FUN-travel: South America: Cusco, Peru to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
March 4, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Cusco, Peru to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Day 19 – Wednesday, February 22 – Cusco to Lima, Peru to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – big thick clouds w/sun – high 60’s
- 9:30 breakfast & all ready for check out
- Good News – take morning walk into plaza
- Really Good News – Carnaval parade through town w/over 3 dozen stilt walkers (5 to 25 yrs old) – adorned in colorful costumes w/marching band of drums & horns
- Good News – go shopping for my birthday present (money from my dad) find beautiful baby llama sweater on sale
- 2:00 pickup for airport – arrive 2:15 for 4:00 flight
- Bad News – flight delayed
- Good News – rescheduled on 4:55 flight
- Bad News – bag search for alcohol (we assume it’s a scam for them to get free booze)
- Good News – we lie & say “No” – poor search turns up nothing!
- Really Good News – no baggage police or gate Nazi’s in force
- Good News – ask to upgrade to biz class – told only $246 each
- Bad News – only one seat left
- Good News – nice, big terminal – relax & have beer & sandwich while waiting
- Good News – depart 9:50 pm
- Bad News – plane is full
Day 20 – Thursday, February 23 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – light wispy clouds, hot & humid
- Good News – arrive on time 5:50 am
- Bad News – really 2:50 am body time
- Really Good News – breeze through customs! & we are at Sea Level!
- Good News – get yellow taxi outside to hotel @ Ipanema – 40 minute ride
- Good News – arrive 7:30 am & room is ready
Carnaval Stilt Walkers
- Bad News – they charge us half day rate
- Good News – includes breakfast
- Good News – sleep for 5 hrs & take long walk on Ipanema beach
- Good News – Route 66 restaurant serves Mexican food & cold beer
- Bad News – not that good – order nachos – chips, meat, cheese whiz, little pico de gallo, Tabasco sauce on table
- Good News – Italian restaurant w/thin crust pizza across the street
- More Good News – nice wine – great people watching spot
BB-(Buyer Beware) – taxi in airport costs 99 reals – outside yellow cabs cost 75 reals
FUN-travel: South America: Machu Picchu to Cusco, Peru
March 3, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Machu Picchu to Cusco, Peru
Day 18 – Tuesday, February 21 – Machu Picchu to Cusco, Peru – sunshine, blue skies, mixed w/white fluffy clouds – high 60’s
Dome Train
- Good News – slept for 10 hours
- Good News – awake to birds chirping
Native Weaver
- Good news – take morning walk for post cards – have to go to 3 places to get 6 for 5 soles (about $2.00) they all want 6 soles – unbelievable!
- Good News – we have 2 day pass including climb up to top of Wayna Picchu – only 400 persons allowed each day – neighboring peak looks down on Machu Picchu
- Bad News – no railings & straight up narrow path – fear of heights!
- Good News – tour company sent a bottle of wine to our hotel for giving back tickets we had already paid for
- Good News – today is Fat Tuesday
Urubamba River in Aguas Calientes
- Good News – able to book earlier train – get to Cusco @ 5pm instead of 7pm
- Good News – on train ride back see glaciers on mountain tops
- Bad News – feel hungry all the time but nothing tastes good (except for the chocolate brownie cake @ tea)
- Good News – dinner @ Bodega 138 – pizza! wonderfully fresh salad! nice wine! half the price of other dinners – filled w/locals
FF – (FUN-facts) – This is the rainy season and that means fewer tourists. The mountains are green and the flowers are blooming. It’s not hot and humid and there are no bugs or mosquitoes.
FUN-travel: South America: Cusco to Machu Picchu, Peru
March 2, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Cusco to Machu Picchu, Peru
Day 17 – Monday, February 20 – Cusco to Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu at 9:30 am
- Good news – we are off to see our 3rd New 7 Wonders of the World!
- Bad News – pick up @hotel is 5:05 am
- Bad News – need to drive 90 minutes to train station – (Cusco trains don’t run in February because of potential mud/rock slides on tracks)
- Good News – arrive train station 6:35
- Really Good News – train departs 7:05 – last week mud slides closed tracks 2 days & week before for 4 days!
- Good News – on Peru Rail – nice Dome train – big seats – takes 90 minutes to go 27 miles
- More Good News – we are down to 7000 ft
- 1st stop – arrive Aguas Calientes (town @ base of Machu Picchu) @ 8:30 – thin wispy fog like clouds hug the mountains & the Urubamba river roars by
Machu Picchu at 12:30 pm
- Bad News – now have to transfer to bus for another 30 minute ride up one lane windy, twisty road
- 2nd stop – sacred ruins on top of mountain – 8000 ft
- Bad News – raining, shrouded in fog & clouds (have a déjà vu moment – same thing happened to us at the Great Wall of China)
- Good News – by 11 am fog is going away & rain stops
- Lunch stop – buffet @ Tinkuy in Sanctuary Lodge
- More Good News – sun comes out after lunch & low clouds are gone!
- Good News – I insisted on spending the night here – (travel mantra #1, “I’m only doing this once.”
- Good News – Inkaterra is lovely (& expensive) – as LA Times travel reporter says, “If you can afford it, stay there) – rustic casitas w/fireplaces, private outdoor patios & thatched roofs (moss grows quickly, then flowers & plants attach) – breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea & happy hour drink Pisco Sour included
- Good News – take stroll through town to market (stalls of vendors selling tons of junk mostly)
Alice the Alpaca
- Bad News – totally forgot about happy hour – what was I thinking! clearly I wasn’t! too busy haggling in the market
- More Good News – Machu Picchu is a tropical rain/cloud forest – orchids & flowers, hummingbirds & butterflies are abundant on my outdoor patio
FF – (FUN-facts) – You can walk in on the Inca trail. It takes 4 days & 3 nights and starts at kilometer marker 82.
FUN-travel: South America: Cusco to Sacred Valley, Peru
February 29, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Cusco to Sacred Valley, Peru
Day 16 – Sunday, February 19 – Cusco to Sacred Valley – blue skies mixed w/light clouds – 60’s
Alpaca Thread Dying
- Good News – wake up to sunshine!
Carnaval in Pisaq
- Good News – full day excursion starts @ 9:30 (whenever we want!)
- 1st stop – Puca Pucara – a small fortress – might have been some sort of storage facility, lodge or perhaps guard post on the road from Cusco to the villages of the Sacred Valley
- 2nd stop – Awanacancha – farm w/llamas, alpacas, vicunas & guanacos – relatives of the camel – alpacas have thick wool & most commonly used – vicunas are small & delicate w/fur considered the finest -see native weavers from different areas showing their different weaving styles & dress
- 3rd stop – town of Pisaq for market
- Really Good News – today is Carnaval! the whole town is decorated in colorful balloons, streamers & huge bouquets of tree branches & flowers
- Good News – main town square filled w/locals, music & native dancers
- Lunch stop – Sol y Luna hotel – eat traditional BBQ
- Good News – see Peruvian Paso Horse show – instead of a trot, they perform an ambling (four equal beats) lateral gait – there are always two, and sometimes three, feet on the ground
- 4th stop – Tambomachay – known as “Baths of the Inca” for its fountain, falls, and streams
Incan Ruins
Ollantaytambo
- 5th stop – Ollantaytambo – more Incan ruins – 250 steps straight up to top – massive pink granite rocks brought from top of mountain on other side of valley – amazing!
- Bad News – fear of heights, narrow trail on edge of mountain & no railings!
- Good News – make it down – easier than I thought
- Dinner – Lino’s on the plaza
FF – (FUN-facts) – Guinea Pig is considered a delicacy in Peru & eaten on special occasions.
FUN-travel: South America: Lima to Cusco, Peru
February 28, 2012 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South America: Lima to Cusco, Peru
Day 15 – Saturday, February 18 – Lima to Cusco, Peru – cloudy w/intermittent showers (never lasting more than 10 minutes) – mid 60’s
Cusco
- Bad News – only 5 hours of sleep
- Flight departs 9:30 am – get to airport 7:30
- Good News – ticket agent doesn’t weigh carryon bags
- Bad News – Baggage Nazi’s @ gate in full force! tell us they are checking our carryon bags – we both say “NO” repeatedly – after much arguing I start taking all of my personal items out to show her & finally she allows us
Not so FF – I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT FLYING LAN! I will only do so if it is the only airline available.
- Good News – arrive Cusco on time @ 10:45 am
- Bad News – total fiasco @ customs (once again – not enough staff)
- Good News – we are picked up by Metropolitan Touring – driver & English speaking guide
- Good news – Casa Andina San Blas Hotel is only 15 minutes – have time to eat light meal & acclimate to altitude of 11,150
- Good News – no headache or sickness – only a little light headed
- Bad News – tired & force myself to stay awake
- Good News – Danny our guide is wonderful! Doesn’t repeat everything
Saqsaywaman
- Good News – only half-day tour scheduled from 2 to 5 pm
- 1st stop – the main town square & Cathedral of Santo Domingo – incorporates the foundations and some walls of the Inca Temple of the Sun – and contained shrines to a variety of other gods – Incas regarded it as a sacred site and was used as an astronomical observatory.
- 2nd stop – Koricancha – important Incan temple destroyed by Spaniards who turned it into the Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo
- 3rd stop – Saqsaywaman – an Incan walled complex built at an altitude of 12,142 feet – it is the most common starting point for the three-day, four-night hike known as the Inca Trail
Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo
- 4th stop – Kenko – more ruins at top of hill – one of the largest holy places – naturally occurring rock formations – believed to be place where sacrifices and mummification took place
- Good News – Danny recommends Ciccolino for dinner & reserves for 7pm
- Good News – lay down for siesta
FF – (FUN-facts) – Cusco was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. Really cute with European influence. Balconies & French doors with clay tile roofs and narrow cobblestone streets.