Lima - Cusco - Machu Picchu

Trip Start Jul 20, 2004
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Trip End Jul 20, 2012


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Thursday, October 28, 2004

Somehow I have the feeling that Peru was not meant to be for me. First, my travel agency canceled my flight from Costa Rica to Peru which I found out 3 days before leaving. After booking a new flight and having to pay $50 for it (which I will get reimbursed for according to my travel agency), I got to Peru via Quito, Ecuador. At the Lima airport, I was greeted by my hospitality club host Omar. We waited for my friend Eva to arrive from the US and then set off to his house. His family lives in Callao and has a rather lively household. Omar's parents are totally cool and sweet and then there are Totta, the hairless dog, and three parrots. Not only did Omar give us his room, he also skipped work and University to show us around Callao and Lima. I think we were very fortunate to have a family stay in Lima. I noticed that Peruvians are extraordinarily open and friendly, which makes it easy to stay here for a while.

Then, the second bad event happened. As we were waiting for our bus from Lima to Cusco, we were informed that there is a strike along the way and the bus would not leave until 3 hours later. So, off we went to Miraflor, the ritzy part of Lima. We returned to the bus stop only to find out that the trip has been canceled as the strike will last for 48 hours. GREAT!! We had out Machu Picchu trip booked for October 23rd and it was now October 21st. This meant we had to get a flight to Cusco which we did and we left the next morning at 7am.

Cusco is the gringo capital of Peru. Arrival at Lima airport
Arrival at Lima airport
 It has wonderful architecture, lots of hostels and hotels, language schools, tons of restaurants and is an excellent base for exploring the Sacred Valley and other nearby places. We checked into our little hotel and then went to the travel agency to pay for our trip. The agency's organization skills suck big time as they screwed up with our trip bookings. At the end, we got it straightened out and in the evening we met with the rest of the group and our tour guide for an orientation. Our group consisted of 2 Australians, 2 Swiss, 2 French and us 2 Germans. Our guide, Pancho, was a jolly little guy who has been working as a guide for the past 4 years.

The next morning, we left for our 4 day Inca Trail adventure. The Inca Trail is Peru's best known hike, combining a stunning mix of Inca ruins, mountain scenery, lush cloud-forest and rich subtropical jungle. Essentially the Inca Trail is a mountainous jungle hike leading to the sacred Inca city of Machu Picchu. The 45km trek is usually covered in 4 days, arriving at Machu Picchu at daybreak on the final day before returning to Cusco by train in the afternoon (or staying another day in Agua Calientes, which we did).

In 2001, the Peruvian government imposed strict regulations for the Inca Trail. Once, people were able to do the trail for about $90, now prices are anywhere between $240 and $1000. Read the next entry to learn about our 4 day Inca Trail Trek.
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