Five hour van ride AFTER the flights! Sooner you than me... But good idea to use the jacuzzi.

Oh, my, I can’t believe how long it took you to get there. I love you call DCA, National. You can tell you are a local .

Lordy Lordy Lordy... Atlanta!!! And how amazing that you found a LATAM agent willing to actually check the website re Jaen. And you had a phone connection where you could understand each other. I have nothing nice to say about LATAM's phone customer service (just as bad when it was LAN).

As Jaen is not an international airport (AFAIK) there is no way your bag should have been labeled as being checked through if your end destination was in Peru.

Okay, now onto the good stuff!

“I reached an actual person and persuaded him to check again, and then again – oh, look at that, we have an aiport in Jaén!”

Keep writing Kja but you will not top that line. It brings me back to nursery school. Oh look, the square peg fits in the square hole!!!!

I don't know that I would manage a travel day like you had as well as you did. Were you not able to fly direct from Dulles to Lima on LATAM?

Kudos to all of you who have proven that you are not irredeemably heartless and cruel!

@ thursdaysd: That jacuzzi was very, very welcome.

@ yestravel: Not just a local, but a local with a particular political bent.

@ mlgb: As you say, "Lordy Lordy Lordy... Atlanta!!!" Long way for a bag to go from DC to Atlanta, huh – and nobody actually questioned that part. And that, by the way, was American, not LATAM. When trying to book, once I actually reached a human, the man was actually very nice and helpful – it sounds like I should be even more grateful for that than I had already been!

@ xcountry: You earn a lot of points in karmaland. Do, please, keep earning them!

@ tripplanner001: Nope, not an option. Surprising, right? Because (I assume) of the diplomatic business, one can fly direct to most foreign capitals from Dulles or elsewhere in the DC area – but not Lima, or at least, not when I looked and booked. I’m not going to deny that it was painful. I will say that alcohol helped. Or more accurately, I would hate to think what that trip would have been like without alcohol.

kja,
"For the record, I hope I never have to route through Miami’s international airport again." Please don't say that - we are coming back via Miami, too. The first Miami experience was a few years ago and it was horrendous; we had 4 hrs layover and almost missed our connection. I'm hoping for a miracle this time. We're getting to Lima via Houston, any experience with that airport? Hoping for no hurricane in August.

"I hope to never discover whether it is possible for a major international airport to be less pleasant than Miami International." Try Frankfurt on a long layover going to a country that's not US or Western Europe. Our 9 hr layover on the way to Croatia was a nightmare - I'm avoiding transit in Frankfurt like the plague.

Regarding the lack of "dry white wine" - are there any other wine options? We are not beer drinkers, but what about red wine? Although they say you should not drink at high altitude.

So....no cheese either? You are killing me!

Noted all the photography tips. I would always ask permission to take people photos, but I rarely do (I'm mostly a wildlife and nature photographer); however, I think Peru might offer other opportunities, we'll see.

We already talked to our doctor about Diamox, yellow fever vaccine, malaria medication, Cipro...wow! So many things to think of.

TP - I would not carry a full roll of TP, but they have now in the travel section at Walgreens (and I'm sure other similar stores) small TP rolls in a plastic capsule. Really handy! I'll pack a couple, just in case.

Regarding your adventures to get to your 1st destination in Peru: OUCH! I don't know about you, but just the 5 hrs car drive would've killed me. On top of a few other flights...you are a resilient woman. Keep the TR coming.

mlgb,
We'll get to Pisac (our first Peru destination) on a Sun afternoon. We will probably be tired, although we will spend 1st night in Lima. The Chapel in Pisac that you mentioned - is that Iglesia Adventista?

Thank for the Advil tip. I don't know how I'll react to high altitude, but I know my husband got sick because at it at Bryce (which is about 2000 feet lower than Pisac). Diamox, coca tea, Advil, we'll probably try.anything

Actually... Tashkent. No contest. It's true I had paid for day use of AA lounges before my layover outbound through MIA, but not inbound, and inbound at Tashkent was much worse.

For toilet paper I pull out the core tube in the middle and flatten the roll. Doesn't take up that much space at all. I also needed eye drops for my eyes- between the altitude and dry air I had trouble with my eyes. While I thought coca leaves awful, they really helped as did the tea.

Sunday afternoon is too late for the best part for photographing the Mayors coming into town in their traditional garb for the 11am mass. Not sure how late the veg market runs. Since it will be your first day at altitude, I would just take it easy and not try to do much that day. There is some sort of tourist market everyday so I guess you can see it Monday, especially if you are feeling a little 'off' from the altitude.

I don't remember your planning thread xyz, maybe I missed it. I probably would have advised against spending just one night in Lima, unless near the airport and you then left on an early flight into Cusco. You really can't get anything done in LIma when you have to eat breakfast, pack and leave 3 hours before your flight time. And if you couldn't get to Pisac til late on Sunday, I would have said to go to Ollantaytambo so that you could catch a morning train to Aguas Calientes (which by the way, is lower in altitude than Ollantaytambo or Pisac).

I guess now, it is what it is.

If your husband has problems at altitude, I would limit the number of nights that you sleep in Cusco to a minimum (btw Ollantaytambo is also higher than the rim of Bryce). I would read up on the symptoms of severe altitude sickness if you haven't. Don't hesitate to ask for medical assistance, either.

@ xyz99: You, too, are now counted among the not irredeemably heartless and cruel. Oddly, the 5-hour drive from Jaén to Chachapoyas was not the worst part of the trip, because I found the scenery fascinating – IMO, much better than sitting in an airport.

- I’ve not been through Houston, and my one experience in Frankfurt was actually quite easy – I guess I should be thankful! In Miami, people are supposed to be able to rent carts to move their luggage through the airport; none were available when I went through in either direction, but it might be worth considering if any are available. I believe you’ll need US$ to claim a cart.

- IME, you can get some absolutely lovely red wines in Peru – including a Peruvian wine or two (I had an excellent red from the Ica region at at least one restaurant), and I also enjoyed several Chilean and Argentinan and Spanish options, whether at restaurants or purchased from grocery stores (all for prices much better than I would have expected in the U.S.), and stores generally also had other options, too (Australian, US, etc.) The problem I encountered was specifically with DRY whites. That said, yes, definitely moderate your consumption at altitude.

- As for cheese, my travel physician said I could eat it as long as it was cooked – so I often had it in omelets, etc. But she strongly advised against any non-cooked cheese – and, for that matter, against dairy products not clearly sealed in a plastic container that indicated central factory processing. Her explanation was that most dairy products in Peru are not pasteurized. I’m not an expert and can’t say whether she was correct or whether I understood her correctly or whether her advice was specific to ME; again, I would urge you to consult your physician.

@ thursdaysd: One of the things I love about Fodor’s is that one can learn things one almost, sorta, kinda never wants to know – like how bad you found Tashkent’s airport – duly noted, with thanks! Even so, Tashkent remains on my list, in large part because of your trip report.

@ yestravel: Another thing I love about Fodor’s is learning how very differently some of us experience things – I find it a refreshing reminder of the marvelous diversity of the human realm! I didn’t notice a problem with wetness/dryness of my eyes, but I found it really hard to move from sunlight into shade and vice versa – the contrasts of light (and warmth) bothered me greatly. And I wasn’t bothered by the coca leaves at all, though I met others who were. I think we are, as a group, doing a wonderful job of highlighting some of the downsides of a trip for those who might otherwise hear only the positives – kudos, one and all!

@ mlgb: Assuming you are referring to the Pisac market, I can attest that most of the produce and hot food vendors were gone by noon when I was there. I don’t know when they left, or whether they stay longer at other times of year….

DC definitely does not have the number of flights to international destinations that one would normally expect. I often take the 10:30 BA flight to London when I hop across the pond and positive I've seen a LATAM flight to Lima a few gates down in Concourse B.

@ tripplanner001: You could be right! Maybe the problem was in the connection times, or the cost, perhaps factoring in the extra time and inconvenience for me to use Dulles? I know I didn’t want options that left me sitting at any airport for extended periods of time. Honestly, all I can tell you at this point is that no matter what options I identified, the one that – against all odds – proved least complicated was the one I ended up taking. (Well, I think there was an option from the DC area to one of the NYC airports, and then Lima – but it was sold out almost immediately and never became available to me again at a cost I was willing to pay, and would have been better only in terms of overall timing, as I recall.) While I might not have been able to identify flights from DC to Lima that suited my needs, I’m glad you are making sure that anyone who reads this trip report knows to check – thanks!

@mlgb
The night in Lima is due to timing only. We land in the evening and need to move to Sacred Valley they next day. So we'll spend the night at the airport hotel, then take a 9 or 10 am flight to Cusco the next day. 1 night in Pisac, 2 in Ollantaytambo, 1 in Aguas Caliente, 2 in Cusco then 8 days in Manu.

For some reason I thought Pisac was lower in altitude - my mistake. We should've gone directly to AC the first day, but it is what it is now. I hope everything will be ok.

@kja
We're generally careful about what we eat in terms of fruits and raw vegetables, but I never thought about cheese before. Luckily, in all our travels we never experienced any stomach bugs. Let's hope it stays that way.

I'm not worried about carts at the airport. We only have a bag (with wheels) and my camera backpack. We should be fine if flights are on time and the weather good.

I need to find that Taskent TR. A friend of mine was on a Smithsonian organized trip last year to the ex-USSR "stans". She's a well traveled woman, but says this was the most impressive trip of her lifetime. I would love to go someday...

Kja I googled the climb up to our hostel in Cuzco. Looks like this guy felt like we did. Great memory, now that it’s a memory.

@xyz99 - here you are:

TR with chitchat: Across Uzbekistan with MIR

TR with pix: https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...tashkent-solo/

Unfortunately ill health meant that I never got the TR to Khiva, but Khiva was the most "authentic" feeling of the cities on the tour. I believe the situation with money has improved since I was there, and they are supposed to open a new international airport.

@ xyz99: I had the same thought when my travel physician warned me about cheese. I will say to you exactly what she said to me, and with the same intensity of feeling: Learn from my mistakes!!!

@ xcountry: OMG! I would have cried. Was that before your hike of the Inca Trail? Must have been a great confidence builder.

@ thursdaysd: Maybe you’ll find time to add to that TR one day? There's so little information on Fodor's about it!

- - - - -


Day 1: Jaén to Chachapoyas

Backtracking just a bit …

My flight landed in Jaén and I boarded a van, with others, bound for Chachapoyas, a trip that took 5 or 6 hours (including a break). I was intrigued by the scenery! I’m not certain, but I believe the trip through what is known as high selva. What I can say, with certainty, is that I thought it beautiful. My recollections are:

Near Jaén, I saw a rugged terrain that included lots of ridges and mesas formed by tilted layers of rock, some layers (often reddish in tone) seemed to hold a series of cave-like openings or that were so fractured that they looked almost as if constructed of some kind of brick; and other layers (greyer), above and below, seemed more unyielding to erosive forces. As we moved along, I saw an increasing number of terraced fields that looked like rice paddies, complete with egrets standing on one leg and then the other. There were trees filled with ibis, and flocks of vultures; a wide valley that was the flood plain of a river that was sometimes placid, sometimes rushing; and vegetation that changed from Jaén to Chachapoyas as the van slowly, steadily, gained height. Patches of what I call pampas grass seemed ubiquitous, but the terrain nearest Jaén seemed more barren, with cacti and other succulents dominating the visible vegetation. The further we traveled, the wider the variety and extent of vegetation, and the terrain showed increasing signs of age-old erosion by water, and lush green areas climbing hillsides seemed more and more common. There were some glimpses of magnificently rugged peaks in the far distance, and I began to see forested slopes just barely kissed by a thin layer of clouds.

After our break, the van continued to follow the river – but the river held more and more rapids and cateracts as we slowly ascended, and the roadside seemed to hold more and more stands where local women sold fruits arranged in pyramidal mounds. Distant views were increasingly blocked by forests, with occasional glimpses of stunningly tall waterfalls.

As the van approached Chachapoyas, it swept up a series of impressive turns and we entered an area that was clearly forested. IMO, every inch was beautiful, and the changes as we ascended seemed utterly fascinating!

Finally reaching Chachapoyas, I was delivered to the Colonial courtyard “house” now called La Casona de Chachapoyas, which I found to be a charmingly welcoming place. (I’m KJA3 on TripAdvisor, so you can find my review of it there. I also posted reviews of the other places I stayed, most of the places where I dined, and most of the tour agencies I used while in Peru on TA; I won’t repeat the detailed reviews here unless asked to do so.) I had a comfortable room on the second floor at the end of one wing of the balcony surrounding the interior courtyard, which was filled with greenery and flowers and interesting and nicely placed objects from the area’s history. So nice!

My first order of business was resolving the problem that I had discovered while in Lima’s airport: My priorities for this particular area of Peru included Kuélap, Leymebamba, and Chachapoyas itself, but the distances between these places are not trivial, and I had optimistically assumed that I could meet my goals with just 3 nights in the area -- one in Chachapoyas and two in Leymebamba. That meant about 3 full days, as I would leave by overnight bus at the end of my last day in the region.

Finding a way to make this possible had proven quite a challenge, but in the days immediately preceding my trip, the wonderful owner of the Kentitambo (who I will call A) and a senior English-speaking person at Turismo Explorer in Chachapoyas (J1) had worked together to come up with a plan that met my needs – woohoo! But that plan was thrown off when the operator of the cablecar at Kuélap changed the day on which it would close for routine maintenance, so that it would be closed on the day I had been to use it – namely, the day after my arrival, as in tomorrow!

With many thanks to J1 for giving me prompt notice, I proposed an alternative in an e-mail I sent from Lima’s airport. By the time I reached Chachapoyas, I had received word from Kentitambo saying that the change in plans would work for them, and a very accomodating woman at La Casona de Chachapoyas (who I will call B1) agreed that I could leave a suitcase with them for some time, and all that remained was to finalize arrangements with Turismo Explorer. It was still open (barely), so I went straight there – it was only a few blocks away – and soon had assurances that I had a workable plan in place. Yay! Instead of leaving the next day for Kuélap, I would go on to Leymebamba; on my way back, I would take a taxi to Tingo Nuevo, where a tour group would stop to pick me up. (I’m sure every one of you who has read this thread has been hanging on each and every one of these suspenseful details. )

Walking back to my hotel, I took a bit of time to actually pay attention to what I was seeing: I had already discovered that the entire main town square is undergoing extensive construction work, so it’s surrounding streets were defined by dusty broken pavement, orange cones, and synthetic netting to block access to the square itself, and some of these efforts extend along various streets leading into the square. I was told that the work involves a major upgrade of the city’s infrastructure, in expectation of an influx of tourism now that there is cablecar access to Kuélap. While I would have loved to see Chachapoyas without construction, the fact is that travelers can encounter public work projects anywhere. More importantly, I hope that this city, and the others near it, can establish the necessary infrastructure before being overrun by tourists. My sense is that Peru is making a concerted effort to establish Kuélap as a worthy destination in a timely way – before Machu Picchu succumbs to the excessive hordes that now visit it, but after ensuring that the area around Kuélap is prepared. I hope so!

I didn’t just notice construction – with a more leisurely walk, I was able to see and appreciate the many carved wooden balconies that adorn the buildings near the Colonial core of Chachapoyas. Although they varied drastically in their state of preservation (from badly in need of attention to newly refinished), they all spoke to the elegance and wealth that must have once marked this city. That these balconies often adorn otherwise long, plain walls speaks to the many courtyards that lie within, and indeed, walks through the city provided me with occasional (and frustratingly limited) glimpses into these areas that would once have been the heart of the residents’ lives. I’m so glad I chose a casona with courtyard for my lodging! (I managed to stay at a number of Colonial courtyard buildings over the course of my trip.)

I stopped briefly in the cathedral, which seemed to have an oddly non-rectangular nave and surprisingly stark features. A service was in process, though, so I didn’t venture into the nave far enough to see the altar.

Finally returning to my hotel, I settled in, freshened up, and relaxed for a few moments before heading to a restaurant that B1 recommended for regional cuisine – El Batan del Tayta. Delicious! My mouth still waters when I think of the taste of the mountain tomato sauce that was part of that meal. And when I left, my server literally chased me down the street to make sure that the nominal tip I had left was left intentionally – OMG!

On the way back to my hotel, I managed to tangle a foot in one of the nets intended to divide people from the ongoing construction, falling hard enough to cause a minor injury to my right knee. It certainly could have been worse, and the jolt of adrenaline was enough to see me through my nightly preparations. I soon fell into a deep sleep, very grateful that I didn’t have to get up early for a trip to Kuélap!

Next up: Day 2: Chachapoyas to Leymebamba

Wow, kja! What an amazing amount of detail.

Sound like you had a long, long journey to get there. Makes our journey from London seem but like a jaunt in the park. Indeed it is now since BA introduced direct flights to Lima in 11 hours. South America always seems a lot easier to get to from the US than Europe - apparently not!

Miami the worst airport? I used to fly through there for business and didn’t think it that bad. Freetown in Sierra Leone has to win that prize - like a war zone. Indeed when we left we had to fly in a ex Russian army helicopter to the airport as the usually hovercraft transport had sunk te day before. We met our pilot whom we had seen on the beach drink a few hours earlier. So desperate were we to get out we went with it anyway.

I had feared that Chachapoyas might be changing in preparation for the planned increase in the tourism. A similar situation happened when we visited Ayucucho a few years ago. The whole of the centre of town was under construction. Still enjoyed the place though. Looking forward to hearing your impressions of Kuélap itself.

Re the altitude issues. I think, as Americans might say, it is a crap shoot! First time I went I was felt terrible, since then I have not been to badly affected. It really is teh luck of the draw. Older people tend to fare better allegedly. But the guide books seem to say allow 2-3 day to acclimatise are, in my experience, way off. It really take 2-3 weeks to feel comfortable at 3000m.

A fascinating read. Keep it coming.

@ crellson: What a story about Sierra Leone! Better you than me on that one. BTW, I had no idea that the center of Ayacucho had been under construction a few years ago. The square is now charming, there are some small pedestrian-only blocks to the southeast and northwest corners, and the streets to the south of the Arco de Triunfo are now torn up.

- - - - -


Days 2 to 4: Leymebamba

Day 2: Chachapoyas to Leymebamba

Awakening in time for a breakfast, I did my best to free the fuzz from my still disoriented mind; ate a delicious breakfast (such wonderful fresh fruits!); repacked my belongings so that I had an overnight bag ready for Leymebamba, and left both my suitcase and my overnight bag with the hotel. (BTW, I will frequently comment favorably on my breakfasts while in Peru -- the quality of breakfasts was one of the criteria I used when selecting my lodgings.)

My first stop was an office of Peru’s official tourism agency, iPerú, where I got a map and some information. I then went to a small archeological museumon the main square, where a printed description of the exhibits in English helped me appreciate a small collection of artificacts from the region.

Stopping at Café Fusiones, I had the best coffee I tasted anywhere in Peru. It wasn’t far to a thoroughly delightful market where gloriously colorful displays of fruits and vegetables competed for my attention. (My first Peruvian market!)

And then I climbed to the Mirador de la Mama Note, where I saw lovely views over the city; mules or donkeys (or both?) grazing on the vegetation to either side of the road; and glimpses of a layer of clouds above the city, but enveloping most of the trees on all the hills surrounding the city – oh! that’s why they call it a CLOUD forest! (Duh. Better late than never, right?) I loved watching those clouds shift, ever so slightly, and seeing the change of light on the areas below. On my way back into the city, I appreciated some artistic graffiti and more beautifully carved balconies.

Ready to move on, I returned to my hotel to get my overnight bag and a taxi, which, as I had requested, delivered me to the combi (aka collectivo) station. Although immediately seated on a van for Leylebamba, it was a while (maybe ½ hour?) before enough people boarded for the driver to leave.

As I hoped, the drive – which took something on the order of 2 hours IIRC – gave me the chance to see local people going about their lives. There were women going somewhere to sell textiles or coming home from shopping for meals, and children coming home from school or going to sporting practice fields, and men transporting equipment from one place to another, and a very old women who everyone seemed to know…. So much more interesting than riding in the bubble of a private taxi!

And the scenery was fascinating, too – the road was almost entirely next to a river. We travelied steadily upstream, but the water seemed to move far more rapidly than the very gentle slope would have justified, bearing witness to the forces of its upstream sources. The river was sometimes broad and sometimes narrow, and sometimes lined by fields of rounded rocks and sometimes ran between walls of trees; sometimes seemingly unobstructed (but then wouldn’t the surface be smooth?) and sometimes gushing around massive boulders; … a few islets dottted the wider stretches, one large enough to hold a small pasture….

There were small farms with various animals (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens…) and seemingly abandoned fields and an large produce market where many people on the combi (including the driver) got off to make purchases and glimpses of waterfalls rushing down the surrounding hills and trees so overtaken by bromeliads that the limbs seemed to have no purpose other than to support the glorious red bursts of these plants, contrasting so impressively with the many shades of green elsewhere, and various other flowers and flowering shrubs….

Crossing a river fed by cascades and swooping uphill, I reached Leymebamba’s main square. It took a moment, but I was soon on a motorized pedicab to the absolutely wonderful Kentitambo (thank you so much for recommending it, mlgb!). I was delivered to the entrance of the Kenticafe, where I met Az, a woman who could not have been kinder or more accomodating during my time here.

I ordered a glass of white wine, was gently greeted by 3 of the sweetest and best behaved dogs I have ever met, and sat back to admire the very active hummingbird feeder at the side of covered, open-air café. Oh, what beautiful birds! And I met a young German couple – C&T – who had stopped at the café after visiting the museum next door.

When it was time to move into my bungalow, C&T came along so they could see another feeder at which some rare hummingbirds can sometimes be seen; this feeder was at the “main house” on the hill above my bungalow. We walked uphill through a lovely tree shrouded garden, complete with a few ornamental pools, to my bungalow. Wow! Large and comfortably furnished, it had windows almost all around, only a few of which required pulling drapes for privacy because of the way the bungalow was sited. One long wall of windows opened out onto a private balcony with comfortable chairs and a hammock. A king-size bed held lots of pillows and luxurious linens and a down comforter and several handsome throws.

I had chosen to stay at the Kentitambo as a bit of a splurge in honor of my mother – the following day would have been one of great personal significance to her. So, enjoying C&T’s company and remembering the days when I traveled on a shoestring, I asked if they would join me for some wine in her memory. They agreed, and I was pleasantly surprised when it was served with a generous platter of appetizers. I guess it would not do at all to serve wine without something to eat! We sipped and snacked by the hummingbird feeder at the main house, admiring the impressive array of birds who fed there as sunset approached.

After C&T left, I freshened up, and enjoyed the balcony of my bungalow for a while. Later, I returned to the main house for dinner. The staff had laid a sweet-smelling fire in a traditional fireplace, so I settled into a comfortable chair while Az and two others prepared the food. I was soon served a delicious meal that included cream of zucchini soup and an incredibly fresh sautéed trout served with a side dish of potatoes, peas, and carrots. Yummy!

As I left for my bungalow, remaining wine in hand, I was given a hot water bottle, and OMG was that a welcome delight! It gets cold at night there, and that thing stayed warm all night. I heaped the bed with blankets and put that cozy item next to my sore lower back and slept wonderfully.


Day 3: Leymebamba

I had opted to eat my breakfast at the main house, beside the very busy hummingbird feeder. Az soon began serving breakfast: An array of yogurt and cereal and a platter of sliced papaya topped with blueberries and a plate of sliced avocado and a basket of toast and four different and wonderful marmalades made right there and a platter of prosciutto and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a pot of coffee and a serving of eggs ... and OMG, every bite was delicious! I spent quite a while nibbling and enjoying the birds and reflecting on how fortunate I am.

I then went across the street to the wonderful Museo Leymebamba, the reason I had wanted to go to Leymebamba in the first place, and it was, indeed, a very special small collection of precolumbian artifacts and extremely rare mummies from the region. What a privelege to see it! Stopping for coffee at its café, I was surprised to hear a very loud series of sounds that seemed a combination of braying and honking – my first exposure to the mating of llamas! I must admit that I really do not want to know what a third llama, who was leaning against the two who were -- uh, otherwise occupied -- was doing.

The actual town of Leymebamba is several kilometers away, so I took a pedicab into town and -- to my surprise (given how tiny Leymebamba is) – I found a tourist information office on the main square. The young woman there spoke very little English, but I was able to ask what I should see with just a few hours in town. The next thing I knew, she grabbed a set of keys, locked the office, put a sign on the door, and took me about a half black away to the Casa del Cultura. Once the home of a wealthy merchant, it now has a room filled with implements of life gone by -- tools for carding and spinning wool, a back strap loom, objects for preparing and serving food, some agricultural implements, a rotary phone (seriously! she began to illustrate its use)....

She then took me to the town church, built of stone in interesting arrangements and with a gorgeous wooden beamed ceiling. With my sincere thanks, we parted then, and I walked around a bit to look over a set of cascades below the town and explore the town. I took a pedicab back to the Kentitambo and napped in the hammock for a while, but not before seeing several stunning parrots.

When I went to the main house for another glimpse of the hummingbirds at sunset, I was pleased to learn that C&T had decided to dine there that evening. They soon arrived with a bottle of wine (to return the favor) and a huge bouquet of wildflowers (in honor of my mother): There were ferns and grasses and flowers of various sizes and just about every color imaginable, all beautifully arranged. How sweet!

We shared some stories and laughs and some wine before our dinners; I had aji de gallina (a classic Peruvian chicken stew) – delicious! To complete the festivities, we ended the meal with a delicious freshly made pound cake with fruit, and were glad that Az and the other two women shared in this treat and in our conversation (with T’s help in translating). I think my mother would have been very pleased.

With another hot water bottle in hand, I said a fond fairwell to C&T and returned to my room. I took a moment to step out to admire the night sky. It was a clear evening, with many stars glittering against a velvet sky, and even if I found it disconcerting that majority of the constellations were unfamiliar, it was magical.


Day 4: Leymebamba

After another sumptuous breakfast, complete with lots of hummingbirds, I prepared to leave the Kentitambo. I’m not sure exactly how many different species of hummingbirds I saw while at this charming inn, but there were at least six different species ranging from tiny through small and in a dazzling array of glorious color. I am so glad I decided to stay at this delightful place!

What a wonderful splurge! Sounds like your damaged knee was not a problem?