Napa / Sonoma, California

We have been back from Peru for two months. It was good to get back home, sleep in my own bed, and enjoy all the comforts of my own house. My dad was retiring and so in mid November he flew out to visit. This is an interesting time of the year in the Bay Area. The weather begins to turn colder, and by that I mean the temp plummets to 40-50 degrees. Usually there is not too much rain until the late winter and spring, but this year the clouds rolled in and it began to drizzle for about a week. As my dad flew in, the clouds parted and the Sun began to shine - perfect weather for a road trip.
We started by hitting some of the local places around our house. There is a cute little spot called (appropriately) The Mountain View Inn - right off Panoramic highway. It's a nice spot to sit and catch in the rays, have some wine, and then hit some of the trails which begin right across the street. However, its been a long time since I've seen my parent and I wanted to take him up to Napa and Sonoma as he had never been that way before.
We packed up the Mini Cooper, took down the roof and headed up to wine country. Now, to be honest there are a lot of really good spots up in Napa. I love the Carneros area, and the Artesa winery. We even made it over to the Clos Du Val winery on Silverado trail. However, I find Napa to be a bit pretentious. The wines cost more, the wine tasting is expensive, and the spas and inns are a bit overpriced. Whats more, the biking trails along the main roads are down right dangerous. But, if you are taking someone for the first time, it is still a joy.

Fall is a wonderful time up there. The vineyards are all turning various shades of orange, red, and brown. The air seems more crisp and most importantly - IT IS WINE COUNTRY'S LOW SEASON - so all the prices are reduced and there are not as many bloody tourists.

I would probably recommend hitting Plumpjack, Franciscan, Artesa, V. Sattui, Clos Du Val, Stags Leap, and Del Dotto. Mondavi is really overrated. Granted, I'm no super expert on wine. I can't sip a glass and tell you that it was picked by a man with one wooden leg on the sunny side of the hill in the Lower Loire. But in the end it really doesn't matter what others comment on wine - its what that wine does for your personally. My best advise would be to take a sip - feel for the flavors and if it makes you feel sick or retched - just spit it out. To hell with the "experts".
After our tour of Napa, we took a back road over the hills into Sonoma. There is something fantastic about Sonoma. Its like the little brother of Napa that wants to be like its sibling, but knows it has to perform twice as hard to get there. The people seem nicer and less snobby. The Inns and Spas are cheaper and we managed to land a bunch of free wine tasting passes which helped. Speaking of which, staying at the Kenwood Inn was one of the best moves we made.
I can't say enough about his place. The rooms are cosy, the pools and campus is beautiful, and food was good. I would highly recommend this place to anyone:

http://www.kenwoodinn.com/

I managed to sign up my dad for a spa treatment with a massage and hot tub soak. He promptly felt very nauseated and nearly passed out - will have to remember not to do that in the future.

I was sad to see him go back, but I think he had a fun time.

Now we are just chilling at home. The other night we had the family over for dinner and friends started showing up. It was an amazing sight to see the house full of people, the fire blazing, and little Alexander (the cat above) getting plenty of attention.

Machu Picchu, Peru

Maria and I had been on the Inca trail for four long days. I was recovering from a cold and she has never been to this altitude in her life. When we made our way along the last two miles of the trail that wrapped tightly around the waist of the mountain, we were exhausted. Sleep is hard to come by in a tent and the night before we arrived it poured down rain. By the time we got to the Intipunku (The Sun Gate), Maria was sleep deprived, dehydrated, and half awake. When I asked her to marry me, she thought I was reaching into my backpack for a Snickers bar. I'm not sure if she knew what she was agreeing to and even after she got the ring, I think she was looking around for the Snickers bar.

We had finally arrived. I can't say enough for vacations like this were you have a destination that you really have to work for. The sense of accomplishment is outstanding.

Machu Picchu itself is one of those places where you really need to go out of your way to take a bad photograph. The location, the weather, the surrounding mountains, and the intricacy of the ruins are astounding.

We had the advantage of being there for two days, the first was overcast and cloudy and the second was bright and sunny. I'm not sure which was better. From the sun gate we walked down the, at times, narrow stone path and steeps to the Funerary Rock Hut - what some refer to as the guardian house. It is from here that all the famous pictures of Machu Picchu you see in text books come from. We must of reeked after four days of not showering, but to walk past a tourist who was freshly cleaned and perfumed (who had taken the train in), I could only savor the rigors of my trek even more.

We spent that first day wandering around slowly before we went to the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. It is the only hotel located on the mountain with Machu Picchu itself. The cost is criminally high and not worth more that a night - but everything is on the house once you get there. I'm undecided about recommending this place or not. There are some amazing places in Agua Calientes in the valley below. However, for our first night as an engaged couple it was worth it.

http://www.sanctuarylodgehotel.com/web/omac/machu_picchu.jsp

The next morning we woke up and met up with our guide Juan to check out the rest of the complex. We walked past the numerous farming terraces to the residential quarters. To this day no one knows for sure the purpose the ruins. Some say that it was an esoteric university for the spiritual training of the priest class, others recount - based on the location and surrounding walls that it was a fortress, and even others say it was a retreat for the emperor and his nobles.
What is impressive about Machu Picchu and other Inca ruin is how the structures were divided into farming districts, residential districts for the proletariat, the noble houses, and the priest and spiritual centers. Each Inca city was a self contained community that could support itself via local water supply and with its own food. Yet, each was connect with one another via and extensive road system that rivaled Rome and guardian watch towers which were in visual connection to allow for the propagation of messages.

The architecture is equally impressive and there are many examples of the late imperial Inca stone work. As seen in the rounded solar observatory above whose windows point to the sun's solstice.

We made our way through the central courtyard and past the quarry site which still contained unfinished stones which were referred to as the "lazy stones" as they just didn't quite have the ummph to make it their final destination. I personally found the view from the temple of the three windows (below) quite impressive. From here one can see down the Urubamaba river far below.
At the very top of the ruins was the Intiwatana - an incredible altar built from the very bedrock of the mountain. It was the most spiritually revered place for the Inca. During the Spanish Conquest, the conquistadors made it point to destroy such structures in other ruins to better eliminate the indigenous religion in favor of Christianity. As the Spaniards never made it here, this is perhaps the last remaining structure of its kind. The Intiwatana is considered "the hitching post of the sun" and is not only oriented to the cardinal points, but also aligns with certain surrounding pillars to predict the solstice.
The sun came out in force the second day of Machu Picchu. The ruins were illuminated, but I missed the mystique of the slowly moving low laying clouds. By this point, we were too sore from the trial to attempt to climb Wayna Picchu - that large mountain in the back. However, as in most places we have been to, I guess there is something to be said about NOT doing everything and leaving something for the future. Perhaps on our second trip we will climb Wayna Picchu?

Inca Trail - Part Two

We are actually back in the states and finally starting to recover from the flight back. It seems that the more I travel the more I've really begun to hate flying. There is something about any flight that just drains you. We actually found a website which ranks every seat on every plane and gives you the best places to sit in the airplane itself. Take a look:

www.seatguru.com

In anycase, from where we left off in the last posting, we had just arrived at our campsite that overlooked the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu. In the picture below one can see the mountains starting to get smaller as one looks east. We are on the edge of the Andes here. The mountains will soon be replaced with the Amazon rain forest and part of the reason some of our pictures are hazy is from the controlled burns the farmers of Amazonia use to cultivate the land.

We slept in a massive rain storm that night. Luckily by the morning it had past - but what a view when the Sun came up! The rain had cleared a good portion of the haze.
We continued along and began to descend into the cloud forest. Near our campsite was the ruins of Phuyupatamarca. This literally means the city of the clouds. It has an impressive assortments of circular towers and water channels. The latter being a strong hallmark of any ruin. Despite being at approx 11k feet and having to wear a light jacket, I was surprised to see so many Mosquitos. They are tiny little buggers - hard to see but pack a hell of sting. As Juan, our guide, would say - they even make the Puma cry.

From here the vegetation got progressive more dense. Every turn were a multitude of trees covered with an assortment of epiphytes. Orchids seemed to line the path and Juan went so far as to point out the ones that were used as hallucinogens during the time of the Inca and even to this day.

The path itself became quite interesting as there literally is a drop of hundreds of feet if one is to fall off. Not only would one die, they would likely never find your body again. That said, the views were outstanding when one can find an opening in the bush.

A few hours down the path we came to our last major ruin prior to Machu Picchu itself - Winay Wayna. The name means "forever young" and is named after an Orchid that grows through out the ruin. This was one of my favorite sites. The farming terraces were concave to help preserve heat and allowed the Inca to grow a multitude of crops. The upper portion of the ruin holds a fascinating temple - like structure and the living quarters are large enough to feel like you are getting lost. However, making your way deep into the structure itself you arrive at the royal quarters. At the far end is a rounded room with classical trapezoidal windows that over look the valley below. From here you can see the waterfall that thunders down the mountain side. I highly recommend bringing a small lunch and just sitting here and taking in the grandeur.

Take some time here. The site itself is worth exploring from top to bottom. Once you leave you get back on the Inca trail and its only a few more hours of hiking to Intipunku - the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu.

The final leg of the journey becomes a bit easier as you have descended about 2-3k feet from your starting point. The oxygen is a bit richer and I felt like I had a lot more energy. By the late afternoon we had made our way to Intipunku. It was here in 1911 - a hundred years ago - that American explorer, Hiram Bingham, first got a glimpse of the famed "Lost City of the Inca." It was here that I had an important question for Maria . . .

Inca Trail - Part One

We have been training for some time for the Inca Trail - running uphill, lifting weights, and pushing that extra 30 minutes. What was unexpected, was the historical reading - this was a trail of tears in the latter part of the Inca Empire. During the retreat from the Spanish, the Inca used this trail to escape and establish its last line of defense at Vilcabamba. Machu Picchu, just happened to be on the way. However, one can see that the site for Machu Picchu is more than an archeological phenomenon - it truely is a spirtiual site. Its surrounded by a ring of tall mountains, then on three sides as the Urubamba river wraps around its base and finally by an inner series of sharply ascending mountains. . . but I think I'm getting ahead of myself.

We began late in the morning after seeing the site of Ollantaytambo. We crossed the Urubamba River at Km 82. The route was fairly flat on the first day - again, I was getting good at identifying different types of poo along the path (I'm adding llama to my list now). We were surprised to see how many people lived along the path. It was good to practice our breathing techniques - if you breathe out against pursed lips, you will increase your O2 retention.
Within a few hours we came across the ruins of Patallacta. We had just crested a large hill and with the diminishing light of the sun, the ruins were illuminated ahead of us. The ruins were impressive and showed a clearly organized city with divisions for various castes. Our guide had informed us that this was the original site of the entrance to the Inca trail - at Km 88. We camped out near the ruins that night and the nearly full moon gave the site an ethereal glow.

The next morning we awoke to the rising eastern sun. The Inca placed a great reliance on the sun and the moon - especially to the summer and winter solstice. At this point, the altitude was becoming difficult. Even the extra days that we had spent in Cuzco and Ullantaytambo were not enough to divert the headache and fatigue completely. I HIGHLY recommend people stay a few days in Cuzco before attempting this trial. We began to ascend more steeply as we passed the Village of Wayllabamba.

This would be the last place one can buy that critical supply of Snickers, juice, etc. Of course there are a few restaurants and even a place to get a massage if one wants. From what I've gathered electricity had just recently been connected to the area and thus they have all manner of chilled treats and oven fresh bread. Nothing like downing an popsicle to bring out the true flavor of the ancient Inca.

However, once you pass the village (and the thought to reconsider the alternative Inca trails) one finds themselves in isolation. The stones of the trail are your only true reminder of civilization. What was impressive was the sense of challenge - the only person that you have anything to prove anything to, is yourself. You are slowly ascending up to dead woman's pass and as you go, you have this incredible amount of time away from the clutching of modern life to think.

Not to say I'm overtly religious, but everyone takes their own view of spirituality and I think that when you find yourself climbing a hill, without access to email, gasping for breath it gives you a good opportunity for retrospection.

By the end of the second day we had made it to the tree line - somewhere about 12.4k feet. The headache was beginning to sink in and even the coca tea was not being helpful. We saw 8 other hikers at this point - heading back down to Km 88 to get the to the train. Unfortunate. By the way, on asking others which trail to take, the argument was that there were too many tourists on the classical trail. Our company managed to set us up in excellent campsites and scheduled us to start and stop at irregular times - as a result we saw few if any other tourists. Also keep in mind the alternative trails can sometimes hit 16k passes and go on for 7 days - a very difficult challenge for the first time high altitude climber.
In either case, our third day began with an ascent to dead woman's pass (Warmiwanuska) - 13.8k. This was to be the highest point in the hike. The sun was very powerful and even the reflection of some of the glaciers and snow capped peaks can damage your eyes. We then began to descend quickly back down into the cloud forest where we were greeted
by much needed o2. Of course we then had to ascend to the 2nd pass where we saw the ruins of Runkuraqay - which likely represented an solar observatory. The road from here to the 2nd pass was one of my favorites - not that we were just getting closer to lunch, but how incredible the scenery was. In front of you is winding stone Inca road that sharply ascends the mountain. You pass by 2 dark ponds on your way up to a circular dais in the pass itself as clouds brush past you alternating the light schemes of the valley below.

From here the Inca trail descends again and passes by a lush jungle - I was surprised to see so many insects at such a high altitude and in relatively cold climate. We got into our third camp a bit late in the day. We made it in time to watch the sun set in the west. From our vantage point, we could see the mountain where Machu Picchu was - far below us.

Ollantaytambo

After 3 days of adjusting to the high altitude of Cuzco, we headed out with our guide, Juan, into the sacred valley. During the wars of the Inca and the Spanish, this was the site of a dramatic struggle where Manco Inca retreated to. The Urubamba river cuts its way through the valley and in the geological past when the river was larger, it had placed a rich bed of sediment that allowed plants and crops to grow extremely well.

We arrived later in the day to main town square and made our way to the most quaint hotel - Hotel Pakaritampu. The views of the valley were outstanding from our window. Surrounding the hotel where various examples of the local flora. Hummingbirds came to our windows to sample the flowers.

After getting a little rest, we quickly gathered our hiking gear and made it into town - which is still based on Inca planing. Keep in mind the long sticks with the plastic red bags at their ends. These are the sites of breweries - places were one can get Chicha - Inca corn beer. Be careful, its very strong - and should not be had, before trying to scale the valley walls.

Ollantaytambo, the town, is perhaps one of the most quaint little cities. There are plenty of restaurants and like I said before, still based on Inca design.

There are various water channels that traverse the city which still bring water to its people.

On one end of the valley, there is an opening in the city boundary where one can ascend along the valley wall to an ancient Inca granary. From there, one can go higher to one of the many watch towers that gives one excellent visual access to the valley itself. Its a bit technical and one should give themselves plenty of time to go up and down.

After the climb, we got a glass of wine at a small restaurant near the river. Chilled and watched the stars come out into the valley and got some rest. The next day we headed out to the old ruins of Ollantaytambo. In 1536, the Inca were able to put up a stout defense and after breaking a dam and flooding the Spanish, they were actually able to defeat them here. A short lived victory, however, as the Spanish quickly regrouped and pushed them onward down the valley to Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Inca.
The walls are an impressive representation of Imperial Inca design. Large blocks of stone fitting perfectly into one another are the norm in the more sacred portions of the complex. Surrounding the ruins are retaining walls and farming terraces. The site is divided into areas for the lower, middle, and noble classes. At the very top are areas designed for religious needs, including the "Temple of the Sun" - an excellent example of Imperial Inca. A recurrent aspect of Inca architecture is the devision of water usage. It goes to the priests, then the nobles, then the poor smucks at the bottom. Yet, everyone seems to get access to this precious resource. I was especially impressed with the houses for the proletariat - as they were quite large and signified a robust empire with a health division of goods.

We snapped a few quick pictures, including the fountain of the Princess above. It was now time to see if all that training was going to pay off - the next stop was the Inca Trail.

Cuzco, Peru - Day 4

I think the only one more excited to be in South America than me, is Maria. She never flinched when I told her our travel time was about 19 hours. We managed to get a flight from San Francisco to Miami and then to Lima. We switched carriers to LAN and made it into Cuzco late in the morning of Sept. 2, 2011. What can I say? Only thing worse than long distance air travel is altitude, which is a real pain in the ass. I've reviewed a bunch of sites and I've gotten conflicting data as to exactly how high Cuzco is. Roughly, its about 10.5k up. The air is dry, the O2 is low and walking short distances the first day was enough to get my heart to 140 bpm. However, what a city to fly into! Maria and I have loved everything about this place since we have gotten here - the food, the sites, the people.
The first day was a haze of short trips from the hotel to get water, find our directions, and figure out where to get some food. Like most colonial cities, everything radiates out from the central square - La Plaza De Armas. Wear shoes that have good traction, the stones of the streets are slick and worn smooth after centuries of urban foot traffic. We took it easy the first two days and let our bodies slowly acclimatize. Despite the constraints of low oxygen, we were able to find a bunch of nice restaurants including Incanto, Greens, and Sara - which we will talk about more in a later post.

Be careful with the money exchangers - they come up with all sorts of fees and having someone that speaks Spanish really helps here. What I would recommend is use up your dollars / euros etc if possible and then take out Soles at an ATM. There is a Scotia Bank Atm where the Ave. Del Sol meets the Plaza De Armas which didn't charge me a fee. (Thanks to Susie back home for that tip)

Also keep yourself really well hydrated and don't simply just drink water by itself - you will deplete your electrolytes. Get an electrolyte drink mix to add to your water. Some may taste awful, but you'll absorb more water in the end. Once your body gets used to the situation the city really opens up. I highly recommend just taking in the vibe from the central square and picking a new direction daily to just check out what's there. The city is packed with cute spots.
We met our guide - Juan on the third day who took us on a tour of the city and the surrounding area. The cathedral in the center of town is a must. If you can, get a guide! There are so many interesting aspects of the art that one would otherwise overlook - especially how local artists would secretly add symbolism to the art to preserve local beliefs in otherwise contemporary european religious paintings and sculpture.
We took a short drive from the city to the Blanco Cristo - a statue resembeling the one in Rio De Janerio. At night, it is lit up and shines ghostly white overlooking the city below. Honestly it looked a little creepy up close as it does at night from a distance, but it was on the way to our first Incan site out side of the city of Cuzco.

Sacsayhuaman

I am beginning to get a true appreciation for Incan Architecture. The clean lines between megalithic masses that fit together with no mortar is still standing well today as it did over 500 years ago. There is an elegant simplicity to the complex creation. The site itself looks at first like a fortress - and indeed in the wars between in the Inca and the Spanish it was the site of a battle in 1536. However, it was a religious center in its time and the walls that one can see are just a small portion of the entire complex. From above one can see a complex foundation with three large towers that have since been taken down. A lot of the blocks used in the construction of the Churches of Cuzco. Wandering around this site, one begins to see how impressive Imperial Inca was.
The views of the valley and the city below are fantastic and worth the trip out there. Unfortunately, I'm running low on internet time and need to get to sleep - we head out to the Sacred Valley in the morning. So I'm going to cut this short. Bottom line - Visit Peru people - the vibe out here seems to attract a young at heart spiritual groove.

The Moon is Down

We have been in training for South America for some time now. Our extra time is now spent running and lifting weights. We just spent the last two hours walking to the next town to get Maria a sleeping bag and new running shoes. Time is running short, but I think we are in good condition for Machu Picchu. I wanted to post this video on Facebook, but the Nazi's in charge won't let us post it so I'll put it here for those who wanna see our road trip.

Coastal Road Trip - California, USA

After a long week we decided to traverse the coastal highway from San Francisco to the central California coast. This passage is a long way from the Midwest, where one can fall asleep at the wheel in St. Louis and wake up in Chicago and not miss much as far as scenery. In fact, this is a road trip that everyone needs to do . . . at least once. Keep in mind the road can get a bit difficult along the way and there is NO way I would do this at night.

San Jose was the first stop on the way down. We have made it a point to stay at the Fairmont for various events in the past. Its become a place of anniversary for us. Here's the hitch - don't register for this place via online sites like yahoo or hotels.com. Instead go to their website :

http://www.fairmont.com/sanjose

Then click under the tab "packages." At certain times of the year you can nab a corner suite with free breakfast and wine for $179. This hotel is nicely located next to the tech museum, good restaurants, and the San Jose Museum of Art - which hosts some interesting events.

This time around, we managed to get in on a comic rendition of the Book of Genesis. Last time there was an exhibit of light and light sculptures which made Maria sick.

However, in the end San Jose is a place to visit for a short while. We headed out to Santana Row and got in some shopping before making our way south to Salinas. Now this is a city that has seen better days, but at the same time it is the home of the Steinbeck Museum. We made it a point to stop and buy a few Steinbeck books. Seems like every time I go here there is a novel or short story that I haven't read. I'm still impressed that he could shift his focus of work from the aspirations of American life to writing "propaganda" for the U.S. war effort in WW II ( I bought 'Bombs Away' and 'The Moon is Down').
Once on Highway 1, life takes on almost a trance like state. Maria had created a good mix for the ride which meshed well with the top down on the Mini Cooper. We took turns driving so the other could really take in the scenery. Seems there were an endless spots that one could stop and take in pictures, have a picnic, or just grab a bit to eat. At one such rest stop, we stopped at a restaurant, based on a recommendation from a friend at work, called Nepenthe. Its about 30 miles or so south of Carmel along the 1 and built into a cliff that precipices down to blue Pacific below.

http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/

Our destination was further to the south, but I understand people find a local inn and then sit on the upper deck of the place to watch the sun set. Park along the highway, trying to drive up the narrow driveway to this place yields almost no parking spots. Food itself wasn't bad either.

Again, I can't over emphasize the need to take this road slowly - not just that it is windy and at times if you drive off it, you will careen down to the ocean in a fiery explosion. More importantly there are just to many places that one can stop and rejuvenate.

There are even places where one can stop and whale watch - but we were not fortunate enough this time around to spot any. We did find that the Central Coast does make outstanding chardonnay.

After about 2 hours of driving further south, we came about the Hearst Castle. Granted, it is opulent and the Neptune pool is incredible, but I couldn't help think of how overly done the place was and what manner of character needed to have such a place. But then again I guess if I had billions to blow, there'd be a giant Taj Mahal somewhere in San Francisco with my name up in giant neon lights. The castle itself, wasn't worth the $50 it cost to get up there, but at least I got some cute pictures of Maria along the way.

Now this brings me to Cambria California. A quaint costal village with some really nice beaches and a cute tourist strip. Seems like a lot of the people we met there had retired from the faster paced life of San Francisco or Los Angeles to find a small slice of heaven along the ocean. Others, especially the young at heart, couldn't wait to get out of there.

The "east side" of the city, near the Chevron station houses some nice restaurants and galleries. We found a nice pizzaria and got a whole pie to take back to our hotel - the Pelican Inn, which boasted a ocean front view and a fireplace.

One place in particular that Maria and I loved was a clothing shop called the Wise Owl and Co. If you head down this way you need to scope your way to the backyard area which has been converted to one of the finest wine and beer gardens in town - The owner spent an afternoon with us talking about his travels from Germany and how he had created the establishment. After that encounter, the central coast felt even more inviting.
The next day we had to pack our bags and head back to the Bay Area. I think next time we will get to the central coast a little quicker (skip San Jose) and spend a few nights along the beach. This would also be a good spot to invite some friends from L.A. to come up and crash with us (pointing at you Brookens!).