Left Lima several days ago and took a first class tourist bus to Paracas, which is the jumping off point to see the sea lions and penquins on Isla Ballestas.

Buses here in Peru are incredible--seats recline nearly verticle, LCD Tv's on seat in front of you pre-loaded with dozens of movies, and they serve pre-prepared food and drinks. Greyhound Executives should visit Peru to learn how long distance bus travel is done right!

Did a boat trip to Isla Ballestas and saw hundreds of sea lions, some penquins, and 10's of thousands of other small birds. Thankfully I did not get shat upon, others were not so lucky.

Took a collectivo to Pisco, which was a complete waste of time; nothing to do or see there, even the locals looked bored. Found a somewhat busy restaurant and ordered the quasi-national dish called "Lomo Saltado" which is basically beef strips sauteed with tomatoes, onions, and French fries. Looked good but was almost inedible. Beef was chewier than chewy, plus flavorless. Leaving Pisco I stumbled upon some broken concrete and twisted / sprained my ankle. Am hoping it's not a true sprain otherwise I am ****ed, as Peru is all about walking about & trekking.

As this thread is titled "Poker Players in Peru" I'm not sure I'm going to bother hijacking it further. As others have mentioned, doesn't seem like poker players travel as much as perhaps they once did, an regardless I feel confident that opportunities for poker outside of Lima are extremely limited.

Would be interested in reading about the rest of your travels around Peru regardless of poker content.

+2, it would be a shame if you did not hijack the thread, friend...

Too much to do and not enough time to do it all at the moment, so details about last few days will have to wait. Suffice it to say that I arrived to Cusco two days ago and so far am really liking it. Sadly no poker here though :-(

I finally realized my dream of being in a band!! It's only a one-man band...sometimes I play flute, sometimes pennywhistle, occassionally tuba, but mostly kazoo.

Thank God for private bathrooms....

Cusco has the reputation of being stupid easy to hook up with girls if you're a gringo, does it live up to the hype?

2+2 is funny. Person A has been in city or country ABC for less than 48 hours and the first question is, "What are the chicks like--did you get your dick wet yet?!? "

Can't answer your question as I haven't spent time in any bars yet. The altitude effect is no joke, and since I'm not acclimating at lower levels as it's generally advised to do, I'm taking it super-slow, abstaining from alcohol for fear few days, and drinking lots of coca tea.

FYI I think all future Tinder-related and other such pickup questions would be better directed toward Dubnjoy, hopefully he'll shorten his stay in Lima and gets here before I leave. That said, my gut / intuition tells me that Cusco will be much better for picking up chicks (both local and gringa) than Lima.

Headed out for a one day motorcycle tour of the Sacred Valley now (which is highly ironic given a post I made in another 2+2 thread recently). If this ends up being my last entry it's 'cause I drove off a cliff or into the radiator of a passing truck.

Got any pics to share, Cucamonga?

I will be going on a couple of dates upon my arrival in Lima, but I don't think I am the right guy to ask neither... I am much more of a romantic type, don't get around A TON, am looking for something steady (or at least for a couple of months) and don't like to speak/treat women like objects (no disrespect intended, just my humble opinion).

Flying out in a few hours and yeah, perhaps Lima will be of short stay, after all... TBD

fwiw I'm pretty sure that even in Miraflores you can find some holes in the wall here and there with cheap food. I met a gringo once who seemed to have made it his job to eat out all the time without ever spending any real amount of money.

Don't know how to insert pics and not willing to spend the time learning how while on vacation with a limited amount of time. I do agree though that pics make trip reports much more interesting.

Spent all day (8AM to 6PM) riding enduro motorcycle all over Sacred Valley. 90% of the time we were riding on dirt paths, sometimes just walking paths through fields. IMO the word "epic" is vastly overused, but in this case the perfect descriptor. Only four people--myself, the guide (who was also owner of the agency we used) and a youngish married couple from Seattle.

Lots of mud in certain areas, everyone laid down their bike at least once. Returned to room filthy, exhausted, and super happy.

#bestdayever

Lima is alright. Am probably 30/70 in favour of heading north towards Trujillo, but will give it a few days to let it sink in... No plans of heading north, Cucamonga?

Total noob question : any atm suggestions for withdrawing bigger amounts of monies, or it really doesnt matter? Was about to bring 2.5k for the 25-50 game, then changed my mind, took 500$ and now regret it

My debit card refunds all ATM fees, so that part is not an issue for me. I'd use an atm located in bank or maybe 'high end hotel. I've heard that Scotia bank ATMs are legit.

Don't know this for certain, but am thinking that Peruvian beaches will pale in comparison to beaches in SE Asia, Caribbean, etc, so why bother? I'm going to stick with what Peru does best, namely mountains and jungle. I am headed north, specifically to Iquitos in a week or so.

IMO Cusco is better than Lima aiaec. I caught a flight from Lima to Cusco for $45 ($65 including taxes) and only booked one day in advance. Peruvian Air was name of airline I think.

Based upon the things you wrote that you were looking for, Cusco has it all. Less expensive than Lima, prettier, safer, more relaxed / spiritual vibe, taxi rides max 4-5 Sol almost anywhere you are likely going to want to go. Plus you can be out in serious nature within 30 min.

Only negative to Cusco is no live poker....

Yeah, I don't even have fees on ATMs neither (got an account a while back, specifically for avoiding fees while travelling), so not sure why I am asking... You almost convinced me on Cusco, the only thing that is missing that is pretty significant for me, is a beach... (don't care as much for live poker, but would go 2-4 times a month if I was staying in Lima).

Hey, "you be you" as the saying goes. But just curious, are you not planning on visiting Machu Pichu while you are in Peru? If so you'll almost certainly ending up visiting Cusco at some point.

Yup, buy my sis will come for a visit in March, at which point I would fly there (from the coast, most likely) and spend a few days there. If she does not make it, then I would go in April at the tail end of my trip.

Confirmed Xanax available over-the-counter for next to nothing. Can't find my receipt but think it was something like $0.30 for one 0.5mg tablet.

Clonazepam also cheap, no prescription required.

Yay Peru!!

"Cusco has the reputation of being stupid easy to hook up with girls if you're a gringo, does it live up to the hype?"

Peru as a country is very easy to get laid in. I haven't found it varies much from city to city. Being tall and able to hold a conversation helps.


"Total noob question : any atm suggestions for withdrawing bigger amounts of monies, or it really doesnt matter? Was about to bring 2.5k for the 25-50 game, then changed my mind, took 500$ and now regret it"

The ATMs here are terrible for allowing you to withdraw serious money, I think the only way to do it is to actually go to the cashier in the bank.

If anybody is in Lima (especially near to Miraflores) and up for grabbing a beer some time, let me know. I've been here on/off for almost a year now and can probably give a few useful tips.

Cucamonga, did you manage to check out Huacachina whilst you were down Paracas way? It's not too far by bus and fun for sandboarding and dune-buggying.

Yea, I took a tourist van to Ica & then a taxi to Huacachina. Did the dune buggy-thing but did not try sandboarding as a) I stressed/sprained my ankle a few days earlier, and b) I tried snowboarding a few years ago, busted ass repeatedly and the next several days felt like I had been in a car accident. I assume sand is none-too forgiving, so I wasn't even tempted to try. Spent only one night there.

I've left Lima, though have to return at end of the month for flight back to USA. If I'm in Lima for a few nights I'll get in touch, but I'll take any helpful tips you've got now.

Presumably everyone is familiar with tripadvisor country-specific travel forums:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForu...i818-Peru.html

and Lonely Planet forums

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntr...h-america/peru

I just found a new Peru-specific travel site, haven't spent too much time on it but looks like it might be useful:

https://theonlyperuguide.com

There was no cash game at Atlantic City casino and a lonely 5-5 Sol table at JP Marriot. I did get some info on the 25-50 game though, which is a 3k min buy-in and 25k max (roughly 1-10k USD). Unfortunately, I barely brought cash on me, but will load up to at least have 5k next Friday (if I stick around) and run it up/give another shot the next weekend. I will be focusing much more on online poker, but would be fun to run up a live cash roll

Finally left Cusco and landed in Pisac, a super small walkable town at entrance to Sacred Valley. Very hippie / new-age vibe here, lots of dreaded-out gringos looking to lose or find themselves, sometimes both. Have a simple but clean room with private bath for 50 Sol / $15 dollars a night.

Continuing to have some great meals--max I have spent on a dinner this trip was about $35, the least was about $1.50.

One can eat super cheap (and good) at the local mercados. Today I went to the local market for lunch, had grilled meat, rice, french fries, fried plantains, avocado, with two fried eggs on top for 6 Sol which is $1.88. Maybe not the most nutritious meal but damn tasty!

Went to tourist restaurant (rooftop terrace) for dinner, had chicken & vegetable soup starter, fresh local trout with some kind of garlic potato puree and steamed spinach/onion vegetable entree, Apple strudel for dessert, followed by a large bottle of my new favorite beer Cuscuena Negra, all for 28 Sol / $8.75.

Grilled Alpaca confirmed as good as (better?) than grilled steak. Have not had grilled or roasted guinea pig yet but will not leave country before doing so!

Hiked a bunch of ruins over last few days (Saqsayhuaman, Pisac, Ollantaytambo); taking it easy tomorrow in preparation of a San Pedro ceremony on Friday.

Supposedly it's rainy season but have had continuous great weather.

#Lifeisgood

Info about San Pedro:

http://hummingbirdretreatperu.com/bl...edro-ceremony/


http://hummingbirdretreatperu.com/bl...nes-san-pedro/

Have fun doing the San Pedro mate.

Last year I went to a place called Etnikas in the sacred valley and went through a couple of ayahuasca ceremonies. One of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I'd love to hear how the SP goes for you.