclimation.  We were at 11,000 ft altitude.   Today we spent the day in the Sacred Valley checking out the Moray Archaeological Site and the Maras Salt Mines.  Being out in the valley in clear blue skies with white clouds and the Andes as the backdrop was a great way to start.  These were easy walks and fun to visit.










We were doing great time visiting all these places that we made a quick stop to see how the some of the traditions continue.  I don't remember the town we went through but we did get to feed some Llamas and Alpacas.  Here they are part of a tourist attraction, completely different experience (still fun) than when we encountered them during our treks.

This was our morning, lots happening but we were well taken care of being carted around in a nice shuttle, probably an hour in each spot.

Our big adventure was the afternoon when we decided it would be fun to go zip lining in the Ollayntambo, a town in the Sacred Valley (if I go back, I want to stay a day or two here).  I saw this in the original itinerary and was going to drop it.  I showed it to Sydney, a zipline enthusiast, and absolutely wanted to do it.  This time around, I wanted to make sure we did some fun kid activities.  The only person I was worried about was Nyle because he hasn't zip lined before. When I spoke to Tiffany, she and the kids saw it on their trip and said absolutely not, looked too scary, but I had already booked it by then. Zip lining was not the scary part.  We did not realize that the more extreme part of this excursion.  Rock Climbing.  What am i talking about?  Skylodge Adventure Lodge.

So when reading this, now, I guess I missed there was a 400ft rock climb to the top where we would be greeted in this pod embedded on the side of this cliff where we would have a 3-course lunch.  I had that wide-eyed omg look on my face.  It was about an hour to get up climbing, securely fastened to the re-bar and steel lines staked into the earth.

Once we got to the top, we were ready to eat.  Yum.  Sitting up there in this clear glass bubble on a wood platform eating this meal with a full blown kitchen was pretty cool.  Did not have to ask to be seated on a table with a view, it was 360.  We could see the pods where you could sleep for the night.  We opted out.  Once our belly's were full, we zip lined down.  This was so much fun.  Tiring but do not miss this with your kids.  It looks scary but we felt safe the entire time.

We then headed to the Sacred Dreams Lodge for the night before the Inca Trail trek nestled in Ollaytambo.    This will be the last night we would have a bed and hot water for not another 4 days.  Here, you will meet Pederito. 

Day 3 - Inca Trail Trek (Day 1)

We had a Inca Trail briefing by our guide, Greco Medina, on our first day in Cusco.  Apus-Peru was the outfit that we went with for this 4-day trek.  What was interesting, was when I was quoting with Peru Eco Expeditions, who we went with and loved, I was also quoting with Apus-Peru and going back and forth trying to get a good deal.  In the end, I went with Peru Eco, but they used Apus for this part of the journey anyway, which was awesome.  Definitely recommend.

So the briefing was when things started to get real and the difficulty of what were about to do as a family was sinking in.

In prepping, we all could only pack 5kg each for the porters to carry.  We would carry our own water, hats, sunblock, cameras, etc.  Looking back, I really only needed my clothes, toiletries and phone.  We did bring two solar powered battery chargers so we could charge everything at night plus watch downloaded movies and listen to music to relax. Stay light.  One rain jacket and one thin down puffer.  We just layered because it did get hot during the day.  It was not too cold at night, just regular pair of pj pants, t-shirt and beanie.  This was during Thanksgiving week.

 
This first leg, we call the Test.  It is to test how well we do on an average length (7.5 miles) with both inclines and declines going from 8,800 to 9,800 ft.  This was hard.  It started off with a really steep incline and was second-guessing everything in the first 10 minutes.  Half-way through we saw a lady walking back.  If you were going to turn around, this was the leg you would need to do it.

So glad we pushed through, we would come across our first ruin.  We were all hot and tired but only half way before it started to sprinkle.  This would be the only time we hit some rain during the entire trek during the day, all the rain happened at night.  First day was exhausting but fun.

That night, we met our crew (porters), had the best dinner before we settled into our tents nestled in the Andes.  Greco (guide taking picture), Herber (chef), porters Mauro, Victor, Ernesto, Fortunado, Mauro, Erbenisto,Tito, Valentino, Demetrio, Marcelino, Moises - all taking care of the Nuckols family.  They would set up our tents, break it down, make lunch - we loved tea time (especially popcorn)

Day 4 - Inca Trail Trek (Day 2)

This would be the hardest day of the trek.  It was a 6-hour day of hiking and resting, 6.2 miles going from 9,800 ft to 13,800 ft and then back down to 10,900 ft to camp.  So many emotions that day but perseverance ruled and everyone pulled through.  Going up, we would take a break every 1,000 ft and would have lunch when we got to camp.  The third leg was the most brutal because you would think you were almost at the top just to find it was a "false" pass and climb another 500 ft.  

The goal was to get to camp at 1:00pm so we left around 6:30-7 am according based on how we did the day before, in the end, it took us about an extra 1 hour.  We were so lucky -  we could see every start in the southern hemisphere that night to wake up to clear blue skies which persisted all day.  We woke up to see the glacier tipped Andes (Veronica or Victoria)

We saw a lot more trekkers today.  When we got to the second leg (after 2,000 ft) we laid out on this grassy meadow high up with lots of others enjoying the sun and lots of llamas roaming around (even saw a baby llama).  Good facilities.

It's true, in our itinerary, it said you would feel this sense of accomplishment when you get to the top. We did, but it was not easy.  This last 1,000 ft was rough, Sydney confided in Dad she didn't think she could go on.  Nyle had one pump of his Albuterol even though he had no asthma for at least 3-4 years.  We all just gave each other a break, everyone at their own pace.




 I started apologizing to the family for planning this trip.  Felt like we were going to fall apart.  But at each minor break, someone would counterpoint with support.  Dad would support Sydney who ended first at the top, Nyle would be my security blanket saying things like "what were going to do, sit home and watch TV"  which by the way is his favorite thing to do.  He took his one pump of air and would never ask for it again and Dad was Dad, he is our lifeline.  Nyle ended up second to the top.  Once the two kids were up there, so much loud cheering from the other trekkers towards the kids - "you kids, CRUSHED IT!!"  Sydney is just turned 14 and Nyle is 11.  They were all inspired by them.

I was slowly coming up and heard from the trekkers "Come on MOM, you could do it!!"  It was awesome to reach the top greeted by the kids and all these fellow strangers that just reached this moment.  Will never trade it for a nice bus ride to Machu Picchu.  We spent a lot of time just soaking that whole clim up.  We could literally see our starting camp spot  3,000 ft down from where we were sitting and just contemplating what we just accomplished.  I did not want to move.

It's not over, we now need to hike down 1,000 feet and this is where we started to see the first real rock pathways laid out by the Incas.  This was really tough and unexpected.  Was not smooth stair steps, it was rocky and by the end of it, hamstrings, quads and achilles heel was on fire.  More exhausting but in a different way - not on the breathing but on the muscles.  You definitely do a lot better if you have two trekking poles, we all only had one each - you need something to hold on to so your legs don't buckle from exhaustion.

What a day, we ended up at camp around 2:30pm and just spend the rest of the day napping, eating, watching downloaded episodes of Friends on the phone, playing Uno, having some Muna tea.  That night, it poured rain and lighting (really loud), but not one drop of rain the entire day.  We were nice and snug in our tent for the night.

Day 5 - Inca Trail Trek (Day 3)

The worst was behind us and we were one day away from reaching Machu Picchu.  We loved this leg, so much to see and learn about the Incas on this part of the trek.  Again, no rain, but we did experience a lot of different atmospheres, this is the best way to describe it.  Today's hike would be 9.94 miles (the longest) with the highest point a little over 12,000 ft.

We started off with a 500 ft climb in the morning to our first site where we learned how they would build these lookout points where the would architect it to measure the time of the year - the solstices. We were in the cloud forest.  When the sun would pass through these carefully placed windows, you would know if it was either December 21st (summer solstice) and June 21st (winter solstice).

From there we would come across little ponds with alpine like vegetation mixed in with tropical moss because there was so much moisture in the air from the clouds.  All throughout the day, the temperature was mild.








As we were walking through these different microclimates, we would come lookout points where Greco taught Nyle how to make loud whistle calls with his mouth and hands and he practiced non-stop.  This will be the life-long skill he would bring back from Peru.  The rest of the trip can only be described by pictures.

Day 6 - Inca Trail Trek (Day 4)

The timing was perfect but was not planned, we would arrive to Machu Picchu on Thanksgiving Day.   We woke up 3:15am so we could get a good position to start the trek to Machu Picchu at 6:30am.  It was a 3.72 mile gentle rolling hike up until Sun Gate where you see your first view of Machu Picchu. Those steps were steep.  Kids up first, as usual then us oldies.  But from there, the clouds parted and it was glorious.

We continued our hike down to Machu Picchu and saw several others hiking up to Sun Gate along the way.  Another beautiful day.  We toured around the citadel and learned interesting facts about the way the city was structured.  The scale was massive all built into the steep slope.  We also ran into an unexpected chinchilla - great photography from the renowned Nyle Nuckols.

Once we walked around, Brett and I had a decision to make, whether to hike Huayna Picchu.  This was the plan to hike the mountain just next to Machu.  It would be a steep incline up and would be about 3 hour round trip.  Greco recommended we go since the weather conditions were so optimal.  When it rains, it's pretty slippery and dangerous.  The kids would stay back, they had no intentions of doing this.  When we got to the permit gate, we bowed out.  We were so exhausted by this time, that we had no more stamina left in our limbs.

Recommendation, if you do not do the Inca trail trek and come to Machu Picchu by train and bus, you have to do this hike, it looks spectacular.  Sure it was a bummer, but we had no regrets on passing it up.  In the end, Machu Picchu was anti-climatic after such an incredible journey.

Once we were done, we had a cold beer (never tasted so good) and lunch in Aguas Calientes at the bottom of the Valley and took the train back to Ollaytambo back to Cusco.

Day 7 - Relaxing and Exploring Cusco

After 4 days of no showers and camp sleeping we just spent the day in Cusco getting up, having a nice breakfast, and hanging out in Cusco.   It just happened to be Black Friday so shopping spirits were in us.  The markets are everywhere.  Beautiful alpaca throws and sweaters (Sydney was my model)  

We then ran into Greco in the square and he pointed us to the San Pedro Market and told us not to eat there, but have the juice.  So we did. It was rows and rows of ladies with fruit making juice, so we randomly picked a booth number and picked our juice from a menu.  It was a lot of juice.

More shopping, napping at the hotel and we then went to chocolate making at the Choco Museo.  We tried lots of different chocolates plus made our own.  Nyle's was the scariest with M&Ms, gummy bears, quinoa and marshmallows.   Back at Uchu's for dinner and called it a night.

Day 8 - Palccoyo Trek Rainbow Mountain

Another beautiful day of sunshine and we were on our way to Palccoyo which is one of the two treks  you can do to see some Rainbow mountains.  This is the lesser in difficulty and shorter in distance but up at a cool 16,000 ft which was perfect as we were still recovering from the Inca Trail.  

I was a bit nervous about this, but once we got up there, it was unbelievable.  The place was covered with Alpaca, only at this altitude could you see them roaming.  At the entrance, we then started our gradual trek to three view points with alpaca all around.  It was so clear that day, we could see Austengate, another glacier in the Andes.  At every stop, it was a photo shoot and we got the most beautiful pictures ever taken. 

 Once we spent some time up there, we headed back for a fun mountain bike down to the town for our picnic lunch which Daniel, our guide's mother made for us.  So good, yum.  From there we would drive down to Puno for our final day in Peru.

Day 9 - Puno and Lake Titicaca

We arrived late at night and woke up to another gorgeous day on the lake.  We took a private luxury ferry boat and island hopped where we met different local people, had a lunch where the food was cooked under the ground an went to a floating village made of grass.   Great way to end our trip.