Initially, I was to travel all the way to Cusco by train, while the rest of the group got off at Ollantaytambo and travelled by a Private Bus. (For an extra charge). Before boarding the train, I decided to get off at Ollantaytambo with the rest of the group and take the charted bus back to Cusco. Some of the tour members forked out US $ 90 to take the helicopter from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco. (A 30-minute journey). I was in no hurry to spend US $90!
Chatted with Barbara along the way. I told her my peeves about the trip and we decided that GAP should be informed of the same. (No sense in picking on her. It's her first experience as a tour leader for GAP). We reached Cusco a little after 7 PM. I got a different room this time at La Casona de San Augustin. This was a better room, which was pretty good. Gave some more clothes for Laundering. We left for dinner to the Asian restaurant around 8:45 PM. I had some vegetarian stuff native to Indonesia. We finished dinner around 10 PM. Norelle wanted to have a drink. Dave, Barbara and myself were game for a little nightlife as well. Barbara took us to a club. Listened to some live music by a local band for around 40 minutes, before disco music took over the sound system. Danced (!) like never before till 1:30 AM. By the time I got back to the hotel, wrote my diary and hit the sack, it was probably around 3:00 AM. We have two (more) free days in Cusco, before heading to Lima on Sunday (May 16, 1999).
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Considering the time I went to bed last night (this morning), I got up around 8:30 AM and was ready to hit the road by 10 AM. Met Barbara at the hotel reception and chatted for a bit before heading to an Internet Café and spending an hour there. (This is getting to be pretty addictive) I tried to do some shopping for pullovers / shawls made of Alpaca wool, but the high price tag prevented me from making any purchases. (The Cost was US$90 for a pullover made from baby Alpaca wool. To me that is expensive.) Mailed some postcards and exchanged some money. I had a light lunch comprising Soup / Bread and tea. I bought a book on Cusco (in English) from a local bookstore before heading to the Regional Historical Museum (for the second time in 4 days!). Since I could find anything else to do, I headed back to the hotel for some siesta. Barbara and Mauro (the guide from Bigfoot) planned some sightseeing for the group for tomorrow. We were given a couple of choices and asked to choose. We then headed for dinner to a Peruvian restaurant. A small family operated restaurant run by an old lady. The non-vegetarians chomped away, while I (being a vegetarian) had a subdued dinner. Following this, we visited a couple of Nightclubs. I relaxed, had a good time before heading to the hotel and turning in.
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I got up around 9 AM and finished breakfast by 10:15 AM. Barbara and Mauro arrived around 10:30 AM. While Mauro was to lead the group that was interested in visiting the ruins on Horseback, Barbara, Vincent and myself (another Bigfoot guide) were to take a chartered taxi to these ruins. These were the same ruins that I could not see properly during the City tour of Bigfoot. We departed around 10:45 AM and visited Tambo Machay, Puca Pucara, Temple of the Moon, Q'enqo and Sacsaywaman. Vincent was a good, knowledgeable guide. We let go of the taxi at Sacsaywaman and walked back to the city. It was a pleasant downhill walk and it took us around 20 minutes. We went to a quaint little restaurant where I had soup for Lunch. (It was around 3 PM). It was here that I discovered that there are two types of menus. (Probably true for all restaurants). The 'Menu Touristico' is what is shown to the tourists all the time. The Guide(s) ask for a menu called 'Menu Simpatico'. There is a considerable difference in Selection and a substantial difference in price as well. Needless to say, the Menu Simpatico will be in Spanish. If one can identify the basic food items / groups, then I suppose one should ask for a menu Simpatico.
I paid Vincent for the Taxi and his services as a Guide and thanked him. The Cost came to S/- 50 (US$ 16). The Cost was S/- 100, but since Barbara split the cost with me, my share was S/- 50. Barbara and me walked around and had some dessert at a French Bakery (yes, in Cusco). We did some more walking around Cusco, while Barbara did some food shopping. (She lives in Cusco) I got back to the hotel around 5 PM and tried to have a shower. There was no hot water. Since I had been pampered all along, the non-existence of hot water made me unhappy. I left the hotel around 6 PM and checked my mail at a local Internet café. I then headed to the local Archaeological Museum for a Cultural show. The Cost of a ticket was S/- 5 (US$ 1.75) and the show was to start at 7 PM. It eventually started at 7:30 PM. The group was called 'ch'umpiwillka' and the show was billed as a 'Recital with Music'. From what I could make out, it was a folk show. A simple story (4 Men try to woo a single woman. She falls for the hero after some singing and dancing. Wedding preparations and the wedding itself follows this. End of story.) The show went on for an hour and I enjoyed it despite the fact that I did not comprehend most of the words / lyrics of the show.
I returned to the hotel and found a message from Barbara asking me to join her (and the rest of the group) in a local restaurant. I had another soup for dinner, before half the group (me included) decided to hit a couple of Nightclubs. After all the dancing and partying, I got back to the hotel around 3:30 AM. We leave the hotel at 6 AM to take the 7:30 AM flight to LIMA. I did all the packing before trying to have a brief sleep.
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I went to bed at 4:15 AM and got up and 5 AM! I was ready with my bags in the lobby by 5:40 AM. Barbara arrived shortly thereafter. She had arranged 4 taxis to transport the entire group and their belongings to Cusco Airport. This was paid for by GAP. We reached the Airport at 6:25 AM. The Check-in counter was terribly slow. After checking in, we had to pay a departure tax of S/- 12. (US $ 4) We had coffee with Barbara and bid adieu. I tipped her and thanked her for the good time that I had during the entire trip. It'll probably be a while before I find another guide like her. It helps that she is in her late twenties, instead of the usual tour guide whose age would normally be somewhere between 40 and 60.
The flight departed at 7:35 AM. I skipped the ham sandwich for breakfast and settled for some peach juice instead. I tried to read all about LIMA from the South American Handbook, during the flight to LIMA. We landed in LIMA at 8:25 AM. It took us another 30 minutes to be united with our bags. There was a tour bus (arranged by GAP) waiting to take the entire group to the hotel in Lima. This Hotel (Hotel Colonial Inn, Avenida Comandante Espinar 310, Miraflores. Phone: 241 7471. http://www.alignet.com/colonialinn/) is situated in the Miraflores section of Lima, which is about 30 minutes from the Airport. The road were good but the traffic was chaotic and the driving reckless. Colonial Inn is a nice hotel befitting its name. I got a single room and was ready (after a shave and shower) by 10:30 AM. Since I was really hungry, I headed to a vegetarian restaurant called Govinda (run by the Hare Krishna people). It was a good 20-minute walk from the hotel. Had lunch while soothing music played in the background. After lunch, I took a cab to Museo Nacional. The Cab fare was S/- 7. The Museum was to open at 2 PM and it was around 1 PM when I reached the museum. I caught a short nap till the museum opened. I noticed Tracey come in around 2 PM and we set out to visit the museum (entry fee S/- 3) together. We spent close to an hour in the museum. For all the wealth of artifacts it possesses, the museum lacked the presentation. (In that aspect, it was similar to the Archaeological Museum in Cairo, Egypt).
We departed and headed to the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum). The entrance fee was prohibitive at S/- 20 (US $7). No Photography of any kind is allowed inside the Museum. In addition to the gold artifact collection, the museum contains artifacts depicting practices (of the Incas and other ancient people of these lands) that would not be on display in a museum in the US (due to the graphic nature of these practices). Tracey and me decided to make light of the displays by assuming these to be acts of Gods. In a way, I felt good that artistic expression (of any kind and from any period) was allowed on display. The Museum is an excellent Museum. It should definitely be on one's list of things to do in Lima and is well worth the US$ 7 entrance fee. We got back and I made some calls to my family before heading out to dinner. This would be our last as a Group. We start to depart our separate ways, starting tomorrow morning. Returned to the hotel, wrote my diary and went to bed.
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I woke up at 9 AM, which was later than planned. I had breakfast with the latecomers from my group and bid goodbye to Norelle. Since the hotel wanted to charge a 3 Percent commission to exchange Travellers' Cheques, I went to a nearby bank and exchanged US$ 50. (I practically had no Peruvian Soles left) I took a cab to the Saeta Office to confirm my ticket from Lima to Quito, Ecuador only to be told that I was flying on ACES and not Saeta. For some reason, I had assumed all along that I was flying the Ecuadorian Airline to Quito. Fortunately the Aces office was located a few blocks from my hotel. After requesting a vegetarian breakfast and finding out that my flight was departing 45-minutes later than originally planned, I returned to the hotel. I took some (more) clothes to a nearby laundry for cleaning. The cost here was S/- 4 per kilo. These cleaning services are a godsend to a person like me who is on a month long trip and who is not carrying 30 pairs of clothes. They are quite economical as well.
After a rather hectic morning, I decided to head to the City Centre to see some important attractions in Lima. I took a cab to Plaza de Armas, which cost me S/- 8 (US $ 2.60). The Plaza de Armas has been designated a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO and it was quite attractive. I took a guided tour of the Cathedral. It is quite a nice place that is worth visiting. Francisco Pizzaro is buried here. I saw the Presidential Palace and the City Hall from the Outside. One can visit the presidential palace by taking prior permission. Since I was leaving tomorrow morning for Quito, Ecuador, I did not try that option. The Plaza is really nice. There is abundant police / army presence in that area, so one can feel quite safe walking the streets out here.
I walked along Call Union to Plaza San Martin onto Palacio de Justicio. It was a nice, long walk. Bought a shirt for S/- 20 along the way. |
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