Hola! Around South America on LAN

[UpInTheAir:)]

This is the sea lion herding the school of fish at the Galapagos, and a shark crashing the party: https://vid.me/KdCk


And Red footed coughies building a nest https://vid.me/FYJI

Great videos! Thanks RF.. Lol... the coughies don't look like they are in a rush! Glad they're not building my house

 

[RooFlyer]

My trip reports are usually lacking a bit on the food side (hopefully not on the bev side). Often when I am travelling by myself I amjust too tired to go out in the evening, so I often just grab an unimaginative bite in the hotel. Sometimes you win with a nice surprise, other times its just dinner.

The first evening in Cusco I did manage to stagger out to have a bit of guinea pig.I was contemplating what to do the secondevening - I knew that there were lots of restaurants close to the Novotel. Ah! Trip Advisor! The #1 restaurant in Cusco is a French one called Le Soleil . A French restaurant in Cusco? No thanks. But I read on - the reviews were simply raving positive. And the place is just 30 metres from the Novotel! So lets give it a go.

It was early (8:00 pm) but fortunately I wasn't the first customer. The restaurant is fresh and open and a pleasant French soundtrack is playing. I'm greeted and shown to my table.




I decided on the 7 course degustation menu - see here


Starting with an amuse bouche of pureed peas (left) ; then an appetiser of Smoked trout mousse with French bread. Now let me say here that this meal was the type where, with every mouthful, you just close your eyes, sigh in bliss and really regret it when you finally have to pass on the mouthful to the rest of the digestive system. Supplies are sourced fresh daily from the Sacred Valley; the chef is a local. I had a glass of French Sauvignon Blanc to accompany the first few courses, but frankly I wasn't focussed on the drinks (that tells you something :shock: )




Next, a Starter of Avocado curls and vegetables in Dijon mustard vinaigrette (left), followed by Andean trout filet confit, organic vegetables, mango and ginger sauce. Talk about died and gone to heaven (Me, not the trout.)




The meat course (left) was Beef tenderloin with foie gras and champignons sauce, thin slices of chestnut, potatoes and chorizo crumbs . Beef in the top 3 ever had (IIRC). The I think another amuse bouche of a shot of citrus soup and mango. Glass of French red - again, didn't get the details.




Then chocolate bar flavored with cardamom, red fruits carpaccio, chantilly with cashew nuts. The 'chocolate bar' was a slice of dense chocolate moose rather than a block of Cadbury's. A fabulous Sauternes with dessert. Coffee (properly served) to finish.




The restaurant filled up during the evening, and by the look of it, many chose the degustation menu and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The owner is on hand, circulating around the tables, discussing the dishes, their preparation, the source material; also the guests themselves etc. Very pleasant chap (the only digression to mildly haughty French attitude is when we were discussing their seasonal range of dishes - he said " ... but we don't EVER serve guinea pig ..." .:mrgreen: ) The wait staff are also genuinely delightful. Service could not be further from the stereotype of French restaurant service.

I can't remember the total price; it wasn't cheap but not really expensive either, but it was a sensational experience. The portions are small-ish, but I found my appetite wasn't full-on in the altitude and I was well satisfied at the end. I read in Trip Advisor that one couple asked for the 5 course AND the seven course degustation menus to be well fed - the dishes came out in pairs.

 

[RooFlyer]

Did you see the Last Supper in the Cathedral in Cusco? The one with cuy and corn?
Also the Black saviour (or was it Christ or was it Madonna?) in the same cathedral?

Yes, coming up .

 

[TomVexille]

You've now made me hungry. And I just finished eating...

 

[amaroo]

I decided on the 7 course degustation menu

Love a Degus - looks delicious.

With all the talk about oxygen - this trip has a bit of a "boot camp" feel about it. If the kids play up I'm going to threaten them with "how about we go here"

 

[tm.smile]

Great TR! I'm heading that way in Jan, but on a slightly bigger ship (Princess...). Am doing a few days in MP so you've really made me want that trip to be here already!

 

[RooFlyer]

Love a Degus - looks delicious.

With all the talk about oxygen - this trip has a bit of a "boot camp" feel about it. If the kids play up I'm going to threaten them with "how about we go here"

Quelle horreur! No boot camp the RooFlyer way! My hotels were a bit on the lean side (tour organiser choice / reason) - there are a lot more comfy options. The only hardish-work was the day at MP, but your average day in a European medieval city, or Asian temple area would have the same number of steps up cathedral/temple towers etc (at least it would for me). Ignore those sporty types who suggest to walk down the hill from MP . It never so much went close to entering my mind.

And if you go Sacred valley/MP for 2-3 days first, and take Diamox I think the chances of a bad case of altitude sickness at Cusco are greatly lowered.

But by all means send the kids ahead on the 5 day Inca trail, spend some quality time with the missus, then meet them in the bar in Aguas Calientes, and coo after their bravery and athleticism.

 

[RooFlyer]

Last words on Cusco.

On the hilly outskirts of Cusco are several Inca sites, which have been badly damaged / vandalised by the Spanish. Sacsaywaman is a very large site, but only a portion has been exposed and put on display. It was a large 'hill fort' of which only some basal walls remain. Again, you can admire the workmanship in the stones. Much of the stonework was taken by the Spaniards to build their cathedrals etc in Cusco town.




There is plenty of remnant stonework in the town however - a Dominican Convent was destroyed in an earthquake, and this revealed Inca structures that has been 'built over' and walls plastered over by the Spanish. He who laughs last, laughs best ... On the right, a small street downtown with in tact Inca walls on both sides.




Here was a real highlight - the Mercato (Market) San Pedro, near San Pedro train station. A large, undercover market, its obviously very much for the locals, but I felt totally comfortable walking around, taking pictures. Many competing fruit juice stalls - apparently identical product, same prices, but I chose Carlotta on the right - that's Shirley on the left. Shirley translated Carlotta's questions .. was I married was the first one :shock: . Ahem ... moving right along, easy to get a sit-down meal of pollo and rice etc for a few sols.




Some more traditional statuary and locals dressed up.




And to answer the question posed above .. yes, I did see the Last Supper in the Cathedral. According to the Cathedral book, its not cuy in the centre, but viscacha (chinchilla), as the latter is the Guardian of the Sacred Lakes and Mountains. Look at the 'Apostle' second from the right, at the bottom - looking AWAY from Christ and much darker in complexion than the others. This is supposed to be the Conquistador Francisco Pizarro (ie painted in a disrespectful way by the local artist ). The 'black Christ' is a statue that was blackened by soot from candles over many years. After an earthquake this statue was prominent when survivors was found ... hence it became notable.



I also visited the Inca museum, a block or so off the main square. No pics, but its not a bad display, with some displays in English.

All in all I had a full day in Cusco, and that was probably enough. The Inca stuff has been mainly destroyed; the Spanish stuff is but a poor representation of what's in Spain. The restaurant scene is really good; stay close to Plaza de Armes if you can.

 

[RooFlyer]

Time to leave Peru. I was picked up at my hotel by the tour car and delivered to Cusco airport, only about 20 mins away. We got there 2 hours prior to departure, which was about an hour too early. Nothing to do at Cusco airport airside!!

Check-in on LAN to Iguassu Falls (I'll use the English spelling throughout) via Lima. Was waiting for the flight to board, when I realised that the incoming flight was just arriving. OK, we are going to be late. Not long after, the queue that had formed to board turned into a scrum at the gate counter, with some raised voices. Something was up! the Anglos huddled together and grabbed a LAN person - OK,
the plane is being inspected; further announcement 'soon'. The scrum continues; it looks a little unpleasant for the staff.

After about half an hour it transpires that we are to board. I again was in the Preferente lane, so boarded gracefully. We got into Lima an hour late which means I had minimal time in the OneWorld accessible lounge. It looked OK and reasonably big; two levels.

On yet another A319 and soon we were approaching Iguassu Falls - IGU - the Brazilian side. Lucky I was first off, as there were only 2 immigration booths and processing was slow (Australians need a visa). I detected a tour group of Australians; I was headed to the Belmond Hotel das Caratas - a spot of luxury R&R after the rigours of Peru. This is their web site shot




A word about that shot. From the hotel, you can only see the falls on the right. And the main falls are well off to the left, out of view. The majority of the falls are on the Argentine side (all the ones in this shot) but the best views are on the Brazil side.

Oh, and anyone remember the film 'The Mission' with Jeremy Irons as the priest? The falls on the right are the ones where he went over, nailed to a cross.

Gee I hoped that the tour group was staying somewhere else! I was eligible for a free car transfer to the hotel, and the guy was there, and we were quickly off to the hotel, which is uniquely located within the national park, adjacent to part of the falls. About 20 mins drive; a low speed limit in the park.

Pic at left - first view of the falls; at right, right, first view of the hotel. At its core, its an old Portuguese hacienda; the wings were added later but are still pretty grand.




I got an upgrade to a 'falls facing room'; that sounded good! Here's the room - small, but very nicely appointed; nice fruit waiting for me, good bathroom products and a great shower!




And here's the view out my window (left). Yes, you can see the falls - its the white area to the immediate left of the palm tree trunks . Never mind, you can certainly hear the falls!! My room was in the 'Forrest wing' that's the one to the right; I was in the middle row, about the middle.




The main block has a number of grand public spaces - the bar is lovely (has piano) and spills out onto the terrace; there is a library type room (left) and the 'formal' dining room.

 

[love_the_life]

Interesting about the chinchilla in the painting. Our guide did tell us it was cuy but then again I may not have been listening carefully and he may have gone on with further facts. He was very reverent about the black Christ I recall.
I remember Sacsaywaman - those blocks were very large. A big group of alpacas wandering around (think that's correct as they are llamas at MP).
Such memories you bring back. Must dredge up the pics and look at them again.

 

[JohnM]

Interesting about the chinchilla in the painting. Our guide did tell us it was cuy but then again I may not have been listening carefully and he may have gone on with further facts. He was very reverent about the black Christ I recall.
I remember Sacsaywaman - those blocks were very large. A big group of alpacas wandering around (think that's correct as they are llamas at MP).
Such memories you bring back. Must dredge up the pics and look at them again.

I'm sure the guide for my group also said it was cuy. And he was reverential about the black Christ. We must have had the same guy!

 

[love_the_life]

Not sure about the same guide. We had a guy named Marco who was contracted through the tour company we booked with. He met us in Cusco and we had him for 4 days, including Sacred Valley, MP and around Cusco. He was of Incan descent and was wonderful. Based on what we paid and what we got, the tour was a bargain.
Gathered up some baby alpaca products in Cusco and was wearing the scarf today as it was cool this morning!

 

[JohnM]

Not sure about the same guide. We had a guy named Marco who was contracted through the tour company we booked with. He met us in Cusco and we had him for 4 days, including Sacred Valley, MP and around Cusco. He was of Incan descent and was wonderful. Based on what we paid and what we got, the tour was a bargain.
Gathered up some baby alpaca products in Cusco and was wearing the scarf today as it was cool this morning!

The guide for me was just the guy at the church...

 

[RooFlyer]

Still in the hotel ... more elegance left and the corridors are OK too:




... and while I was watching toucans from the terrace, this guy wanted to share my beer nuts.




A little less elegant is the other restaurant - essentially a buffet with some Brazilian BBQ meats on the side (and unadvertised extra cost). The first night, with tour groups and many mis-behaving kids, it had all the elegance of a Coles cafeteria and was a shocking introduction to the hotel; I couldn't get into the fine dining restaurant the next day, so it was the buffet again, and a bit more orderly.




The hotel tower is open to climb; there are better views of the falls, and this 'smoke' gave a good indication of what was in store.

 

[RooFlyer]

Iguassu falls is the type of place where you find yourself taking the same image time and again before ultimately realising you need to put the camera away and just take it all in.

The next couple of stanzas are taken from the Brazil side, roughly as you walk from the hotel to the final observation deck, above the falls. over 1,000 steps!



The falls on the left here, and in the far distance for the remainder is 'The Devil's Throat' - an amazing cascade, with water dropping on 3 sides of a small space. Great views from the Argentine side, the following day!




This is the main boardwalk on the Brazilian side - yes, you do get wet! Being in the Belmond, I was able to take an early morning walk along the trail - at 7:30am I was the only person at the boardwalk and had the falls all to myself! Unfortunately the light is not so good then.

 

[kermatu]

Brilliant trip report RF. If only I had the time and finances....

 

[love_the_life]

We stayed on the other side, can't remember why, but there was a reason at the time - at the Sheraton - the falls were absolutely breath-taking. Love reading about the trip and seeing the pics.

 

[JohnM]

Brilliant trip report RF. If only I had the time and finances....

Pffft - don't let such trivialities stop you kermatu .

 

[RooFlyer]

We stayed on the other side, can't remember why, but there was a reason at the time - at the Sheraton - the falls were absolutely breath-taking. Love reading about the trip and seeing the pics.

Some Sheraton pics coming up, to remind you .

 

[RooFlyer]

Most of the walkway / views on the Brazilian side are below the valley crest/falls tops, but at the end is an observation deck accessible via elevator from the bottom or fairly level from the top; no extra charge for the elevator.







A few hundred m further upstream is the end of the Brazilian access, with a range of take-aways and sit down cafes, and its where the bus ends at. There are boat tours available. In a boat, on the up-stream side of the falls? I know it would be safe, but not for this little black duck :shock: .




Here is the main Argentine look-out, directly over-looking the Devil's Throat (Garganta del Diablo in Spanish or Garganta do Diabo in Portuguese) to the left.




View from the end of the Brazilian board-walk (all metal on concrete supports, actually)