Hi all! A trip hightlights post from Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Lima & Machu Picchu.
Oct 26th, 2006, 07:39 PM
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Hi all! A trip hightlights post from Buenos Aires, Iguazu, Lima & Machu Picchu.
BUENOS AIRES:
Take a walking tour with Robert Wright www.urbex.com.ar You’ll learn a lot and I highly recommend it.
The dog walkers are amazing…we saw a fellow with at least 15 dogs.
Have a Submarine (hot milk served with a hunk of dark chocolate to drop in the milk)
Go to El Trapache for dinner…SO much better than Cabana Las Lilies and a 1/3 of the price. Cabana IMO is overated!!! (AV rooster was sure right about this!)
We stayed at the Art Hotel. Rooms are on the small side but it’s a nice boutique type hotel with a lot of character and the staff is very friendly and helpful. $90. per night.
IGUAZU
We stayed at the Secret Garden B&B in Iguazu and absolutely loved it. John the owner is one of the nicest gentlemen you’ll ever meet. We had cocktails out on his patio at night and traded stories. His rooms (there are 3) are large and new and John can arrange transportation for you and help make your stay effortless. It was a highlight of our trip.
We also stayed at the Sheraton one night and it was nice to see the falls from your room.
PERU/CUSCO
Don’t’ take the altitude lightly. I’m a skier and have never been bothered by altitude but I felt light headed and had a bit of a headache the whole time I was there. One of the hotels even pipe in oxygen to the rooms.
Our guide David Choque picked us up at the airport & took us to his home where we sat quietly and drank coca tea which seems to help. David is an excellent guide and such a nice person! I’d recommend him highly. (cell 9950294)
If you can, buy a bag of dog food for the dogs…that part of the trip was tough for me. Many of the dogs are skin and bones and the females just keep on having puppies as none of the dogs that I saw in South America were neutered or spayed.
Most of the people in the area will expect a 1-2 soles tip for any photo that you take of them.
I didn’t try Cuy (guinea pig) but I liked the Alpaca meat. Very tender and I thought it tasted like beef.
Go to the central market in Cusco….it’s where the local people shop for almost anything and everything and it’s very interesting. We went with our guide and was very careful to make sure we stayed together and watched our belongings so be careful there if you go.
Eat at “A Mi Manero”. We had a wonderful meal there. The service was very friendly and the atmosphere is very comfortable with entertainment. After dinner they serve a shot of something that they brew right there….made with chamomile and fennel. Yum! We also ate at Encanto which was good too.
Machu Picchu
We stayed at the Hotel Pueblo and loved it. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, the restaurant is good and we had excellent massages after our hikes around MP. The Pueblo food was delicious and we had fun scouting out the town, doing the nature walks and there was some shopping too. One of the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in and ½ the price of the Sanctuary.
In Machu Picchu, watch out for the mosquitoes….I came down the mountain with 19 bites (and I used Deet) and saw another man that had literally hundreds of bites all over his legs (he had shorts on…not to bright!)
Try and sit on the left side of the train going up for the best view.
Lima
Don’t go to the La Paz Café. The food was horrible!
We took a ½ day tour with Lima tours which was excellent. $25. pp for a private tour for 4 people and they pick you up at your hotel.
We liked Huaca Pucllana for dinner. Nice view of the ruins which are lit up at night. You can take a free tour after dinner.
Take a walking tour with Robert Wright www.urbex.com.ar You’ll learn a lot and I highly recommend it.
The dog walkers are amazing…we saw a fellow with at least 15 dogs.
Have a Submarine (hot milk served with a hunk of dark chocolate to drop in the milk)
Go to El Trapache for dinner…SO much better than Cabana Las Lilies and a 1/3 of the price. Cabana IMO is overated!!! (AV rooster was sure right about this!)
We stayed at the Art Hotel. Rooms are on the small side but it’s a nice boutique type hotel with a lot of character and the staff is very friendly and helpful. $90. per night.
IGUAZU
We stayed at the Secret Garden B&B in Iguazu and absolutely loved it. John the owner is one of the nicest gentlemen you’ll ever meet. We had cocktails out on his patio at night and traded stories. His rooms (there are 3) are large and new and John can arrange transportation for you and help make your stay effortless. It was a highlight of our trip.
We also stayed at the Sheraton one night and it was nice to see the falls from your room.
PERU/CUSCO
Don’t’ take the altitude lightly. I’m a skier and have never been bothered by altitude but I felt light headed and had a bit of a headache the whole time I was there. One of the hotels even pipe in oxygen to the rooms.
Our guide David Choque picked us up at the airport & took us to his home where we sat quietly and drank coca tea which seems to help. David is an excellent guide and such a nice person! I’d recommend him highly. (cell 9950294)
If you can, buy a bag of dog food for the dogs…that part of the trip was tough for me. Many of the dogs are skin and bones and the females just keep on having puppies as none of the dogs that I saw in South America were neutered or spayed.
Most of the people in the area will expect a 1-2 soles tip for any photo that you take of them.
I didn’t try Cuy (guinea pig) but I liked the Alpaca meat. Very tender and I thought it tasted like beef.
Go to the central market in Cusco….it’s where the local people shop for almost anything and everything and it’s very interesting. We went with our guide and was very careful to make sure we stayed together and watched our belongings so be careful there if you go.
Eat at “A Mi Manero”. We had a wonderful meal there. The service was very friendly and the atmosphere is very comfortable with entertainment. After dinner they serve a shot of something that they brew right there….made with chamomile and fennel. Yum! We also ate at Encanto which was good too.
Machu Picchu
We stayed at the Hotel Pueblo and loved it. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, the restaurant is good and we had excellent massages after our hikes around MP. The Pueblo food was delicious and we had fun scouting out the town, doing the nature walks and there was some shopping too. One of the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in and ½ the price of the Sanctuary.
In Machu Picchu, watch out for the mosquitoes….I came down the mountain with 19 bites (and I used Deet) and saw another man that had literally hundreds of bites all over his legs (he had shorts on…not to bright!)
Try and sit on the left side of the train going up for the best view.
Lima
Don’t go to the La Paz Café. The food was horrible!
We took a ½ day tour with Lima tours which was excellent. $25. pp for a private tour for 4 people and they pick you up at your hotel.
We liked Huaca Pucllana for dinner. Nice view of the ruins which are lit up at night. You can take a free tour after dinner.
Oct 28th, 2006, 01:58 PM
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There were 5 of us total. (4 in our group and 1 other guy from the U.S. who had just moved to Buenos Aires to teach school) Robert has tours of different areas but he suggested the microcenter tour to give us an overview of the city.
He's really good and very passionate about his work...We all loved Roberts tour. It was a 3 1/2 walking tour but there's alot of stopping and talking and viewing along the way with a coffee stop in the middle.
He's really good and very passionate about his work...We all loved Roberts tour. It was a 3 1/2 walking tour but there's alot of stopping and talking and viewing along the way with a coffee stop in the middle.
Oct 28th, 2006, 02:12 PM
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Hi,
My name is Ana. I work in the Official tourism site of the city of Buenos Aires (www.bue.gov.ar), so I think I can help you with some information. There are a lot of beautiful places to visit in Buenos Aires, and some of them are not very known.
You can visit the underground areas in the historic area of the city. La Manzana de las Luces and Zanjón de Granados. You can see the S XVI type of constructions there.
You have to go to a “milonga” one night. Milonga is the place where people who live in the city used to go to dance tango (And it isn’t the typical tango show making for tourists!).
I strongly recommend drink the “submarino” in La Giralda in Corrientes avenue. And also to walk by the Reserva Ecológica.
You must go to Palermo Soho if you like design or San Telmo if you enjoy antiques. There is an antiques fair in Plaza Dorrego on Sundays.
To take a look of the city from a high place, you have to go to the top of Barolo building, in Avenida de Mayo.
Well, this is just to the first days, because Buenos Aires has a lot of places to visit!
My name is Ana. I work in the Official tourism site of the city of Buenos Aires (www.bue.gov.ar), so I think I can help you with some information. There are a lot of beautiful places to visit in Buenos Aires, and some of them are not very known.
You can visit the underground areas in the historic area of the city. La Manzana de las Luces and Zanjón de Granados. You can see the S XVI type of constructions there.
You have to go to a “milonga” one night. Milonga is the place where people who live in the city used to go to dance tango (And it isn’t the typical tango show making for tourists!).
I strongly recommend drink the “submarino” in La Giralda in Corrientes avenue. And also to walk by the Reserva Ecológica.
You must go to Palermo Soho if you like design or San Telmo if you enjoy antiques. There is an antiques fair in Plaza Dorrego on Sundays.
To take a look of the city from a high place, you have to go to the top of Barolo building, in Avenida de Mayo.
Well, this is just to the first days, because Buenos Aires has a lot of places to visit!
Oct 29th, 2006, 10:35 AM
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Is Volta the name of an ice cream shop? If so, is it a chain or one shop?
I'm keeping a list of sweets to find -- ice cream, chocolates, etc. Was hoping to diet a little in advance of all this eating (and anticipated shopping), but so far, I haven't been too successful.
And now Halloween is this week, too, with all that candy lying around!!
I'm keeping a list of sweets to find -- ice cream, chocolates, etc. Was hoping to diet a little in advance of all this eating (and anticipated shopping), but so far, I haven't been too successful.
And now Halloween is this week, too, with all that candy lying around!!
Oct 29th, 2006, 11:19 AM
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skatedancer, there is a long thread about the various ice cream shops in BsAs on Tripadvisor's Buenos Aires forum. You might want to check it out (lots of opinions over there!) There are some recommendations for chocolates in Bariloche and dulce de leche candies at Havanna in Buenos Aires.
I leave for BsAs on Tuesday. I am so excited. I hope your trip is a safe one.
I leave for BsAs on Tuesday. I am so excited. I hope your trip is a safe one.
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