Bienvenidos from Peru.  It’s been a long two days.   Our flight to Peru left from Miami at about 6 pm on Wednesday.   That doesn’t sound too bad until you consider there are no direct flights from Kansas City to Miami.  That means we had to leave our house at 3:30 am yesterday to catch a 6 am flight to Atlanta which used to be our most hated airport.  However,  once you visit it a few hundred times it’s not so bad.  It’s not great,  but it’s not too bad.  Two hour layover there (no airport running necessary), then on to Miami.  We were not impressed with the Miami airport at all.  They have these great interactive, touch screen airport maps,  but I don’t know why because the supposed walkway from terminal H doesn’t exist. Why do they tell us that there is an Au Bonn Panne in terminal D & F if we can’t get there? I mean really!  Why would they do that to us? We wanted to get this salad that we had in Philadelphia that had bree cheese, walnuts,  cranberries, apples, chicken  and maple vinaigrette.   Maple Vinaigrette!  So delicious!  We settled for an overpriced,  lackluster chicken sandwich, and that’s being generous in the rating. On a positive note,  Delta let us check our bags all the way from KC to Lima and didn’t charge us a baggage fee! Do you hear that US Airways?  I didn’t write that letter yet from my trip to Croatia,  but I’m still planning on it. US Airways will be refunding that baggage fee they made us pay, and they may even throw in a pair of those flight around the world tickets.

We sat in the exit row for the first time ever. All that leg room was glorious!  I could stretch my legs out all the way and not kick the seat in front of me.  It was so nice.   Too bad it was on a 5 hour flight instead of a 16 hour flight.

Did you know Peru is in the same time zone as Kansas?  So we didn’t get to Peru until 10 o’clock last night.  It was close to midnight when we got to the hotel.

Today we had a city tour of Lima and then a flight to Cuzco.  I’m tired more about that later. Buenas noches from Peru.

Love,
Thetwinsontour

Machu Pichu part 2

Yes, that is right, we went to Machu Pichu again.  Two days in a row of Machu Pichu! Double the Machu Pichu, double the fun! Did you know that Machu Pichu means selfie in Quechua (the native language of Peru)? It has to be so because there are a whole lot of selfies going on there.  We got up super early to watch the sun rise over Machu Pichu,  but I don’t think that really happens.  We left the hotel at 5:30, but by the time we waited in the mass of people (think Black Friday at kohls number of people) for our chance at more free exercise on the bumpy bus ride up the mountain,  it was already daylight. Since Machu Pichu is on a mountain and surrounded by mountains I don’t know how the sunrise works.  I think you are just supposed to enjoy the early morning sun illuminating the ruins and highlighting the lack of people in the lower tiers.

Not everyone in the group chose to go back the second day, which I think is crazy. I waited my whole life to go to Machu Pichu, so to opt to not take the opportunity to go back when it is right there is simply ludicrous. That’s the whole reason we chose this shorter trip because the longer ones did not linger here. There are so many incredible spots in Peru that it really merits several trips or a month of travel.

Since we had already tread upon every ancient stone step, marveled at every well-built wall,  photographed and cataloged every square inch the day before, today we were going to try something different. Something fun and exciting. We were going to hike up the Inca Trail to the Sun Gate. Say what?!  Make that something ludicrous!   Have I not mentioned before that I am from Kansas? It is flat as a pancake there. And here I am at 7 in the morning lunging forward,  propelling myself up ancient, uneven, stone stairs because there are no hand rails. It is just me and the mountain. Climbing stairs, walking stone paths, wrapping my way up and around a mountain. My breath is starting to come in short, fast bursts, and my pulse is racing.  And yet, I have to keep going.  And I am doing all of this at 8,000 feet.  Not too high, but much higher than Kansas. After a few minutes the gloves came off,  and then the polar fleece. By now, this mountain had to know I meant business. I kept going, putting one tired foot in front of the other, trudging along, trying not to get to close to the edge of the handrailless trail,  while from the opposite direction there was a steady stream of hikers and backpackers with their walking sticks, just strolling along saying how we smelled so much better than them. And here I was sweating like a guinea pig.  These people had just spent the last 4 days hiking up and down the mountain to get to Machu Pichu instead of taking the train and bus like thetwinsontour.   Anyways, I digress. I was talking about hiking a mountain. After what felt like forever, we made it to the moon gate. A nice plateau on the trail,  with a lovely view looking down on Machu Pichu in the distance.  Ahh, my sister almost folded here, succumbing to the altitude and the trail. I said no way, we need to keep going, and make it to our goal,  so we took off again, trudging and panting along, with my eyes focused on the uneven stones in the trail so that I would not fall and mortally wound myself. It was peaceful,  just me and the mountain and the sounds of nature. And the sounds of my sister panting.  And the train horn below. It is amazing how close to civilization you are even when you think you are rusticating.

All the while I was hiking, every time I stopped to get my breath, I would look around the mountains,  enjoy the beauty of my surroundings and take a selfie. Or 12.

Finally,  after what seemed like hours, completely out of breath,  we reached a particularly harrowing spot on the trail: steep, narrow stairs hugging a bend in the mountain. How did I know this spot was a potentially perilous place to plummet to my doom? There was a handrail! Yikes!   I took a deep breath, said a short prayer, wiped the sweat from my brow, held on tight, and crawled up those steps.  And then,  looking up,  I saw it, illuminated by the rising sun: my goal,  my destination,  my purpose for getting up at 4:32 AM, THE SUN GATE! (And all of my friends already there taking turns snapping pictures in the gate) Hallelujah! I made it! Wahoo. I hiked the Inca Trail (part of it & backwards because the Incas never climbed a mountain to get to Machu Pichu.   They lived higher in the mountains where you can touch the sky, so they had to come down the mountain to visit Machu Pichu and climb up to return home).

I stood up there at the Sun Gate,  and looked down at Machu Pichu in the distance, and at the whole valley and mountains below me and just marveled at the beauty and spectacularness of it all. And I came to the sudden realization that there was no way off the mountain other than the way I just came.  There was no bus stop, no funicular,  no zip line, no helicopter landing pad. It was up to my own 2 tired feet to get me back down my mountain. Oh dear.

I got to spend exactly 10 minutes up there at the Sun Gate before I had to turn around and head down that very same path I had just conquered.  The only difference going down is there is a lot less panting. I was still slow and covered with sweat.  My legs were sore from the exertion.  But I was triumphant!

We had just enough time to go back to the hotel, freshen up, put on clean socks,  and head to the train station. As soon as we got on the train there were snacks every where.  We were all so famished from our early morning exertions,  I mean excursion,  to the Sun Gate, we scarfed them down and searched for more.  We were on the Vistadome Train again,  but were too exhausted to work up much excitement for the stunning views.

Later that afternoon,  we had a picnic lunch sitting in the grass very carefully to avoid the sheep poop. The view was spectacular with a patchwork of farm land and the mountains in the background.  Maybe the best part about perching atop our mountain top picnic spot was that I didn’t have to hike there.  I just had to step out the door of the bus.

We made a pit stop in Chichero for a yarn making and weaving demonstration. They have this root that they get high in the mountains that they call Inca shampoo. They grate it using a cheese grater,  then use it to clean the wool.  It is amazing how quickly it can turn dirty wool completely white.  It’s also used as body soap,  shampoo,  and to prevent grey hair.  I could really use some of that!  We learned all about the plants they use to make each color. Red is made by grinding up some tiny bugs that look like a white film growing on a prickly cactus. The blue color is set by mixing it with children’s urine (you can’t use adult urine because they drink too many Pisco Sours and it won’t set the color).

And of course there was an amazing llama photo op. I posted it to Facebook,  but apparently none of you saw it because it is only at 13 likes which is just crazy.  It’s clearly worth a million likes!  Please make sure that you like our Facebook page for thetwinsontour and like our llama picture.

In addition to visiting Machu Pichu again and taking great llama photos,  we finally got to eat Chifa! This is the Peruvian version of Chinese food. It was all quite delicious. I am not sure what we ate (well I know it was all chicken and beef), but I don’t see how it was that much different than regular Chinese food. It wasn’t sesame chicken from Hy-Vee or orange chicken from Panda Express, but I could imagine this on their menus. Alas, I forgot to take any pictures because there was a group of 11 of us, and we were all famished from wandering the streets of Cusco looking for an open Chifa that we pretty much inhaled the food as soon as they set it on the table.

On that happy note we will sign off for now.

Love,
Thetwinsontour

PS–don’t forget to like thetwinsontour on Facebook.  There are plenty more adventures planned for the rest of the year and you don’t want to miss any great llama photos!

We started today with great anticipation. It was the day we had been waiting for, and the day you, fair reader, have been waiting for as well, even if you did not know it. (That’s a whole lotta commas, and I am too tired to look at it again and determine if it is grammatically correct. Please, forgive me.)  What wondrous day was this?  Today is the day that thetwinsontour were going to set eyes on one of the marvels of the world: that’s right, folks. We were headed to kohls!  Ha ha. Nope, we were voyaging to the great Peruvian archeological- wonder: MACHU PICHU! !!! Hip hip hooray! A life-long goal realized!

So, the day started out with a train ride to get to the base of the Machu Pichu mountain. But this wasn’t just any train- this was the VISTATRAIN. Sounds exciting, huh? The train had skylight windows, so that your view as you meandered through the wilds of Peru would not be obscured. It was a great view. Saw some cows, sheep, and pigs, but no llamas. We even passed through a cloud forest, but I didn’t see any clouds. We had read horrible reviews about this nauseating ride, so we were prepared to be bounced about like rag dolls.  I am happy to report that thetwinsontour were well prepared and came through unscathed. (Proof once again that you can’t trust grumpy TripAdvisor reviews.) I know you were worried about our tendency towards motion sickness. We were well prepared with our double dose of Dramamine (don’t you love alliteration?) and also branched out to try the motion sickness bracelets we bought like 3 years ago.

Our train took us from a small town in The Sacred Valley (don’t ask me to spell it or pronounce it) to Aguas Calientes. Then from Aguas Calientes you take a bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu. It is a really well-maintained, narrow, dirt and gravel road with tons of switchbacks all the way up the mountain, but the switchbacks are paved with brick. It is a bumpy ride. Maybe the buses need better shocks? During the 25 minute ride up the treacherous windy mountain road the pedometer on my new Garmin Vivofit went up by over 1,100 steps while I was sitting!  That’s what I call free exercise.  And everyone knows how thetwinsontour love free stuff! If I “walk” all those extra steps I deserve 2 desserts,  right? As a side note, If you want to actually earn 12 desserts when you come to Machu Picchu,  you could take the 1,700 stone steps straight up the mountain.  That doesn’t sound the least bit entertaining to me, but we did see crazy people doing it from the bus window. Or maybe they were just too cheap to buy the bus ticket.  Supposedly it only takes an hour or so.

Back to the exciting part: Machu Picchu!  It really was amazing to walk among the ruins. I’m sure I probably learned a lot of fascinating facts, but I was too busy taking pictures from every angle to concentrate on that. I know it has withstood flooding and mudslides due to the excellent drainage.  Something about some clay and sand that came all the way from the beach in Lima. There were people just swarming everywhere on Machu Picchu, but again, it is really clean and well kept.  Our guide was picking up bits of litter he found along the way.

I think you are not supposed to eat within the grounds because we checked our lunches at the baggage check and then went out after a couple of hours to enjoy our lunches.  We had a cheese empanada purchased from a cafe at the bottom of the mountain,  baby bananas from the market, and some plantain chips.  I am not mentioning the lunch for my mother’s sake,  but rather so I can tell you about the aforementioned baby bananas.  We got them in the market where the lady had a huge branch of bananas and she cut them right off the branch for us. We got 2 of them for 1 sol which is about 30cents.  Now they were a little brown on the outside and not up to our normal banana qualifications,  but we were brave and tried them anyways.  And what a tasty treat! Do you want  to know more about this banana? Well I’m going to tell you anyway.  It was actually orange,  not white. Sort of a pale orange-sherbet color and a softer, but not mushy, texture. What a treat for someone from a land of blah bananas.  Eating an orange banana makes you wonder how many varieties of bananas they have in the land of 7,000 potatoes and over 100 corns. What other banana wonders lurk out there waiting to be discovered by thetwinsontour?

After the banana surprise,  we went back to explore the glorious Inca Ruins some more, and to take a lot more selfies. The ruins are magnificent,  but do you know what makes them even better? LLAMAS! There are maybe a dozen llamas there at Machu Picchu,  and while I haven’t counted,  I probably have 487 Llama pictures. How fantastic is that to get a picture of a llama with Incan ruins in the background?! This is why you come to Peru people! Llamas I say! They are not actually wild llamas,  the park service takes care of them and brings them in at night so that the foxes don’t eat the baby llamas in the middle of the night. I don’t know exactly where they take them though because I didn’t see any out buildings or employee only areas.  As a matter of fact, they don’t have any toilets, excessive safety railings,  or any trash cans within the grounds. But there are lots of uneven stone steps, tons of tourists,  breathtaking vistas, and a few random chinchillas.

Machu Pichu did not disappoint. It was a great day. We finished it off with the Peruvian National Drink: Pisco Sours. They are divine even if the secret ingredient is egg white.  I guess the alcohol kills any potential salmonella in the egg whites?

Well, that is enough excitement for one day. Time to prepare for our next installment of thetwinsontourinperu.

Hasta la vista,
Thetwinsontour

This altitude sucks. We both woke up with headaches. At least I think it is from the altitude.  It could be from concentrating so hard on not flushing toilet paper down the toilet.  It’s just not natural.  But there is a sign on the toilet which says to not put toilet paper in the toilet. I am not always successful at this. It’s supposed to help save the environment,  and you know thetwinsontour are environmentally friendly. 

Anyways,  we flew to Cuzco yesterday afternoon (elevation 11k-12k depending on who is telling the story) and I felt fine.  We drove for what seemed like hours to the hotel in The Sacred Valley (elevation 8 or 9k). My ears felt a little stuffy. Kind of like when you go to a loud concert and can’t hear anything for a while. Now all of that pressure has resettled to the middle of my forehead right between my eyes.  I drank a cup of coca tea. It doesn’t have a very strong flavor,  but for someone who doesn’t like tea,  it tastes like ass. I am told it has a chamomile flavor to it. My headache is starting to feel better already.   It really is magical tea. Time for cup number 2.    

Yesterday was our city tour of Lima. Like all big cities there is a lot of traffic.  We just made a couple of stops and then they dropped us at a shopping mall to find lunch.  We had hoped to find a Chifa (Peruvian Chinese restaurant) but there wasn’t one there. I am determined to have some Chifa while I am here. It’s supposed to be way better than regular Chinese food. 

We didn’t do too much in Lima. There just wasn’t time. We had the morning there. It was kind of gray and dreary looking. No sun. Evidently they have 5 months of sun in Lima. The rest is gray and dreary looking even though it doesn’t rain in Lima. Just 3 inches a year. Or maybe that was centimeters. Either way, it is nothing. 

Our flight to Cuzco was uneventful. Which is a good thing. It was 8 o’clock by the time we made it to our hotel. 

On the bus ride we noticed lots and lots of stray dogs. But I think I heard our guide say that they have owners, but they just let them out to wander the streets? Not sure about that, but there were sure a lot of dogs. There were a lot more dogs than people.  No llamas or alpacas yet, but I am sure we will see those soon. Can’t call a trip to Peru complete without an alpaca sighting. 

Today was a busy day.  We hit three different sets of Inca ruins, and they were all beautiful,  fascinating,  amazing; I think you get the picture. Anyways the first stop were some Incan farming terraces. They are concentric circles of terraces that are in a valley. The temperature at the bottom is 15 degrees warmer then it is at the top of the hill. Don’t worry, I was skeptical too. However,  I experienced it, and it is true.  It was quite warm down within the terraces. Supposedly there are 12 different microclimates within this area. The brilliant Incas used this as a place to test crops and to learn what potatoes grow best at which temperatures. This was just a scientific testing area for them, not a working farm. Did you know there are over 3,000 kinds of potatoes in Peru?  Apparently they recently did some genetic testing of the prolific potato and determined there are actually 7,000 different kinds of potatoes in Peru. We’ve got what, like 5 kinds of potatoes at the grocery store? I mean I feel like our potatoes are exotic when my mom buys the Yukon Gold potatoes for our Sunday night pot roast. Just think what 7,000 different kinds of potatoes could do to pot roast. For one thing, my mom would need to buy a bigger pan and it would revolutionize pot roast. 

Then we went to the salt mines. The salt comes from an underground salty river. They put the water into these little pools and let the water evaporate and they scrape the salt off the top.  They use it for cooking and for bath salts.  They also have pink salt that the Chinese are just crazy for. They export most of their salt to China. This river has a 9% salinity where as the average ocean has a 3% salinity. Did you know that if you eat salt without iodine you will get goiters? That is why we eat iodized salt because really, no one wants to walk around with goiters.

Our last Inca sight of the day was more terraces. These were not farming terraces. It was some sort of religious temple that wasn’t very important.  I know this because the stone steps were different sizes and not evenly spaced. The Incas didn’t bother to make them all the same size because it wasn’t a major religious area. I mean, they didn’t even put in a hand rail. Who builds a ruin with 193 steps, and no handrail? 

This part is for my mom. You know she worries if she thinks we are not eating on vacation.  Lunch was an experience. We were given an hour and 10 minutes to eat and shop. We decided to eat at a sit down restaurant.  We ordered off the tourist menu, which we thought would be quick and easy. It was not. But you knew that probably. I had quinoa soup which was quite tasty. (Evidently the growing of quinoa is quite difficult and they have to get up at 4 in the morning to harvest it because later in the day it is to windy and all of the quinoa falls off the stem and is wasted. )  Now I think that I am morally opposed to quinoa because they export so much of it to the US that it drives up prices of local quinoa,  but I think it is okay to eat it local at the source. It was tasty, but I had to be careful to not inhale it too quickly because I kept choking on it. Finally at 2:49, my main course came. Crusted chicken in an orange sauce. Absolutely scrumptious. Only problem was I was supposed to be on a bus at 3, and there was still desert to go. We told the waitress we needed our desert and checks and we were all leaving in 10 minutes. That spurred her into action. At least I got my chocolate cake to go.

And have I mentioned the roads here? Narrow,  steep, hairpins where the bus hangs off the side of the cliff. At least this is what I hear. I have to close my eyes and sleep.  There is no amount of Dramamine that can save me from that. 

That wraps up this installment from your favorite twins, thetwinsontour.

Hasta la Vista. 

Love, 
Thetwinsontour