Doing Peru with a Local

Not often do you get to experience a country with a local but when you do, I can tell you that it is a truly unique experience. You feel more immersed in the culture than you could ever feel when travelling strictly as a tourist. Like the time friends took me to an old house that doubled as a pub in Ireland, and I sang "Farewell to Novia Scotia" in front of a room full of Irish musicians in a jam session. Or the time we danced and sweated the night away in a tiny apartment crammed with close to twenty of my friend's family and friends in Mexico City. You're able to partake in things that you would never have the guts to do, or the connections to make happen, when you are travelling with a local. Especially if that local is your friend. Needless to say that when my friend Fabiola wanted to plan a trip to her home country of Peru, I wasn't going to let that opportunity pass me by. Here's just some of what went down on our two week trip in the summer (their winter) of 2015.

1.  Fabiola's class reunion

Trust me when I say that class reunions in Peru are nothing like anything I have heard of in the United States. Sure people come dressed up and ready to impress their old classmates, but the thing that is really different is that every graduating year is invited to come to every reunion. They have tables assigned for different graduating years. So even if you graduated in a small class, or not many people show up from your graduating year, there are still hundreds more people to party with. Also, they don't spend a bunch of money on catering or a fancy locale but put all their money towards entertainment. They hire a top notch band who gets the people movin' and shakin' into the wee hours. And yes, those are characters on stilts walking around behind the band. For food and drink, everyone totes in their boxes of chicken and fries and 6 packs of beer that they picked up at the super market. Since I've always loved to dance, it was great to see how many people were on the dance floor at any given time. It was packed all night!

Oh, did I mention they also rented a mechanical bull? Need I say more? 

2. Flying up into the Andes from Lima

Looking a little rough

Overlooking Cuzco

Here's where I started to get a little worried. After partying the night away on my first night in Lima and eating food from a street vendor, the stomach was a little tore up. We arrived early in the morning at the airport for our flight to Cuzco. There was also that whole altitude sickness thing looming over us. Would us gringos get sick? Would I ruin the trip if I did? The fact that I was starting with a hangover, sleep deprived and with a mean case of the runs didn't give me much confidence.

Luckily the flight was only about an hour and once we arrived to our hotel, Fabiola made us sit in the  lobby sipping coca leaf tea. The Peruvians all said we needed to limit our activity at first, while our bodies were adjusting to the 11, 152' elevation. They also kept telling us to stay warm. It was August which is winter in Peru. I didn't feel cold, even though I was only wearing a sweater and a fleece jacket. There was no snow or ice. Apparently though, part of combating altitude sickness is not letting your body get cold. And if there's one thing I have learned in my travels, it's to listen to the locals, so I kept my body warmer than usual, moved slowly and sipped lots of coca tea. And though my heart pounded and stomach continued to churn for the next couple days, I am happy to say that no one in our party got elevation sickness.

When we first arrived we spent time in Cuzco to adjust to the altitude and then took a van/hired driver for a stomach churning 4 or more hour drive on dusty, winding roads to the little town of Paucartambo. This did not helped matters with my already upset stomach. It took everything I had to keep everything in and down on that drive.

Later we would return to Cuzco to explore the city more.

Avery exploring Cuzco.

A plaza en Cuzco

  

Physical Education in Peru includes dancing. I can't tell you how much I love this.

3. Visiting her cousin's hotel in Paucartambo

Here we were still adjusting to the high altitude. Fabiola's cousins (the 2nd and 3rd from the left in the picture above) live part of the year in California and part of the year in Paucartambo. They too have to readjust every year to the elevation since they go from sea level to almost twice the elevation of "the Mile High City" Denver, Colorado (5,280 feet above sea level). Paucartambo sits at 9,534 feet above sea level. It was surprising to hear that Fabiola's cousin who grew up in this town and has a lot of indigenous ancestry (he even speaks Quechua) often suffers from full-blown altitude sickness when he first arrives from California. The lesson here is that you NEVER know who will be affected by the altitude. It is good to take things slow and give your body plenty of time to adjust.

We visited ruins from here, even going up into the bell tower of a very old Spanish colonial church. Peru is a fascinating mix of ancient Inca ruins and beautiful Spanish colonial architecture.

Inca Ruins

4. Doing some spiritual work with a Shaman

You're gonna need a bag of coca leaves. This bag costed less than a dollar and lasted me the whole trip. Don't worry, it's perfectly legal (in fact encouraged as a way to combat altitude sickness) in Peru. Not sure if it was a constant coca leaf in my cheek or the high elevation that made my heart beat stronger. I'm sure it was my heart working harder to get oxygen to my body. Even walking up stairs, something that is usually easy for me, had my heart beating out of my chest. 

As a present to Fabiola, her cousin paid to have the town Shaman come to their hotel and do some spiritual work or cleansing (una limpieza) with her. He was a man who spoke only Quechua and had to be translated from Quechua to Spanish for us to understand. During the session, we all participated, watching the Shaman throw down coca leaves like playing cards while we chewed coca leaves and he passed around their version of moon shine and cigarettes. At times we were directed to hold up three coca leaves (see statue below) and say "Apu Q'anyachuay, Apu Pakaraccasa and Apu Ausangate". "Apu" is a Quechua term that translates to something like "spirit of the mountain". Later I found out we were supposed to be giving ourselves over to the "apus" and the Santa Tierra Pachama. Apparently he had a lot of cleaning to do with Fabiola and thought we should do one more session. Not sure if this is just a way to make more money or if she really did need a lot of spiritual work (of course we teased her about this), but either way, we went for another session.

At the next session we went to the Shaman's house, something that everyone said was unheard of. He doesn't usually allow people, especially foreigners, into his home. We arrived and walked up a narrow, rickety staircase, passing by chickens and children, until we arrived to a little room upstairs. The Shaman's wife seemed delighted to have visitors and although she didn't speak English or even Spanish, made us feel welcome with her constant smile and laughter. Again, he threw down coca leaves, while we chewed on some; drank moonshine out of a big, unlabeled reused plastic soda bottled; and took drags of cigarettes.

This was one of the coolest things we did in Peru, because it was so far from your typical tourist experience. We were also told that in the Inca culture, they know who the shamans are because they are marked by being born with a disability or some other sign that makes them stand out as being different. I thought that was a neat way to view those who are different from the rest, as having special powers rather than being lacking in something.

Out of respect, I never took a picture of the Shaman. Here is a statue of an Inca holding up the three coca leaves, similar to what we did in our sessions with him. Notice the big, vascularized calves. Many of the mountain people had legs, not quite as exaggerated as this, but similar. 

5. Ollantaytambo; the town and the ruins

The original water system in Ollantaytambo

6. The train ride to Aguas Calientes

The train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Caliente (the base of Machu Picchu) is a very nice train that includes a beautiful little Peruvian snack and beverage. Out the windows you'll see sub tropical jungle and mountain sides filled with orchids and birds of paradise. If I remember right, it took about an hour.

7. Experiencing Machu Picchu, OF COURSE

Get there EARLY, as in get in line for the bus at around 5:30am, if you want to see uncrowded views like this.

Fabiola said it was crucial to get in line for the bus up to Machu Picchu early, so there we stood while it was still dark, waiting to get a seat. When we arrived at the top there was cloud and fog coverage and you couldn't get an unobstructed view. We checked our stuff for something like a dollar and began to explore the immense grounds, even taking a short trail through the jungle to the Inca bridge. Eventually the fog burned off and we were able to get those epic views of one of the 7 Wonders of World. At this point, there were more people to contend with but it was still an amazing and mystical experience. We didn't hire a tour guide but since we had Fabiola with us, she was able to explain plenty of things, like that Machu Picchu was not where people lived but is believed to have been a resort for the Inca royalty. Viewing if from that perspective certainly sent my imagination in a different direction when imagining how things must have went down at Machu Picchu. 

 The humongous empanadas you can buy at the restaurant at Machu Picchu. A bit expensive and so big that I couldn't finish it. It was tasty though for sure.

  

Enjoying a pisco sour after the hike back down.

At the end of the day, we decided to forgo the bus and follow the trail back down into Aguas Calientes. This trail was only a few miles if I remember right. It was a little hard on the knees, as are all downhill hikes for me, but even more so due to the Inca stone stairs, rather than earth, that you follow down the mountainside. Since it was also through lush green vegetation, I worried a little about mosquito bites, as I hadn't gotten any shots before the trip. It ended up being fine though. It may have been a little cold for the mosquitoes' taste during this time of the year.  

Alpaca was on the menu, so I had to give it a try. It was really good. Reminded me of carne asada, as it was thinly sliced, nicely seasoned and had that same texture more or less.

8. Staying with the family in Lima

Fabiola's dad Ramon taught me to make Peruvian ceviche. QUE RICO!

Learning to cook Peruvian food with Fabiola and her mom Loty. 

Peruvian food is delicious and healthy! There are many tasty sauces, fresh produce and excellent vegetarian options. Every morning for breakfast Fabiola's parents had fresh squeezed juice and palta (avacado) waiting for us at the table. They were such great hosts. 

Loty (Fabiola's mom) took us to this beautiful water park in Lima one night to see all the lit up fountains. Some fountains even danced to music. 

Fabiola and her mom took us to a dance competition to see some of their friends compete. As you can see from the size of the crowd, this is a popular event. I would gamble to say that aside from maybe futbol (soccer), dancing is Peru's national sport. 

9. Visiting neighborhoods in Lima, like Barranco and Miraflores

Barranco is a pretty, more posh area of Lima with good bars and restaurants. 

10. Getting Tattoos! Because why wouldn't you?

The finished product. I am showing Fabiola's, because she chose a traditional Peruvian design to go along with the vicuña  that she already had. I opted for the quote "ama y dejate ser amada" across my rib cage.

To see more pics from my globetrotting, follow me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/jesseyallen.1/