10 Days in Peru

Hey, you're not Kim!

There was no reason not to go to Peru. With Kim immersed in her Idaho farm girl fantasy and SOS Media's clients working remotely, Dan hugged goodbye to San Francisco and flew south.

Here was the plan:
1. Fly to Lima
2. Relax and work in Chris Taylor's posh seafront apartment for two days until Dylan arrives
3. Tour Peru with Dylan
4. Return to Chris' pad, work, enjoy Lima, trek into the Amazon

Two days before departing, Chris emailed that his grandmother died and he had to fly to Texas. "Enjoy Peru" were his words. And "please find my physician's bag somewhere in Scottsdale and drop it off at my house in Lima".

First stop, Lima, the capital city. The industrial ubertropolis with a fancy, curvy, cliffy coastline. Supposedly it takes two weeks to discover the greatness of Lima — but we left after five days.

A twenty-two hour tour bus ride delivered us into the ancient city of Cuzco. The Incans carved massive stones to form the city walls, now juxtaposed with modern but already crumbling Spanish architecture. Cuzco is a cultural attraction of thin cobblestone alleys, grand plazas and epic churches. Most travelers use Cuzco as the gateway city to Macchu Picchu.

From Cuzco there are many options to get to Macchu Picchu; three-day guided hikes with mountain biking and horseback riding are popular. The purist approach is a three-day trek on the Inca Trail — unfortunately reservations must be made six months in advance. The easy option: a 90 minute train to a 15 minute bus to the parking lot/gift shop/restaurant of Macchu Picchu. Perfecto.

The first moments at Macchu Piccho were disturbing — rows of busses, zillions of tourists — as we crested the hill and were slathered with the grandeur of the ancient wonder, a football mom noticed Dylan's Gainesville, FL t-shirt and remarked loudly, "HEY! You're a GATOR! My sister's a gator! What're the chances!? Hey, Laura! LAURA! We got a GATOR here!" To which we squinted, grimaced and tried to silence her by being appalled. "You guys should do a tour with us!" She exclaimed, words reverberating though the rock walls of the timeworn monument. We shook our heads. We turned and ran.

A thin trail led up and away from Macchu Picchu and we hiked faster and faster until our lungs wheezed from the thin altitudinous air. Macchu Picchu was soon just a fingernail-sized speck among the vast expanses of jagged Andean peaks, shrouded in a disco of mist and sun beams.

Dylan found a thin, unmarked trail which led to a nearby peak, high above Macchu Picchu. On the descent, we got lost and ended up in a very risky situation: the soft jungle gave way to a sheer cliff. Turning back was nearly impossible; the soft vines and undergrowth gave way under hand and foot, so sliding backwards and down was a real possibility. The cliff was sheer and dangerous; not technically difficult, just perilous for a misplaced foot or hand hold. We plotted. We debated. We got bug bites. Dylan took the clifface option and Dan jumped back into the jungle, grasping thin trees and scrambling up the disintegrating trail.

Back on the trail, our friend Dave/Mike/Thomi Colombiano waited, sipping water. The first steps of the trail were littered with used toilet paper and he had dubbed the trail "Shit Trail" and turned back. Dylan insisted that sometimes one must persevere though seemingly "shit" times to find something wonderful. Dan thumbed a ribbon of blood from his knee. They hiked back to Macchu Picchu.

By sunset, most of the tourists had bussed back to town. As the light turned the venerable stones to gold, the mountain top was suddenly deserted. A llama chewed the grass. Dan crouched and took some photos. The world was calm, ancient, serene.

To mix things up, Dan flies to Buenos Aires for ten days. If we're lucky, he'll let us know how it goes.

Love,
Dan

Simone posted on 2008-08-07 at 5:03 pm

Hey!!! IT all looks beautiful! I can't wait to see you tomorrow!!

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mo the egyptian posted on 2008-07-26 at 10:44 am

i met javiera and her boyfriend in the middle of machu picchu, cool girl and lovely surprise with herbal remedies that seemed like necessities in a place that overwhelemed me

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lisa glattman posted on 2008-07-23 at 12:54 pm

Hey Daniel - I am living vicariously through you - loving the travels you take me on - please be safe - for both of us!! Love, Lisa

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jen roy posted on 2008-07-22 at 7:36 pm

hi guys! it's jen...yoga teacher and fellow student of pichest's from chiang mai! dan, i love peru!!! it is incredible. glad you got the chance to go! miss you guys...keep up the posting! xoxo jen

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Michael posted on 2008-07-22 at 4:08 pm

Sounds pretty exciting. I´ll tell you what happened on my trek to Machu Picchu and you can use animated words to describe it as an adventure too, lol. Let me know how Buenos Aires is.

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jason b posted on 2008-07-22 at 9:51 am

world traveller. globe trotter. man of the world. and he has hair too.
avoid recreational use of extremely cheap yet highly pure South American cocaine and cocaine related products and services.
have a swell time and keep taking those pictures.

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gardella posted on 2008-07-21 at 10:45 pm

keep digging the path and holding onto your anchor

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Matt S. posted on 2008-07-21 at 8:33 pm

Dan, rock on! Your adventures I've been following are inspiring. The way you document your journeys is awesome. I am truly happy for you man!

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jen k posted on 2008-07-21 at 7:15 pm

thanks for the memories of Cuzco...have you been dancing yet?

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KK posted on 2008-07-21 at 5:21 pm

So pretty! Did you hug a llama for me? Please tell me you did not eat a llama. Nor a guinea pig. Have awesomeness in Buenos Aires! xoxo

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Peggy posted on 2008-07-21 at 4:30 pm

Great photos...thanks for sharing...

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