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Peru
  • Sean Plamondon
  • Sean Plamondon

Peru

A 9-day adventure by Sean Read more
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  • Trip start
    March 8, 2024
    Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Enjoying the ottawa maple leaf lounge
    Finally on last leg to PeruImmigration lineAnd finally arrived enjoying a free hotel beverage

    Peru!

    March 8, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Very early start to the day with a 3am alarm to get to the airport by 4am. Followed by a 2 hour layover at the Montreal airport. Then a 4 hour flight to miami and another 4 hour layover. And one more 5.5 flight and we are in Peru finally. Phew long day.

    Met a nice guy on the last plane next to me from miami and we talked politics and football for about 90 minutes. And he gave me a lot of good tips for peruvian dishes to try. Looking forward to putting this new knowledge into effect :) I have heard very good things about peruvian food 🤤

    Immigration took about 30 minutes and then checked into our hotel attached to the airport. Flying again in the morning so extremely convenient location for tonight.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    1

    Aguas Calientes - Day 1

    March 9, 2024 in Peru ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Another early, big travel day to get ourselves really close to Machu Picchu. Started with an 8am flight to Cusco which required getting up at 530am.

    Once in cusco, made our way to the main Armas Plaza which was really striking with beautiful old buildings and the mountains around us too. Our taxi driver told us we needed to have cocao tea right away to help us with the elevation difference because we just went from sea level to 11,000 feet. So found a cafe in the plaza and also coordinated with Rachel and Caleb to meet up.

    We went for lunch at a fantastic spot overlooking the plaza and a better view of the mountains and then off to the Inca Rail office to catch our bus to Ollantaytambo. We had to split up briefly because Rachel and Caleb had to go get their luggage first from their hotel. The bus was about to leave and they sent me a message that they were lost! I tried to stall the bus and just as we pulled onto the road they thankfully arrived! Phew!

    Fantastic bus ride up into the mountains and through many cute villages. Stopped for a bit at an awesome lookout spot and had some fun moments with some local llamas.

    Then a huge descent eventually arriving at Ollantaytambo where we boarded a train to Aguas Calientes. Easily the most gorgeous train ride i have been on as we snaked through a very narrow corridor of jagged mountains on both sides.

    Finally at aguas calientes around 630pm. Total pedestrian town as there's no way to get here except via train. Lots of cute markets and high mountains tightly surrounding it

    Found our hotel and a restaurant not too far away and then eventually rested up for another early morning ... to Machu Picchu wooo    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Our hike in the clouds
    Rachel's stopping pointSuper steep climb for 2 hours like thisFinally at the top but minimal viewWe did it!Totally in the clouds at the summitTreacherous descent !Just as we descended, the clouds opened a bitMillion dollar viewGetting rained on but we didn't care360 degrees of beautyRachel much better dressed than us :)And of course, blue skies when descended back to the townAlexa's yummy trout supper

    Aguas Calientes - Day 2

    March 10, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Another early morning, up at 6am. Quickly got ready, quicker breakfast and out the door by 6:50 to figure out how to get a bus up to machu picchu. And i do mean UP :)

    Lots of confusion for us. We got in a big line on the street but then found out we had to buy tickets at the office. So rachel and caleb raced off to get our tickets while i tried to hold our spot in line. I kept getting hassled that i couldn't be in line without tickets but i found a way to not lose our spot. After Rachel arrived, she thought she lost her phone and sent caleb a block up to look but the bus was boarding. He got back just in time. Alexa and i got on first and sat at the back and eventually noticed rachel and caleb weren't on the bus yet and then we all realized i had all 4 tickets in my hand haha. They got the last 2 spots. Phew.

    The bus ride up the mountain is otherworldly. But were heavily covered in clouds too. Still, all the mountains here are so vertical, it was very striking regardless. Once at the ancient city, everything was in the clouds. Didn't matter too much because we signed up for a hike to the top of machu picchu mountain, high above the ancient site. 4 hour round trip hike.

    Incredibly gruelling hike to the top. Took us about 2 hours but we were all exhausted. Poor rachel decided to only go 1/4 of the way and wait for us to return. At the top, we were unfortunately completely in the clouds and couldn't see anything. But every now and then some clouds would part and we'd briefly enjoy great views momentarily.

    After a long, painful and treacherous hike back down, we got incredibly lucky with the clouds breaking up for some awesome views of the ancient city. Got really wet in the process too but i didn't care. This is what we came for.

    After descending back to the town, rested up for a bit and finally met up with abdel and max who had missed their original flight due to passport issues and travelled in transit almost 40 hours straight to catch up with us. Had an amazing peruvian meal at andio and put our tired bodies to bed.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Mountain behind alexa is our destination
    Tiger spiderUp waynu pichu we goAlmost at the top"Stairs of death"We did it!Abdel, max and calebTouching the cloudsThe not so easy trek backThankfully lots of ropes to cling toFinal details from FredyMy blogging locationGuinea pig!

    Aguas Calientes - Day 3

    March 11, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    For day 2 at machu picchu, we hired a guide (Fredy) to show us and explain the ancient city and to also take us up wayna (huanya) picchu mountain. Another cloudy day but much better visuals of the mountains around us off and on.

    After a very educational tour of the ancient city, up we went to try to summit wayna picchu. This hike was even steeper than yesterday's mountain but half the height and much more interesting hike too with incredible views throughout.

    Our guide was great to take videos and pictures of us throughout the climb. At the summit, there are many different giant rock features to get great photos from which was fun to climb over too.

    After descending and finishing the ancient city tour, grabbed some lunch and eventually back to our hotel. Alexa rested for a while and i found a nice place by the river to write my blog and relax with a beer.

    After a quick nap and shower, we met back up with the group at another restaurant by the river. Abdel tried the guinea pig which is a peru delicatessen. I admit it was pretty tssty but couldn't help but feel sorry for the little guy.

    The kids went out to find a good dessert place while we had a few beverages to cap the night. And start to pack up for the trip to cusco tomorrow.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    View from our apartmentPachapapa restaurant11

    Cusco - Day 1

    March 12, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Began the day with a 90 minute train ride to Ollantaytambo, followed by a 2 hour bus ride to cusco. Such incredible scenery the whole way again.

    It was a 20 minute walk to our apartment rental from the bus drop off, so decided to walk. But didn't realize the last 7 minutes of that walk was up really steep hills and with backpacks on our backs. We didn't feel so great after that and I'm sure the altitude (11,000 feet) was a big part of that.

    Rested a bit in the apartment but i think we both needed to get some food in us so we found a great spot in san blas plaza with a wood kiln oven and an outdoors courtyard. We were very content to relax there for a few hours and wait to see what abdel and family to find us.

    Eventually they joined us and we all followed a recommended walking route in my travel book which took us through charming narrow cobblestone streets, and many different central areas and markets.

    Stopped at one more restaurant for a late snack and called it a night. Even though we didn't exactly do a lot today, i think we were all pretty tired.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Alexa's favorite restaurant ever
    Even the bathroom is coolCute passageways like this everywhereView from high up San BlasBaby alpaca kissesTook a lot of willpower to not kidnap this alpacaOne of many hidden markets as you wander the streetsInside one of the cathedral chambersLook at the fork for scale haha. Tiniest mugs everShopping in the san pedro marketI cant believe people eat snouts. YuckOutside the stadium before the gameResdy to cheer on the home teamFirst goal of the gameRiot police breaking up the team brawl

    Cusco - Day 2

    March 13, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We got up early for our day trip to the famous Rainbow mountain. Very shortly after departing, found out we would be spending 9+ hours in the bus to get there and back and the details at the mountain were different too. We decided to abort and managed to get half our money back

    So we had a casual day wandering the city and lots of relaxing too. Found a really cool restaurant called Dr Beer and Miss Potato where alexa got chocolate waffles and i had omelette and tacos apparently :) All the music there was on Alexa's playlist and she was immensely happy about every aspect of that place, even the bathroom was cool.

    From there, went higher into San Blas for some great views of the city. Took a lot of narrow cobblestone passageways/streets on the way down and came across some Bolivians with their pet alpacas with indescribably soft wool coats. I don't know why, but farm animals always try to kiss me when i bend over for a photo. Then continued downhill more, passing someone carrying a baby lamb and hidden markets and finally to the main plaza. You never know what you'll find in cusco as you wander around. Definitely worth it to venture off the main streets.

    At the plaza found a brewery place overlooking everything where i had super cute tiny sample mugs the size of my thumb and alexa had an exotic fruit juice mixture. Before leaving the plaza, we quickly toured the massive cathedral which was amazing inside. And some jewelry shopping for alexa. Silver is really cheap here.

    Then met up the abdel and family in the massive San Pedro market which literally has anything you can think of. After making a few purchases, unwisely walked through the meat area. Seeing the animal parts and smells were really overwhelming and alexa had to exit the market and eventually back to our apartment and rest a bit. I was pretty grossed out too.

    Late afternoon, we walked to the stadium, met up with our gang, bought jerseys and went in to watch the cusco soccer team battle a lima team. Before entering the stadium, I got interviewed on tv shortly after putting on my jersey haha.. they loved that we were canadians cheering on cusco.

     My first south american footy match! And oh boy, what a game! So many crazy scoring chances, 3 goals, lots of fouls, an ejection, and a massive brawl between both teams where the riot police had to run onto the field to break it up. I thought the riot police were there to repel the fans haha! And from start to finish, the stadium was soooo loud with both fanbases trying to out-scream each other. Cusco scoring the game winning goal in the final minutes set the entire stadium into a crazy celebratory frenzy. Amazing experience. What a great, mostly unplanned day.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon

    Lima - Day 1

    March 14, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Another travel day getting ourselves to Lima which meant another relatively early wakeup and a lot of time in airports, taxis and in flight.

    Finally arrived at our hotel early afternoon both feeling pretty tired. Found a nearby place for some lunch and then back to the hotel. Alexa wasn't feeling great and very tired so she took the afternoon to rest up. Lots of early mornings and busy days taking their toll.

    Our hotel is in lima's nicest neighborhood Miraflores close to the ocean, but situated high above on a clifftop. Walked along the clifftop paths for a bit and met up with the Rabassa family at Mango's restaurant situated over the ocean. Taught them how to play Donut (card game) which was a lot of fun.

    And later we all went for supper at a place near the hotel and then bed. Was a very welcome chill day to recharge our batteries and relax.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonPeruSean Plamondon
    Alexa bravely sporting the cusco jersey in lima :)
    Awesome cliff side restaurantMy insane catch of the day mealRabassa family at a nearby beachUrban beachKennedy park areaThe last supper togetherFound this sign at the last spot of this trip. Not sure what it means but i feel included :)

    Lima - Day 2

    March 15, 2024 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The first day of the trip without any specific agenda. No flights or trains, or tours or hikes.

    So we didn't get going until close to noon. Walked to this huge mall built down the side of a cliff for lunch. I asked the waiter what he recommended and he said the catch of the day is fantastic. So i went with that. He then told me there's 3 ways it can be prepared. Ceviche style, fried, or a third option that i didn't know what it was. He highly recommended the 3rd option so i happily agreed, curious what i would get.

    It was a huge tray the size of a full lasagne tin filled with soup and a whole fish inside the soup plus a lot of yucca and other smaller vegetables. He pulled the fish and yucca out for me onto plates and said the rest is soup for me. That soup could feed 10 people!! Anyways it was amazing. I ate all the fish and a bit of the soup but i really barely put a dent in what i received. Felt bad to waste so much.

    From there, we went looking for a taxi to the beach. This guy outside the mall with official looking clothing and an id dangling from his neck agreed to a price with me. But when we walked to his car, there weren't any taxi markings whatsoever on it and he was already being a bit pushy. I didn't feel comfortable, and politely walked away and into a real taxi not too far away. Maybe it was fine but not worth finding out.

    Found a nice spot on playa agua dulce and rented an umbrella and 2 chairs relatively close to the water and we enjoyed a few hours in the sun and waves.

    Eventually made our way back to our hotel. Alexa wanted some quiet time to herself, so i got her some food and then walked to the busiest part of miraflores to see what kind of craft beer i could find. Only about a 10 minute walk. Abdel and family ended up at a nice restaurant a block away, so i joined them for a bit and eventually said our goodbyes because alexa and i are flying home in the morning while those guys have one more day in lima.

    And thats pretty much our trip minus boring packing, taxis and airport stuff. I will definitely return to peru. It was a relatively short trip and peru has so much more to see and discover. I have felt pretty safe in all my south america travels so far (but with my usual precautionary measures), and Peru definitely felt quite a bit safer than brazil, Argentina, Colombia and ecuador.

    Just about everyone we encountered in peru were incredibly friendly, and happy and really nice. Very salt of the earth experience.    Read more

    Trip end
    March 16, 2024
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