- Nothing short of breath taking, this beautiful drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, enroute to Machu Picchu. This is definitely a tourist trap and they hit you hard in the wallet but everybody we have spoken to that has done this trek says it's well worth the money and pain to get here. We are headed to Machu Picchu at 6 am tomorrow morning on Peru Rail then back to Ollantaytambo for the evening before heading back to Cusco on Tuesday.
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Spent a relaxing day visiting the huge Saturday Market, local Peruvian entertainment at the Plaza De Armas.
The hotel is great, the city is beautiful and the people are wonderful. We started with a great breakfast at the hotel and then ventured out to the town square. The place was bustling and amazing, throngs of people, lots of entertainment at the various squares. We started with a free city tour that we have done many times before at various locations. The young lady was very well informed and professional. Once again, we met some wonderful people from around the globe and I must say we had a fabulous day!
I am not a big fan of Red Eyes, buses, trains or planes. For whatever reason, I cannot sleep on these red eye fares and it normally leads to a 2-3 day recovery period. Well this experience proved to be the RED EYE from hell. This was our 4th trip with Cruz Del Sur and I must say we have been pretty impressed. This trip was an exception. We have always booked the VIP Service which gives extras such as wide, comfy reclining leather chairs, in house movies, meal service and limited seats in a private coach. Fifteen minutes into the trip I new things were going wrong when I went to use the little boy's room and the toilet was overflowing with...you know what! This carried on the entire 18.5 hour trip, that's right 18.5 hours of hell. The seats we booked were supposed to recline 160 degrees but not so. They were in the back row and would only recline to about 140 degrees (no wonder they were the only 2 seats available in VIP). My stomach started giving me some issues a few days prior and that didn't help. The goofballs in front of us reclined their seats to the full 160 degrees about 5 minutes after boarding and that essentially locked us in our seats. NOT A GREAT START!! I used to be the only one on a red eye bright eyed and bushy tailed but this experience was definitely the worst. We arrived in Cusco at approximately 4 pm, 4 hours later than published arrival time. We cannot blame Cruz Del Sur entirely for the delay due to a car rally that was making its way through this small village and we had to wait (2 hours) for all the cars to pass.
Our personal tour guide Jan and his trusty side kick Johnny gave us a great experience this morning touring one of the largest archeological dig sites in the world, located 30 minutes from Nasca. The Cahuachi Pyramids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahuachi are a series of dozens of pyramids that have only recently been discovered. Along the way we stopped at some burial sites that have been ravaged by grave robbers over the years, seeking precious gems and sacred cloths that can fetch you $1000's. From the pyramids we drove a short distance to the Nasca Aquaduct site which was another amazing spot. We were dropped at the local bus station where we took a bus approximately 30 minutes to the Nasca Lines...waste of time, money & effort. The buses that supposedly run every 15 - 20 minutes was close to a 2 hour wait. The rest of the day was great!
We left Pisco this morning for the 11 am bus to Ica, a city close to the world famous Huacachina Dunes. We hopped into a 12 person dune buggy driven by of course by a crazy Peruvian driver, which most people expect and want in this instance. A fabulous day was had by all. I was great to spend the afternoon with Donna & Phil, two fellow British Columbian's that appear to be as adventurous as us!
I wanted to start this post by saying "we love the Peruvian people"! They are among the kindest, gentlest, caring, and most giving people we have ever met throughout our travels. I didn't want any of my negative comments about Peru to reflect on the people. The majority of the Peruvians we spoke with completely agree with our comments concerning the decrepit surroundings in certain areas and the garbage being strewn everywhere. They are very frustrated with the lack of government concern and the attitude of some of the residents concerning this issue.
We go out for dinner tonight and had the pleasure of meeting Jose Luis, owner/chef of Taita Restaurant in Pisco. Jose had quite the story to tell us. When he found out we were Canadians he immediately said his best friend is from Calgary, Alberta. Jose Luis went on to tell us how Mr. Bruce was his guardian angel. He met Mr. Bruce on the rough streets of Peru when Jose was at a low point in his life, living on the streets. Mr. Bruce offered to help him get a fresh start and helped him enroll in a culinary school. Jose graduated and began his career as a chef with Westin & Marriott Hotels. You couldn't help but see tears welling up in his eyes when he relayed the story of how Mr. Bruce saved him from the depths of dispair. Today Jose Luis has his own restaurant, a wife and two young boys, the youngest who he named Bruce. What a great story that proves to re-instate our faith in mankind. Today was a great day starting with a tour of Isla Ballestas and then a leisurely stroll around the wealthy community of Paracas, where the richest 1/2% are living large, VERY LARGE! It sure brought everything into perspective. We spent the morning touring the Chan Chan ruins. Very interesting. On the road to Pisco (I am assuming the origin of the Pisco Sour) on the Cruz Del Sur overnight bus. We booked a "comfort suite" on the bus which is supposedly the ultimate of comfort. We will see. Lucky Leslie gets to spend her birthday on an overnight bus...HER DECISION!
Not sure if I'm jumping the gun here but maybe things are about to change. The bus to Trujillo was great, a pleasant change traveling with Cruz Del Zur. We grabbed a cab to the seaside resort of Haunchaco and once again, the taxi didn't have a clue where he was going. Why they do not have GPS is beyond me. It would certainly save a lot of time and gas!
We were very pleased when he drove up to the lobby and even more pleased when the Raoul showed us to our beautiful ocean view room. We have two days booked and may extend it a day if Leslie wishes to spend her big day here. The boardwalk has some new and trendy buildings but once again when you stray from the main drag, same old, same old, dirty, smelly, decrepit. This is our 3rd day in Chiclayo and the best part of the city is our hotel room. Another bus trip to Pimentel was again anti climactic but okay.
Here is our take on Peru as of today... 1. The place is dirty, stray barking dogs everywhere, all hours of the day and night. Makes sleeping painful if not impossible. Extremely noisy. A bylaw against horn honking would be a great first step. 2. Terrible Roads. In many areas you would swear your in Iraq or Afghanistan! 3. Disrespectful drivers, especially to pedestrians. It appears that vehicle traffic holds priority over pedestrians and when crossing the roads even at intersections, you are taking your life in your hands. 4. Crappy food, unlike the reports we have heard about the great food in Peru. 5. You have to go with the inter provincial bus companies as the local bus companies are pretty brutal (dirty and smells of baby puke & sometimes worse). We will have more to report after our first class tickets with Cruz Del Sur tomorrow. 6. Hopefully things will change after our new destination tomorrow in Haunchaco or we will start making fast tracks to Chile. |
Glen
I have always been a straight shooter and a go getter. Many have said Leslie must be a saint to have put up with me for over 40 years. We have been business partners since the day we got married and each played an intrigal roll in our business success. There is nothing more important to us than our Family & Friends. Our love of people and travel has allowed us to develop amazing friendships around the world. Archives
November 2017
Categories"The New Gineration"Disclaimer:
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