Just Returned from Peru/Bolivia Trip
I had so many questions before we left, I thought I would post what the trip was like and the answers to my own worries/questions.
As everyone on this forum has said, this trip is an adventure, not a vacation. Keep that in mind when you pack. A typical Tauck trip for me means taking some nice clothes for the occasional dressy evening. The only dress-up anyone did was our last night.
Our guide was Marcos Soto. He is an exemplary leader and a remarkable man. He handles everything from luggage, illness, weather- all with wonderful humor and good spirit. I suspect any tour leader for this trip is similar.
The trip starts in Lima. Unlike other Tauck trips where we have arrived a day early and gone out and explored pretty far afield, Peru didn't seem to be a place where I wanted to go very far. Some ppl did fly to the Nazca lines since it is no longer a part of the tour. No matter what the weather says, it never rains in Lima. But there is always a fine mist coming from the ocean. The hotel is beautiful and modern.
Once you leave Lima, you leave the modern world. The weather varies from place to place. Don't even bother to look at weather.com. It has no clue.
All of the hotels we stayed at were very nice. All of them had wireless internet available. The food was good everywhere we went. But, be aware, it consists heavily in potatoes.
Clothes- When they say layers, that is exactly what they mean. That's because you never know what the weather will be. When we started climbing Machu Pichu I had on 4 layers- a short sleeve shirt, long sleeve shirt, pull-over sweater and rain jacket. By the time I got to the top I was down to one layer. If it rains, you will be cold but it only rained on us once. I almost always wore long sleeves/sweater. Some hotel rooms were stuffy, some cold. I wore the same clothes repeatedly because I brought too many short sleeves.
I brought 2 pairs of shoes- one good pair of athletic shoes and one pair of hiking shoes. I would have been fine with just the athletic shoes. Others had a nice pair of shoes for the last night. I didn't.
Bring medicines- stomach, nausea, headache. Also bring saline gel for your nose, it is so dry. My husband and I took Diamox for altitude sickness and had NO TROUBLE at all with that. But, he tried every weird thing they offered to eat and suffered the consequences stomach-wise. If you take Diamox you might have tingling in your hands and/or feet. We both did, but we did not get sick from the altitude. Small price to pay.
You are told to eat less and drink lots of water. That is excellent advice. Many people had stomach problems because they didn't heed that advice.
Be aware that you have lots of time in vehicles. You ride the bus a lot of hours and a train one day for 10 hours. It is a killer. Be sure to bring something to read.
We had a great time and it was the adventure of a lifetime.
