November 2 & 3, 2024 - Sat & Sun - Overland Tour to Machu Picchu - Part I

November 2 & 3, 2024 – Saturday and Sunday        Days 38 & 39 of this journey 

Overland Tour to Machu Picchu – Part I 

Not long after we boarded, we decided to take advantage of an Overland Tour to Machu Picchu. It is something that we have always wanted to see, and this is likely our best opportunity to see it. It will be a very busy several days. There is a group of 8 passengers on this Overland Tour that is a combination of bus rides, air flights, train rides, and different hotels. 

Here goes: 

Saturday, November 2, 2024 

We are scheduled to leave the ship at noon in Manta Ecuador. Everybody has gathered as directed and we check ourselves off this ship. There is a guide (Victor) waiting for us along with a small tourist bus and separate driver. We are to drive south to the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. We pick up an additional guide (Gerardo) right after leaving the port property. Victor is Ecuadoran and will be with us until we get to the airport in Guayaquil. Gerardo will be with us until we get back to the ship in Lima, Peru on Tuesday. 

Victor provides commentary during the drive to Guayaquil. It should take about 4 hours. Today is a huge holiday in Ecuador. It is Day of the Dead and the traffic is heavy as many many people are visiting their departed family members at cemeteries. The roads are also in poor condition and are very bumpy. For us, we feel like we are in Mexico. It looks the same, feels the same.

The port at Manta. The largest tuna fishing port on the west coast.

Manta is also known for their ship building. Here are several under way.

We arrive in Guayaquil and go to a hotel where we are scheduled to have an early dinner. The food was very good and included a glass of very nice local wine. We proceed to the airport, gather our belongings and go to check in. Most of our group is dealing only with carry-ons. We opted to check a single bag as did one other couple. For some reason, I had to provide proof that I was leaving the country. My ship ID card wasn’t sufficient. I couldn’t pull up any of the saved documents from Viking as I had no cell service. Finally, I found a copy of flight schedules, and that was accepted.

A little upsetting, more because of hassles with my phone, and neither guide had ever run across this question before. It just caught all of us off guard. 

Off we go to the gate. Having bottled water with us at security was not an issue, but for most, shoes had to come off and belts off, etc.  As always, it was a lot of hurry up and wait. Our flight is due to take off at 8:40 pm and land in Lima, Peru at 10:35 pm. We will then pick up luggage and be bussed to our hotel that is about an hour away from the airport. 

Remember, I said this was a major holiday? There is a large concert tonight along the way to the hotel. It has just let out as we get near, so traffic is really snarled.

(I forgot to mention that Lima, Peru is a city of approximately 11 Million people.) There is an auto accident that has the traffic down to one lane. We turn off this highway to head to our hotel and need to make a tight turn only to find the way blocked by another accident. We need to find another route and that adds about 20 more minutes. We get to the hotel well after midnight, 8 very tired people. 

The room is very nice. We had purchased a small bottle of limoncello at the duty-free shop at the Guayaquil airport, so we ordered some ice and had a small nightcap to help us get to sleep. It is close to 2:00 am Sunday before we get to bed. 

And . . . 

We’ve got to be up and ready to go by 7:15 am. 

Sunday, November 3, 2024 

The plan for today is to fly from Lima, Peru to Cusco, Peru. Cusco is at 11,000 feet elevation. The flight is just over an hour of airtime. We should arrive in Cusco around noon. Have lunch, then a city tour including Incan ruins. Then dinner at the hotel. 

Our flight takes off on time, even though we switched gates. We were waiting for boarding to begin when gate personnel approach and pretty much strong arm everyone in our group to check their luggage. Our guide, Gerardo, did his best, but the gate personnel weren’t having any of that. 

As we approach Cusco, it is a spectacular approach over the mountains and dropping into the city. Wait . . . we don’t land but make a quick assent. We feel the plane circling and trying again. Again, we do not land but ascend. Third time is the charm? Nope. We head back to Lima. The pilot comes on the PA and says the winds were too severe for a safe landing, and the flight has been cancelled. 

Now what? We get back to Lima and retrieve everybody’s luggage. Gerardo had sped off as soon as we were off the plane. We reconnect with him at the ticket counters. The place is mobbed, but we find a window sill that we can all sit on that keeps us together but out of the way. Eventually, Gerardo comes with the news that he has booked us flights that evening. Gerardo will go with 3 couples on the first flight, one couple will be on the next flight. We are the lucky couple on their own. 

Gerardo has made arrangements for a late lunch (approximately 4:00 pm) at a hotel at the airport. That fills up some of the waiting time, then we return to the airport to check in for our flights. The first group is about an hour ahead of us. Our flight leaves on time, and as soon as we are on the ground in Cusco, I text Gerardo that we have arrived. He responds saying they were only 20 minutes ahead of us and are waiting for us. 

We meet Omar, another local guide that will be with us at Machu, Picchu. He, also is a native of Cusco and is passionate about his city, and country and its history. The drive to the hotel is only about 15 minutes. We are staying in what was a palace at one time. The foundations for the building are Incan. Our accommodation is a 2-room suite and very nice. We decide to find the bar and run into one of the other couples. We enjoy a couple of drinks, then head for bed. 

Not quite the day we had planned, but at least we are in Cusco and we should be able to get to Machu Picchu tomorrow.