Back in 1963, as I sat in 10^th grade Spanish class for the first day, I was more interested in the girl behind me … and the one in front … I began to look at the faded cover of the text book teacher Senorita Caldwell had just handed to me. It was a picture of a mountain terrain with ancient stone buildings. Inside the cover, I read it was Machu Picchu. There was a brief history in the first chapter but we barely spent any time on how the Spanish came to the “new world” in 1530. (And, certainly no time on how they decimated the rich indigenous culture and wiped out millions of the inhabitants over the first 100 years). My thought was: what an interesting place Machu Picchu would be to actually visit someday. Over a decade later, when National Geographic came out with their book series, I learned more about the Inca’s but even in 1976, I had no idea how Hiram Bingham’s discovery in July 1911 actually saved the then fledgling and almost broke magazine: National Geographic. Going to Machu Picchu has always been a life dream, and when Linda saw a Gate-1 ad last year-- a 10 day trip to Peru, with air-fare included (from Miami) for only $1,700 per person double, I knew the dream would become a reality.

In all, we spent under $5,000 for the complete trip. That included getting to Miami, via a drive to Dallas for a direct flight to Ft. Lauderdale on Southwest Air. $3.75 each to take the train from Ft. Lauderdale airport to the Miami airport. Two nights in a Ft. Lauderdale motel, a night in a Dallas Motel, extra meals, the extra optional excursions, gifts for family, friends and gifts to ourselves. A really big thank you to friends Roger and Sonja Bridges and Mark and D’Ann Gentemann for their hospitality and especially to Roger who braved the Dallas traffic to get us to and from Love Field, and always love and thanks to Linda’s sister Jean and husband Harry Wood for their hospitality. You all helped make a great trip even better.

This was our first tour with Gate-1. While there were a few minor slips, we highly recommend them as the most economical tour company we have traveled with to date. We are still trying to figure out how they can make a profit at $1,700 per person. Not only did this include round-trip air from Miami to Lima, Peru, but also air from Lima to Cuzco and air from Juliaca (Puno, Lake Titicaca region) back to Lima. The nice quality in-town hotels in Lima, Urubamba, Cuzco, and Puno and all the great meals. Plus the bus, driver, and awesome tour guide, Hector Chacon. While I wanted to choke him when he kept us standing still in the sun for an hour at Machu Picchu telling us about the site (instead of leading us around while talking) we give him very high marks for his knowledge, care, help, stories, pride in his Quechua heritage, and mostly for his excellent and clear English.

I took over 3,000 pictures and Linda over 200. It has taken me about 15 hours to sort and resort through them and put together this slide show for your enjoyment. While there were 13 wonderful folks in our group (two couples from Phoenix, one from the Chicago area, one from the Bronx, one from the Gold Coast of Australia, and two couples from Florida, plus us) that I took many pictures of, those were provided separately to the group.

As always, I try to tell a story of our travels in my pictures – in case you have not read this far or past this.  I hope you will enjoy them and take the time to view all of them. You will notice my fascination with the Native Quechua and Uru people – from the ever happy children to the wrinkled faces of those who could tell us all life stories to live by. As some in our tour group had observed, these native Peruvians don’t turn grey! As a matter of note, we confined our entire trip to costal Lima and the Andes. We did not get into the jungle areas where there are dozens of different indigenous tribes and languages.

Peru is a VERY poor Country. You may not think so if you only visit the high-rise areas of Lima. Lima has almost 10 million inhabitants now and Peru almost 32 million. 80% live in circumstances that would make them jealous of what American homeless people have access too! Unlike so-called American “poverty” these people do not know they are poor. They work, they have strong family units, and strong sense of community. They are friendly and grateful for what they do have. Most live in small self-built sun-dried mud block houses (no mortar) with hard packed dirt floors, and a tile roof made of sun dried clay or corrugated metal. The average monthly income for a FAMILY is $300 USD. Most have small farms or garden plots to grow their own food, sell or barter at market, and raise chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs in their small courtyard for meat. They make their own clothes and hand spin their own yarn and weave their cloth on small looms. Oh, to send every protesting American who thinks our current minimum wage is not livable to Peru to live with a typical family there for a month!!!

Once we left Lima, breathing the rare Andean air was a challenge. The highest I had been previously was the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado on several occasions – when I was much younger. The 14,115 feet never seemed to bother me. The Andes height is surpassed only by the Himalayas and the Andes is the World’s longest mountain chain. Our highest mountain in the Rocky’s is 14,440 foot, Mt. Elbert in Colorado and our highest in the US and North America is Denali in Alaska at 20,237. The Andes average 13,000 feet. The highest is Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina at 22,841 feet near the Chilean border, north-east of Santiago. The highest mountain we were near, at the base of Mt. Veronica, was 18,525, and the highest in my pictures is Mt. Chaupiorco at 19,829 feet taken from the 14,300 foot pass on the Peruvian Plateau Apu Ausangate. We never gasped for air as such, but being out of breath with just light exercise was common. No one got altitude sickness (pulmonary edema which is life threatening) but climbing the ruins at Machu Picchu was a real challenge for young and old alike. What is amazing is the fact that The Inca and the Inca people and Quechua today run up and down these steep slopes like you run up one fight of stairs. As you look at the pictures of the mountain sides and ruins, take particular notice of the terraces. Note how high they extend up almost vertical slopes. Look at the intricately built rock retaining walls. Notice that there is no mortar. Notice how precise each rock fits into another – think about building these walls. Think about gardening the tops of the terraces – think how lucky you are to be a modern day American!

The most readable history of the Inca and Machu Picchu is Mark Adam’s book, “Turn Right at Machu Picchu”. Please download it, go to your local bookstore or public library, and read it even if you never plan to go to Peru. It is extremely well researched and written. Then look at this link again and see these pictures in a whole new light.

One of the most pleasant surprises of the trip was Lake Titicaca (Titi Kaka locally. You will note different spellings on my title slides. I have mixed local spellings with Americanized and Spanish spellings. For example, locally Machupicchu is one word and not two) and the Reed Island People, the Uru. Generations of these colorful natives were “reed boat” people before the great seven year drought of the 1940’s when the Lake dropped to historically low levels. For seven long years there was no rainfall whatsoever. Living on their boats became very difficult and many moved to on-shore locations. However, when the rains came, they noticed floating clusters of dried reeds. They began to put these together and to build upon them to make islands. (My series of pictures show you how this was accomplished.) Reed houses were built upon these man-made reed islands and the community began to thrive again on the water. In the early 1950’s, Seventh Day Adventist missionaries discovered the Uru living on the reed islands and administered to them, and built a school on a larger island. Many converted to Christianity (the Spanish Catholic influence was not as well established here and local deity worship was still in practice). By 1970, the reed islands of Lake Titi Kaka became a tourist attraction which is now the sustaining economy.

Mining is the number one economical driver of the Peruvian economy, followed by the costal fishing industry, farm exports, and then tourism in fourth place. While the government has made great strides since the Communist guerilla civil wars of the 1990’s, it is still a very corrupt government. All the major streams and rivers are highly polluted by the mining industry and archaic labor and non-mechanized farming practices. (We only saw one tractor the entire trip). English, the language of money, is not taught in the public schools. Medical care is …. Well, you and I would not go to a public hospital or clinic there. There is no “social security” pension. Juliaca, a major industrial/commercial cross-road city on the high plains has only a few paved road – a testament that it is easier and cheaper to pay off the local government officials than to pay your property taxes so the city streets can be paved. Crime, especially theft is rampant. If you can afford glass windows in your house, then you are a target, and you will note that only the very and most poor areas have no high barbed and razor wire topped fences or walls. The richer folks have spiked metal rods and electrical wire topped walls and fences. Folks, be proud we have a Second Amendment that allows us to protect our property, otherwise, we all would have high spiked electrical shock walls surrounding our homes too! A police presence is seen only at the airports and major governmental buildings in towns. We never felt unsafe, but we would not advise walking the streets of Juliaca either!

If you go, we advise the dry season – May through September. Weather is great! Temperatures in the high 40’s at night and high 60’s to low 70’s in the day with virtually no humidity. There is virtually no rain in the dry season – their “winter”. We had no bugs at Macho Picchu. If you go in the wet season – October through April, take plenty of bug spray (100% DEET). You will need a good walking stick at Machu Picchu. I used my camera monopod. The natives sell collapsible aluminum poles at Machu Picchu and many other venues for $5. You will pay up to $15 for the same thing at Wal-Mart. All prices in Peru, even in Lima, are ridiculously low. Food is especially cheap. You can get a Filet Mignon dinner in a nice mid-town hotel restaurant for $10 USD just as one example. Portion size is more than generous. Their soups are superb and they are complete meals... for $5. Hand-made Alpaca sweaters can be bought for as low as $12 to $15. Baby Alpaca sweaters are a little more. No matter which you get, you will find them so very soft and warm. (You will note from the pictures that the native populations are dressed like we would in Chicago in January!!) Taxi rides in Motocars go for $1.

One of our best meals was an “optional tour” with a local family in Urubamba. This was a typical farm family in a typical small mud block home with a packed dirt floor. The front door opened off a narrow alley into the one-room lower level. Above it, reachable from the back small courtyard were two bedrooms. The pictures tell the full story. This was a very nice humble family that served us a multi-course meal of some of the best tasting food ever. An 11 year old neighbor girl joined us. Their 19 year old son came in later, and their other two sons were off to college. Only our tour guide Hector, to interpret, and one other tour member, Marina, joined us there. This was a very special night.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and more so, we both hope you will take the adventure and see Peru for yourselves.