Last Updated: 20-JAN-2021
Machu Picchu & Rapa Nui: Discovering Two Mysterious Civilizations
October 18, 2019 - November 01, 2019
Program Number: 23246
This trip was a challenge to document. I took well over 3,500 photos and after editing, I reduced it down to the 2,487 on the following 13 web pages. Mary and I probably have 120 hours invested into these pages and they are far from complete. We just did and saw so many things on this trip and it was hard to put into a web page.
I was sending a daily report out on the trip that we just took to Peru & Chile. We went with Road Scholar which is an American not-for-profit organization that provides high end educational travel tours primarily geared to older adults. We booked this trip in mid 2018 and Ken was not looking forward to it so soon after retirement. In the end we had fun but it was intense. The daily reports are on the following 13 pages. Also, I have the Road Scholar daily write-up on each of the pages.
This trip had 8 flight segments with over 40 hours of flight time covering appx. 16,000 miles. Oh how we love airports and most of it was on LATAM airlines. Looking back, the flights were on-time and professional so we had no issues in flying. LATAM was very good.
As I say in the following daily write-ups. This was not a relaxing vacation. It was an adventure. We saw so many things we lost track of what day it was and what was next. But, I don't have any issues with this as there was no other way to see all of this is a two week period. I am not sure if we will do this type of trip again and we were satisfied that we covered most of what was to be seen in this part of the world.
Guides
Food - I was very concerned with this but we had no issues. We ate a large variety of foods and the quality was very good. Ken lost a few pounds on the trip but it was because of the high activity and good portion sizes.
Hotels - I probably have never stayed at so many different hotels in such a short amount of time. Sure we saw some strange things but had no issues. In most cases we were so tired at the end of the day we were just happy not to be moving.
Money - I was able to use USA money at all locations. I am sure my exchange rate I was getting was not good but its worked. I brought a bunch of $1 and $5 bills and used most of them. As always we travel with the Southwest Airlines VISA card and used it all over the place (No international fees). Chile was very credit card friendly and I charged under $2 a couple of times. All locations used the chip reader. Also, I found it interesting that at restaurants they would bring the card reader to you so your card never left your sight. We need to do that in the USA.
Security - I was very concerned on this trip. I carry a gun most of the time but that is not possible here. But, except for a strange encounter with a guy who kept touching my backpack at Machu Picchu, I had no issues. In Santiago at the General Cemetery we had a couple of street criminals who were sizing us up (the group) but left after being stared down. We were concerned with the riot situation in Santiago but had no issues at all. My worries as usual were not a problem.
Health - Except for Ken catching a very mild cold in Easter Island and Mary getting it on the way home we were fine. Our feet were tired as we walked countless steps and rocks at the various ruins. It was interesting that we were told that water was safe to drink from a biologic standpoint. Meaning no bugs in the water. But, it was high in chlorine and minerals and that may give you some issues. We brushed our teeth in the water with no issues and drank bottled water which was provided for free in most locations and by Road Scholar (Marco) on the bus. I wish I would have taken Ginkgo Biloba Supplement for altitude as I had one bad night in Cusco trying to sleep at 12,000+ feet. We used this supplement a number of years ago in Colorado and had no issues at all spending time and hiking at 14,000+ feet.
Cell coverage - I paid $10 a day for ATT international plan. Easter Island was a problem with speed but was still able to read email & check the web. Everywhere else coverage met or exceeded USA networks. Got the bill already and no surprises as I am always worried about that.
CAMERA EQUIPMENT
I have some really high end camera gear but due to the size of it and the value, I was very concerned in taking it. Looking back, I would not have had a security problem but definitely would have had issues packing & carrying it.
I shot many photos with my Samsung 9 Note with a 12-megapixel camera and I shot all video with this phone. I have a 256gig microSD card in the camera for plenty of space
I picked up a Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II Digital Camera w/ 1 Inch Sensor and 512gb card specifically for this trip. This $900 camera gave me near DSLR performance in a small package. Any zoomed shots on this trip were taken with this camera. Also, to take the limited astrophotography on this trip I picked up a Camera Remote Shutter Release over bluetooth for the G5X which worked very well. The sad thing is that unless we take another trip like this I will probably not use this camera. Anyone interested ?
I kept all this charged with 3 Portable Charger Anker PowerCore 20,100mAh - Ultra High Capacity Power Banks which I would charge at the hotels. I had no issues with US / South America plugs although at some hotels they were worn out and required adjustment. I did have a bunch of international adaptor plugs but most everything now works on 120/240v
Some of the people on the group wanted to know what apps / software I had on my android phone.
When I got home to process all of these photos I used:
Other items taken
We had a complete medical crash kit with antibiotics and many other meds but forgot basic meds for a cold. Won't make that mistake again.
Road Scholar Catalog entry for this trip
OCT 17/18/19 - Thu/Fri/Sat - Day 1, 2 - Lima City Exploration
OCT 20 - Sun - Day 3 - Fly to Cusco, Plaza de Armas, Sacsayhuaman, Sacred Valley
OCT 21 - Mon - Day 4 - Sacred Valley, Pisac Ruins, Ollantaytambo
OCT 22 - Tue - Day 5 - Train to Machu Picchu / Machu Picchu (Aguas Caliente)
OCT 23 - Wed - Day 6 - Train back to Ollantaytambo / Transfer to Cuzco, Weaving Cooperative
OCT 24 - Thu - Day 7 - Almudena Cemetery, Qoricancha Palace, Free Time in Cusco
OCT 25 - Fri - Day 8 - Fly to Santiago - Chile
OCT 26 - Sat - Day 9 - Santiago City Exploration
OCT 27 - Sun - Day 10 - Fly Santiago to Easter Island, Moai of Rapa Nui
OCT 28 - Mon - Day 11 - Easter Island - Field Studies at Ahu Vinapu, Tongariki & Anakena
OCT 29 - Tue - Day 12 - Easter Island - Parque Nacional Rapa Nui
OCT 30 - Wed - Day 13 - Easter Island - Fly from Rapa Nui to Santiago, Chile
OCT 31 - Thu - Day 14 - Explore Coastal - Valparaiso, Vina del Mar, Program Concludes
I ended up taking 55 videos with my cell phone taking up appx. 12 gig of space. Below are a few to give you a sample of what we saw on this trip.
Yucay is a town in southern Peru. It is the capital of the Yucay District, which is near the center of Urubamba Province. Urubamba Province is in the Cusco Region of southern Peru. The area in which Yucay is located is commonly called the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It is at 9,373 feet in elevation and we slept well here.
They had a party in the town square the first night we were here. This was a busy road that we walked along.
The next morning we walked along the Urubamba River. Very cool place
Walking down from the ruins of Ollantaytambo, which hug a mountainside at the end of the Sacred Valley and are one of the few Incan sites not built over by the Spanish
Yup, having a pole in the street can cause issues.
They were moving rocks in the stream for some reason
Lot's of train activity here
On the train back to Ollantaytambo. The ride was slow and they kept us busy.
The plaza is not wet, it's from 500 years of people walking on it at 12,000ft. The church bells were impressive. Watching people / traffic at the Plaza de Armas del Cuzco. Strange reflections here from the lights in the camera.
Watching the traffic along Av El Sol in Cusco. Don't know what the red items are in liquid and the woman keeps touching the cooked G-pigs
More bells & watching people / traffic at the Plaza de Armas del Cuzco
The tone of these low bells are amazing. This frequency has imprinted on me as if I hear this sound I immediately think of being here.
Chile was having protests all over the place. We watched them on Easter Island too. The police were at the end in a pickup & 2 motorcycles.
Ascensor Reina Victoria (Valparaiso) - funicular railway - Built in 1903 - Named after the queen of England who died in 1901.
We ate lunch atop a hill in Valparaiso at a private residence. We had a typical Chilean lunch with a family and they prepared the local drink, Earthquake.