September 8 – Sunday

Accommodation: Jose Antonio

We are back in the same hotel that we started in before we left for the Amazon. We were eating breakfast and our friends Sharon and Dick walked in. They flew in very late last night because of flight delays, and arrived at the hotel around 2:30 am. It was good to see them and catch up over breakfast.

After breakfast, we had an orientation meeting with our guide Patty who will be with us while we are here in Peru. We met the rest of our group and Patty had us introduce and tell a little about ourselves. There are 13 of us in the group.

Patty talked to us about what to expect on the trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu. She discussed that we all need to be punctual when we meet for tours, be respectful of each other as well as the Peruvians, and to immediately tell her if something is not to our liking or if we are not feeling well. She explained how the altitude can affect us and that we must walk slowly and take it easy when we arrive. She told us there are some railings as we climb into the site, but many areas do not have any. Our walking poles and the wall to follow will be our friends. Patty said we have to be patient because the lines to get on the buses going into Machu Picchu as well as the lines to enter the site are very long. Reservations were made by Patty months ago and now, the tickets are sold out for the rest of the year. It will be crowded as Machu Picchu is the highlight of Peru.

After the orientation, we went for lunch and then we walked around Lima’s Miraflores district with its small cafés, fine shops, and art galleries. We had already seen much of the area when we were here a week ago.

Patty took us to a supermarket and showed us some of the exotic fruits and vegetables that were for sale and then we walked over to the Parque Kennedy and saw the beautiful flowers planted all around. We had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves and many of the new people went to visit the ruins that Allan and I had already visited. Since Dick and Sharon weren’t interested in seeing the ruins, we walked back to the hotel along the walkway that stretches along the Pacific Ocean. The area was filled with people enjoying the Sunday afternoon.

We rested for a few hours at the hotel and then Allan and I gathered all of our rather smelly clothes that we wore in the Amazon because tomorrow, Patty will take us to a laundermat where they will weigh our clothes and wash and dry them for us. She arranged with the place to make sure we will get them back on the same day. We will pay a little more, but it is necessary.

We had drinks at the hotel with Sharon and Dick, ate dinner at the hotel…then…off to bed.

Our guide Patty showing us some fruit

Walking along the Pacific ocean.