HOLIDAY IN PERU

spykeeper · Guest

[quote="death"]hi, can you give me more in formation on the carnival of peru. Because i got a homework on that subject.
sincerely,death[/quote]
well my friend, if u r planing on going to peru on carnival time u better like water because that is all u r going to get, in the month of february people go nuts u get soak wet and paint no matter who u r specially the last sunday of the month the whole city it's at war, carnival of peru is nothing more than water games everybody plays it does not matter if you want to play or not. good luck with your homework byeeee....

spykeeper · Guest

[quote="belle"]Hi, my name is Maribelle I'm planning a trip to PERU. I'm planning to be there for a total of 13 days. Three of those days will be spent in Cuzco. I'm leaving Lima on a sunday and returning on tuesday afternoon. the plan is to go to machu picchu monday morning and return tuesday. the question is do you think this is enouhg time? or should I plan to stay an extra day?
thank you i really appreciate your help
maribelle

P. .S if you could give me some tips on what to do while I'm there I would really appreciate it.[/quote]
3 out of 13 not good Maribelle try 5 don't stay in Lima for more than 2 days I recomend Arequipa, food in Arequipa is very nice don't go for a fancy restaurant try the locals food taste better about cuzco get a guide and think about safety the more of u the better and if the guide tells u $ 10 u say $ 5 always cut everything in half for everything half of the times it works and will help keep hit of your shoulders have fun .....

spykeeper · Guest

[quote="jorge"]For the first two weeks of January 2002, I was traveling in Peru. This
included one week in the Amazon city of Iquitos, with a three day safari
on the river, three days in the mountain city of Cuzco, three days at
the Machu Picchu ruins, two days in Lima, and two weeks with traveler's
diarrhea.

I highly recommend Peru to anyone planning on traveling in South
America. As long as you stay away from Lima, Peru is cheap, friendly,
safe, and beautiful. To those of you worried about the Shining Path,
take my word for it, there are no more terrorists anywhere near the
tourist destinations. Peru spends all of its money on police, so violent
crime has all but been eliminated. You will no doubt be robbed whenever
you try to buy anything, but just accept the fact that tourists will
always be overcharged.

The following is an illustrated account of my journey. I've also
included helpful tips for those thinking about visiting Peru. Many of
the descriptions are supplemented by information from the Travel
Survival Kit for Peru, published by Lonely Planet. No, this isn't
plagiarism, I just needed to refresh my memory in a few cases! I
recommend that you buy the Lonely Planet guide if you plan to visit
Peru.

IQUITOS

Iquitos is the capital of the Department of Loreto, largest of Peru's 24
departments. Basically, Iquitos is the capital of Amazon Peru. The city
has a population of over 200,000, owing its size mostly to the rubber
boom of the late 1800's. The current boom in Iquitos is oil. Many oil
companies with jungle operations are based in Iquitos.

As you can see in the first picture, Iquitos is a crowded, bustling
city. Though it may not seem so at first, Iquitos is beautiful place
with a friendly population. It is nestled against the Amazon River, and
palm trees grow along the streets. Even though travel books may warn
against it, try the local dishes. Iquitos has great fruit drinks and a
fantastic dish called Sebichi. This is fish which is cooking by being
soaked in vinegar, and served which fresh vegetables. If you think the
food will make you sick, you're right. But you are going to get sick
anyway. You might as well accept your fate early and get used to it.

Iquitos is unique because despite its large size, there are no roads
connecting Iquitos to the outside world. You can only get there by plane
or boat. This is why there are very few cars on the streets. Most of the
taxis in Iquitos are motorcycle rickshaws, which were shipped to the
city by boat. A taxi like the one shown will take you about anywhere in
the city for less than one dollar. This is assuming that you get there
alive. The taxi drivers tend to be a little ambitious.

I found out that Peruvians like to party. In Iquitos, huge outdoor
discos with live bands can be found all over town. In the second
picture, I am attempting the Salsa with a new-found friend. Iquitos is
also a base for the tourist industry of the Peruvian Amazon. Continue
reading for a description of my safari on the river.

AMAZON SAFARI

While in Iquitos, I decided to get out of the big city for a few days.
The city is full of tour agencies and independent guides. So, it's easy
to plan a trip, and to negotiate a good price. I was able to haggle a
guide down to fifty dollars per day for two people. This is a pretty
good rate, though it is still possible to go even lower. However, you
don't want to cut corners too much when choosing a guide. Make sure
our
guide represents a legitimate tour company, or that he is someone you
know and trust. Most importantly, get a guide that communicates well
with you. Some guides, like mine, will pretend to speak
good English until the deal is done. Then, when you get out on the
river, you can't communicate and thus learn very little about your
surroundings.

Probably the most interesting part of my safari was the boat trip out
there and back. We took a public river bus ("collectivo" in Spanish) up
the Amazon. I shared the boat with about one hundred Peruvians, as well
several pigs and chickens. This was a remarkable experience. I had any
pleasant conversations with people despite the fact that I know very
little Spanish and they knew no English. This is also where I took my
favorite pictures, shown above. The first shows me sitting on the bow
with the Captain of the collectivo. (A great guy, don't let his
expression fool you). The second shows a girl with her backpack sitting
inside. Make sure you bring candy for the "ninos" when traveling in the
selva (jungle).

After taking the collectivo for four hours, we took a speedboat up a
tributary, the Tamshiacu River (probably misspelled). This is a very
beautiful and peaceful place. We stayed in a native family's house
raised on stilts with no walls. The weather is so nice here, you don't
need walls! The river is very pleasant and great for swimming. Very
rarely will you get bitten by a piranha. Yes, there are piranhas in the
rivers, but they avoid people except for that occasional craving.

We took a half day hike into the selva. It was great to meet the
natives, who were all very friendly and hospitable. Especially so if you
give candy to their kids. Many times we were invited into someone's
house to just sit and avoid the sun for a while. Didn't see much
wildlife on our hike, except one BIG Anaconda. You have to travel
several days from Iquitos to see virgin rainforest and significant
amounts of wildlife. Came back at stayed at the house again that night.
You can camp in the selva, also, but I would never do it. There are lots
of snakes, bats, and insects on the move at night.

Other tips for traveling in the Peruvian Amazon: might want to bring
your own mosquito net, as we were provided with a sheet that created a
very stuffy sleeping environment. Also, get your shots! The bugs will
get you no matter how much repellent you wear. Call the Atlanta Center
for Disease Control for a Fax of the latest immunization
recommendations.

CUZCO AND MACHU PICCHU

When the plane lands in Cuzco, don't try to stand up too fast, or you
will pass out. The city is conveniently located at 10,000 feet above sea
level. As a nice balance to the balmy tropical climate of Iquitos, Cuzco
is wet and cold in January.

Nevertheless, this place is amazing. Cuzco is considered the
archeological capital of the Americas. For about four centuries, Cuzco
was the capital of the Inca Empire. Much of the Inca architecture still
survives in and around the city. The foundations of most buildings are
original Inca stonework. All of
the streets are paved with stones and run up and down steep hills.
Magnificent cathedrals built by the Spaniards surround the main plaza.

The atmosphere in Cuzco is drastically different than the quiet,
friendly streets of Iquitos. Half of the people you see in Cuzco are
tourists, mostly from Europe. There are numerous nightclubs and
restaurants that reflect the European influence. The saturation of
tourism in Cuzco also means there is
lots of great shopping, especially for wool clothing. Be careful,
though. The natives who sell goods on the streets are very aggressive.
They will overcharge you outrageously if they can. Always haggle until
you find the absolute minimum they will accept. Then you will be getting
only slightly ripped off.

Of course, the reason everyone comes to Cuzco is the ruins. Within the
city, the one place you must visit is Coricancha. This was once a
primary Inca temple. The stonework here is so fine that you can run your
fingers across the seams and not know where one slab ends and the other
starts. In the hills above the city are four sites that can be visited
in a half-day tour. The best of the four is
Sacsayhuaman, with massive stone walls, a sun dial, and a beautiful
view
of Cuzco. I recommend skipping the half-day tour and just hiking up the
hill to Sacsayhuaman.

The jewel of my vacation was three days at Machu Picchu. If you have
heard stories or seen pictures, you could still never understand the
beauty of this place. Two of my pictures taken at the ruins are shown
above. To get there you take a train from Cuzco for about five hours. If
you take the local train,
make sure you get a reserved seat, or you be miserable. The tourist
train is more comfortable and faster, but expensive and too cushy for a
rugged college traveler like myself. I made the mistake of not getting a
reserved seat on the local train coming back. The train broke down and I
ended up sitting in
the aisle for ten hours.

After arriving at the train station for Machu Picchu, you take shuttle
bus to the ruins on the top of the mountain. Machu Picchu is not even
visible from the train station at the valley floor, it is so high up.
This was once an entire city made of stone, self-sustaining with its own
agricultural, industrial, and
residential sections. The original straw roofs are long gone and
beautiful green grass has invaded every room. Get a really good tour
guide for your first day at Machu Picchu, as there is much to learn.
Return for at least one additional day to explore on your own. Two hikes
near Machu Picchu that should not be missed are the climb to the top of
Huayna Picchu (seen in the background of the
pictures) and the Inca trail hike to Intipuku, the 'Gate of the Sun.'
You can also hike up or down between the ruins and the valley bottom,
which is not difficult.

For overnight accommodations at Machu Picchu, you have one choice, Hotel
de Turistas. This is a good place to stay if you want to visit the ruins
at night or early in the morning. But the hotel is extremely expensive.
A better alternative is Aguas Calientes, a small town in the valley
bottom. There
are many nice restaurants and shops, a hot springs, and good
accommodations if you stake your claim early in the day. You should
absolutely avoid Albergue Juvenil (government youth hostel) unless your
only other option is the sidewalk. The staff will overcharge you
outrageously for a dumpy room and a shared bathroom with no hot water,
and a pathetic breakfast. I stayed here my first night and someone went
through my bags while I was gone (most likely one of the gracious staff
members). After this I stayed at Gringo Bill's, which is much cheaper
and more comfortable.

I found leaving Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes difficult. The area is
very quiet and relaxing. Plan to spend more time here than in the loud
and crowded city of Cuzco. But Cuzco is heaven compared to Peru's
capital. Check this page later for my big city adventures in Lima.[/quote]
NEVER DRINK THE WATER MY FRIEND EVER.........

eliott · Joined: 03 Aug 2004 Posts: 4

hello there!! I`m Eliott a boy from Peru, I visited lots of places in Peru as: Machu picchu, Arequipa, Pasco, Puno, Juliaca and Huanuco, etc.. I have stayed in Oxapampa, Pozuzo, and La Merced, I had a great time! and a busy trip. if u need some info about Peru, i will help u.

love,
Eliott

Guest · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:34 pm Post subject: Re: carnivale of peru

[quote="death"]hi, can you give me more in formation on the carnival of peru. Because i got a homework on that subject.
sincerely,death[/quote]and peeing of leprachauns