The Travellers, Altitude Sickness & Tour and Hotel Links
The Group
After spending 6 days together we got to know our 18 fellow travelers better.
Alyson - Alyson was the lady who talked constantly. After awhile you got used to it. She talked to anyone and everyone and wore her Santa hat whenever she could. She was retired military currenly living in Nevada and she was planning on relocating to the Philippines. Memorable quote when arriving ar our Hotel in Lima "have you ever stayed in a 5 star hotel?".
The Kazakhstans - This was a father and son duo who spoke no English. Everyone communicated with them using Google translate. The guides would record important information and play it back in Russian for them. The father had won a gold medal for weightlifting and had a family business making sausage in Kazakhstan. They appeared to travel alot and have an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver booked. I recommended they check out doing the Rocky Mountainer train through the Rockies. Memorable quote "Da"
David and Camilla - this couple was from San Diego. Camilla was David's third wife and was lovely. He would repeatedly ask questions that had already been answered, wielded his walking sticks like light sabers and was so cheap. He said he was taking an Uber from our hotel in Lima to the airport at the end of the trip because it was cheaper. But the transportation was included as part of our tour package and included a drive and a guide to accompany us at the airport, manage our luggage and ensure we were all checked in and on our way. Sure enough, they were not on the final transport list. When we were having lunch one day, he proudly announced he had learnt you could have the crew appreciation tips removes on the cruise (after 20 cruises!) and how much money he saved. He claimed the crew didn't get them and it was just more money for the cruise line. I've know tips could be removed since my first cruise and I would never do that. I disagree with him and there are strict rules in place to ensure they do get to the crew. The Cruise Director did a talk on our cruise and there were a lot of questions about tips. Anyway, there always has to be one!
The Sisters - these two sisters we traveling together and tended to stick to themselves. I'm not sure where they were from. They were delightful. We sat with them on the train to and from MP. They carried cloves to put in their mouth after eating to act as an antiseptic and the generously shared some with us. And a Google search supports cloves are good!
The Proffessors - these two were from California and both had at least a couple of PhD's and taught at some California University. The husband had just been through treatment for prostate cancer and they decided to quit the academic life and travel more. They were both very interesting people. Memorable quote while standing in line for one of our flights to Cusco "we haven't flown coach for at least 10 years".
Alaskan Couple - These two had been in the military. We sat with them at dinner one night, but they were both so soft spoken it was difficult to hear them. This was their second cruise. The fellow also played the saxophone and was active in playing with various groups in Alaska. He also had a son who had attended the National Ballet School in Toronto.
The Austrailian - This lady was charming. She traveled with 3 large suitcases, a carry on and a tote bag! She was well traveled and had done almost everything. Had spent 3 weeks on the new Princess ships, the Sun, had done the Rocky Mountaineer, etc. Her family owned a winery and orchard outside of Adelaide, Australia. She leant me some of her Roche Possey sunscreen one day when I had forgot to put my suncreen on. Memorable quote, in response to Alyson's quote about staying in five star hotels, "Always, why wouldn't you."
There were two other couples that we just never ended up sitting/eating with much over the 6 days. One was a husband/wife from California and the other was a couple from Florida.
And then there was us. The guy with the beard who had some problems with altitude sickness and needed oxygen on the bus and at the hotel a few times. And me, the one who was hot all the time and wore tank tops when everyone else was wearing a jacket or wrap.
One thing I like about cruising is the people you meet - sitting next to at dinner, chatting with at the bar or on an excursion. It is my observation that most Americans that cruise are either entrepreneurs or military. That may be screwed somewhat as we generally only take longer cruises, so it's only people with enough holiday time, able to take time off or retired.
A word on Altitue Sickness
Keeping hydrated and adjusting your activity for your first few days are recommended to prevent altitude sickness. Drinking coca or munya tea, chewing coca leaves or sucking on coca candy also helps. The hotels have bowls of coca leaves and tea station with coca and munya tea. All restaurants have coca or munya tea. I preferred the munya tea, but Pat preferred the coca. Symptoms can be a headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, lethargy, lack of coordination, and difficulty sleeping.
No one in our group experienced debilitating altitude sickness. My watch kept warning me my "heart rate was over 128 bpm for over 10 minutes while resting and this isn't normal" and one night my heart was beating so hard, I swear it was shaking the bed. Pat needed oxygen and few times. Every hotel, tour van, etc. has to carry oxygen. The tour guides gave him some in the van a few times and he'd get some each night at the hotel. He has severe asthma and the oxygen made him feel better. I was actually surprised he made it all the way up MP.
Tour Info
Our tour was a Princess Land Tour. It was coordinated by Lima Tours. It was excellent! All the logistics of train, plane and bus tickets, entry tickets, moving and storing of luggage between the hotels, planes, trains and buses. All meals were included and all were in great restaurants or the hotels themselves, with the exception of a boxed lunch on the bus (it was good) and one lunch when we were on our own.
We stayed in the following hotels over the 6 day tour:
Cusco
Macchu Picchu
Lima
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