lcuy

My husband has wanted to go to Machu Picchu for a long time, and though it wasn’t as high on my Bucket List, we decided it was finally time to go this year. I knew we wanted to go in May, but didn’t even begin planning until March.

I had a hard time in the beginning. It took me a bit more than normal research to figure out where we wanted to go, and how to connect all the dots. Because it was pretty late, I worried when all the hotels in Aguas Calientes seemed full, and worried again when people started warning me about sold out trains.

When planning our dates, I was hoping to find the balance between good weather and not too many other tourists. I wanted to make this a relaxing trip, and built in time for weather, mechanical delays, and even time to just do nothing. I no longer like to rush around when traveling, especially as my husband is not nearly as interested in getting lost as I am. I’ve learned that if we fall in love with a place, there’s nothing to stop us from coming back later.

I read a lot of the reports here, and finally “got” the advice about adjusting to the altitude by heading away from Cusco at the start and returning after Machu Picchu. This was very good advice.

I am very, very bad about getting trip reports done, so this time I have started with a speed-read version, then (hopefully) I’ll post the detailed version over the weekend.

May 10: Fly Honolulu to Newark to <b>Lima</b>. Yes, that was our route; it was not only the fastest route, but we were able to fly first class the whole way using FF miles on Continental. A nice surprise was the lay flat seats on the EWR-Lima legs. The original flights showed regular seats, but the planes were apparently updated about two weeks before our trip.

May 11: arrive in Lima in the evening. Stay at the <b>Costa del Sol/Ramada hotel</b>, about 50 yards from the airport baggage claim area. $170 for a double room with a welcoming Pisco Sour, free wi-fi and business center, and a full breakfast the next morning. Very pleasant hotel, clean room, and the location can’t be beat!

May 12: 10 am flight to <b>Cusco</b> on<b> LAN</b> Airways. Mario “Chino” Tapeza and driver Juan met us at the Airport. Chino had arranged some tours of the <b>Sacred Valley</b> for the next couple days, but today we headed off with just Juan. $50 to Ollantaytambo including a stop at <b>Aida’s House</b> in Calca for lunch.We had a lovely time there, except fo a wierd run in with a travel agent. In <b>Ollantaytambo</b>, we stayed at <b>Pakaritampu Hotel</b>. $147 a night included full breakfast. Very pleasant and quiet hotel with beautiful gardens and adorable llamas wandering the grounds. It is downhill from the main plaza, and a 2-minute walk (downhill) to the MP train.

May 13: All day touring Sacred Valley sites with Jose. ($100)

May 14: Spent the day riding horses from <b>Moray to Maras</b> then to the <b>salt ponds</b> ($70 each).

May 15: We had a few hours to wander Ollanta, and lucked into the beginning parade for a festival honoring San Isidro. We followed the band and lots of costumed kids into the church for a mass, then came out and watched them parade pairs of decorated bulls through town on their way to a bullfight. We skipped the fights, and caught the Vistadome train to <b>Aguas Calientes</b> at 1:30, arriving at 2:50. ($53/each). We were the only passengers on the whole train. Two nights at the <b>Sumaq Hotel</b> included both breakfast and gourmet dinners. Our room had a balcony overlooking the raging Urubamba River with two double beds and a huge Jacuzzi type bathtub. It was $1100 for the two nights special and worth every penny.

May 16: Up to <b>Machu Picchu</b>! The hotel sent up an employee to wait in line for a bus and then the bus stopped at our front door! We’d bought the tickets through the hotel; bus and MP entry were $64 each, paid in cash. (10% surcharge if they went on the room bill). Lots of clouds when we arrived at MP, but it cleared up nicely around 11 am. We chose to use a book instead of a guide and were glad we did. It was nice to just sit in many of the spots and we’d brought a box lunch with us.

May 17: I had allowed time to re-visit Machu Picchu today if we wanted. Instead, we walked around, visited the hot springs, then caught the 3:20 Vistadome to <b>Cusco</b> ($71 each). Due to track problems, Peru Rail had told us that we’d be on the train just to Ollantaytambo, and then we’d be bussed into Poroy. Our hotel was supposed to pick us up at Poroy (outside Cusco). Sounded simple, but became a bit crazier than expected. We finally ended up at <b>Hotel Rumi Punku</b> ($100/night with breakfast)

May 18: Cusco- walking, sightseeing, and shopping at the Mercado San Francisco. I had some altitude headaches today, so I was very glad we’d come here at the end of our week

May 19: Half day in Cusco then flew LAN airways to <b>Lima</b>. We got on a flight to Iquitos, but just as we reached Iquitos the pilot turned us around and took us back to Lima due to rough weather. We were rescheduled for another flight the next morning. Walked across the street to the Ramada for a room. They gave it to us at the same $170 as our earlier stay.

May 20: Fly –again- to <b>Iquitos</b>. Met at the airport by our guide, Armando, for the boat trip up the Amazon River to <b>Explorama Lodge</b>. We were on the TGIF special at $285 for 3 days, 2 nights, all meals and activities included. Took an afternoon walk through the jungle, then stargazing after dinner

May 21: Exploring the Amazon on boat, dugout, and walking expeditions. Armando was amazing. We saw all sorts of creatures!

May 22: Visit local trip after breakfast at Explorama, then a fast boat up to their <b>Ceiba Tops Lodge </b> for lunch, and big boat to Iquitos. Flew back to <b>Lima</b> at 6 pm. Taxi to the <b>Radisson Decapolis Miraflores Hotel</b>. $452 for 3 nights including breakfast, Internet, gym, business center and $10 in free drinks each day.

May 23: explore Lima on foot, and then surfing at Playa Makaha. Dinner at <b>Pescados Capitales</b> was a real treat.

May 24: <b>Pedro de Osma Museum</b>, and lunch in the <b>Barranco</b> district, then historic center of Lima via the new public transportation system. Works like a train, but is actually buses in designated lanes. Only 1.5 Soles and faster than a taxi.

May 25: Tour <b>Huaca Pucllana</b>, Stopped in at <b>Larco Mar</b> (mall) while walking along the clffs and had a fabulous lunch at <b>Portofino</b>. 10:00 PM flight on Continental; Lima-Newark-Honolulu. Customs and rechecking our bags in Newark took about 10 minutes total. Six hours layover gave us time to have lunch in the airport at the <b>Grand Central Oyster Bar</b>, and also take showers and relax in the President's Club Lounge.

May 26: Arrived in Honolulu around 5 PM. Airport greeting and pickup in Honolulu provided by a lovely local girl. No charge.

lcuy

On my May 22 entry, that should read, "Visit local TRIBE...

Craig

Good start Lucy. At some point, we are planning to explore South America and Peru is high on the list.

rhkkmk

excellent....see how easy that was....

mlgb

Interested to hear details,& tell me more about the new Lima transit system.

Jackie

Thanks for taking the time to write your report Lcuy. Much appreciated.

Was the trip to Iquitos and the jungle worth the extra travel time? The boat ride up the river seems overwhelming. I know you have done alot of traveling in India and southeast Asia and I'm curious about how you think the jungles compare.

BostonHarbor

Wow Lcuy, I'm breathless--you move fast. What did you love, what would you have skipped? Did you buy anything?

Fra_Diavolo

An exemplary trip report.

Amy

Lcuy, I'm so glad to see that you had a good South American trip altogether! Peru has my heart, and I'm so glad that you had the chance to have Armando as your guide in la amazona. I really enjoyed the Andes region of Peru, and Machu Picchu was a longtime dream of mine, but it was the rainforest that got me. (Although I have to say that seeing the Incan terraces that had been on the front cover of my fifth grade geography book made me very, very happy.)

Jackie, I'm not lcuy, but I've been to the Iquitos jungle three times in the last seven years...definitely, definitely worth it to me, obviously. I wouldn't do a "jungle cruise", but the relatively short boat ride to the lodges is wonderfully relaxing.

clelbong

Thanks for your report Lcuy. We are also staying at the sumaq in october. Did you climb huyana picchu? What time did you have to get on the bus? That is so awesome that the hotel will do that for you! I am so excited to sleep "in" until 5 instead of stand in line at 430 in the am!

lcuy

<b>Getting There</b>
I was surprised by how much I loved Peru. I had no preconceived notions regarding the country- good or bad- so it really fun discovering what a great place it is for traveling.
I’ve been racking up Continental miles for a long time, and rarely spending them. I decided this was a good time to use them, and was happy to get First Class the whole way. As I mentioned earlier, the shortest route, time-wise, was the least direct route. We left Honolulu in the evening, arrived in Newark mid-day, then headed to Lima two+ hours later. The lay flat seats on the EWR-Lima leg were very comfortable and we both slept soundly for most of the eight-hour flight.

We arrived in Lima at about 9 PM. There were a bunch of staffed foreign exchange booths and bank counters, and we saw several ATMs. One of the smaller exchange booths in the center of the hall gave us the best rates of our trip. The guy was kind enough to break down a big bill into the very small bills and coins I asked for. We were happy to only have to walk across the street to our hotel. After a very fast check-in, we stopped in the lounge for our free Pisco Sours and snacks, and then we had room service soup and went to bed.

Neither my husband nor I are morning people, so I tried to avoid early morning flights on this trip. We had a full breakfast (included) the next morning, then walked across the sky bridge for a 10 AM flight to Cusco. Though their prices are higher, I chose two LAN roundtrips: one Lima-Cusco RT and another Lima-Iquitos. They have many flights on each of these routes every day, and I was able to call a toll free number to do the booking over the phone in US dollars. I’d tried to book Peru or Star Airways, but they had a very limited number of flights that didn’t work with my schedule AND their websites were impossible.

The Lima airport is pretty small, but unfortunately is not laid out very well in the departures lobby. I don’t know if there were check-in kiosks, but we were hustled into a line at the end when I asked where to get a boarding pass. The entrance and exit from the check-in counters was always a tight squeeze and it was often unclear which line was which. Once you get through that and head upstairs, the airport is a lot nicer. There are quite a few places to get food or drink and several shops with interesting souvenirs at not too unreasonable prices.
Our first time out we hung around in that area, not knowing that there were lots more shops beyond the security screening.

<b>Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo</b>
Our flight to Cusco was uneventful. LAN flights were always exactly the same. They boarded rows 12-24 first, then rows 1-11. I loved that anyone attempting to board incorrectly was immediately sent to the end of the other line! We’d walk out to the planes, but when landing would park farther away and be bussed to the terminal.

The planes were clean; seats about average in size, but pretty close together. The attendants were always friendly and on each flight we were offered a drink and a snack box containing a piece of cake, a big chocolate truffle and some wheat crackers. All were sealed, so we still have a couple of these floating around our suitcases. The flights had little overhead TV screens that ran clips similar to Candid Camera or “Funniest Videos”. No narration or subtitles needed.

In Cusco, a man holding up my name met us at the exit. I had made arrangements with a guide by the name of Mario “Chino” Tapeza to take us to Ollantaytambo, and then on two days of tours. I was a bit concerned when he didn’t didn’t speak much English, but then Chino ran up and introduced himself and the other man as our driver, Juan. Chino spoke excellent English and we liked him from the start.

I had read about Aida’s House in someone’s trip report here on Fodor’s. Her home in Calca sounded like the perfect place to stop for lunch on our way to Ollantaytambo, so I had e-mailed her and gotten reservations. Chino had also spoken with her to fine-tune our arrival time and get driving directions.

Because we wouldn’t be touring, Chino rode with us to the edge of Cusco, then hopped out and we headed to Aida’s with Juan. He dropped us off at the front gate, where Aida’s husband greeted us warmly and led us inside. His English was very limited, and my Spanish hadn’t kicked in yet, but we chatted enough to know that he was a painter originally from Puno, and the oils on the walls were all his, etc.

This is when it became rather weird. We were seated at a table for two in a parlor, though we passed through the dining room with a table set for six. A few minutes later, another setting was placed at our table, and Juan was brought in. I don’t know who was more surprised, Juan or my husband and I. We were served drinks (Chicha Morada, yum!) and then an American woman came out, introduced us formally to Aida and her husband and asked us why we were there, and how we had found out about Aida. Her tone of voice was like she was being welcoming, but it wasn’t a, “oh, how did you find out about Aida”, but more like “how did you sneak in here?” Aida and her DH were smiling so I guessed they had no idea what she was saying
It turned out she was Nina Foge1man, who runs a high-end tour company. She informed us that Aida and her husband are “her special friends and that all visitors are arranged through her”. It was clear she felt others should not be booking Aida’s lunches, WTH?

Aida’s emails had been very welcoming, and nothing had been said about booking through Nina. She told us that they’d brought in our driver Juan so he could “translate”. I wasn’t about to send Juan out, but was tempted to ask if Nina would be paying for his lunch. Nina even had the gall to say she’d prefer I not mention Aida’s House to others.

We continued to “chat” politely for a few more minutes, mostly about how special she was to the Sacred Valley community, how she had adopted several Peruvian children, etc. She gave me her business card, hinting that she was very expensive.

Obviously I took offense at all this. In a normal setting, my husband and I might have left, but I really was hungry, and I did, after all, have a reservation.

Finally her clients arrived, and they were seated in the dining room for their lunch and we were served ours. Same timing, different rooms. Awkward and unpleasant.

Despite that bad start, it was really a wonderful lunch. All organic, mostly from their own garden, delicious, and beautifully served. All were traditional Peruvian dishes. We had an avocado and chicken Causa, Cream of Leek soup, a stuffed vegetable that looked looked like a pepper (I think it was a squash), served with rice and a creamy dessert somewhat like a panicotta with fresh berries. Total cost, for the three of us was the equiv of $75.

After lunch, Mr. Aida took us out into their garden and we had fun figuring out the English/Spanish names of the huge variety of plants in the garden. Many of them were very familiar from Hawaii (Mango, papaya, mountain apple, avocado, Surinam cherry) and others were plants that I would love to grow, but can’t (like fuchsias). All in all, it was a lovely experience, and I would highly recommend it if you speak a decent amount of Spanish. <b>[email protected]</b>

Stuffed and happy, we headed out with Juan towards Ollantaytambo, about 45 minutes away. It was a nice drive through the valley on a beautiful, clear day. The mountain peaks were topped with snow and the countryside was still pretty green.

Ollantaytambo sits on a hill at the end of the Sacred Valley farthest from Cusco. It is the last train stops before Aguas Calientes /Machu Picchu. The main road does a sharp turn, becomes cobblestones and you rise up a steep hill to the village. Just beyond the plaza are the Ollantaytambo ruins and a colonial church. We continued past the plaza, down the hill, and toward the train station to get to the Pakaritampu Hotel.

The hotel is about 50 meters from the train station, although we never heard any train whistles while there. The property sits on what appear to be Inca Terraces. and is a collection of two storey pueblo style buildings in a pretty terra cotta color. The main building has the reception, an alcove with computers for guest use, a selection of drinks and snack foods, and some nice art and souvenirs for sale. Another building next to it has the dining room, a nice lobby with a fireplace, and a bar upstairs.

The guest buildings are two stories, with little balconies on many of the second floor units. Our room was on the ground floor. We had two beds, a dining table below the TV and a desk. It was simple, but clean and the walls and furnishing were pleasant. My only complaint was that the room tended to get cold at night and there didn’t seem to be any heater. It wasn’t bad enough for us to ask about it, so maybe we just missed the heater.

I love gardens and this hotel had nice ones. Fuchsias, roses, lilies, and a variety of other flowering plants and trees line all the walkways and lawns. They had two or three alpacas (llamas?) that wandered the grounds during the day. Each of the upper terraces had lawns with comfortable chairs scattered about. It was pretty cool when we were there in the evening, or I would have been tempted to take a book out there.

After a drink by the fireplace, we ordered soup and salads in our room. We went out to look at the stars, and then called it a night.

The next day was our day of touring by car. The breakfast buffet at the hotel was not huge, but the items were tasty and they cooked eggs to order. I didn’t know it that first day, but later came to realize you can’t order one fried egg in Peru. If you order one, you get a pair of eggs. If you order two, you get two pairs.

Promptly at 9:30, Jose showed up with Juan, with some excuse about Chino not feeling well. It turned out fine, as we liked Jose a lot. We went up to the Ollantaytambo ruins first. We huffed and puffed (okay, I did, even if Jose and my DH didn’t) our way to the top, with many stops for history and photos along the way, then crossed over to the far side and came down. Jose had a lot of facts, but I really liked him because he would say things like, “I like to imagine how it was when…” There is a big rock near the main plaza. He told us that no on knows for sure what purpose the stone served, but then theorized that it was for embalming. He then jumped over the ropes, and proceeded to lie down on the stone. Before the guard below started tweeting his whistle, we could see that the impression in the stone did, in fact, fit him perfectly!

At this point, we began to realize how the Peruvians in that part of the country are still very resentful of the Spanish conquest. The Spanish came in, took the valuables, destroyed the most important Inca sites, and plopped Spanish churches and buildings on top of the amazing Inca foundations. We heard the term Inquisition used many times regarding the conversion of Inca to Catholics. We also realized very quickly that Hiram Bingham is regarded mostly as a con man. We made the mistake once of mentioning that Hiram Bingham was originally from Hawaii and a Punahou school alumnus. Oops. The Peruvians didn’t take kindly to his claim of discovering the “lost” city and “borrowing” all the artifacts that are remain at Yale to this day.

We then worked our way up to Chinchero village after a stop in Urubamba for lunch eat. The weaving cooperative was interesting, but Friday was a very quiet day up there. The market was closed and there may have been 10 tourists in the whole village. Even the weaver that BostonHarbor had recommended (Rosa) had taken the day off.

We stopped at a place to watch them make Chicha and had some samples, and visited some other interesting spots that were not ruins. (I didn’t want to be ruined out before we got to Machu Picchu.) All in all, a fun day, and we were happy when Jose said we’d see him on our horse ride the next day.

For dinner this evening, we caught a little mototaxi (tuk tuk) up the hill from our hotel to the Plaza. It wasn’t a long walk, but kind of steep and we were hungry. We checked out all the cafes around the plaza, and then had dinner at the Hearts Café. Lots of tasty and healthy foods, and craft items for sale on the wall. All the profits go to an NGO working to improve the lives of local families.

***

I am not much of a hiker, but I love horses. When I travel, I always try to go on a horseback ride. You usually get to go off the beaten road, have a chance to see things from a great angle, and the horse does all the sweating. This was how I ended up choosing Chino for our guide, as he had some great reviews regarding his horse tours.

Chino and Juan picked us up at 9 am and we headed off to Moray for the start of our ride. He asked me if I was wanted the adventurous shortcut or the regular road. I gathered the shortcut involved narrow dirt roads on mountain cliffs, so we passed on the adventure.

Moray is the series of circular agricultural terraces that the Inca may have used for agricultural testing. There are actually several of them next to each other. One is perfect, one is half restored and one has been left as a ruin. It was quite interesting, and Chino knew a lot about the agriculture and various plants that we passed that day. The horses were up at Moray when we arrived. Our group consisted of us, Chino, Jose, and three 40-ishAmericans; a couple from Michigan and his sister, who had talked them into doing the four day Inca trail. They figured they needed one day of relaxation before they started the hike.

None of them had been on a horse in 30 years, so we were all lucky that these were really good horses. Chino’s horse was a bit feisty, but he was a good rider. Jose’s was stubborn, but all the rest were peppy and well behaved. We rode on paths in the middle of nowhere for about an hour admiring the gorgeous scenery, the mountains and the river below. We passed a lot of kids herding sheep, and people tending their small fields. For a while, we shared the trail with some mountain bikers. That section was all downhill, so it looked like they were having fun.

We all had picnic lunches and stopped in the town of Maras to eat on the church grounds. Chino’s “illness” the day before was explained when one of the women mentioned they’d been out touring with him the day before… oops. After lunch, we spent some time admiring the homes in Maras, then continued on through changing scenery toward the salineras (salt ponds). By this time we were all getting along well, and Jose and Chino’s ribbing of each other had us all in high spirits. It’s good we were, because it started getting chilly. We all put on our jackets or a poncho thinking that rain was coming, but it never did.

At the salineras, we said goodbye to the horses, then congratulated ourselves on our good fortune when the ticket seller appeared to have left for the day. The salt ponds were quite interesting, especially as they were of big interest to Chino. Unfortunately, as we left the ticket guard had returned and we had to pay for entry after all!

We wished our new friends luck on the trail and drove back to Ollanta. At the hotel, we paid Chino, and when he asked for feedback I told him not to make up stories if he got overbooked. We were glad we had been able to go with Jose, so no damage had been done. My only real complaint was that Juan’s car, although clean, had lousy shocks and it made the rides a lot less comfortable than they could have been. (Our horseback friends had a brand new Toyota, so maybe I was just jealous). I gave him a hat, a tee shirt for Jose and tips for all, thinking it would have been nicer to tip Jose and Juan personally.

Next: Machu Picchu

lcuy

Jackie- The trip to Iquitos was definitely worth the time! The boat ride was not that long…maybe an hour or so. My husband gets seasick, but had no problems on the river boats.

Life on all big rivers have similarities; the crazy wooden homes on stilts, kids playing in the water, people fishing and doing laundry, but the Amazon was still very different. The animals, the noises, the culture much more overwhelming in the Amazon than the jungles & river life I’ve experienced in places like India, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. And even though we really weren’t far from Iquitos, I found it to be a lot less civilized as well.

BH: I loved al of it, except the attitude of a night clerk in Cusco, the guide at Aida’s house, and the lukewarm “hot” springs in Aguas Calientes. The fourteen days was just perfect for the three areas. We saw everything we wanted, had time to wander aimlessly, and I even had time to read a couple of books.

We bought a bunch of the bags you had recommended (good call!), so interesting tribal crafts, and I got some silver pins and necklaces. We also bought a ton of baby alpaca socks and cute hats for the skiers and new babies in our life. At the time I felt I was buying TONS of stuff; I got home and wished I’d bought a lot more!

Clelbong- You’re going to love the Sumaq! We didn’t climb Huyana Picchu, and actually chose to catch the 7 am bus. The Sumag staff said that unless you are climbing HP, you can avoid the initial rush of tourists and frequent morning clouds if you go a bit later. It worked out very well for us.

mlgb

Hahaha...Chino is busted!! Oops. I wonder if you had "Paso horses", they are supposed to be very comfy to ride.

Looking forward to the rest.

Very interesting about Nina. I gather that the lunch at Aida's is a special selling point for her tour company.

lcuy

Lunch at Aida's House is a special experience, but Nina should act like a professional and take up her exclusivity (if any) with Aida, not dump on innocent travelers coming in to have a nice lunch.

We didn't ride the Pasos. I was really interested in their unusual gait, but wasn't sure if they'd be worth an additional $60 pp.

Instead we rode the Criollo horses. They turned out to be perfect. They were comfortable, peppy and very responsive to commands. All of us loved them, especially as the day wore on.

However, I do wish I'd had a chance to try a Paso. Next time!

BostonHarbor

Glad you found the bags Lcuy. My nieces love the ones I bought for them.

How weird that an American named Nina seems to think she "owns" Aida--how wonderfully "colonial" of her. Glad you enjoyed your lunch. I read somewhere else in this forum that in Peru, drivers expect to eat with you. I have never heard of this anywhere else, so I can see how you would be surprised. Even when I have asked a driver to join us in other countries they have always declined no matter how many times we asked.

You day on horseback sounds wonderful! Are you going to post photos?

Jackie

Enjoying the details of your candid report Lcuy. There are tips I can use for my own trip.

Thanks for your impressions of the jungle and Amazon. I had a bad experience on a day trip to the jungle in Belize a few years back--8 hours in 3 different boats and didn't see much of anything except for mosquitos. So, despite have booked tickets to Puerto Maldonado, I have been reluctant to make reservations in a jungle lodge.

lcuy

LOL, BH! I just had to call my husband with your "Colonial" remark and we both had a good laugh!!

Peru Photos will take a while. I have to decide on a new photo service and I lost my old one.

Jackie, We saw so many animals that I'm going to have to look at my photos to remember them all.

BostonHarbor

Lcuy, The site where I post my photos is really good and has a terrific online editor/organizer. They have a new plan that is only $29/year for unlimited photos. I think you will like them www.phanfare.com I've tried them all. They have a free trial.

lcuy

Thanks BH. I'll check them out!

majmaj4

Thank you for the detailed report!

How was the new transportation system in Lima?

Do you know where I could get some information on the stops and routes? It seems like the taxis are suspect and a custom tour is too expensive.