Get your bags packed we’re going to Peru…

In the next two installments of Calypso Island Chronicles, I would like to share with you
some of the highlights and memorable moments of a two week adventure to Peru that
took place in Summer 2007.

I arrived at the Lima airport at approximately 11:00PM, and by the time I got to my hotel in Miraflores, an upscale suburb of Lima, it was close to 12:30AM. As most travelers to Peru do, I stayed only a minimal amount of time in the sprawling capital city of Peru (two nights and one day) before continuing to Cusco, the high altitude tourist Mecca located in the rugged Andes Mountains. My outstanding memories of Lima was the weather (it was fogged in and misty for the most of the day), shopping for a pair of dress shoes at a fancy department store, the presence of licensed moneychangers on the streets and on the morning of my departure, having a cup of Soy Latte at Starbucks at Larcomar, the ritzy new shopping center located on Lima’s rugged (and fogged in) Pacific Coastline.

I spent most of my time in the Cusco area, the Heart and Soul of Peru, including three nights in the Sacred Valley - Pisac and Ollaytantambo - and one night near the famous archaeological site of Machu Picchu. I had the opportunity of being in Pisac for the Sunday artisans market, one of the largest and most colorful Indian markets in South America as well as hiking to some of the most important archaeological sites of the ancient Inca Empire. Leaving Cusco, I flew to Puerto Maldonado, a small city on the periphery of Peru’s Amazon Basin, where I stayed at a small nature resort located in the middle of the rainforest - about two hours downstream from the city. I loved the tranquility and the sounds of nature of the Amazonian wilderness. Part I of this musical travelogue features Lima, Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Enjoy!