South America Cruise Dec 2014 Day 13 Sacred Valley To Pisco

         We are on our last day of our Machu Picchu adventure. Up at 5:15am for the long day ahead. Our luggage needed to be out by 5:30. The porters were collecting it as we went to breakfast. By 6:30

Leaving Aranwa

we were on the bus. The luggage was still being loaded on a truck to be taken to the airport in Cuzco. We had a 9:40 flight. While we were away, the ship had left Lima and had moved down the coast to a town called Pisco. We took a shorter route back to the city. The area on the return trip passed through some different areas. The upper part of the mountains is quite flat (plateau like) and was quite fertile.           The fields were very lush and the entire area looked very prosperous.

As we came down from the upper area we passed through the outskirts of Cusco. It was quite depressing. We have seen poor areas before but this was continuous. We seemed to go through this area until we were in the flat part of the city. One of the things that was unsightly was the piles of garbage everywhere. Later we saw the garbage disposal system. The people pile the garbage in a particular spot. Then the truck comes by and shovels the piles into it. At least it was being picked up.

Along The Pan Am

By the time we arrived at the airport, our luggage was all lined up. How they beat us there is unknown. We never saw them pass us. In addition, if we wanted to check it through to Lima, the guide said just leave it. The tour company did the rest. Plane ride back was on time and we arrived back in Lima in an hour. By the time we got off the plane, the luggage was lined up again! It was really amazing to see go from our door to final destination without touching it. We did have to carry it to the bus!

        The final leg of the trip was a 5 hour non stop bus ride back to the ship. All aboard was 4:30. We started at noon. No way to to make it. Besides we were leaving Peru and needed immigration to stamp our passports on exit. They gave us a box lunch as we headed out to the Pan Am highway. It

Irrigated Fields

seemed to take over an hour to get out of the city. It was stop and go for what seemed like hours. Rush hour traffic in the middle of the day. Because of the traffic, we did not have a stop along the way.

       Once out of the city, the landscape turn drier and eventually the desert took over the landscape. Although we could see the ocean it was one large sea of sand! Mile after mile! People were living in 1 room shacks. They were in the middle of nowhere. It was hard to imagine how these people made a living. We did see the occasional chicken farms but except for a few irrigated areas there was nothing.

Miles and Miles of Desert

    We finally arrived at Pisco. There was nothing in Pisco to
warrant stopping there. The ship only offered 2 tours. I had suspected that Princess had stopped there so that they could offer the Machu Picchu trip. The entire bus was convinced that the 2500? people left on the ship went there to accommodate us! About an hour after arriving we finally sailed (an hour late). Immigration had finished their job. Dinner and bed ended the evening quickly. Sea day tomorrow! That is good because Judy is coming down with a cold. Maybe the Christmas cold came early this year!

Ship's Dock