Qurikancha

COVID times have canceled many domestic flights, so instead of a 30-minute flight from Cuzco to the Lake Titicaca area, we spent 5 hours traveling via Lima. So nothing special to report for today. However, we thought we’d share some things we’ve learned from our guides, and a few random thoughts.

Peru only recently became widely open to tourists. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, the terrorist organization called the Shining Path made it unsafe for travelers, particularly in the Amazon and Machu Picchu. Their leader recently died after a long imprisonment, but the group is still operating on a smaller scale in some parts of the northern Andes.

The COVID-19 protocols here have been quite strict, which is reassuring. Double masks are required in airports and on planes. We wipe our feet on doormats with disinfectant before entering any indoor space, including buses; we are greeted by an attendant dispensing hand sanitizer (or directed to sinks for washing), and usually a temperature check; and single masks are required outdoors at all times. All of the residents we’ve seen are compliant. For our climbs around the archaeological sites, where the air is thin, we were lucky that they had slightly loosened the mask requirements a week ago. Around Lima, the population is 60% vaccinated; for the country as a whole, it is in the mid-40% range.

Darryl has found a few wild orchids, but there aren’t as many on view as there will be when the rainy season starts in another month.

There is mandatory voting in Peru, and residents are fined if they don’t vote. Each receives a sticker in their ID card. If you don’t pay the fine, you can’t travel about the country. Some politicians would like to change the mandatory voting requirement because some of the rural and indigenous people don’t care about the election and their votes can be easily bought.

We would never rent a car and drive ourselves around anywhere in Peru. Kudos to our bus drivers!

The Peruvians are proud of their culinary skills and how their cuisine has become world renowned. The food presentation was always attractive, and in general, the dishes were very tasty. We did find that the meats were often overcooked for our tastes. Ceviche is a national dish and there are probably as many ways to prepare it as there are restaurants — from near-sushi to smoked in a leaf.

Our tour group of 23 (now 22 due to a dropout who seriously underestimated the requirements of the trip), is on the older side of our usual tour travelers, but everyone is friendly, flexible and enthusiastic about the activities. Our tour manager, David, is full of great information and our local day-tour guides have been passionate and informative.Read more