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Peru-----------------Perol Chico
9/25/03
Drove to Portland Wed night and up at 3:30 this morning to be at the Airport by 4:30. Four
hours to Houston, lay over for 2 or 3 hours and 6 ½ more hours to Lima. Got to Lima at 10:30pm,
where we were met by Soledad and Enrique, and a driver to take us to the Mira Flores Hotel. Had our
first Pisco Sours (VERY GOOD). Had my second Pisco Sour and it was still good but two may be one to
many. Met two ladies from Ireland that had been trekking the Inca Trail. We stayed up till 2:00am
talking to them when we had a 5:30 wake up call to go to the airport for our flight to Cuzco.
Friday, 26
Up at 5:30 and to the airport with only three hours sleep. I dropped my jacket at the airport and
they treated it like it was a bomb. I had to sign my life away and show them that Verle had one
exactly like it. After about an hour flight to Cuzco, we were met by another driver who did not
speak much English. Last I had talked to Equitours we were going to spend a couple of days in Cuzco
to get adjusted to the altitude, but this driver takes off out of the city to God knows where.
Finally figured out that Eddie had made reservations for us at Yucay, which is near the ranch. It is
a little lower in altitude and may be easier to adjust to. Ulysses (oolysees) is our driver and it
will turn out that he is a great asset to us in the next couple of days. I believe the altitude is
really getting to me, do not feel good and very shaky. We both took a long nap and then Eddie, the
ranch owner and our guide came to meet us. He is very passionate about his horses and will teach us
to ride his horses his way. Eddie has arranged for Ulysses to take us tomorrow to some Inca Ruins.
We went to bed very early, really no energy at all.
Saturday 27,
Verles headache is gone but I am so shaky that I cannot carry a cup of coffee. The coffee is so
strong that they have hot milk, you mix it half and half and still have strong coffee. Ulysses took
us to Ollantaytambo, a very well preserved Inca ruins. There was no way that I could have made the
walk up the ruins so Ulysses got an English speaking guide for Verle while I just walked around the
plaza. We spent a lot of time there just watching the daily lives of the residents and then back to
the hotel for lunch and a nap until 5:30. Hope we can stay awake longer tomorrow. Eddie came at
dinner to check on us and make arrangements for tomorrow. To bed by 10:00pm.
Sunday 28,
Ulysses picked us up at 9:00 and off to Pisac where the local markets are. Did shopping until noon
and then went to lunch. Ulysses took us to a little local restraunt in the market, the owner asked
us if we would like to go upstairs, so back through the kitchen, up narrow stairs and we were
upstairs looking out over the whole market place while we ate lunch. We then drove up the mountain
to the ruins of Pisac and hiked to the temple of the sun. This is higher than Machu Picchu and I was
OK. Out of breath, yes, but appetite is coming back and I am much less shaky. I am so glad we had
these two days to adjust to the altitude.
Monday 29,
We had a lazy day until we met the rest of the group and went to the ranch to meet the horses. We
all had a lesson on how to ride his horses. I tried to pet a couple that were tied to posts, one
wanted nothing to do with me, and the other one tried to eat me. His name is Ica de Sol. Guess who
got picked to ride Ica (Eddie said the horse needed a confident rider and I had no fear. (Yeah
right, the horse tries to attack you when you try to untie him. They will not let me mount or
dismount unless someone is holding his head.) Verle gets Bardo, a big bay with beautiful
self-carriage. There was another very pretty gray stud that would have been my pick but Eddie wanted
me to ride "Crazy Horse". Eddie does not know that I was more than willing to take the
calmest, quietest horse that he has, I just want to make the trip with as little pain as possible. I
think he is getting even with me because I keep telling him what wonderful horses Paso Finos are.
Tuesday 30,
We were driven to the ranch at 9:00am, where we separated our gear to go into the trucks and got our
horses. I really do not know what time we actually hit the trail but it was not before 10:00. One
horse threw a shoe and we had to slow down so Johnny could lead. We never hit camp until pitch dark
at about 7:00 PM. When we left the ranch the first immediate challenge for me was a suspension
bridge that we had to ride the horses across. Only one horse at a time or the bridge would sway too
much. Then after a tremendous climb we saw the salt mines. It covers an immense area. We also went
to the place where the Incas had an agricultural laboratory of deepening circles in the ground. Rode
through the village at a very fast pace. Someone said we were like the magnificent seven. What
beautiful scenery and what a perfect day. My shoulder is doing amazingly well. We had lunch at one
of the oldest churches in South America. The church was closed so we could not go inside. The camp
was all set up, nice tent to sleep in with a mattress, a tent to eat in with padded benches. A
perfect day!
Wednesday 10/01/03
A very easy day! Horses are all taken care of by the crew. We watched them try to bridle and saddle
my horse, not an easy job, it took about 45 minutes. We took off about 9:30, stopped at 10:30 for
tea and snacks, rested until 11:30 and then rode for an hour and a half to lunch. We did get rained
on a little but not bad. At lunch we got to see more Inca ruins and a beautiful church. This was
Chincherro. Then we had a very short ride to camp. We were in camp by 4:30. Mary was not able to
ride with us today. She was sick last night and was hit hard with the trots as she went to get on
her horse. Much colder tonight than it has been, but our tent and bags are warm. We have a beautiful
campsite by another lake, and another beautiful day.
Thursday 02,
Verle got sick in the middle of the night and has been miserable all day but insisted on riding all
day. (Today was one of the most beautiful rides of the whole trip). We were riding on some of the
original Inca roads. We rode from 9 till 4 o'clock and he is in pretty bad shape. Has not eaten all
day, I am trying to get him to drink some cocoa tea. We have tomorrow off, so he can rest all day.
Another beautiful ride, and a lot more pictures. The group is going to have dinner together here at
the Hotel. Neil, Josie, Pat, Mary, and, of course, Eddie.
Friday 03,
Verle was very sick last night and stayed in bed. I brought him tea and vegetable soup. He was able
to drink the broth and is some better this morning. We are in Cuzco but are moving to a different
hotel. Got to our new hotel, and went to the Pharmacia and got electrolytes, altitude pills, and
antibiotics, along with a 7-up, and brought them back to the room for Verle. I tried to go out
alone, but I was a target for every vendor, shoe shine boy and beggar. Went to the main plaza and
took some pictures and found a grocery store, got Verle some crackers and a mounds. He ate some and
we just kicked back the rest of the day until 7:30. Met the rest of the group and went to a local
bar before going to dinner at a buffet with live music. Verle is much better, I hope good enough for
a hard ride to our highest altitude that we will be at on this trip. Got our stuff rearranged to
load into the truck tomorrow by 11:00am. We are supposed to have breakfast and our luggage back to
the horses by 9:00AM. It may be a long day tomorrow and much colder as well as hard on the horses.
Ica had had a days rest, should be fun tomorrow for the first hour of so.
Saturday 04,
We tried to get started by 9:00 and were pretty close. Rode until 4:00 when we hit camp at another
high lake. In between start and finish was the most wonderful day. We got to the highest point of
the ride 14,280 feet. Most of us can barley walk and yet we did try to lead the horses when reaching
the top. We can say we hiked the Andes. Stopped for lunch near a locals home, a mud and rock hut
with a straw roof, they were gathering llama dung to dry so that they could use it for fuel to cook
and heat with. Eddie gave them any food we had left from lunch and we were able to go inside their
hut. Then at evening camp the local children came by. They were given some very small toys, candy
and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Some of our party had great fun demonstrating how we brush our
teeth. Some of the kids had never seen such things. Verle is all well now but Josie got sick. Neil
and I are the only ones left that have not been hit with an upset stomach and the trots. Some of the
trail today was extremely difficult, even for Verle and I. We have taken so many pictures that the
battery is going on the camera. We went to a neat spot in the morning with all kinds of tunnels and
channels in the rock. There is supposed to be a tunnel to Cuzco from it. It was another great day.
Sunday 05, AM.
Very cold last night but we were fine in our tent and bags. Today I feel very iffy and fear of
getting what the others have had, of course I cannot find all of the pills that we bought in Cuzco.
PM. Found the pills but still feel lousy, got into camp at 3:30 but had to go back out to try to
find water for the horses, and I had just about had it. We went through a wonderful remote village
today where the people were very poor. Got off of the horses and really visited for a while. Drank a
swallow of beer and bought 2 scarves. Most of the ride today was down hill and was rough because I
was not feeling well. Had lunch in a beautiful eucalyptus grove. Will ride back to the ranch
tomorrow and hot showers again. Very cold and windy tonight.
Monday 06, AM.
I was pretty ill last night but Goya made soup that I could drink the broth and slept most of the
time from when we made camp till morning. Woke up to a beautiful morning and are going back to the
ranch and our hotel in Yucay. PM. Someone told Eddie that we wanted an interesting ride on our last
day and we got it. We had to come down off of the mountain and it was steep and actually very
dangerous in parts. When we got over the worst of it we found our trail blocked by a slide. Had to
lead the horses down around it and back up. Eddie fell leading a horse and hurt his foot very badly.
When we finally got to a road he took a taxi home and Johnny, who had been walking and leading an
injured Flocko, rode Eddies horse and led Flocko. We were trying to make good time because we lost
so much time at the slide. We did not stop for lunch until 3:30. Eddie had sent out a car to look
for us and we were only a few minutes from the hotel. He sent extra riders to ride the horses back
to the ranch and the group went back to the hotel in the cars. Today was a very hard day and both
Eddie and Neil got the bug in the night. Hope Neil is well enough to enjoy Machu Picchu. A shower
and a rest are going to feel so good. Climbing up out of the hole to go around the slide about did
me in, and since we did not stop for lunch I never got any pain pills and my shoulder is killing me.
You have to work very hard to keep these horses in gait. I had to start wearing gloves because I was
getting blisters on my hands. Too many different people riding them and most of those people have no
idea about gait.
Tuesday 07,
Did not have much of an appetite yesterday, could hardly eat last night. Woke up not feeling good,
but we were off to Machu Picchu. Wake up call at 4:30 to be picked up at 5:30 to make the train by
6:15. Hit the village at 8:30, and then a bus ride with hair pin turns, (which gave us even more
grey hairs), up to the ruins. They are huge, and I did manage to hike all around and see a great
deal, but just kept getting sicker. Had a 4:45 departure on the train and got back to Urubamba at
6:15. The rest of the group went to the ranch for dinner, but I went back to the hotel. The ruins
were AWESOME!!
Wednesday 08,
Left Yucay at 10:00am for Cuzco. Said our good-byes to Ulysses. Eddie cannot come because of his
ankle. His secretary and Johnny came with us to our new hotel and then took us to a wonderful Andean
Restaurant overlooking the city. Had a four piece band playing the Pan Pipes and we bought one of
their CD's and a set of pipes. Back to the hotel and just kicked back until we went to the monastery
where Josie had booked a room. Just looked around at the chapel and the beautiful courtyards. Had a
couple of drinks and walked back to our hotel under a full moon. A beautiful night to end our trip
Eight AM pick up tomorrow to go back to Lima.
Thursday 09,
Got up and met Eddie and said our goodbyes to him. The group got into taxis to go to Cuzco to the
airport for Lima. The plane was late so never got to our hotel in Lima until 1:00 or so. Just laid
around the hotel until evening and had one last dinner with Neil, Pat, and Mary. They are catching
the plane tonight and we catch it tomorrow night. Soledad will give us something to do tomorrow.
Friday 10,
Met Soledad at 10:00 and went to an elaborate Spanish church and a Franciscan monastery and a
museum. Also visited Old Colonial Lima, and was very impressed by Pizzaro's Palace, and the
beautiful buildings with their fantastic balconies. Then out to a seafood dinner, back to the hotel
to wait for a driver to pick us up for the airport. Fly out of Lima about midnight, 6 ½ hours to
Houston, go through Customs, lay over and then 4 ½ to Portland. And then we finally see our kids,
grandkids, dogs and horses. From the time we leave our hotel in Lima till we get to our own house
will take us 21 hours. A long travel time but it has been the trip of a lifetime for us.
Note: (We believe that all of the horses mentioned in the above article were Peruvian Paso's.)
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