November 2002 Peru Trip Report Fall of 2002 and time for a visit to the South American country of Peru. It's a 6.5 hour flight from the United States to Lima, Peru. At Jorge Chavez International Airport we take a $20 cab ride to the Sheraton in downtown Lima. We get upgraded to a nice room on the 17th floor, the hallway borders a steep drop to the lobby that would not be good for those fearful of heights. I peer out our room window and a see a large group of police with riot shields waiting on the corner below. Fri Nov 22 Lima reminds me of Paris, only much more polluted. Seriously, the air is difficult to breathe here. The city appears to be safe enough to walk through most neighborhoods in daylight hours so we leave our hotel and stroll past vendors selling all sorts of items in the streets (including toilet paper) on our way to the Monastery of San Francisco. This church was completed in the late 1700's and is known for its large catacombs. The guy working the admissions desk will not break my twenty dollar bill (American currency is accepted in Peru) so we walk around the corner to a large supermarket and buy some chips to break it. The cashier carefully inspects the serial numbers on the twenty and then gives us change. Back at the church we take the mandatory guide (in Spanish only) and try to guess what the guide is describing as our Spanish is quite limited. The church has nice tile work and interesting paintings of the church's historical tree. We descend down into the catacombs that were dug in 1546 as a burial ground for priests and others. Supposedly 75,000 bodies lay here and we pass mounds of skull and bones. The catacombs are the highlight of the visit here. We attempt to walk to Miraflores after our visit to the catacombs but it is further than we think and we end up in a sketchy part of town so we turn around. Cabs are plentiful in Lima but I'd recommend that you decide on a price before getting in. We pick the cabs with elderly drivers who seem less likely to try and rob us. We barter a grandfatherly driver down to 8 soles (around $2.70) to take us to Miraflores and have a great lunch of Italian pasta (somewhat expensive for Lima at $30 for two people) at La Trattoria di Mambrino on Manuel Bonilla. Downtown Lima, Peru After lunch we walk to the Lan Chile airlines office to pick up our tickets to Cusco (one of the oldest cities in the Americas), then take a cab back to the hotel. In the evening we spend some time in the Sheraton casino playing the $3 blackjack tables with some locals. All bets are made in Spanish which keeps it interesting. Sat Nov 23 Wake up early and take a $20 cab ride to the airport. Unfortunately our flight to Cusco is grounded due to weather, although it takes a while for the airport officials to acknowledge this. There is a chaotic line to get vouchers (the officials say they will call us by name but it is really first come/first serve). We get a 6:00am "seat" for the next morning and a voucher to stay at the Sheraton again. Lan Chile have arranged a bus for us but it takes forever to arrive so we split a cab with 3 other Americans. We check in to our shabby airport-provided room (much different than the normal rooms the Sheraton offers to paying guests) and then take a cab to Museo De Oro Del Peru, the privately held Gold Museum. The cab ride takes us past the gated communities in the suburbs and the American embassy. The museum has a bottom floor with ceremonial objects, jewelry, Inca gold, and mummies. The top part has weapons and clothing. The exhibitions are not as great as the Frommers guide book made them out to be. We have to walk down the street a bit before we can find a cheap cab to take us back to Miraflores. The cab driver tries to make small talk with us but the language barrier makes it a bit awkward. In Miraflores we have pizza and some drinks at Cafe Cafe (tables on the sidewalk give you a nice view of Parque Central) before retiring for the evening. Sun Nov 24 We are up at 3:00am to catch our shuttle to the airport for the rescheduled trip to Cusco. We hear that yesterday one of the shuttles broke down and one guy had a watch snatched from his wrist as his arm hung out of the window. Our flight leaves as planned this time and we fly over the Andes, briefly stopping in Arequipa in Southern Peru for about 20 min before continuing to Cusco. At the airport our hotel has sent a driver to pick us up. The Amaru Hostel staff serves us some coca tea and then gives us a bit of hard sell pitch about hiring a tour guide from them. We skip the guide and walk ourselves down to Plaza de Armas (the center of the historic section of Cusco) and have lunch at El Cuate (Cusco's first Mexican restaurant). I get a burrito with chips and guacamole, it is pretty good for "Peruvian-Mexican". The plaza would be a great place to sit and hang out but the harassment from a multitude of street vendors and beggars is unbearable after a while. We purchase a Boleto Turistico (tourist ticket) and walk the very steep walk to San Cristobal church. I'm not used to the high altitude yet and have to stop to catch my breath quite often. There are nice views of the city up here and a llama grazing near by completes the setting. Some steep walks in Cusco, Peru The town square (Plaza de Armas) in Cusco, Peru An ornate fountain in Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru Near San Cristobal church looking down on Cusco, Peru We continue to the ancient battle ground of Sacsayhuaman (the locals think it is hilarious to call this "sexy woman"). This is an old Inca fortress and was the site of one of the bloodiest battles between the Spaniards and the natives. We rent some horses for a ride in the countryside near Sacsayhuama and a little kid on a donkey is our guide. We see Q'enko (a limestone outcropping occupied by the Incas), Puca Pucara (a small fortress), and Tambomachay (The Inca Baths). It pours rain part of the time and we buy some ponchos from our guide. Post equestrian role playing we walk back to town dodging the cigarette and postcard hawkers and have a nice wood fired pizza at Chez Maggie. Good food, poor service. Llamas at Sacsayhuaman, Peru Horseback riding in the Peruvian countryside Sacsayhuaman, Peru Rainbow in Cusco, Peru Mon Nov 25 We begin the morning with a nice breakfast at Granja Heidi, a 2nd story restaurant run by a German woman. We walk to the train station and buy our tickets to Machu Picchu (a UNESCO World Heritage site and Peru's most visited tourist attraction). Decide to splurge and buy the more expensive class of train tickets as the windows and seats are supposed to be better. We do some shopping at the local markets, get locally made chess sets, scarf's, sweaters, and figurines (I still use my scarf and sweater bought back then even now in present day 2010). We have a terrible lunch at the Baghdad Cafe (institutional looking spaghetti and a grim looking burrito). We check out some of the local churches (Qoricancha Templo Sel Sol, Santo, and Domingo). We have the vegetarian version of Lomo Saltado at El Encuentro (they serve many vegetarian versions of traditional Peruvian dishes). We have a drink at Paddy Flaherty's on a 2nd story overlooking the Plaza De Armas. It's an Irish pub, we get a corner seat and chat with some English guys who just finished the Inca four day trail. There is a sign in the bar warning patrons of the possibility of getting mugged via strangulation at night. We definitely watch our backs on the short walk back to our hotel from the pub. The are many cafes overlooking the square of Cusco, Peru Roofs of Cusco, Peru Tues Nov 26 We get up early and catch a cab to the train station. Enjoy the scenic ride thru the Sacred Valley, lots of farmland and small towns to see out the train windows. The train follows the Urubamba river and it begins to rain. The end of the line is Aquas Caliente. The porter from Gringo Bill's meets us and leads to our hotel. They give us a nice room with a balcony that has a view of the surrounding Andes. After breakfast we hit the road and walk the 5 miles along the road to Machu Picchu and up some steep steps as Peruvian kids and backpackers come down (if you are lazy you can take a bus up to the top). We finally get to the top and pay to get in. Seeing Machu Picchu in person is one of my traveling highlights, seeing the ancient city with the Andes surrounding it is amazing. Random Peruvian kids ask if they can get their photos taken with us. We wander around the ruins a bit and then do the bonus hike to Huayna Picchu, a huge outcrop that overlooks Machu Picchu. We sit on the top for while and enjoy the 360 degree views. After a day exhausting ourselves touring the site we decide to be lazy and take the shuttle bus back down as a kid races down along it. He then climbs on the bus asking for tips. We have a decent dinner at Chez Maggie (we have to search for a place that takes credit cards as we are out of cash and there are no banks in Aquas Caliente). We give some of our leftovers to the stray dogs that hang out near our table. After an exhausting climb to the top of Machu Picchu, Peru Cool arch at Machu Picchu, Peru Fog at Machu Picchu, Peru These Peruvian kids wanted their photo taken with a gringo for some reason at Machu Picchu, Peru Llamas may push you out of the way at Machu Picchu, Peru The mean streets of Aquas Caliente, Peru Weds Nov 27 We do some exploring of the side trails around Aquas Caliente and then have an asparagus pizza at Pueblo Viejo. Watch the local kids ride their toy cars down the steep sidewalk and tramp over the fresh cement some city workers have layed down. We board the train around 3pm and stop in Ollantaytambo and randomly pick Hostal Muna Tika which offers us a room for $20. We wander around the small quiet town for a bit and have dinner at Kusicoyllor Cafe-Bar. They serve some good spinach ravioli. Thurs Nov 28 The owner of the hotel calls a cab for us (I think the "taxi" is just a friend of theirs with a car). The "cab" take us to the ATM in Urubamba and then drops us off at the Hostal Pisac in Pisac. We unload our luggage in the nice room upstairs and check out the famous Pisac market and stock up on Xmas presents. We also get tasty cheese empanadas for very cheap (1 sole a piece) at the "empanaderia" in the market. Afterwards we take the steep climb up to the Pisac Ruins. We have a drink on the front porch of the hotel as folks constantly harass us for photos, candy, etc. We give an extra empanada to an old lady who shares it with her dog. Danger at the Pisac Ruins, Peru Local kid and pup in Pisac, Peru Local woman and child in Pisac, Peru Fri Nov 29 We take a $10 cab ride from Pisca to Cusco. Get stopped by the police checkpoint on the way but we are waved through, our cab driver seems quite nervous by the presence of these authority figures. We wander around some more old churches in Cusco and grab some pizza for dinner. Sat Dec 1st The last day of our vacation, annoying our flight back to the States doesn't leave until 1am! Take a Lan Peru flight to Lima, put our luggage in the $6 a day locker and head into town. Get stuck in cab with a driver who wants to practice his broken English on us and take us for a tour of Lima. We jump out at the first opportunity. Have another good lunch at La Trattoria di Mambrino again. Wander around town until dinner time and take a cab to Barraco and eat a formal but nice meal at Antica Trattoria. Our waiter Juan is one of those old-school European style waiters. We split a salad and a mushroom pizza. We find a taxi that will take us to the airport for only 20 soles and pass the microbuses with the drivers shouting out the window for passengers, armed guards outside the pharmacies, etc.. Our flight leaves at 1:00 am and we are back in the States! Peru is a country I would recommend visiting. If I did the trip over again I would probably sign up for the four day hike from Cusco to Machu Picchu and maybe try to see the Nazca Lines near Lima. If you have any questions or comments send them to: Trip Report Index