Just back from a wonderful Peru adventure
Jun 1st, 2009, 11:22 AM
#41
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I'm back after a few days hiatus. Still trying to whip those photos into shape, but I'm almost there...
May 10, 2009
After enjoying one last hearty breakfast at Pakaritampu, it was time to bid a fond farewell to Ollantaytambo and return to Cusco. We loved Hotel Pakaritampu and would highly recommend it to anyone planning a stay in the Sacred Valley. A charming hotel in an equally charming town…
As we started carrying out bags out to the car, the nice porter who had welcomed us to the hotel a few days earlier ran over to help us. He then proceeded to completely wipe down our car with a damp cloth (it still was all dusty from our Maras mis-adventure). With our trusty Toyota sparkling in the morning sun, we set out in plenty of time to return the car to the Cusco airport by noon… In theory...
Our drive back to Cusco was pretty uneventful. We knew where the turn off for Chinchero was because we had taken part of that same route to Moray/Salineras. It was another beautiful drive although I think the scenery along the route between Cusco and Pisac is more dramatic. It didn’t take long at all to reach the outskirts of Cusco. We stopped along the way to top off the car’s gas tank before returning it (this was the only time we put gas in the car, so we hadn’t even used a full tank for our various driving excursions). The gas station attendant spoke no english and after some brief confusion over whether or not we wanted a receipt, he handed us the credit slip copy and a roll of toilet paper. Huh? It was a full roll of TP, still in it’s paper wrapper. AB tried to wave it away, but the man said “Es un regalo” (It’s a gift). So we graciously accepted the roll and continued on our way. It currently sits on a shelf in my bathroom. The paper wrapping says it was manufactured in Arequipa. Perhaps one of the oddest souvenirs I’ve picked up in recent years... I was thinking I ought to put it in a little glass case with a small hammer attached and a “In case of emergency, break glass” sign.
Anyone else have any other suggestions?
The gas station attendant had told us to stay on the current road to get to the airport. It curved steadily out of the foothills and into the city. We had our Hertz map out and thought we had a good handle on where the airport was situated. We were right, but quickly hit one of those “You can’t get there from here” scenarios. At one point, we found ourselves on a big wide boulevard that ran parallel to the actual airport, but couldn’t find an entrance from that side! You’d think we could have just gone around a corner or two to get to a street that did have an entrance, but it wasn’t that easy (at least not for Las Tres Idiotas!). Every street we came across was either one-way, closed for construction, or something similar. Once we had cleverly decided to circumnavigate the airport area in a wider swath (in an attempt to make our approach from a completely different direction), we quickly got lost in a maze of side streets and got so turned around that we weren’t even sure where the airport was anymore! We would stop and ask directions every few blocks of any pedestrian we could find, but seemed to be caught in an endless loop. Our noon drop-off time had come and gone, and we were hoping we wouldn’t be charged for an extra day. LB finally took control of the situation and flagged down a taxi. We ended up paying the cabbie to lead us to the airport; a la The Amazing Race. The airport turned out to be ridiculously close by down a street we had mistakenly thought was one-way.
The next obstacle was the drop-off procedure. The airport porters and security guards seemed confused when we asked if there was a drop-off lot for Hertz. As usual, people generally tried to be helpful, but it quickly became apparent that they must not get a lot of foreign visitors renting vehicles in Cusco; either that, or the language barrier was just getting in the way... We eventually got the car situated in the short term parking lot and called the cell phone of the Hertz agent (thank goodness she had given that number to us!). She told us to sit tight and someone would arrive to pick up the car shortly. We tried to explain our fender bender, and the fact that we had an accident claim number from American Express. She told us that Javier would look the car over when he came to pick it up and we’d go from there.
Javier showed up on foot about 15-20 minutes later. He spoke no English but when we pointed out the scratch on the front bumper and did our best to explain and hand him the Am-Ex claim info, he just shook his head and got on the cell phone with the Hertz agent. After hanging up, he managed to convey that the scratch and dent were not significant enough to bother with. No claim was necessary. He even said something to the effect that he was surprised we had called his attention to the damage because it wasn’t that bad. He was very nice and there was no mention made of us returning the car late. We were in the clear!
We heaved a collective sigh of relief and started looking for a taxi to take us to our Cusco hotel. Javier figured out what we were doing and offered to drop us off on his way back to the Hertz office. It was wonderful to have a driver behind the wheel who knew the lay of the land!
So after all this, would I recommend renting a car in Peru? I think I would, but would include a caveat about the wacky driving conditions in Cusco, and the fact that it’s extremely helpful to speak even a little bit of Spanish for when you get lost or need to have someone push your car out of rut on an otherwise deserted dirt road!
May 10, 2009
After enjoying one last hearty breakfast at Pakaritampu, it was time to bid a fond farewell to Ollantaytambo and return to Cusco. We loved Hotel Pakaritampu and would highly recommend it to anyone planning a stay in the Sacred Valley. A charming hotel in an equally charming town…
As we started carrying out bags out to the car, the nice porter who had welcomed us to the hotel a few days earlier ran over to help us. He then proceeded to completely wipe down our car with a damp cloth (it still was all dusty from our Maras mis-adventure). With our trusty Toyota sparkling in the morning sun, we set out in plenty of time to return the car to the Cusco airport by noon… In theory...
Our drive back to Cusco was pretty uneventful. We knew where the turn off for Chinchero was because we had taken part of that same route to Moray/Salineras. It was another beautiful drive although I think the scenery along the route between Cusco and Pisac is more dramatic. It didn’t take long at all to reach the outskirts of Cusco. We stopped along the way to top off the car’s gas tank before returning it (this was the only time we put gas in the car, so we hadn’t even used a full tank for our various driving excursions). The gas station attendant spoke no english and after some brief confusion over whether or not we wanted a receipt, he handed us the credit slip copy and a roll of toilet paper. Huh? It was a full roll of TP, still in it’s paper wrapper. AB tried to wave it away, but the man said “Es un regalo” (It’s a gift). So we graciously accepted the roll and continued on our way. It currently sits on a shelf in my bathroom. The paper wrapping says it was manufactured in Arequipa. Perhaps one of the oddest souvenirs I’ve picked up in recent years... I was thinking I ought to put it in a little glass case with a small hammer attached and a “In case of emergency, break glass” sign.
Anyone else have any other suggestions?The gas station attendant had told us to stay on the current road to get to the airport. It curved steadily out of the foothills and into the city. We had our Hertz map out and thought we had a good handle on where the airport was situated. We were right, but quickly hit one of those “You can’t get there from here” scenarios. At one point, we found ourselves on a big wide boulevard that ran parallel to the actual airport, but couldn’t find an entrance from that side! You’d think we could have just gone around a corner or two to get to a street that did have an entrance, but it wasn’t that easy (at least not for Las Tres Idiotas!). Every street we came across was either one-way, closed for construction, or something similar. Once we had cleverly decided to circumnavigate the airport area in a wider swath (in an attempt to make our approach from a completely different direction), we quickly got lost in a maze of side streets and got so turned around that we weren’t even sure where the airport was anymore! We would stop and ask directions every few blocks of any pedestrian we could find, but seemed to be caught in an endless loop. Our noon drop-off time had come and gone, and we were hoping we wouldn’t be charged for an extra day. LB finally took control of the situation and flagged down a taxi. We ended up paying the cabbie to lead us to the airport; a la The Amazing Race. The airport turned out to be ridiculously close by down a street we had mistakenly thought was one-way.
The next obstacle was the drop-off procedure. The airport porters and security guards seemed confused when we asked if there was a drop-off lot for Hertz. As usual, people generally tried to be helpful, but it quickly became apparent that they must not get a lot of foreign visitors renting vehicles in Cusco; either that, or the language barrier was just getting in the way... We eventually got the car situated in the short term parking lot and called the cell phone of the Hertz agent (thank goodness she had given that number to us!). She told us to sit tight and someone would arrive to pick up the car shortly. We tried to explain our fender bender, and the fact that we had an accident claim number from American Express. She told us that Javier would look the car over when he came to pick it up and we’d go from there.
Javier showed up on foot about 15-20 minutes later. He spoke no English but when we pointed out the scratch on the front bumper and did our best to explain and hand him the Am-Ex claim info, he just shook his head and got on the cell phone with the Hertz agent. After hanging up, he managed to convey that the scratch and dent were not significant enough to bother with. No claim was necessary. He even said something to the effect that he was surprised we had called his attention to the damage because it wasn’t that bad. He was very nice and there was no mention made of us returning the car late. We were in the clear!
We heaved a collective sigh of relief and started looking for a taxi to take us to our Cusco hotel. Javier figured out what we were doing and offered to drop us off on his way back to the Hertz office. It was wonderful to have a driver behind the wheel who knew the lay of the land!
So after all this, would I recommend renting a car in Peru? I think I would, but would include a caveat about the wacky driving conditions in Cusco, and the fact that it’s extremely helpful to speak even a little bit of Spanish for when you get lost or need to have someone push your car out of rut on an otherwise deserted dirt road!
Jun 1st, 2009, 12:28 PM
#42
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Your car misadventures have been hilarious to read - not sure I'd have been so calm and collected ... either that or you put on a really good "word face" on things. Fun reading ... waiting for the rest.
Jun 1st, 2009, 03:09 PM
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Putting on a good "word face". Excellent term, eenusa!
I was very fortunate in my choice of traveling companions for this trip. We're pretty good at finding the entertainment value in most situations. We'd get stressed while in the thick of things, but were able to quickly rebound once each crisis had been averted.
Leslie_S, I'm sorry you missed the full Vistadome experience. It helped to make that return trip to Ollanta fly by, and watching our fellow passenger's facial expressions as they watched the onboard entertainment was entertaining in its own right!
I was very fortunate in my choice of traveling companions for this trip. We're pretty good at finding the entertainment value in most situations. We'd get stressed while in the thick of things, but were able to quickly rebound once each crisis had been averted.
Leslie_S, I'm sorry you missed the full Vistadome experience. It helped to make that return trip to Ollanta fly by, and watching our fellow passenger's facial expressions as they watched the onboard entertainment was entertaining in its own right!
Jun 3rd, 2009, 09:05 PM
#44
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I have finally gotten my pictures to the point where they're organized enough to show.
If anyone wants to take a look they are located here:
http://cmerrell.smugmug.com/gallery/...36322657_e7VKW
My photography skills are very amateur at best, but I hope you enjoy anyway!
If anyone wants to take a look they are located here:
http://cmerrell.smugmug.com/gallery/...36322657_e7VKW
My photography skills are very amateur at best, but I hope you enjoy anyway!
Jun 4th, 2009, 04:48 AM
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cmerrill, I took a look at your pics. They are great! really brought back memories, esp. the ones of Rumi Punku. Re the one aboutt eating Mexican and Pizza at Chez Maggy's-- my son had a pizza w/eggs, pineapple, and ham and whatever else at Chez Maggy- it sounded awful when he told me about it but he said it was the best pizza he ever had.
(And you do not look like a dork!)
(And you do not look like a dork!)
Jun 4th, 2009, 09:12 AM
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Your photos gave me a quick trip back to Peru. You have some very interesting photos - proving the adage that it's not the camera, but the one behind it that makes the photos. Thanks for sharing. (Left you some comments in your gallery ... hope you don't mind!)
Jun 4th, 2009, 02:31 PM
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Thanks for the nice comments, guys! I really appreciate it.
I had actually made a mental note of the fact that your son really liked Chez Maggy, emd. When we happened to see it as we explored Cusco, I suggested to my friends that we give it a try. We all thought the food was great.
Owlwoman, I hope you will make it to Peru at some point. I bet you'd love it. I'm very spoiled this year and actually get to go to CR later this month (including BdC)! I'm very excited, but don't want to gloss over the wonderful Peru experience in the midst of getting ready for Costa Rica. Hence, my long-winded trip report here so I can savor those details and memories...
You're welcome to comment on my photos anytime, eenusa. Thanks for identifying the rufous collared sparrows and spiny whorltale iguana (and the cuy food ;-) ). I try to get good id's on birds and animals whenever I can, but didn't have much luck looking online in these cases so I'm glad you were able to supply the information!
Lastly, if there are any NBA basketball fans out there... Go Magic!
I had actually made a mental note of the fact that your son really liked Chez Maggy, emd. When we happened to see it as we explored Cusco, I suggested to my friends that we give it a try. We all thought the food was great.
Owlwoman, I hope you will make it to Peru at some point. I bet you'd love it. I'm very spoiled this year and actually get to go to CR later this month (including BdC)! I'm very excited, but don't want to gloss over the wonderful Peru experience in the midst of getting ready for Costa Rica. Hence, my long-winded trip report here so I can savor those details and memories...
You're welcome to comment on my photos anytime, eenusa. Thanks for identifying the rufous collared sparrows and spiny whorltale iguana (and the cuy food ;-) ). I try to get good id's on birds and animals whenever I can, but didn't have much luck looking online in these cases so I'm glad you were able to supply the information!
Lastly, if there are any NBA basketball fans out there... Go Magic!
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