South America

mootmom
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:06:56 +0000

My husband and I just returned from a 2-week trip to Peru in Sept. Part of our trip included a 5-day trek along the Inca Trail ending at Machu Picchu. We also visited Arequipa, the Colca Canyon and its condor look-out, Cuzco, Pisac, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo, and Lima, and a number of smaller towns. I would be very happy to make observations, suggestions, etc. It is a surprisingly arid country, mostly poor but with resourceful and enterprising people, and a remarkable history. Much of the country outside of the coast (e.g. Lima) is at very high altitudes, and it may take a few days to adapt (a friend’s suggestion to me, which I was glad I followed: “Any time someone offers you coca tea, accept it.”), but it’s worth it. In addition to camping for several nights, we also stayed in some fine hotels and could offer shopping and eating advice from our experience.

If you give me some idea of the sorts of places you’d like to visit, I’d be happy to offer my suggestions if appropriate. Also, remember that our summer is their “winter”, although it will mostly be dry and just slightly cool during that time. (The rainy season is Oct - Dec, roughly.)