Visiting South America I oftentimes get very sick from sources unknown. During one trip in particular, to Ecuador, I lost over 10 pounds of body weight within hours after having eating a little bit of ceviche, This resulted in me having to ask my hotel to bring in a doctor who gave me an IV
At the foot of Machu Picchu there is a city officially known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. To locals it is still known as it’s previous name of Aguas Caliente. The city only has a few thousand residents. The easiest access to the Pueblo is by train. There is a train station in the middle of
I have always loved the website TripAdvisor.com. The details, pictures, reviews are very informative. I am starting to see a disturbing pattern with them. Hotel employees are gaming the TripAdvisor review system. On my latest trip many of the hotels that I visited were blatantly eliciting positive reviews on TripAdvisor. This was a constant theme
There are a myriad of big brand hotels in the Miraflores area of Peru. This is a beautiful spot on the Pacific Ocean and Peruvians are very proud to promote this as the cosmopolitan place to visit while in Lima . Hotel brands include the Belmond, Hilton, JW Marriott, Sol de Oro, etc. The trick
To avoid problems with hotels, I have learned to book my stays directly with the hotels, not third party booking website. Important rule: Book reservations through the hotel brands website or call the hotel directly. Following my guideline, I booked the JW Marriott Miraflores directly through the Marriott.com website. Ocean View Room Booking I booked
Getting to Machu Picchu in Peru normally takes a layover in Lima before heading over to Cusco. My layover was overnight, so chose to stay at the Wyndham Costa Del Sol and this turned out being a great decision. I have had many airport layovers and this hotel was the easiest to get to. I
In Concourse J at MIA, you can find the Avianca VIP lounge. The lounge is for those traveling business, first class, and a list of numerous other eligible members (Start Alliance, Priority Pass, etc etc). One day passes can also be purchased. Lounge Entrance The entrance to the lounge is on the right side of
On many flights, traveling Business Class today is finally getting more affordable. On a recent Avianca Flight to Lima I received an email to upgrade my flight to business class. The email was from Avianca and powered by something called PlusGrade. I had never heard of PlusGrade before. But this peaked my interest. See the