Peru/Winter 2008
 

I have relied on this forum consistently and that means it is time for me to hit the ball back, so to speak!

We are just back from Peru and we had a wonderful time. We generally don't take tours and this trip was no exception. We aren't sure why, but most people feel they need a guide for Peru. Nothing is further from the truth!

I'll start this post off in Lima, since that was our first destination:

We flew Delta Airlines from Minneapolis to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Lima. They did a great job keeping flights on time, even if it did pretty much take all day.

We stayed at the Radisson in Miraflores. They had a taxi waiting for us at the airport when we arrived and it cost us about 30 soles (ten bucks) for the 45 minute drive. This was quite the treat for us since we tend to stay in family run establishments but the price and the location was good, so we went for it.

The first day, the hotel arranged for us to hire a taxi for the day from one of their approved companies. Lima is not a country where you want to just get into any old taxi--anyone who has a car can be a taxi and you don't know what you might get yourself into. There is no regulation at this time.

We first had him take us to the Convento y Museo de San Francisco. This is a beautiful church, catecomb and convent in the historical section of Lima and well worth the hour or so it takes to go through it. All tours are guided.

From there, we had our driver take us to the National Museum. If you think a national museum is going to be extensive, you are wrong about this one. There were two sections of this museum (the building is huge) open for exhibits--one with ancient artifacts and one totally devoted to the bloody conflict with the Shining Path. Now, this is all well and good unless you are unprepared for the gore and it is both sickening and gory. A very important example of what we humans of capable of doing to ourselves but I wasn't prepared for it and I wish I had some idea of what I was walking into before I did it. All in all, I probably wouldn't take the time to go there again or recommend it unless you are working on research and you can't find the same info on the net.

The plan was to head to the Larco museum after that but we were tapped emotionally, so we went back to the hotel and had drink at the hotel bar before we headed out on our own. The Park of Love with the statue of an embracing couple by Victor Delfin. It is a very nice little park over looking the ocean and we spent quite a bit of time watching parasailers jump off the cliff nearby and glide by us. Now there's a leap of faith!

From there, we walked over Larcomar
Mall and had dinner. Dinner was nothing special but we did see a stunning sunset. The mall is a fun place to visit even if you just window shop.

Since we flew out of Lima, we did manage to see the Larco museum and I would highly suggest it to anyone visiting the city. The gardens surrounding it are beautiful and the collection fantastic. It is a shame some of it (their collection is amazingly extensive) isn't in the National Museum.

Lima is what it is, a big city with all the things that go along with a big city. Bad traffic, smog and poverty. It is also exciting, vibrant and proud and it its own way, special. Time and time again we find that it isn't the cosmetic things we remember but the people we meet and the people of Lima were kind and caring everywhere we went. We enjoyed our stay there!

The next day we got up early and flew LAN to Arequipa where we stayed at the Sonesta Posadas del Inca Arequipa. What a beautiful city!!! We wished we would have planned at least two days here instead of just one. The hotel was right on the Plaza and we had a great view of the square and the cathedral. Our room was great and we'd highly recommend the accommodations.

Our first stop was to Museo Santurarios Andinos where we were able to see the ice maiden Juanita and the artifacts that were found with her and a few other mummies found in the nearby mountains. It was a great little museum and we felt very privileged to have had an opportunity to see it.

From there, we walked to Monasterio de Santa Cataline. Wow, wow, wow. If you missed the convent in Lima, never fear, this is better!! It is a fantastic place and if it doesn't give you a feeling for what a life of piety is, nothing will. At the same time, it is beautiful with its quiet streets, flowers and teracotta colored buildings. Just lovely.

We spent the rest of the time there walking around the town. The people in this town are fantastic--they all seem to have a great sense of humor and we had a great time people watching.

The cathedral opened up for service that evening and we were able to stop in and see the interior which had been closed earlier in the day. It has a peach and white carved plaster and is a light and happy place--different than what you normally see in Latin American churches.

Third stop, Cusco. Thank God we flew there from Arequipa because I was having pretty bad breathing problems by then and I think the air in the plane was exactly what I needed. It was so hard for me to breathe my back hurt! I drank coca tea like I was dying of thirst and was fine by evening.

The historical center of Cusco is beautiful but it doesn't hold a candle to Arequipa. Traffic is worse and you can't move 20 feet without some hawker trying to sell you something whether it is a photo with a farm animal or a painting made by Michelangelo or Pablo Piccaso himself. I give these kids credit--saying your name is Pablo Piccaso is pretty darn clever!!

We stayed at the Hotel Ruinas and again, would recommend it to any of our closest friends. It is clean, convenient and has a nice restaurant and bar area. The staff are fantastic.

The first day we went to the cathedral and hired a guide at the door to show us around. The guide was great and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think it was the first time we hired a guide to go through a church and it is such a good idea! The painting of the Last Supper is fantastic and in excellent condition.

From there we visited the church kitty-corner from the cathedral. We hadn't planned on seeing it but stopped in and it looked interesting, so we hired a guide there, too.

Oops! Didn't mean to stop there.

Anyway, both churches were worth the time--about an hour each, I believe.

From there, we found our way to the tourist information office and purchased our boletos for the nearby ruins. After we did that, we had a quick lunch and then walked around Cusco which is a great walking town with very interesting architecture. There's a daily market the locals go to and that was fun to walk through. I wish we could get produce like that here!!

Our last stop of the day was to the Inca Museum which was fantastic. If you have time to visit there before heading to the ruins, I would recommend you do so.

We're going in April - looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

Yes please continue...and hurry!

How many days total would you recommend for independent travel R/T Lima-Cusco-MP-Lima. I'd like to spend at least one extra night at AC..Inkaterra?