Our first impressions of Lima garnered from our drive from the airport to the city: poor Third World city, chaotic traffic, filthy. However, the airports in most cities are not located in the ritziest neighbourhoods, so we hoped for better impressions once we arrived at our hotel.
Well, the Gran Hotel Bolivar was quite a surprise. It must have been the "in" place in its day. Malheureusement, its day had long since passed. The overly large rooms reminded me of the CP/CN hotels in the 50s. We noticed that there had been AC once upon a time, but that amenity was no longer functioning. The large, noisy fan hardly helped the hot, humid weather. The lobby was once grand, and there's even a pristine 1920 Ford parked near the reception desk. Guests' valuables are kept behind the desk in old-fashioned safe deposit boxes. Although the hotel has seen better days, there are still vestiges of its gentility: the staff wear impressive livery, and greet guests as elegantly as they do at the Ritz (assumption on my part, since we've never stayed at any Ritz!). They do have a nice terrace, and serve an overpriced pisco sour (I must say I prefer the Chilean version).
Sleep-deprived, we set out to see the sites. We had an interesting tour of the 17th century Franciscan monastery. I was intrigued by the dusty library which contains thousands of priceless texts decaying in the heat and humidity. What a travesty! The gruesome catacombs beneath the monastery were discovered in 1943. The crypts contain thousands of skulls and bones laid to rest before the 19th century when a proper cemetery was consecrated outside the city. Many of the frescoes lining the walls of the monastery have Moorish influences, since the artisans hailed from Seville.
That afternoon, we also visited the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace next door. The Cathedral houses the tomb of Francisco Pizarro, the notorious conquistador who conquered the Inca empire. For almost a century, the mummified remains of Pizarro were displayed in a glass casket. Catholic and Spanish pilgrims paid homage to him. It was rather awkward when his true remains were discovered elsewhere in 1977 (evidenced by numerous sword blows to his head). The true remains were moved into the glass coffin, and the squatter's bones were transferred to a less glamorous resting place. The display is now a small coffin inside a glass sarcophagus.
That evening, we hung out at the Estadio Futbol bar, and cheered the local team on the big screens.
Terrific Tours4Tips walking tour. Lots of history. A very amusing Monty Pythonesque changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace, high kicks and all.
We also saw the effects of the terrible floods that were occurring in Peru during our visit. The ugly, brown Rimac river had swelled to unprecedented heights, and our guide told us that it had overflowed a few days before, stranding motorists on the main streets. Shantytowns dot the hill on the right.
At the end of the tour, the guide demonstrated the fine art of pisco making, with lots of free samples!
Speaking of water, by mid-day there was none in the city. Nada. The filtration system had been overpowered by the silt in the river. But we found out that our next destination, Huacachina, still had water. We were looking forward to leaving Lima ... at 4:30 am the next morning. Not the first early start, and unfortunately, not the last.
We travelled by Peru Hop bus from Lima to Paracas to Huacachina, to Nazca, to Arequipa, to Puno, and finally to Cusco. The first coach we were on, from Lima to Paracas to Huacachina, was very comfortable. The quality of the bus deteriorated as the week went on, and the amount of garbage along the Pan American highway increased day by day. We also saw lots of mini shrines and crosses where fatal road accidents had occurred. This reminded us of our adventurous ride along the same highway in Ecuador several years previous. I also have to mention the absolutely endless trip from Huacachina to Arequipa. We left the dunes just after lunch, stopped at a pisco winery (waste of time in 30+ weather), stopped a few hours later to view the Nazca lines, then a quick dinner at a roadside diner, followed by hours and hours more on the bus overnight with no stops! Total time for that leg, 18 hours. It would behoove Peru Hop to throw in free massages in Arequipa for its guests!Highlights of Peru Hop:
Paracas - Ballestas Islands. A mini Galapagos! Penguins, sea lions (we saw a mom teaching her newborn how to swim), pelicans, blue-footed boobies. Breezy boat ride. Very informative guide.
Huacachina - a "do-not-miss" attraction. Sand dunes. Thrilling dune buggy ride (only Robert was brave enough to surf down the dunes). Screamed and screamed. When Jeff's legs stopped shaking, he dutifully cleaned up some of the debris.
We found an excellent Thai restaurant (Casa de Bamboo) for dinner (go figure ... Thai food in the desert of Peru), and even a small public library.
Nazca lines. There are two ways to see these ancient geoglyphs: from the tower on the side of the road, or from a helicopter. Our guide discouraged everyone from the helicopter ride - totally unsafe, and very expensive.
Arequipa. An impressive Cathedral (which we didn't go into ... too many churches), arcaded main square, lots of very good restaurants, including Ratatoui, an inexpensive Parisian gem, Chicha, owned by Gastón Acurio, Peru's most famous chef, and Zig Zag, whose winding staircase was designed by Gustave Eiffel. We sampled lots of local food, including alpaca. 
Colca Canyon. Worth the excursion, in spite of a 2:30 am start. We passed through all four seasons during the long day. Our first stop was at a very high elevation of almost 5,000 metres. It was freezing and misty, so we didn't behold a beautiful sunrise. Local women were selling their wares at 5 am! After breakfast in a village, we stopped to take lots of photos of the beautiful canyon with its terraced farmland. The main attractions in the Canyon are the Andean condors. Alas, we waited at the lookout for about half an hour and saw none. Our guide informed us that the weather conditions and humidity were not conducive to seeing them. Later that morning, we did spot two wayyyy up in the sky. 
A relaxing dip in the hot springs in Yanque.
After lunch, we wandered through Chivay. Colourful market.
On the way back to Arequipa, the snow started to fall heavily. It was beautiful, but rather frightening.
The following morning, we were back on Peru Hop, dark and early. A long bus ride to Puno, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. The tourist attraction in Puno is a boat ride to the Floating Islands. Incredible to see how the Uru people live on 60 islands made of dried reeds. The children were so sweet, but very dirty. We didn't have to ask how or where the lavatories were. I was pleased to hear that schooling is available for these children in Puno, but of course it's not mandatory.And finally the last leg of Peru Hop. Were we ever happy to arrive in Cusco. Jeff and I fetched our complementary t-shirts at the PH office, and gave them some constructive criticism on how to improve their service. Until I hear otherwise, this is one means of transportation that I will not recommend.
We had a lovely day sightseeing in Cusco. We discovered that Cusco has suffered several powerful earthquakes. The most devastating was the 1650 earthquake, thought to be the strongest on record at that time. Many of the churches and Spanish buildings were destroyed, but have since been rebuilt. In 1950, there was another major tremor, followed by lesser quakes in the decades since. Jeff and I found the Museo Inka very interesting. It is housed in a Spanish hacienda built on an Inca foundation. Cusco is the jewel in the crown of Peru. It is now most famous as the gateway to Machu Pichu, but it also has lots of interesting museums (especially the Preolombian), as well as an excellent market.The Inca Trail. Big bucket-list item. I felt guilty leaving Jeff, Suzanne, and Robert to do this trek, but Jeff told me to "go for it" and enjoy the experience to the max. That's exactly what I did! There are not enough superlatives to describe this experience, and just writing a few words and posting some photos do not do it enough justice.
First of all, the group I travelled with (10 of us, two guides, 16 porters, one chef, one waiter) were from Alpaca Expeditions (thank you to Andrew's friend, Dave F. for the recommendation). Not for one minute of the four-day trek did I feel unsafe or afraid. Our guides were professional and friendly. We became a family over the course of the experience. On the first day, the guides called me "Ma'am"!! I said, no, my name is Dale. They told me that they rarely lead anyone over 50 on the trail. Once I had proven myself (ha! they didn't know who they were dealing with, despite my age), I then became Dale, and one of the gang. The rest of my group (aside from a 49-year-old beautiful Chinese tai-tai who was very weak) was made up of young people aged 19-29 from Canada, Oz, Switzerland, and Denmark.
Day one. Don't I look fresh!! (Didn't smell so good four days later). The trail wound through villages for a while, and then we were on our own, stopping to look at the ruins of Incan settlements and beautiful plants.
Reward at the end of day one: happy hour with popcorn and spring rolls. We began to marvel at the wonderful, healthy food that our chef prepared - he did it all on a portable stove, and with limited space.
Day two. Up at 4:45 am. The big challenge. Not the distance - 16 km is not much along the flattish Bruce Trail in Ontario, but hiking from a start of 3300 metres up to 4200 metres (Dead Woman's Pass), then down to 3600 metres (lunch!), up to 4000, and down to our campsite at 3600 was gruelling. It's impressive how well the trail is maintained. The pride and joy of the Quechua. It was humid and cool when we began, so we layered-up and then stripped down as we started to sweat (for me, about ten minutes into the climb). By the time we arrived at Dead Woman's Pass, it was raining, so on went the rain pants. At least every half hour, if not more often, there was an OMG moment. Spectacular!!! And don't I look pleased with myself at the campsite!
Day three. Slept in until 6 - what a treat. Heavenly scenery. Lots of group photos before we set out on our hike. Mostly downhill, but very steep. Didn't bother the porters who whizzed by us at a fast clip. Fabulous Inca sites, especially Intipata, discovered by a Peruvian in 1945. Much easier than day 2, and the weather was fine until lunch (2 pm) when the heavens opened up. 
Loved the orchids. We also detoured around a landslide (which the park rangers were repairing) - due to climate change, this is occurring more often than in the past, and there is some buzz about closing the trail from January to March each year. At present, the trail is only closed in February.
The end of the day. Breathtaking. A celebratory cake!
Day 4. For some crazy reason, there is a rule that all groups must be at the last checkpoint by 5 am. We were all up at 3, and sitting on a cold, damp bench for two hours until our passes were stamped and we were allowed to proceed to Machu Pichu. This was actually a short, easy hike, but David, our lead guide made us nervous warning us to hug the mountain as there were steep cliffs on the right hand side. Very glad to have my headlamp in that gloom.
And there was Jeff as we crossed the finish line! I burst into emotional tears, and so did the rest of my amazing group. We earned our green shirts!
Before ending with photos of Machu Pichu, here are some of the photos that Jeff took while he and Suzanne and Robert were touring the Cusco and the Sacred Valley (also with Alpaca Expeditions). They lucked out and had a private guide.
A festival in Cusco, a beautiful view of the main square from on high, the Precolombian museum.
Coricancha, the most important temple in the Inca Empire.
Sacsayhuaman (pronounced - sexy woman). A citadel that dates back to the 10th century.
Awanacancha. Llamas and alpacas. Handicrafts passed down from one generation to the next.
The Sacred Valley. The heart of the Inca Empire. Fertile lands.
Pisac. Terraces, Incan ruins.
Ollantaytambo. An important Inca stronghold.
Salineras Maras. Salt evaporation ponds. Each one owned and mined by a local family. The salt is collected and sold in nearby shops and towns. These ponds are more than 500 years old.
Chincheros.
Machu Picchu
Discovered by Yale University professor Hiram Bingham III in 1911, Machu Picchu is a breathtaking Inca citadel situated at almost 3000 metres above sea level. As our group passed through the gate, we literally stopped in our tracks to behold this wonder. In photos, it appears to be impressive, but believe me, seeing it in person is humbling. Nestled in the mountains, the weather changes often, so at first we observed the site under the clouds, and then gradually, the clouds lifted and we got a totally different impression.
Machu Picchu was fortunately not damaged by the Spanish invaders. In fact, they knew nothing of its existence, so it basically remains the same as it was when it was constructed in the 15th century. This royal estate was used for less than 100 years. It was only 75% completed by the time it was abandoned in the mid 16th century. Restoration is ongoing. Kudos to the Peruvian government for maintaining this wonder in its excellent state.Part of the adventure when visiting Machu Picchu is the bus ride that takes you down the mountain to the town of Aquas Calientes. The curvy, steep road is not for the faint of heart! When we reached the town, I joined my fellow trekkers in a congratulatory pisco sour (or two). We toasted an amazing experience, and vowed to keep in touch via Facebook. Afterwards, the train took us back to Cusco, where I was finally able to take a long, hot shower, and don clean clothes!
We had one more full day in Cusco before returning to Lima. First things first - Starbucks!! Although our hotel was situated perfectly in the main square, they only served "coffee essence" in the mornings. Undrinkable. Second thing - a massage. Third - lunch at the San Pedro market. Followed by museum hopping, and dinner with pisco sours.
Blew the budget at Astrid y Gastón (same Gaston from Chicha in Arequipa). A delicious treat.
Had a delightful final day in South America. We wandered through Barracas. an artsy neighbourhood. Then toured the ruins at Huaca Pucillana. 
I said goodbye to my all-time favourite sandals, stuffed the suitcases closed one last time, and taxied to the airport. After a two-hour delay, our Air Canada flight finally took off (4 am). Our two-month adventure had come to an end.
