Machu Piccu and the Darwin Islands

Pauline Cheng continues her exploration of exotic sites around the globe and we are grateful for her sharing with us, in this article, her recent exciting trip to Machu Picchu and the Galápagos.

I once more had the opportunity to test my endurance, by taking a moderately difficult but exciting trip in South America. We went as a group of eight at first but later on ten people whose ages range from sixty to seventy plus. Our 1967 BHJS alumni, Betty Gong, Au Bik Wan and her hubby Alan happened to be part of the group.

The trip covered a lot of mileages as we had to fly at least seven times inland, back and forth between Lima and Cusco (Peru) and Quito (Ecuador). The major attractions we saw included Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Tequila Island and Galápagos Islands. The ruins of Machu Picchu, rediscovered in 1911, are one of the most beautiful and intriguing ancient sites in the world. Although there is still not yet a unanimous conclusion about the origin of these Inca ruins, we could not help marvelling at the existence of this self-contained city, with its systematic surrounding agricultural terraces and efficient water system generated from natural springs. The ruins of these architectural and aesthetic structures, built of grey stones on top of the mountain which is over 9,000 feet above sea level, consisted of palaces, baths, temples, storage rooms and some 150 houses.

At Lake Titicaca, also part of Cusco, we were amazed by the communities who dwell on the floating islands built of masses of aquatic plants, mud and peat. We visited one of these islands and were welcome with warm hospitality by the natives.

However, we did have to pay a small price for all the magnificent views we saw at Cusco. The high altitude, (the highest point at 12,400 feet) surely took a toll on us but to different degrees. The common symptoms were headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, internal nose bleeding, and loss of appetite. Although most of us took the high altitude pills as precaution, we still could not escape the adverse experiences of some of these symptoms.

I guess the high point was our seven-day cruise and visit to Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, 972 km west of continental Ecuador. The islands are renowned for its vast numbers of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin whose observations led to the generation of his Theory of Evolution by natural selection.

Almost every day on the cruise ship, we had to travel twice to the islands by zodiac (rubber boat). Half of the time we had to wade through water to reach the land when the water was too shallow for the zodiac to dock. We went to different parts of these islands each time, where we encountered all kinds of unique animals and plants. We could see sea lions and big iguanas almost everywhere, but the rest were more localised. To name some, there are the giant tortoises some of which are more than 150 years old; the blue-footed boobies; the flightless birds cormorants; the frigate bird, the male counterpart of which inflates the flap of bright-red skin found under his beak during courtship; and the waved albatross.

Despite some small challenges, we had an awesome trip as a group during the three weeks being together. We got to know one another better through sightseeing, shopping, enjoying eating the local food, or relaxing on the cruise ship. Above all, we have brought our understanding of different cultures and gained knowledge of other countries to a new horizon. The last but not least, we have defied the general perception that we are too old for this kind of trip.

Pauline Cheng

Calgary