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laundry advice for Peru/Galapagos travelers
• The very low humidity at high elevations meant items hand-washed dried quickly. I cleaned a pair of (Royal Robbins) lightweight pants and a shirt after lunch in Cusco and they were dry by dinnertime! (Hint: after washing, wring well, then roll in a towel to absorb excess moisture.) Since that worked so well, I washed other items and hung them overnight and they were ready to go in the morning.
• Tauck arranged for lower-cost hotel laundry (half-price!) at the Belmond Monasterio in Cusco. Not as inexpensive as doing it yourself, but worth it if you want to save time or have heavier-weight items to throw in a dryer. The laundry staff was very conscientious and everything was returned, as promised, in time for our departure. :-)
• The Isabela II does not have washers, but it does have a dryer. Take some Dryel or Woolite in-home drycleaner packets with you — 20 minutes on medium heat is all it takes. (I also suggested that the ship stock them in their gift shop, but don't know whether they'll take me up on that.) :-)
• The Galapagos are humid, so hand-washed items don't line-dry as quickly as elsewhere, even lightweight travel pieces. Since we didn't have to pack up to move on, I could leave them hanging in the room for as long as it took to dry, though.
• Tauck arranged for lower-cost hotel laundry (half-price!) at the Belmond Monasterio in Cusco. Not as inexpensive as doing it yourself, but worth it if you want to save time or have heavier-weight items to throw in a dryer. The laundry staff was very conscientious and everything was returned, as promised, in time for our departure. :-)
• The Isabela II does not have washers, but it does have a dryer. Take some Dryel or Woolite in-home drycleaner packets with you — 20 minutes on medium heat is all it takes. (I also suggested that the ship stock them in their gift shop, but don't know whether they'll take me up on that.) :-)
• The Galapagos are humid, so hand-washed items don't line-dry as quickly as elsewhere, even lightweight travel pieces. Since we didn't have to pack up to move on, I could leave them hanging in the room for as long as it took to dry, though.
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More notes about drying stuff onboard ship.
• There isn't much space in the room, and even less in the bathroom, especially the shower. We brought and used a clothes line but there really wasn't any good places to attach it and hanging clothes really made the room very cluttered.
• If you get items wet during a wet landing, snorkeling, etc. they will dry much quicker if you give them a good rinse in fresh water to get out the salt. There is a hot(?) tub on the top deck near the wetsuit racks and dryer that many folks used. : )