Peru

The Pacific Ocean is huge.  Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s a small world after all.  Those annoying little robotic brats at Disneyland have it all wrong.  Across the South Pacific from Australia to South America is at least 14 hours in the air, and that is being helped along with a strong tailwind so you’re travelling at over 600 miles per hour.  After helping with (or insisting on) a bit of studying for several hours, I thought I’d watch a couple of movies.  I watched 4 of them in a row and had time for another 2.  None of us could sleep, and we all hit the wall once we arrived in Santiago, Chile.  Thank goodness there are the fancy, executive airline lounges for frequent flyers and other VIP’s.  I think that several nice people from our flight were able to use them and they probably were able to get some rest, use the Wi-Fi, freshen up and maybe even take a shower.  Not the Janssens.  Mustering no pride whatsoever we happily made beds out of airport chairs and napped fitfully for a few hours before boarding our final flight up to Lima, Peru.  Despite some vicious jet lag, we were back in the western hemisphere, having now circumnavigated the globe and visited each continent except Antarctica.

Lima is a huge, sprawling, chaotic city.  The weather is weird in that it is almost always foggy and humid and yet the city receives less rain (2 cm/year) than Palm Springs.  The ocean coast is stunning with huge, 300’ cliffs, below which is a narrow beach.  We stayed in a lovely part of the city called Miraflores, and it was great to be close to the beach and have good food and exercise options.  In my previous blog I mentioned that at some point soon my kids are going to become surfers.  Well they made good on that prediction within a few days.  After a brief tour of the city our second day, we headed to the beach and for about $25 each they received surfing lessons from an incredible local guy named Alberto.  I think this was the best kid-related investment since our trampoline.  The kids donned wetsuits, received some basic dry-land training, then they were off with two instructors.  Our kids all have great balance, but I was expecting them to spend about 60 minutes thrashing around and maybe get a few short rides (I was thus envisioning what would happen if I was out there).  Not to be. I didn’t even have my camera ready.  After about 5 minutes in the water, Halle (who was reluctant to do it) caught a wave and rode about 50 yards toward the shore before jumping off.  Sydney and Hayden later said that she was getting special instruction from the instructor, better waves, blah blah blah.  They couldn’t believe their little sister surfed before them, but whatever it was, Halle nailed it and did so quickly.  Sydney and Hayden were not to be outdone, and for the next hour Traci and I sat on the beach and watched our kids make many long, great, rides.  Super cool.  Unfortunately, now the pressure is on Traci and me to join them when we get to Costa Rica.

After a couple of days rest in Lima, we were off to the Andes to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail is one of the world’s greatest hikes, and our plans to hike it were carefully planned over a year in advance.  Prior to hiking the Inca Trail, because of the altitude, we needed to acclimatize for 3 days, and so from Lima our next stop was Cusco.    Cusco is the ancient capital of the Incas, and is about 11,200’ in altitude.  We could instantly notice the altitude after getting off the airplane, and we really noticed it when we drove another couple thousand feet up and over a mountain to get to our hotel in an area known as “The Sacred Valley” which lies a mere 9500’ above sea-level.  On the way we stopped at a place called Awanacancha, where we saw and learned all about the different camelids (i.e. different types of llama-ish critters that are all related to camels) in the Andes such as llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos.  We holed up at a nice little hotel near the city of Urubamba.  We did some minor touring of local sites, but our greatest highlight of our 3 days of acclimatization was a full-day mountain biking trip.  We rented full-suspension mountain bikes, were driven to an altitude of about 13,000 feet, and began an incredibly scenic, mostly downhill ride.  This was one of the top 10 days of the trip, and probably in my life.  The scenery was spectacular with sunny skies but cool air.  The countryside was beautiful with small lakes and farms and ancient ruins.  The snowcapped peaks were incredible.  The guide was very professional and took care to make sure each of us had a great time.  The bikes were in great shape and well-fitted to each of us.  Most memorable, however, were the great attitudes of our kids.  They were still jet lagged and somewhat queasy from the altitude, yet they loved the ride and were incredibly courageous.   Hayden first rode a bike about a week after turning 4, and displayed his incredible knack by riding in our guide’s back pocket the entire time, following him off every little jump and bump.  Sydney is a strong rider but she hasn’t done as much trail riding.  Halle learned to ride when she was a bit older and just hasn’t had as much time on a bike.  Traci had a few over the handlebar experiences riding with me BKE (before kid era).  So all that being said, we were challenged with some pretty steep, rocky trails, yet there was zero hesitation or fear (at least from those of us 12 or under).  I was expecting a broken arm or collarbone with some over the handlebar tumbles. Following Halle, I saw her rear wheel raise off the ground by 6” or so multiple times but she somehow kept everything together.   Some of the trails had steep hills off to the sides, etc.  It was incredible watching the kids gain confidence and skills and grow in front of my eyes.  Pretty impressive intro to Peru, with the kids learning to surf and ride steep mountain trails in the course of a few days.  The day was also a perfect little microcosm of the entire trip, of the growth and the courage of the kids, of learning and enjoying the great outdoors.

With one more day of acclimatization we took a quick tour of a few of the local villages.  Things really haven’t changed in some of the smaller villages for thousands of years.  While the main “Sacred Valley” is at an elevation of about 9500’, some of these villages are located at altitudes above 13,000 feet.  The amount of arable land is incredibly marginal, so over the past millennium they built terraces on the steep hillsides which gave them some soil to farm and raise animals.   We visited a local clinic and visited a one room house of one of the villagers in a small village named Patakancha.  It was a sobering sight.  The woman’s husband was a porter on the Inca Trail and gone most of the year.  Their one room house had a single bed covered with dirty blankets.  There were a few cooking utensils over a smoky, open clay stove, and a good 1/3 of the house was home for about 30 guinea pigs, which are a staple food for many Peruvians.  Eye-opening.

Like 99.9% of visitors to Peru, a visit to the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu was at the top of our Peruvian Itinerary.  This is the top tourist destination in all of South America.  To get there you must travel to the city of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incan Empire.  From there it is about 4 hours of trains and buses.   For the more adventurous, you can take about 3.5 hours of trains and buses, and then spend 4 days and 3 nights hiking the final 32 miles to Machu Picchu.  Of course we opted for the later pain.   The Inca Trail is one of the world’s great hikes, and for our hiking-loving family it was the perfect bookend to trek’s in Italy’s Dolomites and in Nepal.  It is very popular and limited to 500 people (including porters) per day so the number of foreign hikers is probably no more than 200 each day.  I won’t bore you with gory day by day details, but will mention a few factoids and highlights:

·         Distance and vertical.  32 miles spread over 4 days and 3 nights.  Our longest hike was about 12 miles and our shortest about 6.  Our maximum vertical climbed was 5300’ which was a heckuva climb, especially as it topped out at 13,800’ which is only 600’ shy of the summit of Mt. Rainier.

·         Altitude.  Serious stuff.  We started around 8,500 feet and went up and down over multiple passes.  We slept at camps at 10, 11 and 12,000 feet respectively.  It took each of us a long time to adjust to the altitude and yet it still messes with your body once the headaches disappear.  The big positive was a diminished appetite, but the negatives included incredible insomnia, fatigue, and severely diminished…sorry family blog.   

·         Crew.  For our family and guide, we had a crew of 11 including 9 porters and 2 cooks.  This sounds exorbitant but the average is 3 crew per hiker.  These guys, as with their contemporaries in Nepal, are absolutely amazing.  Wearing minimal footwear, they literally run up and down the hills with their 50 lb. loads.  Traci and I were carrying packs of about 10-15 lbs. (mostly water) and these guys would start an hour after we did and get to camp at least an hour before us. 

·         First night camping.   Despite the status as a “Sanctuary” or National Park, the first ¼ of the trail is used by probably a couple hundred families who still eke out a living farming in the narrow canyons.  The government was supposed to relocate these folks in the 80’s when it became a “sanctuary” but never did and the population has grown.  One result of this was that our first night would be most accurately described as camping in a barnyard.  It is a complete fallacy that roosters crow their little “cock-a-doodle-doo” at dawn.  Perhaps it was mating season, or the Peruvian variety at severe altitudes have no concept of dark and light, but the cocks were cackling all night long.  I’ve never felt better about the good work KFC is doing for the world.  We were also awakened by a donkey munching on grass about 12” from our heads, and in the morning the same lovely beast rewarded us with a huge steaming pile of dung at the entrance to our tent.  Hayden also commented on a local toilet as being “way worse than Nepal” which had to make it one of the world’s worst.  Perfecto.  Despite minimal rest, we enjoyed the scenery and Hayden and Halle were able to spend several hours honing their stick-sword fighting skills. 

·         Next 2 nights camping.  Our second and third nights were spent in spectacular settings at altitudes of over 11,000 and 12,000 feet.  It was great to get into camp after a long trek, read, play UNO, and just relax.  I’ll never forget the shower I took on night two.  The water was from a nearby glacier and the temperature couldn’t have been more than a degree or two above freezing.  Even with walrus and gorilla-like defenses from cold water, it was incredibly painful. Another camping lesson learned was to take the time to check the amount of air in your thermorest mattress pad.  I blew mine up like a rock on the first night (why use one?), and didn’t check it the second night (it needs some air or you should just sleep on the rocks).  In addition, I was once again a victim for being relatively tall.  Peruvians average about 5’4” tall, and their sleeping bags are designed accordingly.  They were perfect for our kids.

·         Scenic Overload.  Despite not getting much sleep, the trek was an incredible experience.  It wound through probably a dozen or more distinct climatic zones:  from desert to high alpine to cloud forest to lush rainforest.  The Andes Mountains are huge and spectacular, and the trail cuts through glacial and snow-capped peaks that are nearly 20,000’.  The days were warm and dry (about 70) with the nights dropping below freezing.  Along the way there were several spectacular Incan ruins which can only be accessed from the trail.  Perfect.

·         Humility and Pride.  I was humbled by the porters, and I was humbled by and so proud of our kids.  Our guide was very worried about our kids being able to do it.  He’d been guiding the trail for over 16 years, and probably had done it over 100 times, yet the youngest he’d ever had complete the trek was 15.  Our kids were absolute machines and not a one of them made even a peep of a complaint, despite the physical difficulty and the lack of sleep.   After 4 days, my legs were exhausted, I hadn’t slept more than 12 hours, and I smelled bad.  On many of the ascents I was sucking wind so badly that I had to move at a snail’s pace.  It was a very hard hike.  The kids would go equally slow on the ascents (often forced to go slow and pace themselves), then on the descents they would hop, skip, jump and run and leave us in the dust.  Incredible.

After about a 4 hour, mostly descending hike on our final day, some of which was along some huge cliffs, we arrived at the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Picchu.  Our guide had us close our eyes, count to 3, and then the ruins were in front of us.  Absolutely incredible.  The ruins are spectacular, and made even more so by the lush, steep mountains and cliffs that surround the site.  It is a mystical place, and one that while spectacular in pictures, is even more so in person.  The location of the site at the top of a sheer mountain, and the associated engineering knowledge and manpower required to do this over 500 years ago is simply awesome.  Definitely a must see.

Now I must digress to add a word about accommodations.  Throughout our trip we’ve tried to stay in nice places, but nothing over the top.  If available, we’ve wanted a good location, Wi-Fi, clean rooms and beds, and the omni-important if in season swimming pool.  In general, I think that the amount you pay for a hotel is inversely proportional with how authentic your experience is.  Pay out the nose for the Four Seasons and you get secluded western comfort in the bowels of a 3^rd world country, raising the question of why are you really there, and feeling guilty about ordering anything to eat or drink as the prices are so exorbitant.  In addition, our days were almost always busy so why pay so much when you’re really not around much to enjoy what they offer?  This of course has to be tempered with the responsibility of being a parent and looking out for your kids.  The backpacker youth hostel days are no longer relevant.  Suffice it to say that we only spent a couple of nights the entire year in the equivalent of a youth hostel, but in general we tried to find a happy medium.  In a few spots (Cairo, Egypt and Varanasi, India) we went all out and opted for the best hotels as they offered the best (or only) blend of comfort and security.  For example, I think it would be easier for a mob to break into the U.S. Embassy in Cairo before they could break into the Four Seasons.   In planning for the Inca Trail, we had to purchase hiking tickets at least 6 months in advance.  In addition, we were faced with the choice of staying in the nearest town of Aguas Calientes (a 30 minute bus ride each way, up and down incredibly narrow winding roads that hugged a 3,000’ cliff) or opting to stay at the one hotel at Machu Picchu, called the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge.  There are only about 50 beds at the place and it is right at the entrance gate.  I have never been so glad we splurged.  The lodge accommodations were very nice, the food divine, the service was impeccable, and the contrast of staying at a deluxe hotel after 3 sleepless nights was beyond stark.  That first shower, the thick warm, soft, comfortable sheets and robes, a hot tub with a view of the ruins, all inclusive meals and beverages.  I could go on and on but suffice it to say that whatever the price we paid it was well-worth it. 

With a primo location, we had 2 days to explore Machu Picchu and 2 nights of fancy hotel bliss.  We were guided by the same guide who led us on the trail (Edgar) who in addition to guiding is a part-time teacher and archeologist.  We spent a good chunk of one afternoon studying in what had to be the world’s best outdoor classroom, and our last day we ventured to the top of Huayna (Wayne) Picchu, the mountain that overlooks Machu Picchu and is featured as the backdrop in most pictures of the place.  Climbing Wayne Picchu is not recommended for those with a fear of heights, so Hayden (no fear), Brian (much fear), Traci (more fear) and Sydney (most fear) decided to give it a go.  Thankfully the trail had thin vegetation on its exposed side which hid the mostly sheer 3000’ drop from view.  There were also cable hand holds in a few places and once we reached the top there were several terraces below each outlook which surely would have stopped a slipping or falling climber.  I wasn’t too worried about that as I knew that if I slipped I would have instantly had a heart attack and died before the first bounce.  Despite being rather terrifying, the experience and the views were worth it. 

Refreshed from lots of exercise, rest and a great hotel, we bid adios to Machu Picchu and continued on our journey.  We took the aforementioned bus ride to the bottom of the valley (which bothered me as much as climbing Wayne Picchu), then endured a downpour in Aguas Calientes to catch our train and van ride back to Cusco.  In Cusco, our local guiding outfit had planned a treasure hunt for the kids.  We were expecting something very simple but instead were treated to a team of about 10+ locals all dressed in traditional garb/costumes, dragging us all through the old town, through plazas, churches and famous sites, all in the guise of games.  Very fun and educational, although I think the locals probably had more fun watching us make idiots of ourselves…sort of a Peruvian version of our Chinese Tai Chi lessons, but more prolonged and with dancing and singing.  Don’t do a  Youtube search of “American fools on parade in Cusco” as I’d be afraid to see what you’d likely find.  Perfecto.

The last place in Peru that we wanted to visit was the SE corner and Lake Titicaca, a name one can never tire of repeating.  This is the largest lake in South America, about 100x50 miles, at an altitude over 12,000 feet.  After a couple of short flights from Cuzco we arrived at the shores of this beautiful lake in a town called Puno.  The highlight of Puno was the kids attempting to catch the wild guinea pigs on the front lawn of our hotel.  Like trying to catch a greased mole.  Hayden managed to catch and hold a baby for a few seconds.  The next morning we were off visit a small village living on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  En route we stopped at the infamous floating villages about 30 minutes from Puno.  Very cool how these people live on these floating reed rafts, and almost everything in their lives is sustained by the reeds that grow nearby in the lake.  Their villages float on reeds, their houses, roofs, beds, mattresses, furniture are made of reeds, they eat the base of the reeds (kind of like a green onion) as a staple, their boats are made from reeds, and they use old, dried reeds as fuel.  These villages are truly amazing, and there are several that are closed to tourists.  The one we visited was way too infected by tourism but it was still fascinating to see.  Our next stop on the lake was the small village of LuQuina Chico another few hours East on the lake.   We stayed in small mud-brick home in tiny little farming community of indigenous Aymara speaking Peruvians.  These people live incredibly simply, as they have for thousands of years.  They eke out a living in the cold altitude with simple crops and raising pigs and sheep.  Our hosts were incredibly friendly and welcoming and it was a great reality check (versus the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge) to understand the difficulties these people face. 

Our kids were very excited to visit Peru because they had a decent base of knowledge (especially Hayden) from previous studies.  I was anxious to learn more as well.   To sum up what I learned about the Incas:  They had no written history of their existence so pretty much everything written about them is subject to wild interpretation.  The only “written” accounts of the Incas are those of the Spanish Conquistadors, who placed absolutely zero value in anything that the Incas had done other than accumulating treasure.  The Spanish writings are thus about as reliable as OJ Simpson’s memoirs.  A few somewhat interesting tidbits that seem to be accurate:

·         Inca is the term for the ruler, so calling all of them Incas would be like future citizens looking back on the USA and calling us the “Presidents”

·         The Incas weren’t conquerors so much as they were consolidators, valuing the advances of their subjects and in turn letting them largely continue to live as they had

·         The Incas were master stonemasons.  The remains leave zero doubt about that and many of their canals and terraces remain in use today and more would still be in use had they not been destroyed by the Spaniards.

·         The Incas had some serious engineering prowess.  To build Machu Picchu, they lowered a solid granite ridge by 60’ and then built out terraces to create an even larger flatter area for the buildings.  A true marvel, chopping the top off a perilously steep hill and then making it even wider.  I would be scared to do it with dynamite dropped from a helicopter.  In addition many of the building materials and soil were hauled in from over 50 miles away. 

·         The Romans were thought to have the greatest road system in the ancient world, at about 15,000 miles.  The Incan Road (stone trails) system was recently estimated at over 34,000 miles, enough to wrap around the world almost 1 ½ times. 

·         The Incas were a broad federation for a relatively short period of about 80 years from 1450-1530-ish.

·         Machu Picchu is incredible, but no one really knows what it was used for.  The latest theory is that it was never officially occupied as only about 1/3 of it was finished.  Doesn’t matter.  It’s a must see.

·         Machu Picchu is the name of the large mountain overlooking the site, which is technically known only as Picchu.

The Janssens are big fans of Peru.   There is as much natural beauty crammed into Peru’s borders (mountains, lakes, oceans) as in any country in the world that we’ve seen, and probably as much as many entire continents.  We were told that Peru has 85 of the world’s 105 microclimates and I think we experienced most of them.  I’m not sure if the term exists, but I’d call Peru a Second-World country.  Parts are very modern but most is simple and just real.  People in the mountains work and dress as they have for centuries.  It is a surreal feeling to bike or walk through ancient streets and see the people going about their ways as always.  The modern world doesn’t seem to be changing the old ways too much and that is a good thing.  While there is a lot of poverty, there doesn’t appear to be the crush of overpopulation found in so many countries in SE Asia.  The people are genuine, friendly and their kids are dressed in the cutest darn little colorful outfits you can imagine.  Peru way exceeded our expectations and I know we’ll want to return while still able to enjoy all of its offerings.

Carnage at the airport in Santiago, Chile, awaiting our flight to Lima

At the beach in Lima, Peru

The Cathedral in Lima

Surf's Up!

Halle doing some dryland training

Ready to hit the surf

Halle gets the first wave and surfs right past her brother although I'm sure she didn't have any sassy commentary

Syndey tears it up.  If you watch "Soul Surfer" a dozen or more times surfing becomes intuitive.  Look at that form and balance for her first time!

Hayden gets it done.  Not pretty but very effective

Short video showing Sydney and Hayden ripping up the surf.

Success.  the kids think they are pretty cool and they are!

You can never go wrong taking your kids to see baby animals of any variety

Overlooking the "Sacred Valley" on our way to mountain biking

Ready to ride.  Hayden is pretty excited about his first full-suspension bike

Near the top on some easy dirt roads

Minor obstacle

Again, another minor obstacle

Getting ready for some steeper, single-track

I wish my photographic timing was better.  Hayden got absolutely HUGE air off this jump, up and over the trail

Convincing ourselves that we were invincible

Beginning the single track descent

Steep drop off, no worries

Trying to catch up with Halle

Unsuccessfully

A one room house in the village of Patakancha.  Note the guinea pigs under the shelves in the back.  Mmmmm  Mmmmm

Band practice at Patakancha.  Fairly scenic practice grounds despite the other shortcomings

A couple of cute kindergarteners at the Patakancha elementary school

Meeting our porters and assembling our final bags

Ready for action

And so it begins

Looking back to our starting point at the head of this valley.

The kids pet a cute little Peruvian mongrel puppy

Traci at our first night's campsite (aka "the barnyard"), so proud of her dueling children.  The world's worst toilet is center top.

Typical climbing section of the trail

Dead woman's pass.  Note face profile on the right.  The pass is just to the left of the breast

Nearing the top of the pass and starving for oxygen

Looking down at what we'd hiked

The thrill of victory

I find this exceptionally cute.  Waking after our second night's camp, we asked Halle to dress warmly for breakfast.  I couldn't figure out what was taking her so long then she comes out and asks "Is this good?" dressed in 3 layers of pajamas, jeans and long underwear, in that order, plus a bandana, wool hat and rain hat.  Sweet girl!

Taking a break to explore some really well-preserved clifftop ruins

Happy hikers (note the dagger)

Cool section with huge views at the end of our 3rd day

Not sure if it was the altitude or if he got into a patch of coca leaves

Happy trails to you!

Pretending to be skippy, happy and fit

Skipping down the cobblestones, looking for fun and feeling groovy, lalala lala feeling groovy!

At the "Sun Gate" near the end of the Inca Trail and our first glimpse at Machu Picchu

Almost lost Hayden over the edge

World's Best Classsroom.  The steep mountain is Huana or "Wayne" Picchu which we climbed the next day.

Guide Edgar showing us how the Inca's split granite.  They found a vein, then made holes with bronze tools, then put wood chisels in the gaps and added water and the expanding wood popped open the veins.

Another view from the sun gate, with the road to/from below the site

"Whatcha doin on my trail?"

Almost lost Halle here

One of my favorite all time photos. No this was not staged. Young Japanese tourists in training.

Scooby Doo Llama

Traci and Sydney, with Wayne Picchu looming in the background

Scrambling up the top of Wayne Picchu.  Photo by Hayden, who had scurried ahead.  My eyes are not closed accidentally .

When I was in college, the nickname for someone with a derrier like this was "Drive In."  Wow.  Anyone under 40 won't get that joke.  Hayden and Sydney were laughing at me, and the parametics took about 60 minutes to get me unstuck

At the top of Wayne Picchu.  Our hotel is isolated in the trees, center left.

Sydney scrambling to the top of Wayne Picchu and not happy with her father

Sydney and Traci feigning happiness

Don't feel pity for Hayden for being the only boy.  Feel pity for his sisters for having to put up with him.  Did I mention that he has no fear of heights and Sydney does and there is a big drop off to his left?

Hayden thought he was so cute hanging out this window at the top of Wayne Picchu

And he thought he was really funny on the descent.  I've never heard Traci scold one of our children as often as she did Hayden on the descent.  He thought it was hilarious.

The first event in our treasure hunt in Cusco.  Using strings with knots for a storyline.

Team red (parents) with their only victory of the day over team orange (kids)

Serious issues

Zero pride

And he thought that being in the southern hemisphere would make him a suave dancer.  Note the smiles of the onlookers.

With the group at the end.  Funniest thing is the lady at the right.  She wasn't part of our group but was in both photos taken of this.  Photo crasher.  Nutty.

Orange team easily wins the music contest

Demonstration of how the floating islands on Lake Titicaca are built

Another view of the floating islands

Catching a baby guinea pig at our hotel in Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca.  Better hold it tightly..

Classic kid photo.  This looks like it was photoshopped or is part of some kid's comedy.  That darn little guinea pig (blur on lower right) dives for freedom so quickly that Hayden hasn't even realized it has gone.  Credit Sydney Janssen

The natives can kill the migratory birds on the lake.  Here they enjoy a lovely coot that has been sitting in the sun for Lord only knows how long.  Mmmm.  Mmmm.

Traci and Hayden enjoy a short ride on Lake Titicaca

Three floating islanders serenading us.  The brighter the colors the greater the odds for attracting a tourist boat

Little afternoon jaunt up 1000' to the top of the hill above the village where we stayed.  Beautiful lake and area but above 12,000' it is cold year round

The lovely family we stayed with.  Vincente, Maria, and Julio.