peru

 

We visit Lima, Machu Picchu, Lake Titacaca, Nazca Lines, and the birds on Ballestas Islands.

 So.America Home

This tour of Peru was for 12 days and arranged by Trafalger. They use nice hotels in a good location, and their guides are very good. I would hesitate to recommend them as their daily schedules are terrible. Most mornings we were up by 5 am and had breakfast a half hour later. They want to get to the sites before a lot of other bus-loads of people arrive. However, lunch was usually not until 2 or 3 pm! Dinner sometimes wasn't finished until 9 pm. -- And we had to go to bed shortly after in order to get up early again. There were also full days of bus rides and other travel. And several people got sick (including myself) -probably from food, as you have to drink bottled water all the time.

This particular tour was very strenuous. Macchu Picchu is difficult to climb. The steps are very uneven and unusually high. The elevation is over 8,000 ft at Macchu Picchu and over 14,000 ft. at Puno and Lake Titicaca. The hotels there have rooms you can go to for an oxygen fix. This is the type vacation where you need to rest after you get home.

We arrive in Lima a day before our tour begins. This album is photos of the city.

Lima City Photos

Our first tour is of the Pachecomac ruins which is just a few miles outside Lima.

Pachecomac

Diez Cansesco was kind enough to give us a tour of his estate. It has been in the family for many years. It's a beautiful home full of treasures. His chef cooked a delicious Peruvian lunch for us.

Casa Cansesco
Then we visit the church of San Francisco and the Plaza San Martin.

Church

We fly to Cuzco then head into the Sacred Valley. This is a beautiful area. In Ollantaytambo we have a walking tour of the village. Just outside of town is an Inca fortress.

Sacred Valley
Our journey to Machu Picchu begins with a train ride. Then we continue by bus over bumpy unpaved roads to get to the site. Very remote. This is called the "Lost City of the Incas". It is built on a steep hill, with rocky terrain.

Machu Picchu

Back to Cuzco, we have a city tour of the plaza and cathedral. We also visit the fortress of Sacsayhuaman.

Cuzco

Sagsayhuaman

We have a large buffet dinner and see a Folk Show of dancing in Cuzco.

Dinner Show

A full day of travel by bus to get to Puno and Lake Titicaca. We stop and visit the village of Racchi with it's ancient ruins. Also a stop is made at the 'chullpas' or burial towers of the Colla people. This site pre-dates the Inca in Peru.

Road to Puno

Burial Towers

Lake Titicaca is one of the highest navigable lakes in the world. It borders Peru and Bolivia. A day on the lake shows us the Floating Islands of the Uros. The islands are actually made of reeds, as are their homes and boats. A very intriguing lifestyle of this 'water tribe'. Then there is the Taquille Island where the natives have developed hand-weaving techniques over the centuries.

Floating Islands

Taquille Island

We fly back to Lima, then take a coach south on the Pan American Highway. We stay in Ica where we have a visit at a Pisco winery.

Pisco Winery

Today we took a small plane for a fllight over the mysterious Nazca Lines. These lines are drawings of animal and geometric figures etched into the parched soil thousands of years ago. Some are up to 1,000 feet long. The drawings include 'spaceman', the 'monkey' and the 'condor'. These were difficult to photo even tho the plane was fairly low.

Nazca Lines Flight

A motorboat ride takes us to the Ballestas Islands, which are inhabited by a wide variety of exotic birds and sea mammals. Even Humboldt penguins and flamingos! There is also the huge Candelabro, an etching on the Paracas cliffside - something like the Nazca Lines. Then back to Lima for the trip home.

Ballestas Islands