The next days the Angels shopped their wallets off at the Miraflores Andean markets. We then went to the Club Regatas Lima, which is a private beach and sports club that Alberto belongs to, which has several top rated restaurants and a nice bar on the 7th floor overlooking the Lima coast.

We then went back to the hotel and had a phenomenal dinner organized by Alberto's nephew Luchito. The dinner was a degustation prepared by the Maras restaurant at the Westin Hotel in Lima. The chef of this restaurant is Rafael Piqueras, one of the best Peruvian chefs and former chef of Fusion. We had an amazing combination of dishes from seafood, to tiraditos and tuna tartar, to ox tail. One dish had raw tuna, which was spot chilled with nitrogen gas. They then poured nitrogen on the olive oil, which froze the oil into crunchy crystals that were served on top of the tuna, which basically melted in your mouth. Amazing gastronomic experience. After that, Elaine left for the airport. The next day was a family day, a little more shopping at Larcomar, which is a great shopping center with awesome water views. Then Regina left the next day. Alberto and Delphine stayed a few more days to visit family and friends.

We then visited the historical and artsy district of Barranco, previous shopping stop at Dedalo in Barranco, where they have very nice and fine crafts. Barranco is a nice city and full of restaurants, bars and restaurants, most with live music and fun shows. But the city is a bit run down and dirty. Too bad, because they have some of the most beautiful old adobe homes in Lima. We went to the Barranco main square where they had a craft fair from the Amazon. We then had near the plaza and then took a taxi to the excellent restaurant Amor A Mar, which is in a questionable part of Barranco, but the restaurant is very nice and the food and service is wonderful. Their specialty is seafood. They also have great Pisco drinks and live music.

The next day we went to downtown lima. We stopped to visit Claudio (Calu), Alberto's best childhood friend, who is a Peruvian Ambassador. We visited the cultural center at the Exterior Ministry, where they had a pretty cool Indonesian exhibit. We then visited the amazing Torre Tagle Palace, which was a private house, now a historical building owned by the Exterior Ministry.






We then went to the Plaza de Armas (central town square) where we saw the change of guards at the Government Palace (the Peruvian White House). The Palace is in the main square "Plaza de Armas" where the Mayor's Office, Cathedral and Government Palace are located.

We then went to "Desamparados" which is the old train station, no longer in operation. Alberto's father used to run the "Central Railways" (Ferrocarril Central) years ago. They are now run tourist trains from this station once per month to Huancayo, a main Andean city. Desamparados is now used as a cultural center.






We then went to the San Francisco church where we visited the church and took a tour of the famous Catacombs, which is a narrow maze of passages in the basement of the church, full of human bones. Pretty creepy but very interested. The bones are neatly stacked to fit the more than 25,000 bodies buried there. People wanted to be buried under a church in the old days, but that ended when the Peruvian government passed a decree banning the burial of private citizens in churches.

On the last day in Cuzco, Elaine and Regina ventured into town on their own on a shopping spree. We then met at the hotel to get our ride to the airport. We flew to Lima and were picked up by our driver at the airport only to be stuck in massive traffic outside the airport.







We made it to the hotel an hour later and then took a cab (Blue Cars, excellent taxi service) to the restaurant Huaca Pucllana in Miraflores. The restaurant is situated inside the Huaca Pucllana ruins, which is an excavation site where you can get a short tour of the ruins for about S/.10. Alberto used to ride his bike on this huaca when it was only a mound of dirt. Now it is a sacred site. A huaca is an excavation site, where "huacos" or original pottery are found. The restaurant is a bit touristy but the food is excellent. The chef is quite good and the restaurant just published a nice book about their cuisine.

The next day in Cusco we visited the spectacular Sacsayhuaman ruins in the outskirts of Cusco. These ruins have the largest stones, some up to 25 feet tall, so perfectly fit together that you can't put a razor blade in between two stones. While at the ruins, we saw a small herd of vicunas (their wool is the most expensive fiber in the world).


















Regina took a picture with a lady and a llama for S/.1, beating the S/.10 that Elaine paid a few days earlier. Our taxi then took us back to Cusco.









We visited the cute neighborhood of San Blas, which has several boutique craft shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. We then walked back to the center of town but discovered a great little restaurant named Granja Heidi's (Heidi's Farm) restaurant, which was excellent. The owner is a German fellow, who is most personable and really determined to give you a great food experience. He explained things in great detail. Great food and atmosphere.



We then visited the amazing La Merced Convent. It has a beautiful patio with stone arches, hand-carved ceilings and a gorgeous garden. We then did some shopping and then went for dinner to Cicciolina, which is a nice restaurant and very popular. The food is tasty, but a bit rich with lots of cheese, cream and other dairy in most dishes.

The last day in the Sacred Valley we went to Moray and then Chinchero. Moray was the agricultural lab of the Inkas. They views are amazing and you see the circular terraces in which the Inkas experimented with crops at various altitudes. On our way back, we stopped to see local potato farmers harvest their potatoes. They offered us chicha (fermented corn juice), which we passed on. We then continued on to Chinchero, where there is a cute little village next to the ruins, with plenty of handicraft vendors. We then drove back to Cusco and found ourselves in another massive traffic jam due to police activity at a check point. We finally made it back to Cusco and re-checked into the Inka Palace hotel by El Libertador. We then had dinner at Chi-Cha, which is a local flavor restaurant by the famous Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio (any Gaston Acurio restaurant in Peru or other parts of the world, including San Francisco, New York and Madrid, are guaranteed to give you the best gastronomic experience). The food was phenomenal and the price was very reasonable.

The next day we toured the Sacred Valley. We went first to Pisaq. We visited the beautiful ruins at the top of the mountain and then came down to do some shopping at the most enjoyable Pisaq handicraft market. Alberto ran into his colleague Anu. What are the odds of two professors from the DC area running into each other in the Pisaq market in Cusco?

From Pisaq we went to Ollantaytambo to visit the spectacular ruins there (Alberto's favorite).











Unfortunately it was Sunday so the ruins were overcrowded, which made it less enjoyable, but we still had a great time. We climbed to the top of the ruins, huffing and puffing, not an easy feat at 3000 meters above sea level. We elbowed our way through the crowds and were able to see the whole ruins. On our way back, we got stuck in traffic again. The narrow 2-way streets are hard to navigate by the big buses and trucks creating serious traffic jams. Avoid Ollantaytambo on Sundays at all costs. We learned this the hard way, only to discover that some tour books already mentioned this. We guess we should have read the book more carefully. But you'll thank us for this tip.

 

We finally cleared traffic and made it in time for our dinner at the 3 Keros restaurant in Urubamba. We all had lomo saltado, which was superb. The owner will greet you personally and by the time you leave he will feel like an old time friend. Their lomo saltado is highly rated and it was most delicious. We also ordered avocado with asparagus salad, which was very tasty. Overall, highly recommended.
 

We then arrived to Aguas Calientes, the little town under the Machu Picchu mountain, where we took the bus to Machu Picchu. After 25 minutes through hairpin curves with amazing views, we made it to Machu Picchu. The excitement vanished for a few minutes when we had to use the deplorable restroom facilities. Get this, 2500 visitors per day, sharing a single bathroom (the men's bathroom was broken, so everyone shared the same bathroom), we had to get toilet paper outside the bathroom before entering after standing in line to get in. We later discover that all ruins in the sacred valley have horrible bathroom facilities, most without toilet seat, toilet paper, soap, etc. Bring your own toilet paper and moisture towels. You'll thank us for this tip.

But the memory of this bad experience quickly disappeared at the first glimpse of the Machu Picchu ruins and the spectacular views from the top of the mountain. Except for the large crowds, this is a breathtaking experience.










Our tour guide was Johnny. He liked to be called Johnny Walker (we called him Johnny Machu Picchu Walker) and every sentence he uttered started with the words "Please (pause) listen". He was a great tour guide and very passionate about the Inka culture and for a good reason.























































After touring the ruins for about 5 hours we took the bus down to Aguas Calientes and visited the beautiful Inka Terra hotel near the train tracks, where they have a great bar with free tea and pastries. If you have time, visit their orchid farm, which is unique in the world. We drank coca tea and Cuzquena beer. We then proceeded to take the train back to Ollantaytambo to be entertained by the train crew to a fashion show and Andean devil dances, where Regina danced with the Andean devil. We made it to Ollantaytambo but the traffic was horrendous because they were having festivities in the town.

We enjoyed the marches and dances while we waited in traffic. Then back to the gorgeous Tambo del Inka for an excellent dinner at the hotel (the restaurant also has a huge fireplace).

Finally, en-route to Machu Picchu, aboard the Perurail Vistadome train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu. This is one of the most beautiful train rides ever. Our driver took us from Tambo del Inka to the Ollantaytambo train station, breaking the speed record set by Fitipaldi, only to arrive almost an hour before departure time.

We then made it to Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection hotel by El Libertador, which can easily be the most beautiful hotel in the world. The lobby has a 3-story high fireplace with an opening where you can see through the other side of the fireplace. An amazing bar with a spectacular lighted mural, outdoor heated bar area, indoor/outdoor pool, excellent restaurant, spa, and we can go on an on.

The award for most expensive photo of the trip went to Elaine, who paid the young lady S/.10 for the picture. Later in the trip, Regina got her picture taken for only S/.1.

We bought tour tickets for S/.130 (approx. $52). The tour ticket saved us a lot of money because it covers all the main ruins near Cusco and the Sacred Valley and several museums (admission to one ruin can be about S/.70).

We visited the Qorikancha temple and museum, right next to Santo Domingo church. The temple has interesting Inka stone foundations and a gorgeous garden with great views at the back. The temple is annexed to the Santo Domingo convent and church. The convent is in use and cannot be visited, but you can visit the beautiful church for free, when it is open.

We made our first new friends.

The Angels have landed.












Walked around the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco very, very slowly while adjusting to the altitude. We then went for a light dinner at Baco, a good grill restaurant-- inexpensive with a cozy and casual atmosphere.





















We walked some more after dinner but were the Angels tired easily due to the high altitude, so we retreated to the hotel. Note: highly recommend that upon arrival to high altitude: eat little, walk little, get lots of rest. We've been told that what you do on the first four hours upon arrival has a high impact on how well you adjust to the altitude.

Arrival in Cuzco. Drinking coca tea in the lobby of the spectacular Hotel El Libertador in Cuzco, Inca Palace, after a spiral landing around the mountains in Cuzco. This hotel is housed in an Inka Palace right across the street from the Qorikancha Inka temple and the Santo Domingo church, both a must see in Cuzco. Excellent restaurant, rooms, spa and other amenities. The staff really went out of their way to make our stay most pleasant. The rooms are beautifully decorate. We all took Diamox 250 mg. to help with the altitude, 1/2 a tablet twice per day, 2 days before arriving, and 2 more days after.