2022 Peru

Our first stop was the Shivwits gas station. Then the Ace in Mesquite where we hoped to find Lynn's favorite Lemon drops. That was not successful.

Then on to the B&C Camera store in Las Vegas. Wow, that is a professional camera store. We needed another battery for our new (to us) Canon Rebel T6 camera. They had a generic version, which we purchased. We were starting to get hungry, so Chic-fil-a it was. Then to Dillards, where Lynn purchased a set of hiking sneakers similar to the set Mark got at the Dillards in St George (they didn’t have Lynn’s size, thus the Las Vegas visit).

It was getting close to noon, so we drove to the Airport. We missed the Economy Lot exit, so it was an extra turn around the lot for us.

Delta had an expired version of Lynn’s passport, so we needed assistance checking in. The ticket agents can fix most problems, and ours was up to the task.

The line at security was super short, since we were more than 3 hours early. Except for there being no chairs for Lynn to take off her shoes, it was easy enough. A tram-ride later, we were in our terminal, with 3 hours to wait. Lynn was having some back pain and decided on an airport massage. The massage was good and Lynn felt better.

26 Apr Tuesday - Lima

After flying all night, we arrived in Lima. There was not a gate jetway, but rather they brought up a step-ladder and bus. And they had us exit five rows at a time. Apparently they needed to fill the bus and then let more people out. But the open doors let in a bunch of fumes, which was not pleasant.

Immigration went well. The passport control was nice, and fetching our bags was easy (AFTER we found out where they deposited them rather than leaving them on the carousel.) Going through customs was as simple as walking past the x-ray machines and a guard that just waved everyone by. We promptly found ourselves out on the street. Fortunately, we spotted the Discovery Adventures agent right away. He had just checked Richard and Judith into the Wyndham Airport Hotel, which is right across the street.

He helped us at the reception desk to get checked in, and when we asked about seeing a little of the town, he introduced us to the concierge. They have a 5-hour private tour of Lima at $65/person. Richard and Judith also signed up, but not for our Lima group. We went with Rick and Jerolyn, another fun couple on the tour; they planned this trip three years ago. Covid canceled the first year. Then Peru was shut down for the second. Finally, on the third try, they were able to come.

On the very last day of our overall tour, we are scheduled for a couple hours of Lima touring. But that’s not enough. So we were glad to have this chance to see Lima.

After riding in a minivan for about a half hour, we finally met our tour guide. We started at the Parque del Amor (Park of Love) in Miraflores. Peru had been wracked in civil war, and they realized they needed a place where people could express Love. So a famous artist designed a park (multiple streets long) where Peruvians could come and express their love.

We visited a town square where the city hall was located. It was mostly cordoned off by police, as Lima has had some protests in the last few days. When we approached from the opposite side, the police allowed our group to enter so we could take some pictures.

We came back to the hotel and enjoyed dinner at the hotel Paprika restaurant with Jerolyn and Rick. After they left, we joined Judith and Richard to talk about old times.

27 Apr Wednesday - To Sandoval Lake

After a fair breakfast (the Papaya drink was just cloudy water!) we went across the street to the airport.

Checking in was easy, since we had pre-tagged suitcases. And since we were all gathering, we got to meet the other travelers.

We were told that the fee for each checked bag was $25, but when we went to pay, they merely charged us $23 for both. Unfortunately, we had left our passports at the check in station! But the very nice lady agent chased us down (since she knew where we were going because she was the one that told us), found us and returned them. Thank goodness.

We passed through security easily. Even made it to the gate. Lynn and Mark even made it through the gate to the bus. But they called Mark back. They stated that he had a battery charger in his checked bag. We only remembered the battery charger for his camera, which he had with him. They also pulled Bob for the same offense. He ran back and Mark was eventually taken back where we found a battery backup (that’s what they meant) in his checked bag. He had to take everything out of the suitcase (eventually just throwing it on the floor) until it was found. They thought that was funny.

Unfortunately, Mark did not make it back in time for our flight to Puerto Maldonado (missed it by ten minutes), and the plane left. Fortunately, there was another flight two hours later. Jose (our guide) stayed with Mark. Jose was arranging a private canoe for them to catch up. He eventually found out that the group was staying at the office to have lunch, and we would catch up to them there. They only had to wait an hour.

Mark felt bad.

After reducing our luggage to 1 duffle bag per person and leaving the rest in the office, we boarded a boat that held all 20 of us. The boat motored us up the Madre de Dios River to the entrance of the Heath River Wildlife Center.

Dinner was at 7 and we talked to some new folks. Our day tomorrow starts at 5:45AM (which is the best time to see the animals) so we turned in early. The fact that the power generator was turned off at 9PM also played a part in our decision to turn in.

We then separated into groups of about 8 plus a guide. They took the groups out into the Amazon jungle, where we saw some amazing things.

• • Walking Tree (moves to light up to 0.5 meters per year)

  • Poison Dart tree

  • Brazil nut tree

  • Cicada towers

  • Follow me-follow me leaves (attached to trees) used to make a love potion

  • Air roots (Used to tie up lunch leaves)

  • Thorn tree that beetles lay eggs in. The natives harvest the larva

  • Macaw birds damage the brazil nuts trying to get the nuts. Very acidic, so they have to eat clay at the clay lick to counteract

  • Little frog

  • Natural vine swing

  • Quinine tree bitter bark

  • Palm tree roots make healing tea

  • Some broad leaf they wrap lunch in

Several of the women swung from a natural swing made of vines. We tasted the bark of a quinine tree. It was quite bitter but Lynn really liked it. We observed locust hills, leaves that looked like wallpaper trying to reach the light in the canopy above and we saw ‘air roots’ of parasitic plants from the canopy above trying to get nutrients from the earth far below.

After a couple hours, we made it back to the lodge, where we took a nap!

In the evening we went out of the lake in hopes of spotting Cayman. A 5-foot long Cayman spotted and even swam toward our canoes. One of the guides even lifted its head out of the water!

While we were out another group arrived at our lodge. They were more boisterous and made us really appreciate the privacy we experienced our first night.

29 Apr Friday - Amazon Rainforest

Today was an earlier start. We didn’t know if they would start the generator early for us to have light so we laid everything out to dress by flashlight if needed. They did start the generator an hour early (4AM; thanks for that) and we left the lodge at 4:30. We went back the way we had entered, across the lake and back toward the park entrance to see if we could spot macaws awakening. Traveling across the lake, the night sky was star studded. Mark is not accustomed to seeing southern constellations. There were also two very bright planets. On the way into the swamp a couple of people saw a tapir. We concentrated on the birds but only saw them when they took flight. They added an extra oar to the boats, so Mark assisted rowing our canoe across the lake.

30 Apr Saturday - to Ollantaytambo

Up at a normal time for breakfast at 7, we were packed for the canoe/hike out. We’re getting better at hiking, and made good time. This is what our lodge room looked like. Notice the lovely mosquito netting.

We canoed back to the wooden path, hiked the return trip to the Madre de Dios River. Back on the motor boat to take us back to Puerto Maldonado, where we re-packed our luggage. This time, making sure there were no undesirables in our checked luggage.

We had lunch at Burgo’s House Restaurant. Mark had a white fish (that included the eye!), while Lynn had a Peru Chorizo with Plantain. The frozen lemonade was great, and Mark had Inca Soda for the first time (which tastes similar to a fruity Cream Soda).

At the airport (there is only one gate), we had some trouble as 6 folks did not have boarding passes (the flight was overbooked.) In the end, everyone was able to get on the flight back to Lima, where we then took a flight to Cusco. The flight from Puerto Maldonado to Cusco no longer exists because of Covid. This time, my baggage passed with no problem. But others had to fetch bug spray out of their checked luggage. There’s always something making it difficult.

We were not seated together, and Mark had the Aisle seat, so we switched. As Judith walked by Lynn, she commented “It looks like we won’t be seatmates this time”. They had been on previous flights. Lynn commented “Well, you might be seated with Mark, he’s taking my seat”. And sure enough, Judith and Mark were seatmates.

The flight was full, but fortunately it was only 1 hour. Getting off in Cusco, we gathered our bags, converted $60, and boarded a bus for two more hours of traveling to the Sacred Valley, where Hotel Ollantaytambo Lodge is located. The tops of building have interesting mini-statues.

It’s been a long day of traveling: Canoe, Hiking, Motorboat, Minibus, Planes, Bus. We’ll be glad to finally get to sleep. But probably a shower first.

1 May Sunday - Cusco area

After breakfast we walked into the nearby square. We visited the Temple of the Sun in the Ollantaytambo Sanctuary. They have extensive ancient Inca storage facilities up the mountain where they gathered supplies for the dry seasons.

Exiting the temple we were approached by a little boy who wanted to sing and dance for us. He sang and laid down his hat for tips. He was accompanied by his toddler sister.

Next we went into an Inka house. The thatched roof was open, letting a stream of sunlight into the room. Guinea pigs ran around on the floor. Guinea Pig is a popular food here.

We were met by a bus which took us to lunch at Tunupa. It was a lovely buffet. There we celebrated fellow-traveler retirement.

After lunch we went to Chinchero where we visited a fortress ruin. We were completely out of breath as we walked up to the ruins; then finding out that we were at 12 thousand feet elevation! We also watched a textile demonstration, beginning with the washing of the wool, combing it, turning it into thread and dying it. We were taught which plants make each of the dye colors. Several people made purchases.

Next stop was Moray. It is an agricultural station using circular terraced gardens at varying elevations. They experiment on what crops grow best at each altitude. It was just closing so we did not get to walk around.

Next we learned how salt is harvested at Maras valley.

Mark left the train with the Inca Trail hikers. We were supposed to have 19 hikers, but when all was said (that the trail would take 7 hours and go up many stairs) and done, we had about 10.

After passing through the gate check in (where we again showed our passport and tickets), we did our hike preparation at some group benches. It was then off to the trail.

But 5 minutes in, we came to an Inca ruins, that was an Inca resting place for those that traveled the trail.

Then on across a bridge and up, up, up.

We did stop from time to time to examine various flowers, mostly Orchids. There are many orchids along the trial, and we probably saw 8-10 versions, including

• • Forever Young

  • Bamboo

  • Pinecone

  • Crying

  • Some very tiny version

  • one with large leaves

  • One growing in the center of its leaf

About 2 hours in, we came to a beautiful waterfall, and right around the corner was the Winaywayna (Forever Young) Inca Ruins. Similar to Moray, it has really nice terraces and buildings. We ate lunch there.

After taking some pictures, it was up the 300 steps (OUCH!) to the top of the ruins, and then onward.

Just a little more and we came to the Sun Gate at the top of Machu Picchu. It's a great view, but what a price to see it.

From there it was an hour hiking down thru Machu Picchu to the bus. We stopped for a moment at the traditional place where tourists take their Machu Picchu photo. Since it was late in the day (about 3-4pm) there was no one there, so we could take some great pictures. Also since the sun was setting, it made some nice shadows most folks normally don’t see in Machu Picchu.

It was strange on the train trip to Machu Picchu, we actually descended into the rainforest. For those of us who went on to the end of the line, we exited the train. We grabbed our bags and those of the Inca trail hikers. We walked up the street where we met our local guides who arranged for the luggage to go to the hotel. 6 of us had decided not to hike the Inca Trail. We walked up to the bus station and purchased a ticket to get up to the entrance. All of us then took a bus to the entrance several thousand feet higher up a narrow switchback road. They did not want to let 6 of us enter who had Inca Trail Tickets to the area. Finally they decided to let us in but took our next-day tickets so we could not return the next day. We were punished by having access to fewer areas that most people see.

Eventually they emptied out the area of all morning visitors. We bused down the mountain, checked into our hotel then roamed the town and rested, waiting for the Inca trail group to return. They were happy to arrive and fortunately this hotel has the best hot water showers we have had this trip. Trail filth off, we went to dinner with our entire group. We were going to eat at a buffet but it was discovered that a restaurant Jim and Carol really like had recently reopened. They were able to take our entire group. The food was amazing.

What a view at the top. You could see 360 degrees including Machu Picchu. We were the last of our group, and one of the guides assisted us down. Part of the descent included a narrow cave crawl. Going down was easier because we did not have to compete with gravity. But it was tougher on our knees. For us the trip took 3+ hours. But we did make it!

Jim was there at the entrance and had been able to track our progress on the trail because of Lynn's blue hat and shirt, which is very distinct. We used all our water on the hike but did leave a bottle in the backpack we left behind with Jim. We were glad for that

They got permission for us to use a shortcut trail to the bus, and the line was really short.

Bus to town, Lunch of Guacamole, Chicken taco and omelet. We also stopped for some chocolate ice cream. By then it was gathering time for everyone at the Waman hotel. We gathered our luggage as it started to sprinkle, and made our way to the Train station.

We were again in Train-car D. Our seatmates were from Atlanta, and we shared tourist stories. Mark mentioned his goal to see the Southern Cross constellation while in Peru, and fired up the Sky Map application on his cellphone and searched for the Crux. The app ‘directs’ you as you point your phone at the sky, and as he pointed it out the train window, it said You Are There!

The Southern Cross constellation was right out our train window. How convenient.

We made it to Poray, which is a tiny town outside of Cuzco. There is no train station in Cusco, apparently. Another bus for another hour drive, to the Waman hotel right next to the Sun Temple.

Since we were getting in late, they arranged for us to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food was OK, but we sat with Richard and Judith and the conversation was great.

Finally in our room, the bed was gigantic, and our room had a second floor with two more gigantic beds.

4 May Wednesday - Cusco

We finally got to sleep in. Breakfast at 8, we gathered at 9 for a walking tour. We were right next to the Sun Temple, so that was the first stop.

The Spaniards had plastered the Qorikancha Inca Temple walls, so no one remembered the temple structure was there. A 7.+ earthquake in 1950 knocked the plaster off the walls revealing the underlying Inca ruins. The Spaniards had constructed the Cathedral Santo Domingo on what was left of the temple, and the Peruvian government told the current owners that they had to leave the revealed Inca Ruins showing.

Down the street we walked to the Plaza de Armes square to see the Cathedral del Cuzco. An incredible church building with many nooks with statues and paintings.

We came out to see some 50+ children being led in a protest march. Peru has a problem with violence against Women and Children. They have tried various methods to curtail it, but to no avail.

After lunch, we continued shopping, getting Neil a wolfs-head hat and Kai a Condor/Snake/Puma totem. We also found two CDs with Peruvian music.

Lynn started to feel a little fazed (which is no wonder, given Cusco is at 11 thousand feet!) so we returned to the hotel for a nap.

5 May Thursday - Saqsaywaman & Tabomachay ruins

This morning we boarded our bus and left Cusco for Saqsaywaman, an Inca ruins town on the outskirts. There was a big war there between the Spaniard and the Incas. So many died they couldn’t bury all the bodies, so the falcons came in and ate them til they were sated. Saqsaywaman means satisfied falcon.

They had a three-layer defense wall of gigantic stones. They also had a water supply, sourced from a well using siphon stone tubes. From the ruins we could look back at Cusco as well as see the back of the Christus of the Pacific, a statue of Christ similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro.

Back on the bus to Tabomachay, another ruins. This was apparently a refreshing station for the King and Queen coming back to Cusco. There they had a water fountain with two streams, one for each royalty. Lynn purchased a couple bird whistles. One vendor wanted to sell her a llama shawl for 120 soles. She kept saying no, and he kept attempting to sell, lowering the price 5 soles at a time. Finally Lynn said 50 soles. That didn’t work for him. But she kept saying 50 soles, as we walked down the hill to the bus. Finally he said OK. So Lynn now has a very pretty Peru shawl.

We joined three other couples for lunch. It was past 2, and we had to wait for a table for eight to become available, so we decided to do Soup and Dessert for lunch. Lynn had a lovely Pumpkin soup, and Mark had a passable Chicken noodle. But dessert was Peruvian chocolate ice cream with fudge sauce, and it came inside a Cocoa shell. It was great.

After lunch, we walked up the Artists street. We are now better negotiators. We were gathering gifts for our grandchildren. Plus, looking for fun stuff for ourselves, which we don’t need much of.

It turns out Lynn is get-by proficient in Spanish! She was able to talk with the vendors about the gift-target, giving ages and gender.

6 May Friday - Lima

We woke up for a 6am Covid test administered by two health professionals in our Cusco hotel room. Talk about service.

We passed, so we can return to the USA.

After breakfast, we got on the bus for a ride to the Cosco airport for our flight to Lima. We were there early because of course some boarding tickets could not be pre-printed. But it all worked out.

Lunch was at the airport. We had something chinese.

Arriving in Lima, we walked across the street to the original hotel and stored our luggage. We had a bus tour of the city, led by Jose. We went to the government center, but the plaza was completely closed because just earlier the parliament had voted not to change their constitution to a more communist model like North Korea or Cuba. A small vocal group caused the lockdown.

Jose talked about how there was no rain in Lima, and that the last thunderstorm was in January. Of 1970! So anywhere you see green, it's an expensive part of town. He said he was going to help with the watering, and his next sibling brother was going to help too. He was Jos-A and his brother would have been Jos-B. But he didn’t have a second brother. (That was a joke.)

We did see a small protest, but it was the municipal workers asking for a raise, as they had not had one for 7 years. Jose said they had a valid case and were not radical protesters.

He shared that the farmers had migrated to Lima, as well as many rural people because of the Shining Path rebels that were killing anyone that did not sign up for their cause. That brought the population of Lima from 5 million to 11 million. They mostly squatted on the hillside in shanty towns, which had no water, sewage nor electricity. And no roads.

But nowadays, they do have water, sewage and electricity. But still no roads. That is starting to change.

We saw example of Moroccan, Baroque, and French architecture. We also visited a couple pyramids, as well as Miraflores square, where we met Jose's wife and two sons.

It was cool, so we returned to the bus and back to the hotel to fetch our luggage. We passed through the airport check in easily, got some dinner at Lucy Juicy (which was closing just as we arrived), and ate in the common dinner area with Richard and Judith. Our flight was at 1AM, so we just hung out at the airport.

7 May Saturday - Home

We both actually slept for part of the flight from Lima to LA. We knew it would be 8+ hours, so we were better prepared.

We passed through customs easily, and it was a happy sight to see people without facemasks, and to talk to people and know they would probably understand you.

Four others from our tour were also on the flight, and we all rejoiced being back in the states as we claimed our luggage.