Saturday, 17 May, 1997 - Machu Picchu - Cusco
We awoke, ate breakfast and Cheryl and I rode back up to Machu Picchu, leaving our suitcases at the hotel. We met Gary and John at the ruins, and we all split up and agreed to meet back around 1:30 to catch the bus back to the train.

I spent some time taking pictures as the mists rolled in and out around the tops of the mountains. It was alternately cold then hot as the sun hid behind clouds. It was very peaceful and calm here, and I spent hours wandering around the ruins on my own.

Around 1:00, I found John and Gary, both exhausted and out of breath. They had just finished climbing to the top of Huaca Picchu, the peak overlooking the ruins. They said it was really beautiful, but rather frightening and not good if one is at all afraid of heights. I sold them my bottle of water for $5,000. (kidding!) We found Cheryl and took the bus back down the mountain. As we left the top, a little boy ran next to the bus and yelled "GOOOOOD-BYYYYYE!!" at the top of his lungs. The bus took a couple of switchbacks, and all of a sudden we heard "GOOOOD-BYYYYE!!" next to the bus. It was the same kid! He apparently has a path running straight down the side of the mountain, and he runs it while the bus takes the switchbacks. True to capitalist form, when the bus reached the bottom, the driver opened the door and the kid came through the bus asking for money. *sheesh*

We had an hour before the train left, and we ordered Cokes at a decidedly un-charming cafe next to the train station. We watched the hucksters trying to sell rugs, sweaters, bags, bugs (spiders, butterflies under glass), necklaces, etc. We found Lou and Joanie, and the train finally left for our three hour journey back to Cusco. It was interesting to watch the people (especially little kids) come running out to see the train as it passed through the towns. A big event for a Saturday night!

We got back to Cusco and were met by Umberto at the station. We passed through a huge farmers market selling anything you could want - and some things that you wouldn't. Not exactly the most sanitary of conditions. Our driver recommended a restaurant in town and we had just ordered when "Pepe and the Husky Vermouth Band" arrived. Well, it isn't really Pepe, but I'm sure they were manufactured at the same factory. Actually, at least one of the guitar players was blind, and bore a striking resemblance to Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman." They began to play (loudly) directly behind my chair, but thankfully moved to the other side of the restaurant for their next set. The food was really bad - thin, over-sauced lasagna, although I had a great avocado with vinaigrette starter, but the evening didn't become truly classic until the dancers arrived. Yes, a man (?) and a woman (complete with fake Peruvian braids) decked out in what we assumed to be native costumes. He looked like his mother dressed him, and that she doesn't like him very much. Maybe it was the knitted elf hat... They whirled around the room and sang (!), replete with costume changes. The dinner could not end soon enough, and we headed back to the hotel. I don't think I could even GIVE an A-B-E rating for this.

Sunday, 18 May, 1997 - Cusco - Lima
We got up and ate breakfast; Cheryl and I were joined by a group of a dozen uniformed men, complete with AK-47's and side-arms. Nice to know we would not be bothered by Pepe and the Band at breakfast! I walked to the center of town to do some last minute shopping and found a small parade of more armed men. At least one doesn't have to look far to find the police in this town.

We arrived in Lima, and were met by a Coltur rep who took us to our new hotel, the Miraflores Cesar Hotel, in the heart of the nicest district. There were still bars on all the ground floor doors and windows, but the concertina razor wire is down to a minimum. Our rep told us we had a city tour of Lima scheduled, but since we were so late we would not be able to take the whole tour. We told her we just wanted to go to the Museo Nacional to see the Sipan exhibit, so after we checked in, we were driven over there.

It was pretty crowded but the exhibit was impressive. The restoration work on the jewelry and artifacts is really marvelous - lots of gold, copper, silver, bead and shell work. We caught a cab back to the hotel, although we had to tell the driver where it was - kind of like being in Philly. We relaxed a bit and changed for dinner. The hotel was very nice, with lots of towels, a bathrobe, etc. We took a quick cab ride down to the coast and ate at a very nice but somewhat touristy restaurant. It was very warm in Lima for this time of year - temperatures in the eighties - so we ate outside and watched the waves. We had fresh seafood ceviche, Gary had lobster and I had fresh sea bass. The food was good, but we had a rather disappointing bottle of Blanc de Blanc wine. On the A-B(W)-E scale, it was a 8-2-6. We had a 5:30 a.m. pick-up for our return flight, so we made it an early night and I re-packed stuff for the trip home.

Sunday, 19 May, 1997 - Lima - Miami - Philadelphia
Pepe was there to greet us in the morning, and made sure that we got through the ticket lines without problems. The security was fairly tight, with a pretty close x-ray check of all our luggage - a bit of a change from the Cusco airport. We got ticketed and had a bit of time to get a cup of coffee before the flight. The flight to Miami was uneventful, and it was a treat to be back on a "real" airline again.

We had four hours to kill until the flight to Philly. We ate an early dinner at the airport restaurant - actually very good food. We both had aisle seats on the way back, and there was an infant and a two-year-old girl with their parents sitting directly behind me. They were wide awake and ACTIVE. Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes into the flight, they both finally went to sleep. It was, however, only a 2 hour 45 minute flight, but the entire section breathed a collective sigh of relief for those 15 minutes. After landing, we collected our bags and I finally stumbled home around 11:00 p.m. Whew!

Epilogue...
It took me a couple of days to empty suitcases, wash, dry, stow, etc. I got my pictures developed (13 rolls of film) and got a couple of shots enlarged and framed. Some of the underwater sea lion shots came out, and I had them made into prints from the slides. I had to be back at work the next day, and went back to the usual grind. My screen saver on my computer for the first week read, "I want to be back on the boat."

Gary sent me a letter, enclosing the Rules of Underwater Photography, along with a half dozen slides that he took down there. We discovered that we have very similar tastes in books, and plan to have lunch in a few weeks to exchange some favorites.

I began corresponding with Danny in New Jersey via e-mail. He asked me to send him a copy of the group photo we took in Galapagos. He's home for about a month, and then off to Europe for a five week concert tour. I'm leaving for London for a week a few days after he does, so we're trying to coordinate schedules and see if we'll be anywhere near the same place at any point.

I'm already trying to figure out when I can go diving again. I need a vacation!