Our South America Adventure - Days 1 & 2 Travel and Cusco

Alison and I are still pursuing a multi-year goal to see the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. We began this goal in 2017 when we visited Petra in Jordan. We will complete this goal on this trip when we visit Machu Picchu and the Christ the Redeemer statue. We initially planned this trip for May 2020, but Covid happened and the world changed. At first, we postponed the trip until late 2020, naively hoping the pandemic would pass or subside quickly. As we began to understand the full scope of the pandemic we realized there was no way this trip would work out in 2020. There was a patchwork of restrictions and entry requirements, and at least one country we wanted to visit closed its borders. We canceled our plans and postponed the trip indefinitely. 

We briefly considered adding this trip to our 2021 slate, but the countries we wanted to visit were slow to lift restrictions and the spread of Covid-19 remained high in those areas. It felt both irresponsible and infeasible to take this trip at that time. 

Going into 2022 we were struggling to decide when to schedule this trip. With the spread of the Omicron variant and many countries instituting new restrictions the world was so volatile it was difficult to plan. We initially planned to push this trip toward the end of 2022 or even into 2023. However, as we began to make other life plans we realized our trip to South America interfered with those plans. We decided to take a chance and reschedule our trip for May 2022. At that time the pandemic looked bleak, but we decided to do everything we could to make this trip work. 

The pandemic has shifted so much since we made that decision. Most of the countries we will visit have dropped the majority if not all of their Covid restrictions. We do have to be vaccinated and boosted, but we will not need to test to enter any of the countries we are visiting. We do need to test before coming back to the US, which is idiotic. Testing before entering the US, at this point in the pandemic, is doing little to nothing to prevent the spread of Covid. It can be hard to tell exactly what the rules are going to be in each country (they change quickly), but I am fairly certain the only country where we will be required to wear masks will be Peru. We could not have predicted it, but May 2022 turned out to fine a fine time to visit South America. 

As usual, I read a few books to prepare for our trip to South America. I read:

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain by Patricio Pron

Harsh Times by Marco Vargas Llosa

A Death in Brazil by Peter Robb

Life and Death in the Andes by Kim MacQuarrie

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie

The Boiling River by Andres Ruzo

History of Argentina by Captivating History

Brazil by Michael Palin

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson

Brazil: A Biography by Lilia M Schwarcz and Heloisa M. Starling

A Comprehensive Guide to Iguazu Falls by Ron Sassen

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams

I greatly enjoyed learning the rich history of the countries we visited. I knew some history but I learned so much more about the native cultures, colonization by Europeans, politics, wars, and modern trajectories. 

We left on a Saturday. Things were generally hectic in the two weeks leading up to our trip. Despite the craziness, we felt quite prepared. Alison and I tag-teamed the planning of this trip and we have a solid itinerary. We began packing the weekend before our trip and we were mostly packed by Friday night. This made Saturday relatively stress-free. We dropped off our animals at their respective accommodations and then headed to the airport. 

We flew from Salt Lake to Atlanta. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and enjoyed the Skyclub while we waited. Our flight was slightly delayed out of Salt Lake, which is a stressful way to start an international trip. Fortunately, we had a decent layover in Atlanta so it did not impact our next flight. 

Next, we flew from Atlanta to Lima. This was a red-eye flight. This flight is only ~6 hours. While it is somewhat nice that it is short, it is also a bummer because we only got 4-5 hours of sleep. This flight was uneventful. 

We arrived in Lima. The airport here is pretty nice. As expected we had to wear masks. They required either double masking or N95 masks. We knew this was likely the case and we were prepared. Getting through immigration was quick and easy. We had to show our passports, vaccine cards, and a health declaration form we filled out before we left. We picked up our bags and rechecked them for our domestic flight from Lima to Cusco. We had to go through security again, but it was quick and efficient. We appreciate it when the process is easy, especially when we are tired. 

The flight from Lima to Cusco is only about an hour long. Alison and I both slept for the majority of the flight. Although I woke up as we began our descent and saw many mountain peaks jutting up above the clouds. Flying into Cusco was pretty cool because you have views of the city nestled among green mountains. It is quite a sight. 

We landed and grabbed our bags. The tour company we booked within Peru had a driver waiting to pick us up at the airport. He drove us to our hotel. We are staying at the Hilton Garden in Cusco. It is a nice hotel and the staff were so friendly. Since breakfast was still going they treated us to a complimentary breakfast while they worked on getting us an early check-in. By the time we finished eating our room was ready. We could not have been more pleased. We headed to our room and took a nap. 

Our tour guide, Luis, met us in the hotel lobby at 1pm. Today we toured Cusco. Today we learned about the two forces/civilizations that created modern-day Cusco  - the Incas and the Catholics.

Our first stop was an overlook point where we could see the entire city of Cusco laid out in front of us. It was a breathtaking sight. Below we could see the Plaza de Armes at the center of the city. We especially loved seeing Viva El Cusco written into the mountainside above the city. 

Masks in Peru are mostly optional. We asked Luis whether we would need to wear them and he said the rules have been changing fast. You have to wear two masks or an N95 at the airport. You also need to wear a mask inside hotels, shops, and restaurants, but outside they are unnecessary. 

Our next stop was Sacsayhuaman. This site is a National park containing many Incan ruins. Here we saw our first example of an Incan wall. Incan walls are quite recognizable because of the way they are built. There is a great precision to Incan walls. They don’t use mortar or other fastening materials because the stones are fitted together so perfectly that it is not needed. The stones are so closely spaced that a single piece of paper will not fit between many of the stones. The walls are also symmetrically built. The largest stones in the walls weighed as much as two hundred tons. They are massive. We explored this fort while Luis taught us about the history of the Incas and this area. Unfortunately, the Spaniards took the smaller stones in the complex and used them to build Cusco so many of the buildings throughout the city have stones from this site. Only the stones that were too large to easily move remain in the ruins. 

Near Sacsayhuaman is a statue known as the White Christ. This is a smaller version of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, which we will get to see in a few weeks. 

Our next stop was a nearby National park, Tambomachay. This site is also known as the water temple. It consists of a series of aqueducts, canals, and waterfalls that run through terraced rocks. Getting to the main site at Tambomachay required a bit of hiking, which was difficult because of the altitude. Cusco is 11,152 feet above sea level. We are taking some altitude medication to help with the acclimatization process, but walking uphill or upstairs still left us a little short of breath. The main site here is three waterfalls built into the terraced rock. They are fed by spring water. The first waterfall comes down and is split perfectly between the next two waterfalls. This once again demonstrates the precision of the Incas. 

Next we visited Puca Pucara. These are the ruins of a Fort located above the road leading toward the jungle. From this site, you have a beautiful and useful view. 

We visited Awanacancha which is a nearby alpaca farm. They have lamas, alpacas, vicuñas and guanacos. They gave us some grass to feed the alpacas and lamas. We also saw some Guinea pigs they were raising - mostly because they are a Peruvian delicacy. We also walked through the shop where they are selling products made from wool from the animals at the farm. 

We headed back into the heart of Cusco to visit Q’oricancha, the Temple of the Sun. This was one of the most important temples in the Incan Empire. However, it was mostly destroyed by the conquistadors and the Santo Domingo Convent was built on its foundation. We walked through the building and imagined what it would have been like in Incan times, gilded with gold. The Incan walls were unmistakable. We learned about the Incan belief system and talked a lot about the importance of duality where things on earth are mirrored in the heavens and vice versa. There are also the principles that to get something you have to give something - which is manifested in the importance of sacrifice. 

Outside we followed an Inca-built street to the Plaza de Armes where we visited the famous Cusco Cathedral. The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin is the main church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cusco. This church was built with the purpose of replacing the Incan religion with Spanish Catholic Christianity. It is quite large and opulent. It holds many archeological artifacts and relics and is a repository for colonial art, much of which looks like it came from the middle ages, although it was really painted much later. Some of the most stunning art include choir stalls, made entirely of pure cedar. Inside it, there are fine sculptures of many saints in cedarwood. The altar of the statue of the Lord of the Earthquakes or “Señor de Los Temblores” is another of the most notable points in the church. This statue is so named because it was moved into the square during an earthquake and the earthquake miraculously ceased. My favorite piece of art in the church was a very unusual depiction of the last supper painted by Marcos Zapata. In this painting, Jesus and his disciples eat a very Peruvian meal with a Guinea pig as the main course, and many tropical fruits as well as the Peruvian beverage chicha. Perhaps the best part of the painting is that Zapata painted Judas to resemble Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish conquistador responsible for the fall of the Inca empire. 

We took our time exploring the Cusco Cathedral and Luis gave us many insights into the artwork and design. When we were done Luis bid us farewell in the Plaza de Armes. He recommended a place to get some dinner. It was nearby so we checked it out. It was delicious. Alison had some beef and I had gnocchi made with Peruvian potatoes. 

After dinner, we walked back through the Plaza de Armes. It was beautiful at night all lit up. In the hills above the White Christ statue was lit up and shone like a beacon through the night. We were feeling good so we walked back to our hotel. It was a challenging walk up many flights of stairs, but we took our time and we made it back. It was a fantastic first day in Peru.