Back to Life, Back to Reality

Back in Guayaquil, and I've never been so happy to be home.  It was an epic journey.  The challenges we faced - climbing mountains, battling food poisoning, missing flights, etc. - made it that much more rewarding to come back to the balmy tropics of Ecuador.  Don't get me wrong; spending time in the Sacred Valley of the Incas was well worth the time and money, our trek was gorgeous, and visiting Machu Picchu was a great experience.  There were a few items, however, I would have appreciated knowing beforehand.  Just to be prepared mentally, since being prepared logistically usually doesn't happen for me.  Pending photos and reflections on our trip, here is a list of Useful Things To Know When Traveling to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley:

- Visiting Machu Picchu is like working out.  It is the 16th century version of the Stairmaster.  There were lots of out-of-shape tourists there, and you don't want to be one of them.  Start working out now.

- If you're camping at high altitude on the Inca Trail or another trek, fill up a plastic bottle with hot water just before going to bed.  Slip it into your sleeping bag and you've got warm feet for the night.  (Or you can be like me and wear socks made out of possum fur.  Thank you, New Zealand.)

- Even if you speak good Spanish and have no qualms about navigating the local bus system, it really is a good idea to pay for a day tour if you're trying to be efficient with your time and see as much as possible in the Sacred Valley.  Especially if you find yourself hampered by gastrointestinal woes and don't really feel like dealing with waiting on buses or haggling over cab fares.

- Speaking of food poisoning, don't assume you are immune.  Expats, I exhort you to let go of your hubris and consume carefully.  The Incas continue to wreak an interminable revenge on foreign GI tracts after that whole smallpox thing from back in the day.

- Cusco = cold.  Machu Picchu = temperate.  Ergo, neither shorts nor exercise leggings are appropriate.  They are two apparel extremes, neither of which are warranted by the climate.  Layers!  Layers are fine!!  (Really, enough with the exercise leggings, people; the only time you need those are at night if you're camping at high altitude.)

- Bread.  Bread, bread, bread.  Cusco apparently has really good bread.  While we were sitting in the airport terminal for about 5 hours waiting on our delayed plane, we counted dozens of Peruvians carrying plastic sacks that contained round loaves of bread bigger than the size of your head.  This is the "it" item to bring home to your family after a trip to Cusco.  If you really want to blend in with the locals, forget the alpaca blankets and silver jewelry and pack your suitcase with bread instead.

- Inca Kola is everywhere.  People really drink it, and they like it, and they like it when you like it.  Unfortunately, this is part of the culture in which I do not enjoy partaking, and so my description of it here will hardly be impartial: When I see a bottle of Inca Kola, certain phrases run through my head.  Phrases such as "Just Say No" and "Stop, Drop, and Roll."  I suppose the best advice I can give is to simply Be Aware.  Be Aware that what you are about to consume looks like carbonated urine and tastes like liquid bubblegum.

- This little corner of the world is well developed for tourists.  With Machu Picchu being one of the Seven Wonders of the World, you'd have thought we'd be prepared for things like the required purchase of package tourist tickets in order to visit parts of the Sacred Valley, or simply for the sheer number of other tourists around.  There are ways to avoid the toury-ness of it all, which we will get to later.

...That there is a brief rundown.  Ponder those over a bottle of Inca Kola and we'll be back shortly with more trip details.  Over and out.