Peru - El Valle Sagrado

We made significant efforts to keep a few things to a minimum on the trip.  The first was time zone changes.  By going south we almost completely avoid those.  Second, was early morning wake ups.  Nothing kills a fun day like a bad morning.  Our departure from Panama was one of the few unavoidable early morning starts to a long international travel day.  This time we had the added bonus of a late night before and a destination at high altitude.   It wasn’t exactly the recipe for an easy day, but we all made it to Lima in high spirts.  Contrary to my expectation, it took us five minutes to get through customs so we ended up spending almost three hours exploring the Lima airport and having our first Peruvian meal.  Local BBQ for JZ and I, McDonalds for the boyz.  Little did we know at the time how much food would end up being a big part of our entire time in Peru. 

It was cold and rainy when we landed in Cusco.   Luckily we were prepared with long pants and jackets.  We had long been concerned that our decision to visit Machu Picchu during the rainy season wasn’t the best plan, but we set our expectations low and packed with rain and some cold in mind.  We also knew that this was going to be the toughest leg of our trip.  For this reason we arranged for a private guide to take us to Machu Picchu and through El Valle Sagrado, the Valley that leads down to the base of the lost city.  

Rubén, our guide from the Kuoda team, was waiting for us outside of the airport with our driver, Jose, and a big white mini-bus.  This was our first trip ever with a private guide and it might have spoiled us forever.  We had complete control over our experience from planning to participation.  When you are traveling with two precocious and unpredictable boyz that freedom made the difference between enjoyably challenging and unbearable.    

The winding road out of Cusco took us even higher than the 11,000 ft regional capitol before dropping us down to the slightly more reasonable 9,500 ft town of Urubamba where our hotel was located. The tour company had made a few hotel suggestions but gave me the option to book privately so I could use or earn my own Marriott points. Independently I don´t think I would have picked the Tamba de Inca. It was an absolutely gorgeous structure. Elegantly built right along the banks of the Vilcamayo River (Quechua for sacred river). It had a lovely organic feel with woods, cloths and woven basket-like material adorning the ceiling of our room. It did feel a little strange to be basking in such luxury within a town that was thriving but still very poor in comparison.  The plan was never to “rough it” in Peru.  The location had enough challenges.  For example, how many hotels have coca tea waiting in the lobby to help alleviate the effects of the high altitude?   Having a comfortable two room suite in a fancy hotel with a heated pool was not a bad decision.

Though Zev had fallen asleep in Janette’s lap on the drive to Urumbamba, we were all exhausted when we got to our room.  We nibbled on a few scraps that were left over from the ridiculously overpriced breakfast we had bought in the Panama airport and fell asleep.  We woke up to a breakfast buffet that included a detox zone with herbal yogurt concoctions and a whole gluten free area in addition to the more standard fare of eggs, pancakes, and assortments of breads and pastry’s.  I went right to the traditional Peruvian section that had roasted potatoes, local white cheese, and a chicken broth that was eaten with a bread.  The boyz had hot chocolate, a dish the Peruvians served everywhere with great pride.  Our culinary exploration of Peru began.

Unfortunately, even though we had all taken Diamox to help ease the effect of the high altitude, Elad was not 100%.  Halfway through breakfast he returned his pancakes to the table.  Elad was showing signs of Soroche, the name for altitude sickness in the local language of Quechua.  Janette rushed Elad back to the room while Zev and I finished our breakfast.  Although Zev was not sick, he was still 4 years old and far more particular about his food than was convenient for this part of our trip. The food was just a little different.  He refused his hot chocolate and pancakes and  only ate watermelon.  I couldn’t fault his final choice.  The fruit in Peru is extraordinary. 

1 in 6 travelers to Cusco experience soroche, which is why we had always planned to sleep outside of Cusco.  It made the travel day significantly longer, but we had hoped that spending the first few nights at a lower altitude would enable all of us to enjoy our first day in Peru with a mellow acclimatizing morning of Kayaking.  With Elad back in bed, Janette and I decided to spli t up.  Zev happily hopped into the bus with Rubén and I for the 45 min drive back up the valley wall to reach Piuray a small lake at 12,000 feet.  Our plan was to spend a few hours Kayaking in the ancient volcanic crater.  When we arrived Zev refused to get out of the bus.

The trip so far had already taught us one very important thing about traveling with our boyz.  You can’t force the them to do anything.  You can persuade, threaten, entice, bribe, beg, cry or explode but ultimately they will do what they want when they want.  Janette is far better at dealing with Zev’s particular brand of obstinance so I panicked for a moment.  It wasn’t a simple situation.  First, Zev was clearly hungry, but he refused to eat.  It was also a strange new place with strange new people.  For a four year old, this was a nightmare.  Deep down I knew he would have fun if I could just get him out on the kayak.  I used the only tactic I could.  I walked down to the water leaving him alone after I told him that he could stay in the bus until we were ready to go home.  He protested, but being alone was even less desirable than being anywhere with me.  He followed.   

I wasn’t out of the woods yet.  He had left the bus but he was still vociferously against kayaking.  This is when the professional guiding service started paying off.  Pepe, the kayak guide, and Ruben stepped in and introduced Zev to the animals residing at the small farm that also doubled as the boat launch.   There was an alpaca, chickens, a cow, and a Guinea pig pen.  At the time, I had no idea that Guinea pigs were food not pets and the guides thoughtfully did not explain that to Zev.  After the tour they calmly and patiently convinced Zev that it would be fun to go out on the lake.  After an apple he agreed.  Over the next hour Pepe taught Zev how to paddle and he made a new best friend.  Before we left Zev gave Pepe a spontaneous hug as we walked back to the bus.

Elad literally spent the entire day in bed sleeping.  His body just needed a little more time to adjust.  Vomiting up the Diamox probably didn´t help either but Janette went local and had him chew on some coca leaves.  That did the trick.  By the time we got back to the hotel he had perked up and was ready for our next activity, a visit to a local ceramic studio owned and operated by a well established artist Pablo Seminaro.   After a short video intro and tour we sat down to create our own works of art by etching and painting indigenous designs into partially dried clay tiles.  We all love art projects so we diligently etched and painted until the delightful owners came and joined us and offered us drinks and chocolate.  It was the perfect activity for our afternoon.

Our first day of new Peruvian experiences was not over.  Soroche still had its grips on Elad.  Close to the end of ceramic painting, Elad s tarted to nod off and fall asleep on the table.  Before we knew it, Rubén had him over his shoulder, carrying him to the minibus to him back to the hotel.  The guides suggested some oxygen which I feared would require a trip to a local hospital.  Luckily, our hotel had a tank available for guests and Elad enjoyed ten minutes of sea-level oxygen.  Though the gas seemed to perk him up, he went back to sleep while Zev and JZ went to the pool.  Within the hour, Elad was also in the pool, clearly feeling better.   Our first day in Peru had come to an end.   After a delicious dinner of local soups, we all happily went to bed excited and ready for our trip to Machu Picchu the next day.