Nulstil søgning
Peru and Brazil
  • Kristyna Collins
Nuværende
  • Kristyna Collins

Peru and Brazil

Follow along as we adventure into new places! Læs mere
FølgOversigtOversigtKalenderKalenderBillederBillederDelDelTræskoliste
OversigtKalenderBilleder
  • Sidst set i
    🇵🇪 Distrito de Cusco, Peru
    Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins
    1

    Day 9 and 10

    24. juni, Peru ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Day 9
    Most of today was spent on the bus, which was very very long! Thankfully we stopped twice to stretch our legs and I’ve been trying to focus on enjoying the journey than just wishing it to be over! We’ve driven up and through so many mountain passes and isolated small towns it’s been nice to look out the window, Peru is so much more varied than both of us expected. However we did feel like we were on a boat with all the swaying it was quite the experience. Arrived in Cusco shattered and got to our air BnB - what a nice change from a hostel!! Grabbed some food for dinner and chilled out.

    Day 10
    Sadly I came down with food poisoning last night so a very rough night for me. As a result didn’t do anything today apart from the boys arriving and they were quite tired so we just chilled out today. Hoping I’m fully recovered tomorrow as going to Lake Titicaca 🫠    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins

    Day 8

    23. juni, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    I am happy to say last night was the first night that both of us slept through the whole thing and despite the alarm going off at 6.45am we both felt refreshed.

    We are up so early to meet our guide to take us to Nazca to do a flight over the Nazca lines! We had a bit of a worrying start when he didn’t turn up for 20 mins and started to get worried he wasn’t going to show, but thankfully he pitched up and we headed to Nazca. Upon arrival at the airport (although feels a little glamorous to say airport as I don’t think it’s used for anything but Nazca lines flights) we checked in and got ready. They sneakily make you pay an additional two “air tax” fees, not sure how you can tax the air but heyho!

    We excitedly boarded a small micro flight plane and took off into the sky. It was a little bumpy but that was to be expected considering the size - only 6 passengers! We then flew over the Nazca lines, it was so impressive that you can see them so clearly from the air with them being 80-130m big! They are shrouded in mystery but people believe they were created as rituals to encourage rainfall due to the environment being so arid. Sadly I couldn’t take my camera so the photos on my phone don’t do it justice but it was spectacular. There are various different figures such as condors, humming bird, monkey, and much more! It was really fun to see them from above as not sure you would be able to take in the scale and full picture if you visited them on the ground. A brilliant experience despite coming down feeling a little nauseous due to the turbulence! Feeling a huge spike of adrenaline and excitement we boarded the bus back to Ica feeling rather jaded!

    Now preparing for the 18 hour bus from Ica to Cusco, wish us luck!!    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins
    1

    Day 6 and 7

    21. juni, Peru ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Day 6
    Not a huge amount to report today due to the fact we both slept terribly so didn’t do too much today as we were exhausted.

    We headed to our final neighbourhood we wanted to check out in Lima- Barranco. This is known as the colourful art district. Lots of street art and colourful buildings it felt very bohemian. Again a very different feel from the other places in Lima we have been, it does feel as though every district is a different city! Barranco has definitely been catered to tourists more than elsewhere I would say with cafes and restaurants lining the street offering more western meals. Still a nice place to wander around and spend a few hours before heading back for a needed siesta! Tonight’s agenda is packing and getting ready for tomorrow as we are leaving Lima and going to Ica to see the desert!

    Day 7
    After 3 hours of sleep the alarm going off at 6.45am was not hugely welcomed if I’m honest. Nonetheless we packed up our stuff and headed to the bus station to catch the 8am bus to Ica. Thankfully it was only a 5 hour bus which passed pretty quickly, we then walked 30 mins in 25°c heat to our hostel so we arrived pretty hot and bothered. Quickly had some food, checked in and got ready to visit the Huacachina oasis in the desert roughly 15 mins drive from Ica. This is the only natural oasis in South America. We loaded into a car and headed out.

    Words cannot begin to describe how amazing this place was. It genuinely felt like off a movie set it did not feel real at all. An oasis surrounded by towering dunes it was INSANE. We all loaded into dune buggies and headed off into the desert for one hell of a ride. Keira has actually lost her voice from all the screaming!!

    We then went to various different sized dunes and Keira sand boarded with a snow board while the rest of us used body boards. It was pretty terrifying but a lot of fun!!!

    We then went up to the very highest dune to watch the sunset and it was absolutely stunning, the scenery was spectacular and genuinely think this has been our favourite thing so far. Truly incredible!!    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins
    2

    Day 5

    20. juni, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We started today with breakfast with our roommate Grettle who is Peruvian. We spoke to her lots about Peru lifestyle and interestingly how their fuel has also increased massively with her saying it’s doubled over the last month! She is training to be a software engineer due to it being the highest salary which is shockingly only $30,000! But I guess when food costs £5 it balances out?!

    We then wondered through the park near our hostel and watched a group dance battling which was quite fun before heading to our meet point for the food tour!

    We met our guide Samira and she talked to us about the history and culture of Peru pointing out churches and important buildings as we walked through the historic centre. The first food stop was fried corn with beans and sauce, this was actually pretty good I’d give it a 7/10. We also got to try juice that is made from boiled purple corn water- this doesn’t sound appealing at all but it was delicious!

    Next up was cow stomach and heart! I’ve never eaten an organ before but decided I needed to be brave and we both found them delicious! Although the concept of eating a heart was a bit freaky! We then had a fried doughnut made of pumpkin and potato drizzled in honey which was surprisingly nice despite the fact I don’t like pumpkin!

    She then took us to this underground market which was ENORMOUS. Not a single tourist in sight, this became apparent with the bewildered looks we got as we entered and hearing Gringo more than once. The first thing we saw as we walked in were skinned Guinea pigs for sale! There was also every part of the cow and pig. Hung up at various stalls were tongues, tails, stomach lining, testicles, and hooves. It was pretty shocking and gory and I have to say made our stomachs turn slightly. It’s very interesting as lots of little Peruvian kids were in the market complelty unfazed. I think it’s very much a know where your food comes from and local approach which I approve of. We then tried what I had been dreading - Ceviche! For those that don’t know I don’t really eat fish so raw fish is always a bit daunting. This was increased by the fact this ceviche had “baby shark” in. To be fair, I didn’t hate it which is saying something, Keira said it was incredible so two very different perspectives there hahaha.

    We then tried various tropical fruits that we had never seen or heard of before I can’t say they were all a big success, with some having very strange textures. She then offered us the “spiciest pepper in all of Peru”. Feeling that we had to eat it for the experience we ate them nervously. I don’t know WHY we felt we had to eat them because they absolutely BURNED I have never experienced pain quite like it with Keira looking like she might pass out with our guide moving between laughing and concerned.

    To finish off the food we headed to China town existing after a huge migration of Chinese in the 1850s and I had a dumpling full of red bean paste which was very good and Keira had pork dumplings. Feeling absolutely stuffed we headed to our final stop- pisco sour making! A really nice guy showed us how to make the best pisco sour and kindly made me one without egg. We also tasted a pisco with pomegranate which was delicious but lethal at 43%!

    We were shattered after this, an incredibly authentic, overstimulating and amazing day!    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins

    Day 4

    19. juni, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    A more leisurely start to the morning after a rocky night sleep due to loud music being pumped at 6am!

    After breakfast we travelled 30 mins to Miraflores which is known as the more touristy area right on the coast. We were both surprised of how different a vibe it was. Suddenly falling down and shabby buildings were replaced with sky scrapers, gated communities, and fancy cars. A large tennis club with a view of the ocean right in the middle and a beautiful park that ran all the way along the coast. Genuinely felt like a different city- perhaps all the money is being pumped back into tourist areas?

    We enjoyed walking along the coast and looking at the various statues and parks along the way. We then had a quick bite to eat- a chicharron which is a famous Peruvian pork sandwich and it was absolutely delicious! Then we were picked up by our guide Benjamin for paragliding. He took us to the site and we chatted lots in broken Spanish and English along the way. We then received an extensive safety briefing by another guide and then it was go time!

    Keira took off first, looking a bit nervous then I climbed into the apparatus and off we went! I was a bit nervous at first especially as I don’t LOVE heights but it was so worth it. The views along the coast were amazing and I felt like a bird soaring in the sky. Felt completely safe and was a very stable flight. This has definitely been the highlight of Lima so far for me what an incredible experience!!

    Afterwards, we visited Huaca Pucllana a set of ruins that had been used by three different societies- Lima, Wari, and Ichma. It was very interesting, got to look at burial grounds where, of course, they sacrificed women to bring them more fertility in the soil!! They only discovered it in the late 70s so it’s still be excavated and estimate another 40 years until completion! Even so it was really interesting to see how they had built the walls with a more vertical formation in order for the buildings to be flexible for earthquakes rather than static. Super clever!

    Heading back to the hostel now for some dinner and a drink at the rooftop bar!    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins

    Day 3

    18. juni, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After a semi decent sleep last night we were both up super early as we aren’t quite adjusted to the time difference yet. We started the morning with the free breakfast on the hostel rooftop - eggs, bread, jam, and coffee not bad for a £15 a night hostel. We then tried to head into central Lima on the bus and this was quite the experience. Let’s just say I’m VERY glad I never have to drive here, there seems to be no rules at all and the sound of Lima is definitely honking cars. After about 10 minutes the bus driver proceeded to kick us off as we didn’t have a locals bus pass which seems impossible to obtain unless you are Peruvian! We walked into the centre from where they left us and enjoyed taking in the city. It’s not what I expected at all. I expected the capital to be more developed- skyscrapers, finance districts, guys in suits. It was the complete opposite, we only passed one sky scraper today everything feels much more under developed. A plethora of small stalls line the streets selling street food and fresh juices, battered cars line the streets and what’s nice is everyone has been super friendly.

    Arriving in the centre we walked past a protest, which we later discovered was about the elections in Peru with one candidate suggesting there has been dodgy vote counting. Making sure we stayed clear of the protest and large presence of police we wondered into shops and stalls looking at various goods. That’s when we met Luis the owner of an art stall. Having lived in Lima his whole life he now has a small studio which he also lives in and sells his art for a living. He enthusiastically showed us articles from local newspapers that he had featured in that he had cut out and stuck up proudly at the front of his shop. His work was beautiful, watercolours depicting various scenes all over Peru. Keira and I were too tempted and both bought a watercolour of Machu Picchu each. He then pulled out his phone and asked for a selfie which we then also did on my phone. He was such a lovely man, neither of us spoke very fluently in the others language and yet we felt we connected with him.

    We continued to meander the streets of Lima coming across another friendly store owner keen to give us recommendations of where to eat and what to do. We have been pleasantly surprised with how friendly everyone is so far, coming from grumpy England it sure is a change!

    We then took a tour of the Basilica and convent of San Francisco. Really interesting history and Spanish influence with Spanish tiling and architecture in the courtyard. It also housed a very impressive library with books 500 years old. The tour also took us down into the catacombs which were very creepy. They estimate 25,000 are buried there. It sits directly underneath the cathedral as apparently some like to be buried underneath a holy site as it is seen as sacred ground. Sadly no photos were allowed on this tour so I only managed to get one sneaky one.

    We then grabbed some late lunch before heading to a supermarket to pick up some bits to make lunches for the next few days. Having been out since 8.30am this morning by the time we got back at 3pm we were pretty tired so took a couple hours to chill out.

    We then headed up to the rooftop bar for a pisco sour making lesson- the national cocktail of Peru. They kindly let me make one without egg in! I can’t say it was particularly nice but a fun experience and met some more people staying at the hostel!    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins
    1

    Day 2

    17. juni, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    10 hours to Bogota down! It was a long flight but thankfully good movies and on and off sleep helped the journey go quicker. We luckily got a spare seat next to both of us meaning we could spread out a little and get comfier.

    We then had to kill time in Bogota for 4 hours before our next flight, and there is very little to do and very little open at 3am! I managed to have a nap on an airport bench but the time really did drag. We then finally got on our final flight to Lima, and after an hour delay we set off into the sky for the last flight of the journey. We got chatting to a lovely Canadian guy who was next to us on the plane and before we knew it we had touched down in Lima.

    We flew through immigration although sadly no stamps as Peru is now fully digital and hopped into the pre booked taxi my dad treated us to- big shout out as the last thing we wanted to do was get on a bus!!

    Dropping off our bags at the hostel we grabbed some food and were absolutely shocked when a 2 cokes and 2 chicken egg fried rice cost us £7 in total… EXCELLENT!

    Now just settling in for a very chilled rest of the day at base watching the World Cup matches with my £4 burger!    Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
  • Kristyna CollinsPeru and BrazilKristyna Collins

    Day 1- Heathrow flight

    16. juni, England ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Welcome back to another blog for our backpacking trip to Peru and Brazil. 55 days, 2 countries and endless adventures!

    We are flying via Bogota so it’s a longggg way hoping the plane has some good movies 🤞🏼 in the airport now waiting for our gate to be announced then we will be setting off!Læs mere

    Se oversættelse
    Start på rejsen
    16. juni 2026