8 Days in Peru

Old Sep 18th, 2014, 04:59 AM
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8 Days in Peru

My husband and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Peru. This trip has always been on the list of places to go, but seemed to get pushed back a slot or 2 every year. Our itinerary may not have been ideal, but given the availability of hotel space, we worked it out as 2 nights in Sacred Valley, 1 night in Aguas Calientes, 2 nights in Sacred Valley and final 3 nights in Cusco. You could probably do this trip in fewer days - we took our time and enjoyed the hotel properties –something we don’t often take time to do.

Day 1 - Monday
We arrived in Cusco about 7 AM on Monday after flying overnight - NY/Miami/Lima/Cusco. Our plan for Day 1 was to see the sights surrounding Cusco. Even though we would be in Cusco at the tail end of the trip, we wanted to save Sunday for visiting Pisac market. We had arranged for atour guide through Percy- [email protected] . He set us up with a guide and driver who met us at the airport. According to the guide, Percy only works with groups and has a staff of 4 other guides that he uses for situations such as ours – 2 people. Based upon my research, I found his prices to be fair and the guide service adequate.
We drove directly to the main square of Cusco so we could exchange dollars and have coca tea. Ultimately, we found the best exchange rate in the town of Urumbamba and Aguas Calientes. We always made sure that we had change for bathrooms, cabs or other small items.

We are both in good shape, but we felt the effect of the altitude immediately. We drank coca tea throughout the trip (sometimes 4 or 5 times a day) and found for the most part - with an occasional Advil, it alleviated the symptoms of sickness. We stayed well hydrated with water. We brought altitude Rx with us, but never took it. Walking up hills is when we felt the thin air the most. A simple rest stop for a minute or two was enough to catch our breath.

By 8:30 AM we were touring Sacsayhuaman. On to Quenko, Pucapucara, and Tambomachay. After the sights, we requested to go back to the main town of Cusco and had an excellent lunch at Greens-- everything was fresh and flavorful -- quinoa soup, alpaca sandwich and a veggie sandwich. Everybody at Greens was a tourist – no locals here.

From here, we were transferred to our hotel in Sacred Valley. We stayed at Tambo del Inka – on Starwood points and cash program. A true bargain for a property like this. The architecture of the hotel mimics many of the Inca sights we saw. There are many public spaces to enjoy the property – both inside and out. Super comfy couches outside to enjoy the sun with sound of river nearby. Massive fireplace in lobby to enjoy coca tea and just relax. Staff was super friendly. The bellhop heard me mention a headache and offered to bring a tank of oxygen to room. The oxygen gives temporary relief to a headache. The rooms are lovely and very spacious with walk in closet, large bathroom, 2 seating areas – a small couch and 2 chairs by a window with sliding doors opening up to a screen. Wood floors and contemporary Peruvian décor. Unlimited bottles of water. Chocolates at turn down.

We ate dinner at the bar. Found this hotel to have the best Pisco sours of the trip; homemade potato chips were great freebie. The price of food at hotel is more expensive than town, but we expected this; the quality of the food was very good. A steak sandwich which was more than adequate for 2 and 2 Pisco sours ran about $35.

Day 2 - Tuesday
Breakfast at hotel. Breakfast buffet which is extensive not included in our room rate; we ordered some eggs off the menu. We had pre-arranged to have guide again (through Percy) today to take us to Chinchero, Maras salt pans and Moray. All sights were worthwhile and quite different from each other. Glad we did all 3. From hotel and back, it was about 4 -5 hours. In Chinchero, we visited a small weaving place where they show you how they color the different yarns. We bought 2 brightly patterned alpaca blankets – one orange and one pink – which we did not see in any of the other markets. When we were leaving Chinchero, there were women selling boiled corn on street. Our guide suggested buying an ear of corn. It was excellent - quite different from our corn in US - huge kernels; you can buy fresh cheese to go along with it.

Once back at hotel, we took a walk into town of Urubamba. The center of town is just a few short blocks from hotel. We found the “market” with produce, meats, and dry goods – bought some unsweetened baking chocolate and some passion fruit.

Dinner at La Qnela which is about a 5 min walk from hotel. Poached egg appetizer with mashed potato, spinach and a crostini; alpaca entrée with a rice avocado side; and polenta with mushroom and cheese. The food was excellent. Dinner with 3 Pisco sours ran $40.

Day 3 - Wednesday
We took a cab to Ollyantaytambo and caught the morning Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes. We had decided on an early start because we wanted to enjoy the hotel – Inkaterra Machu Picchu. The hotel staff greeted us at train and carried our bag (we had left most of our luggage at Tambo del Inka since we would be returning and there were luggage restrictions on train to AC.) We signed up for the Nature Walk at the hotel and turned out we were the only guests on this 1 ½ hour walk. Angel, our guide, gave an excellent tour pointing out the different flora and fauna. He showed us the orchid garden- very knowledgeable and interesting walk. We had hot stone Andean massages at the hotel spa which were excellent.

I have mixed reviews about this property. The grounds are outstanding and the public spaces well taken care of; they have many activities for hotel guests; nice selection of scarves at gift shop. The rooms themselves were just adequate. We were brought to room 59 on the second floor which seemed very dark so we requested a different room. They showed us 2 different rooms – both which were even darker – so we stuck with room 59. My recommendation is to make sure you get a room on the 2nd floor of the building. The room was simple – nicely decorated – tiny bathroom that needs updating. Expected more given the price.

Upon check in, we were offered dinner at 6 or 8. We chose 6 since we knew we would be getting up early the next morning. Food was good, but the service seemed rushed although the dining room was more than ½ empty. We took the opportunity to try guinea pig – good choice.

The fireplaces in the room are a nice touch and we took advantage of this even though it wasn’t really that cold outside. The room had 2 bottles of water which we had used and when I called to front desk to ask for additional water was told that 2 bottles was the allotment for the day. If I wanted more water, I should walk down to the bar and ask the bartender to refill the plastic bottle. At 9:30 at night, I really didn’t feel like doing this. Disappointing that they are so stingy with the water.

Day 4- Thursday
Early rise to visit MP. The breakfast buffet at hotel was average. I noted a few people requesting foil wrap and then making sandwiches to bring to MP. Great idea – we did the same. Also filled a Ziploc with a variety of nuts and dried fruits from the buffet.

Percy had arranged a tour guide for us for a 3 hour MP tour. Saul met us in the lobby. We had purchased our bus tickets the day before, but if you don’t have time, the line wasn’t long at the bus station and seemed to move quickly. A 25 minute bus ride up to MP – we arrived by 8 AM.

Pictures cannot do justice to the magnificence of this site. It is amazing to see something like this in such a remote place. Saul was an excellent tour guide – spoke English very well – knowledgeable and informative. He suggested different photo opportunities. Our tour was about 2 ½ hours which was the perfect amount of time. Contact info for Saul: Saul Herrera; [email protected].

We spent the next 4 ½ hours just relaxing and taking in different vistas or walking around MP. We had a mostly cloudy day – when the sun did come out, it was scorching. Remember to bring sunscreen and hat. Although we brought bug spray, we didn’t encounter mosquitoes and were told this was due to the cloudiness.

If you arrive to MP early in the AM like we did, you will see all the hikers on the Inca Trail coming over the mountain through the Sun Gate. We hiked up to the Sun Gate around 12:30 when most of the crowd had already come through so we didn’t have too many people on this part of the trail.

Train back to Ollyantaytambo at 5:30 PM and then found a cab to take us back to Tambo del Inka. More Pisco sours and dinner in the bar.

Day 5 - Friday
After all the walking around yesterday we were tired and so got a late start. Breakfast at hotel and then took cab back to Ollyantaytambo to visit the town. As a side note, our cab on Tuesday was 60 soles from hotel to Olly; on Wednesday, it was 50 soles. On Thursday, it was 20 soles. I guess we didn’t negotiate the cab ride up front well enough.

Our original plan was to use Percy’s tour guide and driver again for both Olly and Pisac on Day 7, but we decided to cancel and do these 2 towns on our own.

Our cab dropped us off at the fortress – another massive ruin. After touring the fortress, we roamed around the main square and the cobblestone streets of this quiet town. Since we had the time, we hiked up Pinkuyalluna Mountain to see the old stone quarries. Very steep hike. Lunch at Hearts Café. Had an excellent chica morada – drink made from the purple corn.

Back to Urumbamba – we had the cab driver drop us off in town and after asking many people, we finally found the pottery and art studio of Pablo Semanario. Ring the bell and get ushered in to this beautiful flowered courtyard. They asked us if we wanted a tour of the ceramic factory, but since we were short on time, we chose just to visit the huge pottery gallery which had reasonably priced bowls, dishes etc. as well as expensive pottery and artwork. One of the pieces we bought was a small terracotta plate painted turquoise with inlaid silver of a llama. We didn’t see any pottery like this anywhere else. Very worthwhile stop for inexpensive, but original souvenirs.

Dinner at El Hucatay – about a 7 minute walk from hotel. Very quaint restaurant with outside seating for drinks (too cold for us to do this). Excellent dinner. Fried mushroom ravioli appetizer with shredded squash and blue cheese sauce; alpaca tenderloin with peaches and quinoa risotto/eggplant puree; gnocchi with vegetables and chicken; 2 Pisco sours. Dinner was $55.

Day 6 - Saturday
Transfer from Urubamba to Cusco in the morning. It has been super helpful to have a good working knowledge of the Spanish language. While all the stores can communicate pricing, cab drivers, hotel employees and local people speak almost no English.

We checked into the Palacio del Inka – another Starwood property on the cash and points program. The hotel is completely different from their property in Urubamba – a definite Spanish influence here. We were upgraded to a junior suite (which I think was just a larger room). The rooms have dark wood, terracotta painted walls, oil paintings with heavy gold frames – an old European feel.

Since we had skipped breakfast, we were starving and had lunch again at Greens. Spent the afternoon just walking around the town of Cusco and checking out the shops.

On our train back from MP, we had met a couple who was in Cusco the same time as us and had agreed to meet up at their hotel – Monasterio - for drinks. If you are in the area, I would definitely recommend this bar for a drink – lovely décor. Dinner at Ciccolina. Scallop appetizer served in a soy type sauce, pork appetizer; alpaca entrée; salad appetizer as my entrée. Dinner with one glass of wine was $80.

Day 7 - Sunday
We rose early and negotiated a cab to Pisac – about 40 minutes away. We chose Sunday to visit Pisac because of the market. Since we had gotten an early start, we went directly to the ruins which were not crowded at 9:15 AM, but were getting busy by the time we left – about 10:30AM There are guides available at the entrance to the ruins who offer a 2 hour tour. At this point, we had seen enough of the same type ruins so opted for a 1 hour tour. I would not attempt to climb up or down these ruins from town – it is quite far and steep.

Shopping at the market was fun although we didn’t buy much. Embroidered belts, some knitted hats and some scarves. Back to Cusco. The cab driver we hired in Cusco drove us to Pisac, waited for us while we toured and then drove us back to Cusco. He said it was the same price as us taking a separate cab there and back. He didn’t mind waiting. Round trip was around 120 soles.

Dinner at Inka Grill which is right on the Plaza de Armas. Pisco sours; excellent empanadas; avocado potato appetizer; entrée of chicken with yellow aji sauce – traditional Peruvian dish. All very good.

Day 8 – Monday
Our last day. We had planned to see the final sights in town of Cusco, but a stomach bug (I think from pizza in Pisac) kept me in hotel all day. The hotel has a lovely courtyard where I spent time reading. The wait staff was very accommodating – each offering me their version of herb tea for my stomach. Toast and jelly too. Husband went shopping and came back with nice sweater and scarf from Sol Alpaca. Dinner at the hotel. Chicken soup.

Day 9 – Tuesday
Back to New York. Hotel arranged cab for us since our flight was quite early; we left hotel at 4:30 AM. $10 cab to airport.
donnahelene is offline  
Old Sep 18th, 2014, 05:21 AM
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Very nice report. Thank you.
colduphere is offline  
Old Sep 18th, 2014, 10:13 AM
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Thanks for your report. We are headed to Peru in November, so I appreciate reading of your experience.
Kathie is offline  
Old Sep 18th, 2014, 11:41 AM
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Very interesting about Percy not working with two people. Our experience was different.
My husband and I were there in April and Percy met us at the airport with a driver. The driver took us to the hotel. Our first day of touring in the SV was with another guide because he had been booked for that day when we first contacted him. But then we had two more full days with just Percy (with him driving) and us.
I wonder if he's changed things, or if he was just unavailable on the days you were there?

BTW, we stayed at the Tambo del Inka and loved it too. The bar was awesome and yes, the best drinks and fresh potato chips! I would return to Peru just to stay in the hotel.

We also stayed at the Palacio del Inka. Love those cash plus points!
Kristina is offline  
Old Sep 22nd, 2014, 07:23 AM
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I guess Percy has gone corporate! Maybe he guides twosomes when he is not busy.

Nice report. I also enjoyed the food at Greens in Cusco a few years ago. Glad to hear they have kept up the quality.
mlgb is offline  
Old Sep 22nd, 2014, 09:46 AM
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Also enjoyed your report, and appreciate your perspectives.
tripplanner001 is offline  
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