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Ups and downs of our trip to Peru--from Machu Picchu to LIM airport floor

Ups and downs of our trip to Peru--from Machu Picchu to LIM airport floor

Old Jun 7th, 2015, 12:40 PM
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Ups and downs of our trip to Peru--from Machu Picchu to LIM airport floor

It will take me awhile to get my trip report together and posted for our 10-day first trip to Peru. Thanks to all for your advice in planning the trip. We expected that our trip would experience some bumps and were not disappointed, but we had a good time.

Background--American couple reaching 60. We love the outdoors, snow capped mountains, rivers, walking, small villages, walking; dislike crowds, traffic and noise that one usually finds in large cities.We both studied Latin American history years ago that left a desire to see where the Incas and Spaniards collided. Add people who still wear traditional dress and we were overdue to visit Peru. So far, we had only visited Mexico, Costa Rica, and Brazil in LA, so this was really different.

We drove to ATL for a nonstop flight to LIM that arrived after 11pm. Rather than head on to the Sacred Valley early the next morning, I chose a mid-afternoon flight to we could still get some sleep in case we got in later than expected and I didn't want to book the last flight of the day around 5pm. I also thought it would be interesting to see one of the museums before we headed out to the ruins.

I'm glad we did not join the large group of people sleeping on the floor in the airport near security waiting for early flights out. I was always too old for that, I think. Our hostel arranged driver was waiting with 3 names on card--2 others going to same place on our flight. The driver tried to leave the young couple standing on an island waiting for another car while he took us to the hostel, but my husband would not leave them there. The driver explained that the traffic and parking is so bad at LIM when international flights arrive/depart that he coordinates that when one of his drivers enters, he does not park, but stays in the traffic flow and someone else gets his parking ticket validated, puts the clients in the car, and keeps it going. We were riding with the manager, so his car was parked. Anyway, we waited for their car to appear before careening through the back streets of Lima, along the coast, then up the hill to Miraflores. There was a fellow pushing his motorcycle up the hill. What a workout.

Friends Hostel was a simple hostel with private and dorm rooms. We had communicated via email in Spanish to arrange the room and driver. Upon arrival, again a major discussion. Basically "welcome and here is the usual information about internet---Wait (to driver) take their bags to the other building." Argument from the driver (who is affiliated with the hostel), that he wants to bring the bags to our room. I can't remember anything about a second building or whether it is good or bad to be sent there. Clerk makes executive decision. "You can have their room and they will go around the corner. I will show the owner your printed email and she cannot argue." Bags were whisked up the staris and we were in our room. We heard the young couple's taxi arrive and felt guilty that they were going through the same routine, but were tired and closed the window. The hostel was basic, but clean with an adequate breakfast. Too much city street noise for me, though.

The internet map I had used to choose the hostel was inaccurate to say the least. We were in a nice location just a few blocks from the coast/cliffs, but not where I expected. At breakfast we discussed whether to get a taxi to a museum for the morning and back to get our bags before airport or walk to the coastal parks, etc. We decided we would rather be outdoors on our own feet, so we walked to the coastal park and made our way through the city residents doing what they do in parks on Saturday morning--jogging, cycling, walking dogs, taking children to playgrounds. We worked our way up to Parque Kennedy and were disappointed. Much of the park had construction fencing around it, only a few artists were set up, and there were the cats--I didn't know about them. We visited a bank to get smaller bills, observed the numerous money exchangers on the street corners, and worked our way to a quiet street to return to our hostel. We were hot and sweaty, but the hostel needed us to check out, so no shower. We decided to just go to the airport and have lunch there and leisurely check in for our 3pm LAN flight to CUZ. We didn't realize how small LIM airport is.

In hindsight, I would have booked a flight around 11 or 12 if available. I seem to remember on that date we could either go before 9am or 3-5pm. We didn't have enough time to do much once you consider the uncertainty of time to drive to/from airport, but we also felt like we were killing time.
Little did we know that we should have taken the entire day sightseeing in Lima because we would not fly to CUZ until 5:00am the next morning.
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Old Jun 7th, 2015, 05:48 PM
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Ah, cliff hanger!
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Old Jun 7th, 2015, 06:18 PM
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This is bringing back bad memories of a good trip.
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Old Jun 8th, 2015, 03:46 AM
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More please!
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Old Jun 8th, 2015, 01:35 PM
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Awaiting the next chapter...this really is a cliff hanger - or an airport hangar!
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Old Jun 8th, 2015, 04:23 PM
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Oh dear.
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Old Jun 8th, 2015, 05:53 PM
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When the tug started slowly pushing back our LAN plane for CUZ from the gate well past the departure time, my husband, the pilot, noted that some airlines do that to save fuel. But the tug kept slowly pushing us back and back for at least 30 minutes. Something on or in my window (left side for the mountain views into CUZ, of course) made it hazy so I couldn't see the markers well, but there didn't seem to be the usual taxiway letters. Where were we going?

I suggested we were going to try a slingslot takeoff and this was the pull back. My husband thought they were isolating us from the terminal, maybe a bomb threat. After a another stationary pause, the pilot made a low volume announcement from which I could only decifer that LAN was concered about our safety (so no slingshot takeoff or disarm the bomb?). The tug grabbed us and ever so slowly pulled us back to the gate.

Everyone jumps up and gets their bags "No, no, you must keep your seats. The ground agents will be coming on board and we will have an update in 45 minutes." Flight attendants broke out the snacks. Ground crew came and went. When I saw the buses pull up outside, I knew it was bad news. "Take your bags and get on the bus."

When we are dropped at a baggage claim area, my request for information was met with "Everyone must get their bags, then we will make an announcement." Someone found a more forthcoming rep who said "Mechanial problem. Flight canceled. Last flight has left (while we were on the plane). Everyone will get rebooked for tomorrow, taxi, dinner, and hotel." I tried to get my husband to wait for the bags while I left to find the proper check in desk and get a place in line to rebook, but he had images of wandering around the airport hopelessly trying to reunite with me while throngs of men asked him "taxi?", so we stuck it out together. Two agents to rebook close to 200 passengers. Buses, vans, and taxis kept leaving for the Novotel in San Isidro where we had to stand in line to check in. No ordering dinner until checked in. Kitchen overwhelmed.

The airport wifi was not working at all on our devices and we were having some other technical problems, so old fashioned voice telephone calls were our only option. I was standing in the rebooking line, trying to cancel and rebook that evening and next day's plans. Phone to taxidatum--no pick up this evening transfer to Pisac. "No problem. Send us an email." Message to the hotel Pisac--sorry, can't get there. Once we get our rebooking--5am departure arriving CUZ 6:45am, we are on our way to Novotel and have to decide what to do about tomorrow. We are going to get about 4 hours sleep before heading back to the airport. My husband announces that he does not want to arrive at an unfamiliar airport at 7am and start negotiating with taxi drivers with our tourist Spanish after 4 hours sleep to figure out how to get to Pisac market, then Ollantaytambo. I phone a guide we are using a few days later and ask if he knows anyone who might want to guide tomorrow from Cusco to Pisac to Ollantaytambo starting early. "Send me an email and I'll see what I can do." In the end, I emailed taxidatum and asked for a taxi from CUZ directly to Ollantaytambo. I don't remember how late it was then, but with the short notice, I was unsure of whether someone would be waiting with my name on a sign.

The green taxi van had to crawl past the huge crowds at the waterfront for a hiphop concert, but we eventually made it to the hotel. The room at the Novotel was a welcome rest. It might get a bit crowded if two people staying a long time, but bed very comfortable and great air conditioning.

Our second attempt at flying to CUZ went smoothly. I wasn't seated on the left side, but the couple there waved me over to the empty aisle seat to look at the mountains with them. And there was a nice man with my name on a sign standing outside the barricades in the parking lot! After a bit of confusion in trying to whether he was from taxidatum or from the guide, we settled on taxidatum and set off for a smooth direct drive to Ollantaytambo to pick up our itinerary at the planned hotel for the next 2 nights and decide what to do with the day.

Smooth until the driver took a call and told us in Spanish about fiesta and road closed and 2pm. We arrived outside of Ollantaytambo before 9am...and the road into town was closed. We couldn't tell if it was because of fiesta or the large pipes on trucks that implied construction, but our driver reluctantly turned onto a gravel road that crossed the railroad tracks and followed them past the town before crossing again and making our way to the ruins, the street named for the railroad, and finally Wayras Hotel.

We later saw other people being dropped by their bus outside of town and climbing the stairs to town with their bags. I expect our taxi driver joined the ranks of those asking each tourist on the street "Taxi Cusco?" to find a fare back. I hope he caught someone getting off the train from Aguas Caliente.

That put us in Ollantataytambo instead of Pisac on Sunday morning, but that meant we were in time for the procession for the Fiesta del Señor de Choquekillca, the patron saint. Our host said he couldn't explain it, but once the church service was over, there would be a procession to the plaza. And what a procession it was! For a sample and explanation from a previous year:
http://www.myperu.org/gallery/photos...ambo_2008.html
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Old Jun 9th, 2015, 04:17 AM
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Happy ending I guess! Good luck in the end to be there for the festival.

Taxi,taxi,taxi LOL. My sympathies re LAN. Good in the air, bad on the ground. Even worse on the telephone. At least you weren't on the LAN f!ight in Cajamarca which did the slide evacuation (yesterday) I think.

Hope the rest of the trip goes more smoothly.

I am glad your taxidatum driver went the extra leg, I was pleased with their service.
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Old Jun 9th, 2015, 05:30 AM
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I think it helped with this trip that we went in expecting there would be glitches, so when they occurred, we were more accepting. With the LAN problem, the locals were very quiet and just went along. It was the foreign tourists from all countries who were angry, complaining. They had reservations and connections to make and the cancelation threw many people's plans into disarray and cost them money.

When our Wayras host said we could have our room at 11am, we decided organizing a trip to Pisac to salvage the market and ruins walk plan, getting back in a taxi, going through the detour, etc. was just not inviting. We would check out Ollanta and the fiesta. We climbed up the street dodging taxis, buses, and tuk-tuks, glimpsing people coming and going from houses arranging their costumes. We looked at the ruins from the bottom and decided we were impressed without climbing, trying to take it easy on our first day at higher elevation.

While my husband's lasting memory of Peru will be "taxi Cusco?", mine will be the ubiquitous handicraft stands. At the base of the ruins, on the sidewalks, at the train stations, everywhere. While normally I like to browse the local crafts and find a few souveniers and gifts, I found the quantity overwhelming and eventually only purchased one souvenier and one gift during the entire week.

We were early for the procession, so I chose a seat on the steps at the plaza and watched the preparations. Some of the concessions being prepared were easily recognizable, but others were a mystery to us. We would learn about chicha and others later, but not much looked appetizing. An older lady carrying a bundle on her back asked me to help her unload the burden and sat with us for a while, watching the scene. When a vendor wanted to expand into our seating area, our companion asked for help placing the bundle on her back to tie. Sitting, I could not lift the weight with my arms and had to ask my husband to stand and help her. No wonder their posture is permanently bent over after carrying weight like that.

The procession was amazing. We couldn't understand all the mixed symbolism from Catholicism and Peruvian history. The lead was a man in fatigues or a uniform with a whistle, leading a donkey with flags, and being taunted by a man dressed as a woman. Groups marched dressed in various costumes with masks--bullfighters with a cow and bull (hot costumes), those representing the slaves, those representing the Spanish conquistodors, others representing the traders from the plains, on and on. Terrible bands. People carrying religious symbols and photos. My favorite was the fellow dressed in a guinea pig costume whose furry head stuck up above the crowd. The Cusco Archbishop was being interviewed by a reporter and cameraman walking backward in the procession. When the speeches started and the trout hit the big frying pans, we retreated for a much needed nap. We did return in the afternoon to watch some of the dance performances.

The celebration lasted for 4 days, but Sunday was the big day. Tents and other venues hosted food, drink and music around the clock. Bands marched from one to the other. Firecrackers were set off. There were other events, but it was very much a local celebration. We heard later from people in hotels around the plaza that the noise from bands and firecrackers kept them awake every night, but down by the train station we slept well with the river current white noise. Unfortunately, each time we entered our room, it smelled like a wet dog, but it dissipated or we got used to it, the beds were comfortable, the breakfast good, and the hosts very nice.
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Old Jun 9th, 2015, 10:27 AM
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I almost forgot about the police station.

We met a nice father and 17-year-old son from Chile on the train to Machu Picchu. The son had imbided in too much chicha and street food at the fiesta in Urubamba the previous day and was feeling ill, but determined to climb Huayna Picchu. Getting off the train and seeing the line for the bus, I remembered the tip that there are clean, free restrooms at the train station. We saw a building with train sign, but it only had a ticket window. Next door was a municipal building with open door, so I entered and asked the fellow watching TV behind a desk if they had a public bathroom. He gestured across the entry hall where I found a clean bathroom with toilet (seat and paper) and sink. While my husband went inside, I studied the signs on the muncipal building more closely and determined it was a police station. The bathrooms at the train station were not as nice.

Maybe more than "taxi Cusco", my husband will remember Peru for its lack of toilet seats.

Machu Picchu did get relatively crowded by late morning. One could still find open walks off the main route, but the focal points were never empty. Tour guides were bad about stopping at an intersection, door or other choke point to talk to their charges. Two guides were speaking to their groups at the same time at the Temple of the Condor. My husband has low tolerance for crowds. He also would not violate the no food rule even for a snack, just water, so he was ready to eat. It was a mob scene outside the gate around the hotel, restaurants, bag check, buses, etc. One fellow kept trying to hit me with his walking poles sticking out of his backpack. Rather than take a break to eat and then re-enter, my husband was done.The "go early" advice is spot on. I've heard "go late" too, but that means you would start with it crowded and I don't think that's a good impression.

I was glad we were walking out. One person was carried out from the back of the site or one of the mountains on a stretcher. I don't know what happened. One fellow slide down a flight of stairs in front of us in the lower sector. It had rained lightly and made the stones slippery. I was surprised that one couple with two energetic toddlers were letting them run free when sharp drop offs and steep stairs down to the terraces were only a couple of yards away.

We were able to trade our tickets for an earlier train, but not the next train because it was full. We took a break to eat and watch life in Aguas Caliente. The heavy loads of supplies that the men push/pull up and down the streets!

I felt sorry for the train staff having to change clothes repeatedly in the toilet to put on the fashion show, but they made a few sales. I could have done without the loud music when tired; I only wanted to rest and look at the window.
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Old Jun 9th, 2015, 02:26 PM
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The persistence of the young girls to sell woven bracelets near the Inca stones in Ollanta reminded my husband of a young girl in Thailand at an elephant rescue camp who hung onto him desperately calling "10 baht, 10 baht" to get him to buy her wares. That and posing for photos is a way to earn cash with mother standing a discrete distance away.

We saw the young couple from the airport/hostel again in Ollanta. We were at the plaza watching the procession on the last day of the fiesta when they caught up to us on their bathroom/shopping break enroute to start the Inca Trail hike. Not the first time we have repeatedly seen the same people on an international trip.

Oscar, a guide recommended on this board, was at our hostal early, ready to drive us back to Cusco. He had eaten some street food the night before and was not feeling his best. My husband and I were both feeling mild effects from elevation (headache, difficulty sleeping, little appetite), so we were all proceeding slowly.

We learned a lot on the drive about the region and the people. I'm not sure if Oscar is really his name or if he is using another guide's ID to enter the sights. Either way, we enjoyed our day, giving him some lattitude to make suggestions.

We would not have chosen the stop to learn/drink the beer, but he thought it important because it is so common. We ate the boiled corn and cheese (loved the corn; not impressed by accompanying cheeses).

I found the salt pans extremely interesting. He suggested that souvenier prices here were low, but I just wasn't in a shopping mood. Instead we stopped several times for me to inspect and photograph adobe housing construction. One group of families was gathering, getting organized to work on one family's house, near one of our stops.

I had requested a stop at a weaving coop, which our guide questioned. "Where had I heard about the coops in Chinchero? Why did I want to stop at one? Prices are too high." Reassured that I wanted to know the process by which the handicrafts I was seeing were traditionally produced, not that I wanted to buy, he chose one for us to see the demonstration and give a tip. Prior to the trip, my husband had stated that there was no way he was going to watch a weaving demonstration, was enchanted by the lady who gave us a private demonstration and enjoyed the experience immensely.
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Old Jun 9th, 2015, 04:31 PM
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I swear we were on the same trip, with the airplane problems, the handicrafts, the procession and firecrackers. Thanks for reporting.
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Old Jun 10th, 2015, 01:37 PM
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Coluphere--wasn't your trip 3 years ago? Must be a time warp.

We battled our way up the sidewalks in Cusco past the tourists, locals, volunteers scrubbing Inca stones, restauranteurs offering 10% off, and entreprenurs offering everything imaginable for sale on a blanket, pole, or cart. I especially liked the man on a corner with a pole holding a large card of new Barbie purses. What were the speckled eggs? Why do potato cart vendors use bull horns? We were often forced off into the street with other pedestrians, cars, buses, and taxis. I couldn't tell if the large speaker strapped to the top of a taxi was blaring a commercial or a political statement. I was restraining my husband's walking speed as much as I could because I could feel the headache effects of elevation if I walked at normal speed for us, but sometimes he just has to get out of the crowd and stop shuffling or he will go mad.

The highlight of a wander through the San Pedro market were the snouts for sale on a meat counter. Alpaca? We usually enjoy visiting a local market, grocery store, and department store in each country. We bought fruit and water at the market in Ollantaytambo. Just water in a convenience store in Cusco.

Again I took my husband to a place he said he would not go, the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo folk music and dance performance. I think he fears being pushed up on stage as happened to him in Fairbanks and me in Bangkok (in retaliation). It was an interesting, if repetitive show with different costumes than we saw at the fiesta. All day we kept running into school field trip groups in Cusco. The group at the show were well behaved for their age.

We liked our hotel in Cusco, Casa Andina Private Collection. I got a good deal on a suite so we could have 2 rooms, expecting we would spend more time in room after being on the road 4 nights. My husband didn't feel well after lunch, so he had a comfortable king bed for a nap while I used the living room couch for a lie down for my high elevation/dry nose bleed, a common occurance for me at elevation and after airline flights. My husband had experienced a headache in Ollantaytambo and took an aspirin or Ibupropin (something he does not like to do). Now two days later he said he felt bad after eating part of a pear that I also ate with no ill effects (yes, washed and peeled).

I would have liked to make it up to the San Blas neighborhood to walk around and see the architecture, but I thought it prudent to let my husband rest.

It was the first day of the promised 2-day strike and we were still unsure when we were going to Puno and by what means of transport.
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Old Jun 10th, 2015, 05:04 PM
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Yes Kay it was. I'm trying to decide whether I would prefer a plane delay to occur at the start or end of a trip. In any event you handled it really well.
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Old Jun 18th, 2015, 06:07 PM
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When planning the trip, my niece highly recommended a visit to Lake Titicaca, though she based her suggestion on her visit to the Bolivian islands and we would stay in Peru.

We originally planned to fly CUZ-JUL, but after getting advice that if we were going to spend the day traveling why not see the countryside, the views along the way are great, and the InkaExpress with tourist stops comfortable, we broke one of our travel rules and booked a bus trip lasting longer than 3 hours. The InkaExpress is scheduled to leave Cusco early in the morning, make stops at ruins, a church, the high pass with view of glacier, etc. and get into Puno around 5-6pm. We booked.

Just before we left the US we received emails marked URGENT from InkaExpress. I had read some about the protests over the copper mine based on a mix of environmental and labor concerns, the occasional violence, the deaths and was trying to keep informed. It is one of the reasons we decided not to go to Arequipa. InkaExpress was informing us that the protesters were calling for a 2-day strike and we were scheduled to travel on the second day of the strike. IE was going to run a bus in the evening straight through to Puno the day before the strike, cancel the bus on the first day of the strike, and run a bus on the second day of the strike in the evening straight through arriving around midnight. We had one full day for the lake with a pickup at 7am.

I posted a quick question on this board and on the US Consulate Facebook page about options. We could either accept the plan to travel straight through on the second day of the strike, cancel and book the flight, or try to change the middle segment of our multi-airline flight purchased through Orbitz to skip JUL-LIM. The Consulate said they didn't know of disruptions at airports during previous protests, but we could expect road disruptions. We had heard of the roadblocks, projectiles, and fires in previous protests. When I replied to IE that we would decide in a day or two whether to accept the straight through bus or cancel and fly, they replied that the late straight through was worst case scenario, that the bus might leave earlier. We decided to wait and see.

We recevied several emails from IE in the ensuing days, each time moving up the expected departure time with confirmation to be 48 hours in advance. 48 hours in advance we asked our guide about strikes and how IE could plan to leave during the afternoon if the protests were for the entire day. He said often the protestors went home for lunch and didn't return. 24 hours in advance I contacted IE and they said--leaving at 1pm, making 3 stops (one dinner), then on to Puno and arriving by 9pm. That would give us enough sleep, so we said OK.

After watching the protest march some in Cusco, our taxidatum driver took us to the bus office--3 buses headed to Puno. I enjoyed the stops at the Barroco Andino church and the ruins more than I had expected, but I was really wanting to get over the road. The dinner buffet was fine. We stopped at the pass to see the glacier in the dark. Every stop people were slow to return to the bus, they insisted getting off the bus in the dark on the pass,...we didn't make it to Puno until at least 10:30pm. We had to drive around rocks and glass in the road in Juliaca. We later head from people who had flown in instead of taking the bus that one transfer van had a flat tire earlier in the day from the glass, but they hadn't seen any violence. Fires were burning in some places in the road. As the trip wore on, my husband was not feeling well, minimized his walking at the stops, and just ate soup for dinner.

Our driver from the boat tour company was a wonderful sight at the bus terminal holding my name on a card and SWIFTLY drove us (bouncing out of our seats) to Casa Andina Private Collection on the lake where we were quickly checked in, to our room, and collapsed into comfortable beds.

If we had flown, we risked getting stuck at JUL. Rossy's ran vans the second day of the strike, but I read of private taxis who didn't show or had to take long routes and charge double the usual price. It was difficult to gauge how dangerous the situation was and how these people were deciding where/when to drive. It's just not worth the risk for a vacation.

Even if everything had gone as planned, I was reminded that full day bus trips are not for us if an alternative mode of transportation is available. After a few hours we feel trapped even if the bus has scheduled stops. I didn't like the multi-day bus tours my sister took me on when I first visited Europe at age 21 and I guess I haven't changed. I took some long bus trips in New Zealand that tested my limits too, but I didn't have a good alternative until I built up the courage to drive alone on the left side of the road.
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Old Jun 19th, 2015, 06:14 AM
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I guess you were in Cusco one week before we got there, around May 20th. I saw concerns and questions about the strikes. Two days strike was scheduled for May 27-28 (the day we had to tour Sacred Valley). I practically lost my sleep for several days, trying to come up with plan 'B', tough to do as everything was planned one way...Sacred Valley-Cusco-Puno-Colca Canyon-Arequipa...
It's the first time I convinced my husband to purchase trip insurance.
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 06:32 PM
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I've been traveling, so I have not been able to finish my trip report (good excuse for this board, right?).

My overall impression of InkaExpress Bus--
They were proactive in contacting us about the strike and rescheduling.
They seemed to tell us what we wanted to hear to keep us from canceling.
The overhead reading lights did not work at all and the ventilation was shut off after awhile. So not the most comfortable bus I have ridden.
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 06:34 PM
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Travfirst,
Did you manage to take your route as planned or did you use your trip insurance?
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 06:45 PM
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Lake Titicaca
I was on my own for the boat trip. My husband opted to stay at the hotel and spend the day reading/resting.

My helpful driver was right on time, bouncing me to the pier, walking me to a line of boats tied up in a line extending out from the pier. Through hand motions and Spanish, he indicated that I should climb from boat to boat out to the furtherest boat, which I did. There I stood on the stern? of a boat, hoping I was in the right place. After a while, one of the fellows cleaning on the boat indicated he wanted my name (good sign), which he wrote on his list. Meanwhile, other boats by the pier loaded and left, and we were pulled closer to the pier. After another 10 minutes a group of people arrived and began climbing from boat to boat--my companions who had come by bus from the city center.

Unfortunately we waited 15-20 minutes past departure time for a group tour. They blamed their tour guide who hadn't told them to buy water. Their tour guide later apologized and blamed his group who had arrived late in the night via bus due to the strike and then moved slowly that morning.

I chose the Edgar Adventures Titicaca Uncovered 1-day tour and was very pleased. The guide was great and paced our walk for the elevation. We visited Tacquile first, then returned to a lunch and then a reed island. The locals in traditional dress were welcoming (and happy to sell those handicrafts). We discussed how this is probably the last generation that will live the traditional way what with electricity, televisions, and cell phones arriving even to floating islands. Of course we were tourists and treated as such, but we were the only group anywhere we went that day.
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Old Jul 20th, 2015, 06:53 PM
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After some good food at the hotel and a short walk on the pier outside the hotel, we were relaxed and ready to head on our final leg to Lima.

We could see the city of Juliaca better in the daylight and understand why people pass through quickly. Not an inviting city.

Curious that at JUL the security at the entrance to ticket line asked all the group tour folks in front of us if they had prohibited items, then proceeded to open and search their bags, removing cans of air and assorted items. He looked at us; asked if we were carrying knives or aerosols; when we said no, he waved us through, then stopped the next tour group member. JUL is SMALL, but still a plane was delayed as they stridently called a few names of people missing on the flight before ours--they were in one of the two small shops.

I've never seen so many people getting off a plane, walking on the tarmac toward the terminal, then stopping to take photos of each other in front of the plane. Individual selfies, family members one at a time, people who looked like businessmen?

We really disliked the dried bean snack LAN served each flight. Interesting assortment of crackers, dried beans, and a candy bar.
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