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Machu Picchu by train & Lima

By : Alicia Liang
Trip Begins March 1, 2009
Trip Ends March 8, 2009

Peru was an amazing place, full of friendly people, the most beautiful countryside, and Incan ruins everywhere!

Want to go? Machu Picchu by Train

I went to: Peru, Cusco, Lima, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu Ruins, Machu Picchu, Costa del Sol, San Agustin Exclusive, Taypikala Hotel Cusco, Ollantaytambo
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March 1, 2009
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From Atlanta to Lima - with snow!

Lima, Peru

It was an insane travel day. What should have been smooth sailing - after all, Pittsburgh was clear and mild, so why would Atlanta, a southern city, be any different? But it was crazy! This day would set the tone for the next 48 hours. Basically, Atlanta had a freak snow storm, and being a southern girl myself (raised in Nashville) I am well aware that the south comes to a stand-still with a single snow flake. So leaving Pittsburgh was delayed about 1 1/2 hours, and arriving in Atlanta...well, that delay was significantly longer. A flight that was scheduled to depart at 5:15 pm ended up being delayed to 6:30, then 7:30...we finally were allowed to board the plane at 7:30, but because of the many flights heading to Europe, and FAA regulations giving these priority, our spot in queue for the de-icing was pushed back such that we weren't in the air until more than 5 hours later, at 10:30!

March 2, 2009
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Finally in Lima...and Cusco?

Cusco, Peru

Around 5 or 5:30 am we arrived in Lima - about 5+ hours later than planned. Of course, one is always pleased to arrive someplace safely rather than quickly, so my Mom and I were relieved and tired. We stopped in at our hotel across from the airport for a 90-minute nap (refreshing!) and then headed back to the airport after breakfast for our 9:20 am flight to Cusco. After successfully boarding and taking off on time, we arrived to Cusco...or rather the air over Cusco. It appeared we brought the bad weather with us from Atlanta! A storm had set in on the valley city, and with mountains all around, it was too precarious to land. The plane circled for 30 minutes waiting for the weather to clear...and after 30 minutes, there was no choice but to return back to Lima. Now what? Our hotel and reservations were back in Cusco! Oh well...back to the hotel Ramada. At the time we were very disappointed, but later in retrospect we realized it was a serendipitous arrangement. We were so tired from lack of sleep (who can sleep on a plane anyway?) that had we tried to make it at the 11,500 feet altitude of Cusco AND with a walking tour, we likely would have fainted and not enjoyed the city anyway! This allowed much needed rest...and preparation for the early rise the next day...

March 3, 2009
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Finally! Let the vacation begin!

Ollantaytambo, Sacred Valley

The LAN airline was great in somehow managing to reschedule all of us who were not able to make it to Cusco on Monday by putting us on an early flight on Tuesday...and when I say early, I mean EARLY! The alarm went off at 3am in preparation for being by the airport at 4, and being off the ground at 5:50am. Yikes! But we successfully made it, and upon arrival we were greated by the friendly faces of our driver and tour guide, Teddy. It was so nice of time to come so early - 7am - I am NOT a morning person, so I felt bad subjecting anyone to those hours. But we had a great day. The weather was beautiful, and we began our trip through the Sacred Valley.


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