Day 1 - Day 3: On the Gringo Trail
Oct 28th, 2010 | 03:50 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 44
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Day 1 - Day 3: On the Gringo Trail
A slightly overdue trip report.....here goes:
Got back from a memorable trip to Peru a couple of weeks ago. This was an independent solo trip and I received some great tips on this forum. So, thanks everybody for your excellent suggestions and for posting your trip reports!
Resources: Lonely Planet guide book, tripadvisor.com and fodors.com.
Trip highlights: Cuzco, Inca Trail, Machu Pichu, Pisco Sour, Coca tea and shopping.
Day 1: Arrived in Lima on an American Airlines flight a little after 10:30 PM. Flight was over an hour late. I made use of the money exchange booths in the baggage claim area. The exchange rate was not bad. Pedro, from San Antonio Abad was patiently waiting for my arrival. A sentiment other travelers have often expressed and which I now share is that it's nice to see someone holding a sign with your name on it when you've just landed in a foreign country. Miraflores was a 30 min drive away. By the time I checked into the hotel and went to bed, it was after midnight. End of a short Day 1 in Peru. San Antonio Abad was nice, clean and comfortable. The hotel staff were very helpful. I didn't get time to catch up on my sleep that night because I had to be at the bus station in a few hours...by 4:00 AM!
Day 2: Took the first bus out of Lima headed to Paracas. Traveled by Cruz del Sur. Highly recommended. I had gone expecting a Greyhound but was instead greeted by a bus hostess and super comfy seats! We got to Paracas a little after 8:00 am. Boat tour companies were waiting at the bus station to receive passengers with advance reservations. I didn't have any but was lucky to find space in one of the boats leaving for Islas Balletas. It's probably a good idea to book a boat tour in advance because there isn't much time to purchase tickets and head to the piers after arrival. The tour of Islas Ballestas lasted about 3 hours. There were a lot (and I mean a lot) of birds, penguins and sea lions. And then there was a lot of guano. The tour was interesting but I'm not sure I was blown away by anything I saw. Back on land, Paracas looked like a sleepy uninteresting town. I took the afternoon bus (Cruz del Sur again) onward to Nazca. Reached Nazca around 3:00 PM and checked into a hostel after an unsuccessful trip to the airport in hopes of flying the Nazca lines that afternoon instead of the next morning as planned.
Day 3: After having finally caught up with some much needed sleep, I woke up refreshed and headed to the airport. It was barely 8:00 am but the place was bustling with activity. Before long, I was on a small plane with 3 other passengers and 2 pilots flying over the Nazca lines. The lines are difficult to spot at first but there are plenty of photo opportunities during the flight. The 30 minute flight gets over all too soon (I was glad I hadn't eaten any breakfast). It was an interesting flight especially when you know that these lines were carved over 2000 years ago but it seemed a bit anti-climactic to me.( I was especially disturbed to learn that a plane carrying 4 British tourists crashed later the very same day killing everyone on board.) There's not much else to do in Nazca. I took an afternoon bus to my next destination - Arequipa. It was Cruz del Sur again. The bus ride to Arequipa is 9 hours long and for an extra $10-$15, the VIP seats are definitely worth the price! The bus journey was comfortable. We got to Arequipa around 11:00 PM that night. Getting a taxi, even at that hour was easy and I was at my hotel in no time.
more to follow....
Got back from a memorable trip to Peru a couple of weeks ago. This was an independent solo trip and I received some great tips on this forum. So, thanks everybody for your excellent suggestions and for posting your trip reports!
Resources: Lonely Planet guide book, tripadvisor.com and fodors.com.
Trip highlights: Cuzco, Inca Trail, Machu Pichu, Pisco Sour, Coca tea and shopping.
Day 1: Arrived in Lima on an American Airlines flight a little after 10:30 PM. Flight was over an hour late. I made use of the money exchange booths in the baggage claim area. The exchange rate was not bad. Pedro, from San Antonio Abad was patiently waiting for my arrival. A sentiment other travelers have often expressed and which I now share is that it's nice to see someone holding a sign with your name on it when you've just landed in a foreign country. Miraflores was a 30 min drive away. By the time I checked into the hotel and went to bed, it was after midnight. End of a short Day 1 in Peru. San Antonio Abad was nice, clean and comfortable. The hotel staff were very helpful. I didn't get time to catch up on my sleep that night because I had to be at the bus station in a few hours...by 4:00 AM!
Day 2: Took the first bus out of Lima headed to Paracas. Traveled by Cruz del Sur. Highly recommended. I had gone expecting a Greyhound but was instead greeted by a bus hostess and super comfy seats! We got to Paracas a little after 8:00 am. Boat tour companies were waiting at the bus station to receive passengers with advance reservations. I didn't have any but was lucky to find space in one of the boats leaving for Islas Balletas. It's probably a good idea to book a boat tour in advance because there isn't much time to purchase tickets and head to the piers after arrival. The tour of Islas Ballestas lasted about 3 hours. There were a lot (and I mean a lot) of birds, penguins and sea lions. And then there was a lot of guano. The tour was interesting but I'm not sure I was blown away by anything I saw. Back on land, Paracas looked like a sleepy uninteresting town. I took the afternoon bus (Cruz del Sur again) onward to Nazca. Reached Nazca around 3:00 PM and checked into a hostel after an unsuccessful trip to the airport in hopes of flying the Nazca lines that afternoon instead of the next morning as planned.
Day 3: After having finally caught up with some much needed sleep, I woke up refreshed and headed to the airport. It was barely 8:00 am but the place was bustling with activity. Before long, I was on a small plane with 3 other passengers and 2 pilots flying over the Nazca lines. The lines are difficult to spot at first but there are plenty of photo opportunities during the flight. The 30 minute flight gets over all too soon (I was glad I hadn't eaten any breakfast). It was an interesting flight especially when you know that these lines were carved over 2000 years ago but it seemed a bit anti-climactic to me.( I was especially disturbed to learn that a plane carrying 4 British tourists crashed later the very same day killing everyone on board.) There's not much else to do in Nazca. I took an afternoon bus to my next destination - Arequipa. It was Cruz del Sur again. The bus ride to Arequipa is 9 hours long and for an extra $10-$15, the VIP seats are definitely worth the price! The bus journey was comfortable. We got to Arequipa around 11:00 PM that night. Getting a taxi, even at that hour was easy and I was at my hotel in no time.
more to follow....
Nov 13th, 2010 | 10:20 PM
#5
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
I chose the bus because I wanted to see more of the country. Not to mention they're A LOT cheaper than flights. I also wanted the option of being more flexible with my itinerary. Buses leave fairly frequently. All the buses I took ran fairly on time. The only domestic flight I took (Cuzco-Lima) was delayed by 5 hours!!
Feb 2nd, 2011 | 10:29 AM
#6
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Hi, Nina,
Your report is really helping me plan my May 2011 trip! We'll be following some of your itinerary.
Can I ask you if you made bus reservations with Cruz del Sur in advance? You mention taking an afternoon bus out of Nasca for Arequipa, but their website is only showing an overnight bus that leaves Nasca at 10:00 pm. I'd rather get out of there earlier since you say there isn't much to do there. I don't know whether to book this overnight bus, or take my chances and wait and see if there is an afternoon bus when we get there.
Thanks!!
Your report is really helping me plan my May 2011 trip! We'll be following some of your itinerary.
Can I ask you if you made bus reservations with Cruz del Sur in advance? You mention taking an afternoon bus out of Nasca for Arequipa, but their website is only showing an overnight bus that leaves Nasca at 10:00 pm. I'd rather get out of there earlier since you say there isn't much to do there. I don't know whether to book this overnight bus, or take my chances and wait and see if there is an afternoon bus when we get there.
Thanks!!
