Peru Pours and our Tour Group Comments

Recent heavy rains in the Peruvian highlands washed out part of the
Inca trail and the railway leading into the base of Machu Picchu, Aquas
Calientes, the town where we stayed. Hundreds of tourists and hikers
were stranded for days. The picture below was carried in the LA Times
(double click on picture to enlarge):

From:	Carol & Richard
Sent:	Wed 2/03/10 10:02 AM
To:	Chuck

Hi Chuck!!!

How are you guys? Thanks for the picture. We have been reading
about that mess and said "Good thing we did that LAST year!"
Is that our hotel in the lower center? Kind of looks like it.

So what have you and Marilyn been up to? We went to Panama in
August with OAT. Great trip. It was very easy and relaxing compared
to Peru/Ecuador. We're off to Tanzania with OAT in September.
Not sure where we'll go between now and then, but it will be somewhere.

Take it easy and say HI to Marilyn. Thanks again for the picture.

From:	Gary & Tooie
Sent:	Wed 2/03/10 2:16 PM
To:	Chuck

Thanks for the picture. We are sooo glad we went their last year.

How many years will it take, if ever, to repair the area to look like it did before the rains?

Our hotel, along the river, was an experience of a life time. I sure hope it wasn’t damaged.

A friend from OH just called to let us know PBS Nova has a great hour

show about MP. Gary just set our DVR to tape it.

Hope all is going well for you two, 2e

From:	Jay
Sent:	Thu 2/04/10 7:53 AM
To:	Chuck

Hey Chuck,



Thanks for the news. Peruvian tourism will surely take a big hit

with Machu Picchu not accessible.



After hearing me raving about how great our trip was, some friends

signed up for the same trip beginning in March this year. I passed

this info about the problems at Machu Picchu on to them and they replied:

"I just spoke with OAT and they say the Peruvian government now estimates it

could take 7 weeks to get things going again.  That's about the time we

leave. OAT is willing to let us postpone to another time or take a different

trip."



An internet search on "Machu Picchu news" gives more details on

how bad it was for the tourists in Aquas Calientes.



Jay