Canyons, Mountains & Vineyards

[Jacques Vert]

 

[Jacques Vert]

We were given free drink vouchers for a Pisco Sour each...

 

[Straubs]

I'm strapped in for the ride too, back in economy with the kids though. Someone's drying their socks on my armrest as we speak

PS: Unfortunately, our real world trip was cancelled due to some family health issues. Won't be long till we get there, I'm sure. Have a fabulous time, Jacques Vert! And lots of photos please!!

 

[RooFlyer]

Pisco sour in a plastic cup? I would have thought there would be a law in Peru against that!

 

[Jacques Vert]

Unfortunately, our real world trip was cancelled due to some family health issues. Won't be long till we get there, I'm sure. Have a fabulous time, Jacques Vert! And lots of photos please!!

Sorry to hear about the cancellation; hope all is well now.

+1 takes almost all the photos; biggest problem is picking a few out of the hundreds she takes in a day.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Pisco sour in a plastic cup? I would have thought there would be a law in Peru against that!

Well the bar was adjacent to the pool so plastic cups it was. But then they served us wine in a wine glass! Go figure.

 

[Jacques Vert]

The food at the DT was good...

 

[love_the_life]

Pisco sour in a plastic cup? I would have thought there would be a law in Peru against that!

One airport hotel (Santiago maybe) had rows of bottles of gin behind the bar. Very impressive except they had no gin! I would’ve gladly had a plastic cup. On second thought no, hate them, pool area or not.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next day and it's off for our flight over the Nazca Lines in a Caravan...

 

[Jacques Vert]

And a few more....



The cynic in me can't help but wonder whether the lines are genuine or have been "improved" over the years, just for us tourists.

BTW: how do I get rid of those annoying little "attached file" thingies at the bottom of some posts?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Then an afternoon drive to the desert oasis of Huacachina (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huacachina); but first, +1 managed to get a snap of it on the way back from Nazca...




Some photos from ground level:

 

[Jacques Vert]

 

[Jacques Vert]

After another night at the Double Tree and another free breakfast, we headed back to Lima.

I'll hand over to Gem56 (my +1) for the next part of our travels.

 

[RooFlyer]

BTW: how do I get rid of those annoying little "attached file" thingies at the bottom of some posts?

They are usually files you have uploaded, but not inserted in the message. If you upload, but don't want to use, you can delete them from the list.

What's the current explanation and time for the lines?

 

[Boca68]

The cynic in you Jacques, is not far off.

The have been tended to over the years. Restoration is the oft used word. But as far as I know, nothing has been "altered" . But, I guess its the same as restoration and preservation works at Machu Picchu or the Pyramids.

Recently on the news in Peru, some guy in Semi Trailer, decided to pull off the highway to check his tyres and park his rig there. Not sure which image was damaged, but many were not impressed.

 

[Gem56]

We left Paracas and then headed back to Lima. On the way we went searching for the Parque Del Recuerdo Cemetery where I have a friend resting there. Very sad story. This lovely lady was born in Cuzco and had been living in Australia for quite some years with 3 grown up daughters, all born in Australia. 12 years ago she returned to see her dying mother and her youngest daughter was to meet her in Lima before going onto Cuzco. Waiting at the airport for her daughter to come through immigration, Carmen had a heart attack and did not regain consciousness. She was in a coma for 2 years. Unfortunately Carmen didn't have travel insurance and it nearly sent the family broke. Her husband had to sell the house and the daughters had help from their inlaws to get them back to Lima on a number of occasions and to foot the hospital bills. The family had to pay for absolutely everything, including soap. She finally died in May 2008, consequently this is her 10th anniversary of passing. She died on the Festival of the Crosses - a big celebration time in Cuzco.

A huge reminder to us all that if you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to go!

 

[Jacques Vert]

They are usually files you have uploaded, but not inserted in the message. If you upload, but don't want to use, you can delete them from the list.

Thanks RooFlyer; I thought I had tried that but I'll try again. (Still getting the hang of uploading on the new platform.)

What's the current explanation and time for the lines?

According to Wikipedia (Nazca Lines - Wikipedia)..."scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 500 BC and 500 AD."

We weren't given any further information about the lines from the airline, just suggested we use "google" to find out more.

I guess if my Spanish extended to more than 6 words I could have asked...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Back at the Courtyard in Lima for another night, and this time we remembered to take a photo of the room (as we were leaving):



The room was nothing special but the staff were very friendly and helpful. We accepted their recommendation for a nearby restaurant called Seqra; food was excellent and service good, prices reasonable...

 

[Jacques Vert]

BTW, reason I chose the Courtyard was partly on price, partly on location and mostly because I received a "Welcome Back" challenge.

We stayed at a number of Protea hotels when in Africa last year and the previous year, but no Marriott brands since (because we basically haven't been anywhere much). They miss me so my challenge is to stay 12 nights by the end of May and I'll be given Gold status until the end of 2019. Pretty good deal IMO and they will upgrade that to Platinum when the programs merge in August (Yes, I have it in writing).

So next day it was a walk around Miraflores before heading to the airport.



The next few shots are the local football card exchange in full swing, very serious trading going on:



One issue I'd come across is that all the ATMs want to charge a fee/commission of 18 or 19 Soles for using my Citibank Plus; one actually quoted 18 but charged 36! Apparently there are one or two Citi ATMs in Lima but I couldn't find them. However, I did discover that the casino "Atlantic City" has an ATM that doesn't charge for withdrawals in $US and it wasn't far from our hotel. Strangely enough, it still wanted to charge a fee if withdrawing Soles.

 

[RooFlyer]

South America in my experience is not a good place to use the Citi card to go fee free. I think I always got charged one, in the countries I visited ( Ecuador, Chile Argentina, Peru and Brazil), including at Banko Eduardo, which is the Citi brand in Chile!