PERU - TRIP of a lifetime
JANUARY 9-25, 2020
Travelers: Don and Mary Lou Liepold from Wisconsin
Occasion: 50th Wedding Anniversary
Background: After a tremendous amount of research, we decided to take a trip to Peru for our 50th Wedding Anniversary.
We have traveled around the world, but somehow, we missed a stop in South America.
We looked into all the various countries, and finally decided, if we wanted to see South America, we needed to start one country at a time.
We both had the Amazon on our bucket list.
We also had a couple of friends who had visited Peru, worked with the Alpaca industry and loved it. They tipped the scales for us.
Peru it would be!
Itinerary: Lima - Paracas - Huacachina - Nazca - Arequipa - Colca Canyon - Lake Titicaca - Cusco - Machu Picchu - Iquitos - Amazon Lodge - Lima
January 10/Friday: Lima Arrival
We landed in Lima at 6:30am and got through customs easily. Miles had arranged for a driver and car to meet us and drive us to the Casa Andina Select Hotel in Miraflores.
The property was a pleasant surprise. We were greeted warmly and upgraded to a lovely room overlooking the square. It was everything we could have hoped for.
Trying Lima’s famous gastronomy.
We then walked down to Lima’s Travel Bureau and joined a free guided walking tour of the city. It was a nice introduction to Peru and lasted about two hours.
That evening we enjoyed a local dinner including ceviche and scallops – delicious!
January 11/Saturday: Lima - Paracas
We left the hotel at 7am and boarded a Peruhop motorcoach which takes us to Paracas for our overnight. On the way there, we make a few stops.
The first stop is for a unique breakfast at a place called Mirasur. We were also supposed to see a horse show there, but for whatever reason, we saw the horses dancing around, but no show.
We continued our journey south ...
The next stop is in Chincha to explore the underground slave tunnels at the Hacienda San Jose – a former sugar plantation and currently a five star hotel.
Church at Hacienda San Jose.
This was the home of thousands of African slaves during the 18th and into the 19th centuries.
There is a huge Catholic church on the grounds, right on the courtyard where the entrance to the slave tunnels is located.
We took a brief tour of the tunnels and we were both moved by the experience.
The slaves were brought over from Africa and off loaded at a sea port, and then were forced to walk 17 km underground to the plantation in order to avoid detection from local tax assessors.
Leg irons at Hacienda San Jose.
There was still a bar and leg irons on display to show the torture many went through.
Peru had slaves for over 300 years. A sad fact.
We left there and continued to Paracas.
Paracas is a small fishing village right on the ocean. We stayed at the Los Frayles Hotel on the second floor overlooking the ocean. Perfect!
That evening we walked around the village and enjoyed the outdoors and a nice dinner at the hotel.
January12/Sunday: Ballestas Islands - Huacachina
Pier for off-loading guano in Ballestas Islands.
This morning (8-10am) we take a boat tour to Ballestas Islands in the Paracas National Reserve and view the many seals, birds, crabs, etc.
Probably the most interesting part of the tour was hearing about the collection of guano...bird poop.
Peruvians gather 20,000 TONS of this shit (literally) every year. This is such a valuable commodity that it is controlled by the government.
The slaves worked here first. Now, approximately 400 regular workers are hired for eight months a year to shovel poop.
They get high pay (more than double the average worker) along with medical benefits and meals. They deserve it!
At 1pm we re-board our bus and depart for Huacachina, the only desert oasis in all of South America.
We overnight at the Mossone Hotel, a nice place, clean and comfortable.
Huacachina sand buggy.
The same afternoon we walk over to the sand dunes and take a fabulous six seat dune buggy ride in the vast desert.
And we even tried out sand boarding. It was great fun and we highly recommend it (wear long sleeves).
We stopped to watch a gorgeous sunset - truly a memory not to be forgotten!
We walked back to our hotel and did a little shopping at the many shops that surround the oasis.
A highlight of the evening was when three young children came over and crawled up on Don’s lap! It was really cute. So of course, we bought them some ice cream. (Their parents too.)
View of Huacachina Oasis from above.
I think they found us curious and hadn’t seen many, if any, Americans. They were not begging, just having fun!
Note here: there were very FEW people that spoke English. The first USA folks we saw were in the Cusco / Machu Picchu tourist areas.
Most tourists were in their 20’s and 30’s and lots of backpackers.
January 13/Monday: Huacachina - Nazca - Arequipa
We decided that we would like to do a flight over the Nazca Lines which we have heard about for years. So we left early that morning and transferred to Nazca Airport.
The Spiral, one of the Nazca Lines.
The cost for the 30 minute six seater Piper Cub flight and transfer was $90 per person - well worth it!
I had the co-pilot take pictures with my camera and that was a good decision.
The geoglyphs cover an area of over 1,000 km. There are about 300 figures including huge spider, a really clever squirrel, a 180’ monkey and a hummingbird 5X the length of a large airplane.
The lines date back from 500AD to 1000AD. No one knows how they got there. Extraterrestrials perhaps?
Mummies at Chauchilla Cemetery.
Following the flight, we had some free time in the Nazca area. So we found a tour to the Chauchilla Cemetery to tour prehistoric mummified human remains and archeological artifacts from 200AD.
Discovered in 1920, grave diggers had stolen valuables, i.e. gold, jewelry, from the sites; and bones and pottery were strewn across the area.
The Government of Peru protected the site starting in just 1997.
The tour is about two hours.
Peruhop picked us up in Nazca and we “enjoyed” a 10.5 hour overnight bus trip to Arequipa. The seats on the bus are pretty comfortable and even though it was a long journey, it was fine.
View of Arequipa’s Plaza de Armas from Casa Andina Select bedroom.
January 14/Tuesday: Arequipa
We arrived in Arequipa at 5:30am and stayed at the Casa Andina Select Hotel – another very nice hotel and excellent location!
This was a free day and we used it to explore this fabulous city.
Arequipa is the home of alpaca textiles and you can find lots of great bargains.
One of the altars at Arequipa Cathedral.
There are also several gorgeous churches – one which must have at least six different areas to hold masses.
It is quite unbelievable...the gold altar, the silver altar, the whatever....!!!
Lots of sacrifices were made by the amazing Peruvian people to adorn their cathedrals.
The cathedrals were built after the 1532 takeover of Peru by the Spaniards.
January 15/Wednesday: Arequipa - Colca Canyon
We depart Arequipa and head further into the Andes Mountains on a two-day Colca Canyon Tour.
We stop and get cocoa leaf tea to drink which helps with high altitude sickness.
Stall selling alpaca goods, Colca Canyon.
Our guide also shares some “agua de florida” with us. This is a liquid that you rub between your hands and then put your hands around your nose and mouth and inhale. It is very refreshing and helps with breathing. (We brought a bottle back home to share. It makes both interesting conversation and a good souvenir.)
Fortunately, we did not experience high altitude sickness as it is very nasty.
We drive on to Chivay, a cute mountainous village, where we take a brief tour of the local markets.
The day continues with several interesting stops along the way.
Suspension bridge across Colca River.
This evening we overnight at the Colca Lodge.
The lodge is located in a valley along the river where you can experience a swim in the hot springs.
After the hot springs, we toured the onsite Alpaca Ranch and cross the walking (swinging) bridge before ending our day at the spa.
This place is really beautiful and definitely off the beaten path.
Note: All lighting is solar and the lodge practices environmentally pure.
January 16/Thursday: Colca Canyon - Lake Titicaca
Pair of condors above Colca Canyon.
We leave the hotel and head further into the deepest canyon in the world, 10,440 feet deep, where we hope to see the Andean Condor.
This time of year they are nesting, so our chances are not the best.
However, it is our lucky day and we see a pair of these gorgeous birds soaring high above us.
We spend an hour here, and then continue on our journey to Puno where we spend the night at the Casa Andina Premium Hotel located right by Lake Titicaca.
Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world and borders Peru and Bolivia. It is about 50 miles wide and 120 miles long. Quite a site!
January 17/Friday: Puno - Uros Islands - Cusco
Uros Islands inhabitant.
We are greeted this morning by our guide William who walks with us down our hotel’s dock, where we board our private boat for a Uros Islands Excursion.
We cruised out to a floating reed island where a local family showed us how they live, how they keep their island safe (adding new reeds), what they eat, how they fish and hunt ducks, and basically how they spend their days.
They will not accept any payment for their time, but rather they want you to buy some things they have made. (Not looking for handouts.)
We gladly purchased some items and we thoroughly enjoyed hearing their stories.
Totora reed boat at Uros Islands.
Everyone was extremely friendly and the children were gorgeous with their brightly colored clothes and rosy cheeks.
We took a ride in their reed boat.
It was a very fun morning!
Then we had to depart for downtown Puno where we were to meet Peruhop for an 8 hour bus trip to Cusco.
When we got to the meeting place, we found out they were going to be a couple of hours late. So we checked into flying to Cusco and luckily for us, we could take a taxi to Juliaca Airport (45 minutes) and board a one hour flight to Cusco.
Total cost for the taxi and the airfare was under $100 per person. The best money we spent on the trip! The bus was good....but we had had enough long bus days at this point.
We arrived in Cusco with lots of time to explore. We checked into the Casa Andina Premium Hotel – perfect location again – and walked the city.
Many old and huge Catholic cathedrals with gold painted statues and many altars.
There was a shop in the back that sold rosaries to tourists. Of course, we bought some!
January 18/Saturday: Sacred Valley Tour
Today was a full day tour of the Sacred Valley. And it was wonderful!
Moray’s circular terracing.
We visited Moray, a huge archeological site that contains unusual Inca ruins which consist of several circular terraced depressions.
They think that by making these terraced sites, they grew different kinds of food at different elevations - like creating areas for vegetables that need more sun and heat at the top, and less at the bottom.
The temperature varies by about 15 degrees between each terrace. Quite amazing!
Local produce at Sacred Valley lunch.
We stopped at a farm for a local lunch. It was delicious!
We were surprised to learn that Peru grows over 2,000 kinds of potatoes! And they have a way that they dehydrate them so they can keep them for over 25 years. Then they soak them in water, rehydrate, and they are edible.
When you live in the mountains, you have to be prepared. Amazing!
After a full day of touring, we end the day in Ollantaytambo.
Ollantaytambo is where we will board the train to Machu Picchu in the morning.
Our accommodations for the night are at The Pakaritampu Hotel. It is gorgeous, flowers and greenery everywhere - and just a short walk from the train station.
Another excellent day!
January 19/Sunday: Machu Picchu
‘Expedition’ train to Machu Picchu.
We board the 7:45am Expedition Train #83 for our journey to Machu Picchu. The train took us along the river and it was beautiful.
The train stopped at Aguas Calientes where we got on a bus and rode up the final leg to our destination of Machu Picchu – the end of the road.
Our guide met us and we started our tour of this incredible place.
The climbing here on the steps is wide and goes high and makes for a good workout. We found it hard when we first started out, but we took our time and it went pretty well. There were places on the side to rest if you needed to pause to catch your breath.
Pictures can’t describe how interesting and how high up this place is in the mountains.
Inca stonework at Machu Picchu.
The huge rocks that the Incas moved, cut and pieced together is a mystery.
The stones are cut so precisely that you cannot put a piece of paper between them. No tools and no wheels (that we know of) existed during this time.
This place was a real highlight for Don!
January 20/Monday: Ollantaytambo - Cusco
This morning we leave early to return to Cusco.
Chicken-seller at Cusco Market.
We enjoy a nice short drive and then take a City Tour which included a visit to a humungous local farmers market where we saw about everything you can think of that a farmer, baker, butcher, etc..... could grow and sell. I loved this place!!
I wish I could have bought a freshly butchered chicken, but my hotel room didn’t have a stove. Haha.
So we settled for some homemade round bread and ice cream.
We ended the day at the Pisco Museum which is a bar/restaurant that makes their local drink (pisco) in at least twenty different variations.
We walked back to the hotel along the colorful street lined with little shops selling lots of locally made goods. The evening is warm and the people are friendly.
We love Peru!
January 21/Tuesday: Cusco - Iquitos - Amazon Lodge
This morning we head to the airport for our early morning flight to Iquitos via Lima.
We are both excited to begin our four day/three night day adventure in the Amazonian rainforest.
We land in Iquitos, the only large city in the world that has NO ROADS going to it. You can only get there by river or airplane.
Our guide and his crew met us at the airport and we departed for an hour or so long ride to the river’s edge.
There we boarded a private Amazon “ferry boat” and began our river transfer to The Grand Amazon Lodge, our home for the next three nights.
View of Grand Amazon Lodge from Yanayacu River.
The ride was about an hour and a half and totally enjoyable. We were amazed at the width of the river as we were barely able to see the other side.
After we cruised down the mighty Amazon for an hour, we took a sharp right turn into a narrow spot – a tributary to the Amazon.
As the tributary meets the great Amazon, the water changes color dramatically going from a foggy gray to a clear navy blue color.
Soon we arrived at our destination, The Grand Amazon Lodge, which we would enjoy for the next four days. There are about 15 on suite cottages built on stilts, off the ground, with an outdoor porch – complete with hammock!
Amazonian towel art!
It is low season when we are there, and it is a surprise when we discover we are the only guests at the entire lodge! Wow!!!
We go to our cottage, and here they have decorated it with swans made from white towels and red flower petals lying across the beds. It is beautiful and so special for our 50th Anniversary!
January 22/Wednesday & January 23/Thursday: Grand Amazon Lodge
Red piranha.
Our guide would take us on the river every day to view the beautiful birds and animals of the rain forest.
We fished for piranha and other species. Didn't have much luck but we did get a small piranha in the boat. It was a lot of fun!
When we were fishing, we heard a donkey braying. Well, there are no donkeys in the Amazon; however, there are lots of donkey birds that are the size of a huge goose, that sit on the top of trees and honk, honk, honk! It was fun listening to them.
Victoria Amazonica water lilies.
There was one spot on a side river that had huge lily pads that were 5-7 feet wide.
Our guide said that the local women will put their babies on the lily pad to sleep when they are working in the river!
One day we went to the main river to look for pink dolphins.
Pink dolphins are much larger than the dolphins we were used to seeing in the waters of Mexico. They are much larger, and they only live in fresh water.
Some tourists will get in the river and “swim” with them. The current was swift and we passed on that activity.
What was very interesting was the native “houses” that were built along the river. The people would often be by the river washing clothes and the children were swimming. They would wave at us when we went by.
Every family had at least one old wooden boat.
One day we went to a village near our lodge. We bought a “treasure” from each of the ladies displaying their goods.
Roger’s family in San Juan de Yanayacu.
This was the village that our boat driver, Roger, lived with his family. We met his wife, daughter and granddaughter – along with lots of the villagers.
Everyone was very friendly.
The children had a huge soccer field and they were enjoying an exciting game.
We saw lots of animals, and were quite excited to see three sloths. They are high in the trees and don’t move much.
We saw many species and sizes of monkeys, some really little ones that we spotted at night with the flashlights we used on our night jungle walk.
Amazon-style kebabs at Grand Amazon Lodge.
We found humongous frogs and spiders and one small sea snake [river snake?! - ed]. No anacondas.
We took lots of pictures, day and night, that are pretty amazing.
Our last night at the lodge we had yet another outstanding dinner, and then we partied with the whole staff.
Everyone enjoyed cold beers while serenading us - playing guitars and singing. It was a sight to behold!
January 24/Friday: Grand Amazon Lodge - Iquitos - Lima
Today we had to leave our “private” lodge.
Skiff ride on the Amazon River.
We boarded our river taxi/ferry and headed back towards Iquitos.
It was about an hour and half cruise and was both comfortable and enjoyable.
After reaching shore we unloaded our gear and trudged up the steep hill to our waiting taxi that would take us back to the airport and our flight to Lima.
Our wonderful 17 days in Peru was coming to an end.
We arrived in Lima around 4pm and we checked into the Costa Del Sol Wyndham Hotel where we took a nice hot shower and a short rest. We were glad that we had booked a room as our flight to Dallas did not depart until 12:30AM.
Our trip was over – where do we go next? Perhaps Ecuador? Or Argentina?
Note: We were very lucky to get home when we did as just a few weeks later Peru shut down all flights in or out of the country and people were stranded for over two weeks! Coronavirus had struck!
Highlights were many. Every place we visited had something remarkable to see or experience:
The slave tunnels were impactful and very sobering.
The coastline and desert are fabulous.
Traveling through the Andes was breathtaking.
Seeing and experiencing Machu Picchu was more beautiful than anyone could ever imagine.
And finally spending time in the Amazon was a DREAM COME TRUE!
Additional Notes for potential travelers:
Because we wanted to see as much as possible in less than three weeks, we circled the country via several long days on buses and one night stays.
We traveled on Peruhop’s motorcoaches and they did a good job. Their buses are clean and comfortable. (One exception – don’t sit in the back because they have a sun screen type logo on the windows and you can’t see out very well.)
All the travelers on the bus were young backpackers from all over the world. They even gave us a round of applause when they heard we were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary! We enjoyed traveling with these adventurous youngsters.
Peru is a fabulous country and is best for people who are experienced travelers. Few people spoke English, but all were willing to try help out when asked – like where is my hotel (take a hotel business card with you).
Disabled travelers would have trouble traveling in Peru.
We traveled in January, low season, and it was nice. We really lucked out as we had one half day of rain in Machu Picchu and none in the rainforest!
While American Airlines is a great airline, we can’t recommend them for South America. We used them because we had miles we could redeem for upgrades. But their planes into Lima were very old and uncomfortable. And the flights are few – so don’t miss your flight!