Day 16- Lima

After Machu Picchu we spent the night at Niños Hotel in Cusco again. The staff was excited to have Max back. Max was excited for their strawberry smoothies... 

And for making a mess of their chair cushions.

We arrived in Lima and were upgraded to a fancy room, I think Max thought we had won the lottery! 

Francisco (a friend we met at Casa Saywa) met us at the hotel to show us around Borancco. Lima was beautiful! 

Spence found a great restaurant called Canta Rana where we enjoyed some Peruvian specialties: Pisco Sours and...

Ceviche! Mmmmm

Later we walked around the central square and enjoyed the sights and sounds. 

Farewell Peru, We had a blast!

Day 15- Machu Picchu

The We finally made it to Machu Picchu!

Max was excited as we were.

After enjoying the quintessential view we decided to take a quieter path away from the crowds over to an Incan bridge. 

The views were beautiful, but the steep and narrow paths were...

TERRIFYING!!! 

When we got back we stopped for a snack in an area that Max could run around without risk of falling off the mountain. 

We made our way down to the centre and explored the ruins up close. 

 

What a great way to wrap up our trip!

Day 14- Cocolmayo Hot Springs

Today we woke up early and walked to the train station. 

We boarded the fancy VistaDome carriage destined for Aguas Calientes. 

The scenery was incredible and the service was awesome. It was definitely more luxurious than hiking the Inca trail, but maybe we can do that when Max is a little older, and strong enough to carry me. :)

Max liked the train, but was most excited about the hinges on the table...

And running up and down the aisle. 

 

When we arrived we quickly found out me hotel and then went back to the train station to find our way to some hot springs outside of town. Probably the most difficult place we could have decided to venture to, but that's life with Mark Spencer. ;P

Once we purchased our tickets for Hydro Electrica we were sent to Estacion Policia to catch the train. We had to scramble to get there as it was in the center of town. We stood in a long line of people waiting to board a carriage that had way more people than seats available. I started thinking this was going to be an "interesting" ride crammed in a train with a baby, but as soon as my heart rate and blood pressure started to rise, we were directed to the tourist carriage that had plenty of room and nice seats. This made for a much more pleasant ride. 

The adventure was still awaiting us on the other side with the most thrilling taxi ride of my life. At times it was like off-roaring, while others it was like being in rally cross. We were on a tight schedule to make it back for the last train so I think our driver was trying hard to maximize our time at the swimming hole. 

It was all worth it to see Max's face when he got to swimming for the first time in weeks. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so big. The hot springs were beautiful and filled with locals who were camping. We had a nice hour soak while it was relatively quiet, and the tourist buses started rolling in as we left. 

We made it back to the train with time to spare. 

And Max finally found a stray dog that we let him pet. 

On the walk back to the hotel, Max stopped to socialize with some local kids and helped his self to one of the boy's cookies. Dada compensated the boy for the stolen cookie with some money. 

Our friend André (the French chef from Urubamba) suggested we eat at his friends restaurant. It was adorned like a pirate ship, which we thought wa very suitable for Max. The food was amazing and exceeded our expectations. Max fell asleep halfway through dinner and is still resting soundly as I type. 

We are now ready for the climax of our trip, Machu Picchu awaits! 

Day 13- Ollantaytambo

We must be getting old, we were up at the crack of dawn ready to start our day. The owners of the hotel have a 2 year old daughter named Mikayla. Max tried to give her a kiss, but she froze like a statue and he wasn't tall enough to reach her face. 

We had eaten breakfast and arrived at the ruins by 8:30am. The climb up the stairs was a good way to wam up on a very cold morning. 

The architecture at the site was incredible, especially considering the my had to move these massive stones from a quarry about 5km away. 

Although most of this ruin did not meet baby-proof status, we did manage to find a few nooks and crannies that Max could explore. 

He enjoyed looking out over the valley. This ruin is best known for a battle in which the Incans were successful in their defense. When they got word of a Soanish Invasion, Manco Inca flooded the fields below and shot arrows and threw rocks from above. 

The steep terraces were used to grow various crops, but mostly corn. In the valley the developed special terraces that were protected from the wind and that maximized sun exposure, allowing them to grow vegetation that would not normally survive the climate. 

Some of the ruin was carved directly into the mountain, like these cliff side staircases. Don't worry, Max and I opted to sit this one out.

Max's favorite pary of this ruin was the field at the bottom. 

Dada's favourite part was getting the celebrity treatment from the teenage paparazzi. 

We had completed the circuit before 10:30am... When a lot of people were just arriving. It was great as we had most the place to ourselves.

After all the climbing and walking, I was starving... So we went for second breakfast! ;) Max amused us by making faces on the window... I hope they have Windex here! 

The streets in the town are lined with  amazing stone walls. 

Dada and Max had a dance party in the restaurant at dinner. When I have enough internet I will upload the video, it's unbelievable how in'sync they were!

Off to Aguas Calientes mañana.

Day 12- Hasta Luego Cusco

Today we spent the morning walking around the neighbourhood. Each street has several specialty stores selling the same thing. On our block we had the shoemakers, where they were ACTUALLY hand making shoes! 

Around the corner were the tailors, with third incredibly creepy mannequins. Then around the next corner were the Catholic candlemakers. I don't have a picture, but these candles were huge and ornate. I'm not sure how they compete for business, because the virtually all look the same and sell the exact same stuff right next door to each other. 

Dada bought Max a rainstick, which he loves, although he tried to use it like log-roller... He loves danger! 

 

We left Cusco after lunch and arrived in Ollantaytambo for dinner. It is a very quaint little town and very busy with tourists. 

We ate dinner over-looking the central plaza. Max entertained himself by dropping items out the window onto the roof below... Sigh! 

The table clothes in the restaurant are the same pattern as my baby carrier.... Or rather, I was sold a table cloth and told it was a baby carrier. We met a fellow from Saudi Arabia who is traveling around South America as a last hurrah before he gets married, as he said that after he has a wife he won't be allowed to do anything. Lol! 

The mountains around Ollantaytambo are beautiful! Looking forward to exploring the ruins tomorrow.