Ok so Peru Wow! Of course Macchu Picchu is impressive. I was successful with the elevation until 12,000 ft. That seems to be my breaking point. I did not try the Coco Tea because I was in the middle of a job search and did not want it to mess up a drug test. But supposedly it would have helped with the elevation according to the natives.
I am relatively young and active. Bless the older folks who were on the tour. I gave my package of Menthos up to an older gentlemen who felt faint and exhausted during the climb. My personal opinion is people should not wait until retirement to travel. It is way too taxing on the body.
I am not sure the difference between Alpacas and Llamas but I will always think of Peru when I see either one. They hung out peacefully on the ledges at Macchu Picchu amongst the ruins and I appreciated their presence.
Apparently the Incas did not survive that long there with the invasion of the Spanish and the plague. It is impressive what they built in a short period of time.
There is so much to experience in Peru. Lake Titicaca and Uros Floating Islands, Salt mines, mud houses even Starbucks and and an exotic art museum (Larco). Not to mention the food, ceviche, couza and chichamorada. I didn’t care for the Pisco sour but it is quite popular. It reminds me of Rocky Balboa drinking the egg for his workout.
The Indigenous people are about 25% of the population and their bright colored attire really enhance the cultural experience.It is surprising to learn some of the colors are made from corn. There are 55 types of corn in Peru and 3,000 potatoes.
It is a relatively poor country and this was never more obvious then when we visited a school that was covered with a blue tarp because the roof had caved. We got to play soccer with the young students and you could see their feet were mud covered from the long walks to the school. Some of them trekked to the school from the mountains. We met a shaman from the mountains and sat down to be blessed by him. We got sick for the rest of the trip so our joke was that he placed a curse on us. Hopefully, the shaman was focusing on the long-term of my life :)