Valentine Day at Sea

The previous few days have been so indescribably fantastic I am hard pressed to even attempt it. We left the ship early Tues morning for the airport in Salaverry, Peru. Flew to Lima then changed planes and flew to Cusco which I’m told has beautiful fiber, but alas this is not a fiber oriented trip. In Cusco we did tour the Cathedral which was partially destroyed by the 1950 earthquake. Our guide, Jose Carlos (not to be confused with another of our guides Jose) was very proud to point out that the portion of the structure built by the Incas was still in tact. He spent considerable time explaining the whys and wherefores of Inca construction which I hate to admit went right over my head. Sorry Dad. It seems that 13 degree slants are awfully important. Trapizodial was also of extreme importance. You can see by my inability to spell it that it hasn’t come up in my life much sense high school math class, but to Jose Carlos it was of supreme importance. There were many, many incredibly beautiful bejeweled alters. Simply breathtaking. The artwork was somewhat different as one showed Joseph, Jesus and Mary with child. Originally there was more than a little controversy over showing Mary with child, but here it was an attempt to blend the Inca religion with the Catholic. I know, Inca means king, but he had people over whom he ruled. Never did quite catch what the name of Jose Carlos’ ancestors was. He was not overly fond of the Spanish conquerors, but did give them a little credit once in a great time. Just don’t remember exactly what at this point. On these trips I keep wishing for a tape recorder so I won’t have to rely on my ever diminishing memory. The jewels, altars, paintings and flowers were awesome.

After leaving Cusco we traveled by small coaches to The Sacred Valley. Cusco was the highest elevation we visited and naturally valleys are just that valleys. So our route was along narrow, nay very narrow switchback dirt roads. It is rainy season here now and it had rained some on Tuesday. There were no guardrails. There were sharp turns and a narrow road thru breathtakingly beautiful scenery. At critical points they had inserted clay? bricks on the surface of the sharpest curves. Suffice it to say, my time down that mountainside was spent in conversation with God.

When we arrived in the valley at a working farm, we were treated to native dancers, a Paso Horse show, and a five course meal. Upon entering there were some ladies and a young girl spinning fiber, weaving and several of their finished items were for sale. It did not occur to me that these same ladies would be the dancers so I waited too long to explore their wares. Over 80% of the food we consumed was grown on this farm without pesticides, chemical alteration, etc. The menu was designed with the digestive system in mind. Haven’t a clue what was in most of the dishes. Loved some, some were alright, some not so good – to my taste. Once dinner and performances were over we once again loaded into our coaches and retraced those switchback curves. More prayers were in order as it was now extremely DARK as well as dangerous. Our drivers performed perfectly.

Our hotel was some distance from the farm, but also in The Sacred Valley. Top rate facility. Most appreciated by me was the bathtub! It was sorely (no pun intended) needed after Wednesdays activities of climbing ALL over Machu Picchu. According to my phone, I walked 3.7 mis in 9,650 steps and 32 flights climbed. The lower half of my body would swear that it was much more! Had no problem with altitude at all. I did take some of the pills, did NOT consume alcohol, did consume mucho water. It seems the Hiram Bingham train that we were to take up the mountain was privately purchased so we were transported by lovely observation dining cars instead. As we were traveling up the mountain along side the river with steep cliffs and extremely tall trees on either side, I was reminded of the first time we took the girls in to New York City. Candace was probably 3 and small for her age so the minute we arrived in Grand Central Station she held her head back as far as she could looking straight up. By the time we arrived back home she said her neck hurt. That’s kinda how I felt. Words are simply inadequate to describe the wonders of Machu Picchu. Breathtaking! Awesome! Humbling! Inspiring!

While the sites left me speechless, it did not have the same effect on Jose Carlos. You can forget everything you have ever read about the place. It was not the King’s summer place. There is no summer in Machu Picchu! Only rainy season and dry season. His theory is that it was a University offering learning by doing. That also explains some of the mistakes. (he failed to point out said mistakes) The Spaniards and their diseases coupled with the civil war between the Inca brothers were the cause of the demise of this site. Our on board lecturer cast some doubt on the idea that it was a monument to the sun god. Her basis for this is that she has been there many, many, many times and never seen the sun. In any case it is a true wonder of this world.

Jose Carlos further explained to us that his people did indeed have a written language and a calculator of sorts predating the Inca period. As it so happened, he had examples of said language and calculator. He then showed us the world’s first ledger page! This was used to send financial reports to the reigning Inca. Oh and yes, if anyone was interested he could arrange the purchase of either or both. The accountant in me simply could not pass it up. The next morning our coach took us a slightly different route than the other coaches thru the historical district of Cusco. At a certain corner, a woman passed a plain brown paper bag thru the window and Jose Carlos passed her my US$$. Looked for all the world like a drug buy to me. Everyone on the coach wanted to see it and have it explained to them as they were not paying attention to our informative guide. I will happily demonstrate upon my return.

There was so much to see and do that I just cannot capture the flavor of the trip in words. Took many beautiful shots but not half as many as I could have taken had I not been so awestruck. GOD does such beautiful work!

Told Tommy when I returned last evening that the experience was not only well worth the wear and tear on this old body, but was worth the price of this whole trip! So who cares about the Great Wall. I’ve been to Machu Picchu!

Happy Valentine’s Day to all! Today is that “someday”. Use it wisely.