leostar

This review of our tour of Macchu Picchu.

I discovered Jaimeliebrecht@gmail.com ww.patagoniashorex.com from Cruise Critic, trip advisor and a couple of other sites, and everyone spoke so highly of him that I booked him for a party of 25. Jaime lived up to his reputation, We all came back rested after 5 days, we left the ship at Quito and rejoined at Lima. If you decide to do this trip, we had to get a Deviation form from Princess through your agent, it is advisable to hand them in as a group to the pursor. Only take a small airflight case and a back-pack with you to put your jacket in.

Quito –Thursday 6th Aug. 6:00 – Lima Mon.10th Aug.16:00

Jaime has taken care of everything, he came highly recommended by friends and Trip Advisor. We just had to be off the ship ASAP as the bus had to take us to Guayaquil which is the largest and the most populous city in Ecquador with around 2.69 million people in the metropolitan area, as well as the nation’s main port. We had to be up at 5am as Customs were going to be downstairs at 6:00 and Princess wanted our group to be there first and we were off at 6:40am.

Jamie was waiting at the ship for us with with a lovely guide named Felix. The trip up to Guayaquil was very interesting, we passed through quite a few towns and stopped at one for a toilet stop and a snack, they country grows rice, bananas, mangoes and pawpaws; oil was their main export, tourism is taking over. We arrived at Guayaquil around 8am and given a tour around the City, then a walking tour to see the Metropolitan Cathedral, opposite the Cathedral, there were plenty of Iguanas in a Park.

We then walked to a restaurant and had a lovely light 3 course lunch with two lemon drinks for US $7 each, then we had another walk back to the bus and driven to the airport, it was an international flight so we had to be early. Jaime was great, we had a slight hiccup with one of the names on the ticket, he took control and made sure everything was O'K. (so remember to check yor names are the same spelling as your passport) It was around 8:45pm when we landed in Lima then we met our guide Cecilia who was also very informative, she gave us information about Lima and the bus and arrived at our Hotel in Milifores and we were in our rooms around 10:15pm, we had to be up at 4:30 for our flight to Cusco.

Cusco Friday 7th:The airoplane ride over the Andies was amazing, it was huge, there were pockets of valley's with houses in them Then you get to the end and you see Cusco, what a sight as you fly in, the plane is flying so low, it is the best sight I have ever seen from a plane. We have Luis as our guide in Cusco, he had great reviews on trip advisor as well, he is an Archeologist but has studied Anthropology as well.

We had a bus ride through the town, then driven to the old part of town, where buses cannot go so we walked a short distance to San Pedro Plaza where all the art craft places are and continued to our Hotel Casa San Blas. Those that did not want to walk he always had a small transport car to take them. Carlos was the Hotel owner and it was such a lovely Hotel, the views up the mountains all lit up were magic. The Hotel has oxygen in case anyone needed it, it is adviseable to get altitude pills Dexmethsone before you go, Cusco is the highest point and this is where you may need it, Jaime made us all walk very slowly, and the Hotel had Coca tea waiting for us.

In the afternoon we went sightseeing with our expert guides Luis and Jaime, the houses have a small statue on the roofs, depicting two Bulls and a Cross, the Cross is saying they are Catholics and the Bulls may they always have work. We drove around Korikancha the Cathedral, we have never seen so much gold on an altar, as it went from the ceiling to the floor and filled to the sides. Outside the boys of the town were doing their local traditional dances which we watched for awhile, it was lovely.

Cuzco has a stately and historic city center filled with cobblestone streets, colonial churches and building foundations laid by the Incas more than 500 years ago.* We visited the Temple of the Sun, the main religious center of the Incas and dedicated to the Sun Cult. According to the chroniclers, the walls of this temple were entirely covered with gold. They were farmers and believed in Mother Earth, the Gold was the Sun that represented the sweat the silver was the moon represented by tears. We then continued to the impressive fortress of Sacsayhuaman, built by ancient people using massive boulders some weighing 120 tons and seemingly superhuman skill, the site retains an aura of elusive mystery. We then drove through*Saqsayhuaman Park. Known as the "archeological capital of the Americas," the views from here were so beautiful. Then we were dropped back at San Blas Square to browse around, have dinner and go back to our Hotel.

Saturday 8th Aug: The next day we were up early at 4:30am with our luggage and after Breakfast we visited the “Sacred Valley of the Incas", where the agricultural cattlemen and beautiful towns were concentrated since Inca Time, The Valley is characterized to have special conditions as an excellent climate, very fertile lands and the waters of the Vilcanota River. We visited Pisaq market, Lamay, Yucay and Urubamba where we had a beautiful buffet lunch at Tarunda.

The MilkyWay in December is situated over the middle of the Sacred Valley and the Incas believed it was a reflection of the valley, and that is why they say it is sacred. You can see the Llama, a sheep, a man, and a snake on the milky way.

We then visited Ollantaytambo fortress and town, what a place this was, Then we went we went to Tambomach, it was great just looking up at the mountains and the terraces that they built, they were great farmers to workout where the sun comes at a certain time so they knew when to plant.

We then caught a train up to Aguas Calientes and stayed at the Hotel El Mapi where we had dinner at 9:45pm and then we went to bed as we had to be up at 4:30 for our trip to Machu Picchu.

Sunday: Today another early call at 4:30. After breakfast we left at 6am and when we got outside, we were amazed at how many people were waiting to board the bus to get to the station to go to Machu Picchu, we had to walk about 300 metres to the end of the line, Jaime and Luis have been absolutely wonderful, everyone is so happy. The bus took us on a 25 minute winding road through the Andies, there were 25 buses shuttling people to reach Machu Picchu. All our admission fees including bus , train and lunch were all organised by Jaime, we could not have done this without him, we spent 4-1/2 hours there.

The climax of the day, however, is the timeless wonder and grandeur of Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas." Exploring the terraces and aqueducts leading to the Temple of the Three Windows. We saw the Sacred Plaza and visited the curious stone block believed to be a solar clock. The Inca retreat perched between Huayna Picchu (Young Peak) and Machu Picchu (Old Peak), you can't help but be moved by the wonder of the place. Carved from the granite of the mountain top, many of the building blocks weigh 50 tons or more yet are so precisely sculpted and fitted that the mortar-less joints will not permit the insertion of even a thin knife blade.

Lunch was at the Sanctuary Lodge, then we caught the Train Vistadome: Aguas Calientes Poroy (Transfer to Cusco) we arrived back at our Hotel "Casa San Blas" around 9pm. The Maximum elevation during train journey - 13,300 feet. Cuzco - 11,200 feet Machu Picchu - 8,400 feet.

Luis told us that Cusco is 3,200 feet and Machu Picchu is 2,500 feet above sea level, and the length of the Andies is 7,500 kms. It was in 1912 that archiologist Mr Hiram Bingham, first discovered Machu Picchu I was so glad he did as it felt so spiritual it made me cry when I saw it. The age group would have been 55-79 years, a couple had problems, but Jaime stayed with them and got them so far, I cannot praise this man enough, his attention to detail, organising all flights, accommodations, tour guides, Hotels, tips was more than can be expected we just had to relax and enjoy.

We had a buffet lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge at noon, then we lined up to get the bus back to town around 2:30 which gave us time to look around at the stalls before we caught the train back to Cusco. On the train the staff gave us a light snack and drinks, and gave us entertainment and a Fashion Parade. We were back in our Hotel in Cusco at around 10:15 after a long but memorable beautiful day, winding through the Andies with the Alps either side of you is spectacular.

Monday 10th Aug: Up again early at 5:30 for breakfast and then we were transferred to the airport for our flight from Cusco to Lima. Arriving in Lima approximarely 11:15 Jaime had our tour guide Cecilia and driver waiting for us. We had a tour of the City, Jaime surprised us by taking us to a restaurant to see how the national drink Pisco Sour is made and we were treated to a light lunch, then we had another tour with Cecilia around Colonial Lima before been taken back to the ship around 14:45. The last boarding was 16:00.

Can anyone give me a tour operator that can take six passengers for a few hours while our ship is in port.

I take my own shampoo and conditioner, I find the ones on the ship a bit harsh.:)

Thanks Janet, what a wonderful lot of tips you have put on there for people.

See you on board.

Mary & Norman