Itchy Pooh Pooh...I Mean Machu Picchu

I would like to clarify that I am the master of taking a cheap vacation. I love to see the world, I love history and I love to learn. Being a flight attendant is the perfect job for me because it allows me access to the world, which is something I value. I know I'm lucky, and please believe me, I don't take my life for granted.

I've learned that to travel safely and cheaply, it all boils down to doing your research, planning ahead and visiting www.tripadvisor.com. For those going to Europe, the most current Rick Steves' travel guide doesn't hurt either. I get my travel guides from the library, which is a simple way to save $20-40 before I leave home!

I try to take three international trips a year, and lately Mitch usually comes along with me, most of the time willingly. Our last trip to Paris, one of the most expensive cities in the world, cost us less than $600.00, and we were there for five days! (Granted we don't have to pay for airfare . . .) I have also gone cheaply to Rome, Venice, Florence and Milan, and if I need a break for a few days and don't want to spend a ton of money, I head on down to Puerto Vallarta.

In January, I asked Mitch which international cities he would like to visit this year. I patiently waited for a whole 24 hours, and when he didn't offer any suggestions, I told him that we were going to visit Machu Picchu in Peru, Toyko and London. He didn't scoff at my suggestions, so I began planning.

I would have never actually visited Machu Picchu on my own. In fact the first time someone mentioned the ancient ruin to me, I thought they said “Itchy Pooh Pooh,” which apparently isn't a common mistake. I have a bunch of flight attendant friends who visited Machu Picchu last year and they all RAVED about it. So Mitch and I did a bit of research and we learned that Machu Picchu had recently been named a new Wonder of the World and a place that must be seen. We also heard reports that there are plans to permanently close a section of Manchu Picchu (I can't remember if it's the top or the bottom), but all of my flight attendant friends have encouraged me to visit ASAP because the closures are scheduled to happen within the year.

Originally Mitch and I decided to go to Machu Picchu in the spring, Tokyo in the summer and London in the fall. In January I picked up my Machu Picchu guidebook from the library and began planning our trip. As we were about to book our hotels, the worst news came across my Yahoo homepage: the rail lines in and out of Machu Picchu had been flooded and two thousand tourists were stranded! I was naturally saddened by the devastation and concerned for the thousands of stranded tourists who were eventually extracted by helicopter, but I was equally irritated that the natural disaster had foiled our spring trip! Although I was deeply disappointed, we still had two other places on our agenda, so I took my Machu Picchu book back to the library and picked up Rick Steves' London.

London is notoriously expensive. However, I had visited Rome, Venice and Florence on a shoestring, I had confidence I could visit London and not drain my 401k. I knew we needed to find cheap, safe accommodations so I visited www.airbnb.com, which is a worldwide Bed and Breakfast Web site that I would highly recommend. In my research, I found the most delightful, affordable flat in London, it was only $377.00 for a whole week! The best part was, it included a cell phone! I couldn't believe our good luck! I booked the flat months in advance, Mitch and I discussed the London sites we wanted to visit, and we watched the flight loads every week, happy to see that there were consistently plenty of available seats both coming and going! It appeared we had made a perfect choice and we were both so excited! (I've included a lot of exclamation points, we were really jazzed!)

Last week, (ten days before we were set to leave for London), an ill-timed volcano began spewing over Iceland, closing the airspace over Europe. Initially Mitch encouraged me to be patient, to wait and see what would happen, and I tried to be hopeful that the airspace would open up quickly and we could still go on our trip. However, as the days ticked by and I read more and more news stories detailing the hundreds of thousands of passengers stuck and the tens of thousands of flights that had been canceled, I began to realize that London wasn't going to happen. Disappointed, I had to cancel my perfect bed and breakfast and our trip to London was officially canned.

Over and over I asked myself (and anyone else within earshot), how was it possible that two different trips, in two separate parts of the world could be canceled because of two totally different natural disasters?

Discouraged, Mitch and I, once again, went back at the drawing board. Since Europe was out of the question, we decided to look south. As we contemplated where to go, I noticed an article on Yahoo boldly declaring that Machu Picchu had reopened! So, Mitch and I decided that, once again, we were, as originally scheduled, going to head to Lima, Peru. Because I had to work, Mitch planned our entire trip (awwww, what a sweetie!). Fortunately he likes to plan “transportation-y trips” because our trek to Machu Picchu appears like it's going to be quite a journey.

We are finally on our way, and what a way it is! Salt Lake to Denver, Denver to Atlanta, Atlanta to Lima, Lima to Cuzco...that's right, four flights plus a four hour combo train and bus ride to Aguas Calientes to actually get to Machu Picchu.

Will our pilgrimage be worth it? Will we be able to get back home on schedule?

Tune in next week to hear my tale (and to get some travel tips), because it sounds like getting to Itchy Pooh Pooh, I mean Machu Picchu will be an adventure in itself!

Until then, remember,

Life's a Journey, Take Notes!