Peru - good, bad, ugly

No holds barred review.  It is my blog after all so I can say what I like.

 

If it was not for the famed hill with the amazing architecture (aka Machu Picchu) dating 500 years ago, IMHO people might not flock to this country in South America.  Peru therefore is a one trick pony (or Llama to keep it PC) and the tourism bureau sure knows to milk its teat for all its worth.  Great job on that front.

 

Every place draws a crowd because it has something unique to offer, at times it is a combination of things that make the whole canvas.   Our motivation to visit this place came from a paper our kid did on the lost civilization of the Inca.  Otherwise this would likely have been way way down on the bucket list.

 

So what makes a place attractive?

• Cost - logistics en route; on the ground (lodging, food, conveyance)
• Time spent in planning the trip (if that is your thing rather than have an unknown business manage that aspect of the journey with no idea of your like and dislikes).
• Time spent in actually arriving at the destination (I do occasionally subscribe to the Zen way of enjoying the journey but yoda had not flown today's commercial planes in coach when he wrote it).
• Actual geography in terms of how extreme the climates can be and what sort of landscape one would navigate having reached the destination (hilly, rocky, rainy, cold etc).
• People - culture, economy, pro tourist or not, honesty, store closing times and what stores offer.
• Variety - one main must see with some other things or different attractions close to each other; man made or natural.
• Gastronomy - being a foodie this is a big weight in my rankings (includes things with gas and without).

So here is the breakdown -

• Cost - given its remote location getting to and hanging in Machu Pichhu is expensive.  No way, no how - just accept it.  At least from North America (that and Europeans are the most likely to visit as witnessed by our own experience).  Germans make up bulk of European traffic.  South Americans also do come - but I think mostly for MP not the other spots like Lima...they get that in their own Spanish influenced countries.   Ongoing expense is also rather steep unless you want to and like slumming it - you can pitch tents and let the bugs bite you and not worry about showers with hot water -that is not me.  Average night (for party of 3) at a good hotel can run $200 /night.   Food - most of what you eat in the 50 mile radius of this place is imported from Cuzco at a minimum and all the trash we generate I was told is carted out too (they don't have space for a landfill).  This makes for expensive epicurean adventures in a land where most natives get by on few dollars a day.  e.g. A small basic cheese/meat sandwich runs around $4.  Anything in the local delicacy space is around $10 like a good lomo saltado.  Jumps to $20 in Lima.  It is the same price I paid on a food truck in San Francisco.  And SF is Expensive.

• Logistics - Given we did not have an infinite budget we had to really button down on the logistics given there are so many legs to the trip.  Mainland US to Lima; Lima to Cuzco (air); Cuzco to Olantay (cab); Olantay to Aguas Caliente (Peru rail); AC to MP (luxury bus) for the final leg.   Then you reverse the journey back. This is doing it in style.  There are some hike alternatives for the last two parts but it requires four days and we were never interested in it.  The park limits guests each day so there is some what of an artificial valve built in to the population on top of the hill - the process is managed by the government ministry and is not exactly polished.  I had issues with it and frankly it reeks of a scam.  You also have to account for school holiday to make travel plans, as in our case and flight schedules which are not exactly plentiful nor very comfortable.  (I suspect its my age saying I should quit doing such complex trips before something blows up).

• Variety - there are some visual delights in Lima like the musical water fountains and a downtown that is classic gothic and colonial with impressive plazas and cobbled streets.  But that is not a unique feature of Lima - if you have seen it in another European city for example then it is a close approximation of the same - just in a different hemisphere.

• People - Most part very friendly and eager to engage in a conversation about where you are from and how you like their cities/places to visit.  Taxi service is not regulated or organized but is plentiful and we roamed around and grabbed cabbies and negotiated with our 12 year old acting as translator-in-chief - no problemo.  Our adventurous nature meant we did catch some amazing scenery by being on the ground floor (taking buses where only buses ply) and seeing sights that thrilled.  Below are a few (in Lima).

Candy and Calories on wheels

Musical Fountain

Huaca Pullcana - ancient pyramid in middle of Lima

Department of Justice

Limenos crossing

Floored by the detail

No Twizzlers here

Sweet Hole in the Wall near downtown

Police Bandobast -Easter Sunday Special Forces

Now that is riding in style

Plaza de Armas - Lima Cathedral

The Faithful

Knock Out Lion

Knock out door

Candy without wheels - street vendor

Convento de San Francisco

Changing of the Guard - Presidente Palace

Santa Maria church

Sunset as seen from the Malecon

Near Barranca District

• Limenos were by and large enjoying their city on Easter Sunday when we ventured downtown.  Happy to provide direction in their pokito English (sketchy as our Espanol was to them) or looking up a block number on their smart devices to help out.

4 in 1 including Cebiche in top right quadrant

Arroz Con Mariscos - Seafood Rice with Peruvian Red Peppers

• Food - I tried their Pisco Sour (cocktail made with Pisco, a grape brandy) and liked it.  I liked the grape brandy in its unvarnished or neat form and liked it too ... but that is not enough to make a hike to this place.  Food is meh.  Apparently the best Ceviche is had here.   I did enjoy it few different places - it was good but nothing to put yourself through 15 hours of flying.

Night cap - grape brandy (Pisco with lime)

Finally the ugly - I have bug bites on both ankles to last me a month.  No amount of Deet is going to save you - I tried it - there is something special about the tropics - you cannot see them but they itch long after the trip is over.