Play by Play from Peru -- Day 1 - Lima

Alright, I know this is a little late in the game, but here we are on Day 1. We're still spry and smiling. That's how you can tell it's still early in the trip. We caught a flight from LA, connected through Miami, and landed in Lima at 4:20am. We hit a local supermarket, which we later found out was a Chilean supermarket (big no-no), and caught a city tour where we saw some catacombs and a few Incan artifacts.








On the plane to Miami.

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Beautiful and yellow Plaza de Armas in Lima. We thought it was really unique until we found out that there is a Plaza de Armas in EVERY Peruvian town.














I don't know why we have a photo of this couple.




















We lunched at "La Mar," a fantastic seafood place in Lima where the ceviche was succulent, just like you'd imagine.


















Notice the half-consumed pisco sour. This one was actually good.





















We're eating it and A & J are still smiling -- a good sign.










After the late and long lunch, we headed over to the Indian Market, where they sell local handicrafts from all over Peru. It was a taste of the goods we'd see the rest of the trip. Then we grabbed a 60-cent cab ride back to the hotel and passed out.

¡Hola mis amigos!

Sorry it´s taken a while, we´ve seen some amazing stuff:

- the Nazca lines from the air in a little 4-seat plane - scary, brilliant fun, the lines were smaller than we expected, kind of like looking at those old ´magic eye´ pictures, they pop out at you... Ancient and still majestic though. Andy is fan.

- Colca Canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, where the enormous and majestic condors flew at 9am on the dot (as the guide book promised - weird!)

- Lake Titicaca which means ´stone puma.´ The floating reed islands where the Uros people live. Your feet sink ito the reeds and the islands are anchored so they dont move. Taquile Island on Lake Titicaca, where Quechua people have live for a 1,000 years, the men knit hats that can hold water and the women spin the yarn. The lake is at such a high altitude, walking up a couple of steps is a chore and you have to stop and catch your breath.

- Cusco, we arrived yesterday, stopping at Inca ruins on the way. Going to Ollayantambo, more Inca ruins today. Tomorrow, the 4 day, 3 night hike begins along the INKA TRAIL... We will finish the hike at Machu Picchu at sunrise on the fourth day when we arrive at Inti Punku, the Sun Gate.

Amy & Joe say: Hi! This country is so beautiful! You wouldn´t believe the mountains - stunning. Can´t wait to get to the grand daddy of them all - Macchu Picchu. Woo Hoo! See you all soon. :)

Hopefully some picture to come!

Short Itinerary

Just about to leave for the airport; here's the itinerary:

May 18th: Lima

At 4:20 AM arrive into Lima with American Airlines and transfer to Casa Andina Miraflores, Lima.
May 19th: Lima – Nazca

May 20th: Lima – Arequipa

May 21st: Arequipa – Colca Canyon

May 22nd: Colca Canyon - Arequipa

May 23rd: Arequipa - Puno

May 24th: Puno: Uros- Taquile Full Day Trip

May 25th: Puno - Cusco

May 26th: Cusco – Sacred Valley Tour

May 27th: Cusco - Inca trail to Machu Picchu

Mayo 28th: Inca trail to Machu Picchu
We will have breakfast early and start trekking to the highest point of the Inca Trail, where we can see different ecological zones and enjoy changing climates. We will cross the Warmiwañusca pass at 4200 meters above sea level. After lunch we will continue on to the campsite at Pacaymayo and enjoy dinner and a well deserved rest.

May 29th: Inca trail to Machu Picchu
We will walk approximately 45 minutes up to reach the second pass at 3850 meters above sea level, and will visit Runcuracay along the way. We will also visit the Sayacmarca archeological group and then go on to the Phuyupatamarca ruins. After lunch we head to Wiñaywayna where we will spend our last night.

May 30th: Inca trail to Machu Picchu
After an early breakfast, we start on the final leg of the trek to Machupicchu. We will arrive at Inti Punku where we will have a panoramic view of the Machupicchu citadel. After a short hike down to Machupicchu, we register and start on our 3 hour guided visit. After enjoying the remains, we will take the bus down to Aguas Calientes where you will have a buffet lunch in a Typical Restaurant, then free time to enjoy the town before we return to Cusco .

May 31st: Cusco - Lima
Lima - Miami
Miami - LAX :(

We leave tomorrow!

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Finally! Tomorrow we're off to Lima, the capital city. We arrive at 4:20 in the morning on Friday and we'll spend the day exploring Lima. I can't wait to get my hands on some ceviche, which is a local delicacy.



On Saturday, we're going to the Nazca Lines:

"There are over seventy animal, insect, and human figures in the desert. The area encompassing the lines is nearly 200 square miles, and the largest figures can be nearly 900 feet long. The lines persist due to the extremely dry, windless, and constant climate of the Nazca region: the Nazca desert is one of the driest on Earth and maintains a temperature around 25°C (77°F) year round, and the lack of wind has helped keep the lines uncovered to the present day."

At some point, we're going to hop in a small plane and fly over the lines to get a great view of them. Their size makes them difficult to see otherwise. Since the Nazca people could never have seen their work from this altitude, it's still a mystery why the Nazcans created these enormous lines in the desert.

Next stop.

We are off to Peru one month from today. We can't wait to see this.

Ahhhh...Mombasa and the end of our trip to Kenya

At the end of the safari, we stopped at the resort of Mombasa on the Indian Ocean. The hotel was right on the water and we spent some quality time enjoying the beach.

We even made our way to the spice market in Old Town Mombasa and haggled over a kanga or two.

The drinks at the resort were very strong and free. Yikes.


Of course we were sad to have to return home (and the 24 hours of flights!), but our trip had come to an end. Next stop, Peru and Machu Picchu!

Pictures through the end of the Kenyan safari

First new post in almost a year. Obviously, we got a little distracted and neglected the blog a bit. Sorry about that. Here is a quick pictorial of the rest of the trip to Kenya for the record.

Lions in the Mara

Driving across a dry lake bed

The elusive long-necked gerenuk

In Amboseli National Park, under the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro

At Observation Point above Enkongu Narok Swamp, where we could see elephants bathing

The red earth and hippos of Tsavo West


The end of the safari portion of our trip


We were really disappointed to have to say goodbye to our guide Edwin, but we were also looking forward to a little rest in our final stop, Mombasa.