WEBVTT 1 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:39.000 Welcome to two Travel Dads podcast. Here we share our favorite destinations, travel tips, stories from our adventures, and bring on awesome guests to share insights into their travelsome lives. Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and check out our detailed show notes@twotraveldads.com. Podcast episodes hey, welcome back to another episode of two Travel Dads podcast. I'm Rob. 2 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:40.000 I'm Chris. 3 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:53.000 And we are still talking about Peru. When you spend two weeks in Peru, you have a lot to talk about. So today we are going to dig into our time in the Andes, which. 4 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:56.000 Went up to like 12,000ft, a little more than that. 5 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.000 12,163Ft was our cap. 6 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:00.000 There you go. 7 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:12.000 Which is a bit much. And we will definitely get into that and talk about that. And also, just in case I forget, you cannot get Andy's mints in the Andes. I did not see them in any little shop that I went into. 8 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.000 So just, no, not possible. 9 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Yeah, you know, I thought maybe it might be something that's actually from there, but nope, no relation. Anyways, though. So, yeah, the Andes, that's where you find Machu Picchu and the sacred valley and Cusco and all kinds of cool stuff. We flew there from Lima, which was a mistake. 10 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.000 Going from Lima to Cusco was a mistake? 11 00:01:38.000 --> 00:02:03.000 I think so. So if you've got the time, what is recommended is that you actually take your time to get up to Cusco elevation by driving up or going up, going via bus, and then spending a few nights, a few thousand feet up, a few nights a couple more thousand feet up until you get up to Cusco, where you're, you know, up at 11,000ft. We did not do that. 12 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.000 We just flew directly from zero to 11,000ft. 13 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:15.000 Exactly. Zero to 11,000ft, which we live at sea level. So once we pass like that, 5000ft, we start to feel it and. 14 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.000 Yeah, and we felt it. 15 00:02:17.000 --> 00:03:07.000 It was unpleasant. So one of the options that some people have is there's a sickness or elevation, altitude sickness medicine that you can take before you go. And once you're there, that helps you acclimate. It's called Diamox, and you can talk to your doctor about it if you're planning a trip like this. We talked to our doctor and it was not an option for us because if you're allergic to certain things, then it's just not an option. And that was us, so we didn't get to take that as kind of like a buffer to help us. So we were just going with the drink lots and lots of water and get good rest and all that stuff. But altitude sickness still hit us hard. It was. What was it like, day two, day three? 16 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.000 It was day two and day three. 17 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:10.000 Yeah. Day two and day three. 18 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.000 Yes. 19 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.000 So we got. We got. 20 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:22.000 I mean, the best part, though, was that it. Yeah, it did. And, you know, it hit us. However, it didn't impact our ability to go see the sites that we wanted to see, which is great. 21 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:26.000 Yeah, that's true. But, yeah, there was a lot of vomiting. 22 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:45.000 Yeah, yeah. Public vomiting. All that fun, great stuff. Like, you know, just make sure, I think when you travel, make sure that you have backup tissues, backup toilet paper, paper towels, tummy medicine. Pepto, 100%. Bring Pepto. Just have that on your person. 23 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:46.000 And you know what? 24 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.000 You never know when you're gonna need it. 25 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:51.000 And especially. Actually, even if you aren't worried about getting sick or think that you're gonna. 26 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:53.000 Have elevation problems, still have all of those things. 27 00:03:53.000 --> 00:04:03.000 Yeah. Especially the tissue and toilet paper, because it is very. What's a good way to put it? It's very rational. 28 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:07.000 It is uncommon to go use a bathroom. And there will be toilet paper. 29 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:11.000 Yeah, usually there's no toilet paper. And a lot of times you'll need. 30 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:12.000 To pick two soles. 31 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:13.000 Two soles to use a restroom. 32 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:18.000 And they give you four sheets. That might be two ply, maybe, but. 33 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:33.000 It might just be a paper towel. Anyways, though, especially if you're not feeling good, you need to make sure that you are well equipped with your own supplies that do not go into the toilet, but go into a trash can near the toilet. I think that's good for talking about potty stuff. 34 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:37.000 Sure. No, I mean, just make sure you have those supplies on hand. 35 00:04:37.000 --> 00:05:00.000 Be well ready. Anyways, though. But the whole elevation sickness thing. Altitude sickness that really got us was. It was definitely. It was after day two. Cause we had gotten to Cusco and then gone with our driver. He met us at the airport and then drove us to Oyan Te Tombo, which. It was interesting because as we were. 36 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.000 It was quite a drive. 37 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:09.000 It was quite a drive. But as we were leaving Cusco, which. Cusco was like, this maze of streets. It's just. It's absolutely wild. 38 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:16.000 And if you don't know, it's like the Inca Empire capital. Like, I mean, there's a ton of history there. We didn't get to see it, but, yeah. 39 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:54.000 So this is a really, really old city built on alleyways and staircases, and then there is now roads that go all through it. But as we were leaving. All of a sudden. Our driver was like, hey, we need to stop. But we had to really work through our language barrier on that one. Cause he had us get out of the car but leave our luggage, which felt weird. So I brought my backpack with, like, my camera gear and our passports and wallets and all that stuff. And he said that we needed to just walk on the road for a little bit. And then he would meet us up ahead because he was not authorized to carry passengers out of Cusco, which was odd. 40 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:56.000 Cause we were passing a police checkpoint. 41 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Yeah, it was a police checkpoint. The four of us got out and started walking uphill out of Cusco, and he drove off with our luggage. But then once he went through the police checkpoint, he pulled over, and we were able to get back in the car and continue. Yeah, but I'll tell you, that was odd. And then, yeah, we had a nice drive to Oyante Tombo, which was absolutely beautiful as we, like, headed through the sacred valley, and we got to see the cliff hotels. And then our. Our driver was, again, confused. 42 00:06:28.000 --> 00:07:02.000 And, well, we just ended up off on the side of the road, like, in a weird spot, meaning he did not read the instructions correctly on Google Maps and took this side road that went off. We were driving right next to train tracks by the river, off on a weird dirt road. And we kept going for quite some time. And then in pitch black darkness. Pitch black darkness. And thankfully, he had a decent car. And then we ended up at this one spot where it's like, boom. Like, the river's right there. We can't go any further. You can't cross the river in a car. But he thought maybe it's possible. 43 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:10.000 Yeah. So he actually got out, walked down to the river to evaluate if there was a spot for us to be able to drive across it. No, this is literally, he had his. 44 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.000 Hand on his head, like, he's thinking, how do I do this? 45 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:32.000 So I jumped out of the car and was like, I'm sorry, no, this isn't an option. We have to get back in the car and turn around. We cannot do this. Go back. There is a road. We'll get on it. So we turned around and did that. And then right as we. Right as we're leaving the scary dirt road, we cross the train tracks. And right after we cross, a train goes over. 46 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:34.000 I mean, it was just, like, perfect timing. 47 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:57.000 Good times. So it's funny, I think maybe it's like our first or second podcast episode we ever recorded was about Nova Scotia. And when we got stuck in the forest in Nova Scotia because we were following a bad Google map that had taken us on a snowmobile route and we got stuck off road and had to get towed backwards up a hill. This was worse than that. 48 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.000 Worse than that. 49 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:01.000 So much scarier. But we made it to our really cool hotel. 50 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:02.000 We did. Beautiful hotel. 51 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.000 Oh, yeah. 52 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.000 So, Del Pilar. 53 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:42.000 Yeah. I found this place actually using American Airlines hotels. So, like, if we're going to be staying in hotels, let's see if we can get some miles for it, because Chris has explained this to me and now I understand. Wow. When you actually book through American Airlines hotels, you're paying the same price as, like, Expedia or something like that, but you're also getting miles and loyalty points. So I did that for as many of our stays as possible, including this super cool place in the sacred valley where they had alpacas on properly. We had a really cool, like, two bedroom bungalow loft sort of place with a balcony and big living room. And it was absolutely awesome. 54 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:45.000 Yeah. And perfect place to puke at night. 55 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:51.000 Yeah. So day two, we woke up in this beautiful place and it was gorgeous. Had a lovely breakfast. 56 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:57.000 I mean, we got to see the mountains. Huge. Like the windows. There's windows everywhere. And you get to see, it's just so beautiful. 57 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:01.000 You wake up surrounded by the Andes and they're unlike any other mountains I've seen. 58 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:02.000 Gorgeous. 59 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:18.000 Really green and lush and amazing. Always a couple clouds hanging out. Really cool. But yeah. So then our first morning waking up there, Oscar showed up and he. What was his company called? Exclusive Inca experience. That's what it was. 60 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:19.000 There you go. 61 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:32.000 And he was one of the best tour guides I ever had for anything. He was so knowledgeable. And he picked us up in his really nice van and we started visiting all the cool sights of the sacred valley. We started. 62 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.000 We started in Oyan Tentambo, which is. 63 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.000 The coolest town also. It's got. 64 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.000 It's so cool. 65 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:39.000 It has, like, streams running through the. 66 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.000 Town, has their water infrastructure. 67 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:50.000 Yeah, yeah. It has the Inca, the original, like, inca water system, which is just so cool and it's all ancient and beautiful and. 68 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:51.000 Yeah. 69 00:09:51.000 --> 00:10:18.000 So we started, yeah, we started there at the Oyante tombo, actual archaeological site that just climbs up the hills to. There's a temple, there's old granaries, there's terraces. It is the most fascinating storage facilities. Yeah, it's the most fascinating architecture ever because you've got these absolutely giant rocks that are precision cut and fitted together to build. 70 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:19.000 They're like perfect puzzle pieces. 71 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:20.000 Yeah, it was amazing. 72 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:29.000 How do you do that when you have. No, you don't have horses, you don't have wheels, you just have human power. That's it. 73 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:30.000 It was a standing. 74 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:34.000 There's. Yeah, huge rocks, precision cut. 75 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.000 Yeah. 76 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:40.000 Perfect fitting completely, you know, innovative stuff for their time. 77 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.000 Yeah. And then there's, you know, the whole farming system built into all that as well. 78 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:45.000 Yeah. 79 00:10:44.000 --> 00:11:33.000 All the terraces and the water and irrigation system, and it's really fascinating. So even if you're not into history or cool stuff, you're gonna think it's cool. The kids thought it was awesome, so. Yeah, so we did that, and it was really cool and special. That was our first stop. And then from there, where did he take us? He took us off to Moray. Yeah, Moray, which was winding through quinoa farms and wheat fields. And it's funny because you go from this ancient town with rushing streams and cobblestone and all that to all of a sudden being out in the middle of farm country. And when we got up to Moray, that was another inca site, and it was like the big inca agricultural lab, where they have these big. Not craters. 80 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:43.000 Well, kind of. I mean, it's like, kind of like a crater. I mean, it's a big. Call it a huge divot. Like, they didn't build them, they didn't dig it out. It was just a natural crater. 81 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:44.000 Like sinkhole. 82 00:11:43.000 --> 00:12:16.000 Like sinkhole. Natural sinkhole. Where they figured out that there's. Well, in Peru, and I talked about this before, there's 125 different microclimates in the world, and Peru is 85 of them, they learn that there, of course, are different temperatures at different elevation, and they learned how to grow non native crops in different types in this setting, in this natural crater. And they had terraces, and so they could build some stuff at one temperature, way down below different temperatures. Of course, as you continue to grow. 83 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:21.000 Up in elevation and then hybridize all these different crops that they brought in from the coast and from other regions. 84 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.000 And if you have not been to Peru, when you go, you learn it's all about the potato. 85 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.000 Oh, my gosh. 86 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.000 How many different types of potatoes? 120? 87 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.000 I don't know. So many different types of potatoes. 88 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.000 And you'll get them like 85 different ways. 89 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:43.000 And, yeah, every meal comes with at least one form of potatoes, sometimes three different forms of potatoes. By the time we were done in the Andes, I was completely over potatoes. 90 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:46.000 I never had a potato salad. 91 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:52.000 I kind of had a potato salad. I had like a cold mashed potato, clumpy mashed potato dish with avocado and stuff. 92 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:53.000 Okay. 93 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:55.000 It was like a peruvian potato salad. It was pretty. So I took a picture of it. 94 00:12:55.000 --> 00:13:31.000 Okay. But no, so that was Marais. We didn't spend a lot of time there, but I mean, we learned a lot, again, about the climate. It was super fascinating. And you're just seeing, like, I think the cool part is you're seeing all these, these terraces. Right. But also, so peruvian people are still short and so the Incas are very short. And, but they built these amazing stairs in their terraces. So you would see, uh, stone, floating stone, floating stones coming out, because that's how they navigate. And went up and down. Of course, you get to the different terraces. Super cool. 95 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:39.000 That doesn't necessarily have to do with the stature of peruvian people. Um, other, other places it was really clear because the doorways are all very, very small. 96 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:41.000 Yeah, I'm just saying this is what they tell you when you're there. 97 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:58.000 Yeah, yeah. Um, but more, it was cool. And then from there, where we go, we went on to, oh, the salt mines. Yeah, we went through, um, salinas Del Maras, which was the ancient terraced salt mines. There's a lot of terraces in Peru. 98 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.000 Oh, so many everywhere. 99 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:08.000 But this is like, this is one of the coolest places. So there's this. In this valley, there is a spring that goes. 100 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:09.000 Doesn't stop running. 101 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:27.000 Yeah, it doesn't stop running. And it flows over all these sodium deposits. And so salt water is just gushing out of the hill. So now, you know, for what is it, 800 years or something, they've been just building up this. It's basically a salt farm, not a salt mine. They call it the mine. 102 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000 700 families or something in there. 103 00:14:29.000 --> 00:15:05.000 Yeah. And families have been. They've got their plots in the salt farm that they've had for hundreds of years and people take care of them. And the saltwater flows down through the terraces and then as it dries. Yeah. And, oh, yeah, there's just channels and little irrigation canals everywhere and the divert water and all that stuff. But then it goes through several different drying processes for everything from making Florida sal, like the really wonderful, yummy salt crystals you sprinkle on fancy food to table salt, to the type of. Or. No, that's not where the road salt came from. The road salt came from a different place. 104 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.000 Road salt came from paradise. 105 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:26.000 Yeah, we went to several salt places, but just the coolest place that. Visually stunning. Just all of these, like, checkerboard pools of salt and water, just colors of water and mud and salt. 106 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:27.000 Yep. 107 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:28.000 And they give you what was kind. 108 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:31.000 Of cool is that like, you pay your entrance fee and they give you a bag of salt. 109 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.000 Uh huh. Yeah. 110 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:40.000 Fancy. And then of course, like, you get back to oriented tombow and other places in sacred Valley, you can buy the different salts and stuff that they make from that place. 111 00:15:40.000 --> 00:16:27.000 Yeah, yeah, it's really cool. That's actually, I think, one of my favorite places going through. I didn't do like tons of like social media and making videos and stuff. That was, I think, the only video I actually posted when we were in the sacred valley was just sharing the craziness of the salt farm. I thought it was so cool. But after that was a really cool place that Elliot and Oliver thought was just awesome. We are our guide. Oscar, his buddy, opened this really cool retreat up in the andes right before COVID and so, yeah, you know, and then COVID hit and tourism died and all that. So he's got it reopened again and really, like, growing it. It is called Mountain View and it's got a really cool restaurant and then. 112 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:28.000 Really cute little cabins. 113 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:40.000 Yeah, glamping cabins and tents and stuff. But the thing that makes it so cool, besides the setting, you know, you've got the Andes all around you looking across these valleys and there's mountains, there's llamas everywhere. 114 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.000 Like, I don't know, like in the. 115 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:46.000 Restaurant, like, yeah, they're all along out on the patio, out in the yard. 116 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:47.000 And in the restaurant. 117 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:53.000 And in the restaurant, like, they can kind of come in if the door gets left open in the restaurant. 118 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:57.000 But it's, it's, that's expected and people love it. 119 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.000 And they've got people cleaning and stuff too. 120 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:18.000 Well, yeah, for sure. I mean, it's not gross. It's a beautiful place, but no, they come in the restaurant and they have a whole entire, like, container of basically corn husks and other food that they put out there specifically so guests can go grab a basket, put in some llama food and then be around to go feed the llamas. 121 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:22.000 You just walk outside and voila. You just hold it out and they come. 122 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Or inside or inside your table. 123 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:32.000 Yeah, but it's just, it's the coolest experience because it's good food and you're in such a magical setting surrounded by llamas. 124 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.000 Oh, it's beautiful. 125 00:17:33.000 --> 00:18:05.000 It's exactly what you dream of having, like a peruvian Andes experience. Loved it. And then after that, we kind of rounded out our day of exploring in the sacred valley by visiting. This was our highest point. Chinchero which is such a cool city. And they're actually building an airport there that will be the highest in international airport in the world. Over 12,000ft. And I'll tell you, we really felt it being over 12,000ft. 126 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Sure did. 127 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:09.000 Cause even though, you know, we, we parked to go up to the. 128 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:10.000 It was done. 129 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:36.000 Yeah, it was visible that you were done. We parked up by the archaeological site and went into the park where there's just all these really cool old buildings that are built on top of inca and pre inca structures. And then the coolest old church that it was so ornate and it was spanish and it had inca influences with. 130 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:49.000 Like, I think that was the coolest part, was the hearing how they integrated like, inca religion and culture into christian religion and culture. 131 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:50.000 It was fascinating. 132 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:50.000 Yeah. 133 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.000 Like from like a study of religion. 134 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:56.000 Perspective and change management and world domination. 135 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:01.000 Like how they were able to convince the inca people to convert to your son God. 136 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:02.000 Is this God? 137 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:21.000 Yeah, literally the imagery, they made it match up with Inca. Yeah. Inti made it match with inca imagery. Fascinating. Oh, but also the church. The church had tiny doors. Well, yeah, that's where, that's where there were lots of tiny doors too. And we got to see Burroughs, you know, carrying crops and stuff falling off. 138 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.000 And the donkey freaking out. Yeah, very. 139 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:31.000 It was great. Yeah, good times. But Chicharro was really cool. But that elevation was really, I think, what really did it in for everybody. 140 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:35.000 Yeah, we ended at the height. Yeah, I mean, it was just a. 141 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:41.000 Twelve and just walking back to the car was huffing and puffing and just, we all got in the van and. 142 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:47.000 We'Re ready to go back hardcore. And that's when both Oliver and Elliott were puking at night. 143 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:56.000 Yeah. So then super fun, middle of the night, we heard all kinds of commotion, repeatedly going. It was just, it was all that. 144 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:03.000 I mean, if you've ever like, you know, watched the Goonies and heard like chunk at the, you know, what happened and just, I mean, it's just puking. 145 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:22.000 Yeah, yeah. Anyways, so that lasted literally all night long with both kids and which was a bummer because the next day was, you know, heading to Aguas calientes, which is, you know, Machu picchu town. But we, we mustered and we're like, we don't have a place to stay here and we have train tickets. 146 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.000 Had to get to the train. We just had to go. 147 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:25.000 Yeah. 148 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:26.000 So we boys rallied. They were good. 149 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.000 Yeah, they were, they were good. And then Oliver puked in the train station in Oyante. Tombo. 150 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.000 Yeah. Out the mouth and nose. 151 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:44.000 And then we had that beautiful. Really, the train ride was fantastic. It was beautiful as we went along the Urubambe river and there was music and performance and snacks. 152 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:54.000 I mean, I mean, so Grant, like, Oliver, like after peeking at the trains, he's like, I feel great like that. And then he ate all his quinoa snacks, you know, cause he loves his snacks. 153 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:12.000 And as we lowered, so we went down 3000ft in elevation from the train station in Oyote Tambo down to Aguascaliente. So it was kind of great. As we got there, we all kind of felt better, even though once we got there, Elliott puked on the train and then puked in the train station again. But then we were good. 154 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.000 Yeah, we were. And then because we got to our next hotel spot, which was. 155 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:21.000 We stayed in the coolest, funny place it was the Rupa, rupa high jungle. B and B. Yeah, yeah. 156 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:33.000 And so we had this really great room. We had to wait a bit for it, but once we got it, we set up some Netflix, set up a movie and had a day of recovery. Relax and watch some Netflix. 157 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:54.000 Yeah. And the whole, like, there was, there's a big like open air living room up on the very top floor for all guests. And then our room that we had also had our own private, like covered balcony looking out over avas calientes, which is another really fascinating town because it's not old like Cusco or Chinchero, it's old what they say it was like they started building it in the seventies. 158 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:00.000 Yeah, but you see some asian influence in there though too, with like structure. It's remind me, like parts of Shanghai, it looks like. 159 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:09.000 Yeah, Yan on, in northern China, like zigzaggy narrow streets with very. It's. It's very like chinese architecture. 160 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:16.000 Yeah, the architecture and like the bump outs and stuff of like the buildings up top with some really cool, what, you know, ornate wood carvings and things like that. 161 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:38.000 If there were no words on anything, I would have not guessed that we were in Peru, but I would have guessed China. It was really interesting. But then it's really also a super cool town because, you know, you got another beautiful town. The river runs right next to it and then you've got this big stream running through it with all these footbridges all over and there's no cars or anything. It's super cool. And the train comes directly. 162 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:39.000 The high jungle. 163 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:42.000 Yeah, the high jungle. Or the cloud forest. 164 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:43.000 That too. 165 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:53.000 The cloud forest. Either way. And also there's parakeets flying everywhere, which is super cool. So we did that, and it was great. And we chilled out and everybody felt way better. 166 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:54.000 Aid. 167 00:22:54.000 --> 00:23:04.000 We drink so much Gatorade. And then the next morning, Percy met us at our. At our place. He was our next guide. We had lots of guides. 168 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:05.000 I think they were critical, though. 169 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:08.000 Yeah, super gosh. It made the entire trip so much less stressful. 170 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:31.000 Yeah. Then we got. Waited in line for the bus in the morning, got on our bus, which I was like. I don't want to say it was, like, scary, but I heard all these stories, like, oh, my gosh, the bus going up to, like, machu picchu. It's, like, so frightening. You're on this teeny tiny road. You look down and you see all the buses that have fallen off the cliff. No, this thing was like a piece of cake. Like, just get on the bus. A super nice mercedes like sprinter AC. 171 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:38.000 Like, it was a great bus ride. I will say that there was a couple moments where I looked out the window and we were on a cliff. 172 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:43.000 I mean, yeah, yeah, you're on like it is. But it was not scary at all. 173 00:23:43.000 --> 00:24:27.000 But then we got to the top, and so if you haven't been to Machu Picchu, or if you're planning machu picchu, when you go to, like, get your tickets or plan a tour, you'll see. Plan early, plan early. Because when I went to get tickets, we couldn't get them, which was jarring, which is why we hired a guide and then ended up being great that we actually had a guide because he was able to get tickets, and he was one of the most knowledgeable, passionate people ever. So Percy was awesome, and I'll have a link in the show notes to how you can find him in that company. But we went on circuit four, so there's four different circuits to be able to tour around Machu Picchu. And we were on circuit four, which is the least visited. Still amazing. You still get all the awesome masha booze. 174 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:28.000 I didn't feel like I missed anything. 175 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:35.000 No, not at all. Like, you get to go to the temple, you get everything. All the terrace views. You get to go through, like, houses. 176 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:36.000 You get to go llamas. 177 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.000 Llamas, all that. And chinchillas everywhere. 178 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:40.000 Chinchillas? Yeah. 179 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.000 That was super cool. 180 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:42.000 I didn't see any chinchillas in Chinchiro. 181 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.000 There were no chinchillas in Chinchilla. 182 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.000 What? 183 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:55.000 No chinchillas and chincharo. You're right. But there were plenty at Machu Picchu, and they were super cool and cute and I loved it. But, like a big rabbit. 184 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.000 Rat. 185 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:00.000 Yeah, it. Well, rat. I don't know. 186 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:01.000 Tail. 187 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:08.000 Yeah. I thought they would look a little different, but they were super cute. The boys really loved Machu beach, and we lucked out. 188 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:10.000 No, the weather was perfect. 189 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.000 Wow. 190 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.000 Perfect. Gorgeous day. 191 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.000 I've seen so many picnic people, like, share pictures of getting to Machu picchu. 192 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:16.000 Stuck in the clouds. 193 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:34.000 Like, stuck in the clouds and. Yeah, the clouds move and then, you know, ten minutes later, it'll be sunny. But, like, so many people go up there covered, like, wearing ponchos. And we got there and we were hot and it was beautiful and perfect. And the clouds just kind of gently rolled through and it was a dream. Machu picchu. 194 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:52.000 But, like, I remember, like, on the bus and, like, just seeing it and I'm like, wow, that's Machu picchu. That's impressive. And finally getting to see it in person is so, so much more incredible than just seeing, of course, video of, you know, not geo or pictures or whatever. It's. 195 00:25:52.000 --> 00:26:30.000 Yeah, well, and one of the things we talked about in our podcast episode, just, like, talking about our proo trip and our itinerary was with hiring guides and actually, like, doing guided tours, it makes a complete difference in and how you experience things. And for us with kids who have lots of questions, especially in places we haven't been and on subjects that we don't know a lot, having guides who are, like, the epitome of knowledgeable and patient made the trip extra awesome because they could ask anything. Guides were down to talk about it all, pose everything back as a question, just like a teacher. It was great. I loved it. 196 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:31.000 Yeah. 197 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:32.000 So I. 198 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:32.000 And they did, too. 199 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:33.000 Yeah. 200 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.000 They love getting questions. Right. 201 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:41.000 Yeah. But, um. Yeah, that was. That was basically our time there at Machu Picchu. We, um. 202 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:44.000 Actually, we were there for what, like three and a half hours or something. Yeah. 203 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.000 Walking around. 204 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.000 I mean, definitely make sure you have water and all those things and sunblock. Uh huh. 205 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:57.000 And then when we were done, it was. We were also. We weren't spending another night in aguascalantes. We were going back on the train. But, um. So I'm in a boo boo. 206 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:58.000 Always check your train tickets. 207 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:47.000 Yeah, I made a boo boo when I booked our train, and it had reset our return date to be the same as our arrival date, and I didn't notice it. So we go to get on our train that day to go back to Oyanta Tombo, and they wouldn't let us board because our train tickets were for the prior day. So I went over, ran to the office and explained. And they're like, no, you just need to buy new ones. So we had to buy the fancy tickets instead of the standard tickets. So we had another ride on the Peru rail, Vista Dome observatory car, which was lovely again. But we were able to get out a couple hours later and make it back home, which, thank goodness. And we just checked back into the same place where we had been the nights before, the del Pilar, which is. 208 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:48.000 Great because they held our luggage. 209 00:27:48.000 --> 00:28:24.000 They held our luggage so we didn't have to bring a whole bunch of stuff, which is awesome. And then that was the night where Alfred sickness hit me. And I haven't vomited that much ever in my entire life. And by the way, when we were in Aguascalientes, we also made the decision to cut our time in the Andes short because it was so intense. So we opted to skip Cusco and just head straight down to sea level ASAP. So we changed our flights, changed our car rental for when we got back to Lima, changed our hotel reservations, so we had a place to stay. All that. And I'm. 210 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:25.000 So we didn't puke anymore. 211 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.000 Well, I puked all the way to the jetway in Cusco. 212 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.000 Yeah, just the jetway. 213 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:46.000 And it was very funny how, um, how non plussed the airport staff was when I was vomiting. Uh, they literally. I'm sure everybody was just thinking, oh, there's another one. Just throwing up everywhere because. Yeah, but you had bags. 214 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:51.000 So we learned not only do we travel with toilet paper, paper towels, tissues. 215 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:52.000 Travel with vomit bags. 216 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.000 Also vomit bags. 217 00:28:53.000 --> 00:29:11.000 Yeah. But, um. Hey, as soon as we were back down in Lima at sea level, we all were just feeling like a million dollars. And I was so glad because I couldn't do that again. Would you return to the indies? Yeah, I wouldn't. Yeah, I felt it was. 218 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:12.000 Just set the plan properly. 219 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.000 Yeah. Maybe it would be better if we were able to take our time. 220 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.000 Exactly right. 221 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:18.000 But, man. 222 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:19.000 Because it was beautiful. 223 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:31.000 It was beautiful. It was remarkable and so unique. But I was left in so much pain and so nauseous that I. I had a tough time imagining going back there. 224 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.000 Yeah. Just got a plan for it. 225 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:43.000 Well, so we'll see. I. Maybe I won't write it completely off, but. Yeah. Was there anything else you wanted to mention about visiting the andes and all the stuff we did up there? 226 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:44.000 Guinea pigs. Delicious. 227 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:49.000 Oh, yeah. Cooey. If you want to try something interesting, it's called Cooey. If you see it on a menu. 228 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:53.000 I had the Kentucky fried chicken version is what they call it, the KF. 229 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:57.000 Yeah, it's interesting because it looks like chicken thighs. 230 00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:58.000 I mean, it's just, yeah, it's just. 231 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:03.000 You know, it's delicious. But there's not a lot of meat on one of those guinea pigs. 232 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.000 Not a lot of meat. That was the bummer. 233 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:06.000 It's a lot of work for a. 234 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.000 Little bale and a lot of potatoes. 235 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:44.000 And potatoes. So many potatoes. Good times. Well, that's it for now. We still have more to share about our time in Peru because we, again, we covered a lot of territory and saw lots of cool things. So check out our other episodes, all about the peruvian Amazon. Just travel in Peru in general and then also traveling down in Paracas and checking out the penguins and flamingos and all that cool stuff. So thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe if you're not already. Give us a nice little rating or just be quiet and we'll talk to you later. 236 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:45.000 Ciao. 237 00:30:45.000 --> 00:31:09.000 Bye. Two Travel Dads podcast is created by Rob and Chris Taylor in St. Augustine, Florida. We'd love to answer your questions here on the podcast, providing both our experience and stories. To share our own insights into whatever you're wondering about, visit twotraveldads.com podcast episodes to leave your questions and to check out past episodes and show notes. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and have an awesome day.