P_M Peruses Peru--Trip report
 

Hi all. I've already posted this report in the lounge as most of my crazy friends are there. But of course it needs to be in this forum as well so here it is. For those who don't know me, I always release a silly audio trailer before a report. The link to that trailer will be included. I recommend a good stiff drink before listening to my trialer, I told you it's silly. Enjoy!!

Trailer link:

http://share.ovi.com/media/briwik.public/briwik.10003


This report is longer than I intended so here are a few headings in case you care to jump in at any point:

1. Lima
2. Puno/Lake Titicaca
3. The bus ride from Hell
4. The Inca Trail/ Machu Picchu
5. The jungle and getting lost in the jungle
6. Summary: What I liked and didn�t like about Peru

LIMA:
Flights to Peru were uneventful and I was impressed with Lan Peru�s good service. Peru is quite doable independently. But I was traveling solo and I don�t like having too much time by myself so I booked a tour with GAP Adventures. Another reason I took a tour is that I wanted to hike the Inca Trail and that is only allowed with a licensed guide. Even if you were allowed to do the Inca Trail on your own it�s not a very good idea, but more about the Inca Trail later. GAP Adventures is primarily for active budget travelers so it attracts mostly 20-30 somethings. I was the granny of the group at age 44, but I didn�t have a problem with that.

I flew into Lima a day before the tour began so I had a chance to explore Lima on my own. I have read mixed reviews about Lima on this board so I didn�t know what to expect. My hotel was in the Miraflores district which is a very nice part of town. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by Lima. On my first day I booked a city tour, but the guide wasn�t available until the afternoon so I had some time on my own. I got a city map and saw the beach was nearby so I took a walk. When I got to the beach I found the coastline was absolutely beautiful. There were huge sea cliffs with flowers and parks all around. It reminded me of the California coastline.

After strolling around on the cliff that overlooks the Pacific I eventually wandered back the hotel to meet my guide for the city tour. This was a private tour with my own guide and driver and the cost was $40. I though this was reasonable as I only had one day to see Lima and we covered a lot of ground in the time we had. We visited the major sites in Lima and I was impressed to see dozens of soldiers and cops, as well as big army tanks in front of the Presidential Palace. I am told that some tourists to Lima are put off by seeing tanks and big guns all around. But since my last 2 trips were to the Middle East, I felt right at home.

My favorite stop on the tour was the San Francisco Cathedral. The guide took me through the cathedral and pointed out many paintings and other points of interest. I liked this guide because I never felt rushed. Then we went down to the crypt. I know this is creepy, but I did enjoy seeing the crypt. I suppose my morbid side took over and I thought it was cool (in a spooky kind of way) to see thousands of bones and skulls. It�s just not something you every day and seeing odd things is the reason we travel, right?

I came back to the hotel, freshened up, met with my group for our briefing, then we all had dinner. The people in the group were young folks from all corners of the world. I knew right away that despite being the granny of the group I would still have a great trip.

PUNO/LAKE TITICACA:
The next morning we flew from Lima to Juliaca, then drove to Puno. This was where I first went into “altitude shock.” Lima is at sea level but Puno is at 12,500 feet, so just about all of us were feeling the pain. Most people had nausea and searing headaches. I didn’t have that, but I immediately felt a constant fatigue, and I’m sorry to say this feeling never left me while at that altitude. I immediately decided not to drink alcohol for a few days as I hoped I would acclimate. I have always been told that age and fitness are not good indicators of how one will react to a sudden altitude change and I believe that is true. Hold that thought….

The next day we went on an all-day boat ride on the HUGE Lake Titicaca. This is the highest (in altitude) navigatable lake in the world. Lake Titicaca is shared by Peru and Bolivia. The water is a gorgeous blue and mountains are all around. We stopped at a couple of islands along the way, then we did a home-stay with a local family on Amantani island. This island has no cars. There is no regular electrical service however there are some solar panels on the island so the people can have just a few hours of electricity per day.

Our group was split up and 2 people were assigned to each home. A male solo traveler in my group and I were assigned to stay with a family for the night. The house where we were assigned was about a mile from the boat dock and it was all uphill. It was a tough hike since we had only been at that altitude a short time but we made it. The host family spoke no English but that’s OK because I can always use some practice with Spanish. At first the host mother led us to “our” same room. Now in the absence of other options I believe this guy would have been a perfect gentleman if we had to share a room for one night. However as a married woman I didn’t really want to do this unless it was absolutely necessary. I explained to the host mother (in my broken Spanish) that the man from my group is not my husband, in fact I barely know him and I would like my own room please. She seemed a but puzzled at first and I don’t think she truly understood the situation but eventually showed me to another room. Whew!!

Once we were settled into our homes for the night we went to the town square to watch the local kids play soccer. Tourists were invited to join the game but I was so out of breath from the climb, I decided to save my strength. Our group then went back to our respective host homes to have a home-cooked meal with the family. The guy from our group and I enjoyed our dinner with the host mom and her daughter, Vanessa. Vanessa and I had a very nice chat in Spanish, as she spoke slowly and clearly enough for me to understand. The kitchen was very rustic with a wood-burning stove and it was separated from the rest of the house. After dinner the host mom asked if we would like some tea. When we accepted, she put on some water to boil and went outside to pick something from her garden to make tea. I don’t know what that tea was, but it was very good.

After dinner the host mom helped us dress up in traditional Peruvian clothing and we went to a party in town. There was a band playing and we did Peruvian dances for a couple of hours. It was so much fun as I love any kind of dancing. But my lungs were screaming for me to stop because the fatigue from altitude was really kicking in and we finally returned to the house. The temperature that night was below freezing and the house had no heat. (mind you, June is winter in Peru) But that’s OK because my bed had 4 alpaca wool blankets so I slept comfortably. At the dance I had made a point of not drinking much water so I wouldn’t have to get up in the night and use the family out house. That’s right--there was no regular toilet in the house.

The next morning our host mom cooked breakfast for us, walked us down to the dock, and we said goodbye. We sailed around the lake again, this time stopping at the Floating Islands. The Floating Islands are man-made islands in the lake and they literally DO float!! They are made of a thick layer of reed bark, then several feet of reeds are on top of that. The island is then anchored down so it won’t float away. All of the homes on the island are made of reeds so they must be replaced frequently and they are not water-proof. We spent some time seeing how the people live in these islands before returning to Puno.

THE BUS RIDE FROM HELL:
The next day we took a public bus (the South American version of Greyhound) for a 7-8 hour ride from Puno to Cuzco. At first I thought it was really cool that I got a seat in the very front row, but little did I know this would be a front row seat to a terror ride. I never knew the true meaning of the word “fear” until this bus left the station. The driver drove like an absolute bat out of Hell on those windy, narrow 2-lane roads. If an animal ran out into the road he didn’t slow down, he just swerved wildly. The roads full of potholes and I don’t think he missed a single one. This man must have been a British race car driver in a former life because he was driving very fast and half the time he was on the left side of the road. If he saw a police car approaching, he would pull his seatbelt around him, pretending it was buckled, then let it go as soon as the cop was out of sight. Through it all he was eating and drinking. I don’t know what he was drinking, sometimes it’s best not to know. We had been told there would be no stops along the way (which later proved to be wrong) so I thought I had no choice but to use the nasty toilet in the back of the bus. Does anyone remember my description of the toilet on the Egyptian train, where urine was sloshing around on the floor? Well, this toilet was almost as clean as the Egyptian toilet. Also, we were instructed the toilet is only for #1’s and #2’s are forbidden so I ate lots of cheese with breakfast. I don’t know how I managed to follow this rule, as that driver certainly scared the sh*t out of me!!

When the bus pulled into Cuzco I jumped off the bus, danced with glee and kissed the ground. OK, I didn’t kiss the ground, but I was happy and relieved to be alive!! We went to our hotel and had our briefing about the Inca Trail. Some people in the group went out for dinner at a place specializing in guinea pig, a traditional Peruvian dish. I couldn’t stomach the idea so I stayed back at the hotel and ordered room service. When the group returned nobody had anything good to say about eating guinea pig, not to mention the cost of roughly $25 per person. Meanwhile back at the hotel I enjoyed my room service meal and it cost me a whopping $3. Most people were quite disgusted by the guinea pig experience and they wished they had stayed back w/me.

The next day we toured the Sacred Valley which was some of the most spectacular scenery up to that point. We went on to spend the night in Ollantytambo which is a beautiful mountain town near km 82, the beginning point of the classic Inca Trail hike. I was excited about the hike, yet somehow I started feeling some self-doubt. What if I get up there and have a heart attack, break a leg, or fall off the mountain? After all, I am the granny of the group. OMG, can I really do this? Am I taking on too much? All of these thoughts began to scare me more than the aforementioned bus ride, and I barely slept that night.

INCA TRAIL:

First let me tell you a bit about how things work on the Inca Trail. The Inca Trail has strict capacity limits so you must apply for your permit several months in advance, especially if you want to go in the dry season which is May-Oct. (That’s the North American summer, which is the South American winter) Also, you must go with a licensed guide. This includes porters who will carry all of the tents, food, sleeping bags and other gear so you only carry your day pack. The porters will go ahead of the group and get everything set up for lunch, then later they will set up for dinner and the evening camping. In the evenings the porters will get water from the stream, boil it, then you can fill your water bottles for the next day. There are no showers along the Inca Trail until the campsite after Day 3. The total distance of the classic Inca Trial hike is 46 km, or appx 27 miles. The altitude of the trail ranges from about 10,000 to just under 14,000 feet. I had no problem with the distance but as you will see, the altitude proved to be my enemy. The Inca Trail gave me a new appreciation for oxygen.

DAY 1, Inca Trail:

OMG, the day has finally arrived, I’m actually going on the trail!! Yes I decided, I will do this, no matter what. We boarded our little mini-bus and went to km 82. We walked through the checkpoint, crossed the bridge over the river, and I was officially on the Inca Trail!! At first it seemed easy. The trail was fairly flat and the weather was perfect. But there was just one problem, I never fully acclimated to the altitude and pretty soon the fatigue started to kick in with a vengeance.

Before too long we reached our lunch spot and I was feeling very tired. One of the side effects of altitude is a severe loss of appetite, but I managed to eat some lunch. We carried on and I kept finding myself toward the back of the group. In the late afternoon we reached a spot where most groups will camp for the night. However the guide told us the second day of the hike is always a killer because you will go over 2 very high mountain passes, so he wanted to start up the first pass that night. So here I was, dead tired from altitude, and we have to climb another thousand feet. Hence the altitude got even higher and I was so friggin’ tired, but somehow I made it. I went to my tent and collapsed. A while later they called us to dinner and I ate as much as I could but it was a struggle to get any food down.

I went back to my tent and tried to sleep, but another side effect of altitude is inability to sleep. I rolled around in my sleeping bag but I just couldn’t doze off. Around midnight I started to feel very angry. I said to myself, “Why is the altitude kicking my butt like this? Why can’t I adjust like everyone else? WTH am I doing here, I’m a 44-year-old woman!! Am I really that friggin’ old?? And this isn’t even the hardest part of the trail, that comes tomorrow!!!! Why did I sign up for this??”

I was so upset so I got up and went for a walk. Not far of course, it was pitch dark and I wouldn’t dare wander too far on my own. I sat down, looked up at the sky and it was glorious. Not a cloud to be seen and a million stars in the sky. I stared at the stars for a while, then I decided I can’t change the altitude but I can change my attitude. I went back to my tent and managed to choke down a few bites of a granola bar and some water. I told myself that I CAN do this. I’ve got guts, I’ve got heart, and by God I WILL finish the Inca Trail!! There’s no prize for being the fastest in the group and no penalty for being the slowest. I laid down again and finally got a few hours of sleep.

DAY 2, Inca Trail:
The next morning we got up early and the cooks made pancakes with carmel syrup. It looked really good and I knew I needed my strength for the day as the guide told us we would do at least 10 hours of solid walking, and that doesn’t count breaks or the lunch stop. Because of this I was going to eat a good breakfast…or so I thought. I ate about 3 bites of a pancake and my stomach screamed, “NO MORE!!!!’ I tried to eat a couple more bites but it just wasn’t going to happen, my appetite was gone, history, kaput.

We started hiking and once again granny P_M was at the rear. But since my attitude adjustment the night before, being at the rear just didn’t bother me anymore. I began to enjoy the solitude of walking alone in this unique part of the world. On this day we would climb the highest peak called Dead Woman’s Pass, with an altitude just under 14,000 feet. I remember the first time I looked up and saw the pass. OMG, it seemed so high, but I knew I was going to make it!! I climbed and climbed, stopping here and there for water and to try to eat a bite or 2 of food. As I approached the peak, I could hear people in my group (already at the top) yelling, “GO P_M, GO P_M!! I waved at them and kept going. Finally I made it to the top and somebody started playing the Rocky music. We all took pics from the summit of Dead Woman’s pass, then the long climb down.

This came out on another thread, but I REALLY hate climbing down!! I hate it much more than climbing up because when you climb down you are looking down. Of course there is no railing so that makes it even scarier. But I made it down, then up the second peak, at my snail’s pace, of course. By that time there was another young lady (age 23) in the group that was struggling with the altitude, even more than I was. It just goes to show once again that age and fitness have no bearing on how one will handle altitude. So this young lady and I became fast friends as we both spent hours bringing up the rear, and I discovered we had a lot more in common than I had imagined.

Toward the end of the second day we came into the cloud forest, which ironically had no clouds at all. The vegetation started to change, as I saw all sorts of trees, plants, orchids and ferns we had not previously seen. The rest of the group had already made it to camp but my young friend really started to wear out. The rear guide said she would stay back with my friend, so I forged ahead. I walked through the forest alone, but it was so exciting because I was in such mystical surroundings. I stopped for pics as often as I wanted or just to stare at the wonder of my surroundings. I made it to camp and dinner was waiting—if only I could eat!! That night I slept a little better.

DAY 3, Inca Trail:

I had always heard that Day 3 was the most scenic day of the journey. This was hard to imagine because every place we had seen was so fine!! But they weren’t kidding, Day 3 was truly the best. For one, we didn’t have any huge peaks to climb on Day 3. But mainly it was great because the scenery just kept changing. Along the way we saw snow covered mountain tops, Inca ruins, we walked through a couple of caves, and we saw orchids galore!! And best of all, the campsite that night had hot showers and a BAR!! OMG, was I ever happy to see that bar. I first went for the shower as my smell was intolerable even to a wild pig. Then my pals and I went for the bar. The guide came into the bar to invite us to see the ruins nearby and I suppose we should have gone. But by that time we were enjoying the bar so much, we opted out of the ruins and ordered another bottle of wine. I know it’s not good to drink when you are suffering from altitude sickness, but it only takes on drink to have a good buzz going so no complaints. But I still didn’t stop at one. Heehee….


DAY 4, Inca Trail and Machu Picchu/Cuzco
The next morning we awoke around 4am so we could get to the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu before sunrise. It was still very dark and we had to walk with flashlights and headlamps. We were all quite unhappy to see some clouds had rolled in, as we were very afraid we would not be able to see Machu Picchu at sunrise. I’m sorry to say our fears were realized. We reached the Sun Gate which is supposed to be a glorious view of Machu Picchu at sunrise. I looked thru the Sun Gate and saw nothing—absolutely NOTHING!! We waited 45 minutes thinking the clouds would lift. Although we had already missed the view of Machu Picchu at sunrise, at least we hoped we could still see it from the Sun Gate. But no, that would not happen at all. The clouds were so thick it was like Machu Picchu wasn’t even there. I almost cried.

We walked down the trail to the place where they have that “classic view” of Machu Picchu, you know, the one you see on postcards. This is where we were to have our group picture made. But there would be no classic view as the clouds were still thick as peanut butter. We took a group pic anyway with no Machu Picchu behind us and we kept waiting for the clouds to lift. By this time it was 2 hours since we arrived at the Sun Gate and we still hadn’t seen Machu Picchu. My heart sank. I had wanted to see Machu Picchu for so many years and here I was, but I just couldn’t see it.

The guide said we had to go to the main gate to register so we did. We had to check in some items such as our hiking poles, then we could back into the park. We did all this, came back thru the gate, and OMG, the clouds were moving away!! The clouds kept moving, then they moved a little more. And suddenly, like a beautiful giant rising out of the ground, there was Machu Picchu in all her glory!! We all grabbed our cameras and snapped pics like crazy, for fear the clouds would come back. But those nasty, peanut buttery clouds didn’t return. For the rest of the day a few thin clouds swirled around the peaks, adding to the mystique of Machu Picchu, and the views were spectacular!!

Suddenly my spirits lifted and I couldn’t wait to see the city. Our guide took us around and showed us the primary sights before giving us time on our own. I just wandered around, taking it all in. I felt so thankful for finally being able to see this wonder on earth, it was a lifelong dream. After what seemed like endless wandering around on my own, I said a sad goodbye to Machu Picchu but I promised to return someday. I took the bus down to Aguas Calientes and had dinner with my group.

While in Aguas Calientes I decided to check out a bath house with natural thermal springs. Surprisingly nobody else in the group wanted to go so I went on my own. I went to the bath house and when I got into the pool I saw everyone was drinking beer. I asked where to get a beer and they said to wave my hands in the air and yell “Hey CARLOS!!” I thought this was a set-up, like taking someone snipe hunting. But I did it anyway, and a few seconds later “Carlos” appeared with a beer. This was a very relaxing way to recover from my hike and I chatted with some lovely people in the pool. I went back to meet the group and we took a late train back to Cuzco.

The next day I spent time exploring Cuzco. I visited the Cathedral which rivals anything I’ve ever seen in Europe. I did a lot of walking, just enjoying the sights, sounds and colors of Cuzco. A day later the tour ended for most of the group, except for 3 of us who had taken the extension to visit the Peruvian jungle.

THE JUNGLE:

I flew with 2 other people from my group to Puerto Maldonado. When we landed, suddenly my lungs were very happy as they were enjoying the low altitude and tons of oxygen for the first time in over a week. Just a few miles from the Puerto Maldonado airport we turned on a horrid, bumpy dirt road with creaky wooden bridges and we were on that road for about 2 hours until we reached the river. Then we boarded a motorized canoe and traveled 4 hours into the Peruvian jungle, and that’s where we joined another group of about 20 people. It was a long day but we finally pulled up to a very muddy dock. We trudged across slippery wooden boards and up a long flight of wooden steps. Then we walked about ¼ mile into the jungle to find our lodge. When I finally saw the lodge I was blown away at how nice it was. Not “nice” in the sense of the Four Seasons Hotel, but nice in a very rustic and peaceful kind of way. The lodge did have a bar which was a welcome sight after such a long day of traveling. By this time it was the early evening so everyone relaxed at the bar before dinner.

We had a briefing in the lobby of how things work at the lodge. Our rooms would have running water but no hot water or electricity. (I knew this in advance of the trip) The rooms have just 3 walls, as one side is completely open to the jungle, not even screens. The beds have mosquito nets which must be used. The lobby of the lodge has solar electricity only from 5:30-9:30pm for lighting and to cook food. Otherwise there is no electricity except in the kitchen where food is cooked and stored. All meals were provided to guests at the lodge, bar drinks are extra.

So much to tell about the jungle but I’ll try to be brief. As I mentioned above one side of my room was open to the jungle which was weird on the first night. I knew that any critter could come to visit while I slept, so I kept waking up thinking a jaguar was in my room. But somehow I got past it and slept well the second night. There were no doors to the rooms, just curtains. Quite obviously room keys were not needed but each room had a safe. We were advised to keep all food and snacks in the safe otherwise animals would come in and steal it.

We went on lots of guided walks thru the jungle and saw all sorts of animals, such as monkeys, many colorful birds, ant beds the size of pitcher’s mounds, huge butterflies the size of my hand, with the most vibrant shades of blue and turquoise I’ve ever seen. We saw few caimans, which is a type of gator except it’s black and it’s eyes have a red glow in the dark. We saw a very odd pig-looking thing that has webbed feet and a strange head but I can’t remember what it’s called. We first saw the web-footed pig thing from a distance as we were coming into the jungle on the boat but little did I know I would have a much closer encounter later that night…

One afternoon between hikes I was relaxing in my room and facing the jungle when a HUGE snake appeared, just a few feet away!! Like any devoted tourist I rushed to get my camera. But that snake very rudely slithered away before I could get a pic. I was not a happy tourist.

LOST IN THE JUNGLE
The day hikes were a lot of fun, but the night time hike was a little crazy. Just before dusk we went on a boat ride and saw even more colorful birds. Then it got dark and the bats came out. These bats were much bigger than the ones I see here in Austin, and they were flying all around us. We eventually got off the boat to hike around and see more animals but not many were to be found. The boat was to pick us up at another dock. I was walking just behind the guide and I started getting a sense that something was wrong, as the guide was looking very confused. He would start to make a turn, then come back saying, “No, this way.” This happened several times and it was making me uneasy. By then it was really dark and even with flashlights it was hard to see where we were going. I then heard a rustling sound in the bushes and suddenly, right in my face was a web-footed pig thing, about 4 feet tall!! I screamed out loud, “Oh my God, it’s the pig-thing!!!!” The poor pig thing got scared and ran away making an awful sqealing sound. I bet the pig thing hates tourist season.

We finally found a dock but no boat was there. We knew this wasn’t the right dock because it obviously wasn’t used much. This dock had no stairs, it was just a steep muddy slope which several people (not me) fell into the mud, but nobody was hurt. We asked the guide if he could make a call to tell the boat driver where we were, but that’s when we discovered the guide had no phone or walkie-talkie. Can you believe that? How stupid to take a group hiking in the jungle and night with no means of communication!! And I know for a fact that cell phones work because I turned mine on and got a signal. But a lot of good it would have done because the boat driver didn’t have one either.

With no better means of communication we all started shining our flashlights and yelling for help. We screamed and yelled for what seemed like forever but probably not more than 30-45 minutes. All the while, mosquitoes and other bugs were chowing down on us. Finally we saw a boat coming around the bend of the river toward us and thank God it was our boat. I’m glad they found us and we weren’t stuck there for very long. But we were all really pissed they didn’t have any form of communication and this needs to change. We were all tired and ready just to go back to the lodge, but they still hadn’t done the caiman hunt so they wanted to do that before returning. At first I was not happy about this, but once we saw our first caiman I was very glad we didn’t skip it. As I said above, a caiman is a black gator with eyes that have a red glow in the dark. We found several caimans swimming around us in the river. It was creepy seeing those red eyes in the water, gliding toward us. But despite the creepiness it was a thrill.

The next morning we made the long boat journey back to the dock, then the long ride down that same bumpy road which eventually let to the Puerto Maldonado airport. From there we flew to Lima. I had one more evening in Lima then I took the red-eye flight home. I didn’t do much that evening except shower and repack for the trip home. As always I had that sad, sinking feeling I always get when a trip ends. But that sad feeling always goes away when I remember I will soon be home with DH and my baby dogs.

SUMMARY, What I liked and didn’t like about Peru:

Let’s start with what I didn’t like because there isn’t much. I am a great dog lover and didn’t like seeing so many stray dogs. I’ll spare you the details of what I saw, but I do wish Peru would get animal control to help these poor animals. And I didn’t like the bus ride from Puno to Cuzco, although I’ve since learned there are better bus companies available. GAP Adventures uses a cheesy bus company.

What I did like: Peru is CHEAP even in this world of the weak dollar. I think the most expensive meal I had was somewhere around $20 and that was a fancy, overpriced tourist joint. Most meals were about half that or less. I loved the food and never had a bad meal, but I suppose that’s partly because I skipped the guinea pig dinner. I liked the Peruvian people who were all very nice and welcoming. I met only a few rude people, so few they are not worth mentioning. The scenery, OMG there’s not enough time in the world to tell you how breathtaking the Andes mountains are. But as much as I loved the mountains and especially Machu Picchu, I have to say the jungle was the best part of the trip for me. It’s hard to explain why. Maybe it was just the peacefulness of the lodge and being in a remote place with so many animals. The jungle was such a unique experience and one which is becoming increasingly harder to find in our industrialized world. I hope to go again someday and revisit all of these fascinating parts of this diverse country.

PERU ROCKS!!

Thank you for reading.

THE END

P. S. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of the knowledgeable posters in this forum. Some time ago I posted a thread asking if I should do the Inca Trail or not. As you have seen from my report, it was harder than I expected due to altitude sickness, but I still wouldn't trade that experience for anything. So a special thanks to those of you who encouraged me to do the Inca Trail. Fodorites are the best!!

Your report is a delight. Thank you so much for taking the time to post. I enjoyed reading it immensely. I am glad your experience on the Inca Trail was a good one. As one who told you you could skip it, I have to say, good for you ignoring my advice. Rock on, PM...where to next?

Great trip report, great reading, would love to do this trip, but my husband can't breathe above sea level (I call him darth vadar when we go any higher than 5,000 ft). Maybe I'll be as brave as you and do it solo one day (without the Inca trail though).

P_M - great report (and I was reminded of how much I enjoyed your Egypt one too!)

I wonder if you would have acclimated better if the tour had started in Cusco not Lake Titicaca? We did it in that order (and actually got out of Cusco right away to Ollanta for the lower altitude). Or perhaps it's just something one can't predict? Did you take Diamox?

Were you happy with GAP (other than the bus ride?)

So glad you enjoyed it - thanks for the report!

Hello and thanks to all who have read my report. Elizabeth, unfortunately I didn't take Diamox but I will get some on my next trip to a high altitude. I did chew the coca leaves and that helped a little but the people who took Diamox did a lot better so that will be a must from now on.

In many ways I did enjoy GAP and I would probably travel with GAP again. Our guide was very knowledgeable and the Inca Trail staff were superb beyond words. Hotels were very basic but adequate and the trip as a whole was a great value.

I have only a few minor complaints, most are not worth mentioning except the following: We had one situation where the hotel in Cuzco had overbooked. Of course that's the hotel's fault, not GAP's. (this is the hotel where we stayed just before the Inca Trail hike. We returned to Cuzco for a couple of days after the hike) There were supposed to be 2 people max to each room but due to this overbooking, some of us had to bunk together. Subsequently I had to share a room with 2 ladies I barely knew but it was only for one night. We all got along fine and our room was suitable. Additionally there were 3 men in our group who got bumped so those 3 had to share for the night. I think that would have been OK for these men if a decent room could be found, but that didn't happen. There was a very nice hotel just across the street from our hotel, but the guide couldn't get authorization from GAP to use that hotel. Subsequently they were sent to another hotel and it was a horrible dive. They were given a dark, dirty room in a basement with cinder block walls, and the toilet had no seat. They absolutely refused to stay there so our hotel (the one that bumped them) said they did have a room but it was flooded and the carpet was still wet. The guys looked at the flooded room and said it was still less objectionable than the filthy basement room at the other hotel, so that's where they were stuck for the night.

Most of our hotels were 1* to 2* quality but still adequate for our needs. However when we returned from the Inca Trail to Cuzco, the hotel above was still overbooked so we were sent to a hotel that should not even get a 1* rating. A few people in the group got rooms so dirty they had to change. My room wasn't great but I kept it, reluctantly. Once again, the hotel overbooking was beyond GAP's control, however when something like this happens, I think they should upgrade us instead of downgrading us.

Despite these little glitches it was a great trip indeed. GAP was a good experience overall and I do recommend it, especially for budget travellers.

cmcfong, I truly appreciated all advice I received when I posted that thread about the Inca Trail. I'm sure it would have been a great trip if I had skipped it. But in the end I decided the Inca Trail won't get any easier as I get older so I went for it. ;-)

As for where to next, it looks like Turkey is on the horizon. :-)

owlwowman, that's funny about Darth Vader!! :-))

Bookmarking thanks

P_M, what was the name of the jungle lodge where you stayed?

P_M, great report. Brought back memories of my trip a year ago (although we didn't hike the Inca trail). My daughter and I went on our own and had a much better bus experience between Cusco and Puno (Inka Express). Thanks for posting - I enjoyed your report immensely! (Egypt is next up for us, in February, so I'll check out your Egypt report that Liz mentioned.)
Karen

emd, I'll look it up and post that info later.

althom, I'm glad you enjoyed the report. Here's a link to the Egypt report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35098673

emd, I found it. The lodge was Posadas Amazonas and I highly recommend it.