Me at Machu Picchu Peru
Gosh, I’m glad I went to Machu Picchu. I had heard what a great place it was but I really wasn’t expecting the impact the place had upon me. Again, I think the reason is the spatial disorientation that I suffered while I was there. It’s really a unique place. I’ve never been anywhere like it before.
Machu Picchu Peru View IV
Another shot of the classic view. I was told that many people go there for only a few hours, arriving around 10 AM and leaving sometime after 2 PM . The site opened at 6 AM and closes at 5 PM. It cost about $47 to get in for one day. I don’t know if they have multi-day passes, but I doubt it. I could imagine going to see the site for more than one day, but I think that one day is what most people devote to the site and I think they rarely have regrets that they didn’t go another day. The place really isn’t as large as a person might imagine and the potential visit is 11 hours. I was done and satisfied after about 8 hours.
Machu Picchu Peru Gate
When I was leaving Machu Picchu I took a picture of the entry gate. This is the area where the turnstiles are located. For some reason it seems to me that people think that entrance to Machu Picchu is similar to Disneyworld in size. It’s not. It’s relatively small and compact.
Aquas Caliente Peru Stream
Again, I liked Aquas Caliente. The town has a beautiful stream running through the middle of it and there are some of the biggest boulders I’ve ever seen laying in the stream
Peru Inca Cola
I developed a taste for Inca Cola (Kola). Talk to anyone who has had some and mention the words “bubble gum” and they’ll probably go “Yeah, that’s what it tastes like.” It was my first contact with the product and I hope it won’t be my last. I’m not sure I would drink it all the time if it was in the States, but I know I would buy a bottle of it periodically if it was.
Aquas Caliente Peru Housing
Yeah, I know that this picture probably won’t make anyone I know want to rush out and head for Aquas Caliente, Peru to snap up some real estate. But, what I’m trying to convey here is that there is a lot of authenticity to be found there. You can eat at a tourist trap and pay $5 for a hamburger or a slice of pizza or you can find a local restaurant and pay $3 for the daily “menu” special. Yes, the vast majority of people in Aquas Caliente aren’t rich or even well-off and they can’t speak any English, but remember that it’s a community with a unique relationship to the outside world. The only way in is to walk or take the train. These people are probably a very close knit community with a very special relationship to the people who come to visit one of the truly distinctive and significant places in the world.
Ormeno Bus to Peru
Bus travel is very common in South America. Most people do not have cars and buses are so much cheaper than flying. Consequently, 12 to 24 hour bus trips are not uncommon. I would never recommend taking a 24 hour bus trip to anyone. I will say that I have no problem taking them even though they are taxing on the mind, body and soul. However, you get to see a lot more from a bus window than an airplane window. Plus, there are some places where you just cannot fly. All that being said, the South Americans have buses that put buses in the United States to shame. Ormeno is one such company. I rode their bus from Guayaquil, Eduardo to Lima, Peru. It was supposed to take 27 hours. It took 30. The scenery was incredible.
Welcome to Peru
We stopped at the Ecuador immigration station a couple of miles before this picture was taken. We would stop at the Peruvian immigration station in a mile or so after it was taken. What I wondered was how anyone could possibly enforce border security in a town like this. It appeared to be pure chaos. What I found even more interesting was that the bus was going to try and make its’ way through this craziness.
Peruvian Desert Meets Ocean
I had no idea that so much of Peru was a desert. It seemed like the entire coast line from the Ecuadorian border to Lima was desert. I found it strange that the desert met the ocean for hundreds of miles. Here was all the dryness of the desert meeting all the wetness of the ocean. It was just such a contrast.
Peru Rural House
This is a rural house along the side of the road in Peru. The people who live here are obviously poor. You can see this kind of poverty in the cities of south America, but this isn’t the typical economic situation of people in South America, but it is more common than I would like to admit. If you check the economic statistics for South America, they don’t look quite so bad. What I know is that I would not consider Peru on the same economic footing as America or Europe.
