Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time

by Mark Adams

“Bit of a martini explorer,” he said, employing what I later learned was a euphemism for a traveler who fancies himself tough but who really expects a certain level of comfort.

the mountaintop citadel of Choquequirao, now considered by many to be Machu Picchu’s twin city; Vitcos, site of one of the holiest shrines in the Inca empire; and Espiritu Pampa, the long-lost jungle city where the Incas made their last stand against the Spaniards.

drip-dry clothing for day, warm clothing for night, walking stick, rain gear, headlamp, sleeping bag liner, rip-proof daypack, waterproof cover for daypack.

Lima is a lot like Los Angeles: valet parking, beaches, smog alerts.

And then, as it tends to do, life started sending gentle overdue notices.

“His facts are extremely interesting; his presentation of them is clumsy and tedious.”)

It’s possible that all this craziness is just geography as destiny.

Scientists have calculated that there are thirty-four types of climatic zones on the face of the earth. Peru has twenty of them.

One of the things about Peru that I’d found it hardest to adjust to—even more so than the popularity of Nescafé in a country that grows some of the finest coffee beans in the world—was la hora peruana, Peruvian Time.

I assured him that I’d been working out like a madman, which was true. I’d found fear of failure and death to be excellent motivators.

Tea brewed with coca leaves is served everywhere in Peru—it’s supposed to mitigate the symptoms of soroche, or altitude sickness.

A story in The Economist a few years back cited Peruvian cuisine as one of the world’s finest. The secret ingredient—what butter is to classic French gastronomy—is corn oil. (When Nati makes aji de gallina, a rich, velvety chicken stew, a quart of Mazola vanishes into the pot, along with an entire loaf of de-crusted Wonder bread. My sister, a professional chef, says it may be the most delicious thing she has ever eaten.)

I hadn’t come across the Wear Two Pairs of Socks Rule.

Today, perhaps because Machu Picchu is so popular among the spiritually inclined, the Incas are sometimes portrayed as a peaceful race who graciously invited neighboring tribes to join their thriving territorial conglomerate. In reality, they could be as brutal as the conquistadors.

“to enjoy the satisfaction, which all Alpinists feel, of conquering a ‘virgin peak.’”

“This time, chew your coca thoroughly for a few minutes and then give it another chew occasionally. It’s supposed to dissolve in your mouth.”

Bingham stopped the narrative cold to lecture his readers about the exquisite care that he and the expedition’s naturalist, Harry Foote, had put into selecting provisions for the trip.