Perks of Work Travel

We mentioned in previous posts about Todd's travels to South America, well he's still traveling there... a lot. Enough that we decided to pay for the Global Entry program at the airport, so he can sail through customs. Kelly isn't traveling internationally other than for vacations but there was no way she was going to stand in line for customs and watch Todd skip all the lines, so she joined as well. So no more waiting in lines when we return to the USA and we get the added bonus of using the TSA Precheck security line!Since Todd has been traveling so much he has been racking up the miles, mostly on American Airlines where he now has Platinum status. This has afforded both of us the opportunity to upgrade seating and some first class rides. Kelly gets to enjoy his perks when we travel together. Which unfortunately doesn't happen as much as she would like.After several months at her new job Kelly has finally stockpiled enough vacation time to join Todd on a jaunt to South America. We chose Peru as the destination and coordinated some training Todd needed to give to allow him to have his trip paid for by work. Todd has been down there for a week already in Santiago and Lima and Kelly is on her way down to meet him there in Lima, Peru.We're planning a brief stay in Lima and then heading to Cusco, where we will do some sight seeing and then catch a train to the town of Auguas Calientes, which is the base for Machu Picchu. We are so excited about Machu Picchu as it is a place we both have always wanted to visit. We bought tickets for an extra hike up the mountain so we can get a better vantage point and hopefully some amazing views and photos to send to everyone!Day 1 in Lima:So while most people would consider staying at an opulent Hilton a perk, Kelly hates Hiltons. They always feel stuffy and she has to bring "fancy" clothes or they won't let her into the restaurants (she has been refused service before for showing up wearing Birkenstocks). But unfortunately that is where Todd's company chooses to have him stay. This one seems particularly fancy, as if we are sleeping in a museum, check out our head board:Or maybe it's the stark contrast of where we are staying and what is surrounding us. This is the view from our hotel room...And here is the infinity pool on the roof:Now Kelly is experiencing the main non-perk of work travel. Todd actually has to work and Kelly is left to explore on her own. Or as she is doing this morning, enjoying some extra sleep time :). So I guess that can be seen as a perk in its own way :).Todd was able to break away from work a little after 2pm. We took in a late lunch at the local touristy outdoor mall along the coast that was filled with American shop. and restaurants. We chose the one Peruvian sounding restaurant (not the Chilis, TGIFidays or Tony Roma's) and each had a sandwich. Todd contracted a stomach virus of sorts in Santiago and he has been hit or miss at meals. This one seems to sit with him well, so we continued wondering through the Miraflores neighborhood. We walked along the ocean-side cliffs, watching paragliders perform aerobatics over the ocean as we made our way to the Parque de Amore. The park had a beautiful view of the city, the Pacific ocean and a romantic statute of a couple embracing for a kiss. We took some pictures and watched as the paragliders launched from the adjoining hill.From Parque de Amore we headed back to the hotel and grabbed a cab up to the El Centro area, the historic center of Lima. We wandered about for a couple of hours, taking in the Franciscan catacombs (there were over 75,0000 buried beneath a Franciscan monastery) and the Plaza de Armas. The Franciscan monastery was impressive and equalled many European churches, but with a heavy Moorish influence that seemed a bit out of place in South America. The Plaza de Armas was definitely the social spot for Lima as the crowds made walking around the plaza and side pedestrian areas a bit claustrophobic. We decided not to fight the crowds and instead relaxed on the plaza, watching the fountain, the crowds and the conclusion of a wedding at the main Cathedral. After soaking in Lima for a while, we met our cab driver for a drive back to the hotel through the chaotic traffic.For dinner we chose a restaurant that is attached to an ancient pre-Incan Peruvian ruin. We had an excellent dinner (although Todd's stomach didn't agree) and enjoyed a 30 minute tour of the temple ruins in the misty evening. We are now back at our hotel, while Todd wrestles with his stomach and hopes that there will be no more praying to the porcelain gods tonight....it will likely be an early night.....Some pictures com the day:Day 2 Lima to Cusco:Today is pretty much a day wasted on travel. We have to head to the airport around noon, so we opt to sleep in and grab a quick bite to eat before we jump in a cab for the airport.When we arrive at the airport we realize that there is a flight leaving for Cusco every 5-15 minutes and if our Spanish was better we would have switched to an earlier flight, but it has been difficult to find anyone in Peru outside of the hotel staff, that speak any English at all. Those that do know English know it about as well as we know Spanish, so there are a lot of hand gestures and slow pronunciations involved in trying to communicate.When our flight finally does board, it's a mass push for the plane door and everyone ignored their assigned seats and sat wherever they wanted in the half empty plane. It was an uneventful flight and we grabbed a taxi in Cusco and headed to our hotel. Another fancy hotel, the JW Marriott, but it's free for two nights due to Kelly's points that she has been gathering with her travels for work.Unfortunately we didn't pay attention to the guide book's advice to negotiate the taxi fare before we got into the cab. So in front of our fancy hotel Todd and the cab driver get into a negotiation over the cost of the cab fare. Kelly let her self out and waited quietly until a bellboy from the Marriott came over to claim our bags (which were still securely locked in the trunk of the cab). Todd asked the bellboy what a reasonable can fare from the airport and he suggested a price close to what Todd had been offering. The can driver fumed, took the offered amount and finally let the bellboy get the luggage.By the time we got settled in our room, it was time for dinner. We headed to the Plaza de Armas, which is the main square, and wandered around, taking pictures and avoiding all the peddlers with paintings, hats, gourds, and just about every other cheesy touristy trinket you could imagine. When we had enough of the crowded plaza, we found a restaurant that looked good - Limo. It was a good choice and we had an interesting appetizer of Alpaca (we weren't quite ready to try the guinea pig) and a steak dinner that we shared. Note to Peruvians - the alpacas make for better sweaters than steaks.After dinner we headed to the Pisco Museum. A bar located right next to our hotel. We received a thorough education on Pisco by their sommelier. Aromatics, non-aromatics, blends, aged and many more varieties were featured. We tasted a few and then ordered a few Pisco sours and enjoyed an appetizer of chocolate covered bacon. It was amazing! And the pisco sours were perfect!Sorry to all the Chileans, but Peru definitely has the best pisco sours. After one too many of those smooth Peruvian devil drinks, we headed back to the hotel, already aware that we would be feeling the side effects tomorrow morning.Day 3 Cusco:So we didn't make it out of bed until after 1pm today. We have sworn off Pisco and probably all alcohol for the remainder of our trip!With a later start than we had hoped we headed up-hill for a mile walk to Saksaywaman (pronounced sexy woman :) ). Saksaywaman is a group of Incan ruins that you can wander through, perched on a high hill overlooking the city. We were at about 12,000ft here and the climb up to the ruins made us glad that we lived in Colorado and had an easy time acclimating to the elevation. Still, the elevation and our rough night led us to wander the site slowly, enjoying the views of the city spread out beneath us, marveling at the Incan stone works and stopping for pictures often.When we were done we headed back down to the Plaza de Armas to get some day light pictures of the square and relax on the steps of the Cathedral. As the sun set, we thumbed through our guide book looking for a dinner spot, while we sat in Starbucks. We came up with a local organic restaurant called Greens that the book highly recommended. The book was right and we enjoyed quinoa and vegetable soup, homemade ravioli and homemade pasta. We left stuffed and ready to relax and turn in early for the night. We have a train tomorrow at 8am, so it's going to be an early morning and another travel day.Some pictures from the day:Day 4 Cusco to Aguas Calientes:We got up bright and early this morning, finished the last minute packing, grabbed breakfast and waited in the cool morning air for our taxi to take us to the train station.Today we head to Aguas Calientes, which is the city at the base of Machu Picchu. It is possible to take the train, wander around Machu Picchu and take the train back to Cusco all in the same day, but we wanted to do the extra climb that is only available at 7am. So we are spending the night in Aguas Calientes and hoping to get into Machu Picchu right as they open at 6am. We plan on enjoying the sunrise before we start our hike up to the top of Machu Picchu Mountain.For the train ride today we chose the Vistadome. It has large windows that provide an almost 180 degree view of the surrounding scenery. For the return trip we are taking the budget train without the fancy windows, but wanted at least one opportunity to enjoy the scenery of the Sacred Valley.After an hour delay for an unspecified "problem with the rails", we were on our way! The ride was beautiful as the scenery changed from wide open farms with cows, sheep and pigs roaming about, to towering canyon walls, and finally mountainous rain forests. There are definitely no cars or roads out here as there was usually no room for anything but the train as it squeezed alongside the river beneath the looming mountains.We arrived at Aguas Calientes and were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the area. The guide book lead us to believe it was a bit of a pit. We agree the buildings in the town are not anything great and there is no hotel claiming more than two stars, but the natural beauty of the area makes up for it.We spent the afternoon checking out the town, which took all of 30 minutes. :). There are only two main streets, both lined with shops, restaurants and hotels, heading up the river from the train station. The town ends about 10 minutes from the station and there are multiple bridges crossing the river, so getting around is a breeze.We wandered around a bit, checking out the colorful market and the town square. After we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, we headed up to the end of the town.At the top of the town the restaurants and hostels end and the river resumes its natural cascade down the canyon. Right where the street ends is an entrance to the hot springs for which the town is named. We decided to pay the $3 entrance fee and check them out. Things were a little sketchy. First of all there was a swarm of 20+ teenage boys that had taken over the place. Secondly the water was brown and emitting a not so lovely smell. After verifying that the smell was due to a high sulfur content, watching the group of teenagers leave en masse and of course having a beer to gather our courage, we finally hopped in.We only lasted about 10 minutes before the lukewarm, sulfuric water got the better of us. But it was an experience we can say we did and, well, there's not much else to do in this town. So we freshened up and are now contemplating our dinner options.Pictures from the day:Day 5 Machu Picchu!!!:Today is the long awaited day when we see Machu Picchu, in person! The day started a little after 4 am :(. Todd questioned our sanity waking up this early for a bunch of "old rocks". Unfortunately we were not the only crazies up that early. As we rounded the corner for the bus station at a little after 5am, we saw the the line for the Machu Picchu bus stretching out for at least two blocks. Fortunately they had lots of buses and the line moved quickly. We hopped on the bus and went up, up and up. After a 20 minute ride along a narrow, steep and twisty dirt road, we finally arrived at the gate of Machu Picchu to behold ..... another line!This was the ticket line and once again, it moved quickly and we were inside! A quick 20 minute walk and we were in position to get a great shot as the sun rose, along with 300 of our closest friends. We relaxed and waited for the sun to make its way over the surrounding peaks and after about 30 minutes we were rewarded with views of the golden sunshine illuminating the wonder that lay out beneath us.After jockeying with our "friends" for the photo opps we had wanted, we were all too glad to head the opposite direction of the hoard of tourists and keep heading up.We were very grateful for the foresight we had to purchase the extra tickets that would allow us to climb Machu Picchu mountain. It turned out to be a grueling hour and a half, straight up hill climb that left our lungs screaming. Yet, it was totally worth it! It allowed us to get away from the crowds and to get some amazing photos of the whole Machu Picchu mountaintop complex as well as the surrounding mountains. We were more than 1000 feet above the ruins so it looked like there was not a single person in the complex.As we headed back down with our legs tiring, we breached the waves of tourists and quickly made our way through the complex. Or as quickly as we could with people blocking traffic for their photos every 5 steps. As our frustration level with the tourists and the number of stairs we were climbing grew, we realized it was the perfect time for a lunch break!Another advantageous foresight we had was to pre-pay (at a discounted rate of course) for a buffet lunch offered at a hotel right outside the gates of Machu Picchu!So we claimed our buffet lunch and relaxed as we ate and drank as much water as we could consume. As the crowds thinned we headed back into Machu Picchu where we have claimed a shady little spot where we can enjoy the view, relax and do a little blogging! :)With Kelly worn out for the day, Todd headed out for some last minute exploring. After we are done for the day we head back a grab a train back to Cusco for another couple nights there.Some of our outstanding photos for the day:Day 6 Cusco:Today is a day to relax and recover. Of course the hotel we chose, Rumi Punka, has us on the third floor and there are no elevators :(. Other than the required stair climbing, the hotel is beautiful. There are several outdoor courtyards and the rooms wrap around these courtyards. The perfect place to sit and relax.We enjoyed the courtyards a bit this morning while we caught up on emails from work, then it was off to explore the city some more. We have enjoyed wandering through the many picturesque squares and exploring the alpaca sweater stores that are located every 5 feet.Lunch was enjoyed at the El Map restaurant at the suggestion of our Frommer's guide book. Our server, Tania, was the perfect hostess. She tested our Spanish by speaking to us only in Spanish and switching to English when we weren't getting what she was saying. When we raved about the stuffed rellano we were eating, she informed us that it was a traditional Peruvian dish served at birthdays and anniversaries. When we asked if she made the dish at her house, she informed us that she would be making it for her birthday later this month and invited us to her house to prove that her recipe was better. Instead of coming back for her birthday, we convinced her to write down her recipe and we are going to attempt to make the dish when we get home.After lunch, we wandered about some more and decided to check out the main cathedral of Cusco. It was really three churches in one - each so impressive that they left us wondering why Europe is so well know for its cathedrals, but you never hear about the beauties right next door in South America.We toured the three buildings, watched some restorative work on some paintings and then headed back out to the bright sun light.At that point our legs were begging for a break, so we headed back to our hotel and paid the extra price to access the "spa" for up to two hours. It was just a jetted bath tub with access to an endless supply of hot water ( which has been lacking elsewhere) , but it felt luxurious to our tired feet and legs. So we relaxed and enjoyed our two hours of spa time.Next we pulled out the trusty guide book and after craving pizza all day, we found a listing for the best pizza place in Cusco... Justina's. It was a quiet, hole in the wall restaurant. But the guide book was right, it was great pizza!After dinner we did a little shopping on the way back to the hotel. Kelly found a great deal on a 100% Alpaca turtleneck sweater and well... Todd couldn't bring himself to spend the money to get anything so he's going home empty handed - but he did meet some interesting friends while Kelly was shopping (see picture below).Day 7 Cusco to Lima:Well today is another wasted travel day and we won't end up with much time in Lima to do anything. It's been a great trip and we have truly enjoyed our time exploring Peru. It was surprisingly safe and clean everywhere we went and the weather cooperated to give us a rain-free visit with cloud-free views !Some unique things we noticed about Peru...1) it is a country under construction. Almost 50% of the buildings are in some stage of construction. It appears they build in phases, as they get the money to finish the next stage.2) as we mentioned earlier there is very little English spoken here and the English that is spoken is very bad (but not as bad as our Spanish). So it's almost useless to obtain a tour guide as you will have no idea what they are trying to tell you most of the time.3) there are no elevators and everything is uphill, both ways! You will also notice the total absence of bicycles, baby strollers and wheel chairs. We have climbed soooo many stairs on this trip, but we made up for it with the food...4). The food... It is all heavy and delicious! There is no such thing as fat free, diet, or light here. You won't find a diet coke anywhere in this country (you will find a yellow super sugary drink called Inka Cola that will certainly keep the local dentists secure in their jobs for years to come). But the food is delicious and you just climb back to your hotel afterwards and you've burned it all off ;).5) always have toilet paper with you, there will never be any in any public restrooms. The hotel, nicer restaurants, and restrooms you have to pay to use (like at Machu Picchu ) will be well stocked, but definitely not at the airport, train stations, etc.6) taxi prices vary widely, make sure you negotiate the price before you get into the cab. That same cab ride that caused us a scene at the Marriott ended up costing us half as much when the hotel arranged the can for us... And that is after we paid the first can driver a third of what he demanded.7) it is a wonderful country with an extreme amount of diversity in geography, people, food, cultures and history. Well worth a trip to explore all that it has to offer!8) while you will get hit up to buy trinkets, take pictures with an authentically dressed local, and eat at each and every restaurant that you walk by... They almost never ask more than once and if they do it is usually with a humorous, "but why not"?, followed by an overly pathetic attempt at a puppy dog look.9) there are stray dogs everywhere... But not a single one of them is any way aggressive or even bothers to bark.10) it is a very clean and safe place to travel. If you can relax and get past the lack of English being spoken, you will be amazed at how much can be communicated indirectly by tone of voice and hand gestures. Don't do anything stupid that you wouldn't do at home (like walk down a dark alley or pull out all of your money and count it as you walk down the streetcar) and you will be fine.Day 8 Lima to home:Another day of travel. Up before 4 a.m. and in the taxi heading to the airport before the sun was even shining. The only eventful thing about today was that Kelly managed to loose that small piece of paper that you are supposed to keep track of and present to customs at the end of your trip overseas. Luckily a trip to a different line and a $6 fee and she was free to continue through immigration and say farewell to Peru.We got upgraded to economy plus, so we had a bit more leg room for the flight to Miami. Kelly slept, Todd got a bit of work done and it was a nice and uneventful flight.And then events started happening ... While walking to our gate at the Miami airport we have hit a road block... An overflowing toilet has shut down a stretch of walkway and we are hanging out in another area, further from the stench until we get closer to our flight.Next we got some good news... We just received notification that we have been upgraded to first class for the trip from Miami to Denver! Yet another perk of Todd being a Platinum level member at American Airlines!