Beginning of the journey in Lima: there are only two trains a month leaving Lima for the Andes: the train of the clouds climbs the slopes of the Andes: Philippe has a nice talk with the train driver (every travel is a new experience for him).Then the train climbs making zig-zag (like in Ecuador): train arrives at 4.800 meters about the sea level:a nurse in the train provides oxygen to the people who feel weak.An Peruvian woman gives Philippe coca leaves to chew to avoid altitude sickness.In Huacavelica Philippe takes a minibus to visit a chopcca community: the end of the scholar year, traditional dance of the scissors, talks about the resistance of this community against Sendero Luminoso.Arrival at Cuzco (3.400 meters above sea level), the center of the Inca empire: in many places there walls made with stones.Ricardo the architect explains Philippe that the stones were perfectly cut to get together in the wall.Later they visit an Inca fortress whose stones have a weight of 80 metric tons.In town Philippe meets a group of women cooking guinea pigs and he tastes this meat (delicious).Philippe takes the luxury train to Machu Picchu (he is alone in the train) and stop at Ollantaytambo, its day of the presidential election, he travel with a family on a pick-u and then walked for one hour to reach their village: these farmers are very careful with the earth which gives them the daily food, besides they help one another with their neighbors.And last stop, Macchu Picchu with David, a fan of this place: a very beautiful landscapes and some mysteries about the history of this magic place.
—zutterjp48