Finally, here are my thoughts on Peru: Lima, Nasca, Machu Picchu and the last leg of the full-time trip.

The Trip: Machu Picchu

After Buenos Aires and Santiago, Lima felt like a pit. The squander was much more visible, and the country looked like a war zone in some places. Which it has recently been in some places, some would say. Otherwise, the effects of recent earthquakes were the major contributor to the atmosphere.

I spent a couple of days in Lima, nosing around and indulging in the wonderful seafood that forms the foundation of Peruvian cuisine’s fame. In Lima I had lunch with Kukka, a friend from my hometown who has covered a lot of socio-political issues and developments in Central and South America in the last couple of years, and she was able to shed a lot of light on the country and put my contrasting observations of the continent in perspective. Here is her blog (in Finnish).

The local buses certainly added to my impetus to conclude this bit of the trip. Seven hours to Nasca, quick fly-over at the Nasca lines and then 14 hours in the bus to Cusco overnight, then the four-hour train to Aguas Calientes. We flew over the Nasca lines in a tiny plane which gave me serious motion sickness which carried over to the bus and the train, but not having slept in a couple of days I was too tired to do anything about it. The lines themselves were cool to see and there’s a couple of photos in the album. I don’t think I made any reward miles on that flight, though.

The Inca Trail was closed for upkeep during February which was also the reason I meant to skip Machu Picchu entirely. Then I thought that it would fit my contrarian sight-seeing attitude to go there now, hoping that the crowds be smaller, and so I did. Even the three-hour hike (or climb, really) up from the town to the ruins was taxing enough, not to mention climbing the sheer stone steps of Wayanapicchu, so I don’t feel I missed a whole lot not attending an overcrowded jungle-walk.

Up in the ruins, the mists persisted until about 11 am, after which the whole mountainside revealed it’s glory for two hours until the rains descended again. It was a great – one of the highlights of the trip certainly, and rivaling Tikal for my number one ancient-civilizations-experience. I was sore in a big way the next day, and slightly worse the next. I can still feel my calves. Stretching would’ve been a much better idea than two beers in an Irish Pub harassed by drunk English teens and crashing for 12 hours. Very tired, but very happy.

And this I’m writing from San Francisco. Part work, part friends & fun, I’m here until next weekend, after which my brother Markus and me will throw a little New England / Canada road trip and spend the Easter in New York. What work, say you? There’s a bold little venture called Turnleft Guides that I’m very proud to be a part of. We’re in the process of launching the very first guides with a busy publishing schedule for the year. There will be a sign-up form on the website soon so you can stay tuned with the developments.