HIKE PERU

September 30 - October 15, 1999

September 30, 1999 - Thursday - Fly to Lima, Peru

Got up at 4:45 and ate breakfast of English muffin with butter and raspberry jam, orange juice and chocolate milk. Woke up Anne at 5:20 and headed for Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) about 5:35 arriving about 5:55. John McCauley and Les Ansel were in line ahead of me. Checked in and boarded the plane about 6:30 for American Airlines (AA) flight number 2105 seat 18C. The plane was delayed about 40 minutes due to a malfunctioning toilet. Took off about 7:40 and landed in Miami about 9:50. Ate lunch of garbanza soup, fish sandwich and milk at La Carrita a Cuban restaurant for $7.53. Met Mike Slaughter, Tom Ruppel, Richard Edwards, Lore Mulligan and Helen Blackburn in the terminal in Miami. Tom, Mike and I drank large Sam Adams lager drafts for $15.65. Boarded AA flight 917 seat 30G about 5:00 p.m. and took off about 6:00. Landed in Lima, Peru at 11:18 pm (10:18 Peru time). Went through immigation and customs. Cool. Very crowded airport. Lima has 7 million people and Peru 25 million. Had to wait about 45 minutes for Gayle Butler flying in from Dallas. A ten minute bus ride got us to the Manhattan Hotel. Went to bed about 1:00 am.

October 1, 1999 - Friday - Fly Lima to Cusco, Peru

Got up at 6:38 and showered. Breakfast of rolls with butter and jam and orange juice. Rode the bus to the airport and took off about 10:00 on Aero Continente flight number 1147 seat number 14D to Cusco landing at 10,900' with a population of 360,000 people about 11:15. It was bumpy coming in between the mountains. Bused to the El Dorado Inn room 218 with windows on the lobby about 11:45. Architecturally nice hotel. Was served coca tea for the altitude. An oxygen tank is always in the lobby. Changed $40 to Peruvian solis' to S/.136.80 a rate of 3.42 solis per dollar. Walked to Playa Major and ate lunch of ham and cheese sandwich and coke for S/.9 plus S/.2 tip. At 2:00 we met our guide Holger for a walking tour of the City natural history museum.with Inca ruins and the Cathedral. Really interesting how the Incas built (trapezoidal) and cut stones. The cathedral is very large and ornate with art, gold and silver. Walked to Restaurant Roma for a rolleno, trout with cheese, rice and vegetables and a Cusquena (Cusco woman) cerveza for S/.41.51 on REI Mastercard (MC). Returned to hotel then up the street to Email Anne, Kevin, Kara, Huelskamps and Susan Ansel. Occasionally notice a slight shortness of breath. Washed socks, shorts and shirt in sink and hope they dry by morning. To bed at 9:45. Lore sick and didn't eat supper. Incas cut stone to 1/32" tolerance. Everything constructed in a trapezoidal shape with the walls leaning in 13 degrees like a pyremid with the top cut off. Spanish stone work very crude and rough in comparison.

October 2, 1999 - Saturday - Visit Inca Sites and Hike to Pisaq

Got up at 6:33. Had a slight headache during the night but I slept well. Polution is awfull and pervasive. Sinus' active with black mixed in mucas. Showered and shaved. 8:00 breakfast of eggs, potatoes, mellons, fruits, breads and juice. 9:00 bused up to Saqsaywaman (Sexy woman) and walked around the Inca ruins above Cusco (Qusqoe). Old town Cusco is in the shape of a puma. Saw a cat paw print in the stone walls, a snake and the outline of a puma. Bused to Inca ruins over Pisaq where we had lunch. The ruins were storage at the top of the terraces for the agricultural products from the terraces below. Very ingenious. Lunch of chicken, salad, carrots, radishes, peppers, cookies, Sprite, banana and tangerine. Hiked over and down to Pisaq from 1:30 to 3:30 or about 3 miles. The trail is very impressive usually a 2 foot wide notch on the side of the mountain. We went through a tunnel at one point. Walked around market in town square for 15 minutes and bused to Posada del Libertador about 4:30. Seeing lots of high snow capped mountains. Many signs on buildings and rocks for political parties. Some seem prevalent in one area while others are more prominent in other areas. Walked around the posada grounds. Tom Ruppel bought me a beer and Richard Edwards drank one with us. Mike Slaughter and Holger our guide arrived with more beer, wine and potato chips at 6:30. 7:00 dinner of vegetrable soup, King fish (lake) with beets, carrots, potatoes, flan and coca tea. Sat after supper and talked. Back to room about 9:00. Washed shorts, socks and shirt. To bed at 9:55.

October 3, 1999 - Sunday - Chinchero Weavers & Hike Maras Salt Pools

Slept very well. This posada is very neat, clean and comfortable. Having escaped to the mountains from the Cusco air I feel much better. It gets cool at night in the 40s and warm in the days 60s. When the sun is out it is very hot at 15 degrees south of the equator but when it goes behind a cloud it is cool. Got up at 5:45 as it was already light. Showered and and washed out shorts. This posada is built in 2 squares. The front square is cobblestoned courtyard with an orange tree loaded with ripe oranges in the center.The square is surrounded by a 2 floor building with a balcony on the 2nd floor and a portico on the first. The back square where our room is located is a single floor with a grass square with flowers and a fountain in the center. The back side of the square is a lounge with a fireplace and the dining room. The back lawn has a large carved stone frog, sundial and some kind of basin. The roof is orange tile. It is surrounded by large mountains, we're in the Inca Sacred Valley, and there is a high snow capped mountain visible through the gap between 2 closer mountains. Tom Ruppel is the senior cameraman for Canadian Network Television. He has been around the world including the Golan Heights during the Six Day War between Syria and Israel. Richard Edwards is a retired science teacher from Collingwood, a small town north of Barrie, Ontario. Most houses and buildings have a cross and two bulls on the roof top. The bulls represent fertility for children and crops. 8:00 breakfast of small breads (like a pita bread) with butter and jam, fresh banana, apple, papaya, mellon juice (orange color) and coca tea. 9:00 bused to Chinchero where we stopped to see women weavers. Nilda who went to the university is restoring the traditional weaving techniques and patterns to this part of Peru. The colors are all natural wool color or dyed using flowers or some other natural product. The women spin their own yarn, dye it and weave it. The patterns they learn from memory which include animals, plants, people, constellations, natural scenery, etc. A well woven garment is staight and waterproof and will last a lifetime. Walked through the Chinchero market where they sold everything. I bought some popcorn with very light confectionary sugar on it for 50 centimes. It was shaped like elbow macaroni about 2' long and ¾' in diameter. Tasted like Cracker Jacks without the caramel. Walked to the church where they were holding mass. They were getting ready to take communion and it was just like in the states except in Spanish. The church is very ornate with murals covering the ceiling and the altar goes all the way to the ceiling about 40' and is covered in gold and silver. The church is built on the high point in Chinchero which is on top of Inca ruins. We went back to the weavers house for lunch of dried beans, baked wheat kernels, a vegetable salad, cooked beans and corn, a great vegetable soup (barley, onions, carrots,celery, cilantro, potatoes, etc). freeze dried potatoes (with ice), boiled potatoes that were very flavorful, guinea pig (which run around the kitchen and eat vegetable peelings etc.), fried cakes and coca tea. Delightful, different and interesting. We ate in the courtyard under a tree with a passion fruit vine growing over it. The house is Nilda's mother's house who was one of the women doing the weaving. In the back they harvest wheat by hand. Bused to Maras salt pools. We dropped down the canyon wall on a narrow bumpy dirt road. The salt pools are a cooperative of the local farmers with 5,800 pools and each family working 15 - 20 pools. The water comes out of the mountain like a spring and is hot. The pools were used before the Incas. We hiked through the pools many times doing a balancing act on the thin walls and down to the river then across an old bridge into Urubamba a distance of about 2 miles. Bused back to the posada in Yucay about 3:45. Richard Edwards and I walked through the town and down some back street and along the river. All streets in Peru have irrigation ditches in them like the Incas did in their settlements. Stopped and bought an Inca Kola the most popular drink in Peru for S/.1.50. It tastes like Cream Soda with a hint of banana and is pale yellow. Went to lounge at 6:15. Mike Slaughter showed up with Pilsner beer, wine and chips. 7:00 supper of salad (beets, green beans and tomato), soup, beef and spaghetti, fruit salad and coca tea. Tom Ruppel hiked up the mountain and helped a family plant corn. He then had drinks of whisky and chincha (like a beer made from corn) and ate supper with them. To bed at 9:45.

October 4, 1999 - Monday - Raft the Vilcanota River and Bike to Urubamba

Got up at 5:24. Tom Ruppel, John McCauley, Les Ansel, Lore Mulligan and I met at 6:00 and hiked along the canals in town and up the mountain to a shrine with a great view of Yucay and the valley. We returned at 7:15. 7:30 breakfast of coca tea, bread with butter and jam and fruit. Bused to Ollantaytambo Inca ruins where we walked to unfinished work where you could see the stones in the process of being moved up ramps to the building site. About 10:30 we loaded into 2 six man rafts with Carlos and Guan. We rafted about 12 kilometers with some 3 and 3 ½ rapids. One was a waterfall with a pretty good drop. Exciting. I was in raft with Guan. Arootie fell backward out of the other raft. Saw 2 eight man rafts of young Israelis. Lunch on the river bank of celery in mustard sauce, cheese, tomato, pimento peppers, guacamole sandwich, carrot sticks, radishes, chocolate cookies and banana. Les, Tom, John, Dick and I biked back to Ollantaytambo. Tom, Dick, Carlos, Mike and I biked back to Urubamba a total of 22 kilometers. We drank some beer and bused back to Cuzco arriving at the El Dorado Inn room 410 about 4:30. Showered and shaved then walked up and Emailed Anne, Kevin, Kara, Huelskamps and Susan Ansel. All nine of us walked to the Paititi Restaurant for dinner of Pisco sour, Cusquena negro and blanco cervezas, vegetable soup, trout in a mushroom sauce with rice and fruit crepe for S/.59.50. Walked back to room and packed for the trek. Went to bed at 11:15.

October 5, 1999 - Tuesday - Hike Mollepata to Marcoccasa on Inca Highland Trail

Got up at 6:10 and packed up. 7:40 breakfast of eggs, bread, potato, mellons, fried yucca and juice. Checked bag at hotel and bused out at 8:00. We stopped at a market town and some Inca ruins that was an old hacienda. Saw bugs under a cactus that are used for purple dye. Peru has irrigation everywhere including towns built by the Incas. It is mandatory to vote in Peru. They dip your finger in ink to prove it. You are fined if you do not vote. Our cook is Alejandro and his assistant is Esaibio. Holgers wife is in the hospital so he left us for Cusco. Herman (er man') is guiding us. We bused down the longest switchback road I have ever seen. We turned off the main road for 12 miles of dirt road up the mountain to Mollepata (the place where molle grow) at 9,260'. We started hiking at 11:30 with the temperature at 80 degrees. We stopped at 12:40 for lunch of chicken, carrots, peas, yam, bread and coca tea (mate'). We got a few drops of rain as we hiked constantly up except for a few short relatively flat spots and along a irrigation canal. Arrived at Marcoccasa at 11,400' at 3:40 after 5 miles. Saw an Oriole that was black and yellow. We had popcorn and tea in the dining tent. 7:00 supper of coca tea, white wine, vegetable soup, trout, rice and banana flambe. Excellent! We had a Swiss couple, Rudy and Lea, whose gear went to the wrong place. Stars are really bright and very clear being high with no polution. Went to bed at 9:15. We ate in tent by candlelight (3) which is really nice. Everyone was in good spirits and the food is outstanding. It gets light about 5:30 am and dark about 6:00 pm.

October 6, 1999 - Wednesday - Hike Marcoccasa to Soray Pampa

Got up at 5:40 and hiked to top of knoll for good view of both valleys and the sun. Black tea about 7:10 and then breakfast of bacon and eggs, bread with butter and berry jam and hot chocolate. Hiked out of camp at 7:52 in a cloud. The weather alternated between hot sun at 68 degrees but mostly spitting rain with an occasional rain. We hiked up a ridgeline with the trail being in a trench as high as your shoulder in places. We reached an Inca canal along which we hiked most of the day. Many times we hiked on the foot wide wall of the canal with a 4-5' drop into a foot of rushing water and on the other side a big drop then a steep incline of hundreds of feet into the Blanco River in the valley below. The Inca canal starts at the glaciers on Mt Salcantay (female) and Mt Humantay (male). We are camped where the two streams come together to form the Blanco River on the Soray Pampa at 12,690'. Stopped for lunch along the canal where Alejandro and 2 assistants set up a tent fly. We ate coca tea, cheese, 2 kinds of guacamole, marinated onions, tomato sandwiches, marrinated carrots and cucumbers. I ate a passion fruit from our snack kits given to us this morning. Holger arrrived as we were about done. His wife had a 3.15 kilogram (about 7 pounds) daughter named Seneca. Mother and baby are doing fine. When the clouds broke, we had great views of Salcantay which is totally snow covered. We hiked across a pampa and up to the second pampa where we crossed the Blanco River to camp at 2:40. We can see both glaciers and mountains as we are at the intersection of 2 valleys. My bag is #74 and the tent #39. Saw moss on trees, shrubs and rocks. We are camped near the glaciers that are the headwaters for the Blanco River which is the headwaters for the Amazon River which is the longest river in the world, longer than the Nile. Stripped down behind the dining tent and bathed in a washpan in the cold but fet good. 5:00 tea, crackers and jam. 6:00 walked out and up Humantay almost to the glacier to see the peak covered in snow in the sunset. A really memorable site. Got back just at dark. 6:30 dinner of vegetable soup, chicken stroganoff, tea and crepes caramel. We also had Pisco Rockets, a pretty strong drink. The dining tent has a lot of atmosphere with 11 people in it and 3 candles for light. We sat around telling Willard stories until 8:15. Holger showed us some stars and black holes in the milky way. To bed at 8:40 with 47 degrees in the tent.

October 7, 1999 - Thursday - Hike Soray Pampa to Salcantay Base Camp

Got up at 5:40 at 50 degrees. Mostly sunny but clouds would close in for half an hour at a time. Great views of Humantay and Salcantay. We have 4 wranglers and 11 horses. The bridals and cargo nets are braided rawhide strips. We camped in a potato field of sod with small clumps lifted and a potato put in and the sod tamped down again. 6:30 black tea served in tent. 7:00 breakfast of kiwitcha (kee wee cha a breakfast cereal) with apple, raisin and clove, bread with butter and marmalade and coca tea. Hiked out of camp at 8:00 under clouds and sun in 57 degrees. We hiked up a ridge and along the valley wall high above the bottom. The climb is very steep in many places and always up. At one point we met some cows and a herder coming down. We exchanged greetings in Spanish. The herder is from one of three families living in the valley. Les and I caught up with Tom who was higher up the side of the valley with a horse. I hiked up and we took pictures with the friendly horse with snow covered Salcantay in the background. The horse's left ear was cut off as a warning that he was a rogue or moocher. We hiked up the valley wall and along a huge morain in the valley next to us. It got really steep going over a series of ridges. The horses and cooks passed us at the top of the last ridge (Tom and I). Tom's wife had degenerative MS and died 3 ½ years ago. He has 2 grown sons 24 and 27 living at home. He is head cameraman for Canadian Network TV. We hiked into Salcantay Basecamp at 14,350' at 10:53. The sun is on the tent but a swirling snow sprayed my legs with tiny flakes of snow. We are camped on the east face of Salcantay at 14,400' about 3 miles from the pampa. Ate lunch of cheese, marinated cucumbers, onions and carrots, potatoes with peanut sauce, egg, lettuce, tomato, and coca tea. At 2:00 Tom, Mike, Herman and I hiked up to the glacier on Salcantay and across it to the valley on the other side at about 15,400'. The round trip was probably 5 miles returning at 4:45. It was foggy on the glacier making it difficult to know where you were but an awesome experience. We often sunk into the snow to our knees and it snowed while we were on it. Hot chocolate, coca tea and dried salted kernels of something for tea time. 6:30 supper of thick bean soup, rice, pork, vegetables, sweet purple corn pudding with apples, hot red wine with apples and tea. 40 degrees at 6:30. To bed at 8:50.

October 8, 1999 - Friday - Hike Salcantay Basecamp to Sisay Pampa

Very cold night with ice caked on tent flys. Could hear an avalanche during the night. I thought it was an airplane at first. Got up at 5:30 and warmed up as soon as I started moving. 6:45 breakfast of french toast, bread with butter and marmalade and hot chocolate. Picked up our snack of chocolate bar, orange, figs, candy and orange drink. Herman gave us coca leaves which I chewed briefly. I salivated so much I spit it out after about 2 minutes. We hiked out of camp at 7:15. We gathered at Japan Camp and Tom, Les and I turned left off the trail to the glacier. It was clear so we could see very well. Salcantay is awesome when you are next to it. The snow was firm so we didn't sink in at all hardly leaving a track. We followed our tracks from yesterday and crossed the glacier to the valley on the other side. We could see the other side of Incachiriaska Pass and waved to Helen who was in the pass on a horse. We retraced our steps back across the glacier to the trail, a round trip of about 2.5 miles. We climbed up the very steep path to Incachiriaska Pass at 16,010'. We stopped and took pictures of the great views in both directions. The pass is 2 miles and over 1,600' up from last nights camp. We descended quickly down a very steep slope. We caught the group at lunch at about 1,500'. It was a nice sunny spot and Alejandro was cooking in a small cave. Lunch was hot vegetable alphabet soup, cheese, carrots, cucumbers and onion sandwich and coca tea. Two farmers riding horses and 2 pack horses passed us going up to plant potatoes. We descended down a beautiful valley usually high on the side. We had good views of the south face of Salcantay but it was always partially covered by clouds. We passed a large herd of llamas that were black, white, brownish red, dark brown, etc. Saw some hawks that were black and white. The farm houses are stone walls and thatched roofs. We arrived at camp on the Sisay Pampa at 12,450' at 2:30 after hiking 11.5 miles. 4:30 tea and popcorn. A group of 7 women from Denver is camping about ¼ mile up the valley. Their wranglers played our wranglers a game of soccer. The women came down to watch. Alejandro prepared an Andean feast featuring a lamb and the women were very interested. The wranglers dug a shallow round hole about 6' in diameter and a dome of small stones. They built a fire inside the dome. After it burned about an hour, they removed the fire and leveled the stones. They put a lot of potatoes on the stones and then large slabs of marinated lamb. They covered this with straw, a tarp and then the loose dirt. After about an hour they dug it out and we ate it with pea soup, red wine, hot chocolate and cookies. What a treat and very interesting. Put hot water in a my water bottle and then put it in the bottom of sleeping bag. To bed about 9:00.

October 9, 1999 - Saturday - Hike Sisay Pampa to Llullucha on Inca Trail

Got up at 5:20. At 6:45 ate breakfast of cream of wheat with raisins and cloves, hot chocolate and bread with butter and berry jam. Hiked out at 6:45. We hiked down the Panps Crahuana Valley to Paucar Cancha Inca ruins. Paucar is a plant that grows in the area. The ruins were an agricultural storage center with corn grown on the lower levels and potatoes grown up higher. It is located at the junction of two valleys as are all major Inca ruins. We followed the valley all the way from Incachiriaska Pass to Huayllabamba where we joined the Inca Trail at kilometer 88. We traded our wranglers and horses for porters. We climbed steadily and very steep to lunch about ½ way up to camp. Ate lunch of pasta egg salad, cheese, onion, cucumber, carrot sandwich and coca tea. I hiked ahead after lunch and stopped with our porters at 2:20. The head porter said I needed to go up some more so I went up to the plateau and waited about 45 minutes. I started back down and met Tom on his way up. I returned to camp at Llullucha at 11,880' about 3:20. The porters use ropes to carry bags and my baby wipes got squeezed and leaked inside my bag. 4:30 hot chocolate and crackers. 6:30 supper of soup, fettucini, chocolate pudding, coca tea and pisco sours. To bed at 8:30. Toast: Salud, dinero y amore.

October 10, 1999 - Sunday - Hike Llullucha to Runkuraqay

Got up at 5:33 and packed up. 6:00 tea in tent. 6:30 breakfast of fried potatoes and onions, bread with butter and berry jam and hot chocolate. Good view of snow capped mountains from my tent. Hiked out about 8:00. Sunny and warm about 60 degrees but very warm in the sun. Steady steep climb all the way to Warmiwanuscca Pass at 13,776' at 9:13. The trail has steps in many places where the trail is too steep. We climbed about 1900' from camp and 4000' since Huayllabamba yesterday. It was sunny in the pass but clouds soon came over from the other side and it got chilly. We waited an hour and twenty minutes until everyone but Helen was up. The downside was very steep and mostly steps. We stopped for lunch on an overlook of the valley and next to a high waterfall. I tried to climb up the waterfall but had to quit near the top. Ate lunch of ham, cheese, onion and carrot sandwich and coca tea. We could see our tents across the valley on a shelf by some Inca ruins. Hiked down to the valley floor and then a good climb up to Runkuraqay at 12,670' at 1:45 after 6 miles. Views from the tent are fantastic looking right up to the pass and the waterfalls and left down the valley. I heard a big noise just now, probably an avalanche from above the waterfalls. I hiked about 6.5 miles because I climbed the waterfalls. At 4:30 we had hot chocolate and a popcorn that is gray and the kernel is cracked but not puffed up. Ate 6:30 super of lamb, rice, potatoes, carrots, soup, custard and hot pisco rockets. Rained hard and blew during supper. To bed at 8:56.

October 11, 1999 - Monday - Hike Runkuraqay to Phuyupatamarca

Got up at 5:20 and packed up. 6:20 tea in tent. 6:45 breakfast of fried eggs, bread with butter and marmalade and hot chocolate. Sunny and warm so we ate outside. It soon clouded in and cooled down. Hiked out at 7:45. We hiked up steeeply for 20 minutes to Runkuraqay Pass at 12,670'. Hiked down a very steep rock trail and under one big rock. Hiked for quite a while with Marion from Holland. Waited for the group at Sayacmarca at 11,722'. Gave some insect repellent and advice to two 20 something backpacking German girls. Holger led us through the ruins for about an hour giving us his insightful and interesting commentary. We hiked down into a mist forest ( a high rain forest). We went through a 50' tunnel at one point. Stopped for lunch of coca tea, potato, onion, carrot and green bean salad, onion, cheese and carrot sandwich. Hiked on and it started to rain. Talked to a Canadian who lives 6 months in Spain and 6 months in Bolivia restoring the wood and ceramic parts of churches. Talked to Holger who told me his brother is a certified high mountain guide and they are planning an expedition to Aconcagua in January 2001. He said he would send me information. It would take about 3 weeks. Hiked into camp at Phuyupatamarca at 11,939' at 12:53. Lots of thunder and lightening but not very close. It started raining and rained hard with high winds from about 1:30 until 4:00 when we had tea, bread with butter and marmalade. It cleared briefly in the dusk and the views are awesome. There are snow capped mountains on 3 sides and a deep drop of 4,000' into the Urubamba Valley on the fourth. Drank 2 Cusquena beers for S/.10 each which an Andean had gone down to a store and carried it back. 6:30 supper of soup, lamb stroganoff, jello and white wine. Filled my water bottle with boiling water for the sleeping bag. Stars are really bright and close and beyond number. To bed at 9:00.

October 12, 1999 - Tuesday - Hike Phuyupatamarca to Machu Picchu

Got up at 5:00 and hiked up a small peak to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately it was not totally clear so it wasn't as spectacular as it could have been. When it is clear the snow capped mountains on 3 sides turn to gold. Tom, John and I hiked up another higher peak with an Inca ruin on top that is still covered with vegetation. It had a large rock temple carved in the shape of Salcantay which was visible directly behind it. Packed up and went to breakfast outside since it had cleared off and we had a warm sun. 7:30 breakfast of hot chocolate, corn pancakes with corn syrup and cinneman sticks, bread with butter and berry jam. Great stuff. The porters were paid $5 each per day plus a $4 tip per day while we ate. Our clothes bundles were distributed by lottery to the 20 porters who wore their native dress. We hiked down the mountain at 8:30 past Inca ruins which are everywhere on the mountains. We descended 3000 steps, some carved into solid rock and through another tunnel into another mist forest. We visited some high Inca ruins and then descended to Winaywayna (Forever young) ruins with it 16 baths and fountains. We had lunch in a nearby restaurant of tuna pasta salad, onion, cheese and carrot sandwich and coca tea. Said goodbye to Herman and Esaibio. Hiked on down to the Gate of the Sun where we could see Machu Picchu below. What a fantastic site! Hiked down through the ruins to the Hotel Turistas room 17 at 3:15 after 7.2 miles and descending 3900'. First shower in eight days and shaved. 5:00 went to the bar for 3 Cusquena cervezas at S/.7 each with Mike, Dick and John. 7:00 supper of soup, trout (like salmon), vegetables, potato, flan and a Cusquena cerveza for S/.7. Went to bed at 9:00.

October 13, 1999 - Wednesday - Machu Picchu, Train to Ollantaytambo, Bus to Cuzco

Got up at 5:30 for 6:00 breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, mellons and orange juice. Holger arrived by bus from Agua Caliente and we walked through Machu Picchu ruins. Les, Tom and I walked up Huaynap Picchu in 42 minutes and down in 38 minutes. It was very steep with steps and small switchbacks all the way. There was a tunnel near the top and we had to scramble under large boulders on the top. The views were outstanding. We then hiked to the Inca bridge and back. 12:00 lunch of salad , soup, beef, vegetables, potatoes and fruit salad. Bused down a dirt switchbacked road with 14 levels in it in the rain to Agua Caliente where we walked around. 3:00 train of 6 cars that was painted a bright attractive yellow and orange with us in car E seat 36. The train is owned by Orient Express as was our hotel last night. We had service like an airplane and I had a Cusquena cerveza for S/.5.50. We traveled along the river which was quite spectacular with all whitewater to Ollantaytambo. Bused through Urubambo and Chinchero to Cuzco arriving at the El Dorado Inn room 224 at 6:30. Showered. Les and I walked to the plaza at the Meson de Espaderos for dinner of 2 Cusquenas, garlic bread, salad bar, steak, sausage and potatoes for S/.55. Very good. Sent Email messages. Packed up and went to bed at 11:00.

October 14, 1999 - Thrusday - Fly to Lima and Fly to Miami

Got up at 4:53. Shaved and cleaned up. Took baggage down at 6:00 to be taken to the airport. Went to breakfast of juice, mellons, eggs, potatoes and bread. Walked to the square but nothing is open. There are police and soldiers everywhere because there is a national bus and taxi strike protesting an increase in the price of gas. In Lima gas is S/.6.50 per litre. At 9:00 we walked from the hotel to the airport arriving at about 10:15 a distance of about 4 miles. Saw a bus with a soldier on it and a truck loaded with soldiers with rifles following the bus for protection. Boarded Aero Continente flight #1148 seat 7E on a Boeing 727/100 and took off at 10:50 arriving in Lima at 12:10. Frankie picked us up with a bus and we passed the old and new Japanese Embassies to La Caravana for lunch of chicken sandwich and Cristal cerveza for $5 including tip. Went to the National Museum where we saw the development of Peru's culture over eight thousand years. Went to a market where I bought Kelsey 2 flutes for a dollar. Went to the Rosa Nautica for dinner of mushrooms, hot bread, Pisco sour, trout, broccoli, carrots, potato, vanilla ice cream caramel crepe and white wine. The restaurant is huge Victorian style on pilings over the water lit with spot lights. The ambiance and food were superb. Bused to the airport for American Airlines flight 918 seat 15D scheduled to leave at 11:10. Lima has 7 million people and 1.4 million vendors. 93% of Peru are Catholic. The average salary is $200 per month.

October 15, 1999 - Friday - Fly Miami to Atlanta to Baltimore

Landed in Miami about 6:40. Heavy rain with a hurricane approaching cancelling most flights. We missed our connecting flight to New York. Fortunately we caught a Delta flight to Atlanta. They had over 50 standbys and John, Les and I were the last 3 to get on the plane. At 1:55 we flew Delta 448 to Baltimore arriving at 3:39 and I was very glad to see it. Anne picked me up but my luggage didn't make it. Went to the Last Chance for a wurst platter and Caffreys Ale (Ireland) for $23.01. Luggage was delivered at 8:30. This was probably the best all around and most enjoyable trip I have taken.