South American Adventure Part 3

 

October 16

With no plans or tickets for Machu Picchu today we slept in, but then had to check out of the hotel by 0930 so new visitors coming in on the early train could check in.  We moved our bags to the lobby and wandered around Aguas Calientes, finally having lunch at Indio Feliz restaurant where we enjoyed more of the Peruvian “Salmon Trout” along with an avocado and papaya appetizer.   We could not believe how small the world was when we discovered the people sitting at the next table were also from Seattle. After lunch we returned to the hotel lobby until our train boarded at 1700.  We were not the only ones in this situation, so we all shared our experiences at Machu Picchu while we waited.  Thankfully the hotel porter carried our bags back up the hill to the train station for us.  As the train departed, the rain started, light at first and then heavier.  However, it gets dark by 1800, so there was little to see from the train windows as we headed back to Ollantaytambo.  The Condor Travel representative was waiting outside the rail station, but had not picked up the bags we had left in storage at the Casa Andina Hotel.  We went back to the hotel and then made a 2 hour ride back to Cusco, with the rain heavy at times,and crossing the 12,500 foot plateau before descending into Cusco at 11,250 feet.

We arrived at the Casa Andina Private Collection hotel in the historic district of Cusco at 2130 (9:30 PM) and waited in line to check in.  We were upgraded to a larger room with a separate sitting area, like a junior suite.  The hotel is a historic landmark and was built in the 1700’s as a private residence.  No wall is straight; the floors are all stone, but the rooms are very well equipped.  The restaurant was open until 2245, so we had time to get a late dinner, with more of the Salmon Trout and some Peruvian Red Wine.

October 17

Today was a “free day”, no organized tours, so after breakfast we headed up the hill several blocks to the main square. “Plaza de Armes” and wandered through the shops and then visited the Inca Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art.  Both of us could feel the effects of the altitude, no sickness, but definitely harder to breath and walk up the steep streets.  Returning to the hotel for lunch we sat in the sun in one of the courtyards and listened to a Andean Harpist while we ate, but shortly after returning to our room the clouds rolled in and we were treated to a thunder, lightning and hail storm for over three hours.  Since our lunch was big we just went to the Tapas Bar at the hotel and snacked on light appetizers before returning to the room to pack the bags for the flight to Quito in the morning.  Condor Travel will pick us up at 0545 for our flight on TACA airlines, part of Avianca.

Church at Plaza des Armes, Cusco

Plaza des Armes, Cusco



Cusco Cathedral

October 18

The day began with the alarm at 0430, followed by a quick breakfast at 0510 and then the Condor Travel driver was at the hotel entrance at 0540.  The streets were mostly deserted as we headed to the Cusco airport where we checked into to the TACA Airlines flight to Lima, connecting to another flight to Quito, Ecuador.  The first flight was mostly on time landing, but instead of a gate, we parked on the tarmac and were taken in by bus to the terminal.  This meant delays, but even worse, the lines for security to check in for the international flight were hundreds of people long and we were already past the boarding time for the next flight.  We talked our way to the head of the queue and ran for the gate, after going through immigration formalities.  At the gate we found a delay of 30 minutes, so the running was in vain.  We finally boarded and took off 45 minutes late and had an uneventful flight to Quito, where the Metropolitan Travel agent was waiting to take us to the Patio Andaluz Hotel in the historic district in Quito.  The drive is about one hour and on the way the thunderstorms, rain and then hail started.  By the time we got to our room the thunder, lightning and hail made a deafening roar on the glass skylights over the hotel atrium.  We checked in and made our way to the bar for our complimentary welcome drink.  The room we were given was in the main building ad was 2 ½ floors high, with a bed on each of the two floors and then a few steps further up to a deck overlooking the interior courtyard which is covered by a glass skylight.

After resting for a few hours we had dinner in the hotel since it was still raining outside and enjoyed a shrimp ceviche Ecuadoran style, followed by Patrick’s steak smothered in pickled and sautéed garlic and chili’s, Miriam’s sautéed trout as well as a shared plate of grilled asparagus.

Back in the room we downloaded the photos from the last two days and prepared for our trip to Otavalo Market in the morning.

October 19

The driver was a little bit ahead of schedule at 0720, so we headed out in heavy old town traffic across Quito to New Town area and joined three other couples for a shared trip to Otavalo Market.  We stopped several times to view the volcanic cones along the way during the two hour drive to Otavalo.  The market had many fruits, vegetables, food stands as well as native handicrafts and traditional machine made weavings.  After several hours wandering around the largest open air market in Ecuador we stopped at a traditional weaving center in Puchenge before heading to the Hosteria Hacienda Pinsaqui for a delicious lunch with Andean specialties.  Miriam and I both had shrimp ceviche, followed by grilled shrimp in garlic sauce and a Pinsaqui steak, which although flavored well was tough.

Otavalo Market

Colorful Textiles

Main Square, Otavalo

Roast Pig Anyone?

I


Knitted Masks

Incredible Variety of Vegetables

 

Yarn
 

 

The trip back to Quito and our hotel took 2 ½ hours and we arrived at 1800 to the sounds of loud disco music from a music hall across the street from our room.  Fortunately the music ended early since we have a very early (0430)  wakeup call for the trip to the Quito airport and then to the Galapagos.

We do not expect to have internet service until we return to Quito, and since the internet is slow in the room, only a few photos this post.