Peru

Did a trip to Peru with G Adventures that included some Trekking (Lares Trail), Machu Picchu, the amazon (Tambopota river), and a few days in Lima and Cusco.
https://www.gadventures.com/trips/amazon-to-the-andes/5475/

To hike the famous Inca Trail, you need to book well in advance (> 6 months).  The Lares Trek (in the Sacred Valley) is a reasonable substitute 3 day hike that goes a little higher (4750 m)
and is much less crowded. It is not as brutal a hike, and shorter (33 km) -- just right for me.

Lima:

Peru has 31 million people, and Lima about 11.
Arrived in Lima at about midnight and the trip from the airport to the hotel took over an hour -- the traffic night and day in Lima is crazy thick. I was surprised at how great the food is -- lots of avocadoes, potatoes (over 3000 varieties), and corn (12 varieties). Ceviche (raw seafood in lemon juice) is a classic dish -- had it twice. Also had alpaca stroganof, roast chicken, pisco sours, and good wine.

But no cuy (guinea pig).

Trek:

Met the others in our group and went for supper and a drink. Headed off the next morning for Cusco which at 3300 m is noticeably higher. Most people had some altitude "sickness". I felt the need to breathe deeper and felt slightly dizzy. Others had some headaches. We drank coca tea and chewed the leaves at some of the higher elevations. The next day we drove by van to Ollantaytambo.

Enroute we stopped at a weaving co-op and a pottery demo. G Adventures is very proud of its support of local communities and helped to establish both of these sites which seem to be successful.

The next day we split into 2 groups and drove to the respective trail heads: the Inca vs. the Lares trekkers. 7 of us did Lares: 4 young British women, a mother and daughter team from Calgary and me. I was in the minority based on age, gender, nationality, and even language :-)
Fortunately, it was a great group and our expedition leader, Miguel, was experienced and kept us on track.

The first and last days were relatively easy even with the altitude (about 9 km). But the 2nd day was fairly brutal. Rain on and off, and snowing at the pass (4750 m). I couldn't keep up with the younger people but didn't hold back the group significantly. My old legs held up fine though the altitude forced me to go slowly. On the downward journey I was very careful and went gingerely. I appreciated the walking sticks -- mostly for balance. The trail was fairly simple with only a few steep sections.
The Inca Trail is quite a different kettle of fish. We had mules to port our dufflebags, tents, food etc but on the Inca Trail everything is carried by local porters. We even had a taxi horse (probably in case the old guy couldn't make it on his own). No one sunk so low.

Llama convoy

Before starting the trek, Miguel stopped at a local market and we bought small gifts to give to the children along the route -- marbles and pancake-sized sweet bread. Perhaps 5 or 6 small groups of farm children gratefully took advantage of our generosity.






















Since it was my daughter's birthday, a young woman made a wonderful video of locals wishing her a happy birthday.

We spent 2 nights in tents. By the time we arrived, the tents were set up, with sleeping bags, mattresses, and personal items unloaded. Suppers and breakfasts were prepared by a chef with some help from the mule drivers. Meals were great and served in a small dining tent. We avoided alcohol to help with the altitude and were encouraged to hydrate frequently. Coca tea was delivered as a wakeup call. We were constantly encouraged to keep well hydrated -- fortunately there were many opportunities to pick flowers, and "to see a man about a dog". (you may need to google that one).

Machu Picchu:

Chicha morada and empanada

Classic shot

After the trek we vanned to Ollantaytambo stopping at a small chicharia -- chicha is a raw, fermented corn beer that locals drink all day while working (3% alcohol). The ceremonial version includes strawberry juice. Chicha morada is also a corn based drink -- non alcoholic, deep purple and available throughout Peru.

Took the train to Aguas Calientes and stayed at hotel Pachaqutec -- named after the Inca emperor who had Machu Picchu built.
An early morning bus ride to MP. The fog was lifting and by noon it was very hot. Spectacular. See the pics and read the wiki entries for details.
We met up with the Inca trailers, took a train and then a van to Cusco. Free day in Cusco to explore (Arch. Museum). Cusco was the Inca capital and conquered by the Spanish in about 1533.
I want to be very clear that there were no girls in my hotel room.

Amazon (hot and humid):

Flew to Puerto Maldonado (pop. 100,000) and then a bus to Infierno (Hell). I can now confirm that the road to Hell is not paved. period. Regardless of intentions.

Tambopata river in Hell

Then a 3 hour boat ride along the Tambopata River to the Eco lodge run by G Adventures. We saw capybaras (largest rodent in the world), a white caiman, egrets, etc.
Checked in and got settled. Then a night walk: leaf cutter ants, bullet ants (vicious), a tarantula, a toad, etc. We stopped and turned off the lights to just listen for a few minutes.  The sounds in the jungle are very different. Our guide, Leao, could identify all the sounds -- birds, monkeys, insects.




No electricity in the huts -- candles and head lamps.

Hut

paddling our barge

A nice breakfast with Peruvian coffee (very strong with hot water to dilute). A short boat ride and hike to an oxbow lake and boatride. Black caiman, hoatzin (stink bird:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoatzin), saddleback tamarind monkeys, crested owls, tarantula jigging, butterflies, piranha, bats, fire ants. Rubber tree, fig trees (and killer trees), stick trees that walk (ents!), leaves that when crushed are used as red decorative paint.
Passionfruit for a snack. Leao was very knowledgeable and hilarious.

Fig tree

Brazilnut

He later showed us how Brazilnuts work.












In the afternoon I opted to visit a local "farm" instead of the swimming hole. Chickens, pigs, and dogs to keep the jaguars at bay. Mostly, Raphael explained medicinal properties of local plants and we sampled applebananas, grapefruit, lemon, etc. Bananas and paprika were abundant.
In the evening we did a caiman hunting boat ride and saw a couple of small white caimans.

Paprika

Final day: breakfast, pack, 1 1/2 hour boat ride to Infierno, bus to Puerto Maldonado, flight to Cusco and on to Lima.

I spent an extra night in Lima to enjoy the food, sun, traffic, etc. Went to the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History.

Lima is very clean and the Miraflores district is lively and interesting.

Pictures:

I took 2 cameras and have 2 albums of pictures viewable at:

Camera 1

and

Camera 2

If you plan to go:

I was very satisfied with the G Adventures team -- professional, well-organized, flexible, and knowledgeable. Their interest in improving conditions for rural communities seems genuine and appreciated.
Any such trip depends a lot on the travel companions -- I was very fortunate to have interesting, generous, humorous travel mates. And though I was traveling solo, I didn't feel excluded.
The hotel accommodations are simple but well beyond the hostel level. G Adventures offers many different varieties of trip. I suggest avoiding the rainy season.