I am so concerned with the physical challenge of Machu Picchu—how much will the altitude affect me? will my head hurt? will I be able to breathe?—that I don’t spend as much time as I should contemplating the spirituality of the place. Were I walking the Inca Trail, and ascending all of the steps up…
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Taking the Machu Picchu Express
Short on vacation time, the Brawny Sherpa and I opt for a quick trip to Peru. Sure, we’d love to languish in the countryside for a couple of weeks, learn all there is to learn in Lima, gain clarity with the ayahuasca, canoe the Amazon. Right now, there isn’t time. Our goal is Machu Picchu;…
Long Weekend in Machu Picchu: Getting There
To Peru and Back in Less than Five Days We step out of the Cusco airport—not named anything with the word Cusco in it—and walk into a National Geographic story. The short, old women with the skirts, the knee-length stockings, the men’s black hats are right here. A strange fellow with gangly body movements gets…
Machu Picchu for Tea Time
Set back by the mid-January wind chill and an ick-disease variation of the flu, I turn to Mark Adams’s Turn Right at Machu Picchu to carry me away far from the sniffles and Nyquil-charged fog. I am already enthused by the story—a contemporary effort to recreate Hiram Bingham’s path toward Machu Picchu—and the romance of…
Practical Picchu
What You Need to Know before Heading to Peru The weather at Machu Picchu is temperamental: cloudy one minute, sunny the next. How to cope? Layer your clothing. Photo credit: M. Ciavardini Fresh from a long weekend spent ascending Machu Picchu, I offer these suggestions for bashful and other adventurers planning a visit: To prepare,…
Gifts for Travelers 2019
Travel Gift Ideas: Products and Experiences for Travelers of Any Age Because pretty much all of us are presented with gift opportunities well beyond the holiday season, the Bashful Adventurer offers these gift ideas for the travelers in your life—even if that traveler happens to be you. Indeed, we like all of these unique gifts…
Visiting Las Vegas Now
Helping a City Overcome a Tragedy with Tourist Dollars I love Las Vegas for a thousand campy reasons—the lights, the glitz, the music of the Sex and the City slot machine. I love the show girls posing for photos on the streets, the sheer energy of the strip, the high-end shopping that I can really…
Reading while Traveling: The Improbable Adventures of a Middle-Aged Woman
A Book for the Road by Jennifer Lawler Right at the outset of her latest book, The Improbable Adventures of a Middle-Aged Woman, author, traveler, and single parent Jennifer Lawler tells her reader that everything she has ever done made sense at the time, so right away one can’t help but like her. And if…
Considering the Incan Trinity: Condor, Puma, Snake
Traveling in Peru, the Bashful Adventurer notices recurring symbols of a condor, puma, and snake. But what is the meaning of this Incan trinity?
A Lesson in Colonialism at Cusco Cathedral
Of Gold, Guinea Pigs, Last Suppers, and a Somewhat Swarthy Jesus So many visitors are in Cusco, Peru either on their way to or from the nearby main attraction, Machu Picchu. My own stay in Cusco is little more than an afterthought, an interim point as I make my way back from Machu Picchu and…