Machu Picchu in 24 Hours

No visit to Peru is complete without visiting the “Lost City of the Incas” – Machu Picchu. Most guidebooks place visiting Machu Picchu as a three to four day itinerary as part of the “Gringo Trail”. However, my friends and I made it in and out of Machu Picchu within 24 hours of arriving in Lima, with no advanced reservations whatsoever. Braving jet lag, and altitude sickness, here is a minute-by-minute breakdown of this crazy 24 hours, proving that such an endeavor can be achieved.

09:30pm Arrive in Lima, Peru.

10:00pm Eight of us pack into a taxi van into downtown Lima to spend the night at a friend’s apartment.

12:30pm After settling in and a quick dinner at a café, I get on the internet to purchase our LAN flight from Lima to Cusco, Peru. The first flight out is at 5:30am (US$194 one-way). We call to arrange for a taxi to take us back to the airport at 3:30am.

03:26am Having barely fallen asleep, I am shaken awake. “Taxi just pulled up downstairs. Lets go!”

04:15am Departure hall at Lima airport is a chaotic mess. After finding the appropriate line for our LAN flight to Cusco, we get up to the counter, only to find out that our ticket and reservation bought just several hours ago did not go through. The friendly agent takes all our passports, a credit card, and starts entering our information for the next flight to Cusco at 6:20am.

06:20am Made it on board! The short 1-hour flight was uneventful. Still, they manage to serve a breakfast of muffins, chocolate bars and a beverage of choice.

07:45am After collecting our bags, we walk out onto the street in Cusco and haggle with taxi drivers for a ride to the Perurail ticket office. We had to split up into 2 taxis – cost about US$2 each taxi.

08:05am The line is long at the ticket office. We wait for almost 40 minutes before we get to the counter. All seats from Cusco to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) are sold out for today! After punching on the computer, we are informed that seats are still available on the 12:10pm train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (about US$65 round trip). “And how far is Ollantaytambo from here?” “Well, about one and a half to two hours by car.” It is now almost 9am. “Let’s do it!”

09:08am Another $2 taxi ride later, we are at the town square in Cusco. In all town squares all over Peru, you will find drivers waiting to fill up their vehicles with goods and/or passengers before they drive to the next town. It is here that we hope to hitch a cheap ride to Ollantaytambo. We quickly find two cars going in the direction of Ollantaytambo. One was empty and the other had three passengers and a trunk full of onions. We split our group six and two. Katie and I hop into a car with three other Peruvians and a driver, the rest of our group cram into the other tiny sedan. Both cars speed off in opposite directions. Cost, about S/10 or US$3 per person.

10:03am After a short cramped ride travelling way too fast on an unpaved road, and speeding around blind corners with a 100 feet drop-off and no guardrails, our driver pulls over at a little village to unload two huge bags of onions from the trunk. Within minutes, we are off again.

10:51am Katie and I arrive at the train station in Ollantaytambo unscathed. Where is the other car? They couldn’t be behind us could they? 20 minutes later, the other car arrives, having taken a more leisurely pace and a quick stop for gas along the way.

11:10am We have exactly one hour before our train departs. As seasoned travelers, the eight of us swing into action, with half the group going off to find a place to stay for the night, and the other half seeking out a restaurant for a quick lunch.

11:30am My group finds a little restaurant serving sandwiches. We order eight. Almost at the same time, the other group arrives, having found an inn around the corner. We would get three private rooms, with a shared bathroom for S/15 or US$5 per person per night. Four of us grabbed two backpacks each and carried them to the inn for safekeeping.

11:43am Our food has yet to arrive. We have less than 30 minutes to make our train, cutting it real close!

11:46am Sandwiches are served. We grab what we can in our hands, and start walking towards the train station, eating along the way.

12:17pm We finally board the train for a one and a half hour ride to Aguas Calientes.

01:58pm Arriving at Aguas Calientes, you’re not quite at Machu Picchu yet. We walk across town to the Machu Picchu Cultural Center to get our entrance tickets to Machu Picchu itself (S/122 or US$45). Being a national park, Machu Picchu closes at 6pm each evening. We had less than 4 hours left.

02:20pm Almost there! We quickly head over to the pickup point to catch a bus up to Machu Picchu. Roundtrip cost: S/18 or US$6.

02:40pm This late in the day, there was hardly a wait or a line for the bus. We board the first bus, and were on our way winding up a narrow track with steep drop offs on one side. The 20 minute ride was punctuated with spectacular views of lush green mountains.

03:04pm There it is! Like a sculpture carved out of bare rock, Machu Picchu sits straddled between jagged peaks and lush foliage. The best part about arriving this late in the afternoon is that all the tourists have mostly left for the day. We practically had the entire park to ourselves, and free reign to all the spectacular vistas without having to jostle with other camera-wielding tourists. 3 hours at Machu Picchu was plenty of time to explore the entire ruins, and we even climbed up to the Watchman’s Hut for a spectacular aerial view of the area.

06:00pm Park closes, and we are ushered out to a line of waiting busses to take the last stragglers back down to Aguas Calientes. Having achieved our goal of seeing Machu Picchu, we spent the next few hours scouring the large craft market at Aguas Calientes for souvenirs.

07:40pm Everything about Aguas Calientes is catered to the tourists visiting Machu Picchu. We had dinner at an overpriced tourist restaurant where we had our first taste of Cuy (Guinea Pig) and Alpaca.

09:20pm Board the last backpacker train back to Ollantaytambo to spend the night.

We were lucky on many accounts from getting a seat on the train at the last minute, to negotiating questionable taxi rides, and as such I will not recommend that anyone try to recreate this itinerary. Not only do you run the risk of altitude sickness as you go from sea level in Lima to 11,600 feet in Cusco, but the trains to Aguas Calientes do sell out, sometimes days in advance during the peak travel months. However, if you are short on time, and Machu Picchu is a “must see” on your list, or just plan crazy like me, this is proof that Machu Picchu in 24 hours can be done!

Note: As of this writing, all Perurail services to Aguas Calientes have been suspended indefinitely due to heavy rains and mudslides in Peru. This trip was made in July 2008 – Prices quoted may have changed.

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An Evening with Iconz

Huntington Beach, CA - ICONZ, the first solo art show by former Quiksilver and Hawk artist Matt Lorentz brought out an eclectic youthful mix of surfers, skaters, artists, models and enthusiasts from all over Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Matt’s detailed and lifelike depictions of pop-culture icons such as Bob Marley, Blondie, The Ramones and Bruce Lee drew praise and acclaim from the crowd that filled the venue to capacity. One of the unique features in Matt’s presentation was the use of blank skateboards as his primary media, merging the pop-cultural depictions of his art with one of the most symbolic objects of Southern California’s surf, skate and beach culture – the skateboard.

“Fitting all of my inspiration into the long and narrow space of a skateboard was challenging at times,” exclaimed Matt. However, everyone seemed to agree that Matt met with that challenge very well.

“He has so much talent and he puts his heart and soul into all of his art and you can see it when you look at his pieces.” - Sylvia Bybee.

"We were greeted by a mix of various subjects done in varied media, from the 1969 moon landing to Jimi Handrix, Vampirella and more. All were exceptionally well done, showcasing the artist's confidence in working in any medium." - Charlie & Joan Roberts

"My absolute favorite piece of Matt’s artwork was the Joker skateboard. Not only did it look just like the character himself, but the entire piece captured his psychopathic demeanor. Matt is an incredible artist with amazing talent." - Julie Ann

All pictures courtesy of Ian Zimmian. More pictures from the evening can be seen here.

About Matt:
A San Diego native who has a passion for art and board riding. Since 2001, Matt has worked as an illustrator for the action sports industry having created over 65 character driven graphics for Tony Hawk's Quiksilver line and Hawk Clothing. Other clients include Reef, Local Motion, Quiksilver, G&S, Crazy Shirts, Ron Jon Surf Shop, SoCal, No Fear, and Sycuan Casino. Matt also created skate graphics for Mike McGill and Steve Steadham's Skate Industries. His art has been featured in Concrete Wave, Exaggerated Features, and Uncle Jam magazines, as well as art shows at the San Diego Art Institute, Aubergine, The Huntington Beach Art Center, The Light Gallery, The International Cartoon Salon (2002, 2004) at the Tijuana Cultural Center, X-Games XXII's V Foundation Auction, X-Games XV's Behind the Big Air Benefit, The Tony Hawk Foundation, The Quiksilver Foundation's Artists' Showcase, and Rod Mojica's "Art for Life" benefit. He is a member of the National Cartoonists Society and the International Society of Caricature Artists.

ICONZ: Presented at Hero’s Pub (Huntington Beach, CA); drinks sponsored by Primo Beer, Hawaii’s original Beer.

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The Empire's Service

Rail travel, like air travel, has a certain level of romance for me. Between stepping aboard the Eurostar from London to Paris on my first trip to continental Europe; to the early morning dash (with no sleep!) across Budapest to the Keleti pályaudvar (East Railway Station) to catch a train into Vienna for a flight home barely 5 hours later; to the slow ride through the Sacred Valley on PeruRail to Manchu Picchu (pictured above), rail travel has played a large role in some of my most memorable travel experiences! Having taken trains all over Europe, in South America and in Asia, it is therefore ironic that it took me this long to finally step foot aboard an Amtrak service.

Amtrak’s Empire Service runs from Niagara Falls on the New York side of the border with Canada all the way down to New York City, making stops in cities such as Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany. I rode on a short segment of this line between Rochester and Schenectady in upstate New York.

Arriving at the Rochester Amtrak station (picture of trackside view below), the lack of investment in the rail infrastructure of the United States is clearly evident. For a city the size of Rochester, NY, with the state’s second largest economy and the third largest population, the small and dark Rochester Amtrak station is more fitting of a suburban commuter rail stop, than the city’s interstate rail gateway.

Once onboard, the car and economy seat was comfortable, though clearly older, and less advanced than comparable systems in other developed countries. A half eaten box of food was left on at least one seat (which the conductor cleared after the first stop), and a thick layer of grime can be seen along the window seals. However, I was surprised at the cleanliness of the bathrooms on board. The deli car was open throughout most of my trip, but I did not get a chance to visit it.

Unlike my experience with rail travel in Europe, with its to-the-minute punctuality, my Amtrak train departed 17 minutes late, and brought me to my destination almost 30 minutes behind schedule. At one point, we had to stop for almost 10 minutes while a freight train going in the opposite direction passed us on a single line of track.

With the expected announcement this month of the Obama administration’s stimulus funding apportionment for High-Speed rail development, I am hopeful some of these shortcomings can be reversed. For starters, build dedicated passenger rail lines so that published schedules can be more reliable. Update stations and cars to bring them up to 21st century standards. If current proposals to update the Empire Service comes to fruition, in the three and a half hours it took me to travel the 210 miles from Rochester to Schenectady, I would have made it all the way to the Plaza and sipping on a martini in New York City.

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Hitting the Slopes - Adirondacks

A trip to the North East in the winter will not be complete without hitting the slopes for a day of skiing. This time, I checked out Gore Mountain in upstate New York.

Conditions yesterday were really good. A constant snowfall resulted in a fresh layer of powder all day, and the freezing temperatures (17 Deg F/-8.3 Deg C) kept most of the crowds away. There was never a wait at any of the lifts, and more than once, I skied an entire trail without seeing another skier or snowboarder.

Riding in the Gondola, which provided a warm reprieve from the cold!

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Garbage Plate

Cities all over the world lay claim to signature dishes that encapsulates its culinary heritage. For example, in Chicago you have the deep-dish pizza, and in Philadelphia you have the Cheese Steak. But only in Rochester, NY, will you find a dish called a Garbage Plate.

The original Garbage Plate was created at Nick Tahou Hots, a Rochester diner/fast-food restaurant. This trademarked dish consists of a combination of home fries, macaroni salad, baked beans or french fries, topped with your choice of meat (hamburger, cheeseburger, Italian sausage, chicken tenders etc) and drenched with their signature chili hot sauce, ketchup, spicy mustard and chopped onions. The proper way to eat a Garbage Plate is to mix everything together, before scooping heaps of it into your mouth, and wiping every last bit of grease with a side of fresh Italian bread that comes with each order!

Today, many variations or imitators of the Garbage Plate can be found all over Rochester, satisfying the late night hungers and alcohol induced grease cravings of college students all over the city. While all are made with the same basic ingredients that Nick Tahou first concocted, they now come in many different names from Trash Plates, to Dumpster Plates, Sloppy Plates and even Hummer Plates.

Recently, I had one of these Garbage Plate variants at Fairport Hots (located in the village of Fairport, NY - a suburb Rochester), called a Hummer Plate. The Hummer Plate I ordered came with home fries and macaroni salad, topped with two cheeseburger patties, and covered with a meaty spicy chili hot sauce and lots of ketchup. (Pictured below)

Calories and cholesterol aside, I really liked the signature chili hot sauce at Fairport Hots. The meaty grainy texture blended well with the macaroni salad, and just the right amount of spiciness added flavor to the rather bland home fries. 4000 calories and a week’s worth of saturated fats later, I think it’s time to hit the gym to work it all off.

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