Tracy Carolyn Photography

I really wanted to hike the Inca Trail.  Correction:  I really wanted to want to hike the Inca Trail.

You get badass points for hiking and camping for four days in the high altitude and freezing weather on the way to Machu Picchu.  But in order to do that you have to, you know, hike and camp for four days in the high altitude and freezing weather.  As much as I wanted to enjoy the choice views, this didn’t really seem like a good time to me.

I’m not much of a hiker.  In fact, my family has made fun of me because I don’t really like hiking (who doesn’t like hiking, they ask – it’s just like walking!)  But I don’t.  I spend too much time looking at my feet and trying not to trip over something that I generally don’t enjoy the views afforded to you by going up on foot.

And while I love camping, its usually of the car camping variety and doesn’t require me to schlep a sleeping bag rated for below freezing temperatures, a sleeping mat, and several rolls of toilet paper.  I’m more of the inflatable bed and pillows kind of camper.  One of the amenities offered by one of the hiking companies is that they give you a small bowl of hot water every day to give yourself a mini bath with.  For four days, that kind of sounds miserable – I really enjoy showering.

So while we heard loads of lovely stories from fellow travelers about the views and the sense of accomplishment when you finally glimpse those Inca ruins after four days, I knew from those same tales that this trek wasn’t for me.  Plus, it’s really expensive.  Decision made.

Instead, John and I took the easy way to Machu Picchu, and rode in style on the Peru Rail Vistadome train.  The train offers beautiful views as you descend from Cusco into the Sacred Valley and into the jungle, finally finishing in Aguas Calientes.  There’s no bowl of warm water for bathing, but the whole ride is accompanied by a soundtrack of Peruvian music, ranging from electronica to flute music to the soothing sounds of the jungle.  While the journey was a bit reminiscent of our flight from Denver to Cancun on the touristy scale (they tried to sell us safari gear and CDs mid ride) it was nice to enjoy the views from a comfortable seat.  And heck, they even brought me a little snack and a coffee – what more could you ask for?

So while I felt like kind of a wuss every time someone in Cusco asked us if we were doing the trek to Machu Picchu, I’m still pleased with my decision.  We did enough hiking at Machu Picchu itself to satisfy any desire to hike that I had left, anyway.

I’ll score those badass points somewhere else on our journey, I’m sure.

Last weekend we did one of those all-in-one day bus tours of the Sacred Valley, which took us to three cities with different Inca ruins to visit.  We had a tour guide, who talked far too much, and provided us with little information.  Really it’s kind of a guessing game as to what the Incas used these different places for.  There are several theories out there to choose from – we decided to just enjoy the scenery and marvel at the construction, no matter it’s intended purpose.

First stop was the ruins at Pisac, up on the hilltop.

After the ruins, we went down the hill to the Pisac market, which comes to life on Sunday afternoons.  It’s tucked into the town square, and you can see mountains peeking over every booth.

The market is surrounded by little restaurants, like this one.  A picnic table, pot of hot food, and willingness to serve is all you need to be a restaurant around here.

While I tend to enjoy these types of market by taking loads of photos, John enjoys them by eating street food.  He loves it.  Cheap, fast, and authentic.  He started with a glass of chicha, a beverage made from purple corn.  Then he moved on to an ear of giant corn with cheese and green chili sauce, known as choclo con queso.  (Yes, it really is giant corn.  The kernels are probably 2-3 times the size of corn you are used to.)

After that, he headed to one of those picnic table style restaurants for some chicken and potatoes.  The day’s feast was finished off with a pork kebab topped with a roasted potato.  (In all fairness, the kebab did come later in the day.)  I enjoyed a cheese and cucumber sandwich that I had packed at home instead.  I’m just not as adventurous as he is.

Next, Ollantaytambo for more beautiful Inca ruins.

Check out the face in the mountain on the right.  It’s supposedly an Inca god who protects the crop storehouses, which you can also see carved into the mountain.

Last stop of the day was Chinchero, where Inca ruins were used as the base for a colonial church.

The last Inca ruins we have left to visit is of course the most anticipated – Machu Picchu.  We head out to see that on Monday!

Cusco has impressively good food.

My current favorite place to eat is a vegetarian restaurant called El Encuentro.  They have a rotating set menu, which includes salad, bread, a huge bowl of soup, a large main dish and hot tea.  The main dishes are authentic Peruvian food made without the meat, which is really nice for me.  It costs S./8, or approximately US$3.10, and everything so far has been amazing.

John’s favorite place is the polleria (chicken shop) around the corner.  He gets salad, soup, rice, fried potatoes and a chunk of amazingly cooked chicken.  They roast the chicken on spits inside a huge wood burning oven.  (He claims it is amazing, though I haven’t tried it for obvious reasons.)  It costs him S./5, or US$2.

Needless to say, the food here is cheap (as long as you move just a little out of the tourist bubble, that is.  Locals can eat for even cheaper if they have stronger stomachs and are willing to brave the places with less clean kitchens.)  It’s so cheap and good that we’ve actually decided to eat out more than usual.  [Edited to add: We have since mastered the small San Blas Market where you can get an amazing and filling two course vegetarian meal with tea for S./3, or about US$1.15.  Follow that with a S./3 freshly made juice from another stand that's chock full of fresh fruit and huge enough to share, and you're leaving the market a happy camper.]

However, I do still love to cook.  And I love to learn how to make the local dishes, of which there are many delicious ones here in Peru.  So we decided to take a cooking class with Erick, a chef at one of the popular local restaurants here in Cusco.

Our cooking class began with a trip to one of the local markets, where Erick schooled us on some of the local produce.  We even sampled a few things we’d never had before.  The white fruit with purple stripes is a mix of cucumber and melon – it tastes refreshing and slightly sweet, and would probably be yummy in a salad.  On the right is one of the many types of passion fruit.  This one was a bit too sour for my taste.

These funny looking fruit aren’t really edible, but apparently locals believe they have the power to cure cancer.  They boil them in water, then serve the liquid as a type of healing tonic.

These green guys are called custard apples.  They taste exactly like you would expect something called a custard apple to taste.

We tried a tasty fruit that had the consistency of a sweet potato and smelled like butterscotch.  Then we learned about some of the varieties of potatoes grown in the Andes (there are 4,000 varieties here in Peru.)

We also sampled different types of roasted corn and hand made caramels, and smelled the local coffee (which is roasted with brown sugar and orange peels for more flavor.)  When we finally left the market, John and I were amazed at how many things we would never have discovered without a little guidance.  Things like the purple corn below.  It looks kind of like blackberries on a cob.  You don’t eat it straight, but rather boil it to get the flavor and use the resulting water to cook with.

After the market it was off to one of Erick’s four restaurants for our cooking lessons.  This is the view from the terrace – the only rooftop terrace in all of downtown Cusco.  (Don’t tell me you are sick of overhead views of Cusco.  I’m certainly not.)

Once we went back inside, Erick gave us a little lesson about pisco, and the restaurant’s bartender taught us how to make a Pisco Sour (pisco, simple syrup, lime juice and egg white), and a Chilcano (pisco, simple syrup, lime juice, bitters, ginger ale.)  Then he let us sample some of the infused pisco they make in house.  The yellow pepper pisco has been aging for a year – very flavorful.

Time to cook.  Our first course was Causa, a dish made of mashed potato mixed with lime juice and yellow pepper sauce, then layered with a number of different fillings.  My vegetarian version featured red pepper sauce, hard boiled egg and avocado.

John’s added black olives and shredded chicken to the mix.

Both were incredibly delicious and quite easy to make.  For the main course, we made alpaca saltada (or veggie saltada for me.)  This is a classic Peruvian dish made with onions, orange and red peppers, and tomatoes.  The recipe we made had a heavy Asian influence, with ginger, soy sauce, and cilantro included in the ingredients.  After chopping everything, Erick led us into the restaurant’s tiny kitchen (clearly not built for tall people, as both John and I nearly hit our heads several times.)  We each got to saute our dishes over the flames, which as you can see became huge when we added pisco to the pan.

Peruvians serve alpaca saltada with fried potatoes and rice.  (It’s commonplace here to eat potatoes and rice together, which most visitors – including me – find odd.  Erick said that’s just how they do it, and with 4,000 varieties of potatoes to eat, I’m not surprised.)  It was good, but so filling we had to take half home.  Below is my dish (John’s is the first one of this post.) 

Is your mouth watering yet?  Ask nicely and I just might make these for you in the future.  If you’re in Denver, there’s a great Peruvian restaurant where you can try lomo saltado and other yummy dishes.  Go try it.  I’m off to eat my leftovers :)