Peru 2004

Overview (June 9-23, 2004)

Below's a journal of our trip, complete with links to pictures, etc.  The pictures are also annotated and divided up into the sections below . . . you can link to the pictures from the below sections, check out the best of pictures from the link immediately following, or go through the main link to the left and follow the directories . . . slide shows are available from the picture pages.  We hope you enjoy!

Best of Trip Pictures Sampling

Best Photography

A vacation was needed . . . my original plan was to join my roommate Chris on his trip to Cuba [LINK], I rerouted spontaneously to Peru.  Hiking the Inca Trail and getting back to South America has been high on my list . . . I was able to convince my old friend Cary London to join.  After some quick planning (and quick packing after a poker game), I left Seattle on June 9 on Delta to meet Cary in Atlanta and head down to Lima.  (To note, the round-trip is only 35,000 frequent flier miles!)  We took backpacks with the basics and not much else . . .

Weather note:  Peru is relative close to the equator and doesn't have extreme summers and winters, instead experiencing more of a "dry" and "wet" season . . . June through August is the peak time to travel during the dry season (although it is winter).  In some places further south and higher in elevation, we experienced some VERY cold weather (20's at night), while the majority of our trek was pretty hot (70's and 80's).  Current weather in Lima, Puno and Cusco.

Ica & Nazca

June 10

We really wanted to see the Nazca lines, but Ica is hours from Lima by bus and our time was tight . . . so we went ahead and booked a one day tour from AeroCondor [LINK] that left from Lima to Ica by flight and returned that evening. We left for the airport early our first morning . . . note that in Peru, flight times are more estimates than reality. After a two hour delay due to weather we took an hour flight to Ica and waited to board our Nazca line flyover . . . it was a 12seater plane [LINK].

Amazing to see these figures and lines and curves carved in the dessert floor that are 100s of meters long and only visible from the sky; in fact, a highway was created right through the lines because they hadn’t yet been “discovered” . . . no one is sure why the Nazca people created the lines or how or what they were for. Many theories exist, including of course, the extraterrestrial theory . . . particularly due to this one [LINK]. 

After the flyover, we spent the afternoon having lunch and relaxing at a hotel, followed by a visit to a local museum and an oasis near some huge sand dunes . . . "sandboarding" is popular but we didn't have much time . . . we flew back to Lima and had our first Peruvian dinner (followed by some delicious gelato). 

Puno & Lake Titicaca

June 11-13

On June 11 we took a morning flight via Arequipa on AereContinente to Juliaca.  We landed at the Juliaca airport and immediately felt the effects of the altitude (Puno's approx 12,500ft above sea level).  A 45 minute cab ride took us to Puno, the largest city in Peru on the "coast" of Lake Titicaca.  We spent the afternoon relaxing and walking (slowly) around town.  We had a lovely dinner (I had alpaca [link] steak . . . after dinner (it was REALLY cold [LINK]), we bargained with some ladies [link] for some alpaca sweaters [LINK].  In Puno, we stayed at Posada Don Giorgio [LINK].

The following morning we were picked up at our hotel early and taken to the pier where we boarded a boat and met our tour guide, Andres [LINK].  There were about 16 of us from all over (Norway, Belgium, Israel, Germany, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, USA) on the two-day tour around Titicaca .  Our first stop was the floating islands of the Uros People [LINK].  These islands are "built" using reeds that are also used for food, canoes, etc.  We had a quick ride in a reed canoe, hung out a bit, and then reboarded for the 3hr trip to Amantani [link].  We stayed with a local family (Hilda [LINK] was our hostess) who also cooked for us.  The food in Peru is very "starchy" . . . our lunch was potato soup followed by boiled potatoes.  We took an early evening stroll up to the Pacha Papa Temple on top of the island (after only 1 day acclimatizing to the altitude, it hurt hiking to 13,200ft) for the sunset.  After dinner (more potatoes), we had a fiesta/party [LINKS] with the hostesses and a band . . . lots of fun.  By the way, dancing is also difficult at altitude. 

The next morning we took our boat over to the island of Taquile [LINKS].  Taquile is very interesting in its rigidly structured rules and "costumes" . . . it is possible to tell by someone's hat whether or not they're married.  Crazy.  After descending the infamous stairway up to Taquile, we returned to Puno and got ready for our bus ride to Cusco.

Cusco & Machu Pichu

June 14-15

[COMING]

Choquequirao Trek

June 16-20

[COMING]

Lima

June 21-22

In a way, it was nice to be back to a big city . . . but our past experiences in Lima were mostly at the airport and our hotel . . . but we got off the plane, met our driver, and headed to one of the nicer areas of Lima called Mira Flores.  It was actually quite nice . . . on the Pacific Ocean, some very upscale hotels and casinos, good restaurants . . . we stayed at El Patio [LINK] which was a colorful hotel right in Mira Flores. 

We spent the first day in Lima relaxing, walking around, exploring, gambling (couldn't resist), eating . . . we found an amazing restaurant with Cordon Bleu -trained chefs.  Great scallops, beautiful fish entres, and fantastic souffle and truffle desserts. 

Our second day we spent touring Lima, starting with the Museo de Nacional and followed by the Monasterio de San Francisco.  The National Museum was interesting, with exhibits and artifacts from Peru's many pre-Spanish cultures, and modern art from Peru.  The Monastery was perhaps the highlight of Peru . . . beautiful architecture and a feeling of history, combined with catacombs under the church where thousands were buried . . .

At this point, our trip was unfortunately over . . . so much more to see, but . . . we had some nice gelato and left for the airport one last time (for this trip, at least).