Abuelito and Abuelita surprised us when they said they would join us in Peru for a couple of weeks. We had been staying in The Elf hotel in Cusco for one night waiting for them to arrive. Mom and Benjamin went to the airport to pick them up. Nate and I did some science and computer while we waited. Then they came in.

We all went to dinner. Benjamin ordered cuy, which is guinea pig. It took the cooks 4 hours to finish with our food. Finally, they brought it to us. It was almost 11 pm. And the whole time, the cuy smiled at me while we ate.

In Cusco, we got ice cream, vendors tried to sell us things, we sat under trees in several pretty plazas, and mom, Nate and I bought a sweater and a blanket. All in all, Cusco was a very nice place!

Foto de los Garcias. By Nate

Photo of  the Garcias. By Nate

The next day we went to the Maras salt mines. They’re multicolored squares about four meters square. We tasted some of the water running through the salt ponds, and it was… well, salty. The salt stays behind on the walls of the ponds once the water evaporates.

The chocolate looking, Maras salt mines. Photo by Nate

The chocolate looking, Maras salt mines. Photo by Nate

We got to Ollantaytambo and noticed how beautiful the big rocks were, the ones that made the buildings. We found a nice hotel and a pizza place. As we waited for our food, I looked at the nice paintings and drawings of Machu Picchu and native women. The train to Machu Picchu was leaving at 4:30 a.m. We ate and quickly left to go to sleep, getting ready for the 3:25 wake up the following day.

All alarm clocks went off and I dragged myself to the bathroom to get ready just like everyone else. We pack our bags and set off for the train, no longer as tired. Once we were there, we waited for the people to finish cleaning and prepping the train and then got on and found our seats. It was super cool since it was my first time on a train.

First train trip! Photo by Amelia

First train trip! Photo by Amelia

When we arrived to Aguas Calientes, the six of us agreed that we should get a hotel before the hordes of tourists came and make the prices jump up. Abuelito found one and we dropped off our stuff, then got on the bus to Machu Picchu.

When we got there, lots of people offered us tours and guides. We walked through the entrance and started hiking. We went up to a place called the Gateway of the Sun, but Abuelita and Benjamin were tired two thirds of the way through so Mom went down with them. Nate, Abuelito and I continued up. Not far from where the six of us parted, we got to the first set of ruins. They were made with stones, large, and with little windows lining the top. I climbed the top so that I could stand on what would be the roof.

The Sun Gate. Photo by Nate

The Sun Gate. Photo by Nate

We met up with everyone else and then we all continued to visit the whole city. We stopped at a place with a stone step and looked at the view. It would have been more amazing if the fog weren’t covering the whole thing. We sat for a while, then the fog started to part and for ten wonderful minutes, we saw the whole thing. Rock buildings were scattered all over the city, with stone walkways creating a little labyrinth. There were houses with openings, showing windows. It has been the biggest ruins I have seen on the trip!

Orange moss, stone buildings. Photo by Nate

Orange moss, stone buildings. Photo by Nate

Machu Picchu when the fog finally cleared. Photo by Benjamin

Machu Picchu when the fog finally cleared. Photo by Benjamin

Then we began to walk down and through a stone gateway, the main gate. The rocks were very big, each about two feet tall and wide. We stopped at the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows, the Group of the Three Doorways, and we also saw fountains, and the agricultural sector. While walking, I found ten soles on the ground. Abuelita made me a bracelet with grass.

The Temple of the Three Windows. Photo by Nate

The Temple of the Three Windows. Photo by Nate

The top of the Temple of the Sun. Photo by ... probably Nate

The top of the Temple of the Sun. Photo by … probably Nate

To be honest, I had always heard that Machu Picchu was so great and wonderful, and it was but I think that people made out to be something even bigger than it was.

Editor's note: Really? Photo: Nate

Editor’s note: Really? Photo: Nate

When we got back to our hotel for the day, I got an M&M’s packet and a Twix. The next morning I didn’t have to get up 3:25 am. We took our time and then got to the train. On the way back, one of the train attendants in a mask and costume with lots of colors came out and danced to some ‘Inca’ music. He asked to dance with Abuelita and when he finished, the speaker in the train said, “Inca Rail is proud to present a runway show”. Then one of our servers came out and strutted down the walkway showing different ways to flip a shirt into a dress or scarf or another shirt. She finished and another server came out. They showed a couple of different more outfits. I actually did like the women’s clothes! Back in Ollantaytambo, mom, Nate, and my abuelos went to see more ruins, and then we left to el Valle Sagrado.

We found a hotel in Pisac. Benjamin and I watched videos for a while. I did some homework and then we left to a potato protecting area, where 2,300 types of potatoes grow. We walked around a lagoon. I made a heart with picked flowers for Mom, and Mom got me a dead tarantula to look at. Back at the hotel, Benjamin and I watched videos in my Abuelitos’ room, while everyone else cracked up because of the mini videos playing on Animal Planet.

We also went to the Pisac market. There were tapestries, different pottery, blankets, teas and spices, dyes… all that you could think of. As we walked, a lady speaking English offered us chocolate samples. She seemed like she was from the U.S. We tried coca leaves with milk chocolate, coca leaves with white chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and chili pepper…. Mom and Nate bought Benjamin and me blankets. Los Abuelitos gave Ben and I some money to buy whatever we wanted. I did so graciously.

dye, dye, dye! - Photo by Nate

dye, dye, dye! – Photo by Nate

Purple corn, orange corn, white corn, all corn - Photo by Nate

Purple corn, orange corn, white corn, all corn – Photo by Nate

We stop in Ayaviri on our way from Pisac to Puno. We found a hotel and asked for two rooms, one with two beds and the other with one. We got two towels, one for each room. When we asked for four more towels, the lady said no, that it was one towel per room. We then realized we didn’t have toilet paper. When we asked for it, she said no. Mom and Abuelito argued with her until she said something like: ‘I’m not giving you more than one roll of toilet paper per room!’ and Mom said ‘of course! We don’t need any more.’ We got a good laugh after the whole thing was done.

Picnic at Lake Titicaca. Photo: V

Picnic at Lake Titicaca. Photo: V

From Puno we went to the Uros Islands, floating islands made out of totora, a type of reed that grows in the Titicaca Lake. A guy named Roger brought us on his boat to his family island. He introduced us to his grandfather, grandmother and his wife, Nancy. They let us try on their traditional clothes and we took off our shoes and let our feet squish over the totora reeds. I loved that feeling.

Everything is made by totoras. Photo by Amelia

Everything is made with totoras. Photo by Amelia

A view from the house. Photo by Amelia

A view from the house. Photo by Amelia

Mom looking pretty next to Victoria, Roger's grandma. Photo by Nate

Mom looking pretty next to Victoria, Roger’s grandma. Photo by Nate

I bought a little clay pot, Benjamin bought a little boat made out of totora, and the four of us got a tapestry. All of it was handmade. Abuelita made me a tiara with totora. Then Roger and Nancy took us to a touristic island to eat lunch. We had trout. Very, very yummy trout. We rode the boat around the lake for a while and then Roger took us back to land. I took of the clothes they gave me since I had kept them on all day.

MVI_9304 from Nate Brown on Vimeo.

The next morning we left Puno and the Uros islands to continue our adventure. One of the best things about traveling with los Abuelitos was having them ooh and aah over the animals, like the flamingos and vicuñas we saw, or the landscape. After six hours of driving, we arrived to Arequipa. Los Abuelitos went off to explore the city, while we got things ready for our next part of the trip. Abuelito and Abuelita took us out to a nice restaurant to have lunch.

On the walk back, Abuelito was ahead of us and I walked after him. There were two women dancing in high, high heels and men playing music on their instruments. Then I saw a camera that looked like it was for a movie sliding back and forth and I turned around and ran. Abuelito though, stayed and clapped and when the music stopped, he clapped more and said ‘wow, muy bien, muy bien.’ It turns out, they were filming a video, and Abuelito was right in the middle of it. We teased him about it and he told us that when they restarted the video and looked back on which was better, the one with him would be the best. That was another best part of traveling with them: when Abuelito made his actually-not-so-funny jokes and when he laughed his funny laugh, which made the rest of us laugh. And then Abuelita would say something like ‘ay, qué Abuelito’.

Abuelito crashes a video. Photo by Nate

Abuelito crashes a video. Photo by Nate

The next day we drove Los Abuelitos to the airport and said our good-byes.

Off they went to Lima, then Medellin. Off we went to the south coast of Peru.

Sea lions on our last day in Peru. Photo by Amelia

Sea lions on our last day in Peru. Photo by Amelia

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  • Jeneen
    Reply

    I was missing you guys, so I was glad to see this fun update! Love the Garcia family photo – everyone looks so happy! Fun times!

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