• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

The revolution will be supervised.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

I am pretty sure these ‘journalists’ were not always such a bootlicking sycophants.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Let there be snark.

T R E 4 5 O N

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

If America since Jan 2025 hasn’t broken your heart, you haven’t loved her enough.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – arrieve – Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley

On The Road – arrieve – Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley

by WaterGirl|  August 3, 20235:00 am| 16 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Peru, Photo Blogging

FacebookTweetEmail

On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

arrieve

After Lima we flew to Cusco and then drove north into the Sacred Valley, where we stayed for a few days.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 7
Sacred Valley, Peru

I took this from the van somewhere in the Sacred Valley. No idea where we were except that it was beautiful.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 6
Sacred Valley, Peru

We stopped at an overlook to see this view–this is the Cordillera Urubamba. (The Urubamba River runs through the Sacred Valley, to Macchu Picchu and beyond.)

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 5
Sacred Valley, Peru

This woman at the overlook who was selling hats, scarves and other souvenirs kindly agreed to be photographed.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 4
Sacred Valley, Peru

We stopped in this town to visit a ceramics studio on our way to the hotel.

It was late afternoon/early evening and I was shooting straight into the setting sun, but I still like this picture. You can see two of the tuk-tuks that were the primary mode of transportation there.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 3
Sacred Valley, Peru

Lawn maintenance Peruvian style. At the hotel in the Sacred Valley they brought out the alpacas every morning.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 2
Peru

Coca, in the form of tea or leaves or candy, is legal in Peru and part of the culture. It’s supposed to help with the altitude, and we were given a few of the candies when we got off the plane in Cusco. I wasn’t expecting problems. I’ve spent time at altitudes from 5000 to 8000 feet without any symptoms more serious than a headache, so I thought my knees would be more of an issue in the high ruins.

Our first night in the Sacred Valley, the elevation was just under 10,000 feet. And I felt normal—until I didn’t. I started to feel dizzy during dinner, and by the time we were finished the room was spinning. All of the tourist hotels in the mountains have oxygen available, and our guide suggested I might need some. I thought they’d just hand me something like the little cans of oxygen they had for sale in the lobby, but they wheeled a tank to my room that looked like something you might drop from a plane on an enemy city, and had me breathe from it for ten minutes.

In the morning the tour leader had me checked out by a doctor, who stuck a pulse oximeter on my finger and then immediately hustled me off to the local clinic. (Some of you may recall a virus that sent me to a hospital in Rwanda; apparently I am inventing my own kind of medical tourism.) The clinic resembled a motel room–here were two double beds with flowered bedspreads and a flatscreen TV on the wall. I was the only patient. The doctors didn’t speak English, so we communicated, mostly successfully, by Google Translate on our phones. They put me in a bed, piled extra blankets on me because my hands and feet felt too cold, and gave me more oxygen and altitude sickness medication. And after several hours, they drove me back to the hotel and told me I would be fine to continue the trip.

And I was, mostly, but I definitely didn’t feel 100% until I went back to Lima. So, does coca help? Yes, a little. I would have tea with breakfast, and suck on the candies during the day. It gets rid of the headaches, and gives you a little burst of energy, but it’s no substitute for oxygen.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley 1
Sacred Valley, Peru

From the Sacred Valley, it was north to Machu Picchu. You take a train from Ollantaytambo to what used to be called Aguas Calientes and is now being rebranded as Machu Picchu Pueblo, the town at the base of the mountain.

The scenery changes dramatically over the course of the ninety-minute ride. The mountains in the south are brown and rocky, with little snow. Machu Picchu is in what is called “the eyebrow of the Amazon,” a high-altitude jungle.

On The Road - arrieve - Peru Part 2: The Sacred Valley
Sacred Valley, Peru

There is of course another option if you don’t want to take the train—you can spend four days hiking the Inca Trail. The trail starts outside of Ollantaytambo, and the train stopped there to let trekkers disembark. (There is also a one-day option now; you can get off the train closer to Machu Picchu and do a seven-hour hike. We all joked that we wished we’d known about that option before we decided to take the train.)

Some of the sherpas who carry all the food and equipment for the Inca Trail hikers and their backpacks.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Schadenfreude Open Thread: Angrily Defending the Indefensible
Next Post: Thursday Morning Open Thread: Life Goes On »

Reader Interactions

16Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    August 3, 2023 at 5:36 am

    Beautiful.

    I’ve heard the full hike isn’t that interesting until the last day.

  2. 2.

    Elma

    August 3, 2023 at 7:51 am

    I brought several bags of the coca candies back as gifts, packed in my suitcase.  But then, at the Miami Airport, our bags were the last to come out onto the carousel, and I started to worry the the drug dogs had “liked” my suitcase.  I managed Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu , but didn’t feel 100% until we returned to Lima and sea level.

  3. 3.

    eclare

    August 3, 2023 at 8:47 am

    Whoa!  Altitude sickness sounds scary.  I have def felt ill above about 7000 feet but nothing like that.  I live at about 400 feet with air so rich you can scoop it with your hand, no way to acclimate.  Don’t know the altitude where you live.

    Love the puffy clouds in the photos!

  4. 4.

    JeanneT

    August 3, 2023 at 9:02 am

    Those mountain photos are amazing.  Glad I could enjoy seeing them without the altitude sickness.

  5. 5.

    Betty

    August 3, 2023 at 9:21 am

    Peru is an amazing place. Such scenery.

  6. 6.

    pieceofpeace

    August 3, 2023 at 9:43 am

    The more monotone mountainous landscape contrasts beautifully with the color provided by the blue sky and items  provided by people.  Overall, looks peaceful, contemplative.

  7. 7.

    SkyBluePink

    August 3, 2023 at 9:50 am

    Wonderful photos!

    Liked the “slice of life” ones- the woman, town and alpacas particularly.

  8. 8.

    mvr

    August 3, 2023 at 10:08 am

    I can see why you like the one with the buildings and the mountains and the tuk-tuks. I like it too. The light and the atmosphere are calming.

    The altitude sickness episode is interesting/puzzling.  But I think perhaps it matters how recently you spent time at 8,000 feet. For me doing it within a half year or so keeps me in decent shape for our cabin at 9,000 feet. For Jenny we generally need to stop at around 5-6,000 feet for a night on our way up.  My 87 year old friend in a neighboring cabin, who lives at about 5,000 feet  most of the time has no problems going up to his at around 9,500 feet, but his late spouse needed oxygen when she went up there.  And several other neighbors who live in Rawlins which is nearby and has an elevation of 7,000 feet have started to need oxygen as they age. So I guess it isn’t just about what you are used to either.

    Thanks for the photos! Another interesting place to think about going when I retire.

  9. 9.

    cope

    August 3, 2023 at 10:29 am

    Wonderful pictures of beautiful places, people and things, thanks.

  10. 10.

    arrieve

    August 3, 2023 at 10:30 am

    @Elma: I didn’t realize that the coca candies were okay to bring back to the US–the tea is definitely illegal. So I panicked when I was getting on the plane and realized that I still had a bag in my purse. I dumped them, but there are mornings when I definitely wish I still had a few lying around.

    @mvr: I live in Manhattan, which is basically zero altitude, so I definitely feel the altitude any time I go into the mountains. But as I said it’s usually just headaches and feeling tired. Nobody else in our group (there were ten of us) had a problem, but they were all taking the anti-altitude sickness medication. (Which has its own side effects–tingling hands and face.)  If I ever go back to Peru–and I would love to–I will start the medication before I go.

    ETA: I saw the pulse oximeter–my oxygen was at 80%. So it was a good thing I went to the clinic.

  11. 11.

    eclare

    August 3, 2023 at 10:46 am

    @arrieve:

    Oh that is low!  Yes get medication for the higher altitudes.

  12. 12.

    way2blue

    August 3, 2023 at 1:05 pm

    Thanks for sharing this glimpse of remote Peru.  Going from 0 to 10,000 ft sounds like a big ask of most people’s bodies.  Glad to hear the hotel staff knew how to check your blood oxygen level and get you re-oxygenated.

  13. 13.

    BigJimSlade

    August 3, 2023 at 1:56 pm

    Excellent post.

    Also, altitude is such an interesting thing to deal with. We went up to Mammoth Lakes (approx 7900 feet) some years ago (8?) and the first evening we went to a brew pub. I had one beer, then a very persistent headache all night. We live at about 500 feet, so that was a pretty big difference.

  14. 14.

    AnthroBabe

    August 3, 2023 at 3:14 pm

    I found coca tea to be extremely helpful at mid and high altitude. Beautiful photos – hope you bought a scarf from that lovely woman (some ask for money for taking photos, which they should).

  15. 15.

    MelissaM

    August 3, 2023 at 3:18 pm

    The woman is beautiful! And the scenery lovely, but the sickness scary. My central IL town is 730 ft, as stated on the signs into town. Biking is usually easy unless the wind gets in the way.

  16. 16.

    Chris T.

    August 3, 2023 at 7:48 pm

    Don’t mess around with altitude sickness.  It usually resolves on its own but it can cause pulmonary edema and/or brain swelling and this can be extremely bad. It’s OK to spend one night with a headache but if it persists into the next day, get to lower elevation as soon as you can.

    Oddly enough, Viagra can help with altitude sickness: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/10.1164/rccm.200406-804OC

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Image by GB in the HC (5/23)

Recent Comments

  • schrodingers_cat on Why Raw Story (and other outlets) Make Me Crazy (May 23, 2025 @ 10:56pm)
  • dnfree on Why Raw Story (and other outlets) Make Me Crazy (May 23, 2025 @ 10:51pm)
  • rekoob on War for Ukraine Day 1,184: Stage 1 of the Thousand for a Thousand Exchange (May 23, 2025 @ 10:47pm)
  • laura on How about some springtime respite? (May 23, 2025 @ 10:39pm)
  • Atticus Dogsbody on Why Raw Story (and other outlets) Make Me Crazy (May 23, 2025 @ 10:37pm)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!