Cusco

I did the 4 day trek to MP.

I completely agree that the 2 day option would be perfectly fine and you would get most of the Inca Trail feel without having to do the extra days.

As a keen walker the 4 day hike was actually pretty easy. But we were very very lucky with the weather (no rain even though it was January and middle of the wet season).

Hey Bret, thank you and to all the others as well, for the valuable info. I'm heading to MP in May and would love some first hand non-biased knowledge about this whole licensed guide thing. It seems clear that the Peruvians are making every effort to maximize their profits off of tourists but it has been my experience when traveling outside the USA that you can pretty much always find a better way. Example, when booking the flight from Lima to Cusco, the tix are $300+ rt. Funny thing is that when you log in to the LAN sight as your country of origin being PERU, the flights are $90 round trip. Is this a clue as to how I am to be treated in Peru?

My schedule will be a little flexible and I think the 2 day hike you describe sounds attractive. I would love to camp at least one night under the stars! But I'm seeing $500 for tours! Once in Aguas Calientes or any of the other nearby towns, do you really need to book a guide in advance? I'm a moderately seasoned traveler and make friends pretty easily. I'm just wondering if I am deluding myself into believing I can make this happen on the fly.

On the MP / Inca Trail front: If you have time constraints but want a non-rushed experience, I recommend the two day trip I did to MP out of Cusco. Day 1 was early bus to Ollantaytambo, train to km104, then full day hike on the Camino Sacgrado (Sacred Trail) to Chachabamba, Wiñaywayna, Inti Punku, and MP before overnight in AC. Day 2 we toured MP, hiked up to Waynapicchu (no guide) , and relaxed in town before taking the 5pm train back to Cusco. You have to use a guide on the Inca Trail and I was happy with my SAS experience.[/QUOTE]

Hey Bret,

Thank you and to all the others as well, for the valuable info. I'm heading to MP in May and would love some first hand non-biased knowledge about this whole licensed guide thing. It seems clear that the Peruvians are making every effort to maximize their profits off of tourists but it has been my experience when traveling outside the USA that you can pretty much always find a better way with a little insight. Example, when booking the flight from Lima to Cusco, the tix are $300+ rt. Funny thing is that when you log in to the LAN sight as your country of origin being PERU, the flights are $90 round trip. Is this a clue as to how I am to be treated in Peru?

My schedule will be a little flexible and I think the 2 day hike you describe sounds attractive. I would love to camp at least one night under the stars! But I'm seeing $500 for tours! Once in Aguas Calientes or any of the other nearby towns, do you really need to book a guide in advance? I'm a moderately seasoned traveler and enjoy making friends with locals. Especially of the female variety. I'm just wondering if I am deluding myself into believing I can make this happen on the fly.

[QUOTE=Bret M69; 1113015]Separated the travel stuff but forgot to erase that part of the title:

On the MP / Inca Trail front: If you have time constraints but want a non-rushed experience, I recommend the two day trip I did to MP out of Cusco. Day 1 was early bus to Ollantaytambo, train to km104, then full day hike on the Camino Sacgrado (Sacred Trail) to Chachabamba, Wiñaywayna, Inti Punku, and MP before overnight in AC. Day 2 we toured MP, hiked up to Waynapicchu (no guide) , and relaxed in town before taking the 5pm train back to Cusco. You have to use a guide on the Inca Trail and I was happy with my SAS experience. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Hasideas Tao; 1128400]Hey Bret,

Thank you and to all the others as well, for the valuable info. I'm heading to MP in May and would love some first hand non-biased knowledge about this whole licensed guide thing. It seems clear that the Peruvians are making every effort to maximize their profits off of tourists but it has been my experience when traveling outside the USA that you can pretty much always find a better way with a little insight. Example, when booking the flight from Lima to Cusco, the tix are $300+ rt. Funny thing is that when you log in to the LAN sight as your country of origin being PERU, the flights are $90 round trip. Is this a clue as to how I am to be treated in Peru? [/QUOTE]If you do that you will be asked to pay $178. 00 at the check in counter or refused boarding if you are a non-resident. Right now Lan is running a promotion, If you book the international leg (with Lan) they will give you a free ticket to any destination in Peru.

Brett.

I did the Inca Trail recently. It is very unlikely that you would be able to do this on the fly. Campsite are booked and designated by the trail authorities. To turn up with a tent and pitch it would not be possible at all.

The two day trek is just fine I think if tyou want to see the main features and get a good feel without having to do the hwole trail. I enjoy trekking and was happy to do the full trail but in retrospect the 2 day trek would cover most of the bases especially if it is wet and cloudy and many views obscured on the full trek.

BB

[QUOTE=Hasideas Tao; 1128398]Hey Bret, thank you and to all the others as well, for the valuable info. I'm heading to MP in May and would love some first hand non-biased knowledge about this whole licensed guide thing. It seems clear that the Peruvians are making every effort to maximize their profits off of tourists but it has been my experience when traveling outside the USA that you can pretty much always find a better way. Example, when booking the flight from Lima to Cusco, the tix are $300+ rt. Funny thing is that when you log in to the LAN sight as your country of origin being PERU, the flights are $90 round trip. Is this a clue as to how I am to be treated in Peru?

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]I bought my ticket with Star Peru. Paid 180$ for round trip Lima-Cusco. Few days before, the price was 160$! Why would any foreigner want to fly LAN and pay double?

[url]www.starperu.com[/url]

I'll be there in early May too! $200 on Star Peru. A pain in the ass to pay. I had to call their Miami office and pay a service charge for them to accept my credit card since it would not work paying online after several attempts on different days. Planes are kind of old though. I hope they can make it over the mountains!

Not a big info, but when I was in Acqua Caliantes, one street guy was shouting something about massages, but as nobody really cared the guy added to his shouting "happy ending included", nobody really cared at all again, but my head immediately turned 180 degree as it was programmed, guy started to laugh to me and I started to laugh too. The only one who wasnt smiling was my girllfriend.

So there are some MP with HJ in AC at least.

The girls in the front of MP looked good.

Pitty I don't have any experience with them.

Not much happening in Cusco. There are three discos in the corner of the main plaza and you might find some girls hustling. There were a few girls with older gringos kissing pretty hard near the bar, I wasn't sure what that was all about it just looked really odd. Be careful with the locals though, they are a completely uncivilized crowd and with the way they fight each other I would hate to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] off the wrong guy. I was working there and one of my local buddies told me if I did hook up with a local I should just rent another place and not take here back to my place, so if you do make sure you lock your things up.

I concur with your report. I am also living in Cusco and the locals can be quite dodgy. Find it to be one of the most unsexy city cities I have ever visited. If you do see a hottie, chances are she is from somewhere else. BTW, several years ago a guy on this board reported about a house for chicas in central Cusco and gave an approximated description and location of said establishment but did want to reveal the name to prevent the local authorities from knowing. On one rainy Sunday several weeks ago, I tracked down the location and the name, which is Hostal Kintu. It's located in a back alley off Tullamayo Avenida but within 30 second stroll from the Avenida del Sol in Central Cusco and about a 5 minute walk to the Plaza Del Armas. As to be expected, it looked a bit dodgy from the outside though saw no activity on my walk by and was not sure if it was still operational. I went by taxi past the building a few days ago and the taxi driver confirmed it was still in business. He even quoted me the price of 20 soles or $8 US for a ten minute ride. With the chica that is. Don't expect much though. Wham, bam, thank you mam.

[QUOTE=Mtkman;1133781][/QUOTE]I bought my ticket with Star Peru. Paid 180$ for round trip Lima-Cusco. Few days before, the price was 160$! Why would any foreigner want to fly LAN and pay double?

[url]www.starperu.com[/url][/QUOTE]Don't fly Star Peru. AWEFUL service!

Hi Folks,

Just to drop a line and put in a good word for a guy who provided me with ALL I needed while my last trip to Cuzco last year.

That included setting up 3 tours and introducing me to 3 cuties, all for a very reasonable price.

His name is Jaime and he speaks English. If you are planing a trip to Cuzco, Iquitos or anywhere in Peru, he can get you a discount in many hotels, tours and girls.

If you would like to check him out, PM me.

I contacted Jaime with the info provided by Jockey via PM and have also been very satisfied with Jaime's service. I have only sampled one of his ladies (Meriam) but was so pleased with the service (golf ball and garden hose analogy, really into sex, squirter) that I repeated on 2 occasions. While this chica is not model quality (few extra pounds) , her attitude and abilities are outstanding. Damages for a non-clock-watching session were S / 170 for hotel delivery.

Additionally, Jaime helped me out when I needed dental work done and accompanied me to 2 dental offices and an x-ray clinic. His English is excellent and I recommend him highly for both chicas and tours.

This new talent was frosting on the cake (visiting the ruins in and around Cusco). Jaime=Tours and Tail.

The Cusco thread is basically dead so I went on a bit of a fact finding tour to do something about that yesterday. I had 3 different massages and the first two which were on the street next to the cathedral that leads up to Jack's cafe, these turned out to be great massages but little else.

Feeling disheartened I went for a walk around the plaza de Aramas and spoke to several massage chicas and was more specific about my needs. A few just smiled and walked away but three agreed. The went with the best looking of the three and agreed to a deal but when I got upstairs there was another guy getting a massage next door to me with only a curtain that wouldn't close completely separating us. Not happy with this I left and was going to go home but one of the others convinced me to just take a look at her shop. Inside was deserted and she asked me specifically what she could do for me. I asked for sex and she agreed but the deal came unstuck because I had no condom on me so we agreed to a rub and tug, with the tug up front.

HJ was quite good without being spectacular and the massage was fantastic. The chica had her hands wandering all over me and was happy for me to touch her all over. As it turns out she has never been with a gringo and has asked me to come back to change all that, which I will today. Total cost 50 soles.

Also, I was later propositioned by two hookers in broad daylight near the cathederal. Both were about 6 to 7's and wanted 100 soles for action back at my hotel. They gave me a business card which I seem to have misplaced but I'll try to find it and post the number.

Happy mongering