Been There, Done That

Greetings from Salkantay Lodge in the Andes.

Before we left Cusco, we had dinner at a local restaurant to try the local delicacy, cuy (pronounced COO-ee). Let me add eating Guinea Pig to my list of “Been there, Done that, Don’t need to do again." And no, it doesn’t taste like chicken. The little teeth staring at me were the biggest issue.

It was an interesting drive up into the mountains. As we crawled up switchback roads, farmers worked their patchwork fields of potato crops (they grow 180+ varieties in Peru.) Children in neat uniforms and knee socks walked along the road on their way to school. We visited the ancient Incan site of Tarawasi (from the tara tree and "wasi" meaning home.) Like all important building it was built using no mortar- stones are carefully cut and placed using Incan techniques to withstand earthquakes. Here the Incans placed their important people in cloths in the fetal position so that the mythical condor could carry them away to the next life.

Soon paved roads gave way to gravel as the air thinned. Often hotel brochures are more glossy & luxurious than the property itself. This lodge is nestled on a pampas with 360 degree views of the Salkantay Mountain & its neighboring peaks. All the comforts of home! Then came orientation…