Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

Aquas Calientes to Urubamba – Wednesday, November 2, 2016

We left Aquas Calientes on the tourist train this morning and then took a taxi to Sacred Dreams Lodge in the hills above Urubamba. 

This afternoon we visited Moray where indigenous engineers built concentric circular irrigation terraces.  The angles of the sun create temperaure differences between the upper and lower levels and allow crops to grow that normally wouldn’t grow at such high altitudes ( 3,500 meters, 11,500 ft.)


Next we visited Salineras where the saline water coming out of a spring is still used to create evaporative salt ponds to produce salt. The salt ponds were originally built by the Incas. 


All day today as we travelled we have seen lots of people selling flowers. It wasn’t until we passed a cemetery that seemed to be hosting a party that I realized that today is Día de Muertos – Day of the Dead. 

Machu Picchu!! Tuesday, November 1, 2016

It feels like Machu Picchu is the culmination of our trip but we are here during the last week because it is just the logical end of our loop through Peru. 

This morning we caught a bus from Aquas Calientes up to Machu Picchu and spent about four hours exploring the site. It is s stunning as everyone says – high on a mountain top surrounded by River canyon and more mountains. 



One cool thing we did is hike up to what they call the Inca Bridge. It literally hangs on the edge of a cliff. 


There were throngs of people and this is not the high season it’s hard to imagine what it must be like at Machu Picchu in July and August. 

In Aquas Calientes we stayed at a wonderful new hotel Cabaña. 

Ollantaytambo to Aquas Calientes – Monday, October 31, 2016

This morning we caught the train from Ollantaytambo to Aquas Calientes the town at the base of Machu Picchu. The train followed the Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley of the Inca. The terrain and vegetation changed dramatically as we moved lower. Aquas Calientes is at an elevation of 6700 ft and the fauna is high jungle. 


Aquas Calientes doesn’t have any cars and is pretty much all hotels and restaurants. We bought our bus tickets and entry tickets for Machu Picchu tomorrow. Then we went for a walk down the road and train tracks that we will take tomorrow. The canyon and jungle are beautiful. 

When we got back from our walk we shared beer and fries overlooking the river. The river is a lot lower here because they have taken a lot of the water out to use in a hydroelectric plant down stream. 


This afternoon we checked out an exhibit of 1911 and 2014 pictures of Machu Picchu. Very interesting. 


As we were walking to dinner we saw lots of princesses and Spider men. It seems that Halloween is celebrates here too!


I think I’ll end with this sign we saw today. I guess we will have to keep our clothes on tomorrow!

We had a wonderful dinner in Aquas Calientes at the restaurant El Albergue. 

Ollantaytambo – Sunday, October 30, 2016

This morning we explored the fortress of Ollantaytambo. The ruins are built into the mountain right on the edge of town. There are massive stone terraces and structures. Ollantaytambo is at the junction of two rivers and this fortress is the site of a battle in which the Inca beat the Spanish at least initially. The water system is prett impressive too. We climb up to the top on one side and then back down on the other. 

This afternoon we climb up to the ruins on the mountain  opposite the fortress. In this picture you can see the three big buildings we climbed up to initially. Duke wanted to climb from there up to the ruins you can see above the three buildings. I initially said no but then agreed to go along   There was a pretty amazing view from the top.


The La Union to Huánuco – Tuesday, October 11, 2016

This morning we started out early and got a taxi to the Pampa de Huánuco also known as Huánuco Viejo. It was the ancient capital of the Northern Inca Kingdom. The ruins are surrounded by grassland. We got an early start so we were  the only ones there. 




After we were done exploring the caretaker told us that if we started walking back to town someone would come along and give us a ride. We ended up walking about 5 miles or three quarters of the way back to town before we finally got a ride. 


When we got back to La Union Duke arranged a shared taxi to take us the 130 kilometers to Huánuco. It turned into quite an ordeal. There were five of us in the taxi. I was in the middle in back. The taxi had essentially no cushions or springs and the road twisted and turned and was full of potholes. The 130 kilometers trip took three and a half hours. My behind may never be the same again. 

But now we are in a very nice hotel in Huánuco  ( The Grand Hotel Huánuco) and we’re looking forward to resting for a few days. We just finished a great dinner in the restaurant.