"Calif Bill" wrote in message
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"P.Fritz" wrote in message
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"Calif Bill" wrote in message
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"Paul Fritz" wrote in message
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Thanks. I am looking at the 16 passenger ships. As to Condor
in
Peru,
I
used them for Machu Pichu in 2000. Fantastic people to tour
with.
At
least
the Cusco and MP part.
Bill

That was part of this trip as well, Where did you stay in Cusco
and
Machu
Pichu? What did you think of the approach and landing for the
Cusco
airport?

The ship we were on was the Santa Cruz. (my daughter remembered
the
name.) Some of those small boats looked a little scary. I was
thankful
being on a larger boat the night we moved from one end of the
island
chain
to the other.....going against the current/wind......it was the
only
time
in
my life I have ever had any motion sickness. And the flight to and
from
the
islands were in what appeared to be very old 727's.





We stayed at the Monastery in Cusco. 1740 built monastery,
converted to
a
hotel by Orient Expess in 1996. We stayed at the hotel at the top
at
MP.
Refugio? Also an Orient Express hotel. If you want to watch the
sunrise
at
MP, you need to stay at that hotel, or walk up a long ways in the
dark.
Was
fantastic as we had maybe a 1/2 hour alone in the ruins before
others
arrived. 2 swiss guys hiking the Inca trail. For those who like
crooked
roads, the dirt roat from the bottom to the top at Machu Pichu does
about
20
switchbacks in a 2000 foot climb. I loved the flight from Lima.
Full
breakfast, and at least a foot of room in front of my knees. I
think it
was
a B-757. We were there in Spring (April) and I asked the hotel
manager,
how
rough the winters were. He laughed and said this is the cold
season.
For
those who have not been to Cusco, this city of about 350,000 people,
sits
at
11,500' elevation and the weather is about like San Francisco.
Begonias
and
other semi-tropical fauna. They only fly before noon to Cusco as
the
elevation prevents safe flight after the air temps warm up.
Bill

We stayed at the same places..Both were great places......It was nice
watching the sun set and rise from the ruins.

What I thought was wild was the landing at Cusco is descending down
the
mountain valley with the peaks above you on either side, then doing
the
180
around the peak just off the end of the runway.
What did you think of the Coca tea? Didn't do much for me. I had
never
experienced the altitude sickness before that either......Got about an
hour's sleep each night it Cusco. I thought the way they switchbacked
the
trains to get over the mountains was interesting as well.......Did you
climb
Wachu (sp?) Pichu as well?
s





Did not zing me, maybe not enough coke in the tea? I ski at 10,000' and
spend a lot of time at Lake Tahoe, so the altitude did not bother me
headache wise, but not a lot of energy. We took a bus 1/2 way to MP as
there were bad rains and lots of landslides blocking the tracks. Wachu
Pichu was not recommended as a climb because of the rain. We were there
just before the elections, so got to see lots of the Indio's in local
regalia demonstrating in Cusco. As to altitude, later in the trip we
went
to Lake Lugara, highest lake in the world. 14,500' Walked across the
road
and head spun like in my younger years and excess celebrating.
Bill

We were in Cusco on Easter, so all the locals were dressed up as well.
Going up Wachu Pichu was like walking up a skyscaper......,mostly switchback
stairs, unitl you get to the top, where rain would have made it tricky.

Getting back to the Galapago's.....you should take time to spend a couple
of days in Quito, it is an interesting town. Guayquil is mostly an
industrial prot city. Equador uses U.S currency, but makes its own coinage
as well. If you ever wonder what happened to all the one dollar coins....I
think they all ended up there. Don't know if you know, but there is a
$100.00 entrance fee you pay immediately when you land on the islands. One
of the naturalists told me that if you sail your own boat, the cost is $200
a day per person, and you have to pay for a naturalist to stay on board the
entire time you are there. It is definitely worth the trip. My daughter
decided that she wants to work there now.