Observations on Peru

Whenever we leave a country, we like to capture some thoughts on our experience. We tend to write these more as a “stream of consciousness” rather than a formatted, blog-style entry so this will look a little different. I’ve broken these into a few big categories, and I hope this is helpful for anyone visiting Peru.

Transportation

The Uber worked great in Lima, not so much in Cusco. Traffic was terrible in both cities just like in Bali. It was great to have a driver waiting for us at both Lima and Cusco airports because the “taxi” drivers are everywhere… and sometimes unscrupulous. Roads were narrow and in poor repair. There was a lot of cobblestone, which made the ride (and the walk, at times) very rough. We actually got out of an Uber in the middle of the road in Lima and walked to our hotel because that was much faster. Learned something…one Uber driver’s phone died and he didn’t cancel our ride so when we went to order another Uber an hour or so later, it looked like we were still with the other driver. We ended up canceling the original ride so we could book another trip but got charged extra. We disputed the additional charges with Uber and they refunded the additional charge within an hour. In Cusco, we had several Uber drivers accept then cancel our booking, so we wound up walking and waiting more than we planned. Most drivers have cars with natural gas tanks instead of gasoline as the advertised prices were about 3 times more expensive for gasoline.

Food

Restaurants were few and far between, that is, at least the ones that appeared reasonably priced and somewhat clean. I’m sure there were many more than we knew about, but we rely heavily on TripAdvisor reviews when we travel like this so we just didn’t see as many as we expected. We liked the papas fritas, they were thick and tastier than most American fries. And I liked their chicken sauce. It tasted similar to chipotle sauce. Milk seemed to all come in these one-quart boxes with a long shelf life, even unrefrigerated. We never tried it directly. We had ice cream at a chain called Teo’s and it was great. But other desserts, oh my gosh – that was the best food in Peru! Their cakes and pastries were fabulous, and there were bakeries everywhere.

I mentioned in a previous post that Cafe Cafe in Miraflores was excellent! Bembos, which seemed like their Burger King, has questionable meat. It tasted nothing like a US burger. Didn’t make us sick but it just didn’t taste the same. Maybe they prepared it differently. Pineapple and other fruits were sweeter here. In short, everything we ate in Peru was good and filled our needs.

Culture and Weather

99% are Spanish speaking. It appears that English has not permeated very deeply because there was hardly anyone who was fluent beyond “Hello” and other simple phrases. Even in their places of business, we relied heavily on hand gestures, Google translate and other exotic blends of the English and Spanish language. However, most people were very nice and went out of their way to try and understand and help us.

The weather in September was like being at home during early spring – cold in the morning, windy at times but warm by afternoon. I personally hate those days because I can never figure out how to dress. Police were everywhere, some armed with assault weapons, but we’ve seen that all over Europe and Asia so it no longer bothers me. We met a lady at the immigration line at Lima airport who said there is lots of stealing in Peru, though we never had an issue.

My biggest shock here was the price of stuff. Their prices here are the same as the US but the people say they don’t make much. I talked to our only English-speaking Uber driver and he said that some people make 30 soles a day where others make up to 100 soles a day (~$10-$30 a day). He was a 70-year old man and he said his 4 children are professionals and live in Europe but he can’t leave Peru as he has his mom and mother-in-law that live with him and his wife. He is their only source of income. He was telling us that it is hard to make money in Peru. We probably experienced this because of being in the tourist areas, but still expected it to be somewhat cheaper.

Street vendors were everywhere, and not just behind carts or stands. People walk the streets and try to sell the drivers candy, drinks, baked goods, etc.

We went down one street where all that we saw was optical shops. It was glasses after glasses after glasses! Seriously I think there were probably over 60 shops on the same street! How do any of them make money when there’s so much competition nearby????

There were fewer street people than in places like New York City, and I was happy to see that. However, there were dogs everywhere, especially in Cusco. Most of them were feral and obviously homeless. It was apparent that there was very little being done to control the dog population.

At least in Lima, the beaches here make me appreciate Florida so much more! Peru beaches in the Lima area have rocks…large rocks and the sand looks kinda like rice. When the tide rolls back, there’s a totally different sound because it moves the rocks against each other. There’s probably some really nice beach areas along the Peruvian coastline but they weren’t to be found in the Lima area.

Tips

Didn’t like staying in shared AirBNB as much as I like renting the entire apartment but it was still better than renting a hotel. That really had nothing to do with Peru in particular, but it was our first experience with a private room and shared common spaces in AirBNB. Traveling with three of us just makes for a better, more comfortable stay when we have the whole place to ourselves.

Carry change with you because most bathrooms cost a few soles to use.

If you play tennis, the predominant court was made of clay instead of asphalt like we’re used to in the States.

If we went back to Machu Picchu, we might avoid Cusco altogether except for the airport. The train to Aguas Calientes goes through Ollantaytambo and stops there both ways. The Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes leg of the trip is just 1.5 hours, and everyone traveling just that portion of the trip was treated to the same meals and snacks that we received for the entire journey from Cusco. Also, the closest train station for Cusco is located in Poroy, about a 20 to 30-minute ride from where we were staying so you must get a taxi or some other way there. From Ollantaytambo, the train was just 5 minutes, certainly walkable if you’re planning to tackle Machu Picchu. Because Ollantaytambo is in the valley, it helps you acclimatize better than staying in Cusco. There is plenty to see and do in the Sacred Valley where Ollantaytambo is located. The only reason we would not recommend staying even close in Aguas Calientes is price of lodging. Comparable rooms to the one we stayed in at Ollantaytambo were $165 to $200 USD per night.

Must-see in Peru besides Machu Picchu: Sacred Valley, Lima Magic Water Circuit, Ollantaytambo and the ruins there, Plaza de Armas in both Lima and Cusco.

Peru is absolutely recommended because everyone should see Machu Picchu. There are many more things to see in Peru that our schedule just didn’t allow for. Loved our experience there but it’s not likely we’ll go back anytime soon because we’ve got so much more to see.