Once in Lima, we had a day to rest and revitalize while awaiting the arrival of my sister, Kelsey, and her boyfriend, Robin. Kelsey just graduated from University, and the two of them were joining us for a two and a half week jaunt through Peru. Our hostel, Dragonfly, was very laid back, and we were happy to be able to hang out and cook for ourselves again after so long of eating out in the Galapagos. Kelsey and Robin arrived after a long international journey, and we all took the evening to catch up and plan a rough outline for the next few weeks.
Kelsey and Robin's second night in Peru, we went out to experience a little of the nightlife Lima had to offer. We started with double Pisco Sours at a very interesting bar, Ayahuasca. After finishing our drinks, we got a tour of the bar, which is located inside an old mansion. It has endless rooms, each having its own theme and bold, quirky decor. From Ayahuasca, we went in search of a dance club. Since it was a weeknight, this was a bit of a challenge, but eventually, we found somewhere to dance the night away.
The next day, we packed up and caught a bus to a little town on the coast called Paracas. We organized a boat tour to Islas Ballestas, also known as "the poor man's Galapagos," of Peru for the next morning. On this tour, we saw more birds than I have ever seen in my life. The islands and sky were full of birds including Peruvian boobies, cormorants, pelicans and even a few penguins. There are so many birds there, that the topsoil of the islands is mostly composed of bird poop (or guana) and is actually highly coveted for its fertilizing properties. Wars have been fought over the bird poo.
Upon returning to Paracas, we caught another short bus farther inland to Ica. Once in Ica we got a quick 5 km taxi ride to Huacachina. Huacachina is a cool little tourist town in the midst of sand dunes. While all of the restaurants only serve overpriced hamburgers and pizza and the hostels are a bit run-down, the sand dunes are awesome! We climbed the dunes the first night to watch sunset, and it was really lovely. Of course, we also played around some, and by the time we returned to the hostel, we all had sand in every crevice of our bodies.
The next day was Robin's 21st birthday. To celebrate, we went on a dune buggy adventure. The ride in the buggy was a bit like the Disneyland ride "Indiana Jones", with sharp, bumpy turns and steep drops off the tops of tall dunes. The trip also included sand boarding. Our driver would take us up to the top of a dune, hand out boards (sort of a cross between snowboards and sleds) and then meet us at the bottom. The fastest and most fun way to ride was headfirst on your stomach. After our adventure, we returned to our hostel and drank Pilsen beer and danced salsa in the bar.
The following day, we hired a taxi to take us on a pisco tour. We visited two pisco distillery/ wineries in the area. Here, we learned about the pisco making process and then did some tastings. I will just say that "tasting" hard alcohol is not my favorite. I tried following the tasting protocol : sniff, sip, swish, swallow, exhale slowly...and nearly gagged. After the third or fourth taste, I was grateful for the sweet wine we were given... despite the fact that it tasted like fruit syrup. I fully intend to save future wine tours for Chile and Argentina.
We spent one last day relaxing in Huacachina before heading to Nazca. Since there were several ruins and sights between Huacachina and Nazca, we hired another taxi to take us. With four people, this ended up being less expensive than taking a bus to Nazca and then doing a tour from there. At one stop, there were a bunch of aqueducts built by the Incas that we were able to climb down into. The size and quantity of the aqueducts was really impressive. We also were given the opportunity to hike around the Cahuachi ruins. Though they were no Machu Picchu, they were still very interesting. We were able to see some of the Nazca lines from a tower we climbed up.
The driver ultimately dropped us off at the Cruz del Sur bus terminal in Nazca. We checked our bags and then headed to a restaurant to kill some time. We ended up drinking Pilsen and playing hearts while watching a very strange game show.
Our bus from Nazca to Cusco was about 14 hours long, and boy was it a challenge. From the minute the bus left the terminal, it was winding through mountains. Both Kelsey and I felt nauseous and did our best to just close our eyes and sleep it off. Thankfully, neither of us actually got sick, but the combination of curvy roads and gaining close to 11,000 feet overnight left all four of us feeling pretty badly upon arrival in Cusco.
We spent our first two nights in Cusco at La Boheme Hostel. It was very well ran, and Robin was excited to get to speak some French as most of the staff was from France. In the evenings, most of the guests crammed into the small indoor common area, and between the free coca leaf tea and the fireplace, there was a very cozy atmosphere. We chose to switch hostels because there wasn't a kitchen we could use. After so many days of eating at overpriced restaurants in Huacachina and Kelsey having to compromise her dietary needs, we were ready to cook for ourselves. Our third day, we switched to Dragonfly Hostel (the sister hostel of the one we stayed at in Lima). Like its partner hostel, the Dragonfly was very laid back, and the kitchen was kept very clean. Best of all, there was a foos ball table.
We spent those first few days wandering around Cusco. The day after we arrived was the start of Corpus Christi in Cusco. The streets around the central Plaza de Armas was jam packed, and there were 15 giant statues of saints being carried around in a procession. In addition, there were marching bands and people in costumes. It was quite exciting, especially since we had no idea that it would be happening.
In the first few days, we also discovered the San Pedro market where you could find anything from alpaca sweaters and key chains to fruit, cheese and meat. Kelsey, the vegetarian, had a hard time with the meat section as the heads of the animals were typically on display as well as the entire hind haunch.
There were also hundreds of street vendors selling the local favorite, cuy (guinea pig).
Though it took us until one of our last days in Cusco, we did try it (even Kelsey took a bite). The meat was dark and pretty greasy, and I suppose, of all the types of meat I've tried in my life, it most resembles duck. That said, it was definitely a unique experience since, as you're eating, you can look to your right and see the full animal, teeth and all.
From Cusco, the four of us made our way through the Sacred Valley toward Machu Picchu. Since Kelsey's leg was bothering her, we opted not to backpack in, but to do a mix of cars and hiking. We first took a collectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. This little town sat within Incan ruins, and many of the walls of buildings in the city were originally walls of the ancient town.
We spent one night there and then continued on via taxi to Hidro Electrica. We then hiked along the train tracks for a few hours to Aguas Calientes, also known by its tacky new name - Machu Picchu Pueblo.
Aguas Calientes is at the base of Machu Picchu and is the hub for nearly all tourist activity related to the area. Thus, like Huacachina, it is primarily composed of really overpriced pizza restaurants and run down hostels. We found one such hostel and then after grabbing dinner, turned in early. At 3:30 the following morning, we got up, ate an early breakfast at the hostel and made our way to the bus station. The first bus didn't leave until 5:30, but even at 4:30, there were at least 20 people in front of us in line. Once on the bus, we had a 25 minute journey up the mountain to the entrance of Machu Picchu.
We made it in the gates in time to see sunrise and were very fortunate to have a day entirely free of rain.
We snapped some photos of the sunrise over the ruins and then made our way to the entrance of Machu Picchu Mountain, which we had tickets to climb. At 7:00, we began the hour and a half ascent up the incredibly steep mountain. Talk about a workout. After about 10 minutes, we reached an overlook with new birdseye views of Machu Picchu. About 30 minutes in, there were a few spots with sheer drops, and I started to panic a bit. I have a pretty severe fear of heights that can lead to vertigo. At this point, I decided I didn't want to keep climbing so Dylan and I turned around while Kelsey and Robin hiked on. After seeing their photos from the top, I'm grateful I made that choice. At certain points, the trail was only a few feet wide with sheer drops on either side. I would have had a nervous breakdown. Instead, I enjoyed a nap in the sun on the ruins of Machu Picchu while my sister and her beau had their asses handed to them.
Once we were all reunited at the bottom of the mountain, we began to explore the rest of Machu Picchu. It was spectacular! Though there were certainly a lot of tourists (especially between 9:00 and 12:00), we were able to find little patches of grass within the ruins to sit and enjoy the views of the mountains. We walked around all afternoon exploring the city. By late afternoon, we were all tired, especially Kelsey and Robin, whose legs were beat. We caught a bus back to Aguas Calientes and had a low key evening.
The next few days, we made our way back to Cusco the same way we had come. The views on the drives were gorgeous and at times terrifying!
Kelsey and Robin only had two more days in Cusco, and we filled them with lots of foos ball, walking around and checking out the festival and visiting with their friends from college who happened to be in Cusco at the same time.
It was wonderful spending part of our trip with my little sister. Since she did a project on Machu Picchu in middle school it has been her dream to visit it. I'm grateful to have been able to experience it alongside her.
Kelsey and Robin flew back to the US to begin their summer jobs, and Dylan and I tried to find a new volunteer placement. After nearly 2 months of visiting tourist sites, we were beyond ready to settle down for a few weeks. We finally heard back from an English Language school in Taltal, Chile. With 10 days left before our start date, we slowly made our way south.
We bussed to Arequipa where we made plans to hike the Colca Canyon. After a day of down time in our cozy room at Park Hostel, we caught a 3 am bus to Cabanaconde in the canyon. We were on a "tourist bus" with about 15 other people. Most of these people were doing a guided tour of the canyon, and we were the only solo hikers on the bus. On the way to the trailhead, we stopped at an outlook, Cruz del Condor, where we saw condors flying at eye-level. They are massive birds with wingspans of up to 10.5 feet and are typically only seen soaring far above you. Because we were at such a high elevation and it was early in the morning, we caught them just as they were making their way up out of the canyon.
We began our hike just outside of Cabanaconde. Though we did not cover much ground in terms of distance, the Colca Canyon trek was very challenging due to the changes in elevation. On day one, we planned to hike down to a small village called San Juan for lunch and then on to a village called Tapay for our first night. By the time we were nearing San Juan, we had descended over 3,000 feet in just a few miles and our legs/knees were really tired. We were intercepted after crossing the bridge at the bottom of the canyon by a woman named Gloria. She asked us if we were going to San Juan that night, and when we said no, she asked if we were at least going to eat lunch there. We told her that was our plan and she smiled and told us that she had a restaurant. How convenient. She then proceeded to herd us up a shortcut path that led directly to her hostel/restaurant. We were seated and then fed vegetable soup, rice, alpaca, and veggies all for about $3 a person. By the end of the meal, we were ready for a nap. Conveniently, she had a private room available for $6 for the night. Done and done. As we were moving into our room, the guided group who had been on the bus with us arrived at the same hostel. We spent the evening chatting with them. Gloria's dinner was equally as filling and delicious as lunch, and given our 3 am start that day, we passed out shortly after.
The next morning, after filling up on banana and chocolate pancakes, we bypassed Tapay and headed straight for Sangalle, also called Oasis. Our hike called for a lot of up and down, and once again, our legs were pretty tired upon reaching the small village. Oasis has a separate microclimate from the rest of the canyon, and the subtropical patch of land is lovely. We holed up at another hostel that had a pool and spent the afternoon playing in the water.
Dylan and I took turns playing the games we played with our siblings in pools growing up. He taught me his brother and his rendition of pool football (involving a lot of dunking), and I taught him a synchronised swimming routine. Though his front somersaults could use some work, he is surprisingly good at back walkovers in the water. That evening we had dinner at the hostel (it didn't compare to Gloria's) and then turned in early.
At 4:45 the next morning, we were early to rise. We began the grueling uphill journey back to Cabanaconde in order to make our 9 am bus back to Arequipa. In about 2 hours, we regained the 3,000 feet that we lost that first day. Towards the top of the canyon, we reconnected with the guided group and continued to chat with them. We followed the group to a small restaurant for breakfast and then got back on the same bus with them. Our bus made several stops on the journey back to Arequipa. The best was the hour long soak session at some hot springs. They were divine. We also stopped at the highest point of the canyon, which, according to the altimeter on Dylan's watch, was over 15,000 feet (the guides told us we were at 4910 meters, which google tells me is over 16,100 feet!!) and at a nature reserve for alpacas and llamas.
Overall, it was another beautiful drive and the views of the Colca Canyon were incredible.
Though our time in Peru was brief, we enjoyed every city and village we visited, especially those visited with Kelsey and Robin. We have now started our volunteer position in Taltal, Chile, and we are already having a blast. More to come on Chile.
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