Just back from Peru - mini trip report
 

This will be a mini report on a mini trip - we were only there for one week and it was not long enough but we made the most of the time we had and loved every moment.

We flew into Cusco and were met at the airport by Percy Salas, the guide we had hired for our first 3 days. I learned of him from other fodorites and can only say great things about him. He was very kind and helpful and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend him.

He drove us into Cusco to get our train tickets for later in the week. I had been able to order & pay online ahead of time and wanted to pick them up the first day just in case there was a problem getting them at the Ollantaytambo station where we were spending the first few days. I've read both that you can pick them up there and I think other people said they had trouble doing that. Just in case we got them in Cusco and there was no line or difficulty.

From there we drove through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo (about 1.5 hrs). The countryside is just gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. We stopped and took lots of pictures along the way.

In Ollanta we stayed at the Hotel Sauce. It was very cute, very charming and right in the middle of town so we could walk everywhere. Our room was was comfortable and immaculate - they scrubbed everything down every day. The staff was super kind and welcoming - they had coca tea ready for us on arrival and then throughout the day during the rest of our stay. In our room each day we received bottled water and chocolate candy. The breakfast buffet was fairly large - I was imagining only rolls and coffee for some reason but it included meats, cheeses, different cereals, yogurt, and cooked eggs and pancakes. And excellent coffee.

Ollanta is a neat little town - sort of has a frontier town feel to it. All cobblestones, a nice town square where we sat and watched the action, many really good restaurants (we enjoyed KB Tambo and El Chesque (sp?), and Heart Cafe), small stores to buy pretty much anything you need, and the incredible ruins right on the edge of town.

Since we started out in O. (can't shorten the name any further!) we never did have problems with altitude. The minute we got off the plane in Cusco I noticed pressure in my head behind my eyes and shortness of breath but as soon as we started driving down through the SV that went away. I'd highly recommend starting there and ending up in Cusco like we did.

We barely stayed up long enough to eat dinner and had a good night's sleep the first night. After that I will say there was a bit of traffic noise every night. You'd never think the tiny cobblestone roads would be a major thoroughfare but apparently some large trucks go by in the middle of the night every night. Other people at the Hotel Sauce with rooms at the rear of the building did not hear them like we did, so definitely request a room in the back. But even with that noise it was not non-stop and didn't ruin our sleep - just woke us a few times a night.

The next day Percy picked us up after breakfast and we headed to Chinchero. The market there was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Fascinating to see the ladies in their tall fedoras (what do you call them?) bartering with each other for their produce. And then to watch them socialize drinking chicha. I felt kind of guilty staring like they were zoo animals or something and also taking pictures seemed somehow rude. We did pay a few people to take their pictures - 1 or 2 soles.

We also visited the church in Chinchero -- that is part of the ticket you get for 130 soles each and includes like 16 sites.

Next we went to Moray to see the circular experimental crop terraces. So neat to see -- really looks like something that could be built by aliens! We walked down to the bottom - not too tough -- but climbing back up was. Had to stop to catch our breath a few time.

From there we went to the salt pans in Salinas. Also very cool to see - huge area covered with little pools of salt.

We had lunch in Urubamba and then stopped at an alpaca showroom (at my request) and then at a chicha stand. After hearing so much about it I was curious enough to try a sip - but that's all I needed. Fermented corn is not for me. I'll stick with cervaza, thank you very much.

Back in O. we walked around a bit & had dinner & turned in early again. Not sure how much "nightlife" there is in that little town but we certainly were too wiped to find out. I think we were asleep by 8 at the latest each night. Sad, I know.

Welcome back, Leslie_S. Am enjoying reading about your time in Ollanta and the SV. We will also be staying at El Sauce when we go next April, so I was especially happy to read your very positive report on the hotel. You don't mention having a room with a view of the ruins, so I assume it is the rooms in the back that have the view??? (We have requested 13 or 15 for our dates.)

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report ... and photos eventually :-)

Leslie, I've been following your preparation and it is so nice to now read your report. Thanks for the effort it takes to do a report like this.

We are going to the area the same time as eenusa. I wake up excited about it every day now, and we have a little over 5 months to go.

Looking forward to your next installment!

eenusa - Our room at Sauce did have an incredible view of the ruins - not sure of our room # but it was the very front-most room on the 2nd floor. In pictures I took from our room the ruins look like a huge staircase but you can see tiny people -- each "stair" is about 10 ft. tall. I'll attach a link to some pix at the end.

emd- thanks! I didn't really intend to write so much - don't want to bore people but I kind of got swept up in remembering & rambled a bit.

The next day we toured again with Percy after another yummy breakfast (and a post-breakfast coca tea for fortification!). We had been looking at the O. ruins from our room and finally got to visit them. Walking up was a bit breath-taking (in more ways than one). The view of O. from the top was fabulous. Percy pointed out the incredible stonework and explained a lot about the Inca's building techniques and how the way the stones are staggered and cut to fit around corners and angled made the structures strong enough to withstand earthquakes. I think the ruins at O. showed the formal stonework the best of any ruins we visited (maybe including MP?) - don't miss checking them out.

Next stop was Pisac. The view, again, is amazing. The terraces on the mountainside - just awesome. We walked along a fairly scary path (I have a terrible fear of heights so my opinion probably shouldn't count) on the side of the mountain to get to the ruins. There was a big group of high-school kids on a field trip and somehow we got right in the middle of them so all of their joking around & jostling (totally fearless!) added to my nervousness. I really felt like dropping to my knees and crawling at points where the path was especially narrow. The structures there are not too extensive but the view of the surrounding area make it an awesome stop (starting to repeat adjectives already -- everything we saw was awesome, amazing, and beautiful!).

At each site we visited there were people at the entrance trying to sell their wares -- handmade items, bottled water, rain ponchos, snacks, etc. I didn't think the vendors were particularly aggressive - a simple "no gracias" worked, but they are everywhere. They're just trying to make a living and I respect that.

We visited the Pisac market next. It seemed way more touristy than the Chinchero market (Chinchero had a lot that was not for tourists at all). Each stall at Pisac had almost identical things for sale - which mostly weren't homemade or even locally made I would guess. But there were some good deals to be had.

We had choclo at the market - ears of maize with huge kernels that some ladies were boiling and selling. Delish! You just walk around the market pulling of kernels and eating them - a great snack. Our lunch there was also good - can't remember the name, Dona or Dora something? - it was right on the edge of the market.

Spent the end of the afternoon walking around O. again and having another good dinner. I had packed a bunch of cereal bars just in case but the food we had was fantastic the entire time.

The next day was our big day: Machu Picchu at last! We got a ride from the hotel to the O. train station (maybe 5 minutes away). The Vistadome was one rail car that had maybe 50 seats. They served drinks and a boxed snack of cake and sandwich -- I had eaten the good Sauce breakie again so I packed my snack in my bag to take to MP for lunch.

When planning the trip I was confused about how much luggage to take - I had read about limits on the train and that most people left their suitcases at their hotel and just took a little bag to MP. Since we were not going back to the same hotel I didn't think that could work so we made sure we only took a duffle bag each, not a suitcase so that we'd be allowed to take everything on the train. That worked okay -- the train porter took our duffles and wedged them next to the door because there was not room in the overhead rack. But if everyone had brought such big bags it would be a problem. So it probably is best to leave your main bag and only take a small overnight bag if possible....but the train employees were very helpful and I think they'd make it work out no matter what unless you tried to board with a major suitcase.

The ride from O. to Aguas Caliente took only an hour and a half and was very scenic -- snow-capped mountains, rivers, etc. As we got closer to AG the plant life changed with the climate and there were ferns and bromeliads and tropical looking plants (could they have been palms of some sort? don't know).

At the station we were met by a rep from the Sumaq who took our bags away - that was nice. Also, Percy had arranged for a guide to meet us and take us to MP. We appreciated having someone lead us to the spot to buy our bus tickets and explain that we didn't need to buy the MP tix down in AG (as I thought) but we could buy them up at the site entrance. As I say it was nice being met but it would not be necessary. Everything is right there, a short walk away and easy to figure out.

We got on a bus and 20 minutes later were entering MP. Wow. Words can't explain how special it is. Just magical. The first view you get is the classic shot you've seen in every guide book - looking over the whole site with Huanya Picchu behind it. HP: I knew ahead of time I was too chicken to do that climb but seeing it in person confirmed that I could not have done it. Maybe once you start climbing it's not so death-defying, but from the ground it looked almost completely vertical and you could make out teeny little stairs clinging to the side. Not for me!

We spent the next 3 hours walking around with the guide (not Percy) who showed us a lot & explained what the different sections were used for. Truly, I think we would've enjoyed it more to be just by ourselves. I had brought a good book on MP that we used later in the afternoon when we were alone and that would have been a better way to go, I think. Our guide talked too much about the symbolism of different shapes you can make out in the rocks and in the distant mountains -- that didn't interest me too much. I guess it just depends on the guide you have, but I say do it alone with a good book.

After we parted ways with him we paused for lunch. The smooshed sandwich I had from the train wasn't too appealing by then so we treated ourselves to the $30 buffet at the Sanctuary Lodge right at the entrance to MP. Only because the snack bar area next door was packed and it was starting to look like rain. It killed me to spend $60 on lunch -- every other fantastic meal we'd had cost maybe $15 to $20 for two -- but it at least was a good buffet and a chance to relax for a few minutes. Of course the danger with an expensive buffet (for me) is I have to get my money's worth so I pigged out entirely and regretted it a bit later when we were hiking again. Pretty stupid. Why did I eat that 4th dessert?

We stayed at MP until about 4:30 and then headed down. I had tried to determine ahead of time whether we'd want a 2nd day there but after 6 hours we felt we had done enough. I know that some people disagree and recommend 2 days (or more) but if you're not a "hiker" you can get a good feel for everything in one day. Of course, if the weather had not been so nice we would've wanted a 2nd day so I think it makes sense to spend the night in AG and have the option of day two if you want it. I think if you plan to come & go in one day you're leaving a lot to chance after traveling such a long way, but that's just my opinion.

The Sumaq was a very upscale hotel. I had read that most other hotels in AG (besides the Inkaterra & Sanctuary Lodge) were more modest so we splurged on the Sumaq for one night (I think $400).

Unfortunately, I started feeling "off" the minute we checked in & got to enjoy our room's lovely marble bathroom (with huge showerhead, jacuzzi tub) up close & personal (TMI?).
I missed out on the included dinner in their fancy restaurant.
I forced my husband to go alone and he said it was excellent.
I didn't want to take any chances so I started taking cipro right away. OK, probably overkill and an abuse of antibiotics - maybe Pepto would've done the trick. But it felt too similar to the mummy tummy I had in Egypt earlier this year and I really really didn't want to go through that again. The cipro (or just time) worked and I was okay by the next morning when we checked out.

After 4 spectacular sunny days we awoke to a down-pour. How lucky to not have to go up to MP in that weather. We had to walk to the train station in the rain but at least the hotel delivered our bags so it wasn't too bad. Funny: my husband went to the front desk to ask about the shuttle to the station and they kind of laughed and said, no senor, no cars. Duh - AG is accesible only by train so clearly there aren't a bunch of cars there! I guess they brought the buses in on a train - I think they were the only vehicles we saw there.

We shopped a little in the market outside the train station and caught the 12:30 Vistadome back to O. We had chosen to get out there and taxi to Cusco rather than ride the rest of the way since the O. to Cusco portion is almost 3 hours.

Percy had told us what was fair to pay a taxi driver and said to make sure you are talking about the prices in soles or dollars and that it is for both people not each. He also recommended a taxi just for 2 people not letting them cram a bunch of other people in. That worked and we got a taxi for 60 soles. It was a bit more than the price Percy had said but there were only 2 taxi guys around the station so not a lot of room to negotiate!
He made the drive in record time -- I just shut my eyes for parts of it. Wow, do they know how to pass on those roads - not like at home where we would be stuck behind a slower driver -- they will pull out into oncoming traffic on a blind curve with no guardrail and it's all good somehow!

The Torre Dorada is Cusco was a very nice hotel. Super clean, newly built, nice rooms. The owner Peggy and her staff go out of their way to be helpful and friendly. It felt like staying in a friend's house rather than a hotel. It is on the outskirts of Cusco rather than downtown in the historic district but they drive you in anytime you want with only a couple of minutes notice and also pick you up -- all for free. So we didn't think it was inconvenient to be away from the town center - maybe if we had been spending more time there but for 2 days it was a non-issue.

The only problem I had was with dogs barking at night but I don't think you can fault the hotel for that and possibly the dogs in downtown Cusco bark all night also - there were lots of dogs in the city. Unless you're a light sleeper you probably wouldn't hear them.

After checking in we got a ride to the Plaza de Armas and explored that area and the San Blas neighborhood. So cute! The narrow stone streets, the terra cotta roofs, gorgeous cathedral & churches, lots of pretty landscaping in the plazas, nice shops and art galleries. There really was a lot to see. And hanging out on a park bench people-watching was a good time, too.

The temperature difference from the Sacred Valley to Cusco was noticeable. Especially in the late afternoon when the wind picked up. By night I was trying out one of my new alpaca hats & gloves -- even though during the day in the bright sun it was warm enough to not need a jacket. Layers are the way to go.

We ate dinner at the Inca Grill on the Plaza de Armas - really good -- and had them call the hotel to come pick us up. Again we were asleep early - maybe missing out on the Cusco action but after walking around for hours we were both exhausted (maybe the higher altitude also was taking a toll but not in a very bad way).

The next day we again met with a guide to do a tour of Cusco and the surrounding area. The ticket we bought our first day in the Sacred Valley included a lot of ruins just outside of Cusco. Percy had set up this guide also and he was really fantastic -- Antonio Aguila. We saw several ruins including Saqsaywaman which is huge and awe-inspiring.

Another alpaca showroom stop -- there was no pressure to buy but I did get a sweater I didn't totally need. You just feel like you're in alpaca country so that's the thing to do!

Back in the city proper we visited the Cathedral - beautiful. Notice the armrests in the choir room -- each chair has pregnant topless women carved in wood....blasphemy! Those and the face of Pizarro on Judas's body in the Last Supper painting are interesting examples of the locals getting over on the Spaniards during the building of the cathedral, I guess.

bookmarking

Ugh I just lost a whole section I typed about the last day - went away when I hit "edit" -- oh well.
This report has turned out to not be as mini as I thought. Sorry if it's too much day-to-day detail.

Where was I? OK, in Cusco after the cathedral we went to Qorikancha, the sun temple. The Spaniards thought it was solid gold but then realized it was gold plate and promptly scraped the gold off to melt down. It was interesting to see the remaining foundation of the Inca temple with the Spanish building plopped on top.

After saying goodbye to Antonio we walked around some more around San Blas and found the restaurant we were looking for - Granja Heidi. Another yummy dinner and then back to the Torre Dorada. I know, I know, we're wimps but after walking around for 8 hours we were beat and hit the sack by 9 pm. We didn't experience any of the music or dancing that we probably could've in Cusco but the long days at altitude just wore us out.

The next day we had a late check-out and headed to the Cusco airport around noon for a 4:30 flight. Way too early - hard to kill time there, there's not much in that airport. But we had hoped to get an earlier flight - no luck. At least in the Lima airport we could window-shop and sit in a restaurant to kill the 5 hours we had there.

One suggestion: after you check-in at Lima airport, go directly to pay your departure tax. You can then backtrack to the terminal - you don't have to proceed from the tax window to security and your gate if you don't want to. Then you avoid the possiblity of a long line later. That happened to us - after sitting doing nothing for 5 hours we started to head to our gate and got stuck in a long line there. A moment of panic but the line moved pretty fast.

Some other thoughts: it's true about US currency needing to be completely rip and wrinkle-free. They closely examined each bill before deciding to take it or not. The soles could be old, torn, scuzzy bills and it didn't matter.
We got all of our soles from ATMs and had no problem. There was only a 5 sol ATM fee from that machine and none from my bank. ATMs give out big bills so we always tried to use them in restaurants since smaller stores or street vendors couldn't break them.

It was hard to get used to not flushing toilet paper. Thankfully that wasn't necessary in Cusco. Most of the public bathrooms we used did have paper in them but some didn't so always have your own with you.

We flew on LAN Peru and what a great airline that is. The planes were new and clean and had individual monitors in each headrest to watch your choice of movies or tv shows or play games. And they served a real meal (at midnight) with real silverware and wine (free!). A far cry from the American flights we had in the states. We had no problems making our tight connection in Miami (2 hours). There was hardly anyone around and no lines at 10 pm. We ran - literally - around the airport and ended up having tons of time to wait at the gate. We checked our luggage all the way through from Philly to Cusco and it arrived on time with no problem.

The weather mid-October was lovely - sunny and ranging from 50s at night to 70s during the day. We only saw rain the one morning at AG. I packed very light - my duffle bag weighed only 15 lbs - and was happy with what I took. 3 pairs of pants, plus the one pair I wore, 3 short sleeve shirts, 2 long sleeve, one fleece pullover, one light jacket that had a fleece lining. 2 pairs of trail running shoes (in case one had gotten wet) but I only wore the one pair. And long-johns which I did wear to sleep in although the beds had layers and layers of very warm wool or alpaca blankets.

Bug spray is a must at MP - nowhere else. Took Diamox but never used it. Took Cipro and did use it. Oh, important - take a hat. I burned my scalp from not wearing one all the time and not having sunscreen there. Sunscreen is a must, too.

My overall impression of Peru - the small part we saw - is it is a magnificently beautiful country. The people we met were consistently warm and friendly. I can not say enough about the smiling, happy attitudes of everyone we met. And not to be cynical but it didn't have the feel of "I'm smiling to get a tip" it was a genuine concern and warmth, it seemed to me.

This is the ugly American thing, but I assumed more people would speak a little English and quite often that was not true. So I got to dredge up my middle-school Spanish and somehow was able to get by. Making that effort seemed to go a long way -- people would really try to help you and figure out what you were trying to say. Of course they got a little chuckle once in a while from my tortured syntax.

If anyone has any questions I'd love to try to answer them. This forum was invaluable to me in planning our trip and I'd love to return the favor.

Oh, and here is a link to some pictures if anyone is interested. I did edit the 670 we took down to only a little over a hundred!

http://picasaweb.google.com/jamison.leslie/Peru#

Leslie - overwhelmed with work at the office, but I am thrilled to see you have not only continued with your report, but have also posted a link to photos. Looking forward to looking at it all tonight - at least I'll have a virtual way to get away from the office for a little while :-)

Leskie_S ... just wanted to say thanks again ... love all the detail you provided and enjoyed the photos.

It would help if I could spell correctly ... didn't mean to mangle your name :-(

OMG, i love love love your pictures! I am trying not to look at many more before we go, but yours are lovely! What kind of camera did you use? Such sharp colors and focus, and great composition in the pics too.

I have some ?s but like eenusa I have to get some work done...so check back.

What a great report! Thanks for taking the time to write it. Loved your pictures as well.

Thank you so much for posting this informative report.

I have a similar trip that I hope to do and have found your itinerary and accommodation report very helpful.

The photos are wonderful!

Cheers,


Pol

Leslie_S:

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bravo!

I enjoyed your report. We have only been home for 2 weeks, following 3 weeks in Peru, and your stories are making me miss the fun we had while there. I even recognized some of the photos I took, in your album. It is nice to know that someone else found the same scene interesting enough to warrant a photo. We, too, loved Ollantaytambo. But after moving on to Cusco, Juliaca and La Merced, we fell in love with them, too. We even liked Lima, even though we are not city dwellers. Give me a small town any time. We had to give up a week in Bolivia due to civil unrest there. But the Bolivian exchange student we had hosted 20 years ago was able to fly to Lima, so we were able to catch up on her life and family. Not the trip we had planned, but there was so much to see in Lima and we took taxis everywhere!

We came home to find my 86 year old mother in the hospital. Being the only sibling living nearby I have spent the last 2 weeks making daily trips to the hospital and, now, nursing/rehab center. So much for putting together my own trip report. Thanks for posting yours!

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback! I'm glad people enjoyed what I wrote.

emd- the camera was just a point & shoot Sony with 5 megapix - several years old. Nothing fancy but it does do a good job, I think.

eenusa - I've been called worse things ;)

rolncathy -sounds like you had a great trip too -sorry about your mom

Leslie_S
First of all..I am not your guide Percy !!!

Thank you for the lovely report.
I was there last year and it was fun reading an following your adventure...to the same places I was.

My impression of Macchu Picchu was like yours...no matter how many pictures you have seen of Macchu Picchu
...when you finally come to the top of the steps and look down... you are right it is Wow !!!

I am glad you did all of the Scared Valley from Pisac to Macchu Picchu.

Like you also I was impressed with the stoneworks at the Ollantaytambo ruins and at Macchu Picchu.

I thought to myself...how did they do that so perfectly back then.

I too was in a house in Ollantaytambo where there were about 60-70 of those little animals ( cuys) right in the middle of the living room floor.

I enjoyed all your pictures.
Thank you again.
and finally...

Your pretty ..but I am sure your husband already knows that :)

Percy