When people talk about going to Machu Picchu, I’ve always wondered why the other parts of their trip get left out of the recap. For me, while Machu Picchu is an impressive archeological area set in a beautiful range of mountains, it was only one tiny portion—a day trip really—of what made my time in Peru special. Call me crazy, but I prefer my time in mystical places to be uninterrupted rather than shared with hoards of tourists and guides pushing past each other on a predetermined route. YES, Machu Picchu is incredible, but it was just one small step in an amazing journey that I was lucky enough to take with my dad this September.
Going in with low expectations and limited background knowledge about Peruvian culture, our time in and around Cusco was a pleasant awakening. Tourism reigns in the city of Cusco and everywhere you turn are smiling happy faces and English friendly goods and services. It was a relief to feel completely safe and mostly understood in a foreign city.
Safe is a wonderful thing but tourist friendly cities do come at a small price. By day three of touring around, the charming street artists with mostly the same “hand painted” art became a little tiresome. Everyone has something for you to buy. “Un foto?” says an adorable young girl in traditional garb holding a hat-wearing baby llama. I must look like such a sucker. They see right through me. I do love baby animals. Throw in an adorable miniature hat—priceless. I resisted and thus cannot share a photo of this phenomenon with you all. Foolish I know.
While there’s plenty to report on regarding day trips to Sacred Valley, Moras, Moray, and city sight-seeing (all of which I highly recommend), I want most to share some of the personalities that made this trip so special to me. While there are exceptions to every rule and I hate to over generalize, I must say the people we met along our journey were all genuinely nice, and overtly happy people.
Let’s start with a member of our tour company (Valencia Travel), who retrieved my dad and me from the airport. MaryLou set the tone for people who either love their jobs (or do just an outstanding job faking it for the tourists—which is highly unlikely). “I’m so happy you are here to experience my city.” She took great pride in HER city, Cusco. And she was right. Cusco is built for tourists, welcoming us so completely and safely with traffic and tourism police on mostly every corner of the popular town center, money exchange options everywhere, English menus and signs, etc. MaryLou was all smiles and answered some of our dumbest questions of the trip with no judgment and patience.
If you have the opportunity to take a cooking class in a new country, do it. The second set of personalities who made our experience on this trip so complete were Manuel and Katia with the Choca Museo. It sounds lame right? Think again. The experience of going to the market with a Cusco native and picking out fruit, cheeses and meat that comes directly from the farmers who grow and produce these things is eye opening. Inca berries, fresh cow cheese, parsley and a special mint I can’t remember the name of—all delicious. Manuel shared his excitement and passion for cooking with us and shared recipes so we could take some inspiration home with us. Most memorable is the Pisco Sour, which even with an egg white mixed in is refreshing and delicious.
Last but certainly not least, our porters and guide on the Inca Trail. Smiling, laughing—sometimes at us tourists I’m sure—and otherwise enjoying the camaraderie on the trail. I can’t even remember what we laughed about together, but my cheeks got a workout from their constant smiling position. The language barrier between hikers and porters was unfortunate—all of ours spoke Quectuan and only a few basic English phrases. Our guide, Victor Huego, was translator, cheerleader, motivational speaker, ring-leader, jokester and friend for four days. I have great respect for him and others in this profession. Tourists are frustrating, whiney, clueless and slow. Victor made us feel like champions.
Stay tuned for Part II of this Peruvian adventure: Packing for the Inca Trail.
