Our arrival in Lima marked the beginning of our tour in earnest. We spent it wandering around the city with Lorraine and Daryl and Tony and Chris. It was a relaxing morning and we saw the beach and the pier where we were to eat that evening. Despite a few deviations, we made it back to the hotel for our group briefing and then the organised city tour. This was a bit perfunctory although we got a fair idea of what the city was like and then had a chance to wander in the central square as well as visit the Franciscan convent.
Peru has returned to some prosperity despite a period when socialist policies enforced an agrarian reform in the 1980’s and a lot of land was expropriated and farms were divvied up amongst the workers. The subsequent economic shift meant that the once prosperous city centre was abandoned for some time and there are still some desolate parts. Still the central square with the presidential palace and cathedral (made in part of mud bricks) is very impressive.
That night we went t a wonderful restaurant that offers one of the highlight dinners of our tour. It is located on a pier on the beach and both the setting and the food was wonderful. It began with the complimentary Pisco Sour we got to know well during our stay in Peru. A little like a margarita with something frothy and lemon juice). Pisco itself is an Andean eau-de-vie Yummy.
The next morning we flew to Cusco and boarded a bus to take us up the Sacred Valley. We learned that Inca means leader or chief (like Pharaoh or Caesar) and that the actual people are called Quechua. The term Inca was coined incorrectly by Hiram Bingham (see later) but is used generally because it is well known. At first glance, as we passed through the outskirts Cusco looked remarkably ordinary and promised little for our future visit.
En route to our next accommodation not far from Ollyantaytambo, we stopped at an amazing hacienda whose owners had supported the famous Simon Bolivar. In the 1980’s in the agrarian revolution, the land was appropriated and given to peasant Incas who unfortunately had no farming skills and who promptly sold the land to buy luxuries or to finance moves to the cities Now only the hacienda remains with the former owners of the very large farm (shades of Zimbabwe).
The setting was wonderful after hours of driving through dusty roads lined with fairly dismal mud brick villages. The road to the hacienda was extremely narrow and bumpy which made the idyllic setting and the wonderful meal even more appreciated. Afterwards we continued to the studio of a Peruvian potter, Pablo Seminario and then to our accommodation, again charming and very comfortable although it was set in the wilds of Peru it seemed.
On the following day we were introduced to primitive weaving and dyeing methods using local products and demonstrated by ladies clad in traditional Peruvian garb. Of course it was possible to buy some of their products. I bought a cardigan but on closer inspection I have come to the conclusion that it was not hand made. Then we set off to visit a local school along bumpy roads just passed Ollyantaymbo where hikers preparing for the Inca trail pick up their provisions. At the school, we distributed gifts that we had donated for to the children and also had preliminary lessons on a Peruvian flute. It was a pleasant break from the touring that we had been doing and allowed us to see the way a small community functioned. Scenic Tours supports a number of such communities in Peru.
More trips along the same bumpy dusty roads through the same impoverished mud brick communities took us back to Pesac markets where we embarked on a shopping frenzy, focusing on silver and local stone jewellery. You may, dear Reader, detect a certain irony here.
Well for many people Macchu Pichu was the focal point of our tour so our trip by train from Ollyantaytambo Railway Station to the base of Macchu Pichu was filled with anticipation. On our arrival we travelled up the very steep and narrow roads by bus to eat lunch at the remarkably ordinary but large cafeteria on top of the mountain. Then finally we embarked on our 3 hour exploration of the ruins. As weather is very unpredictable in the old Inca structure, we were very lucky to have perfect weather: clear skies, unlimited visibility, and a temperature cooled by the refreshing breezes from the mountains.
Macchu Pichu was not discovered until 1911 by a Hiram Bingham who, while associated with Yale, may have been British (?). Locals of course had always known of its existence high in the Andes and told Bingham how to find it. It must have been quite a climb! There were many theories about its purpose and about why it was wiped out, but recent studies have found that tuberculosis is the most likely cause. Bingham thought that it was a female convent and that the annihilation of its inhabitants was caused somewhat by gonorrhoea. This theory conjures up iconoclastic concepts of religion which might appeal to Dan Murphy readers; its purpose is now thought to be a centre of religious and scientific studies and an understanding of the positions of the stars particularly at the summer (21 June) and winter ( 21 Dec)solstices
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