More Flight to Book - Lima to Los Angeles

Since we have the main flights booked to Peru we were able to rest a bit and take our time searching for flight from Lima to LAX.

What is funny is even though we had a great deal from Vancouver to Lima with that amazing direct flight from LAX to Lima it was not a great deal to fly to LAX direct.  WHY! Oh yes the flight demons.  

All flight options that were remotely reasonable had at least one connection.  

Remember in my blog a few days ago that I said that airlines watch flight routing and dates and price will suddenly jump up.  

Well it happened to us.

There was a great flight with JetBlue that left at midnight from Lima and routed to Fort Lauderdale with a 3 hour layover there and then a flight to LAX for around $450 Canadian each.  A steal we thought, plus that would save us a night's accommodation as we would be in the air overnight. 

Oh but that doesn't sound appealing either.  And leaving at midnight would mean that last day in Lima would be a long one.  We discussed and then agreed that this was the best option and we went to book. 

NOOOOO the fight now has jumped to $650 each.  See even I have frustrations when booking.

Okay back to the drawing board. We knew that if we waited a few days that JetBlue would probably put that flight back down in price (in fact at time of writing this blog a week later the price is back down to $450 Cdn).  I also needed to look for alternatives now too.

Now there was a great flight with Avianca (which I researched and had good reviews and great planes - make sure you check out seatguru.com).  The flight was leaving at a better time of just after 10 am and had only one layover in San Salvador (but we don't change planes) with an arrival in LA that evening for a cost of $650 Canadian. Which was the same price as Jet Blue and was a shorter flight, better plane and flew during the day. So no brainer we booked it.  

Sometimes things happen for a reason.

Booking Flights Within Peru

So here I go again - a new endeavor for me.  Booking flights within Peru.

Our journey with Puma Adventures starts in Puno, Peru for Lake Titicaca and ends in Cusco ten days later. We needed to arrange one way flights from Lima to Juliaca (closest airport to Puno) and then Cusco to Lima at the end.

One thing I learned is Kayak.com had some great deals but often when I would go to the deal the LATAM flight was not priced correct.  This kept happening.  In the end I had to go with a different booking site to secure the flights.

But it was relatively an easy process and a fair price.

I was surprised too (not sure why as it is a distance away) that the flight to Juliaca is 2 hours!  

We were able to secure the same flight that Dylan and Ben are on at 10:45 am - a more sensible time. This will allow us time to rest and get a good breakfast and to store our bag at the airport (this bag is for our travels after we leave Lima and we don't want to lug with us).

We are being met in Juliaca and will then be transported to Puno where our journey will begin.

After our time (10 days) with Puma Adventures we will leave Cusco and fly to Lima.  

We have decided to spend two nights in Lima to explore the city some more. We did visit here on our last South America trip and thought two full days was necessary. 

Plus you may remember Daniel who is from Peru and works as a waiter on Princess. Even though he will be on board a ship (Star Princess) we are hoping to meet up with his family. 

Hotels in Lima are reasonable, especially if you choose one of the many boutique hotels. We discussed at length whether we should book a big name hotel and have a more "Canadian" like atmosphere. Or try a boutique hotel that is run by a family and offers a more "Peruvian" experience. Easy decision we went with the boutique hotel. 

We reserved a room for two nights at the Casa Bella Miraflores. Centrally located, includes breakfast and will arrange to meet us at the airport and transport us to the hotel for an added $20 US each way. The hotel rate is $55 US a night and it will meet our needs I am sure.  

I was quite impressed that I was able to reserve the room on line and they responded very quickly to my request and any questions I might have and the offer for transport. 

Booking Flights to Peru

This is something new for me.  You see I am normally booking flights to join a cruise.  Sure I have booked flights for land vacations.  Back to visit family, and flights with charters to Mexico.  But I have never booked flights to a foreign country where a lot of things were new to me.  

So from our earlier blog you now know we are heading to Peru for an amazing trip of a lifetime.

But first we need to buy fights to Lima.  Getting there from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has a few challenges.  

• First there are no direct flights.  
• Second it isn't cheap.  
• Third routing can be almost anywhere.  
• Fourth layovers really need to be factored in.

I love using kayak.com for my searches - but make sure to do it in an incognito window so they don't track the flights. 

One reason -- you end up seeing prices go up for flights you are looking at the next day. Companies now can track how many have looked at a particular flight, on a particular day, and routing.  Heck even cruise lines are doing this.

Our goal was to find a one way flight to Lima with only one connection, with a reputable airline, with minimal layovers for a reasonable price. A daunting task!  Or am I asking too much.

After searching various sites over a few days of travel (make sure to look at flight leaving a day or two earlier) and taking lots of notes. 

One thing we saw was great prices but the layovers were crazy.  I for one don't want a layover of 13 hours in Toronto or Mexico City.  Flights with less layovers jumped in price.  

In the end we came across a flight that got us into Lima the night before our flight to Juliaca.  

Thankfully we secured an Air Canada flight that leaves early in the morning in Vancouver with a 2 hour stop in LA, enough time to change to our Lima flight (which is more than enough because luckily we clear US customs in Vancouver and won't have to in LA). 

We then board a LATAM flight (we flew with them a few years ago to Brazil and loved them) direct from LA to Lima, Peru.  Arriving in Lima just after midnight local time.  And the price $400 US each!  

We have learned that if we find a great flight at a great price don't hesitate -- BOOK IT because there is always a chance (and we have been burned before) it won't be there at the same price later.

We then reserved a hotel right at the airport (Costa del Sol Wyndham) to crash before our flight the next day to Juliaca for our time in Puno and Lake Titicaca. 

It was hard to accept the cost of this expensive hotel ($200 night and we would only be there 9 hours) but after searching for less expensive accommodations away from the airport that certainly would of been a lot cheaper we agreed that those cheaper hotels were not going to cut it. 

This night we would need a comfortable bed that is close by.  Also not having to worry about securing transportation to and from the hotel and enabling us to rest for longer made us realize we made the right choice.

Lima in the Evening

We are back on board around 5 pm and we are hot, dirty and tired.  I have a shower and lay down on the bed and I fall asleep for an hour and a half and wake up groggy and dazed. 

Dining room is completely open seating tonight, but we know what and who we want to sit with.  Mark and Lorelei.  Their section is quite and they are happy to see us since we missed them yesterday.

We are not very hungry and I just have a salad and a small serving of the pesto pasta with green beans and red potatoes.  Oh and they have one of my favorite sorbets, lime vodka sorbet. 

All aboard is 9:30 and there are a few things going on around the ship but not much.  Not many people are out and about – I am sure they are tired.

We walk by Explorer’s and see a magician – sorry I don’t remember his name because I later find out he was not scheduled for tonight because the originally scheduled performer Matt Henry did not arrive with his luggage so Lisa asked this other guy to perform.  I will try and get his name and come back and edit this blog with the real name.

The Princess Theater had a performance of Local Folkloric artists called Inkamerica which offered a taste of Peru.  The early show was packed and they were lining up for the late show before the first show let out.  Also heard there was numerous issues with people saving seats, bad!!!  We didn’t make it.  Actually even though we would love to see this type of show we tend to stay away from the very busy shows and look for quieter intimate venues.

We pop in to see Sanja in Facets to see how she faired after we dropped her off and she fills us in. 

We are up in the cabin around 11 pm and we sit out on the balcony and watch as we clear the channel.

Not sure when Princess installed the six extra decks to the forward elevators but this said 22 all day... a little giggle

We now have three sea days…. Ahhh I bet you can see my smile.

Pisco! Sour! -- Callao/Lima Peru – March 25, 2014

We are back!  Last time we were delayed because of fog and we were delayed by over four hours so we didn’t end up doing our tour with Taxi Lima.  This time I needed to make it up to Renato and arranged a 7 hour tour for 8 of us.  This is a spot we had been looking forward to.

We docked early, and once again this is a large industrial port.  We don’t dock in Lima we dock in the district of Callao, which in itself is a large city and is right beside Lima.  Together the area has over 10 million people in population.

We were given a letter a few days ago from the Captain warning us of the dangers in Callao of muggings and petty crime and to use caution when travelling around Callao and the port area.  Of course many on board freaked right out and many were not even going to get off the ship. 

I was a little disappointed to hear this and felt that these people are really going to miss out.  I am also surprised that head office did not offer the same serious warning of petty crimes for Rio, Buenos Aries, and Valparaiso where petty crime is also rampant.  And we encountered people who were robbed here.  But please use caution wherever you travel.

Like many other industrial ports we had to take a shuttle from the pier to the port gate.  But unlike Buenos Aries and Valparaiso this port does not have big buses they have only small vans to transport all the people. 

We got off at 8:30 to give us enough time to get to the pier gate for 9, but when we got off the queue was just forming and we were near the front but it still took over 45 minutes to get to the gate.  And I would say the line was about 200 people when we finally got in the van.  This has been like this for a few years and I have to say was the only big negative for this city.  We are standing out on the pier in the direct sun and long waits with no clear direction. 

The ship did offer a free shuttle to the San Miguel Plaza Shopping Mall that started at 9:30 and ended at 8:30.  This was free but I have a feeling this was added last minute when the warning came out, but not a 100% sure.  Why they couldn’t of moved more people just to the gate I don’t know. 

Note the Princess tours loaded onto buses right at the pier and didn’t have to deal with this issue.  But because we were on a private tour we had to take the small shuttle.  Hindsight I may have arranged for Renato to pick us up at the shopping mall, but not sure if Princess will have the same shuttle in the future.  Either way if you are on a private excursion make sure you take into consideration the long lines for the van to the gate.

Renato of Taxi Lima www.taxilimaperu.com was waiting for us.  We had a bit of a wait for the van cause his normal van was involved in an accident and he was getting another one. 

The van arrived and we all pilled in.  We were a group of 8 and it could of accommodated two more but that would have been very tight.  As it was I think if I did it again I would of done with 6 people to make transportation a little more comfortable.  But thankfully we are all good friends and we managed fine.

Our first area was visiting the area of Callao.  Here the houses are painted a minimum of two colors it really has character.  We stop at a beach area and then our next stop is at a lovely park.

We drive along the water to the Mira Flores District to the Nazca Lines Park.  Here the gardeners have recreated some of the Nazca Lines in flowers in this huge garden.   The views are stunning too.

Next stop is Lovers Park with the iconic statue of two lovers.  The statues is surrounded by a stunning mosaic wall that provides glimpses of views thru the openings.  Here we encounter four huge Princess tour buses and the only place we felt we were crowded with tourists.

Renato stops at a shopping mall.  At first I didn’t want to see this cause heck we see malls all the time and this mall has similar shops as to home, even a Starbucks.  But I resisted. 

mall

But this mall has it’s parking underground and the whole thing is on the side of a cliff with an amazing view of the ocean.  The architecture is amazing and in the end we were not here long and it was quite interesting.

Renato of Taxi Lima with Jasper

Next stop is lunch that is situated in a lovely square and doesn’t look like much from the outside but it is HUGE.  The restaurant is called Rustica and for lunch they offer a Peruvian buffet that costs us around $11 US per person and I have to say was well worth it.

Many of us order Pisco Sours – research you know.  We need to compare the two countries’ versions of Pisco Sours.  After trying them both I prefer Lima’s version.  I even try a chocolate drink that has Pisco in it too and that was darn good.  In the end the boys have numerous Pisco Sours and a new chant was started.  One person says Pisco the remaining say Sour, Pisco!  Sour!  Come on say it with me.

The food was to die for and so different than the other South American Countries.  Renato comes up with us to the buffet and explains the dishes.  I tried many new items today, including Chicken Blood stew, which was sort of like the Argentinian Blood Sausage but better I thought. 

Here in Peru they use spice --- FINALLY. 

We go up for seconds and we are stuffed, but I did save room for a bit of dessert.

Back on the road the large meal is slowing us down but thankfully Renato is on top of this.  We are now in the Chorrilos District  area, we started on the upper area and now we are down on the lower area.  Beautiful beaches, amazing statues, and we can see the open air church and the illuminated cross here too.  Also in the distance we can see Lima’s version of the Christ Redeemer statue that was built by some Brazilians.

We are now making our way into the downtown of Lima and the traffic is noticeable heavier, bumper to bumper in fact.  But the architecture is stunning.

The driver drops us off and Renato starts showing us on foot all around. 

When we arrive in the main square I glance up and left, right, all around – WOW.

The Cathedral, these stunning Colonial Balconies, The House of Inquisition, The Congress Building, the Government Palace and the huge square.  He explains each building and wish we could spend more time here but we know we will be back and we will explore more then. 

We are now on our way to a private home that his friend manages and lives at.  The home was built in 1740s and it is the largest residential homes in the city.  We enter this huge door into a large courtyard.  Renato explains that the large doors are because visitors would arrive with horse drawn carriages and the doors had to be big enough to accommodate.  The large stair case to the left is wide to accommodate the large dresses the women use to wear. 

Today the lower floor is occupied by some private organizations which pay rent and help to offset the cost of the upkeep. 

We make our way upstairs to the area that was once the actual residence.  A large room that they call the ballroom use to conduct large dances here.  Again a big wow!

We are directed to the wooden balcony, very ornate.  Boy are we fortunate, I am pretty sure most tours do not get to see things like this.

Back out into the courtyard balcony, we are head up a very narrow staircase.  It was like this because in case of invasion you could protect yourself at the top of the staircase and since the staircase is so narrow only one person can go up at a time it was easier to defend. 

We are now on the third level and the views from her blow me away.  There are a lot of abandoned buildings around and you can now see how large the city is.

 

Up another level to a small look out and well can I come up with another word for wow.

Here is a picture of the house we were just in and you can see each level.  At the end we were at the very top with the domed roof.

Back in the van and we need to head back to the ship. It has been a long day and we have seen a lot.  But we have so much more we wish we could of seen.  We need to come back here and spend more time, maybe a week.  I know for sure we would be contacting Renato for assistance.

He was very professional and helpful.  He responded to emails efficiently and even helped us answer other questions about Peru.  He arranged for tours for some others on the ship who had found his services thru my blog from two years ago too.

Back at the dreaded gate!  We wait about ten minutes for another shuttle van.  Boy wish they would improve this.  Even showing some skin and putting our thumb out doesn’t help.

Lima or I Think It Is Lima

We wake around 6:30 after a difficult night as the fog horn sounded all night and we are confused, I know this may sound normal but today it is extra odd.  We are not moving, I state “we must be docked but have the pier on the other side”  Bernie laughs no we are still in the harbor.  Fog surrounds the ship, we can barely see the bridge from our just past midship cabin.

Hmmm something is not right with this picture.  We have a tour booked with Taxilima.com with Renato, we are really looking forward to it too.  Renato was very professional with me and answered emails very quickly and even phoned me at home twice to discuss our plans.  We had agreed that he would take the six of us out at a rate of $55 an hour for six hours, the van he had could accommodate more but we just wanted the six of us.

The Captain comes on in all the cabins around 7 to announce that the port is closed currently because of heavy fog, no ships are going in or out and even when it opens we don’t know if we will have priority or not.  It is a waiting game.  I fire an email off to Taxilima stating what we have just found out.  I feel really bad but there is no way to know when we will get into port or even if we will and I know he needs to try and make a wage today.

We take our time getting ready, Bernie is getting my cold so he is relaxing and resting and I dress and head down for a latte and the atrium is packed, the dining rooms are packed with people waiting to go ashore.  The Machu Picchu trip excursion has a group of people waiting to get off, lots of tours are waiting too, and lots of people on private tours are waiting.  I chat with a few of our friends and then decide to head to quieter areas, like my balcony.

Captain Perrin comes on frequently with updates, we still are waiting for the fog to lift but we do have comfirmation that when it does lift we will be the first to come in but even when we get the word to come in it will take an hour to dock and get clearance.  He also lets us know that we need to get in port so we can get fuel.

We hang out, and relax and have some good laughs and over the side we can see huge jelly fish in the water.  We jokingly say that the last time we missed a port Captain Perrin came thru with a great day checking out glaciers, we wonder if he can make it up to us by finding more glaciers. 

Bernie heads to trivia and I head to get a bite to eat with Craig and Barb in Horizon Court.  It is going to be busy here, it is only 11 am but there are no other venues open for lunch except horizon court and International Café and room service. 

Sammi comes on to announce a few new events for the day to occupy our day until we know more.  The movie The Artist is being shown at 11:15 and 1:15 in the Vista Lounge. 

We glance to the right and we see land, actual land and we can’t believe what we see, mountains!  We had no idea it was even there.  Oh maybe the fog is lifting. 

We grab something really quick and as we are eating the Captain comes on to announce the port has just opened, the time is currently 11:15 and should be alongside the dock around 12:30.  The Captain also announced that we all have to be back on board at 6:30, originally we were to be on board at 3:30.  So we have been able to extend our stay by three hours.

port

When I am back in the cabin Bernie is sleeping and I decide to head to the Vista Lounge to watch the movie The Artist.  There is no one in the theatre and I get a seat right in the centre in the front row and just as the lights dim this couple comes in and sit right beside me!  For goodness sake could they have found a different seat!  Then they proceed to chat for the 15 minutes until I just can’t take it anymore, and stand up and say “really” and leave.

I grab my camera and head out to take some pictures around the ship, the Atrium is busy the tours are coordinating and the shore desk is announcing the buses and groups to get off so they can coordinate things.  From what I have heard people were able to opt out of the tours and get their money back.

I am at the Outrigger Bar at the aft of the ship and run into Ernest/Bill, Dow/Nancy and Robert/Gary I sit with them for awhile and have a drink and we have a good laugh. 

Ernest shocked by the non view

Sammi the cruise director comes by and surprises me by telling me that guess what I have been chosen for the crossing the Equator Ceremony.  Now to back track a few days ago they put in the Patter that anyone that wanted to enter the draw to be part of the ceremony could get a ballot and enter the draw.  They would pick four people, two men and two women.  Both Bernie and I entered and I am glad I got picked but I am a little nervous.  We are to meet at 1pm tomorrow for the ceremony.  I will let you know what happens.

Around 4 pm Bernie and I along with Craig and Barb head ashore as there are a few vendors right at the gangway.  We head down and we are saddened to know this is all we are going to get to see of Lima but we know we will be back.

Some information about Callao (the port for Lima), the city is about a 30 minute drive from the pier.  Once you get off the ship you have to take one of the vans to the gate, note there are not a lot of these vans so this can be a slow process.  There are taxis there too that can take you to the gate for a small fee.  Princess tour buses pick you up right at the gangway, but private tours may not be able to get onto the pier so check with your guide.  It is easy to hire a taxi right at the gate to give you a tour of the city, but not many taxi drivers speak English.  Also note Peru like many other cities we have visited on this cruise have a high rate of petty theft so don’t wear any jewelry, fancy watches.  Make sure you carry little money and don’t bring all your id and credit cards.  We only bring one credit card and our driver’s license and cruise card.  A small amount of cash just to take care of the day (most stores will take US currency) and we travel around with our PacSafe bag www.packsafe.com that is theft resistant. 

Tonight we are having dinner with Tony and Sui, Alice and Bonnie in Portofino dining room.  Normally this is not a dining room I like since I know more of the staff in Capri.  We are sat at a table near the back right beside a waiter’s station, and I am the one sitting right beside it.  Unfortunately the doors of the station are opened and closed, drawers are slammed and when they clear the plates they bang them in the drawers and it is about three feet from my head.  At one point the assistant waiter brings a full cutlery tray and is sorting the items and the clang is so much I have to cover my ear.  I think the head waiter noticed this and asked him to stop.

The menu is French/Mediterranean and the food was very good.  I especially loved the fruit skewer but had a piece of plastic in my yoghurt dip.  I did point it out to the waiter but he really didn’t seem to care or offer to bring me a new one.  Both the escargot and the veal scaloppini were fabulous and the Crème Brule on this ship is top notch.

Bernie is tired after dinner and heads back to the cabin, I put $20 into the slot machines and then walk away I wander down the Promenade deck and chat with a few friends, crew and passengers and head back to the cabin.

I go thru my clothes trying to figure out what to wear for the Crossing the Equator Ceremony, they say whatever I wear is going to get ruined so I decide to wear one of the Princess T shirts I bought for $10 – if I have to I can buy a new one.

Well I am off to bed as I hear the fog horn in the background