October 2, 2009

When we were researching our trip we came across a train ride from Puno to Cusco that is quite popular. We decided we would splurge and take the Class A train as the booked warned of possible safety issues. Not to mention we once took a long train ride in Sweden using the general class and did not reserve seats and ended up standing and sitting on our luggage between the cars for most of that train ride. The extra money on the train ride was well worth it. We departed Puno and made three stops en route to Cusco. The elevation in Puno is right around 11,500 and the the highest point on the train ride was 14,500. That point was roughly the halfway point where we were able to get off the train for 10 minutes. Boy could we tell the difference, you get winded really quickly at that elevation with such a large elevation gain. The train then descended back to Cusco which is just over 11,000 feet. I feel great at this elevation, not that I felt horrible in Puno, but just got winded very easily. Chuck is finally back to himself. The descent made a huge difference for him. He is back to joking around and picking on me as usual!

Our train contained an observation car. I have to figure out if it is an observation car for the riders or for the folks not on the street. :) Sometimes I felt we were on display. The only spot where I felt uncomfortable was in Juliaca. That town has a reputation for having more crime. I could tell as I noticed extra personnel on the train and at least 2 folks in the back of the observation car, whereas normally they did not hang out there for extended periods of time. There are some very poor areas of Peru as well as some very nice areas. In my opinion the country is better off than Haiti and even Tanzania. We were able to see some snow capped peaks of the Andes Mountains on our train ride which were beautiful. The countryside is amazing. When we started in Puno the landscape was very dry and after we crossed the high point the landscape started to green up. Prior to the hight point there was little in the way of agriculture to speak of and the cows, sheep and few alpaca's we saw looked a little on the sickly side. After the high point the animals looked very healthy and we saw actual crops being farmed. I saw very little farming that was done using modern machinery the bulk of it was still being down using cows to pull a plow or plowing by hand. One interesting thing I have noticed is that I saw the majority of women doing the agricultural work, in addition to laundry. I have yet to figure out what their men are doing....

Our train ride included small Pisco sours and a band in the morning, a gourmet lunch, an afternoon lesson on how to make Pisco sours with a band and a fashion show, then followed by afternoon tea complete with finger sandwiches. It was quite the experience. I was the lucky person that the bar tender gave the demonstrated Pisco Sour to. They are yummy! The Pisco Sour contains Pisco (a liquor that I think tastes similar to a really good tequila), syrup (essentially sugar), lemon juice, egg whites and a few drops of bitters. Both Chuck and Chad ended up trying a Passion Fruit Sour and a Papaya Sour. They said both were pretty good.

Upon arrival in Cusco our driver met us at the train station and brought us to our hotel where we rendezvoused with Joel (Chuck's brother), his wife Pat, and their son Jonathan. Shortly after we got checked in our representative from our guide company met us for a quick briefing and provided some recommendations for dining options. After that we walked up to the main square which has lots of dining options and is beautiful at night. We chose to eat at the Inca Grill but since Chad, Chuck and I were still full from our train ride we split a small pizza. Joel, Pat and Jonathan said their food was excellent and our pizza was quite tasty as well. After that we came back to our hotel and headed for bed.

The people here in general are very friendly and welcoming aside from a few of the young boys that threw rocks at the train. Boys will be boys no matter what country you are in. The young kids run to the train to wave at you as you go by. They have such bright happy faces and are elated when you wave back to them.

I tried to post some photos the other night, but was unsuccessful so I will try to post some either later on. If you have questions on things or want more information on something please feel free to drop me an email. Hope everyone is well and best of luck to those running the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon tomorrow! I will be cheering for you from Peru.