2019-05-17
Our last day in Peru started with some shopping in the hotel. I could not decide which of the gold items to buy so we left without spending anything.
Outside, we ducked and weaved, avoiding “Spartan Man”,
a local street vender who sports a Michigan State hat and has Spartan logos on his sales board, who I engaged in conversation a week ago, and he still remembers me and wants my AT hat. He was very talkative and kinda funny as well.
We walked past these small street gardens on the way to a gourmet breakfast.
The Santo Domingo Convent was on our way and the sun was out so I took a couple of parting photos.
This bakery was just a couple of blocks away and was our destination.
What is better than a triple stacked strawberry shortcake and an apple tartlet for breakfast?
A triple stacked strawberry shortcake and TWO apple tartlets!
We walked to the corner, crossed the street and came up the other side. Cathy and I went into the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco, founded in 1996 by indigenous weavers from the community of Chinchero, as well as industrial supporters. Inside were the main offices, museum and shops. Cathy picked up a really nice Peruvian hat. I heard a ruckus going on outside so I stepped out and watched this demonstration coming down the street. As far as I could tell, it was about pensions. Most of the participants appeared to be working men, and the chants were led by a young lady with a bullhorn. The police were armed and equipped with hand-held shields and had them contained as they walked down the sidewalk.
Back at the hotel I had to get a picture with the baby llama and the ladies with the hats. Love the hats! The llama looks confused, I believe she knows that Cathy ate llama a couple of days ago.
Cathy met this lady downtown and engaged in conversation so we took a photo of her at work. She has been weaving all of her life.
Waiting for our ride to the airport, I heard music, so I went outside and saw this band marching up the street. They look young but the banner is for the local college.
After s short wait at the Cusco airport we boarded our Latin American Airlines plane for Lima. It was a short, hour and a half flight. We had scheduled a seven hour layover in Lima before heading out on Delta to Atlanta.
Here is a view o Cusco from the air.
We passed over the local hills that had unusual formations before turning towards Lima.
I had to take a couple of photos from the plane of the snow-capped Andes.
Once we landed in Lima, we picked up our Delta tickets and headed to the terminal. Delta does not have much of a presence in Lima so they share a gate with several airlines. We watched as each crew re-arranged the gate for their specific airline. Seven hours and several Inca Colas later, the 01:30 Delta crew arrived. I checked at the gate and found that we could get on an earlier (by an hour) flight so we moved down about 10 gates to board the 12:30 AM flight. We waited and did not actually board the plane until after 01:00. An hour later we were still on deck. Our original flight had been cancelled (plane issues) and they were going to fill our plane with as many passengers as possible, as some had been stranded there 24 hours already. An hour later, one busload of passengers arrived. We finally took off with many seats empty at 04:00 and landed in Atlanta at 11:00 AM. It had been 25 hours since we started the trip and we still had Customs to go through. U.S. Customs agents sent a lot of foreigners into the American citizen only lines (they apparently cannot tell a blue (US) passport from red or green passports). Then, for reason I cannot fathom, they gave priority to the foreign passengers who were in the wrong line. We waited and finally got out of the terminal at noon. When leaving the long-term parking lot I discovered I lost my ticket. Luckily the agent took my itinerary and came up with the right dates and gave be a coupon discount, reducing our tab substantially. We got home at 1:30 in the aternoon, 26 hours after leaving Cusco.
Overall, REI did an outstanding job in trip planning. We stayed in 5-star hotels and haciendas, had incredible meals and the itinerary was perfect. Our guides were experts in Peruvian culture and history and were personable and easy to converse with. This was the best, most organized and professional trip we have ever taken. I am sure now that IF I head to Everest, I will be using REI.
Travelling with the Schinglers 