PERU UPDATE MP, Cusco, Inca Trail
 

Below is information just obtained by http://www.lanewuspdate.com from an owner of a small hotel in Aguas Caliente where the tourists are currently trapped. Hope this helps inform.
Regular updates at: http://www.latinamericatraveler.com/...chu_Region.htm
LANEWSUPDATE.COM has just spoken with one of the owners of a hostel in Aguas Calientes. Francisco Seminario of Rupawasi Condor House Eco Lodge reported via telephone that there are helicopters currently evacuating tourists at this time. Yesterday 60 tourists were evacuated. He stated that one of his guests reported that additional U.S. helicopters are being flown in from Colombia and hopefully will begin operations this afternoon. The word is that they are currently in Cusco. However, these helicopters from Colombia carry only five passengers at a time.
Another reports is that individuals were attempting to leave Aguas Calientes by foot to get to the next town which is seven miles away. However, the military and police have stopped pedestrians from leaving due to the dangerousness of the situation. Also, there is a cash shortage is becoming an issue as the ATMS are out of money. Aguas Calientes has not received any new provisions in five days and the situation is becoming critical. Vendors have raised prices to take advantage of the situation.
One source indicated that it is expected it may take two to three days before the evacuation is completed.
http://www.lanewsupdate.com

There is also reports that there was an avalache on the Inca Trail killing a guide and a tourist from Aregentina. A mother of a tourist stuck in Aguas Caliente reported this morning that the internet is spotty in case someone is trying to reach their family. I was about to put down my deposits for hotels/train in Agua Caliente and the Sacred Valley. I sent an email to the owners and will report if I hear anything.

Thank you for the posting. We are 57 days out from MP and a stay at the Rupawasi. I hope that everyone in Aguas Calientas and Cusco is safe and that the track is opened quickly.

Yikes, for those of us who were fortunate enough to hike the Inca Trail, we understand how awful this must be for those poor people. I hope more help will arrive soon.

I heard back from our hotel that we will be staying in this summer, the Kuychi Rumi. He said that they were okay because they are further up the Sacred Valley and that it was the businesses located on either side of the river. I also heard back from our Agua Calientes hotel, the Sumaq and she said they were fine. Just passing this info along in case it helps anyone.

Is this sort of event only a danger around this time of year, or could it happen anytime?

www.weather2travel.com Peru/Cusco Climate guide

only in Jan/Feb usually

Any updates? I hope they are getting things back to normal.

Every so often, there may an occasional landslide that blocks the track, and that has happened at other times of the year, although it's rare. They can usually clear things away in a day. This goes way beyond that.

According to the reports I am seeing online, the evacuation is now complete from MP and Aquas Calientes. But it sounds like it is/was a total chaotic nightmare there.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100130...20100130055418

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs...vacuation.html

OMG, those pictures do say a lot. I am sad to learn things will not be OK for while. I feel badly for everyone involved, especially the Peruvian people who have lost so much.

Hi All, Boston Harbor here, normally of the Asia board. knew if I came here I would find the information I needed. Fordorites are the best.

I have a trip booked for May 18-31 to Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. I was thinking it was far enough out to not have to worry, but after looking at some of the photos of the train tracks and the flooding, OMG. The tracks and railbeds in some places are completely GONE. However, I'm assuming that given the economic crisis to the region that this will bring, the government will do everything in its power to get the trains running again.

I'm going to hold tight and see what happens in a few weeks. I have trip insurance, so I'll rebook if necessary. Fortunately, it appears the ruins themselves are not harmed. Those clever Incas and their drainage systems. How terribly said however, for the Peruvian people and those who have lost loved ones. We are tourists who can change our plans if necessary. It's an annoyance, but certainly not life changing.

BTW, PBS's NOVA is premiering a new program: <b>"The Ghosts of Machu Picchu"</b>. It starts <b>Tuesday Feb 2nd, 2010. </b> I apologize if this has already been posted somewhere. I did a quick search and didn't see it. It looks really interesting. Check this link for description and local listings: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/machupicchu/

I'll keep an eye out for that show, it sounds fascinating. Thanks for the tip.

I have to interject something here. TRIP INSURANCE IS A GOOD THING. My son and I went to Peru last April and he was hospitalized for 5 days in Cuzco. We watched our plans for the rain forest stay evaporate. We were able to get to MP, although we had to cancel our guided hike on the Inca Trail to get there.

Trip insurance paid for everything, the hsopitalization, discharge meds, lost $$ for the Inca trail hike we had booked w/Llamapath, lost hotel reservation money, the huge amt. for the rain forest stay including the private guide we had hired, extra train fees, extra fees for rebooking flights, and even an extra night in Atlanta at an aiport Westin on the way home (due to storms, we could not get out of Atlanta). A total of just over $5000. I had to document it all, but it was not that complicated and I was paid within 3 months after the trip (mostly the delay was due to me taking my time filif the claim).

I will never travel internationally on a big money trip without trip insurance again. It really paid off. And it will pay off for BostonHarbor and others in this situataion w/Peru if need be.

I remember your trip report emd, that was a scary story you told!! I always buy travel insurance. I haven't had to use it yet <knock wood> but you never know....

Thanks for the info on the show...looks very interesting.

I too have reservations to go to Peru from May 20 to May 30. I bought trip insurance as I do for most of our trips, but not the kind where you can "cancel for any reason". I am wondering if the normal trip insurance would cover this situation. I was thinking it would not, and we would have to just go ahead with our trip to Peru, but go to places unaffected by the flooding.
As Boston Harbor said, it is a minor inconvenience for us travellers, but a major catastrophe for those living there. I hope the Peruvian government gives the locals the help they need to get the tourist economy back on its feet.

Hi shelleyk: Your China friends are going from March 8th to March 31st. We will arrive in Cusco on March 20th and tour Cusco, the Sacred Valley and MP until March 27th when we fly to Puerto Maldonado. We are set up with David Choque for the week and have heard from him and he and his famiy are fine. So at this point, we are going to wait and see. I am confident that David will rise to the occassion and we will have a great trip no matter what we see. We are not going to cancel because this portion of the trip is just 1/4 of the total trip. I hope they manage to get an alternate access to MP even if we have to hike in for a day or two. But if not, we will still have a great time. Hopefully things will be better for you in May. Barb and Margee

I am glad to hear David Choque and his family are ok. He was our guide and his wife, Isabel, stayed with me in the hospital and brought me food and drink while my son was there for 5 days.

shellyk, read your trip insurance policy and post back as to whether it covers natural disasters like this. I'd like to know...

Hi Barb-Nice to hear from you again. I know you will have a great time whether you get to MP or not. One sign of a good traveller is the ability to roll with the punches and I think you and I will have to do just that in this situation. BTW, since our trip to China we went to South Africa with Smartours and had a fabulous time. I highly recommend it , if you have not already been there. Please post a trip report on your return from Peru so we know how the clean up and repairs are progressing.

emd3-I don't have time to read the policy tonight, but I will and I will post whether it covers natural disasters such as this.

emd3-
Which company did you buy your travel insurance from? I had used AIG Travelguard for a trip to SE Asia Nov. 2008 and filed a claim resulting from being stranded in Thailand for 6 days when BKK was shut down by the protesters. I had to fight like heck and eventually get my state Attorney General involved to get my claim paid.For my trip to Peru this Sept. I ghave not bought the insurance yet and want to use a good company that takes care of its' customers.

Try insuremytrip.com - they will give you many option. I would probably not use AIG in the future considering the financial mess they got themselves into.

This is discouraging, I just bought a policy thru TravelGuard. Let's hope I don't have to use it.

Double-check that the insurance will pay for natural disasters ("acts of God") like this one. I think that's not always the case.

I hate to say this but it's hard to imagine insurance would reimburse you because one tourist site is closed, even a sight at popular as MP. It might be different if the entire country were uninhabitable, such as Haiti. But I could be wrong so please do let me know what they say. Good luck to all of you.

P_M:
You should have 10 days to cancel the Travelguard policy and get another one with a reputable company. You'll note AIG has removed their name in large print from the Travelguard product, but AIG does own Travelguard and that's who you are supporting by buying your insurance. The policy I bought to cover our trip back to SE Asia to visit Cambodia this time (which we did not make it to in Nov. 2008) on Feb. 25 is from Travelex. I called them with a hypothetical about Peru and was told natural disasters are covered, but only the portion of expenses related to the interruption/delay of the entire trip in not being able to go to Machu Pichhu if this flooding would have happened while you were on your trip. I was told you would have coverage to get to the next place on your itinerary. Your credit card would cover a refund for prepaid train tickets and hotels.

Hi susiesan, thanks for your info. I'm actually not planning a trip to Peru at this time, the insurance I was referring to is for a different trip. I will definitely look at Travelex for my next trip.

I have Travelex insurance and it covers delays and partial coverage for natural disasters, but it doesn't seem to cover a total trip. I have fortunately never had to use trip insurance, but wouldn't travel without it. If you buy Travelex within 21 days of an initial deposit you can get "cancel for any reason", which, with Travelex is 80% of your non refundable cost. After 21 days the option is not available. Other companies are even stricter, you have to buy within 15 days of initial deposit. With Travelex, you pay 50% premium for the "cancel at will" policy. So, if your policy without "cancel for any reason" is $300, your cost for adding that option is $150 for a total of $450. You can cancel up to 48 hours before the trip.

Note: I have nothing to do with Travelex. I just travel all the time. I've used Travelguard, CSA and Travelex. Never had to use any of them, so I only know that they cash the check. : )

We continue to monitor the situation in Peru by posting all relevant stories at:
http://www.latinamericatraveler.com/...chu_Region.htm

http://www.lanewsupdate.com

Thanks for posting BostonHarbor ... I programmed the DVR to record it.

This morning's <i>Peruvian Times</i> has a featured article on MP and President García's pledge:

<b> President García pledges support for flood-devastated Cusco; estimates Machu Picchu train repairs could take less than 2 months</b>

<i>President Alan García called for public calm on Friday after flying over areas devastated by torrential rains, mudslides and floods in Peru’s southern Cusco department. García said the government will guarantee the reconstruction of the regions infrastructure and relief aid for some 25,000 people left homeless by the floods, daily El Comercio reported.

“The government is going to guarantee what is necessary to re-establish highways, railways and, in second place, electrical connections, which have been damaged in various places and can be re-established,” said García. He said the reconstruction could be done in less than two months.</i>

For the full article: http://news-url.com/MP

So, I'm staying optimistic for May. According to this story, the railroad is British owned, which is good news--more than Peru will be interested in getting things going and certainly a British company has access to resources and expertise.

I checked my trip insurance policy and it is much broader than I thought it would be for trip cancellation, although it still would not cover my trip in May.

It will cover trip cancellation/inerruption for-"Natural disaster at the site of your destination which renders your destination accomodations uninhabitable".

It also would be covered for "Mandatory evacuation ordered by local authorities at your destination due to ...natural disaster. You must have 50% or less of your trip remaining at the time the mandatory evacuation ends in order for the benefit to be payable."

None of this applies to my trip, so I am going regardless of whether we can get to MP or not. Even if my trip was covered by the trip cancellation provision of the policy, I would still probably go as Peru and its people will need all the monetary help they can get in order to recover and I am happy to helping out in this way.

My travel insurance for the Peru Trip was with TruTravel. I bought it through the InsureMyTrip.com site. I bought the highest level plan of TruTravel insurance offered.

emd3-Most trip insurance policies will pay for trip cancellation/interruption due to illness, as in your case. Cancellations due to natural disasters are a much grayer area.

I read the Peruvian Times article alluded to by Boston Harbor. it said that Peru is losing a million dollars a day because of cancellations. Therefore, I am sure that they will try to fix the problem as soon as possible, but the weather will have to cooperate.

Some encouraging news.

A press release sent out today by Fetransa (the partially Orient Express owned company that leases and operates the railway infrastructure between Cuzco Ollantaytambo Machu Picchu) outlines a <b>specific schedule, with dates, for repair to the MP/Sacred Valley railways.</b>

<i>Hidroelerica – Machu Picchu: The work will last three weeks service should be restored by approximately February 20th.

Piscacucho – Machu Picchu: The work will last seven weeks – service should be restored by approximately March 20th.

Ollantaytambo – Piscacucho: The work will last eight weeks –service should be restored by approximately April 01st.

(snip)

It is important to mention that all working plans are subject to weather conditions, although the fact that we are in rainy season has been taken into account to make the above-mentioned estimates.</i>

http://intitravel.wordpress.com/2010...picchu-update/

At a million $/day loss in tourism, there is great incentive to get the railway back and running. Orient Express is a New York listed public company (OEH), so it also has the shareholder (if not us ; ) incentive to make sure the rails are safe. They will also be able to access cash without waiting for insurance funds.

It looks like things will be begining to work, albeit not as easily the end of Feb and should be in pretty good shape by April.

Why did my posting regarding the travel insurance co. I used get deleted? I was not advertising it. I was asked directly by another poster what company I used. I did not make any representations on this type of natural disaster situation - I only described how travel insurance had worked in my situation.

ooops, now I see it didn't get deleted. Back to the original programming....

Here is an email I received from an adventure travel outfitter with an update about how the situation will affect tourism:


February 1st, 2010. Last Friday, the massive airlift operation to evacuate over four thousand stranded tourists from Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes) successfully concluded. Also, the height of the Vilcanota river that runs parallel to the train tracks has decreased by more than 16 feet (5 meters), allowing reconstruction and fortification work in the area and along the train route.
As reported earlier, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and the rest of destinations in Peru are totally accessible and operating normally. Hotels and attractions at the Sacred Valley are not damaged, and most tours and outdoor activities are available. Also, the Machu Picchu citadel remains intact, however accessing it by train from Cusco city or the Sacred Valley will not be possible until around the last week of March when the reconstruction concludes.
In the meantime, according to information that we continue to gather, another access route to Machu Picchu may become available earlier: The backdoor entrance to Machu Picchu town will be set up by PeruRail and should be opened by the last week of February. Via this route, a trip to Machu Picchu will require a 6 hour bus drive from Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley) to the train station of Hidroelectrica, followed by a 30 min train ride from Hidroelectrica to Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes train station). Through this unconventional and time consuming route, that has been used by backpackers for sometime, a visit to Machu Picchu will require at least one night stay in Machu Picchu.
Even when Machu Picchu is typically identified as the highlight of a trip to Peru, we believe that this unfortunate natural event represents a great opportunity to show that Peru is much more than just Machu Picchu. Also, it is a great opportunity to show support for the more than 40,000 families affected by the rain and floodings throughout the area.

Inka Trai providers booking for 3/1/10

http://www.andeantravelweb.com/peru/...ta-teresa.html

Route via Santa Maria/Teresa to open in 2-3 weeks...

from www.perurail.com

Hidroeléctrica - Machupicchu town: The work will last three weeks, to allow the visitors and residents to use bimodal transportation between the area. In order to achieve this objective it will be necessary to restore the road between Santa Teresa and Hidroeléctrica.