My trip to Peru (Machu Picchu!) with pics! + Ask the girl who just went to Peru!

[DiosaBellissima]

I posted a few months ago asking for advice on what to do on a trip to Peru and thanks to everyone's lovely advice, I had an awesome trip. I promised I'd post pictures and stories here, so here I am!

I went at the beginning of this month, flying from LA to El Salvador, El Salvador to Lima, Lima to Cusco. In all, we had about 8 days in Peru itself, which ended up being enough time to see a lot.

The links below go to Flickr albums for each destination.

• Lima We had a 15 hour layover in Lima and went to explore. Beautiful in the main Plaza, but the whole city seemed very run down otherwise. Also, tons of soldiers/ police with guns, dogs, and riot shields in the main plaza-- that made me raise an eyebrow.

• Cusco is where we spent the majority of our time during the trip. Beautiful city, even full of a bunch of tourists. Tons of kids trying to get you to buy their crap or take a picture with their baby llama (they would fake cry and everything if you said no ), even more so than the "chicle" kids in Mexico's tourist places. Tons of great churches, shopping, and food. A great place to visit.

• The road to Machu Picchu Ollatambo, the train, Aguas Calientes, the bus. So, to get to Machu Picchu from Cusco, we had to take an hour and a half long, 5 am taxi ride through the top of the Andes mountains. Gorgeous, but scary since the guy was going 80 down these tiny, winding roads and there were horrible pockets of fog (that did not slow him down). Oh, and the cliffs. Giant cliffs to one side. Then, when you get to the next city, you get on a train and ride for an hour and a half to a city called Aguas Calientes. From there, you take a 20 minute bus ride straight up a mountain and BLAM. . .

• Machu Picchu! By far the coolest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Breathtakingly gorgeous, spiritual, and moving. Just amazing. Even if it weren't for the ruins, the mountain top and surrounding mountains are gorgeous enough, the ruins just add to it.

My favorite memory? There are lots, but I'm still laughing about the early morning cab ride to the train. Like I said, swirving, honking, almost hitting multiple people, almost falling off of cliffs and. . . the sound track to it all? Early 90s dance music. One thing I learned: Peruvians love early 90s dance music. It's played freakin' EVERYWHERE. Anyway, it's dead silent in the cab because we are scared for our dear lives, when the driver hits a button on the radio. What do I hear booming from the speakers? "WHAT IS LOVE? BABY DON'T HURT ME, DON'T HURT ME..." I thought I was going to pee myself I was laughing so hard. Anyway, I did take video to show why I can live my whole life without ever again riding in a Peruvian cab, which you can see here. This video is also excellent if you've ever wondered what it was like to speed through the Andes mountains in a 15 year old car with no seatbelts.

Oh, I also saw someone get hit by a bus at Machu Picchu. Epic trip was epic, yes it was.


So, in addition to the pictures, I thought maybe I could answer any questions you may have about Peru. This was the first time I traveled 1: out of North America and 2: out of the country without family. I booked everything myself (no agent) and didn't use a tour group at all. Ask away!

[Sunspace]

Oh man, that looks like a cool trip. What an amazing landscape! And I love the colours there... the clothing, the buildings.

Am I imagining things or does the Peruvian flag look like the Canadian flag? I couldn't quite tell.

Did the people who lived at Machu Picchu grow their own food there? I'm wonderering whether those terraces were farming areas or what.

How do you say Machu Picchu? That extra C in Picchu is confusing me. "Mah-choo Peek-choo"? (Can you speak Spanish?)

[MPB in Salt Lake]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

I posted a few months ago asking for advice on what to do on a trip to Peru and thanks to everyone's lovely advice, I had an awesome trip. I promised I'd post pictures and stories here, so here I am!

I went at the beginning of this month, flying from LA to El Salvador, El Salvador to Lima, Lima to Cusco. In all, we had about 8 days in Peru itself, which ended up being enough time to see a lot.

The links below go to Flickr albums for each destination.

• Lima We had a 15 hour layover in Lima and went to explore. Beautiful in the main Plaza, but the whole city seemed very run down otherwise. Also, tons of soldiers/ police with guns, dogs, and riot shields in the main plaza-- that made me raise an eyebrow.

• Cusco is where we spent the majority of our time during the trip. Beautiful city, even full of a bunch of tourists. Tons of kids trying to get you to buy their crap or take a picture with their baby llama (they would fake cry and everything if you said no ), even more so than the "chicle" kids in Mexico's tourist places. Tons of great churches, shopping, and food. A great place to visit.

• The road to Machu Picchu Ollatambo, the train, Aguas Calientes, the bus. So, to get to Machu Picchu from Cusco, we had to take an hour and a half long, 5 am taxi ride through the top of the Andes mountains. Gorgeous, but scary since the guy was going 80 down these tiny, winding roads and there were horrible pockets of fog (that did not slow him down). Oh, and the cliffs. Giant cliffs to one side. Then, when you get to the next city, you get on a train and ride for an hour and a half to a city called Aguas Calientes. From there, you take a 20 minute bus ride straight up a mountain and BLAM. . .

• Machu Picchu! By far the coolest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Breathtakingly gorgeous, spiritual, and moving. Just amazing. Even if it weren't for the ruins, the mountain top and surrounding mountains are gorgeous enough, the ruins just add to it.

My favorite memory? There are lots, but I'm still laughing about the early morning cab ride to the train. Like I said, swirving, honking, almost hitting multiple people, almost falling off of cliffs and. . . the sound track to it all? Early 90s dance music. One thing I learned: Peruvians love early 90s dance music. It's played freakin' EVERYWHERE. Anyway, it's dead silent in the cab because we are scared for our dear lives, when the driver hits a button on the radio. What do I hear booming from the speakers? "WHAT IS LOVE? BABY DON'T HURT ME, DON'T HURT ME..." I thought I was going to pee myself I was laughing so hard. Anyway, I did take video to show why I can live my whole life without ever again riding in a Peruvian cab, which you can see here. This video is also excellent if you've ever wondered what it was like to speed through the Andes mountains in a 15 year old car with no seatbelts.

Oh, I also saw someone get hit by a bus at Machu Picchu. Epic trip was epic, yes it was.


So, in addition to the pictures, I thought maybe I could answer any questions you may have about Peru. This was the first time I traveled 1: out of North America and 2: out of the country without family. I booked everything myself (no agent) and didn't use a tour group at all. Ask away!

I have a cousin who lived in Peru for a few years, and he loved it---Said the people were warm and welcoming, and there was a lot of love for an American living there..........

This was several years ago, so I wonder if Americans are still made to feel welcome?

How much (in US Dollars) was a hotel room for the night in Cusco?

How much for a beer in a bar?

Did you meet lots of trekkers from other western countries in Machu Picchu?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It sounds like you had a grand time; I am glad it was such a wonderful experience for you!!!

Welcome Back, Matthew

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by Sunspace

Am I imagining things or does the Peruvian flag look like the Canadian flag? I couldn't quite tell.

Peruvian flag. Looks like the main difference is the middle part. . . er, only difference heh.

Originally Posted by Sunspace

Did the people who lived at Machu Picchu grow their own food there? I'm wonderering whether those terraces were farming areas or what.

My understanding is that those terraces were all farming areas. Their irrigation system is amazing- it still works today (500 years later, even after being abandoned completely and overgrown for who knows how long!).

Originally Posted by Sunspace

How do you say Machu Picchu? That extra C in Picchu is confusing me. ["Mah-choo Peek-choo"? (Can you speak Spanish?)

"Mah-chew Pee-chew" is how I say it. . . I hope that's right. I mean, if it's not, I looked like a total asshole any time I spoke during my whole trip . And yes, I speak Spanish, but "Machu Picchu" is in the Incan language, which I certainly do not speak. I gave up on trying to say the names of various Incan landmarks real fast.

[EmAnJ]

Man, I miss Peru. It is number one on the list of places we've travelled. We did the Salkantay hike to MP.

I agree, most amazing place I have ever, ever been in my life. It will be hard to top it.

Ah, it's bringing tears to my eyes. I should go back.

[EmAnJ]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

And yes, I speak Spanish, but "Machu Picchu" is in the Incan language, which I certainly do not speak. I gave up on trying to say the names of various Incan landmarks real fast.

Machu Picchu means 'Old Mountain', and Wayna Picchu (which is the mountain right next to MP that you can hike up) means 'Young Mountain'.

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

I have a cousin who lived in Peru for a few years, and he loved it---Said the people were warm and welcoming, and there was a lot of love for an American living there..........

This was several years ago, so I wonder if Americans are still made to feel welcome?

Yeah, I didn't feel any ill will toward Americans at all. I heard the Peruvians (in Spanish) constantly making snarky remarks about the Europeans, though never Americans. As you can see in the pictures, I look sort of brown myself, so a few times a Peruvian would remark to me in Spanish about how rude a lot of the European backpackers were. *shrug* I don't know anything about that, but just reporting what I heard.

The people did seem to have a bit of a thing against the tourists, but nothing awful- they just tried to charge more. My friend, as you can see in the pictures, is very white and if we would walk in stores separately, they'd quote him one price in English, then quote me something 75% less in Spanish. In Lima, my friend tried to get a cab to the Plaza, in English, and was told it would be $50 (USD). I walked over to another group of cab drivers and asked in Spanish and it ended up being about $7 (USD).

In all, I'd say the Peruvian people were by far the nicest folks I've had the pleasure of traveling around in a long time. Very accommodating and helpful- of course, I speak Spanish, so I had a bit of an advantage over- say- my friend.

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

How much (in US Dollars) was a hotel room for the night in Cusco?

We stayed at a hotel that is also a school for Peruvian street children, so the money goes to that. We had our own room and bathroom- small, but comfy and clean. In the end, I think they charged us a little under $40 USD a night.

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

How much for a beer in a bar?

Maybe a dollar. Just to put it in perspective: I had a huuuuuge porterhouse steak, mashed potatoes, veggies, and a glass of wine for dinner one night. The cost? About $6 USD.

Originally Posted by MPB in Salt Lake

Did you meet lots of trekkers from other western countries in Machu Picchu?

We did and they were all very nice. I'd say the Aussies were the nicest and had the funniest stories . Though, I am not a backpacker and have no intention of being one- I had a big suitcase, earrings, and makeup the whole time. So, I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. I suppose I didn't realize that literally everyone everywhere would be walking around unshaven with a huge pack on their back! Oops.

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by EmAnJ

Machu Picchu means 'Old Mountain', and Wayna Picchu (which is the mountain right next to MP that you can hike up) means 'Young Mountain'.

My friend's guide book said hiking up Wayna Picchu would only take an hour. I refuse to believe it. That was so much higher than we already were!

Plus, I'd have died. Altitude sickness meant I already couldn't breath.

[EmAnJ]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

My friend's guide book said hiking up Wayna Picchu would only take an hour. I refuse to believe it. That was so much higher than we already were!

Plus, I'd have died. Altitude sickness meant I already couldn't breath.

It actually was only an hour and the view is amazing! I'll try and find a picture when I get home (if I remember).

I had altitude sickness too, but on the hike, and it was to the point of throwing up and severe headache. It sucked. But I don't blame you, it IS really hard to breathe up there!

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by EmAnJ

It actually was only an hour and the view is amazing! I'll try and find a picture when I get home (if I remember).

I had altitude sickness too, but on the hike, and it was to the point of throwing up and severe headache. It sucked. But I don't blame you, it IS really hard to breathe up there!

You know that little trail you take as soon as you walk in the front gate of MP- the one off to the left that zig zags up and takes you to the post card view of the place?

It took FOREVER for me to walk up that because I had to stop on every "zag" (so, what? 10 feet?) and catch my breath. Luckily, I didn't throw up ever or anything, but man, I felt like an elephant was laying on my chest!

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

You said the cab had no seatbelts, but in the video it appears the maniacal cab driver is indeed wearing one! I guess you meant for you guys in the back seat!

Awesome pics, awesome story, and a memory you'll cherish. I am jealous. I'd love to go there (and to Argentina, too, for the wine tour and all that succulent beef!).

[EmAnJ]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

You know that little trail you take as soon as you walk in the front gate of MP- the one off to the left that zig zags up and takes you to the post card view of the place?

It took FOREVER for me to walk up that because I had to stop on every "zag" (so, what? 10 feet?) and catch my breath. Luckily, I didn't throw up ever or anything, but man, I felt like an elephant was laying on my chest!

Haha, I agree, it is very thin air up there! No wonder the sherpas are crazy fit!

By the way, that's the entrance to MP from the Inca Trail. It's called the Sun Gate.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

Did you eat any cuy?

[KarlGrenze]

Or any cow heart?

[EmAnJ]

Did you eat any ceveche?

[DiosaBellissima]

I ate none of those things, though I did eat an alpaca steak. I don't like food with little bones, so cuy is out. I don't eat seafood, so ceviche is out. And while I have nothing against cow heart, I didn't see any that ever looked tasty.

Frankly, all the traditional Peruvian food I had (couldn't tell you what it was- but a few things here and there) was just. . . not so good. I hate to generalize, but it seemed like everything had this background flavor that I was just not fond of. Some spice or something.

That said, I had some awesome steaks and probably the best pasta of my life on this trip, so I wont complain.

[Ale]

Awwww... I've always wanted to go to Machu Pichu, but now that I moved from Uruguay to Thailand I'm more farther away than ever.

It's quite amazing, isn't it? I had to study the architecture and wall construction techniques for a job I did and it completely blows my mind how they managed to make such perfect and enduring structures by practically nothing else than smashing rocks together.

[Ale]

By the way, what happend to the guy hit by a bus???

[Shirley Ujest]

I've always wanted to go to MP, long before yuppie swarms and stuff. I blame Indiana Jones. (I'm not a history buff. I just really want to go to the really hard to get to places.)


Your pictures are wonderful! You don't take a bad picture in any of them, so that makes me doubly jealous!


When I win the lottery, can I hire you as our private interpreter?

[Tully Mars]

That's a great set of pictures. Thanks for posting them.

I look at that place and think some of the same things I thought at Mesa Verde. Who had the idea to start building that? What motivated them? What were their long term visions for their people? What was the average day like for the average Joe totin' rocks all day? Did he get to kick back in the evening with a cold glass of water and enjoy the view or was he too tired to care?

[brickbacon]

I just went to Peru last month. Did you get a chance to go to Salinas, Moray, Colca Canyon, or Puno? Was the strike still going on when you were there? I heard some interesting strike stories.

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by Ale

Awwww... I've always wanted to go to Machu Pichu, but now that I moved from Uruguay to Thailand I'm more farther away than ever.

It's quite amazing, isn't it? I had to study the architecture and wall construction techniques for a job I did and it completely blows my mind how they managed to make such perfect and enduring structures by practically nothing else than smashing rocks together.

Hey, it's still possible! I saw tons of tourists from all over and I totally understand why: this trip was cheap. Insanely cheap!

What amazes me is that, according to the archeology field guide thing I read (and I vaguely remember this from a college world civ class), the Incans never invented the wheel. So, they dragged these goliath stones up a mountain I couldn't even walk up carrying nothing, then places them so perfectly together without mortar that you couldn't even fit a piece of paper between the rocks. Amazing.

Originally Posted by Ale

By the way, what happend to the guy hit by a bus???

That was actually at MP. A tour bus was backing up (beep beeping and all) and this guy was not paying attention. WHAM. He flew like 10 feet, but was fine. I looked at my friend and was like, "And, to top it all off, we've now seen a guy get hit by a bus. This trip is so awesome."

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by Shirley Ujest

I've always wanted to go to MP, long before yuppie swarms and stuff. I blame Indiana Jones. (I'm not a history buff. I just really want to go to the really hard to get to places.)


Your pictures are wonderful! You don't take a bad picture in any of them, so that makes me doubly jealous!


When I win the lottery, can I hire you as our private interpreter?

Actually, even though there were certainly many people at MP, most of the time, we didn't encounter a single person and were totally alone, goofing off and looking at things. There are parts where there are lots, but most folks don't go look at everything, so you can more or less be alone. I didn't realize just how BIG MP is- I was truly surprised by that. Just massive.

Thank you!

And sure, but you don't need to win the lottery to go to Peru! My whole 8 day journey- everything- cost me under $800.

Originally Posted by Tully Mars

That's a great set of pictures. Thanks for posting them.

I look at that place and think some of the same things I thought at Mesa Verde. Who had the idea to start building that? What motivated them? What were their long term visions for their people? What was the average day like for the average Joe totin' rocks all day? Did he get to kick back in the evening with a cold glass of water and enjoy the view or was he too tired to care?

What's most interesting to me is that we can't know the answers to those questions and likely never will. MP is only supposed to be around 500 years old, but no one knows for sure what it was or why it was built. Hell, or even how long it was used for- most agree under 100 years.

Originally Posted by brickbacon

I just went to Peru last month. Did you get a chance to go to Salinas, Moray, Colca Canyon, or Puno? Was the strike still going on when you were there? I heard some interesting strike stories.

We planned to go to Moray and a few other places, but my friend was a bit sick and we decided there was enough neat stuff to see in Cusco, so it was ok. We did go to Sacsayhuaman because it was so close, which is in some of those pictures.

The strike was over a few weeks before we went, but I couldn't help but wonder if the soldiers all over Lima were a residual of the strike. I heard a few Peruvians talking with each other about the strike- stories and such, but I didn't hear much.

What did you do in Peru?

[elbows]

How long were you there for?

Did you wish you'd gone for longer? How much longer?

[brickbacon]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

The strike was over a few weeks before we went, but I couldn't help but wonder if the soldiers all over Lima were a residual of the strike. I heard a few Peruvians talking with each other about the strike- stories and such, but I didn't hear much.

That's good. A friend of mine had to walk 12 hours through the darkness because they closed down the roads during the strike.

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

What did you do in Peru?

We went to toured Lima and hung out in Mira Flores. Then went to Arequipa. We did a trek though Colca Canyon (we stayed at the oasis). Then to Cusco. We did another city tour there. We visited Puno, but didn't get to see Lake Titicaca because of the strike. We then went to Oyantantambo and Aguas Calientes. Did the ruins there, then went to Moray, Moras, Salinas, and Machu Picchu. Then we went to Puerto Maldonado to visit the Amazon. Then back to Lima. It was an unforgettable trip.

[brickbacon]

Sorry to hijack your thread btw.

[Declan]

That looked like an awesome cab ride, with dj Bobo and The Real McCoy doing the sound track.

Declan

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by elbows

How long were you there for?

Did you wish you'd gone for longer? How much longer?

8 days. And honestly, on the last day, we found ourselves sitting the Plaza in Cusco going through the guide book, internet searching on the phone, and came to realize we had done everything we wanted to do and some random things we didn't even know existed. Unsure of what else to do, we sat there and people watched .

I suppose if we had gone to other areas of Peru (but not Lima, because that place seemed terrible), I'd have liked more time, but I think our trip was just right.


And brickbacon, you're not hijacking at all! It's interesting that we were there so close to one another. Plus, you did the backpacker hiking thing and I did . .. well, mostly the opposite, it seems . It's interesting how there are two totally different ways to approach the same area, ya know? Both are so interesting to me!

Declan, I was 90% sure we were going to plunge off of a cliff and the last thing I was going to hear was Haddaway. I'm thankful my life didn't end like that, because I never imagine going down like that!

[_xiao_wenti_]

When I was living in Ecuador in the early 90's we took the grand trip into Peru and Bolivia. If any of you do end up going to Peru, you will end up in Lima at some point. I HIGHLY recommend going to the Museo Larco, which features Precolombian ceramics. This was my favorite Lima museum.

http://catalogomuseolarco.perucultural.org.pe/

As for the food == Ceviche is a not-to-be missed. We stayed with family of some friends and had cuy (guinea pig). They had a pen and we got to chose our meal. It's not bad -- tastes like rabbit with thick skin. Anticuchos (beef heart) are something that I make at home -- thanks to the China Store (aka Walmart), you can get beef heart and other off cuts. The first time I made them, I had to buy a 50 pound frozen box from the meat packers.

I was in Peru for the first anniversary of the capture of Abimael Guzman, the leader of the Shining Path, so the guerilla war was still going on. They blew up the power lines into the city once and the month before someone chucked a grenade into the embassy compound. All major buildings had soldiers around them, with assault rifles and armoured cars. The Plaza de Armas was blocked off with soldiers standing around it -- Surreal.

Except for Lima, Peru was nice. Almost as nice as Ecuador. The most impressive thing about MP (IMHO) was the location. Sachsayhuaman was MUCH more impressive, especially when you consider how little is left.

RE the Peruvian flag -- On the hill near the airport in Cuzco, they have moved the rocks to form a huge peruvian flag.

The effects of inflation where still around. I bought 2 kilos of coins from a street vendor and used them as souvenirs. The nuevo sol had been introduced, replacing the inti, which replaced the sol. 1e6 intis to the nuevo sol and I don't remember the sol to inti conversion, maybe 1000?

There weren't too many Americans around. Europeans and the ubiquitous Israelis.

Got invited to a wedding in Lima a few years back. Wish that I could have afforded to go.

[Dante]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

Anyway, I did take video to show why I can live my whole life without ever again riding in a Peruvian cab, which you can see here.

Why are those lines painted in the road? Doesn't seem like anyone pays them any mind. I'm just saying, the local government could probably save some money there.

[Ale]

Originally Posted by _xiao_wenti_

The nuevo sol had been introduced, replacing the inti, which replaced the sol. 1e6 intis to the nuevo sol and I don't remember the sol to inti conversion, maybe 1000?

Only in the SDMB would someone write one million as 1e6...

[_xiao_wenti_]

Mea culpa -- engineer and all that.

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by Dante

Why are those lines painted in the road? Doesn't seem like anyone pays them any mind. I'm just saying, the local government could probably save some money there.

Amen to that- I could not get over how the cab drivers drove. I've been all over and I've never in my life seen anything like that. Cusco has these tiny, narrow streets- one car can fit down at a time. The cab drivers barrel down them at 50 mph, horn blaring notice at the blind intersection as they fly through. I was certain I was going to die.

[_xiao_wenti_]

I'll be honest -- I don't remember anything special about the cars. I guess after so long there, you tune it out. I had to think whether we used any cabs. We did, I am sure, just don't remember.

I only did a little driving in Ecuador. The intersection etiquette was hard to adjust to. The person who honked first had the right-of-way.

[stpauler]

Ooh ooh ooh! Perfect timing for this thread as we're planning our trip to Ecuador/Peru/Galapagos for March/April 2010. So we have TONS of questions (sorry in advance).

1) I took 4 years of Spanish and was able to understand/be understood in Mexico. Is Peruvian Spanish close? Can one get by just knowing Spanish or should we seek out any of the local languages too?

2)How bad was the altitude sickness? Does it just happen at Machu Picchu or other parts of Peru? And any other tricks beside the coca leaf? (We're flatlanders and not used to mountainous regions).

3)Were there other options to get from Cusco to MP (we're a family of five and doing a taxi sometimes means doing two taxis)?

4)I've heard from lots of different places to pretty much get in and then out of Lima. Is it really that bad?

5)Should we hire a guide to arrange prices?

6)What are reasonable prices for things (since we're white and you mentioned your non-spanish speaking white friend got some hiked up amounts).

7)What are some must have souvenirs?

8)Was your under $800 for the trip inclusive of air fare too?

9)Where'd you exchange money (are there ATMs a-plenty)?

10)Can we drink the water?

11)Any tourist trips/dangerous areas to avoid?

[DiosaBellissima]

Originally Posted by stpauler

Ooh ooh ooh! Perfect timing for this thread as we're planning our trip to Ecuador/Peru/Galapagos for March/April 2010. So we have TONS of questions (sorry in advance).

1) I took 4 years of Spanish and was able to understand/be understood in Mexico. Is Peruvian Spanish close? Can one get by just knowing Spanish or should we seek out any of the local languages too?

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Spanish dialects, but I'd say that the Peruvians speak slower and clearer than Mexicans. Which is amazing, because Mexican Spanish is pretty slowly spoken. I think you'll be fine in Peru, because most of them speak basic English. So long as you can ask "where is ___" "how much is it to go to ____" "how much is this___" etc, you'll be just fine.

Originally Posted by stpauler

2)How bad was the altitude sickness? Does it just happen at Machu Picchu or other parts of Peru? And any other tricks beside the coca leaf? (We're flatlanders and not used to mountainous regions).

It sucked. Bad. Now, I've heard there's two kinds of altitude sickness and most people get both, I- luckily- only had half of it. I stepped off the plane in Cusco and I felt like I'd been punched in the face IMMEDIATELY. Then, I couldn't catch my breath.

Now, I admit I'm far from in the best shape, but this was beyond being out of breath because I'm a fatty. I'd walk a flat block in Cusco and have to stop and catch my breath. When we went up to Sacsayhuaman above Cusco, I especially had to keep stopping to breath. It was crazy. My friend got the other half of the altitude sickness- puking and . . . well, the opposite end of puking .

As far as tricks, I know my friend's doctor boyfriend said to do a lot of aerobic exercise before going so as to better prep your body, but once there. . . not really. Just take it easy, rest if you need it (we napped every single day in the afternoon), and drink the tea. Seriously, it really helps.

And remember: Cusco is MUCH higher than MP. I actually felt much much better at MP, though you can still hear me gasping for breath in the video I took there.

Originally Posted by stpauler

3)Were there other options to get from Cusco to MP (we're a family of five and doing a taxi sometimes means doing two taxis)?

I'm sure there's some sort of chartered bus van thing you can take, but I bet it's ungodly expensive. We just had our hotel call a cab for us and I'm sure yours will be able to book you a van taxi- they have those there, too. They also had lots of taxi station wagons, so I think you'll be ok.

Even if you don't take the taxi all the way to Ollatambo like we did, the closest train station to Cusco is still a decent drive- maybe half an hour, if I remember right. What we did worked out well- $30 for the taxi ride to Ollatambo, $15 for the ride back.

Originally Posted by stpauler

4)I've heard from lots of different places to pretty much get in and then out of Lima. Is it really that bad?

We flew into the airport, took a cab into the city, then took the cab back to the airport, where we flew out. So, I suppose I can't really speak to that matter. Sorry!

Originally Posted by stpauler

5)Should we hire a guide to arrange prices?

Meh, I honestly wouldn't. Ahead of time, we bought:

• Airfare
• Train tickets from Ollatamno to Aguas Calientes and back again.
• Hotel in Cusco and Machu Picchu (you don't pay or even give a deposit until you're there)

That's it. While there, any time we got a taxi from our hotel, we had them call it for us and any time we were on the street, we tried to flag down the same company that the hotel called for us. I went mostly to the Trip Adviser suggested restaurants. Shopping, we just asked at our hotel or the cab drivers, they are super friendly with tons of suggestions.

Originally Posted by stpauler

6)What are reasonable prices for things (since we're white and you mentioned your non-spanish speaking white friend got some hiked up amounts).

A nice dinner should run you $10 or so. A cab anywhere in Cusco is never more than 5 soles (usually three, and this isn't counting to and from the airport). All of the churches and museums have posted prices, so you're ok there. We got big, hand made alpaca blankets for what was $15-$20. I got little statues for $1 each. Earrings, rings for $1-$2. Necklaces for $3-$4.

I'm trying to think of what all I bought. . . hrm. I got an oil painting and hand carved wood frame (probably 18x20 or something) for $15.

Just know everything is cheap and everything is negotiable. Prices are WAY higher in places like San Blas, so if you feel like cheaping it up, there is a ... well, it reminds of an indoor swap meet here in the states: tons of booths set up and the locals sell different stuff. I can't remember what it was called, the local shopping market or something. I don't know. If you're really interested, I can look it up. Point is, negotiate everything. This is where speaking Spanish in regard to purchases is very helpful.

Originally Posted by stpauler

7)What are some must have souvenirs?

I love my alpaca blanket- it's tossed over my couch right now. I also about died laughing when I saw these little statues they sell everywhere- they are reproductions of ancient Incan fertility statues, but it's basically just a statue of two people doing it. They have every imaginable position and are quite graphic. I thought these were hilarious and bought them for everyone I care for .

I bought a mirror almost exactly like this one for $10. Love it.

Originally Posted by stpauler

8)Was your under $800 for the trip inclusive of air fare too?

Yes. We just watched and checked every day, then nabbed it after a few days when the price dropped from like $800 to a good deal.

Originally Posted by stpauler

9)Where'd you exchange money (are there ATMs a-plenty)?

In Cusco, the main street has about a million money exchanges, banks, and ATMs. We'd just stop by that ATM every few days and pull out whatever we needed in Soles.

Be warned: while the Peruvian folks will take American money, it can't be bent or beat up in any way. It has to be crisp. So, it's easier just to get Soles, if you ask me.

Originally Posted by stpauler

10)Can we drink the water?

I did from the tap in the hotel room a few times, though I don't know how smart that was. I didn't get sick. Every restaurant gives you bottled water, though.

Originally Posted by stpauler

11)Any tourist trips/dangerous areas to avoid?

Everything is more expensive in Aguas Calientes, but beyond that, not really. Though I suggest reading the State Department's travel advisory page on Peru, so you know where to go and where to be extra careful. I guess if you're hiking the Inca trail, you are in a lot more danger from terror groups.

[stpauler]

You rock so much! Thanks!

[zut]

We went to Peru late last year (and are planning on returning in a couple months), so I can add some thoughts from the perspective of another first-time recent tourist.

Originally Posted by stpauler

1) I took 4 years of Spanish and was able to understand/be understood in Mexico. Is Peruvian Spanish close? Can one get by just knowing Spanish or should we seek out any of the local languages too?

Neither my wife nor I speak Spanish, although we did make an effort to learn good morning/please/thank you, where are, how much, some numbers, and other miscellania. As Diosa said, if you're planning on travelling through the tourist section of the country, as you are, then most people speak a little English. If you're a linguophile, you could try learning a little Quechua, which is still spoken by a lot of people living in the Andes, but four years of Spanish is more than you'll need.

Originally Posted by stpauler

2)How bad was the altitude sickness? Does it just happen at Machu Picchu or other parts of Peru? And any other tricks beside the coca leaf? (We're flatlanders and not used to mountainous regions).

Eh. We didn't have any altitude sickness problem. Shortness of breath during heavy exertion, yes, but nothing worse. However, we also spent three days in Arequipa (roughly 2500 meters) before going to Cusco, which may have helped the acclimatization.

Originally Posted by stpauler

3)Were there other options to get from Cusco to MP (we're a family of five and doing a taxi sometimes means doing two taxis)?

First of all, getting to Machu Picchu requires you either take a train, or hike the Inca Trail. I assume you've not gonna hike, so the train is a must. As Diosa says, you can catch the train either at Poroy, which is relatively close to Cusco, or Ollantaytabo, which is an hour's drive. If you're a family of five, I'd suggest going to Ollantaytambo, because the cost of even two taxis is probably less than the fare difference (leaving from Ollantaytambo is cheaper). Plus, a) there are way more departure times from Ollantaytambo, and b) it is, IMO, a worthwhile little village to visit. We stayed three days there and enjoyed it more than Cusco.

Originally Posted by stpauler

4)I've heard from lots of different places to pretty much get in and then out of Lima. Is it really that bad?

I'd say it's more expectations. We spent a day in Lima, and it was fine...but would you rather spen 24 hours in Lima, or 24 hours visiting Incan ruins?

Originally Posted by stpauler

5)Should we hire a guide to arrange prices?

We did what Diosa did, pretty much, and it didn't have any issues. I suppose someone local might have been able to drive down prices, but we didn't do that.

Originally Posted by stpauler

6)What are reasonable prices for things (since we're white and you mentioned your non-spanish speaking white friend got some hiked up amounts).

What do you want? Hotel prices vary wildly depending on location and expectations. Dinners at restaurants catering to tourists run from $7 to $15, drinks and tip included. Souvenir prices also vary wildly, because the quality will vary wildly. Truly hand-made, finely-crafted items? You can get them for a fair price, but you're unlikely to buy them for a song.

Originally Posted by stpauler

7)What are some must have souvenirs?

Agreed on the alpaca blankets. Decent-quality, machine-made alpaca blankets are suprisingly affordable. If you're into textiles, you can get some nice handmade items from traditional weavers for a decent price, but not dirt-cheap.

Originally Posted by stpauler

9)Where'd you exchange money (are there ATMs a-plenty)?

There were ATMs all over Lima and Arequipa and Cusco. In Aguas Calientes and Ollantaytambo there was exactly one per. Which was fine, but if the one ATM in town had broken, things might have been a little tight. US dollars are accepted most places, so we brought along a few hunderd dollars cash as backup.

Originally Posted by stpauler

10)Can we drink the water?

No. Not worth the risk. Bottled water is cheap and plentiful, but I'd suggest bringing along some sort of purification device.

Originally Posted by stpauler

11)Any tourist trips/dangerous areas to avoid?

In all of Peru? I dunno. In the touristy places, you'll be OK as long as you stay observant. There are places less than a mile from my house that seem scarier.

[stpauler]

Thanks Zut too!

We bought the tickets, $590 roundtrip from Minneapolis to Lima (with a stop at JFK). We arrive 6am in Peru on March 28th and depart April 11th late at night.

So now it's the planning part. The one tricky thing we're figuring out how to do is to get around the country. Every guide book and website recommends against renting a car. Which I would like to avoid. It also seems that the rail system in Peru isn't the most complete either. So is it either planes or buses? We've been (unsuccessfully) looking for a car and driver like we had in India which was relatively cheap at about $900 for two weeks.

What would be a good sample itinerary for those 15 days? We tend to like a budget-moderate travel expenses.

[DiosaBellissima]

After the time I spent in Peru, you could not pay me to ever drive a car there- hell, I was terrified being a passenger. I am willing to paint with a wide brush here and say Peruvians are the scariest drivers I have ever in my life encountered.

I suppose to answer your question I need to know what you want to do while you're there. Fifteen days is more than enough time for my itinerary, in fact, I'd say it would be about twice as long as you'd need. What all do you want to see?

[stpauler]

Originally Posted by DiosaBellissima

After the time I spent in Peru, you could not pay me to ever drive a car there- hell, I was terrified being a passenger. I am willing to paint with a wide brush here and say Peruvians are the scariest drivers I have ever in my life encountered.

I suppose to answer your question I need to know what you want to do while you're there. Fifteen days is more than enough time for my itinerary, in fact, I'd say it would be about twice as long as you'd need. What all do you want to see?

Obviously Machu Picchu (probably towards the end of the trip, so something to really look forward to).
Nazca Lines
Lake Titicaca
Maybe some Amazonian Jungle.
Colca Canyon

Any other suggestions?

[Epimetheus]

Did you feel particularly safe there? My sister married a man from Peru, and wants to hike to Machu Picchu with a group. She invited us but while I think I would be safe in Lima, I'm not so sure about a 9 day hike.

[elbows]

Hmm, my experience was the reverse, I felt much safer on the Inca Trail than I did in Lima.

[lieu]

Brings back some very fond memories. Thanks for posting these.

[zut]

Co-incidentally, we just got back from our second trip to Peru.

Originally Posted by stpauler

So now it's the planning part. The one tricky thing we're figuring out how to do is to get around the country. Every guide book and website recommends against renting a car. Which I would like to avoid. It also seems that the rail system in Peru isn't the most complete either. So is it either planes or buses? We've been (unsuccessfully) looking for a car and driver like we had in India which was relatively cheap at about $900 for two weeks.

Like Diosa said, you really don't want to rent a car in Peru--the roads expectations are completely different. Frex: suppose you're on a six-lane road and want to turn right. Which lane should you be in? If you said "the right lane," you're not ready to drive in Peru. If you said, "it doesn't matter," then you're ready.

As for car and driver, I'm not sure. We met a woman in Lima who had a hired car, but she was only staying in Lima, so her driver was just going home for the night. She was paying like $100 a day, although she though she could have gotten a better price than that with some bargaining.

So probably planes or busses. The busses aren't terribly expensive, and there are quality bus companies that go everywhere you want to go. Plane fares can vary, and we've gotten much better prices from TACA and Star Peru than the more well-known LAN.

What would be a good sample itinerary for those 15 days? We tend to like a budget-moderate travel expenses.

We like to travel to a limited number of places, so we can spend more in-depth time in one place and spend less time travelling from place to place. It sounds like you might want to see more things in more places. In that case, consider as a baseline doing a tourist loop via bus along the southern coast, through Nazca to Arepquipa, then to Lake Titicaca and on to Cusco and the Sacred Valley. At the end, fly back to Lima.

Originally Posted by stpauler

Obviously Machu Picchu (probably towards the end of the trip, so something to really look forward to).
Nazca Lines
Lake Titicaca
Maybe some Amazonian Jungle.
Colca Canyon

My boss is a big South American traveller, and he *does* like travelling to a lot of different places. He suggests travelling the southern tourist loop I described above. In particular, here are his comments:
-There are some interesting things near Pisco / Ica that are worth stopping for a day or so (the Huacachina Oasis and Paracas come to mind).
-Nazca is most impressive from the air. If you want to rent a plane, it's worth a lengthy stop, but otherwise just stop for a moment on your way through.
-Arequipa is a beautiful city, and worth stopping for a few days. It's also the base from which to take a trip to Colca Canyon.
-Lake Titicaca is a must-see, particularly visiting the some of the islands in the lake.
-There are a lot of things in the Sacred Valley that are well worth seeing, in addition to Machu Picchu, the village of Ollantaytambo in particular. If you want to spend more time in the Sacred Valley, we've got more suggestions, as we just spent a couple weeks there.
-If you have some extra time, the central-Peru Andean towns of Huancayo and Ayacucho are worth visiting.

[stpauler]

Thought I'd bump this thread since we just got back.

First off, thanks for all of the advice and tips, we built a lot of the trip around them. But....

For some reason when we got to Lima's airport after a red eye flight, stupidity sank in and we decided to rent a car instead of taking a bus through the country. Not just any car or a smart one like a 4x4, we rented a Fiat Uno for the five of us with our luggage. It was the only manual transmission available and with a rate of $180 a week, we thought it was a deal. We added a rental Garmin GPS to the mix at $10 a day and after taxes and airport fees at the end of the trip, the rental was over $800 for two weeks.

Leaving Lima immediately, the GPS directed us out to the desert countryside and to our first destination a couple hours away, Pisco. After the first hour, a road stop by a fast talking group of police officers asked us where we were headed. We steadied our wallets as we had heard about bribery, but maybe since we had two young kids in the back, we were given a free pass every time we got stopped. We checked out a couple hotels and hostales (which in Peru are just small hotels) and were accosted by people trying to sell us a tour to the Ballestas Islands at 80 soles a piece. We decided to head further down the coast a bit and got to the adorable city of Paracas. A hotel a block from the Malecon which had views of the bay became our home for the night. We parked the car on the street and got two rooms for 140 soles (about $50) which included a rooftop breakfast. The room was alright and we made the bad decision of choosing cool night air and leaving the balcony door open while the kids left theirs shut and stayed in the non-airconditioned/fanned room. They slept better since they weren't infested with mosquitoes. Dinner was at a place called Las Brisas where I enjoyed my first Peruvian dish, lomo saltado, which is pretty much salted beef and veggies, but still quite delicious. The next morning, the hotel sold us a trip to the Ballestas islands for 40 soles a person. The kids loved seeing the sea lions and humboldt penguins. We had left at 8am for the trip and were back by 10am, which was way too long to go without sunscreen.

The car was loaded up again for the next city, Ica, we stopped for gasoline as we had heard about the infrequency of gas stations and the car had a sticker on it stating "ONLY 97 GASOLINE". We wanted to heed the notice, but in the weeks we drove through Peru, we only saw two stations that had it.

The traffic was bad when we got to Ica and dodging cars, tuktuks, pedestrians, and wheel-swallowing potholes kept us on our toes. But we had seen traffic in Shanghai, Delhi, Cairo, and had driven through Jamaica, so we were actually pretty ok with it at this point. After looking for a place to stay, we talked with a local about where to go for lunch and she suggested going out of the city a couple minutes to Lago Huacachina. Ica's a bustling city and leaving it to the Huacachina immediately submersed us into the desert environs. Huge sand dunes encircled the lake (which was more of a large pond) surrounded by palm trees and restaurants. The little town was filled with hippy sand surfers and two hotels with pools, we picked the first one we saw and for another 150 sole night, we slept with the windows shut.

The next day, after a morning swim and a visit to the Ica museum with its mummies, we piled into the car again and headed down to Nazca (or Nasca). The Pan-American highway surprisingly cuts right across part of the Nazca lines and as the clock read 4:30 pm, we decided to try the airport first to see if we could get a flight in before they were closed for the day. After some bargaining between several airlines, we loaded up in a tiny 8 seater plane and took off. The one thing I hadn't read before was how the planes see the lines. It's...nauseating. Here's this little plane and there's the monkey on the ground. The plane with tilt at a 45 degree angle so those on the right get a good view. Then the plane does a horizontal loop and banks the other way so the other side of the plane gets their chance. Repeat 20-30 times. My partner had turned completely green and sweaty and vowed never to do that again.

We headed into the city of Nazca and checked into our hotel, the first one we actually had a reservation for, called Casa Andina. It's a chain that we actually grew to love. They were extremely accommodating, helpful when we had change plans/get info and had a good breakfast buffet. Their locations were also in the "good" parts of town and usually near the Plaza de Armas or a landmark. The night was beautiful and a block away from the hotel were a bunch of restaurants that served classic Peruvian fare and some pizzas and cheeseburgers too.

After breakfast, we loaded up the car for the long drive from Nazca to Arequipa. And what a long drive that was. If you look at the map, as we had, you'll see the coastal highway goes all they way down to a city called Camana' and then heads inland to Arequipa. What the map doesn't really show is the start of driving along high cliffs without guardrails and passing semis that can't quite make it up the hills. Road signage was mostly "DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD" and while some parts had it that didn't need it, some were the opposite. We got to Camana' at about 6pm, the sun was beginning to set as we ate dinner and we wondered if we should go a couple more hours at night to Arequipa or bed down here.

The road at night to Arequipa was tense. The nice part was a lot of it was surprisingly flat straight driving, just outside of Arequipa was when we would start the hairpin turns and the even slower semi trucks that we had to pass. My hands grew sore and tired from gripping tightly onto nearby objects and my toes curled onto the imaginary passenger side brakes as another curve made the car hug the side of the road as someone wasn't fast enough to pass coming the other way. We parked the car inside the garage at the Casa Andina and went straight to bed. The next morning, two of the kids threw up from the altitude sickness. I popped my first Diamox the night before and I didn't have any problems for the rest of the trip.

The next morning we got up, had a quick breakfast, and wandered the streets of Arequipa to see the mummy and the monastery. The mummy was being touched up but the monastery was very cool to explore. After that, a bit of shopping in a gift shop just outside of the Plaza de Armas where we got the best deals than anywhere else in Peru. We decided that we were going to head to Chivay after lunch. We had received recommendations of a restaurant called Los Guisos Arequpenos on the outskirts of town that served cuy (guinea pig). Without a car or a long taxi ride with the taxi waiting for you after you were done, this place would be a bit on the obtainable side. It was worth it though. It was definitely a fancy joint by Peruvian standards and we all ordered a regular dish and then one cuy. Luckily, the cuy came to the table last, its teeth and claws still intact as it laid spread on a dish with veggies. My partner peeled the skin off of the rodent's back and revealed a dark chicken meat like quality. A couple pictures and a small bite and the rest stayed on the table.

Stomachs full, we left the restaurant and on towards Chivay, a small base town for those going to Colca Canyon. This is where 4 out of 5 of us emptied our stomachs ('cept me who was taking the Diamox). We drove up into the clouds and on the high planes, we saw the vicunas (or alpacas) roaming around. We left the main road and followed a dirt road for 30 minutes as night began to descend and return into a paved winding road that led us down to the Casa Andina in Chivay.

We were told by the rental car company that we could not take the car to Colca Canyon. For $80 US we got the security guard at the hotel to take us there in his station wagon the next morning. Well, after the altitude sickness was over at least. The road, or more accurately trail, to the canyon was really rough and was one lane wide most of the way. We got to the busy condor pass and apparently it's a quiet place, no talking-only whispering, or you will be shushed. Oddly enough, the condors really showed up more when people started talking and ignoring the shushers. It was definitely a worthwhile trip to see this huge birds soar around and above us. On the way back down the mountain, we heard a loud hsssssssssss and the driver got out of his car to find a flat tire. Somehow, we managed to escape them with the Fiat, but his 4x4 station wagon didn’t.

We ended up spending two nights in Chivay since we didn't want to get in the little car again for a bit and maybe acclimatize some more before heading on to Puno. Just outside of the city were the hot spring pools. The hottest one, at 39 degrees Celsius, felt so warm and inviting.

The next day, was a surprisingly pleasant drive to Puno. The landscape was gorgeous and we stopped and had a picnic at a random lake and the scenery reminded us of Scotland. Driving through the congested and confusing streets of Juliaca and we arrived in Puno at the Casa Andina Private Collection. This one boasted of having oxygen in every room and being the only hotel on Lake Titicaca that had it so we paid the extra bucks to stay here. Unfortunately, what they meant was that if you wanted it in your room, they'd bring the machine to you and the first 15 minutes were free. We all tried it out and those feeling altitude sickness felt a bit better.

The hotel hooked us up with a 1/2 day private tour to the Uros floating islands. Which were cool/disappointing. Of course, with any touristy place, the locals were hawking their wares. These were tapestries allegedly designed by the island inhabitants and sewn right there. (We did see the same tschotschkes in Cuzco and everywhere else later). The reed huts were cool and we got to step inside and see the solar powered TV basking two children in its blue glow as they watched a cartoon Easter special. Behind another hut was the floating island's plastic recycling pile and what originally felt anthropological lost a bit of its mystique. It's obvious that modern technology and culture are going to catch up with everyone, it's just a bit sad to see it when you don't expect it.

We stayed in Puno two nights and then headed on to 4 nights in Cusco. Halfway through the drive it became almost a stream of towns. Most of the trip involved long empty stretches, so this was a bit reassuring. Cusco’s one way cobblestone streets near the Plaza de Armas proved too much for our GPS and we ended up parking 2 blocks from the hotel and walking there. The city is definitely a foodie’s town with many great restaurants to try out. For the kids, however, it was the first city we had been in that had a McDonald’s. After that, the kids went to their room while we scoped out our way to get to Machu Picchu. It had been just re-opened for 4 days after the devastating flooding and all of the tour operators were scrambling. The first two we went to were sold out for the days we were there. The third one explained the whole thing and said they could get us tickets.

To get to Machu Picchu:
1) You need to get a train ticket from kilometer 82 to Aguas Calientes. The flood waters had washed out a portion of the track so train travel from Cusco was no longer possible. Kilometer 82 was a train station in a very tiny town called Piscocucho.
2) You then need to take the train tickets and bring them somewhere to Cusco to get the entrance tickets to Machu Picchu
3) Then you need to arrange transportation to Piscocucho
4) You can choose to walk 1.5 hours up the mountain from Aguas Calientes or take a 30 minutes bus up the mountain (roundtrip $14 US a person).

The agent we chose in Cusco said that they’d get the train tickets and to come back the next day at 3pm to go with them to get the entrance tickets. So we did that and around 4pm we were told that they were unable to get the train tickets. Umm, poop. So we wandered the city asking other vendors and found a company that could drive to Machu Picchu the back way and it would be longer but cheaper. We plunked down our money and heard from them later that night. “Sorry, there has been a lot of rain up there and a mudslide has made that road impassable.” Umm, poop again. The owner had some connections and diligently tried and was finally able to score us some train tickets for the last day we were in Cusco. That night, at an Aussie owned restaurant called Two Nations, we celebrated over what turned out to be the best meal we had in Peru.

The next day was white water rafting (or more specifically, brown water rafting) and the following was a visit to Sacsayhuaman where we took a taxi up to the site and then walked all the down to the city. After that, we packed up all of our stuff as we were going to be gone the whole next day to Machu Picchu and then making a huge drive the following day.

Our driver picked us up from the hotel in a spacious (at least to us after driving in the Fiat Uno) van that drove us 2 hours up to the city of Ollantaytambo. At that city, we got out of the van and Peru Rail had small buses that took us 30 minutes to Piscocucho. We then waited at the train station where there were vendors selling Snicker bars for 10 soles ($3 US) and “handmade wares” that we saw in Puno. The train took us slowly to Aguas Calientes and in some spots, we could see the twisted train tracks peeking out of the rapids of the river.

To be fair, we only tried 3 restaurants in the city. However, all three were overpriced and rather horrible. Most folks say to bring your own food there and that’s some good advice. After lunch, we hopped up on the bus to the citadel. The single lane winding route zeed back and forth and managed to let the opposing buses pass somehow as we went higher and higher. The view is spectacular and a bit frightening, I could really appreciate not only the work it took to make it, but the work it took to re-discover it.

We had only a couple hours with the tour guide who showed us some novel parts, but it was hard for anyone in the group we were in to focus on him as it seemed to distract from taking it all in. At one point, a huge millipede (or something like it) crawled onto the scene and was more engaging than anything else. After the wonderful experience, we braced ourselves as we went back down the mountain and into town.

The trip back to Cusco by the modes of transportation got us to the hotel at 2am. Five hours of sleep, a quick breakfast, and we were back on the road. This was going to be the hard part as we heard 3 conflicting stories from different people about the route. The road leading from Cusco to Lima via Nazca was apparently flooded and under re-construction. Only one of the stories was right and it was the first one who told us that in a small city called Limatambo the road was closed in the morning and reopened for a very short window at noon. We got to that city at 10:15 in the morning and were told by the police officers to wait because of the dynamite blasting. We asked if there were any other routes and were told that this was the only one. So we waited and had an early lunch. At 11:40am, we queued up to make sure that we would get through and were 6th in line when we did so. At exactly 12, the roads were opened up and it was like a Cannonball Run to get to the otherside. What we didn’t know was that this was not the only bit of construction on the highway for our trip. We stopped 8 more times ranging from 5 minutes to 20 minutes as we tried to get to Nazca. Unfortunately, the roads grew a bit too much for us and with three hours more to go, we stopped in a small town called Puquio.

Puquio was not in any of our 9 Peru guidebooks except a brief sentence in one that said it was a city between Nazca and Cusco. That was it. This was a town that didn’t see any tourism most likely, the folks were friendly but tended to do a double take when they saw us. We found a chicken restaurant that had a hotel (hostal) above it with rooms to rent. As we ate our chicken and fries (potatoes were served almost everywhere we went and with everything), some children were looking in the window at us. We invited them into the restaurant and they ate with us as we had ordered enough for two meals. After dinner, they brought my SO to a place where he could lock the car up for the night off of the streets and I checked out the hotel. The first thing I noticed was the prostitute working out of the room next to the front desk. According to the police officer we spoke with, this was the nicest accommodations in town, so we figured that it could only get worse. We got two rooms for 55 soles ($18 US) and for the first time, split up the kids and adults as we didn’t feel exactly safe in this town.

We left the next morning, skipping breakfast, and headed for Nazca. We welcomed back our old friend Casa Andina for the night and enjoyed the air conditioner as we forgot how hot the desert coast can be. Somewhere along the line, however, someone tried to break into our car rendering the passenger door, the driver’s door, and the trunk unopenable by key. The rear window was cracked just enough to squeeze an arm with pliers in there and undo the lock and we were happy that the locked gas cap and ignition still worked.

With a budget of 6 hours from Nazca to Lima, we left at 10:30 am for our 11:45 pm flight thinking we had plenty of time. We stopped for a leisurely lunch back in Paracas and then hit the road and encountered the fabled Lima mist that we hadn’t seen before. The fog hung thick over the highway which slowed down traffic. We got to Lima at 6:30pm and because I’m horribly paranoid, I suggested that we find the airport before having dinner. Two and a half hours later, we get to the airport and realized that time schedules need to always be stretched.

So that was pretty much the whole journey and I hope that this too might help the next doper travelling down there.

[DiosaBellissima]

I cannot believe you drove in Peru. I mean, I have nothing but respect for your ability to do so, but I would have probably peed myself. Hell, I almost peed myself just sitting in the back of the cabs we took

[blondebear]

Great pics and a great thread. My barber is going next month, and he's really jazzed. I hope to go next year, but it may have to wait until right before the world ends in 2012.

[Lust4Life]

I would dearly love to go to Machu Picchu, one day.........................

[ElectricZ]

Hi StPauler, I'm getting ready to head down next Friday to Cuzco do hike the Inca Trail. While you were down there did you talk to anyone or hear anything about the trail conditions? After the flooding we heard all kinds of conflicting reports about how things were running down that way.

Can't wait to get down there!