We traveled to Peru from November 10-27, and here's our report! Our trip was arranged by Melissa Cox at International Expeditions, who was wonderful to work with.

Chapter One: Cusco and Machu Picchu
After transferring through the Lima airport, we arrived in Cusco, where we were met by Nancy from Peruvian Odyssey, the tour operator responsible for the Cusco portion of our trip. She informed us that, due to a transportation strike in Cusco, no taxis or buses were running and that she had arranged alternate transportation for us to our hotel. When we walked outside the airport, we saw that the local police were transporting us! We saw crowds marching in the streets, but there was nothing threatening or violent about the demonstrations. We arrived at the Libertador (a lovely hotel, and our room had a great view from its rooftop patio), then met our guide Fernando for a walking tour of Qoricancha and the cathedrals on the Plaza de Armas. The buildings are beautiful, but it's a little sad to see Catholic churches built out of the stones of dismantled Inca monuments.
The following day, the strike was over, and we were able to take our tour of the Sacred Valley, which included Chinchero, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, Pisac, and a little village called Willoq up a dirt road from Ollantaytambo. The Urubamba River Valley is extremely beautiful, and the Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo are very nice. We really enjoyed seeing the people wearing traditional garb and going about their lives in a way that seems little changed since Inca times. Interestingly, the women seemed to wear traditional clothing, even if they weren't connected with the tourist industry in any way. We ended the day watching the sun set from Sachsayhuaman and taking some great night pictures of Cusco from the Christo Blanco overlooking the city.
The next two days were spent at Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes. There is no word for Machu Picchu other than "magnificent." We had the great fortune to have perfect weather both days we were there, and were also very happy to have stayed the night in Aguas Calientes. When the train arrives from Cusco, the ruins are crawling with tourists and their guides. Late in the afternoon, the site is almost empty and has a completely different feel to it. We stayed overnight at the Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, which was excellent and surrounded by beautiful gardens teeming with birds.
After finishing our second day at Machu Picchu, we spent several hours walking around Aguas Calientes, which was a lovely town. We then headed back to Cusco by train to get ready for the next part of our trip.
Some quick commentary on Peruvian Odyssey. Everyone from that company we came into contact with was extremely professional. In addition, our guide Fernando was quite simply superb. He was knowledgeable, attentive and went out of his way to make our experience a great one. We would recommend him without hesitation.
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Chapter Two: Tahuayo Lodge
After a sad goodbye to Fernando in Cusco, we headed to Iquitos (via Lima). On arrival, we went to the Amazonia Expeditions Lodge on the Tahuayo River, approximately 90 miles by boat from Iquitos. We began seeing tucuxis (gray river dolphins) almost immediately, and continued to see them all the way to the lodge. We spent the next week at the lodge, taking hiking and canoeing trips several times a day, as well as visiting local villages. Our guide, Weninger, was a 26-year-old from a local village, and he was excellent. He was not very talkative, but his knowledge of the rainforest plants, animals and birds was encyclopedic, and he was extremely skilled at spotting animals in the trees. After a couple of hikes through the jungle, we quickly decided that we enjoyed the boat and canoe trips more, so we concentrated on those. We saw lots of birds and animals, boto and tucuxi dolphins, and did some pirahna fishing as well.
The Lodge itself is very rustic, with no electricity, shared bathrooms and showers (cold water only), and little in the way of modern conveniences. The food was good and the accomodations were comfortable, especially when the temperature cooled down at night. We spent a lot of time in the hammock room, and one of the great benefits of the lodge was being able to hear the sounds of the jungle at all times. The lodge also had a number of pet birds: two macaws, two parrots, and a young aracari. I particularly enjoyed playing with Chico Malo, a somewhat mischievous scarlet macaw.
The lodge assigns guides to guests individually, and allows guests to design their own itineraries. If you have a specialized interest in birds, fishing, jungle survival, or anything else, this is the place for you. We really enjoyed not only our own guide, but also the other guides we came into contact with. If you want a really authentic nature experience and don't mind roughing it, we would recommend the lodge. (www.perujungle.com)
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Chapter 3: Amazon River Cruise
After spending a week at the lodge, we traveled back to Iquitos for a couple of hours touring the city and the markets in Belen, which we found fascinating. We said goodbye to our guide from the lodge and went to meet the group for our 1-week cruise on the Amazon with Jungle Expeditions. We were originally supposed to be on the Amatista, but mechanical problems with that ship caused them to put us on the Turmalina instead.
First, the good points about the cruise. The itinerary takes you into some really great wildlife viewing areas, and we saw a number of birds and animals that we had not seen at the Lodge. It was also nice to have air conditioning, hot water showers and other modern amenities again. We also really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the other people on the cruise with us (a total of 25 people, mostly from the United States, but with five people from the Netherlands as well).
On the minus side, we did not think the guides on the cruise were as good as those at the Lodge or the guide we had in Cusco. The cruise ship did not seem as luxurious as we had thought it would be from reading the marketing materials and watching the video we had received before the cruise. The activities on the cruise appeared to be geared to appeal to an older, less active clientele (I am 33 and my wife is 31). We found ourselves missing the Lodge almost immediately after boarding the cruise.
Although we did not enjoy the cruise as much as the previous portions of our trip, it was still worthwhile, as we saw lots of wildlife and birds. Whether the cruise was worth the hefty price tag is a much closer question. We definitely did not feel that the level of service on the cruise lived up to the expectations created by the cost and the marketing materials. However, a large number of the other guests on the cruise seemed to really enjoy it. If you're young and active, or if you want the ability to pursue individual interests like birding, the cruise is probably not the best choice for you.

The Final Day: Lima
We did not have any time in our schedule to stay in Lima, but we did spend a few hours touring the city on our way back home. We liked what we saw of Lima (other than the horrendous traffic), and especially liked the colonial city center and Miraflores. We had dinner at "La Rosa Nautica," which was excellent. We then got on our overnight flight back home.

Overall, we had a great time in Peru. We would love to return to Lima and Cusco some day. Having now experienced the Amazon, we probably wouldn't feel the need to repeat it, but we are very glad we did it. Another notable thing is that the Peruvian people we came into contact with were very friendly and welcoming of foreigners. We felt safe and welcome everywhere we went.

P.S. Regarding high altitude in Cusco and surrounding areas: we took Diamox and experienced no problems, other than the altered taste of carbonated drinks. However, the effects of the altitude were apparent any time we exerted even the slightest physical effort. Be prepared for this!

Please post any questions -- we'll be happy to answer them.

Great trip report. We also went with International Expeditions, to Amazon (ACEER) and Cusco-MP. Was a great trip.
Thanks for the memories.

Thank you for the trip report. Do you have any restaurant suggestions for Cusco?
-Sharon

Cusco has literally dozens of restaurants in and around the Plaza de Armas. We were only there for a few days, but here is where we ate:
(1) Pucara. This is where we ate dinner with our guide and his wife, and it appeared to cater mostly to locals. The owners are Japanese, but the food is Andean and, according to our guide, very authentic. I didn't get the impression they spoke much English there, but the menus had pictures of every item.
(2) Don Antonio. This is a very large restaurant that caters to big tour groups, and features excellent food (again, local Andean food, including cuy!) and a show featuring dancing and music. We made a reservation in advance by talking with the owner via e-mail, and he even sent us a special greeting while we were there. This is a touristy place to be sure, but the food is good and the show is too.
(3) Inka Grill. This is a very nice, upscale place where the waiters speak English, and the menus are available in Spanish or English. The food was very good, and so was the service.
Beyond those, we can't give you any personal feedback in Cusco. We also ate lunch at a Sonesta Hotel in Urubamba (which was excellent) and at a place called Toto's in Aguas Calientes, which we also enjoyed. When you are at Machu Picchu, you are pretty much forced to eat at the restaurant at the Sanctuary Lodge, which is right outside the gate to the ruins.
Let us know any other questions!
Chris

Chris - Thank you for the restaurant input. We'll be spending about three days in Cusco during the middle of February and are looking forward to revisiting Cusco.

One more question, did you go to Sacsayhauman on your own? We are thinking about walking up to the ruins and I've wondered how many people would be at the ruins during off-season. We were there in June of 1999 a week before Inti Raymi and again at Inti Raymi. So we saw it before at peak tourist time.

Thank you,
Sharon

Sharon, we were carted around by our guide from Peruvian Odyssey to everywhere we went, so that's how we got to Sacsayhuaman. When we got there, it was very late afternoon and starting to rain a bit, and there were very few tourists there. In retrospect, it would have been better to spend less time in the market at Pisac (which didn't impress me very much) and get to Sacsayhuaman sooner.
Anyway, sorry I can't answer your question about getting there on your own, but at a minimum I can highly recommend Peruvian Odyssey if you want to pre-arrange a tour.

Chris, I am very interested in your amazon lodge experience. How many others were staying at the lodge while you were there? Did you try the ziplines? Am I correct that your guide was assigned directly to you so that you could figure out your own itinerary daily with his assistance...and you did not have to go with a group? We are considering Cuzco, MP with the Inca Trail followed by a week stay at either Tahuayo or Explorama. Any addl info regarding your personal experiences at Tahuayo would be appreciated. Thanks!

When we arrived at the Lodge, we were the only guests there. Later that night, one other couple from Florida arrived, and it was just the four of us for the next few days. About midway through our stay, two ladies from Canada showed up. Finally, the day before we left, a group of 8 more people arrived.
Our guide was assigned just to us, and the other people had their own guides. We could pick from whatever activities we wanted to do. We ended up talking with our guide when we arrived and planning out pretty much the whole week in advance. We ended up doing some activities with the Florida couple, but they always had their guide with them, and we ours. It was the personalized experience that we really liked at the lodge.
Yes, we did the zipline. The system is remarkably engineered and extremely safe. You get some great views of the forest from up there. We did not see very many birds or animals up there, though.
I can give you a lot more detail on the lodge, so e-mail me if you have some more questions at [email protected] (delete nospam from the address). Overall, we really enjoyed the lodge a lot and would recommend it to people who want a really authentic experience and don't mind the rustic accommodations and lack of modern amenities. Since you are doing the Inca Trail, I would guess you'd fall into that category.
I'd also encourage you to talk with Dr. Paul Beaver, the owner of the Lodge. Just call the 800 number, or e-mail him. He is extremely helpful.
Good luck planning your trip, and e-mail me with any other questions about the Lodge.
Chris

Chris, thanks for the great report. My husband and I will be taking the Amazon Cruise with International Expeditions in August 05, on the Amatista. One of my hesitations in booking this originally was our fear that the cruise might be geared towards an older, less active crowd (we're not as young as you--in our 40's--but quite active and fairly serious birders.) Although we don't expect it to be a strictly birding tour, we are really hoping that there will be opportunity to see a good number of birds, both on the water and from the land excursions; and that the guides are knowledgeable about the flora and fauna.

So, now your report gives me a little pause--although too late to change our plans. I am also curious as to why you considered the service on the cruise less than what you had expected. We are used to roughing it, having travelled in many remote areas; and are not "cruise" people in the general sense, so to us the ship looks quite comfortable. Anything specific that you can elaborate on? How was the food?

No matter, we are excited about the trip! We also will have a few days in Lima before our departure and plan to eat at Rosa Nautica as well.

On the subject of birding, we had several very serious birders on our trip, and they really enjoyed it. They counted 125 species during the week of the cruise plus another 50 on the Machu Picchu extension. The problem is that the cruise is not oriented totally toward birding -- there are visits to villages to meet the local people, and the guides try very hard to find mammals like sloths and monkeys, because a number of people on the cruise will be more interested in that than birds. Having said that, the area the cruise goes through is absolutely swarming with birds, so if you are into that, I think you will really like it.

In terms of the level of service on the boat, we just did not think the quality of the guides was as high as we had gotten on the previous two stages of the trip. I can give you more detail on this, just e-mail me at the address listed above in my 12/22/04 post.