Day 8

It was a rainy day and I wanted to explore Lima’s Centro Historico. We took a taxi downtown to see the Plaza de Armas and the different buildings in that part of town. We followed a walking tour that we downloaded in an app. We stopped at Tanta for lunch, and went book shopping at the Librería El Virrey de Lima. It’s a lovely book store, and I would recommend to anyone who is already downtown.

We took a taxi back to Miraflores to check out the coast. We at stopped and had champagne and dessert at the Larcomar mall. It was all very elite and pretentious.

We made our way to our hotel and passed through Parque Kennedy one last time. This time it was full of people dancing and there were a lot of artists selling paintings. We split a sandwich from Sangucheria la Lucha. It was great! Philadelphia sandwich worthy.

The agency sent 2 people to take us to the hotel. Our guide and our driver. This seemed excessive and unnecessary.

Conclusion

I really loved seeing Machu Picchu.  When I moved away from Ecuador in 2009, I regretted never making time to go to Peru and see these ruins.  I was impressed by every step.  The agency was very good, but I would change a few things about it.  I wish our time with agency started and ended at the hotel in Cusco, and the Pachacamac ruins.  The airport transfers were unnecessary for a group of 4 young travelers, when 2 of us have some functional traveler’s Spanish.

If you really want an agency, use Andean Treks.   They put together a very good agenda.

Costs

• Andean Treks = $1978
• Internal Peruvian Flight = $390
• International Flight = $662
• Per Person Total = $3,020