Our visit to Peru, January 2017

PeruWe decided last September to go to Machu Picchu, Peru. After looking at various options,  I decided that this trip was too complex to organize myself.  To get to Machu Picchu, one needs to take 4 plane trips, four bus trips,  two train trips and make 5 hotel bookings for a week-long trip. In addition, there were transfers to and from airports and hotels which needed to be arranged.  It meant booking all these things in advance which I decided would be better handled by an experienced travel agency. With so many bookings in that short period, I preferred to go on a package tour which also provided a guide at the various stops. I opted for Gate 1 as our booking agency. This proved to be an excellent choice.

By having Gate 1 make all arrangements, we were covered for all delays and cancellations. The package cost us a little more than what one would have paid making the arrangements by ourselves but the security and continuous presence of a group leader certainly made the premium worthwhile. We had an excellent local Guide, Rolly, who was knowledgeable and experienced and who stayed with us for each phase of the trip.The package also included guided visits to Lima and Machu Picchu.  I would recommend Gate 1 for this trip to anyone.

An advice to anyone going to Peru is to bring US$ for the amount of expected local expenses. These can be exchanged to local currency at local banks.  Local ATM's are well located but limit the amount provided each time to the equivalent of US$100  (Soles 400) and then charge a commission of US$ 6 each time!  A real rip-off. I have never seen such a bad situation anywhere else in the world.

Pictures we took on this trip can be seen at:

https://goo.gl/photos/eL1ptYufaB3ZY7499

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/107923363810248771461/album/AF1QipN98BoDSpm22rzI4qvSbBETyX7FpLO09CQp3piW?authKey=CPPQuLC7t4Czbw

Day 1

The agency provided us all our travel and hotel bookings. In addition, they took care of all our transfers even making sure our bags were taken from our rooms onto transfer buses. A few meals were included and breakfast was included in all our hotel reservations.

We were booked on an Avianca flight from Miami to Lima. To get from our house to the airport, I booked a Uber driver which cost  US$ 36 compared to around US$ 115 for a normal taxi for the 37-mile ride. It was a nonstop flight which left on time and landed in Lima 5.5 hours later.We traveled with 1 small trunk and a half-filled large trunk as we expected to collect a lot of souvenir loot on the trip.  This works out better than having to buy an extra trunk in the middle of each trip. Our collection of trunks is already impressive from trips before we adopted the large empty trunk policy.

We were met at Lima airport by our tour guide, Rolly who led us to our bus along with 15 other members of the Gate 1 group who arrived on the same flight. After checking in and a quick dinner around the corner from the hotel, we turned in for the night.

Day2

The next morning we assembled after breakfast and the whole group of 23 got on our bus for the first organized tour which took us around Lima for 3 hours.  Peru is a country south of Ecuador and North of Chile with a population of 32 million. Lima city has a population of 10 million. The official languages are Spanish and Ketchua, the original language of the Inca. 

The country had elected a new president 6 months earlier. He is Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, the son of a Polish immigrant doctor. He was also a colleague of mine in the World Bank. I spent a week with him traveling Colombia when he offered to introduce me to the elite of Colombia when I was put in charge of that country. He did, in fact, know everyone of importance in that country and that introduction was very useful to me later on.  As PPK, as he is known and I were busy the days while in Lima, I did not get a chance to say hello to him. The comments I heard from several Peruvians I met was that he is still popular.

Lima is a flat city at the level of the airport in the North but rises as one goes south along the shoreline.  In fact, the city has a shoreline for almost 10 miles which seems very popular with surfers who are there at all hours of the day.  The southern part of the city where we stayed is in fact about 100 meters above the sea and ends in a precipice looking down at the shoreline.  It is a fairly modern city but traffic at all hours seems to be a huge problem. Our tour took us to a number of historical sights a gave us time to walk around the main square with the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral and city hall.  The city is clean and the people are friendly.

In the afternoon, Monique and I visited the Larco Museum which houses a huge collection of Inca artifacts. It is housed in a beautiful building with well lit and explained artifacts. It certainly was worth the 2 hours we spent there. In the evening, we were taken to a restaurant for dinner which included a huge variety of dances from various parts of the country. It was quite a colorful show with many different costumes.

Day 3

The next morning we arose at 5.30 AM and had our bags out of our door by  0600.  After breakfast, we were transferred by bus to the airport for the 1-hour flight to Cusco.  We arrived in Cusco early enough to have a full day to do some sightseeing.  The company laid on a tour but we decided to do our own thing , as we speak Spanish.  We hired a driver for the day and had him take us to the various sites around Cusco.  Cusco, which in Ketchua means belly button, was the capital of the Inca empire. Around Cusco, which is at 12.000 feet, there are a number of impressive Inca ceremonial sites.  The main one, Sacsayhuaman is where the Intiraimi festival is held each year, celebrating the Sun God. I had been to Cusco in 1970 with Brigitte, Nic, and Gaby while we were living in Venezuela.  We happened to be there on the day of the great festival when over 100.000 Inca descendants replay this ceremony.    The elevation of Cusco made climbing a real task.  It takes several days to get used to the elevation. In fact, this was our third trip to places of elevation as we had been to Quito the previous year, and then, in October we were in Lhasa which is also about the same height.  

As we noted when we were in Tibet, the people of Peru have a striking resemblance to those of Tibet which would indicate that some of the Asians who migrated to the American continent would have come from Tibet and settled in South and Central America.  The faces of these people in both places make them appear of the same families...

Day 4

Again, we arose early in the morning to board a bus which would drive us for 2 hours to Ollantaytambo where we would catch the train to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu.  On the way, we saw a lot of beautiful countrysides including the Sacred Valley of the Incas.  These areas are intensively farmed and the earth seems good for farming. There were no industrial farms as all the land if farmed by families or groups of families.We made a quick stop in a pottery store where we were able to get a few nice pieces and meet the couple running the operation.  Coincidentally, as we were awaiting our bags in Lima a few days later the potter and his family saw Monique and me and came up to say hello.  They were leaving for a few days vacation.  We greeted each other like long-lost brothers and sisters.

We got to the rail head and boarded the train to Aguas Calientes. It is the only way to access Machu Picchu other than on foot as the way it follows the Ollatambo river and the canyon gets very narrow.  The train is rather shaky but never really gains much speed.

On arrival at Aguas Calientes, we immediately boarded a bus which took us up to the Machu Picchu site.  The ride is about 25 minutes and goes up a winding switchback road with about 14 twists.  On arriving at the bus station we were herded into the actual site.  We climbed what seemed 1000 steps ( probably only 100) which was really hard work at that altitude.  We made several stops on the way to catch our breath.  Suddenly we were at the top, looking down into the site in a brilliant sunlit afternoon.  We were very lucky, as this is the rainy season and the weather can be bad.  

The site is breathtakingly beautiful and far bigger than what shows on most pictures.  The purpose of the site is unknown although there are many theories. The site is well maintained and in good shape considering that over 1 million visitors get there each year.  We spent 2 hours walking around with our guide explaining the various aspects of the buildings, terraces, and open spaces. 

After an exhaustive and exhausting visit we were on the buses down to Aguas Calientes and went straight to our very nice hotel. That evening, the agency hosted dinner and most people were in bed early after a long and strenuous day.  

Day 5

We had the morning free to roam around Aguas Calientes.  We visited several handicraft stores and bought a number of nice things for our house and apartment as well as a few trinkets for family and friends.  One could have gone back up to the site but that day, it poured all day and clouds hung at low levels.  The people who visited the site that day were not as lucky as we were the day before.  Imagine, coming all that way and not being able to see the site.  In the afternoon, we caught the train again and picked up our bus back to Cusco for the night. 

Day 6

Another early morning flight, got us back to Lima by 12 pm giving us the rest of day on our own.  We had booked a table at a very high-end restaurant which came recommended as one of the best in Lima, called Astrid and Gaston. It was an expensive lunch but we celebrated out 3rd wedding anniversary there.  In the evening, the agency took us for our 3rd and last dinner to a restaurant on the beach. It was a beautiful evening with the sun setting in the West.  A fine way to finish up a well-organized trip.

Day 7

Again, we were at the airport early for our flight back to Miami.  We spent the 2 hour wait time at a lounge which makes it easier.  I have Priority card which allows us to use lounges at almost every airport. The flight back was uneventful. Our Uber driver, Sammy met us and took us home.  

It was a great trip and we both enjoyed it. It was also great to be back home after a rather hectic trip which went off very well.

corrected photo address.

The Cuba 2015  photos can be seen at

https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipM7kVmWYb2t0Dx7RB9zIz5PvxIjsV1Tt8eX5hfz

Sorry for the mess.

Our July 2015 visit to Cuba

Our trip to Cuba, July 2015

Pictures taken on this trip can be seen at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107923363810248771461CUBA2015



My wife Monique and I left for Cuba  from Montreal on July 12 and returned July 19.  Our booking was done for us by my niece Cecile Oulette, the daughter of my brother Henry.  She booked us with Sunwing and we got a very good deal. She can be reached at: Cecile@airtourvoyages.ca. I recommend her.

 We had decided we would stay in downtown Havana as I wanted Monique to get a real sense of how people lived in Cuba.  We decided we did not want to visit a beach hotel as these are all in remote areas which have no connection with real life in Cuba.

This was my third trip to Cuba having been there in 2002 and in 2004 when we visited the country with the Semester at Sea student program. This was Monique's first trip to this country.

Conclusion:
The Cuban government should be nervous as we found the Cuban people to be very angry at the horrible way they are forced to live while those in power continue to live like kings. This anger was evident from the many meetings we had with ordinary Cubans. Not one was happy and the regime has exploited for so long they have turned normal people into beggars just to make ends meet.  Havana is a beautiful city but most of it is falling in ruins after 70 years of neglect by the government.  Public housing is non-existant and most people in the city are squatting in buildings the government took over from private citizens after the revolution..The Cuban people are friendly 
and are willing to speak openly against the authorities but always with an eye to the side and back to make sure no police are looking on. My hope and that expressed by everyone we met is that the opening to the US will bring better times to this poor county, finally.


The flight from Montreal to Veradero went smoothly. We had ordered a wheelchair for Monique who hurt her foot in a fall the previous week in Labelle where she slipped. 

Veradero is 130 kilometers south of  Havana. At the airport, we were picked up by bus along with 10 other travellers heading to different hotels north of Veradero.  Most of the other passengers headed to their hotels in Verdadero where there are some 96 hotels on a strip of sandbank about 12 miles long!  There are currently some 15,000 beds in these hotels and there are plans to increase capacity to 25,000 beds.   This is the low tourist season so that rather than the 33 flights a day which arrive normally at this airport, there were only 7 flights that day.

The drive to Havana took about 2 hours and gave us a good view of the countryside.  What was the most striking was how much unused land there was along this national highway.  There were occasional little farms but nowhere could one see any large scale farming or cattle operations.  This is good land and clearly was not being put to any use. Yet this is a coutry which does not have enough food to feed it's own population and imports many products which could be produced locally if only the governement would let farmers produce and sell in a free and open market rather than having to sell to government monopolies.

We arrived at our  Iberostar Parque Central hotel in the old part of Havana around 2 pm and were told  that our room would not be available until 4 PM.  This hotel claims to be a 5 star hotel but it would certainly not rate 5 stars in any competitive market.  We went to the pool area where I had a quick swim and we had lunch there. We later checked into our nice corner suite which was given us as our travel agent indicated we were celebrating an anniversary. Having got up at 3 am to make our 6 am flight, we enjoyed getting a little rest after the long journey. That evening in the hotel lobby,  I ran into Bart Wilson, the brother of my son in law. He was in Cuba on a mining project. We agreed to meet up later in the week.

Just a quick reminder that in around 1990, Cuba was facing a huge dilemma as their main source of income was from bartering sugar to Russia who then supplied the needs of the country. When Russia dropped Communism they also dropped Cuba. In a desperate move to earn some foreign exchange, the government of Cuba decided to open their country to international tourism.  European and Canadian companies came in and built a huge number of hotels.  The government wanted these hotels as far as possible away from the Cuban population as the sight of their mismanagement and neglect were something to be very  ashamed of.  By keeping tourists away in the country it was hoped to keep the local population from seeing well fed tourists. As a matter of fact, until recently Cubans were not even allowed to mingle with tourists.  That is no longer the case, but the locals are always looking over their shoulders to check whether any police may be watching them.This still very much a police state.

We made a point of walking the old streets of Havana as there are some real gems of architecture. But at the same time, buildings are in horrible shape with peeling paint and falling cement. After the revolution, buildings we invaded by people who then sqatted in the buildings for the next 60 years.  The place often looks like Berlin after the bombing of the second war.  While we were there,  a large building in old Havana litterally caved in and 4 persons were killed in the rubble. Of course, there was no mention of this in the local TV news and there are no newspapers to speak of available, not even local except for the 2 page rag called Granma which is the party organ. We learnt about it from locals during our many hours of walking through the streets of old Havana.

We also made a point of talking to Cubans whenever possible in the streets and in the parks.  There are no shortages of people hanging around as jobs are scarce. During the 7 days there,  we were given the clear impression that there is real anger amongst the people of the city.  They do not get paid more than 20 to 40 pesos a month (1Cuban peso is equal to US$1). Prices of local food are as expensive as in the US or Canada. Of course , no one can live on what they earn and every conversation we had with locals ended with their hand being extended requesting some money to buy food. A sad situation. All conversations were about how badly the Cuban people live and how high of the hog the governement people live. There was huge expectation that the opening to the US (Starting the week after we were there) would improve their lives although that will take some time as the those in power are not about to give up their huge privileges.

I am certainly not a fan of the communist system but in Cuba there is no communism.  The ruling class use the Communist line to retain power but do nothing to help the people. There is clearly exploitation of the working class worse than under any capitalist system.  For example, the workers who spend their whole day sitting at little desks rolling cigars earn US$12 dollars a month and roll cigars the government then sells and pockets for US$ 20 to $ 40 each!  What a rip off. We were told that in order to survive, every Cuban needs to have some legal or illegal scheme going. Workers in the cigar factory steal cigars, rum workeris steal rum and so it goes in all industries.  These items are then sold on the black market to survive.

One day, we hired a driver and his car through  Juan whom I had met at a bar. Juan works at an old theatre built in the 30's. He told me he could get me tickets for a show so I agreed we would go on Saturday evening. More on that later. Juan phoned his friend Alex and we agreed to pay him $60 for the day to drive us around Havana and then out to a beach.  Juan decided to join the tour.

We visited the Hotel Nacional which is a huge hotel on the North side of Havana looking into the sea. It was built in the 30's by the Mafia for the Mafia and attracted all the big names to stay there. It became state property at the revolution as did all private property in the country.  

We then drove through the Havana suburbs of Vedado and Miramar. An other country!  Here is where the party hacks live. It looks more like Miami than Havana. Large avenues with trees on both side and huge houses with green lawn. Expensive cars parked at each house. A fully stocked super market for the rich. Both the driver and Carlos who were in their 40's admitted that they had not been in this area in 10 years as they had no reason to be there.  The contrast was stunning and shocking at the same time. Here lived the people who were profiting from the labor of the Cuban people. Here was all the money which should have been going to build schools, hospitals and public housing.  Any other self proclaimed socialist state would at least be able to show that they had taken care of the people.  The Cuban regime certainly cannot make that claim.  There are not even efforts to make public housing available.  I am sure that when this regime finally is thrown out, there will be very little available to show what the regime built in its 70 odd years in power. Like in Russia, I am sure the Cuban people will make every effort to erase any traces of this regime but it will not be difficult as all one sees are statues of Lenin and examples of bad Russian architecture... As I spend time each year in China I know how much the Chinese government which calls itself Communist does each year to invest in the country and to make sure they have a harmonious society, ie to keep the people happy.  The Chinese people are happy, making money and leading good lives while this Cuban population suffers and goes hungry.  The country is 800 miles long and has wonderful land where almost anything could be grown yet the stores are empty because the state monopolizes the supply of everything from potatoes to eggs to milk and every other item.  I can only guess that these government people all studied economics in Russia and have no idea what has to be done to make a country proper.  They should import a million chinese people and give them the management of the country.  It will bloom and  Cubans will proper. 

After visiting these affluent neighborhoods, we headed out of Havana to the beaches at Santa Maria about 20 minutes south on the only national highway.  As one drives along this 4 lane highway, one is struck that there are almost no cars going in either direction.  There are occasional busses in various states of disrepair.  But the constant one sees are Cubans waiting for a bus or just walking along the highway. It is very similar to what one sees travelling on the roads of Africa but Cuba claims to be a developed country... Hungry people who need to hours to travel to their place of work does not make for a happy population.  While we travel in air-conditioned cars and busses, the local people walk.  Again, an example of how this regime has done nothing to improve the lives of its people. They lived off the handouts of the Russians for years who supplied their needs against the sugar of the island. After that, the got cheap fuel from Venezuela to prop up the economy until both Russia and Venezuela went bankrupt. So now in desperation, they are turning the Americans as a last hope. 

After spending a bit of time on the beach, we headed back to Havana.  As it was now 2 pm, I said I wanted to have lunch. So our driver took us to a little restaurant hidden in an area behind the Havana fortress.  We invited both our Cubans to lunch and that made us heros. Lunch for 1 person costs about $US25 which is more than the average monthly salary. The lunch consisted of 2 chicken legs and some rice with beans for each of us.  This is equivalent to the monthly ration of chicken for a month which can be purchased using the ration cards Cubans are issued by the state.
Our Cubans ate heartily and talked a blue streak. Cuban Spanish is spoken almost exactly as in Venezuela which is where I learnt my first Spanish.  Monique on the other hand, learnt her Spanish in Spain and she had a hard time keeping up with our conversations.  At one point, I left the table to visit the restaurant and Monique stayed with the Cubans at the table. As I was returning to the table, I saw Monique being spoken to by the Cubans but she was not able to understand anything being said. She had the blank stare of someone wondering what these people were trying to tell her and she was not enjoying it at all... The fact is that Cubans slur their words and do not pronounce  many letters like the  S and the l. In addition they have many idioms which are particular to the island.  Monique had no problem understanding the Spanish spoken in Ecuador where we spent 10 days earlier this year but she did not master Cuban Spanish. Maybe next time she goes to Miami she can practice as Cuban Spanish is the first language of the city.


Talking of architecture, Havana has more beautiful architecture than most cities in the world.  These all, and I repeat all, were there before the Castro regime took over. Most of that architecture was left to rot for 60 years and went into almost ruins. Today, there is an effort funded by outside sources like Unesco and private investors who are rehabilitating many of these old buildings.  But here again, the people are not being help. Just across from our hotel and beside the central park, a large building with lovely facades was being gutted to be converted into high end stores and a french hotel. We were told that until the French company took over the building it was being used as a school. When construction started, all the kids who were going to school were moved out to allow the interior of the building to be totally gutted. The kids' school was moved to another building to make room for more rich tourists. What a ding dong bunch of crooks run that country! What they have done is criminal  and they have a lot to answer for some day in the future.

The people of Cuba are a friendly and very well educated except that they have been cut off from the world for 60 years by the regime.  Our driver Alex and our theater security guy Juan, both were very sad that they had grown up in Cuba in this period and that their lives had not amounted to much. Neither had ever been able to travel outside of Cuba and they were fairly sure that things would change quickly enough for them to be able to do the things they wanted. 

The old cars in Cuba are famous. We took many pictures of them. Now owners are allowed to take foreigners which was not the case back in 2009 when we were last there. They were charging $25 for an hour ride in a convertible. These cars date back to 1959 when the Castro regime prohibited importing US cars, and parts. Since then, mechanics have been keeping the cars going by replacing motors and most parts although there are some which still have original parts and dashboards. Of course, these cars are economically disastrous for Cuba as their gas mileage is very low compared to new cars and they pollute the environment as they mostly run on leaded fuel and have no catalytic mufflers.  The result is that these cars spew hug amounts of bad air into the streets and the pollution is visible at the end of any day. But they are proud of their cars. Perhaps with the opening to the US some owners will cash in by selling these museum pieces if the government lets them be exported.

On several occasions we were given addresses of private homes where we were told we could get a good meal.  This was not the case in any of there private restaurants. Not only was the food mediocre but  a meal there cost twice as much as in the hotel. This was explained by the fact that hotels are owned by the government and are supplied directly from government stocks. Private homes need to buy their raw materials in government stores where prices are sky high.  Again, Russian economics at work in the Socialist paradise...

On our last evening in Havana, Bart Wilson, my son in law's brother invited us to dinner at the famous Floridita restaurant where Hemingway used to hang out. Earlier that day we had had lunch at the Bodeguita del Medio, another former Hemingway locale. After a good lobster dinner, we headed to the Teatro America where our new Cuban friend works. He organized us tickets in the second row for a show which highlighted Carnival dancing and music.  The Teatro America was built in the '30's and has not been renovated since then. It is a large theatre which seats some 2000 people but was only half full that evening. Tickets cost 5 pesos which is still expensive for locals.  The show was colorful and very loud with drums and horns and lots of people in elaborate costumes. We were probably the only tourists in the crowd of locals.  The singing was loud because most of songs were known to the locals who sang along. The performers were mostly black and I had the impression, at times, I was back in Africa. We left just in time as the show moved from the stage to the street as the bands started down the street followed by most of the people in the seats. Lots of fun and a nice insight into some of the local folklore. For some reason, Carnival is celebrated in Havana in August and this was in preparation of the festivities.  We jumped into some run down old Russian Lada which got us back to our hotel in one piece.
On Sunday we were picked up by our bus at 0630 and got to the airport in plenty of time. We again had Monique in a wheelchair which allowed us to check in ahead of others and get through emmigration and security quickly.

It was a great trip and very revealing.