Peru - Trip Report

Old Feb 21st, 2011, 06:19 AM
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Peru - Trip Report

This is my first message on the board. I have been an avid reader of the posts on this board for quite some time now and I thought it was time for me to share back with the board. I am 31 years old and have been fortunate enough to have traveled to many exotic countries throughout the world, including a world voyage on Semester at Sea while I was in college in 2000. Most recently, I was on a 9-day trip to Peru and had an amazing time! I went with a good friend of mine who I met on a trip to Israel 16 years ago. On this trip, we visited Lima, Puerto Maldonado (the rainforest/jungle), Cusco, the Sacred Valley (Ollytantambo), and Machu Picchu. Over the next week or so, I will try my best to share details of our trip. My first posting should be sometime tonight. I look forward to sharing with all of you.

Regards,
Barry
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Old Feb 21st, 2011, 11:57 AM
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Day 1 – New York to Lima – 2/10/11

Before I begin my detailed trip report, I would like to say that I have never used a travel agent before this trip, but thought that it would make sense for a trip as interesting as this one. I booked the entire trip through Latin Escapes (latinescapes.com) and worked with Monica Mejia, who I believe happens to be Peruvian. She was extremely knowledgeable and diligent every step of the way, providing useful recommendations and ideas, and happy to discuss ideas of my own. She even called me 2 weeks before the trip to say that she was able to change our return flight to a non-stop flight because LAN had moved the flight time by 10 hours. She was certainly on the ball.

Ok, on to the trip. Please feel free to comment or ask any questions along the way....

My friend, Eric, and I met at JFK Airport in NYC at about 8pm for our 10:15pm LAN flight to Lima. Our flight left at 11pm and landed in Lima around 7am. We got our luggage quickly and were greeted with a sign in the airport by a very friendly lady who drove us to our first hotel, San Agustin Colonial in Miraflores, and then went over some paperwork. It was a nice way to be welcomed to Peru.

We thought the room was nice, quickly washed up, had a unique orange-colored banana and water at the hotel and did some exploration on our own for the morning. We took a cab ride about 20 minutes for 20 soles ($7) to the Plaza de Armes and then on to the Museo del Convento de San Francisco de Asis de Lima. This was an interesting church to visit, especially because they have catacombs filled with thousands of femurs and skulls which was supposedly a burial ground for priests and others. We both thought this was a really cool thing to do.

After that, we walked around for a while and found a small, local restaurant where we had ceviche, tortilla de patatas, and chicken. It was just ok, although I suspect this might have given us a few stomach bugs to appear later.

We then went back to the hotel to be met by another driver for our afternoon guided tour of both the colonial and the modern sections of Lima, including a visit to the Main Square, the Government Palace, the Town Hall, the old streets with their vice royal mansions and Moorish style balconies, and the Bishop Palace with its beautiful balconies and the Cathedral of Lima. When the tour went to the San Francisco church and museum, we decided to go for a few local cervezas (beers) since we had already visited this site in the morning. It was nice to have a few beers al fresco! Our tour guide was great, young and well educated.

As a side note, from this point on, we kept on bumping into people we had just met throughout our entire trip in different locations throughout Peru! We really got a kick out of that and also met some really great and interesting people along the way.

After the tour, we decided to walk through the Mercado Central (Central Market) to look at some local handicrafts, shops, etc. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a very large food store to look around and gaze at the amazing varieties of grains, potatoes, etc. Then, we found a small hotel/lounge bar to take advantage of a 2 for 1 pisco sours. It cost us 20 soles (or about $7) for 4 drinks in total! They were great and it was a fun time!

We then went back to the hotel, showered, and decided to get dinner at Huaca Pucllana, which is an upscale restaurant within the 1,500 year-old adobe pyramid built by original inhabitants of Lima. The food was good but not great. We split fried cuy/guinea pig and ceviche for apps, grilled alpaca for dinner, and a Chocolate volcano explosion with hazelnut ice cream and sesame tuile for dessert. The dessert was definitely the best part, as was the backdrop of the pyramids! Definitely a great first day to our trip.

We went back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for our jungle visit!
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Old Feb 22nd, 2011, 01:30 PM
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I would have recommended that in the morning you visit the Larco museum and have lunch there. Few package tours include this museum. Another alternative would have been to go to Barranco, see the Pedro de Osma museum, and have ceviche at Canta Rana (not the best but a quaint atmosphere).

For a downtown eatery I was recommended to try T'anta.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2011, 06:17 AM
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Good catch - our tour of Lima actually did include the Larco Herrera Archeological Museum. It was a great museum, with tons of artifacts, textiles, jewelry, stonework, etc. This was definitely a great museum and a great tour.
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Old Feb 23rd, 2011, 06:21 AM
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Day 3-5 – The Peruvian Rainforest and Jungle – 2/12-2/14

We had an early morning, Peruvian buffet breakfast at our hotel and were picked up at 6:15am for our transfer to the airport for our 8:45am flight to Puerto Maldonado, via Cusco. We arrived by 11am and were greeted by young and excited jungle guides from Posada Amazonas located in the Tambopata River section of the Amazon basin. While at the tiny airport, it went from being sunny to pouring rain to hot, sunny, and humid in only 10 minutes. I loved it. For some reason, I always thought it would be very interesting and exciting to spend a few days in the jungle!

We were driven in a “jungle” jeep about 10 minutes to the office where we were told to pack a small bag/backpack worth of clothes for the next 3 days, as we would keep our large luggage at the office. Uriel Gonzalo would be our tour guide during out stay. He was great; a true native Amazonian and very informative, fun, and energetic. We then proceeded, as a group of about 10 people, in the jeep for a 30-minute off-road ride to the river. During this ride, we were given a small boxed-snack of organic and indigenous-made plantain chips, roasted and sweetened Brazil nuts, a small banana, and orange juice. It was very good. Once we reached the river, we transferred to a 20-foot long narrow, roofed motor boat for a 45-minute ride to the Posada Amazonas private reserve. During the boat ride, we were given a rice stir-fry served in a very large leaf which we tossed overboard when finished. It was quite good. Once off the boat, we walked 10 minutes through thick mud to the entrance to the clean main lodge. We had finally made it!

We were given an introduction to the lodge, its history, safety instructions, and were told the location of our room. We got to our room and were quite pleased with its cleanliness and closeness to nature, as it had an open-wall facing the forest. The room was simple but very nice. The rooms had no electricity, and only cold water showers, or “fresh water showers” as the staff said! The main lodge had electricity from 6pm-9pm, then only kerosene lamps and candles. I loved being so close to nature and away from certain luxuries in life.

Wearing long pants, long sleeves, and insect repellent, we started our afternoon activity by finding the right size Wellington boots from their collection in order to begin a 30-minute walk through the deep-muddy jungle to a 30-meter scaffolding canopy tower. We then climbed to the top for an amazing view of the forest, river, and birds. Just as we got to the top, it started pouring, so we slowly made our way back to the bottom and back to the lodge. Eric and I dried off and had a few “jungle” cocktails before a communal dinner in the dining area. Dinner consisted of Peruvian classics; soup, Aji de Gallina (a creamy aji pepper sauce, served over shredded chicken with rice), and dessert. It was really good. We went to sleep early as we were told of an early start to the next morning. It was like being in camp again!

We were woken up at 4am, had a light breakfast, and took a 30-minute boat ride followed by a 45-minute hike to the Tres Chimbadas Oxbow Lake. From there, we boarded a non-motorized catamaran to spend several hours gazing at the giant river otters, caiman, and other exotic birds of the rainforest. We also had a chance to go piranha fishing off the boat. It was a fun and interesting experience. We headed back to the camp in time for lunch. By lunch time, my stomach was in knots, so I decided to skip the visit to the Parrot Clay Lick, though I was told that many species of birds and parrots were spotted.

I was feeling a bit better by the afternoon and was able to go on the very cool Ethno Botanical Tour. Again, we trudged through the muddy jungle to get to our boat for a 20-minute ride to the visit the Centro Nape, or the communal organization, which produces medicinal uses of certain plants. This was led by a Shaman, who showed us 8 different plants and how they are used to treat different illnesses and diseases. It was very interesting and they even gave us a sample of some of their alcohol-based ancient remedies!

After that tour, we took quick showers (since they were ice cold), and got ready for dinner. We had soup, and a Peruvian stir-fry, which was quite good. After dinner, we shared travel stories with our newly made friends. Eric and I even played a game of chess. It was a nice and relaxing evening.

We were up fairly early the next morning, packed our bags, walked through the muddy jungle to take the boat ride 45-minutes, took the jeep ride 30-minutes and got back to the main lodge. From here, we retrieved our main luggage. Since we had a few hours to kill before our flight to Cusco, we were brought on a 90-minute tour of Puerto Maldonado. It was actually quite fun to visit some real local markets of the Infierno village where we saw many exotic fruits, vegetables, and grains.

We then caught our 1:55pm plane from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco, which was only 30-minutes in the air. We were greeted by our Cusco tour manager, Edwardo, who was very nice and organized and escorted us to a van for a short drive to our hotel, Mabey Palacia Imperial Hotel. In the hotel lobby, he gave us an updated schedule along with museum tickets, passes, etc. The hotel was very nice and clean, with free Internet access as well. Since we wanted to take it easy during our acclimation to Cusco’s high altitude (I did not take any medication for this, but my friend did take Diamox), we decided to take a taxi to the Museo Inka for a 2-hour guided tour. It was very interesting and informative, although we weren’t used to the much cooler weather compared to the warm jungle. They even had a few Inca mummies on display.

After that, we decided to have dinner at Inka Grill, one of Cusco’s top restaurants! Eric and I both had Andean-style quinoa and chicken soup to start. I then had quinotto with chicken tenderloins, which was basically chicken tenderloins sautéed with panca chili pepper. It was served with quinoa, which was meant to look and taste like a flavorful risotto with vegetables in the middle of the oval-shaped mound. It was delicious. We had no room for dessert! We headed back to our hotel to shower and get some sleep.
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Old Feb 25th, 2011, 06:06 AM
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Next posting coming soon!
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Old Feb 25th, 2011, 03:33 PM
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Day 6 – Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu – 2/16

After a light hotel breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread, and fruit, Eric and I had the morning to ourselves and decided to take a local van about 30 minutes away to a town called Urubamba. From there, we took a moto-taxi about 6 miles away to Salineras De Maras, the Salt Mines. It took us about an hour to hike to the top of the mountain where the mines were located, passing baby goats, cows, and other animals along the way. Neither of us had ever been to a salt mine/salt pan before, so we thought it would be very interesting, and it was. There were actually people working in the salt silos when we got to the top; weighing and bagging the salt. On our way down, we came across another American. This time, it was a guy from Philadelphia who was teaching English classes to students in Ecuador. He was on vacation and also seemed like a nice guy, so we walked down the mountain together and caught a local van back to Olly. The 3 of us sat down for lunch where I had a chicken stir-fry with spaghetti, Peruvian style of course.

At about 3pm, we walked from the hotel to the Olly train station (15-minutes) and boarded the Vistadome train for our 90-minute journey to Aguas Calientes (AC). The boarding was smooth. The advice I got before the trip was to make sure to be on the left side of the train, looking forward. I had to switch with someone to sit next to Eric, actually the tour guide from an Abercrombie & Kent group, but the views to MP very simply amazing, plus they played some soothing Andean/Peruvian music which totally set the mood! The ride even included a small boxed lunch of chicken and a small lemon pastry. It was actually really good. Upon arrival to AC, we were greeted by our next tour manager who walked us to the Presidente Hotel. She was also very nice and went over the MP details and times with us. We were very excited for what was to come the next day.

The hotel was very nice, our favorite during the trip. After we showered, we were walking around AC to find a place to eat when we bumped into our newly made Alaskan friend. I had read some great reviews of a restaurant called Indio Feliz, so the 3 of us decided to eat there. Everything we ate there was absolutely delicious! Eric and I had been experiencing some stomach issues during the past few days, so we decided to keep it light by splitting their price-fixed dinner. It still ended up being a great deal of food, but I wasn’t complaining. We started with a stuffed avocado (avocado and mango scoops with a tangy side sauce, then we had grilled chicken with a rum/pineapple sauce served in a pineapple casing, then we had apple pie for dessert. It was some of the tastiest food I have ever had! On very full stomachs, we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep in preparation for a very early start to MP.
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Old Feb 26th, 2011, 02:31 PM
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Thanks for the great report Barry. Can't wait to here about the rest of your journey. I'm heading there on April 1 and love reading about your adventure.
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Old Feb 26th, 2011, 03:12 PM
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My pleasure, Boston. Glad you're enjoying it!

Day 7 – Machu Picchu – 2/17

The day had arrived. We were going to see Machu Picchu – the highlight of our trip! We got up at 4:00am, got dressed, and walked to the bus line at 4:30am. The weather was moderate with a very light mist/drizzle. Buses started leaving the AC bus terminal promptly at 5:30am for a 30-minute ride up to the MP entrance, which happens to be where the famous Sanctuary Lodge Hotel is located. We were about the 6th bus to enter MP and were on the MP entrance line by about 6am. We got our tickets stamped for the Huanyu Picchu (HP) entrance, and slowly walked the perimeter of MP to get to the HP entrance. Prior to our trip, I had read that hiking up HP is a great way to see MP from a different perspective (especially at sunrise), as it lies next to and about 1,200 feet above MP. They allow 2 groups, each of 200 people, to hike HP per day; 7am and 10am. At 6:15am, we were the 2nd and 3rd people on line. The walk to the HP entrance only took us about 10-15 minutes, but it was already so beautiful and mystical. It felt surreal, like something out of a movie. Eric and I took a few pictures but really started to take in the unbelievable scene that was surrounding us. It was truly breathtaking.

At 7am, the entrance to HP was opened. We signed in and then spent the next 60 minutes climbing this beautiful but very difficult and slippery mountain. The climb was a combination of original Inca trails and steps with modern additions too. The terrain/steps were steep and we took breaks every now and then. I thought it was a good workout. There were even a few handrails made of braided nylon rope and steel cable to help with some of the more difficult sections. The funny part was that the weather kept changing from cool and misty and raining, to warm and slightly sunny, so we found ourselves putting on and taking layers off throughout the day. Once we reached the summit of HP, it was very cloudy. As a matter of fact, we were actually walking through the clouds. It was amazing. We stood on the long, wide ledge with a few other people for a while, as the ever so slowly clouds began to scatter just enough to expose the beauty of MP! It was unbelievable to see how the clouds would gradually reveal the awesomeness of MP, only to be quickly cloud covered again. It was simply amazing, plus I had felt accomplished to have climbed the mountain.

The descent down HP took us about an hour or so as well. The very narrow steps were even harder to navigate on the way down. Luckily, neither of us had a fear of heights. We made it to the bottom of HP by about 10:15am, signed out, and made it back to the MP entrance in time for a small snack and water before our 11:30am guided tour of MP began. Our tour was with about 10 people in total and was a very informative and historical account of how the Incas spent about 90 years and 4 generations to build MP. The tour guide also explained how advanced the Incas were in terms of their irrigation and agriculture systems. It was quite impressive. I was also blown away by how well it had been preserved and restored. I felt like every few minutes and every few steps we took, the clouds would move, the angle of the sun would shift, and a completely new image of MP was revealed. As I’ve explained to my family and friends, the whole experience was truly awesome, indescribable, and difficult to put into words!

Our tour ended at 1:30pm. We took the bus down to AC and had an “included” lunch at the Hatuchay Tower Hotel. It was buffet style but was really good, especially after a long and physically-challenging day. We then got our bags at the Presidente Hotel and took the 4pm Vistadome train (again, they served a small boxed lunch of lasagna and a brownie – quite good), followed by a 6:30pm bus to Cusco. We were back at the Mabey Hotel by about 8:30pm. We settled for a little while and decided to head to the Plaza de Armas for some drinks. While waiting for a taxi outside the hotel, we met 2 Americans who were also going out. So, the 4 of us went out to a few local bars for some drinks and live music. It was a fun night.
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Old Feb 26th, 2011, 08:51 PM
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Day 8 – Cusco – 2/18

We had the morning to ourselves, and Eric wanted to sleep in, so I had breakfast at the hotel, and leisurely walked to the Plaza de Armas to visit the shops, buy some artwork and souvenirs, etc. I spent a few hours on my own. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at a local shop for a beef empanada. It was delicious. When I got to the hotel, Edwardo was waiting in the lobby ready to take us to the van for our city tour of Cusco. The tour lasted from about 2pm-7pm. First, we visited a church, which didn’t really interest Eric or me. Then, we visited the ancient ruins of Cusco: Sacsayhuaman, Quenqo, Pucapucara, and Tambomachay. These sites were very interesting and captivating, with lots to marvel at. The tour guide was young, nice, and very friendly. The tour concluded with him bringing us to his friend’s alpaca/silver shop for a demonstration of how they make silver products and how to determine if alpaca is real or not. It was interesting but not necessary.

We got back to the hotel around 7:30, showered, and decided to go out for a nice dinner. We went to a restaurant called Limo, which I think might be owned by the same people as Inka Grill, MAP, Pachapapa, and a few other top restaurants. Limo sits on the 2nd floor of a building in the Plaza de Armas and really offers some great views of the city. Eric and I split a sweet potato and avocado appetizer as well a tuni sushi roll. Both were great. I had pork tenderloin with a quinoa medley and asparagus. It was excellent! We also had a few of their specialty Pisco drinks. It was a great and very tasty dinner. After dinner, we found a bar with a pool table and played a few games. We headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

Day 9-10 – Cusco to Lima to New York - 2/19-2/10

For our last full day in Peru, we had breakfast in the hotel and I went back to the Plaza de Armas for one final stroll around the square. It was nice and relaxing, although it was drizzling a bit. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped for a chicken aji de gallina empanada which was quite delicious. By chance, I also stepped into a tiny, independently owned breakfast/pastry shop and bought myself a slice of banana cake. It was really good too, so I got a slice to-go for Eric. When I got back to the hotel, we packed our bags, and were picked up at 12pm for our 2:30pm flight to Lima. At the Cusco airport, we were told that flights were scheduled to be delayed for the afternoon due to weather, so they got us on the 1:30pm flight which didn’t leave until 2:45pm anyway. We landed in Lima at 4pm.

The weather in Lima was sunny and warm, about 80 degrees. We decided to take a taxi about 30 minutes from the airport to the beaches of Barranco to spend our last few hours on the sunny beach. After a little while, we hiked up the small on-looking cliff and found a local sports bar for a light bite. I ordered a plate of rice and beans with some really flavorful sauce. We took a taxi back to the airport. I then had pistachio gelato at 4D, as recommended by people on the Fodor’s Community Board. Our flight left on-time at 12am and landed at JFK Airport in New York at about 7:30am. We breezed through customs, got our bags, and both completely agreed that this was a trip of a lifetime that worked out almost flawlessly. We hope to do another trip like this one in the future!

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

I hope all the Fodor’s readers enjoyed reading about our adventure. I enjoyed writing it, as it helped me relive this awesome trip. Please feel free to reply or comment with any questions or suggestions. I would be happy to help.

Regards,
Barry
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 04:06 AM
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Great trip report. Really enjoyed reading it. Nice to hear that you have a great time in Peru. Looking forward to read more stuff like this............
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 07:39 AM
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Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it so much! I found a mistake in my report. I failed to include "Day 5 - Cusco to Olly" from my trip report, which was on my word doc. I will include it now:
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Day 5 – Cusco to the Sacred Valley – 2/15

Today started with our typical, but great, light hotel buffet breakfast. We were advised to pack a few small bags to take with us for the next few days as we made our way to Machu Picchu (MP) and to leave the rest of our luggage in the hotel. This ended up being a great idea. We were then picked up from the hotel around 8am for a tour of the Pisac Market at the beginning of the Sacred Valley. Again, the tour guide was very informative and very friendly. We had the opportunity to stop at several markets, allowing us to compare the local handicrafts and jewelry, and prices too. I bought a few small souvenirs for myself. The mountainous views were beautiful. It was easy to get lost just staring into space. As we approached the Old Village, the driver let people off at 3 different pre-determined restaurants for lunch. Eric and I ate at Allpamanka Restaurant for another excellent outdoor buffet, under the comfortable sunny, warm sky. We even opted to remove the umbrella from our table to fully enjoy the nice day. The lunch was great and plentiful, with many options of soups, grains, potatoes, vegetables, poultry, meats, fish, casseroles, and even great desserts!

After lunch, we continued on to Ollantaytambo (Olly) to see the very impressive Inca fortress. It was quite amazing to see how grandiose the fortress must have been several centuries ago. Also, the village was designed to retain the look and feel of the street layouts, squares, walls, and the construction of houses. Apparently, many tourists don’t even both stopping at Olly and head straight to MP. I thought this was a very worthwhile thing to do and very much worth the time, as there’s more to Peru than just MP.

After the tour, we were dropped off at the Ollantaytambo Lodge Hotel. Although the hotel grounds and backdrop were amazing and the hotel employees were very gracious, this was probably our least favorite hotel. As we were checking in, we met a girl traveling alone from Alaska who told us of a hike that she planned to do late that afternoon. She seemed nice and the hike sounded fun, so we put our bags down in the room and proceeded to go on a 2-hour (roundtrip) hike of the mountain opposite the Inca fortress. We made our way through the village, down some stairs, walking alongside a rushing canal, eventually finding a sign that read, “To Pinkuylluna”! It was a great hike with some truly excellent views. After our hike, the 3 of us sat down in the village for some cervezas (beer) and Peruvian pizza. The pizza was not good but it was a fun night. We went to bed reasonably early.
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Old Mar 6th, 2011, 02:27 PM
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enjoying your report peru has been on my radar
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Old Mar 16th, 2011, 02:50 PM
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Hey Barry, great first trip report! We'll be doing a fairly similar trip next month (sans the jungle) so I really appreciate your time and effort in putting this together. Lots of helpful info.
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Old Mar 16th, 2011, 04:43 PM
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Thanks for the trip report Barry; its very informative. I'm thinking about a similar trip this fall. DId you enjoy the Amazon portion of your trip? Would you recommend it? How was the Posada lodge?
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Old Mar 17th, 2011, 03:45 AM
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Thanks dcd and Jackie. Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the Amazon jungle experience was a lot of fun and was very memorable. I would recommend it only if you don't mind the outdoors and getting a bit muddy! Posada Amazonas was great in my opinion, with great staff and activities, but there are a few other more upscale lodges if that's what you prefer.
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Old Mar 17th, 2011, 06:08 AM
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Yes great trip report karatebarry, we'll be doing more or less the same circuit, Cusco/SV/MP and then Puno/Lake Titicaca next month. Would've loved the Amazon jungle but we don't have time, 10 days was the most we could spare. Also we live in equatorial Africa so have done quite a few jungle trips, the Amazon needs to wait for later...
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Old Mar 17th, 2011, 08:55 AM
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Thanks Barry. It was that muddy part that concerned me. Been at jungle in Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica and really enjoyed it, but there was no mud there.
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Old Mar 17th, 2011, 11:24 PM
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Thanks Barry. GOing there next month. cheers
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Old Apr 7th, 2011, 08:26 AM
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Thank you for your report. We are going on a similar trip in October. Regarding Puerto Maldonado, I am looking at Poasada Amazonas as well but do you think some of the more upscale resorts have better accomodations? The only other one I could find was Reserva Amazonas, did u see any others and do you think it would make a difference in terms of seeing wildlife?
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