**Near-Live Blog of Zaandam Inca and South America Cruise 24 Sep - 3 Nov 2018**

[0bnxshs]

24 minutes ago, 1of4 said:

 

Don’t rush on my account.  I can catch-up read!  I will savour it either way.  The snow may be here when you visit.  Safe to say it won’t be warm!

 

ian is threatening to dump his sister just to be a miserable little brother.🙄  then he said he would beaver tail her (slap the water with his paddle).  He is just in a pest phase.  He wouldn’t dare do any of it.  Why?  He won’t want to get wet either!!

 

keep enjoying.

 

I've never managed to stay dry when in a canoe.  Yes, I suppose little brothers can be a terror at times.

[0bnxshs]

 

Day 19 (10/11)

 

Sea Day

 

Yep, I've got a case of cruise crud.  Or in this case, Amy's Cold.  She'll know.  Achy sinuses dripping in the back of my throat, a swollen and sore soft palate and the beginnings of a barking cough.  Sometimes it'll feel like I'm swallowing razor blades.  An overall feeling of malaise and wishing the ship would stop moving around so much (whether or not it really is...)

 

This is our day before our Machu Picchu trip and we need to prep for it today.  It's an early morning tomorrow and we don't want to wait until the last minute.  The thought gives start to that feeling of anticipation and excitement I always get before a great adventure starts.  And some anxiousness.  What if there's nothing I like to eat (that could be a lot of stuff)?  What if I get the middle seat on the airplane?  What if I have to use the restroom and I have no small money?  What if I get altitude sickness or just can't climb all those stairs at Machu Picchu?  Those sorts of concerns.  But I put them aside and try to start organizing my subset of stuff that I want to bring with me.

 

We were notified that the ship's radar had detected an anomalous contact heading towards us and that at its present rate and heading should be at the same place we will be at by 10 AM.  Sure enough, Neptune, King of the Sea, had arrived with his court to pass judgement on all the "pollywogs" and "tadpoles" in Zaandam's crew to determine their fitness to become "Shellbacks".  The ship's senior officers were sworn as the "jury" and Cruise Director Bruce was appointed the "prosecutor", the jail was filled with the "wogs" and the fun commenced on the Seaview pool deck with a full gallery of passengers in attendance.  I won't give away any more of the ceremony, but if you should become a "Shellback" on a cruise do go see the festivities.  They are a hoot!  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-crossing_ceremony

 

I'm feeling like crap this afternoon and medicating myself as much as safely practicable, not that I figure it will do much good by tomorrow and our trip.  We both finish packing except for the few things we'll need overnight and in the morning, enjoy a light dinner of salads and desert in the Lido Market, say our goodbyes to our friends there.  Looking out the windows on the Lido, we notice a thick fog has developed that obscures the horizon to the point of not being able to distinguish sea from sky and that the ocean is disturbed and uneasy.  It's early, but off to bed we go and, oddly, I fall into an easy sleep, probably thanks to the nighttime medication I've taken.

 

Just some nice photos:

 

There still are a few of the old cones along with the new WAPs (this in the Lido):

 

That water scale thing again..... 

 

Edited October 18, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[wrahn2002]

13 minutes ago, 0bnxshs said:

 

Day 19 (10/11)

 

Sea Day

 

Yep, I've got a case of cruise crud.  Or in this case, Amy's Cold.  She'll know.  Achy sinuses dripping in the back of my throat, a swollen and sore soft palate and the beginnings of a barking cough.  Sometimes it'll feel like I'm swallowing razor blades.  An overall feeling of malaise and wishing the ship would stop moving around so much (whether or not it really is...)

 

This is our day before our Machu Picchu trip and we need to prep for it today.  It's an early morning tomorrow and we don't want to wait until the last minute.  The thought gives start to that feeling of anticipation and excitement I always get before a great adventure starts.  And some anxiousness.  What if there's nothing I like to eat (that could be a lot of stuff)?  What if I get the middle seat on the airplane?  What if I have to use the restroom and I have no small money?  What if I get altitude sickness or just can't climb all those stairs at Machu Picchu?  Those sorts of concerns.  But I put them aside and try to start organizing my subset of stuff that I want to bring with me.

 

We were notified that the ship's radar had detected an anomalous contact heading towards us and that at its present rate and heading should be at the same place we will be at by 10 AM.  Sure enough, Neptune, King of the Sea, had arrived with his court to pass judgement on all the "pollywogs" and "tadpoles" in Zaandam's crew to determine their fitness to become "Shellbacks".  The ship's senior officers were sworn as the "jury" and Cruise Director Bruce was appointed the "prosecutor", the jail was filled with the "wogs" and the fun commenced on the Seaview pool deck with a full gallery of passengers in attendance.  I won't give away any more of the ceremony, but if you should become a "Shellback" on a cruise do go see the festivities.  They are a hoot!  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-crossing_ceremony

 

I'm feeling like crap this afternoon and medicating myself as much as safely practicable, not that I figure it will do much good by tomorrow and our trip.  We both finish packing except for the few things we'll need overnight and in the morning, enjoy a light dinner of salads and desert in the Lido Market, say our goodbyes to our friends there.  Looking out the windows on the Lido, we notice a thick fog has developed that obscures the horizon to the point of not being able to distinguish sea from sky and that the ocean is disturbed and uneasy.  It's early, but off to bed we go and, oddly, I fall into an easy sleep, probably thanks to the nighttime medication I've taken.

 

Just some nice photos:

 

There still are a few of the old cones along with the new WAPs (this in the Lido):

 

That water scale thing again..... 

 

 

[wrahn2002]

Rich,

 

Peggy and I hope the "crud" doesn't mess up your trip tomorrow. We finally started to get your blog back so we could enjoy Roger's and your adventure along with the photos.

 

Be safe,

Wes

[Vict0riann]

I think maybe the cruise crud is embedded in Zaandam - I got it in September and had such a sore throat I went to the doctor - he took a strep test...

 

Hope you are over it by now.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Vict0riann

[erewhon]

Hope the cruise crud cleared away for your to enjoy the excursion to Machu Picchu.

[JimnKaren]

We have cruised with Jim McF before and always enjoyed his knowledge and his ability to easily share what he knows. Interestingly, he is from Canada, his breadth of knowledge is amazing.

Jim

[DeeniEncinitas]

Ours lingered with that crappy cough, but we did well took drugs and had a wonderful time, you will love it and the steps were easy. The view was breathtaking.

so enjoy

Denise😊

[dfish]

Well, I have cruise crud and I'm sitting at home.   I sympathize.   Excellent posts.  Thanks for taking us along on your trip.

[Mtn2Sea]

Oh, I so hope you get to feeling better.  I was on the Zaandam in January for a South America/Antarctica cruise.  People were coughing all around us and sure enough the cruise crud caught up with me.  Fortunately I was able to bounce back fairly fast and only had one really bad day (& that was a sea day).  Looking forward to your Machu Picchu report.  We’re scheduled to be on this excursion in a couple of months, so I’m anxious to hear all the details you can give.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I always seem to get the cough by day 18 of a cruise -- doctor always gives me prescriptions to take with me.

 

Hope you are feeling better.

[0bnxshs]

Day 20 (10/12)

 

"We shoulda gone to the Galapagos...."

 

Around 2:30 AM (it turned out) I am awakened by the strange sensation of standing on my head followed immediately by rotating back to standing on my feet.  Back and forth, slowly but definitely not in a dream.  This is real!  I become aware of things sliding around in the room, not sure which things as it's still very dark.  A couple of loud "bangs" from somewhere and more rolling and pitching.  Soon, the ascending "doo-doo-doo" chime of an announcement and the staff captain, as softly as he can over the ship's speakers, apologizes for the extreme rolling but is trying to maneuver the ship into the channel to make port here in Salaverry, Peru, necessitating the bizarre movement of the ship because the stabilizers can't be used, etc.  I think "oh-oh" but try to put negative thoughts from my mind to return to sleep.

 

The motion eases some and then returns, I think. Under the influence of the sleep aid in the meds I'm taking, I'm not too sure of that or time.  Some few minutes later though, Captain Friso is live and in-person on the speakers in our cabins confirming our worst fears.  The swell heading into the the channel for the port is so great that we will be unable to make our scheduled call here at Salaverry.  There is further explanation about the clearance under the keel to the floor of the channel being very little and winds and weather but I really don't hear them as I am slowly realizing this means our trip to Machu Picchu is lost.  For a selfish moment I am almost happy as I still feel lousy but that quickly turns to disappointment.  Roger and I talk briefly as we realize we aren't going on our trip after all and that we really would rather not founder the ship someplace risking lives just to go on our tour, all in an attempt to assuage our loss and convince ourselves it really is a better decision (and it really is.)  Captain Friso further comforts everyone by announcing that all HAL EXC excursions would be completely refunded.  Both Roger and I know that this decision was not easily taken but is the right thing to do and we don't engage in second-guessing at all.  Then the thought occurs to me: "We shoulda gone to the Galapagos...."

 

I'm able to go back to sleep finally and we sleep in a bit to make up its loss earlier.  Morning finds us still quietly disappointed and trying to look beyond our lost trip to the rest of the voyage.  I find my watch in the bottom of a cup by my bed but don't remember placing it there.  We hear at breakfast that much china and most of the baked goods were sacrificed in the attempts to achieve our port call.  We take time to unpack the items we had carefully packed and put the luggage back in its place under our beds.  All is again as it was before.  I'm still suffering my cruise crud but managing.  Fortunately Roger hasn't picked it up yet.  We head to lunch in the Lido and encounter crowds but find things and places to eat.  An addendum to the schedule has appeared with the usual activities of a sea day but nothing grabs our attention.  A letter is delivered to our cabins that goes into great detail about the spiraling crime rate in Callao and surrounding areas of Lima and measures on how to stay safe from it.  Instead of texting from the mountains of Peru our family members and friends back home a "Bon Voyage" for their weekend cruise out of Port Canaveral, we console ourselves by sending emails to them from the ship and hope they get our messages before boarding.

 

We are pretty much over Machu Picchu, having resigned ourselves to not going when, "doo-doo-doo", CD Bruce interrupts the early afternoon with an announcement that a special meeting of those passengers who had HAL EXC overland tours to Machu Picchu scheduled until early this morning is to be held in the Crows Nest at 3 PM.  Roger and I exchange looks of "now what?" with each other and begin speculating on the same.  Perhaps they've figured out a way to go to Machu Picchu after all.  At this point, we have built our anticipation to a near fever pitch only to be disappointed and now wonder if we have the energy left to be enthusiastic about something else, but of course, no harm in going to the meeting and hearing them out.
      
3 PM finds the Crows Nest filling with curious fellow travelers wondering what's in store.  The EXC Tours department has managed to re-arrange our trip to Machu Picchu!  It's all got to be crammed into 2 days instead of the original 3 days but it's still do-able and cheaper.  Instead of a 4 AM wakeup, we'll be up at 3 AM, breakfast delivered by 3:45 AM, to the Mainstage on deck 4 at 4 AM, off the ship at 4:30 AM, a quick bus ride to the airport to fly to Cusco, then on a bus to Ollantaytambo to catch the Inca Rail train and bag lunch awaiting us on the first class car that will take us to Aguas Calientes, then another bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu for roughly 3 hours of guided touring, then on a bus back down to dinner at a local restaurant in Aguas Calientes, re-boarding the train back to Ollantaytambo where we'll re-board our bus back to Cusco, arriving at our hotel, a Hilton Garden Inn, at 10 PM.  Sunday's itinerary is unchanged from the original trip.  Whew!  All for $600 less than the original cost.

 

Question time.  One couple only wanted to know if they'd get all their money back if they didn't go and were assured they would.  At that, they cursed HAL in that vaguely loud, passive-aggressive way people will use and left.  Most of the rest of us applauded the EXC team when one passenger thanked them on all our behalf for the extraordinary effort that must have gone into reconstructing the tour in only a few hours time.  For Roger and myself, our only question was for each other; "Do we go?"  We both quickly agreed we would, placed our breakfast orders and headed off to pack up again.

 

We've all heard that a trip is not always about the destination but the journey that takes us there.  "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."  Ralph Waldo Emerson knew that we must be open to seeing what is really inside ourselves to be able to see it around us.  We wanted to see what we had for months only imagined would be beyond imagination.  Flexibility must be the first thing a traveler packs.  Our group, both Gold tour and Silver, numbered just under 40 of the original 60 and we were back on!

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[62countries]

I was just in Peru last month. Machu Picchu is amazing. My Fitbit said I climbed 150 flights of stairs in one day. There is a single rooped off path which you follow, so you won't get lost. Bathrooms are only at the entrance and aren't free. No food allowed inside either. 

[TiogaCruiser]

Yah! You get to go to Machu Pichu!

[kazu]

Sorry to hear about the cruise crud, Rich.

 

That is never fun at all. 😞

 

How nice that you were able to see Vince and help him with his oven.  Sounds like a very enjoyable day.

 

I am SO glad that the EXEC team has restructured Macchu Pichu and you are going to be able to go!  What an experience.

I hope you get a good night's sleep.  That's a very early time to get up!

[DeeniEncinitas]

WOW!! I’m so glad they were able to help put you back on board with your trip!! 

Cutting it down to 2 days instead of 3 is doable. Your adventure awaits!!!

get better and enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Denise😊

[1of4]

Okay...I have the family packed.  I stopped to take a break and voilà you have me riding a roller coaster!  I was so disappointed for you both now excited!  I can’t wait to hear and see.  I just hope the crud didn’t affect your experience too much.

 

I’ll find out Sunday night!

[0bnxshs]

Day 21/22 (10/13 - 10/14)

 

"Holy Cow!  It's Just Like The Pictures!"

 

I started the day just a tad early, getting up and stepping into the shower a little before 3 AM so I could try and rinse the fog of sleep from my mind and the nagging cold from my body.  I managed the former well enough but the latter wasn't to be.  I was out and dry within 10 minutes and, figuring I had a moment or two to spare, laid back down in the dark cabin as breakfast was scheduled for 3:30 AM.  Someone has to be first though and it turned out to be us as breakfast startled us awake at 3:15 AM, sans 2 plain bagels.  They arrived only a few minutes later though with much apologies.  We ate and dressed quickly, trying to make sure we had everything we needed and most of what we wanted.  How much could we possibly want for an overnight?

 

We got to Mainstage on deck 4 just before 4 AM and handed over our carry on bags to bleary-eyed crewmembers who were only concerned with what group we were with so as to label them correctly.  Gold or Silver.  2 different flights, so it did matter.  I was somewhat surprised to see HD Francois Birarda among the officers up and ensuring our on-time departure with well wishes from all of them.  We sat and waited with the rest of our larger, Silver tour group.  We were 26 + 1 HAL representative.  We had the good fortune of the company of the GRM (Guest Relations Manager), Andreea Rus.  The smaller, Gold tour group (of I think 12) were accompanied by EXC Guide representative Maria......????  a very nice young lady but who has been to Machu Picchu on her own only recently.  name I haven't gotten yet.  We in the Silver group waited a short while after the Gold group departed for an earlier flight to collect our passports after they had been thoroughly inspected and approved by the Peruvian authorities.  Andreea was a bit anxious that none of us had thought to bring our passport receipts to exchange for our passports.  Those were not on the list of items to remember for our trip though and, as we turned out to be all very compliant tourists, we hadn't thought for ourselves.

 

We walked out into the dark morning from the bowels of the ship and I feel rather like one of the Mercury or Apollo astronauts when they were shown on TV walking out of a building, all suited up and carrying their atmosphere with them, to a waiting RV as they waved and smiled at those allowed to be in attendance.  We were greeted by HD Francois again and wished many farewells from the crew who graciously had arisen to assist our departure, also elliciting smiles, nods and waves from all of us.  Soon we were all aboard our large and comfortable bus (my knees even fit!) and rolling through the rows of stacked containers at the port on our way to the airship that would transport us to a world of imagination and adventure.  Oh, to be an astronaut!

 

As it was still before "Oh-dark-thirty" in the morning and Saturday, the streets were strangely empty of cars, people and dogs.  I'd been to this port before, but it had been during the day and had been very busy with traffic of the 2 and 4 legged variety and lots of cars, trucks and buses. Oddly few motorcycles or powered bikes.  Agua sin gas (flat water) is passed out to all of us and we were admonished to stay hydrated and ask for more as needed.  We had a brief tour and introduction to Peru by our guide Jenny, a young and energetic local who was to accompany us the whole way forth and back again.  She knew her business and was very informative and helped to shepherd all 27 of us throughout our arduous journey.

 

Quickly enough we were at the airport.  As all airports are, this one was packed to the gills inside at the check-in counters.  We were flying on LATAM flight 2055 from Lima to Cusco, departing at 6:30 AM from an ever-changing gate.  And we didn't have seat assignments yet, necessitating the need to stand in line and shuffle our way to the counter to check-in.  It was about 5:30 AM when Jenny decided to break our group into 2 and send one portion to a line that seemed shorter than the suddenly shorter line we were in.  I approached the counter with my passport open and a smile on my face which must have said: "Stick me in the middle seat!" as I was assigned seat 23B almost at the rear of the only cabin of the Airbus A320-200, further back than anyone in our group I believe.

 

We approach Security with some trepidation as we were told that the water we'd been given in the bus was acceptable here as we were on a domestic flight.  Of course, most of us have been trained otherwise and Jenny just chuckles at our consternation.  There is a mass of humanity being processed here and, as seems the case everywhere, not enough open x-ray and metal detecting equipment to keep up.  As we approach our decision point in line, I let Roger choose which machines to be processed by and I follow him, ensuring what appears to be a quickly moving line now becomes bogged down.  Sure enough, as we watch carefully to see what others are removing from their persons and possessions, someone who has evidently never done this before stops the line, extracting 1 thing at a time from his pockets and trying again to pass through the now angry metal detector that glows even redder each time he passes.  Finally they decide he needs to be processed separately and the bottleneck in the line is free again for the rest of us and we, or at least I, limbo through the now relieved metal detector and collect our thinks again, water included.

 

Our flight was already boarding when we found the proper gate, the first one that had been listed on the boards when it did get listed.  We quickly filed into the line and walked down the jetway after scanning our boarding cards.  Long ago when I was a traveling consultant I had developed the habit of gently patting the aircraft's skin at the door with my hand as I would a pet's head when I passed inside, silently asking it to safely get us (me especially) to our destination.  This ellicited a reaction from the flight attendants though, who quickly stopped me and looked where I had touched.  After determining I hadn't done any harm, they welcomed me aboard and pointed to the far regions of the cabin where, thankfully, there was enough room for my small rolling bag.  I was to have the pleasure of my personal item, though, at my feet and 2 gentlemen on either side of me for the roughly hour long flight to Cusco.  We left the gate a bit late and were pushed backwards by the groundcrew almost to the active runway, where we sat for several minutes for no obvious reason with none forthcoming from the crew.  Must be fairly routine here.

 

Soon we were in the air and on our way to Cusco!  I was relieved to find that the aircraft was pressurized as we had all been warned in our roll call here on Cruise Critic that Peru was a poor, 3d world country and didn't have all the amenities that we enjoy at home.  We were welcomed aboard by the lead attendant in both Spanish and English and told of the snacks and drinks that were for sale and would soon be visiting the isle near us.  I got the impression that only water, coffee and tea were free and the rest for fee.  I had my own water still and had provisions with me (protein bars out of fear of finding nothing suitable to my palate) so didn't need anything.  Although my knees protested at their confinement to the back of the row in front of them, the flight was uneventful throughout and one would never have known they were flying through the airspace of Peru rather than someplace back home for the experience.

 

We left 45 minutes late but gained back about 15 minutes in the air and we landed in Cusco about 8:30 AM.  Being the last of our group off the airplane and requiring the use of the (free) facilities, by the time I was done there everyone but Roger had moved on.  Not far though, basically around a couple of corners and that spilled into the very small luggage claim area.  We are met by our additional tour guides and herded outside to 3 identical Mercedes vans waiting for us with drivers and more water.  We split ourselves into groups of 9 and board as it's explained to us that 1 big bus will not do for the narrow, winding roads to come after surrendering our luggage that is unnecessary for the day to a 4th van that is taking it to our hotel.  We are to carry only what we need for the day: water, sunscreen, bug spray, rain gear, hats, sunglasses, cameras.  Our particular guide is Katherine, or Kathy, and once we are all settled in and the other 2 vans depart, we follow along and she begins 2 days of talking that I'm surprised does not leave her hoarse.  She is friendly and cheerful throughout the trip and knows her business and Peru and tells us far more than I was able to record or process.

 

We reach altitudes of around 12500 feet (3800 meters) as we drive out of Cusco.  The living conditions of the people in the hills around the city are rather distressing but are part of the recent story of Peru but we are soon away from there and into the countryside where there are farms of varieties of vegetables, fruits and roots, many of which originated here and are now found growing around the world.  We stop briefly (as we are running a bit late still) at an overlook of the Sacred Valley, at the bottom of which is Ollantaytambo and the Urubamba River, a beautiful region of high peaks and a deep valley where glaciers once flowed.  It is 1 Peruvian peso to use th toilet here and Roger has none so I provide his means of relief to him and he keeps enough change for the next time.  There is a small group of llamas here with women dressed in traditional costume and I gratefully pay them a dollar to take their pictures and pet one of the llamas on the head.  The first one I tried to pet reared his head and appeared to be gathering a big goober for me so I back off quickly from him.

 

We continue on, after I make a dork of myself tripping getting back into the van and scrapping my leg in the process.  I'm more embarassed than hurt, of course, but I use the small bottle of hand sanitizer on it to try and clean it.  Funny thing about the roads here on the way to Machu Picchu: they are stealthily murderous on the back and kidneys!  They don't look too bad but after 2 hours of them at speeds that vary from a few MPH to up to 60 MPH, you know it.  Peru seems to like to put enormous speed bumps along the roads in random spots and we encounter them with more frequency in the villages and towns we pass through than in the open country.  These are not your ordinary speed bumps but are designed to bring a vehicle to a near stop, perferably voluntarily but with great force if made necessary, and must be approached with great caution, still jostling everyone inside.

 

We arrive at the Inca Rail train station in Ollantaytambo late and quick march past all the stalls of the craft markets, being warned not to take time to shop for more than rain gear if needed.  Our train tickets in hand, having been given to in the vans just before arriving, we carefully grip our passports with them, as we are told we need them in order to board the first class car of our train.  Sure enough, we are greeted by our conductor who examines both our passports and tickets carefully and speaks everyone's name while doing so.  We board the car, a nicely comfortable carriage with large leather seats that face each other over a table in groups of 2 each on one side and 4 on the other side of the aisle.  We find our assigned seats and plop down with a satisfied "ahhhhh" as they feel so much better than the seats on the van.  The car is not full as we pull away from the station to our destination, Aguas Calientes, and hour and 45 minutes further on.

 

We pass by some of the most beautiful scenery and wild looking country as we follow the Urubamba River on the train.  Lunch is handed out to us enclosed in brown paper bags and we hungrily open them to see what's there.  It's been a few feedings since we last ate.  The bags contain 2 sandwiches of cheese and meat, the bread of both sandwiches different types (white and brown) and without crust, an apple, a bottle of water, an energy bar and a block of appears to be compressed bird food wrapped in plastic.  I have fed birds and squirrels with these things but never thought to try one myself.  Anyhow, we dig in and find the food filling and good (even though I tease Roger about the meat in the sandwiches being made of quwi (Quechua for guinea pig)) but he laughs and eats heartily.  I do the same and think it's chicken.  I do pass on the bird food block but Roger is hungry enough take mine while eating his.  We still have no idea what it was.  Later, our conductor brings snacks and drinks to all of us and we choose the Inca tea made from coca leaves, eucalyptus and something else.  I find it ok but nothing to write home about.  Roger has no idea he's had Inca tea as I find out later.

 

Finally we arrive in Aguas Calientes.  The train ride was ok but the track has seen better days as we rocked back and forth a good part of the way as the car tried and failed to find equilibrium.  I found the ride a bit worse than the van ride to the train but Roger didn't mind it as much.  We quickly headed off in the direction of the sign being held aloft for us as we passed through the station and to the (free) banos and gathered near there afterwards.  We were handed tickets for the bus ride up the side of the mountain and told to keep our passports handy as they needed to be checked again to board.  And warned not to lose the ticket as that was the only way down the mountain except to walk was the bus.  We boarded the bus and off we went, crossing the river and almost immediately begining the ascent to Machu Picchu.  We must have turned around 8 or 9 dog-leg turns to climb the mountain, catching glimpses of the receding town and river below us off the side of the road and the stairway that could be taken.  We talk of how those among us who easily get motion-sick might have trouble with this ride, assuming they hadn't already on the bus and train.  The bus is $24 for a round trip; the best money ever spent and a far better value than the shuttle in Manta.

 

We are here!  Our excitement mounts and everyone has caught their second wind for knowing we have arrived.  It is chilly but refreshing in the overcast where it felt like I could reach out and touch the clouds about us.  The air is a bit damp and feels good to my skin.  There is a nice looking hotel and restaurant at this point but we have no time for reconnoitering.  Another and last restroom break, this one 2 pesos or 1 US dollar with change in pesos.  There are no restrooms in Machu Picchu and I have no idea what the Incans did for such necessities.  Dogs of different colors lay all around, completely oblivious to all but the most persistent of us who are determined to get their attention.  Like cats, they are.

 

We are handed another ticket and told to have our passports handy in order to enter.  I don't know what's with Peru and passports, but they are inspected again as the tickets are this time gathered from us as we squeeze through the turnstile next to the armed guard and playful pups protecting the entrance.  This is about the last time we'll get to walk on level ground for the next couple of hours and our group of 9 gathers around Kathy for an explanation of the layout and process on the other side.  There's 1 route through the ruins that's taken by most everyone here; hold on to the handrails or rock walls wherever possible, side step up or down the larger stairs, watch for slippery footing and uneven stair (rock) steps and, for heavens sake, don't fall down the mountain!  This last warning really means something as looking over the edge at many stops reveals just how far down it is over the steep cliffs that could easily provoke vertigo if one is inclined to it.

 

WOW!!  11 hours of not really grueling travel in cramped airplane seats, bumpy, see-saw roads and swaying train tracks has brought us back in time to the great Incan empire of a time before Europeans had arrived in the new world and it truly is a sight to behold!  All the questions and doubts about whether this trip is worth it are scattered to the sides of the mountains surrounding us as they embrace our arrival and presence.  There is a sense of awe and wonder that fills me (as I write this too) and I find my eyes watering just a bit from the emotion.  "How cow!  It's just like the pictures!"

 

Dauntingly, the steps upward beckon us to tread where so many over the ages have walked before.  Looking about we see steep stairways that go up and up and up.  Honestly though, I wasn't discouraged by the obvious effort it was going to take to see all there was to see, a feeling that does plague me sometimes.  I wanted to be here and do this!  Before us lay Machu Picchu in all its splendor and charm.

 

We walk and climb and learn and marvel at the skill and effort it must have taken to build this place in the heavens.  Around us mountains stare down at us in stony-faced silence.  The air here is clean and pure and light and we huff and puff at it to glean all the "O" we can from it as we exert ourselves on the site.  Between the altitude and the "dock rock" I still am feeling from the ship, I teeter about from time to time but manage to keep my feet beneath me the whole way.  Time seems to stand still for us as we slowly walk and stop to listen to Kathy tell us the stories of why Machu Picchu exists both from the historians viewpoint and her own peoples' ideas.  They differ significantly but honestly, I feel better about the latter which is filled with mixture of reverence and worship of points and places that seem to line up to the buildings and artifacts around us.

 

We hear of the Temple of the Sun, the four mountains representing the cardinal points of the compass, the Central Plaza in the middle of the city where only llamas are allowed to wander now (and the groundskeepers who trim the grass here with weed wackers), the Temple of the Condor, the Temple of the Three Windows and how, at winter soltice a sacred symbol is shadow-cast on the floor of the temple, the Hitching Post of the Sun, or Intiwatana, which also layed out the cardinal points of the sun, carved at a 13 degree angle so as not to cast a shadow on the equinoxes, it also predicts the seasons for planting and harvesting.  It alone remains the only such implement of its kind not destroyed by Spanish Conquistadors, who never found this place.  The climb to this place was rather precarious for many of us, without much to support our upper bodies again with hands or shoulders but is a beautiful place to view.

 

The Inca Trail has way station here.  From Ollantaytambo, it is a 4 day hike along the Urubamba River to make it here and it can be seen stretching along the sides of the Old Mountain itself, Machu Picchu, at it winds it way down.  All too soon, we are at an end.  Stopping for a few minutes at the entrance for restroom breaks and coveted "Machu Picchu" passport stamps allows exhaustion from the experience and long day to begin to creep into our bodies and thoughts, along with the start of a few aches and pains in body parts we'd not used so thoroughly as this lately.                    

The exhaustion comes with a sense of accomplishment.  A slight smile creeps over my lips as I look back.  No "Been There, Done That" teeshirt will hold a candle to this experience.  This place now has a home inside me, in my thoughts and dreams.  I feel satisfied and happy that Roger and I both managed this feat.  We've been to Machu Picchu!

 

We ride down the side of the mountain in the same manner as we came up; first one direction, then the opposite direction until we cross the river and stop very near the same place we started a few hours earlier.  We gather together and head up hill again, our legs and backs aching as we have to push ourselves back up to dinner at a nice restaurant, the same one that provided our bag lunches.  I'm pretty much done taking videos and photos at this point and just want to sit down and have a nice meal.  The restaurant is called "Ayasqa" and it is part of a hotel here along the way.  They are waiting for us inside and have prepared a very nice buffet, drinks included.  We drop down in to our seats and order our drinks, then make our way to the buffet table where a feast awaits us.  I fill a plate with mostly simple things that I know won't make me wish later I hadn't eaten them but am able to find plenty of things I like.  Roger has about twice the amount of food as I do but manages to down it all as I finish mine with the good company of one of our travel mates.  I decide to drink water rather than beer but Roger must have a beer.  I think he regrets the decision as he says he's had better.  The food goes down easily though and soon enough, we are finished devouring our meals.

 

Kathy offers to take those of us who wish to shop or walk around the markets there and shows us where to wait when we are done and what time we need to be there to board our ride back to Ollantaytambo on the train.  Roger and I and others look around for something but are weary now as it's close to 7 PM and just find a place to sit and wait for everyone else.  We board our first class car, passports and tickets in hand, find our seats and settle in.  We leave precisely at 7 PM and are soon rocking to and fro to Ollantaytambo.  Once again, a quick snack and drinks are offered.  I opt for coffee but Roger decides he'll have the Inca tea with coca leaves he's never had before as he thinks he's never had it.  The trains are rather noisy and he has some hearing loss; more than he realizes goes into one or both ears but not any further.

 

The ride is a bit longer back as we have to stop and allow 2 or 3 trains to pass by while we wait on a siding.  Some talk quietly along the way but most nap.  Roger does but isn't aware of it and he swears he can't sleep on airplanes and rides although his snoring would say otherwise.  I sit and watch the darkness pass on by on a virtual revolving scene and think about the day, probably nodding off once in a while until some perceived change in speed or direction catches my attention. It's quite dark as we arrive, gather our belongings and walk the short but very busy path to our waiting vans that are to take us back to Cusco.

 

Bounce, bounce, bounce goes the van as we spend the next couple of hours returning to Cucso.  It's mostly quiet except for the rythmic rattles of the van over the roadway and I marvel that anyone can build a vehicle that withstands the daily beating this one gets moving over these roads.  There's a headlight on it that winks on and off at odd intervals after hitting just the right potholes, flashing annoyingly into the rear view mirrors of the cars and vans just in front of us.  Again, naps all around taken until we enter the city of Cusco and are awakened by Kathy's gentle insistence.  We arrive at our hotel, a very nice Hilton Garden Inn, at 11 PM, somewhere losing an hour on the trip back, most likely to the traffic on the dark roads.

 

Everything is prepared for us as we drag ourselves into the hotel and to the room where forms are laid out awaiting our signatures but not our passports.  We sign our lives away, take our keycards and find we must go.... down? ... to our rooms.  The elevator buttons are upside down looking; L for lobby is at the top of the line with buttons labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4 below it.  In our weariness we are confused by logic tells us to just push the button corresponding to our floors and get off and find our rooms.  We are in 415 and while Roger is certain the whole time we are there we need to go up to it but we actually go down to it; the hotel is built into the side of a hill and the lobby is at the very top; all the rooms are below.  Our luggage is waiting in the room for us.  Roger peels off his clothes, jumps in his pajamas, brushes his teeth and colapses into his bed, asleep before his head hits the pillow.  I shower so I can clean my leg and wash off the dust of the day, then drop into my bed.  I still am fighting with this damn cruise crud and struggle to sleep, oddly finding catching my breath difficult from the altitude off and on but manage finally to relax and drop off.  We have wake up calls at 5:30 AM, breakfast starts at 5 AM and we must be on the vans by 6:15 AM to get to the airport.

 

I am up just before 5 AM and, after using the restroom, find Roger up and getting ready for a shower.  I tell him I'm heading to breakfast and to meet me there.  I find the restaurant up on the 3d floor just about our room on the 4th floor and am impressed by the layout there.  More than just a continental breakfast, there are scrambled eggs and waffles and all sorts of freshly cut fruit and coffee and milk and cereal and most anything anyone could want for a meal.  I choose some bread, cheese, cold cuts and coffee and soon Roger joins me and has a bagel he makes into a sandwich with cold cuts and some fruit, and coffee.  We finish and return to our room and Roger finally realizes the place is really upside-down after a tour of the place believing I've walked up the stairs to go to the 4th floor.

 

In the lobby, we wait for all to gather and board our vans back to the airport.  The church across the street is making Sunday noises with bells and people.  We quickly drive to the airport and are given our boarding passes this time all checked in with no need to stand in at the counters.  I have an aisle seat this time, still in the back, but am pleased.  We pass through security easily and wait to find out our gate for the flight back to Lima.  All of us are tired and sore but are very contented with the knowledge we've been to Machu Picchu.  The Gold group has re-joined us here for the flight back and we spend the hour catching up with them and find they as satisfied as we are.  We are able to spread out on this early morning flight, a LATAM Airbus A320 like the last one (pressurized and all), as it's not so full as the flight here and Roger and I sit in the same row with a seat between us, allowing me the comfort of my knees this time.

 

After an on time flight we arrive in Lima and gather once more and find we have a choice: continue on our itinerary and do our Lima tour or return directly to the ship.  This time we opt to return to the ship.  I've been to Lima before and Roger doesn't care; he wants to get home.  We board separate buses and our passports are collected from us to be delivered to the Peruvian authorities for clearance from the country.  We arrive at the ship about 11 AM and are greeting like conquering heroes by the same smiling faces that wished us well so long ago just yesterday; HD Francois Birarda and a large company of crew, all happy and anxious to hear of our journey, just like you were.  Not quite the splashdown of the astronauts but we were sure happy to back to our home on the water.

 

"Holy cow!  It's just like in the pictures!" 

 

Video of our walk to the train at Ollantaytambo:

 

 

Bag lunch on the Inca Rail provided by our tour:

 

Eating "Bird Food" on the train for lunch:

 

 

Inca Tea:

 

In Aguas Calientes, our walk out of the train station and to the banos (BTW, the train car had a restroom in it):

 

I don't care for the software that comes with the GoPro for processing video but here is a joined set of videos of the ride up the mountain to Machu Picchu:

 

The airport in Cusco:

 

The Llamas and Women (the brown one in the middle wanted to spit at me):

 

The mountains surrounding Machu Picchu:

 

Just a few of the stairs we climbed this day, at the beginning of the tour.  The Urubamba River is far down below:

 

Our first view of Machu Picchu itself:

 

In panorama:

 

Yup, that's us there (I don't smile much....):

 

Central Plaza at top center:

 

At dead center is the Temple of the Three Windows and above that, at the highest point where there are structures, is the Intiwatana and the "Hitching Post of the Sun":

 

Various other photos:

 

Temple of the Sun center left:

 

It threatened rain for a short while:

 

Temple of the Three Windows:

 

Hitching Post of the Sun:

 

Terraces with llamas:

 

Temple of the Condor:

 

 

 

 

Is that a goober he's working on?:

 

It's just like the pictures!

Edited October 20, 2018 by 0bnxshs

[DeeniEncinitas]

OMG your write up and pictures are fantastic! Brings memories!

Breathtaking, Serenity,peacefulness, thank you😊😊

you and Roger did great! How did you do with the altitude? 

Cocao leaves were 👍 great. 

Hope your cold is better now too!

Take care

Denise😊

[0bnxshs]

13 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

OMG your write up and pictures are fantastic! Brings memories!

Breathtaking, Serenity,peacefulness, thank you😊😊

you and Roger did great! How did you do with the altitude? 

Cocao leaves were 👍 great. 

Hope your cold is better now too!

Take care

Denise😊

 

We both did pretty well with the altitude, no real problems.  Roger was taking acetazolamide but I wasn't.  Only time I was sure of the altitude affecting me was in Cusco above 11000 feet when I felt the need to take several deep breaths once in a while.  Otherwise, at Machu Picchu we were fine.

 

Thanks for the review.  I really wanted to capture the feelings in words and photos and hope I've done well.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Your writings are amazing! Very eloquent 

and even without those fantastic pictures Insaw myself there!

well done

Denise😊

[erewhon]

Thank you for your wonderful review and photos of your visit to Machu Picchu.

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks for providing so many details regarding your Machu Picchu excursion.  Loved watching the videos.  You looked like you did pretty well with such a strenuous trip considering you’ve been sick!

[roberts2005]

Thanks for sharing. Hope you have the next day to rest

[dfish]

Fantastic report of Machu Picchu.   Thank you for taking the time to do this.