Peru- 1979
This story is about Art, Misti, David and Michael’s trip to Peru in 1979. It was written in December, 2018.
Peru was our first major trip, in 1979, and it was the beginning of our long journey of traveling and exploring the world. Misti and I had just started our new marketing research company, ADF Research, we were working long hours, and for the first time in our lives were realizing significant income. We decided that a good way to reward our efforts was with travel, and we chose Peru and Machu Picchu as our first adventure; in retrospect an excellent choice.
We decided we’d combine the trip with a short visit to Ecuador to visit my friend Alfredo Vasconez and his family, who lived in Quito. Alfredo and I both majored in civil engineering at the University of Miami. He helped me with the engineering classes and I helped him with English classes; and we became good friends.
We flew San Francisco to Lima via Los Angeles and arrived Lima early in the morning. This was our first long international flight, and also our introduction to the world of jet lag, something that would haunt us for years to come after long flights. We didn’t get much sleep on the eleven hour flight, and while we were excited about being in a new and foreign country, we were exhausted and decided to immediately get a hotel and rest. That was a mistake because we slept all day, which extended the jet lag for several days. We since learned to immediately get onto the time schedule of our destination, which we feel helps minimize jet lag.
We only stayed one night in Lima because we were anxious to get to Machu Picchu, which was the highlight of our trip. We flew Aero Peru, at the time Peru’s local air service, a short hour and a half flight to Cuzco. Cuzco, at an altitude of 11,200 feet, is one of the highest airports in the world, and the thin air can play tricks with arriving planes. Upon landing, our 737 acted like an out of control kite. It bounced all over the place and then, when all the oxygen masks opened and fell, we thought that was the end for us. But no problem, and we were told that’s normal for landing in Cuzco.
We spent the first night at Leonard’s Lodgings, an inexpensive bed and breakfast in the heart of town, owned by two Americans. This was in 1979, not long after the ruins were discovered, but before they became a major tourist attraction. Cuzco is a small and interesting Incan Indian town with a history going back thousands of years.
The next morning we took a train to the foot of the mountain where Machu Picchu is located. From there we took a bus up a dizzying, narrow corkscrew road, which led up to the ruins. With constant hairpin turns, in what seemed to be an ancient bus with a cowboy driver and squealing brakes, we prayed we’d make it to the summit.
Because of Cuzco’s high altitude, Mike, who was nine years old at the time, developed altitude sickness. We mentioned Mike’s ailment to the train attendant and she gave him tea made from coca leaf, which seemed to work, and he quickly felt better. Coca leaf was very popular with the Incans; they used it as a narcotic and yellow-teethed men and women were everywhere. We didn’t have second thoughts about Mike drinking the coca tea but did think it was a novel medication.
Machu Picchu is amazing and one of the world’s great wonders. It’s hidden high in the Andes Mountains, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, and the setting is fantastic. Most visitors will have seen photos before arriving, but seeing it in person is breathtaking. It remains a mystery as to why Machu Picchu was never found, and destroyed, by the Spanish when the conquistadores overran Peru and conquered the Inca civilization in the 1530’s. It remained hidden until 1911 when the British explorer, Hiram Bingham, came upon the ruins.
We spent most of the day exploring the ruins, which are extensive and cover several mountain peaks. Walking could be treacherous and a misstep could plunge you to the valley below. We had the place pretty much to ourselves since In 1979 Machu Picchu was still mostly unknown to the world. Mike found some wild llamas and had fun feeding and petting these gentle creatures.
On the way to the bus, to take us down the mountain, Misti realized she didn’t have her purse. In a bit of a panic we returned to where we had stopped for lunch, and lo and behold her purse was still on the rock where she had inadvertently left it. Quite amazing that no one took it, and I doubt that would be the case now. The purse had been there for the several hours we were exploring Machu Picchu and, because this was years ago before we were more experienced travelers and more security conscious, it contained money and our passports.
Our plan was to leave Cuzco, fly back to Lima, and then travel on to Quito, Ecuador. We boarded our Aero Peru flight and, after ten minutes aloft, I asked Misti to look out the window. We weren’t flying west to Lima but were flying in the wrong direction - east. After ten minutes I asked the stewardess why we were going in what clearly was the wrong direction. She casually told me the pilot had decided to first go to Arequipa, thirty minutes south, to refuel. She added that the airline had an unpaid fuel bill in Lima so needed to fuel elsewhere. The FAA would not have approved of that plan. One bonus was we got to see Mount Misti, at 17,000 feet one of the highest volcanoes in Peru, and Misti’s namesake.
From Aerequipa we flew on to Lima and then boarded our flight to Quito, Ecuador to visit with my friend Alfredo.
Art Faibisch, December, 2018
