In February 2009 my partners and our spouses visited Peru for nine days, the first of three trips we all took together, each of them five years apart.
On Saturday, February 14, 2009, the ten of us met in Redlands where a van picked us up for the drive to Los Angeles where we flew out of LAX at 12:30 p.m. on LAN Airlines. It was a direct flight to Lima which arrived at 12:10 a.m. We got to the JW Marriott very early in the morning, but were able to sleep in.
Sunday, February 15, we had an afternoon tour of Lima, which included the city center, the government palace, the San Francisco convent, the cathedral and the residential districts of San Isidro and Miraflores. For dinner we ate at Brujas de Cachiche which was marvelous. We stayed again at the JW Marriott for the night.
Monday, February 16, we flew from Lima to Cuzco on LAN Peru S.A., leaving at 9:25 a.m. and arriving at 10:40 a.m. (my partner, Michael and his wife went to the Sacred Valley by car instead because of altitude sickness issues). We had an afternoon tour of Cuzco which included the Temple of the Sun (Korkancha Temple), the cathedral and its art museum, the artisans quarter of San Blas, San Blas Church, the Inca Fountains (water shrine of Tambomachay), Puca Pucara (the Red Fortress), the amphitheater of Kenko and Sacsahuaman Fortress. We had dinner at Incanto where we tried guinea pig (cuy) and alpaca, which was very good. We stayed at the Libertador Hotel in Cuzco.
Food in Peru (Bob)
Tuesday, February 17, we took got on the train early in the morning which went through Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo train station, where we picked up my partner and his wife, and then continued on to Aguas Calientes. We then took a 30 minute bus ride to Machu Picchu were we had a guided tour and had lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge Hotel near the ruins. We spent the night at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo in Aguas Calientes.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, Judy and I went back to Machu Picchu with my partner, Bill, and his wife, and hiked to the top of Huayna Picchu, with impressive views. We had lunch at our hotel and then took a 3:00 p.m. train back to Cuzco where we stayed the night again at the Libertador Hotel. We ate dinner together at a restaurant in the main square.
Where in the World? (Judy)
Thursday, February 19, we flew from Cuzco at 10:15 a.m. on LAN Peru S.A. to Puerto Maldonado where we arrived at 11:05 p.m. We stopped at the Inkaterra Butterfly House near the airport, then took a 45 minute boat ride on the Madre de Dios River to the Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica. We had lunch in the dining room, visited the Inkaterra Canopy Interpretation Center where we walked along suspension bridges between 8 platforms in the rainforest canopy and had a nighttime rainforest walk.
Brown Aguoti (Bob)
Black-Tailed Trogon (Bob)
Blunt-Headed Tree Snake (Bob)
Friday, February 20, we took an excursion to Lake Sandoval in Tambopata National Reserve. We got caught in a downpour and had a real taste of the rain forest. That night we took a boat ride on the Madre de Dios River.
Blue and Gold Macaw (Bob)
Hoatzin or Stink Bird (Bob)
Black Caiman (Bob)
Saturday, February 21, we took the boat back up the Madre de Dios River to Puerto Maldonado and flew on LAN Peru S.A. at 12:40 p.m. to Lima where we arrived at 3:20 p.m. We ate at La Rosa Nautica on the oceanfront. We spent a short night at Hotel Costa Del Sol Ramada located at Jorge Chavez Int'l Airport in Lima.
Sunday, February 22, we left Lima at 1:40 a.m. on LAN Airlines S.A. and arrived at LAX at 7:15 a.m.
It is hard to believe this trip was almost 14 years ago. We've been back to South America twice since then (although our Argentina/Brazil trip hardly counts).
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