Craig and Steph's First Adventure Life Trip: Peru

Craig and I have known about Peru for as long as we can remember. I recall doing a book report on Machu Picchu in 4th grade. The pictures just captivated my imagination. So we decided to investigate trips to Peru. Craig found Adventure Life on the web. He had some very informative and friendly e-mail communication with Mary, and we decided on the 17 day Panoramic Peru tour. We decided we wanted to investigate whether or not any immunizations were required for the trip. I found the Lahey Travel and Tropical Medicine Clinic online. They are located in Burlington, MA. I called in December and left my information on an answering machine. About a week later , they called me back to schedule our first appointment. Our first appontmnet was on Jan 23. We met with Dr. Ooi, who was very knowledgeable about travel medicine. We gave her our itinerary and she recommended several immunizations. She gave us each a typhoid shot and a Hepatitis A/B shot, and Craig also got a tetanus/diptheria shot. Our next appointment was on February 27. We got our second round of Hepatitis A/B shots, as well as yellow fever shots. Craig got a MMR booster, and I got a Tetanus/Diptheria shot. Our final appointment was on June 1. Craig and I got our final Hepatitis A/B shots, and she prescribed some medicines as well. She gave us Cipro for traveler's diarrhea and Diamox for altitude sickness. We were told to only take them if necessary. The Lahey Clinic was great; very well-organized and expert in their field. It is a very easy, efficient process, and we highly recommend them if you are traveling to a foreign country that might pose health risks. The trip we booked includes a variety of different destinations, some coastal, some desert, and some highlands (Andes mountains). It includes Machu Picchu, Colca Canyon, and even a homestay with an indigenous family on an island in Lake Titicaca. Not knowing how altitude would affect us, we didn't choose a trip included a 2 or 4 day hike of the Inca Trail. Looking back, we wish we had had the chance to do the Inca Trail. We did some hiking on the trip, and it left us wanting more. Oh well, there's always next time! We also lucked out on this trip, because noone else signed up for the same time period. The tour had a minimum of two travelers, so the trip went as scheduled, and we wold up with private guides. This was wonderful, as we had lots of individual attention and became quite close friends with our guides. Because this trip was so long and varied, we have split it up into three distinct sections. Page 1 covers the first week of the trip with our guide Carlos. Places include Lima, Pisco, Nasca, Arequipa, and the Colca Canyon. Page 2 covers our trip to Lake Titicaca. There we visited the man-made Uros Islands, Taquile Island, and spent the night with a local family on Amantani Island. For this section of the trip, we were with Henry. Page 3 covers the end of the trip with our guide Vidal: Puno, Cusco, Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. We woke up at 6:00 and finished getting ready. Craig's Mom picked us up at 9 and brought us to the airport. We arrived there at 9:40. By 10:10, we had completely checked in and passed through security. We had plenty of time prior to our 12:30 flight to Miami, so we ate breakfast at Burger King. We arrived in Miami about 3 hours after takeoff. We had an hour layover. On the flight from Miami to Lima, we were seated next to Babs, an older woman from NYC who had some amazing travel stories about taking cruises to view eclipses, etc. She was on her first trip to Peru, and we had a great conversation with her. We had beef stew for dinner. This flight was about five hours long. We arrived at 9 pm local time (they don't do Daylight Savings Time, so they were an hour behind EDT). We passed through passport control and customs. We then ran the gauntlet of taxi drivers and found a guy who had a placard which bore our names. He paid the parking fee and then let us into his white Toyota Corrolla (they, along with old school VW Bugs, are probably the most popular cars in Lima). There were a lot of police in the airport area. Getting driven to the hotel was interesting. It was Friday night, and there were people everywhere. Lots of pedestrians and lots of traffic. Few traffic lights and stop signs, with cars just racing through intersections beeping their horns. Lots of urban sprawl, with casinos and lots of establishments named after Hollywood (one was called "Hello Hollywood." We couldn't tell what it was). After about half an hour we arrived in Miraflores, a more affluent part of the city which was calmer and prettier. There was a golf course, gorgeous parks, beautiful houses, and lots of trees. We arrived at the hotel (Villa Molina) and were buzzed through the gate. The driver said goodbye, and that he would see us tomorrow. We got a little confused and were wondering if he was indeed a cab driver or whether he was our guide. I guess we'd find out tomorrow. We were shown to our room (403) and in order to go up the stairs we passed through their gorgeous courtyard. Our room was very clean and nice, with a Spanish bed and windows on two walls. It had a nice bathroom, and we were first introduced to the concept of throwing toilet paper into the trash. The plumbing pipes in Peru are only two inches in diameter, so they can't accommodate paper. Though it was hard to get into the habit that first day, we got used to it very quickly. We watched the Discovery Travel Channel for a while (nice satellite TV channels) and then went to bed.

We woke up around 6:30 and had a liesurely morning with hot showers with good water pressure. The weather was around 70 and sunny but with high humidity. We turned on the Discovery Travel Channel and they had a show about Machu Picchu and Nasca! Unreal! We watched for a while getting more and more excited about what was to come on our trip. At 9:30 we went downstairs for breakfast. A hotel worker who spoke English showed us to the dining room, where bread, jelly, ham, cheese, and fresh squeezed papaya juice (as thick as nectar) awaited us. The room was gorgeous, with art and a nice chandelier. We chatted with a couple from Argentina who were in Lima for a family wedding. We drank some mate de coca (coca tea) made with a teabag. The waiter motioned that it is good for the stomach (and we also know that it is used as a remedy for altitude sickness, so we assumed we'd see a bit more of it during the course of the trip). We stood on the patio overlooking Miraflores. There were skyscrapers in the distance and Spanish influenced houses on the block. It was gorgeous. There was a really beautiful church nearby...very modern yet Spanish influenced. It looked like half a cylinder turned on its side, with a very stylized steeple. We read the guidebook and wrote in the journal while we waited for our guide to meet us. Then we checked out and sat in the courtyard, under a piece of cloth draped over the courtyard for shade. The black Lab that lives at the hotel came to visit us. At 12:30 our guide arrived. Turned out that it was not our driver from last night, although the driver was there as well. His name was Boris, and he was there to drive our guide Carlos to the bus station with us. Carlos showed us a place to sit at the bus station while he checked our backpacks. Then we chatted with him for a while, just getting to know one another. Carlos was born and raised in Arequipa, and still lives there with his family. He is of Quechua and Spanish descent. He seemed like a really great guy right from the start, and he promised that he'd show us more of Peru than just "ruins and the church." We went into the lounge at the bus station and he bought an Inca Kola and let us try some. This is a truly Peruvian soft drink...bright yellowish green and tasted like bubblegum. It is so sweet. We boarded the bus. It was a double decker "royal class" bus, and we were right in front on the top deck so we had a gorgeous view. Carlos gave us some strawberry creme cookies. The bus was scheduled to leave at 1:30, but really left around 2 (this, we were told, was "Peruvian time.") We had headrest, armrests, footrests, air conditioning, and even TV. Getting out of Lima was a trip.So many cars, buses, etc...no lanes...a total free for all, everyone beeping their horns at every potential conflict. We laughed the whole way out of Lima because of the chaos of it all. Once out of Lima we were on a normal highway (the Panamerican). We passed shantytowns on the outskirts. People can squat on land and petition the government for a title to the land. The government usually grants it, but as with any bureaucracy it takes time. In the meanwhile the people need to stay on their land in a temporary shelter (otherwise others will squat on it and take it from them). People usually need to squat for 4-6 months straight. After that, when they are granted a title, they usually need to go to work in the city to earn money to actually construct a permanent house. Sales tax in legitimate stores is 18%, and most residents of Peru can't afford to pay that. So they set up little markets and outdoor concessions where they sell to one another without the burden of sales tax. We passed a large furniture market that operated in this way. The landscape was gorgeous. There was desert in one direction, ocean in the other, palm trees, huge sand dunes, and lush green valleys with crops such as cotton, corn, grapes, and asparagus. Shantytowns were springing up in gorgeous locales along the ocean. In the U.S. this land would be developed by hotels and resorts. In Peru it is given to locals free of charge by the government. There were big, boulder-like islands off the coast that looked fake because they were illuminated so perfectly by the late afternoon sun. They started to play a movie: "Meet Joe Black." The sound was carried over speakers (rather than headphones), so we could hear the movie at all times. Although we were looking out the window rather than watching the movie, the sound creeped into our subconscious and after a while we found ourselves entertained and interested in the movie in spite of ourselves. The audio was in English but it had Spanish subtitles. A girl brought around some snacks...cups of Inca Kola and a little cellophaned tray of food. There was a pastry, a hard candy, and a chocolate cupcake. I decided to start with the pastry. It looked like a small fruit pie. What was inside? Strawberry? Papaya? Orange? Imagine my surprise when I took a bite and found a room temperature hot dog inside. Not exactly what I was expecting! It wasn't bad...just a surprise! Craig said the look on my face was priceless. I just started laughing hysterically. Just as the movie was at its dramatic climax, the TV shut off, and that was it. So now we've seen about 85% of "Meet Joe Black," and we feel compelled to see the ending...just because. It was so weird. We drove through Chincha, where most of the black population of Peru lives (they were initially brought there as slaves of the Spanish). There was a rotary with a lot of traffic (cars, buses, motorized tricycles, etc.) Our bus went the wrong way around to take a short cut to the bus station. It was exciting! We arrived in Pisco at around 5:00. After collecting our bags Carlos ushered us quickly into a waiting cab, whcih drove us a few blocks to the Hostal Posada Hispana. He whisked us inside the gate. It was a whirlwind and we felt like celebrities with bodyguards or something. We were shown to our room on the second floor. It had a clean bathroom and a window that overlooks the street. There were a lot more cars around here than at our hotel in Miraflores, so the general atmosphere was a bit more chaotic. We had a little time to unwind in our room, and I wrote in the journal while Craig flipped throuigh TV stations. It was Saturday night, so "Sabado Gigante" was on! It felt like we were home. It seems to make a bit more sense here, though, than it does from home. And we saw its competition...an equally bizarre variety show called "Sabadazo." We met Carlos at 6:30, and wandered through the town. We saw our first Plaza de Armas (main square). It was pretty and well-lit. Tourism is starting to arrive here in Pisco, but for the most part there weren't many tourists. There were a few street vendors trying to get our attention, as well as some girls trying to coax us into their restaurants. We went into one restaurant, but when Carlos looked at the menu he thought that the prices were too high. So we ordered Pisco sours (the national drink of Peru), made of Pisco grape brandy and egg whites. Carlos taught us some Spanish phrases. Craig felt something furry brush past his leg under the table. After a brief moment of confusion Carlos reached under the table and emerged with a small orange and white cat. She was adorable, and loved the petting that Craig gave her. We were told by Carlos about the abundance of internet cafes in Peru. Tourism wasn't the impetus behind them. Most Peruvians can't afford a PC, nor can they afford the monthly charge for personal internet access. So instead, there are public internet places just about everywhere, and people can pay very cheap rates (one or two soles per hour) for access. After our drinks, we headed to another restaurant: De Oro's S.R.I. Craig and Carlos got Cristal beer, and I had Chilean white wine. We ate lomo saltado (beef mixed with red peppers, onions, and french fries, with white rice on the side). It was delicious. Here we were first introduced to Carlos' love of picante, and we mixed it into our food for a spicy treat. We had a great conversation with Carlos about U.S. and Peruvian politics, Peruvian society, etc. It was quite enlightening. We left around 10:15 to go back to the hotel. As we left the restaurant we could see that there was a party later that night that was being set up. We spoke to Carlos about the closing time of bars in Boston, and he laughed and said that in Peru, parties START at 2 a.m.

We woke up at 5:30 and met Carlos and Señor Andreas for breakfast. It was Craig's birthday, so Carlos, Señor Andreas, and the waiter sang "Felices cumpleanos" to him and each gave him a hug. A female tourist came over to shake his hand and wish him happy birthday as well. It was great. We had scrambled eggs, ham, orange juice, and coca tea (from a tea bag). The restaurant at the lodge is definitely more touristic than others we have been to thus far. Last night at dinner they played jazz, today at breakfast they played classical. The food was more American than other places. At 6:45 we checked out and headed for Cruz del Condor. On the way, we stopped where some women were selling thngs. We bought an embroidered passport holder from a woman with a young girl on her back (probably around 3 years old). The girl's hat was taken by the wind and flew down a slope. The woman said she'd go after it later. The girl was adorable. I asked the mother about taking a picture. She said yes and told the girl. The girl got all excited and smiley and put both hands to her face in an embarrassed giggle. It was so cute! When we left, the girl called "Ciao!" to us. Carlos showed us the hanging tombs where people had been entombed in a fetal position (not mummified). They probably had to dangle over the mountaintop on ropes to get the bodies in there. But because the bodies were in the mountain, they were closer to god. We saw some green parakeets flying in the wild. It seemed weird to see them any place other than a cage in someon's house. The views of the canyon were spectacular. Fault lines are visible near the road, where the earth has just cracked. In some places, the road is even sunken. We saw a large truck full of potatoes that toppled into a shallow ravine. Potatoes were everywhere. Hopefully noone was hurt. I don't know how they'll even get the truck out though. The road was kind of dicey. Then we continued on to Cruz del Condor. The condors were already flying when we arrived. Most people were all jammed together at the main lookout point. We parked to the left of it, and stood by ourselves. At first the condors were flying near the other people. They were pretty low in the valley. Carlos explained that adults have wing spans of up to three meters. Adults have white stripes on their back and juveniles are black and brown. Señor Andreas looked at the condors for a few minutes and then had to change a tire on the van. As time passed, the condors flew higher and higher. They changed their flight pattern so that they were closer to us. They were so majestic! Their size made it possible to observe many details about them with the naked eye. As they soar they use their tail as a rudder, and their head darts back and forth looking for prey. At one point one flew directly over our heads. It was amazing. We then did a short 30 minute loop hike. This hike was flatter, but even so, we found that we were much more acclimatized to the altitude today. We saw another condor while hiking. At the end of the trail, some women were selling things. We bought an embroidered tapestry which had a picture of a condor, farmers, and fishermen for 25 soles. As yapa she gave us and Carlos some prickly pear fruits, three red and one green. She cut them open with a knife for us. They were very good and juicy. On the drive back we stopped at another scenic lookout. Here we met the mother of Carlos' godson. In Peru there are different godfathers and godmothers for different occasions. Carlos was the godfather for her child's first haircut. We bought an embroidered change purse from her for 4 soles and took her picture. We drove some more and stopped to view the snow-capped peak that is the source of the Amazon. We stopped in the village of Maca (maca is a plant the Peruvians use like Viagara). We had a few laughs about that and then drove back to Chivay. We ate at the Casa Blanca Restaurant, owned by one of Carlos' friends. We ate outside in a courtyard. As an appetizer we got choclo con queso (huge kernel corn on the cob served with two blocks of cheese on the side). I had papas rellenas with white rice and onion/tomato/lemon juice salad. Craig had an alpaca steak and mashed potatoes. Carlos had pork chicharron (deep fried but not battered) and he let us taste it. It had a dry texture but was quite tasty. I had Fanta and Craig had a Malta Arequipena. We had a quinoa cake (sort of like a shortcake) for dessert. Then we drove back to Arequipa, which took about 3.5 hours straight through. We hit a lot of oncoming traffic, as it was late afternoon and that is when the trucking lines set out from Arequipa. It was very dusty and you couldn't see very far. Pichu Pichu was barely visible. Carlos said that we had the benefits of the strikes the day before. Roads had been closed so cars didn't kick up as much dirt. We had had beautiful view of the mountains in Arequipa the previous two days. I guess this dustiness is what it's usually like. So, the strikers had helped us out. We got back to the hotel and said goodbye to Carlos. We were sad, as we had gotten close to him in the past few days, and it was hard to say goodbye. He was a fantastic guide, and we really got to be good friends. He had to catch a bus to Puno, but Señor Andreas would take us to te airport in the morning. We channel-surfed through some TV. We had fun watching dubbed Spanish versions of "Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "Hey Arnold," and "Rocket Power. "All the male lead characters seemed to use the same voice over actor. We showered and then went to bed around 10:30.

We woke up around 6:00 (prior to our alarm). We got our things together to prepare for our flight to Puno this afternoon. At 8:15 we went to the dining room for continental breakfast, which was included in the trip cost. We opted for the additional cost of the "American" breakfast, as we didn't know if we'd find as place to eat lunch. We had bread, butter, jelly, coca tea, ham, cheese, orange juice, and scrambled eggs. Although my appetite had been less in Colca Canyon (a symptom of altitude?) it was back to normal here. At around 9 we set off on our own for the first time since our arrival in Peru. We found public internet access for 1.5 soles per hour. We each got a machine and pretty much as soon as we started typing, the place lost its connection for a few minutes. When the connection came back Craig's machine was very slow. Turns out it was trying to download a Limp Bizkit mp3, and once he disabled that, it was much more reasonable. We read some mail and sent some mail home. While we were still logged in, we got some mail from Steve and Jared, which was nice. It felt good to have some contact with people back home. We spent about an hour and a half at the internet place. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a bodega for some water and lucma ice cream cones. Yum! They were very refreshing in the heat. Then we walked through Arequipa's gorgeous park and dipped our hands in the cool waters of a fountain. Then we walked back to the hotel. We had gotten a message saying we would be picked up for the airport at 2:15. It was 11:30, and we needed to vacate the room by 1. We got back to the room (which had been made up), grabbed a beer and fanta out of the minibar, and headed out to the courtyard, which was right outside of our room. We saw a hummingbird. We checked out of the room at 1:00 and then ordered lunch in the courtyard. Lunch was a grilled chicken sandwich with tomato, lettuce, and mayo. It was delicious! Anna Maria called and talked to Craig, to make sure that we had gotten the message about the pickup time. Craig paid our bill and Anna Maria, Patricia, and Señor Andreas arrived to take us to the airport. We were happy to see Señor Andreas. When we got to the airport, Patricia took care of checking us in, and then she left. Anna Maria stayed with us. We bought some stamps and mailed some postcards. We went up onto an observation deck to overlook the airport.We could see Misti and it had a circular ring of smoke around the top. Our flight time had changed from 3:15 to 4:15. Our plane was a 727, and there were no assigned seats. They gave us a newspaper, and we read as many of the Spanish news stories that we could during the flight. We landed in Juliaca around 4:45. The baggage claim had all kinds of dolls in Peruvian dress, and there were various native costumes on display throughout the airport. A Peruvian band was playing (Inkamaru), and we bought a CD from them. Drivers were circulating in the baggage claim area looking for their passengers. Noone seemed to have our name, so we went outside. There were some drivers waiting there. We were very excited to meet our new guide, Vidal. We saw a driver holding a placard that said "Vidal". We asked if he might be looking for us as well but he didn't know. We spoke to one nice girl who spoke English and noone seemed to know what had happened to Vidal. She found us a driver who would take us the 45 minute ride from Juliaca to the Q'ElQatani Hotel in Puno. We got into the van hoping we were doing the right thing. This was the first time we had to negotiate such a transfer on our own. It got dark on the ride. We reached the hotel, and we wondered if we should pay the driver, but he left before we got a chance, so I guess not. We checked in and told the woman at the desk that Vidal was not with us. She was surprised and called Milagros, the trip coordinator in Lima. They gave us coca tea and we sat in the lobby. Not five minutes later, a young woman came in and told us that she would pick us up at 8:15 the next morning. We explained that Vidal hadn't arrived. She asked if we wanted to be taken to the docks by tricycle or bus. We didn't know if we were supposed to make this decision ourselves, but in Vidal's absence, we chose tricycles. The woman worked for a third party company called Edgar Adventures which coordinates the Titicaca trips. She recommended a restaurant around the corner for dinner. We went there (Hero's) because it was close by. Craig got a meaty alpaca steak, fried potatoes, beans, carrots, and cauliflour. I got spaguetti bolognese which was kind of salty and didn't have a lot of sauce. I enjoyed it, though. Craig got two Cusquenas (grande) and I got two orange Crushes. The place was nice but touristy, with only one other couple there (also American). After dinner we had a nice chat with them: Chip and Marie from Colorado. We went back to the hotel. Still no word on Vidal, so all we know is to be ready at 8:15 in the morning.

We woke up at 5, ate our continental breakfast, and were picked up for the airport by Carlos and Humberto. At the airport there were porters standing in front of each parking spot. As a car pulled in, the designated porter would run and grab your bags. Humberto showed us where to go after we had checked in. We paid our airport tax and then had a lot of time to kill in the airport. Our flight departed at 8. For a one hour flight, they gave us a chicken salad sandwich, a pastry, a drink and a newspaper. Better than a three hour domestic flight in the U.S.! When we arrived in Lima, we collected our baggage. Boris was there waiting for us. He was on the cell phone wth Milagros, who had been tryng to contact us the day before, but we had been out all day. Craig spoke to her and she asked if we'd mind having lunch instead of dinner with her. It was fine with us. Boris drove us to the hotel, and we showered and watched some TV. Milagros arrived at 1 and drove us to the Cafe de la Paz in Milaflores. In Miraflores we got to see a little more security in action. In her car, Milagros locked her purse in the trunk while driving, and at the outdoor restaurant she asked for a chair that had a leather strap to secure her purse. We talked for several hours with Milagros about the trip and Peru in general. We didn't have one complaint about the trip. It was so much more than we ever had expected, and we feel changed because of it. Craig and I both had lasagna and garlic bread, with one last lucma ice cream for dessert. Milagros dropped us off at the Indian Market in Miraflores, where we spent a couple hours just roaming through the booths looking at all of the amazing stuff: carved boxes, tapestries, alpaca rugs, furniture, pottery. We ended up buying a chess board (Incas vs. Spaniards) for 30 soles At 5 we walked back to the hotel. We got a little lost because of the way the streets are laid out surrounding Arequipa Avenue, but we asked a security guard and eventually saw some landmarks that directed us to Teruel St., where the Villa Molina was located. The clerk at the desk of showed us a map of the nearby restaurants. The only really close things were American franchises. We had avoided them until now, but we just needed a functional meal. We got to a roundabout that contained Friday's, Chili's and a splace called the "Backcow Steakhouse", which had the same logo and font as the Outback. We settled on Friday's. The Celtics playoff game was on, and we ended up watching it. The Celtics came back for a very improbable win. I got a chicken finger dinner and a huge margarita. Craig got a grilled chicken sandwich and a Pilsen beer. We had seen signs for Pilsen everywhere, but were never able to try one until now, on our last night. We got back to the hotel at 8 to watch some TV.