We picked up our one way rental from Hertz — with pricing courtesy of Autoslash — as planned on the morning of our Naples departure. Since we were flying out of Miami International (MIA) we drove east on Florida 41 (Tamiami Trail). This time of year, it is a beautiful drive as our migratory birds flock to the Everglades through which 41 passed on the way to Miami.
After dropping Valerie at the Embassy Suites Miami Airport, I refueled the rental car (don’t do what I did and do it within sight of the airport — the gas prices are a dollar/gallon higher — than they are a mile or two away. The other negative about refueling at the Shell is that you have to pull an “illegal” U-turn to get to the Rental Car return which is right across the street from the Shell station.
Once the car was returned, next up was figuring out how to get back to the Embassy Suites. After asking the Hertz guy about it, he said the train station (Trirail) prevented this so he recommended going to the terminal and getting on the hotel shuttle, so onto the Rental Car Center to MIA Terminal people mover and down an escalator to reach the curb at Door 9 of Arrivals. From here, I was able to text Embassy Suites and advise them where I was waiting for the Shuttle driver. They let me know that he was on the way and sent me a link to an app that actually showed where the shuttle was in relation to each of the terminal locations — pretty cool actually.
The Embassy Suites at MIA is renovating with a really beautiful color scheme for the ground floor of their atrium. We loved the free happy hour which provided us two glasses of wine to celebrate the first stage of our trip. We followed this with dinner in the hotel restaurant with both of us eating a very nice dish of pasta to help get us to sleep fast for our early wake up. Our 5th floor room was nice sized but not conducive to sound sleep. Trirail trains passed throughout the night blowing their horns as they pulled into and out of the MIA station. In addition to the trains, there was also a fair amount of jet noise on takeoff. As a result, the short night was a little bit shorter...
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| Embassy Suites Miami Airport |
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| Entrance to VIP Lounge |
Up at 4:30 to catch the Hotel’s 5 am shuttle for a 6:57 flight located at MIA’s last gate - #31 (Copa). With minimal early morning airport traffic, the Embassy Suite’s proximity to the airport allowed us to arrive at 5:15. Copa’s Priority Check-in process was smooth and efficient. TSA Pre-Check line was active and got us thru security in 5 minutes flat. From there it was a short 3 minute walk to the VIP lounge across from our gate 4 Boarding gate. Hostess on second floor showed us into the Avianca lounge (Star Alliance and Premier Pass access). The lounge was decently appointed with a free WiFi code handed out on entry.
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| Inside the lounge |
Our first segment was a smooth, three hour flight from MIA to Panama City (PTY) aboard a newish 737-800 configured with 4 rows of 2 x 2 seats in Business. Upon arrival, we headed to the lounge at PTY. It was very busy but we managed to find two seats at the bar - the bar tender was one of those more experienced guys that’s seen everything at least once, a character you remember seeing…
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| Panama City on final approach |
Our connecting flight from PTY to LIM (Lima) was on another Copa 737-800. Same 4 row 2 x2 seating configuration in this front cabin. The food served was ok but nothing to write home about. The best part was our flight attendant - she was just about the most bubbly flight attendant ever.
One thing we noted about Copa is that they take good care of their priority customers - you aren’t fighting to get aboard and your bags actually come off first at your final destination. Customs and Immigration on arrival to Jose Martin International in Lima (Callao - pronounced Kay-yow) was super fast - apparently, arriving internationally around 3pm is a very good thing and in sharp contrast to the 1:45 minute wait we'd experienced in San Jose, Costa Rica last year,
We were met by our host Rachel Walker from Incas Expert Travel (rachel@incas.expert) - the lady who arranged all transfers and tours for our trip. Even travel agents use travel experts when you are planning a complicated itinerary to a place you’ve never been to before. We were quickly spirited to our driver and van and headed off from the airport located in Callao to our hotel in Miraflores. The trip took about 45 minutes with Rachel narrating details about our trip and the things we were seeing along the way. Lima’s traffic and driving environment weren’t the worst I’ve seen but I was sure glad I wasn’t contending with the crazy drivers on the way to a place I’d never been.
Once we got to the hotel, Rachel sat down with us and walked us through each day’s itinerary, providing emergency contact numbers in case something untoward occurred. She had also prepared a list of recommended restaurants in Lima for our dining pleasure, including the secret places to get the best gelato in all of Peru.
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| Thanking Rachel for her hard work |
We had a very general outline of when we were arriving, the hotels we were going to stay in, and how long we’d be in Peru. With this bare outline, Rachel crafted an itinerary of private tours in each recommended location with the connecting transfers that hit all the highlights during our 7 day stay. Based on our experience over the next 7 days, I don’t think we could have chosen a better travel company for our time in Peru. There is something comforting about seeing someone with a sign in each airport, hotel lobby or train station. At the end of the day, from our arrival in Lima to our sail away from Lima, everything was flawlessly planned and executed. As a result we’re very happy to recommend Incas Expert Travel and Rachel Walker should you be thinking about visiting Peru. Over the 7 1/2 months we were planning and refining our trip, Rachel was always responsive, able to accommodate modifications we asked for, and dealt with a major procedural change for visits to the Machu Picchu sanctuary with aplomb. Two thumbs up for Rachel and Incas Expert Travel - https://www.incas.expert/
Next up, Accommodations and Dining in Lima...
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