Arequipa: The White City

Lots of hotels and ranges in Arequipa. We stayed a few blocks from the Plaza de Armas at La casa del Sillar, an old colonial house made of sillar. Rivero 504, www.lacasadelsillar.com

Rooms were large but dark, stark and basic.  Thankfully clean, but it wasn't El Albergue!  Breakfast was included but it was a dry old basket of bread, watery coffee and surly service: eat breakfast elsewhere especially when the room was only 70NS (approx $25).

Eats:
Dinner at Chicha, Gaston Arcurio's magic in an old colonial building on Santa Catalina. beer, sparkly water, ceviche, swrodfish, stuffed rocoto, wine and shared dessert of the crepe, all divine and only 149NS (approx $50!) 
Breakfast: La Canasta et back in a courtyard in a lovely building. So-so breads, passable for breakfast, but awful coffee. Nice outdoor seating area in the courtyard. Jerusalen 115

Lunch: Cafe Bar Istanbul. Calle San Francisco 231 (2 blocks north of the Plaza de Armas) Run by a Turkish woman who has been there for 12+ years (why I ask...apparently she followed her brother there and he owns the Turkish restaurant across the street)  Her space is modern, vibrant colours and warm vibe, even when empty which it was. Food was great: fresh, delicious and good value. I had the Felafel Wrap which came with rocoto sauces.9NS. So good we went back the next day before our bus to Colca Canyon.

Night bus to Arequipa

Turns out 99% of buses to Arequipa leave in the evening anywhere from 7pm-9pm to avoid the high temperatures during the day. I did find a morning bus which was appealing because it would afford us the view of the countryside en route, which at 10-12 hours of driving, that could be a lot.  But the prospect of arriving in the night in a new city didn't appeal either. 

Several bus companies go to Arequipa with varying level of 'service' which is essentially how far back the seat reclines, if there's a bathroom and the number of stops.  They do book up so I suggest you go to the bus station the day or two before to book your ticket, which was about 25NS, but I can't remember exactly other than CHEAP.

Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu

Rather than make it a long day trip from Cusco and feel rushed and exhausted, we decided to be leisurely about it and split the trip to Machu Picchu as a 2-day excursion staying overnight in Ollantaytambo.  I prefered that to Aguas Calientes, which frankly sounded like a skin of a town that grew to cater to tourism and would be overrun with tour groups and backpackers. 

We took a microbus from Cusco that cost 10NS each (approx $3.40) for a 2.5 hr ride through gorgeous snow capped peaks and potatoe field dotted countryside. I was able to make a reservation a few days before at the Albergue in Ollantaytambo, located right on the train platform, for $65, including breakfast.  I think that is the off-season price.  It's a beautiful hotel with exquisite grounds and views, dining room, bar patio with views of the mountains and cafe that is right on the tracks. Rooms were clean, simple with dark wood furniture and still felt indulgent in a white adobe old station house. There were also newer rooms in other buildings on the small grounds.

Take the time to visit the ruins in town-really quite impressive and sets the tone of awe and wonderment of how they got huge stones quarried and hauled up the mountain side. It's also a great vantage point from seeing the town below and the surrounding peaks.

We had a 7:30 am train which left plenty of time to have a gorgeous breakfast that included coffee from the barrista, buffet of fruit salad and breads, and made to order pancakes or eggs. Great way to start the day.

Train options were many prompted by the recent opening up of PeruRails monopoly resulting in Inca Rail and another train company. We took PeruRail return for approx $63 for the morning run and $50 for the 2pm return, per person. These services were efficient, clean and even offered a lovely snack with tea/coffee (and a fashion show..)

ONce in Agua Caliente the bus to Machu Picchu park entrance (recommended unless you fancy hiking up for 2 hours!) is only 8NS per person and hustles up in 20 minutes, so money well spent especially if time is of the essence. You can also walk down-leave 2 hours to enjoy the well marked trail. Park entrance can be purchased by the shuttle bus at the park office or up at the actual park entrance.  I think park entrance was about $40 each-well worth it. Trust me.

Where to eat in Cusco

No shortage of places to eat in Cusco, but with a mild case of soroche, food was not high on the list for the first few days.  Here's a snapshot of the places we enjoyed:


Inka Grill on the Plaza de Armas. Excellent, fresh, clean Peruvian fusion food.  We ate there twice enjoying the ceviches, tiraditas, taku-taku and alpaca.  Good selection for vegetarians too.

Pacha Papa: Plazoleta San Blas #120 with nice outdoor garden eating area (with heat lamps!)
Victor Victoria on Tecsecocha has a great menu del dia. On our day we had asparagus soup, choclo, pesto spaghetti, lentejas, tres leches and beer (and an ample salad bar) for a measly $5 each!

Crash Pad in Cusco

The start of a 3 week stint through Peru and northern Bolivia started with a stay in Cusco. I reached out through a few Q&A travel forums for suggested places to stay and got some great responses. A Travellr.com reply was the one we went with and with no regrets. 

Hostal Casa de Campo on Sandapata was superb. Rooms are pepepred across a few buildings that ascend furtehr up the hill. Gettung ti our room at that altitude took the wind out of us, but it was worth it for the spectacular views. Our room (#30) had it's own little ante-room with fireplace overlooking the city. Gorgeous. Rooms are basic, but clean.  Low season rate was $30 a night, and includes breakfast.

New Q&A Widget from Travellr.com!

I've been extremely busy travelling mostly since my last posting (Yes! I LOVE my job!)  I have been equally grim in my vow to use Everlater, starting with my Vancouver trip....so much for that.  Truth is, my repository of travel information tends to stay in my head and if I am going to log into anything, I'd rather it be a "write once read everywhere" set up. Everlater was intended to be just that solution for me, but I am not in the habit of defaulting to it..I will try harder.

  One of the new things I have easily integrated is the Travellr.com widget of travel questions and answers on the platform.  It is a terrific network of global travelers committed to sharing and seeking travel gems. I think it is fab and have had a slew of great answers to my various questions.  You can see what I am up to in the community through the widget here, but why don't you also sign up as a member and get sharing?

The ever present grapple with technologies and travel chronicles

For the last few years I have struggled with the best way to capture my travels and the places I want to remember.  I don't mean the waxing poetic memories, but the practical aspects: locations, prices, room details, restaurants, tips & tricks learned on the road. I go from paper notes and business cards with the "One day I'll organize" it plan to the scattered applications of my iPhone: dropping pins on Google apps, specifics on Notepad, checking in with Gowalla and Foursquare, Twitter feeds to my blog, Uploading photos to Twitter and updating my blog (which I never do). 

I think I may have found something that can work: Everlater.  They have a free iPhone app, that mercifully works offline so that what I capture doesn't trigger bone rattling roaming fees, and it synchs up to my Everlater blog when I am on WiFi.  I also just read that with Everlater, you can mirror the content, maps and POIs into any webpage or blog. So here goes!

I am off to Vancouver and Toronto next week ad will give it a whirl. Unfortunately, I will still have to double up with posting to Twitineraries of my Twavels, but I think I can live with that.