Jill Will Go...

I've written about that thrill of discovery that happens when you arrive somewhere in the dark, then wake up and finally get the chance to look around at where you have landed. That happened today. I came down the ramp that leads into the hotel's restaurant for breakfast, and I see the most magnificent blue water, then a little further down the ramp, I see green mountains being kissed by white fluffy clouds. It is stunning. The city of Puno sits along the right side of the lake, stacked house upon house up the side of the mountain. During breakfast, I can see a small herd of light brown guinea pigs running around the lawn. At some point, two llamas join them and begin grazing right outside the window. This is Lake Titicaca and I'm at 12,555 feet elevation. The clouds look closer than normal. Side note about those wild guinea pigs - or "cuy." These are not the ones that they raise at home here for food. These are wild and a light brown color. These are t

A porter in a starched white jacket asks me to follow him up the steps. I am boarding a train straight out of an Agatha Christie novel. There is a discreetly wallpapered ceiling, the sides of the car are shining wood paneling, and the seats are not simply seats. They are wing-backed chairs with a complementary upholstery that sets off the stark white table cloths. Small glowing lamps are ever-so-tastefully nestled next to a small vase of real flowers. The tulip lamps that light the interior of the car give it a warm glow and there are little framed photos of old fashioned train travel at every other seat. The overall effect is one of old-world glamour. The kind of glamour that cries out to b spelled in the British tradition. Glamour.  I'm aboard the Andean Explorer and it is scheduled to take a mere ten hours from Cusco to Puno. A bus will get you there in six hours, but the train is An Experience all by itself. I should be wearing a smart traveling outfit, with a hat, glo

Alpaca and llama stop. Children, like other baby animals, are cute, but they don't hold the attraction they once did. There's something about not having them and missing that particular opportunity (or fucking up two shots at it, to be precise) that makes me feel a little bitter. 

As we wait for the local Cusco guide, a jazzy, easy listening version of "Grenade" by  Bruno Mars  is the song being piped into the hotel lobby. Ghosts. Coricancha, the temple of the sun, covered by the St. Domingo Church. The church was built over the Inca walls, until the earthquake of 1950 brought down the church, revealing the walls beneath. The church had to rebuild slightly off the walls.  Sacsayhuaman (or Sexy Woman if you only speak English