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  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 43

    Catacombs

    April 5 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today was the only day we had to explore the whole old town of Lima, and we admittedly weren't sure what to expect or how much time we would need. We started our journey early to make the most of the day, and although it was a very beautiful city, there wasn't a whole lot to do. The city was reminiscent of Paris with detailed and intricate facades of buildings that spanned the whole block, broken down into smaller prices for apartments and shops. The churches and religious buildings were rather impressive, and in conjunction with the greenery that surrounds the city, made for a great wander. Eventually, we walked toward Chinatown to try some Chifa, a combination of Lima and Chinese food. I don't know if it is because we tried somewhere cheap, but it was basically just Chinese food. We then went back to one of the old churches and did a guided tour of a site which included some catacombs. This would be the first time I had seen catacombs on my journey, and it was quite cool. Unfortunately, because you had to do it in a tour, the guide spoke for too long about the monks of the church, and the catacombs only ended up being a small section. Luckily, it was cheap but did take a bit of time. Sadly, there were also no photos allowed so that was a shame. After this, we battled to get an Uber and head home so that we could relax in the afternoon a bit. We packed our bags, had showers, and headed to a nice Italian restaurant for pizza and a drink. This was a really nice place and even better pizza. We had an early night after this as we had to be up early for our bus to Huacachina.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 42

    Chocolate and Cats

    April 4 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Today started at about 9am when we headed for coffee and then onto our chocolate tour. This was a 2 hour tour where we learnt about the origins of chocolate, its different uses, flavours, and benefits, as well as getting to make our very own. Although I had done a chocolate lesson in Africa, this one was for more involved and interesting, going into a lot more detail, and the chocolate was much better at the end. The chocolate process starts by cutting open the fruit and extracting the coffee seed. It is then dried and broken to remove the husk and allow the coffee bean to be properly ground down for processing. At this point, we took a break from the chocolate making and tried the much more traditional consumption technique adopted by the incans and most other ancient American civilisations. This was in the form of a liquid. The ground beans would have water, honey, and chilli added to a jug and mixed until they were all mixed together. We then compared it to the much more modern hot chocolate that the Spanish adopted using this similar technique. They used milk, sugar, and cinnamon. This was obviously much sweeter and closer to what we consider hot chocolate today. As a result, it was less bitter and overall better. We even used the husks of the seeds that we had just extracted to make a tea. This was actually quite good. After this, we continued with the chocolate lesson and making. We learnt about modern processing of chocolate before finally being able to make our own. I chose a bunch of different flavours such as coconut, plain, almond, coffee, marshmallow, etc. We had to leave and allow it to settle, so we went and got some sushi for lunch and did some more quick shopping. Nearby was a park that Sarah had unsurprisingly insisted we saw. It is essentially a park for stray cats where they are fed, given a home, and allowed to be pat by all the tourists and locals. It was an amazing park, and the cats just added to the cute experience. There were plenty of them, and they were clearly well looked after. We then explored the coastline along the city and enjoyed the board walk that took us to the lighthouse. We had already done a good stint of exploration through the city, but we decided to then walk back to the chocolate museum and collect our days hard work. We then ubered home from here and relaxed briefly before deciding to head to the main parts of Barranco. This is where the bridge of sighs is, and although the bridge itself is slightly underwhelming, the areas around it were really cool. Lots of murals, art pieces, statues, colourful buildings, and more. We explored here briefly before finding a nice restaurant for a drink and to watch the sunset. It was a nice end to a busy but cool day. We then headed home and made some quick and easy ramen before bed.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 41

    Travel Day

    April 3 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today, we slept in, grabbed a coffee, and packed our belongings to begin a small and relaxed travel day. We checked out of our hostel at about 11am and caught our domestic flight to Lima. We arrived at our accommodation almost right on 2pm just as we could check in. We did a quick shop for the next few days and then spent the afternoon relaxing and planning the next part of our trip. We were then trying to regain some sleep and so had an early night before a busy day tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 40

    Cusco Museum

    April 2 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Despite having spent considerable time in Cusco, today was the first time we had been able to explore the city sites. We had been busy in the surrounding regions and the shopping scene. As such, we headed to the first museum of the day. This explained the ancient and colonial history of the city of cusco and Eastern South America. I found the ancient history much more interesting as we learnt about the Nazca Empire, the Wari Empire, and how these civilisations helped birth the much more famous Inca Empire. A lot of the attributes, traits, and characteristics that we attribute to the Incas are often adaptions or direct adoptions from early empires. Nonetheless, it was nice to learn about their lifestyle and traditions from a much older time. After exploring here, we then headed toward the large Qorikancha, an old temple and retrofitted cathedral during colonial periods. This was a beautiful building and a quite interesting museum. This focused much more on art and building practices than the last, so it was good at completing the picture of life in the incan Empire. We tried to finish off the day in Saqsaywaman (literally pronounced sexy woman) to overlook the city and enjoy the sunset. The entry was close to 30 AUD each, however, and given we wouldn't have time to explore a large portion of the site, we figured it wasn't worth the money. As such, we enjoyed the highest view we could find and headed down for a drink. The view wasn't acceptional as it doesn't quite grasp the beauty of the city on a street to street basis. The lack of large buildings or large parks makes it not that enjoyable of a view from the mountainside. Nonetheless, we had to do it. As we headed down for a couple of drinks, we stumbled across what we could only guess was some form of corn festival. They love their corn, and as we saw in Moray, they have purposefully created over 900 varieties of corn. Because it was the last day of the wet season, and the dry season was beginning, they had a festival to celebrate. This was interesting and cool. People danced, carried golden corn, and gave speeches. We sat in admiration before going and getting our drink. This was going to be the end of our time in cusco, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I will have to come back and do some of the other hikes and activities in the region.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 39

    Sacred Valley

    April 1 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Another early morning meant that I had to drag myself out of bed and onto another shuttle. Luckily, this time, I would spend significantly less time on it and more time exploring sites. It started with a wool making demonstration completed by local women that shows how they obtain the wool and how they dye it using natural resources found in the area. We had some time to explore their store before getting back on the bus and heading for the Chinchero archaeological site. This was a kind of interesting site, mostly because it was one of the last sites to have been found by the conquistadors. Our guide explained that the locals are said to have destroyed all the paths to Machu Picchu and even burnt sections of their village. Showing they'd rather have nothing than let it get into he hands of the Spanish. Yet, it worked as Macchu Picchu remained undiscovered for hundreds of years thanks to their decision. We then made our way to Moray. Moray is an interesting site as it was a form of real-world laboratory that was designed to develop new strains of corn, maize, and potato's, as well as determine at what altitudes these strains grow best. The biggest challenge that faced the ancient Incas was the fact they had to be capable of growing their own food well above 2000m. This site showed they had strategically and pragmatically figured out the best crops for each environment. The result was over 900 varieties of corn and 2,500 varieties of potato. Though the Incas got a lot of the credit, once again the Wari and Nazca Empire had already developed similar strategies and technologies, the Incas just used this to develop their own understanding. Our final stop before lunch was the Maras Salt mine. This was a salt water spring that was found many centuries ago that is created from a large underground salt vein that water runs through before reaching the surface. As it springs to the surface, the ancient peoples of Peru managed to be able to effectively control the flow and ensure that they could extract the salt by letting in settle in tiny ponds. Unfortunately, it is not as pretty nor functional in the wet season when they salt water spring is contaminated by regular rain water, making the capturing of pure salt very difficult. Nonetheless, it was an interesting site to learn about and cool to see. The second to last site we saw was the Ollantaytambo ruins. They are situated along a mountainside, and so it was quite a brutal walk to the top. But, once there, the views of the 3 valleys that conjoin right at the site of the city, plus the adjacent city limits on the other hillside, made for an impressive and beautiful view. Before long though, we were running out of time and had to move to the Pisac ruins nearly 2 hours drive away. These were the best of the lot, however. The agricultural terraces with the royal residences at the top of the hill made for an amazing site. Conversely, the view of the view of the poorer areas of the city from near the palace was also incredible. Unfortunately, our tour guide spoke for too long when we arrived, and as we tried to enter the palace, they had closed it. I'm not sure why he didn't do his little speech inside the grounds, but it was frustrating to miss out. We could explore the rest of the ruins, but the royal palace at the top of the hill would have had the best views. After this, it was time for the long journey home where we had a brief stop to witness a jewellery demonstration and once again have an opportunity to explore their store. By this point, though, we were all tired and ready to go home, so we didn't stay for long. Once home, we had a very easy evening and had an early night, and tomorrow, we would finally get a sleep in.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 38

    Rainbow Mountain

    March 31 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Our day starts at about 2:30am as we awoke to gather our belongings and board our 3am shuttle. It was brutal and draining straight off the bat, but in the end, it was definitely worth it. The drive was approximately 4 hours long with a break for breaky in between. We started the walk at about 7:30am, and despite being incredible short and only a moderate incline, it was painful. We were at 5000m altitude (my new record!), and every breath felt like you were breathing through a straw. The maybe 2km walk took nearly an hour as we trudged along. As we walked, the conditions did not look good for viewing the rainbow Mountain (2nd picture), but we persisted to ensure the long journey was worth it. To make things more interesting, it began to snow slightly as we approached the top, creating an interesting and unexpected detail to our walk. It also added another colour to the mountain as it began to coat the ground. As we got to the top, I was shocked to see not only the beauty of the colourful rainbow Mountain, but the valley itself was quite impressive. As we caught our breath and admired the view, it slowly began to improve, and we could see more and more of the valley and see more vivid colours of the mountain. We felt this was our opportunity, and we pushed on to the main viewpoint up a much steeper but shorter path. As we reached the top, the weather cleared completely, and we saw the valley in all its glory. It was incredible. On the nearside, we had the snow covered Mountain that we had just sumitted, as you panned along the horizon we observed the huge green valley, home to many llamas, before continuing your viewing to witness the red valley. The red valley was closed during our trip, but the bright red mountain that stood out within the backdrop of the mountain ranges was something to behold in itself. As you continued to look, the rainbow Mountain came into view with its bright 4 or 5 colours striping the landscape as you cross its precipice and look back onto the path you have just completed. As it was later in the morning, many more people were beginning their journey up the mountain. That being said, it still reflected a green and vibrant landscape with snow-covered patches lining the way. It was an incredible sight and not something I'll forget for a while. We were gutted that we couldn't do the red valley, but due to issues with the local tribes, access was not allowed. Just another reason to come back. We stuck around for some time, got a coffee to warm ourselves up, as the cold, snowy winds were creating quite a chill. We got some photos, patted some cool alpacas, and admired the beauty of the valley and its famous mountains. Eventually, people began to flood onto the site, and we began our journey down. It was at this point that we became very glad to have completed the 3am wake-up. Getting down wasn't too bad, but the snowy grass had quickly turned into mud, and with much heavier traffic on the way up, it was chaos. People taking horses and atvs up chewed through the main path, and others were trying to find alternative routes and slipping in the wet conditions. The top would have been incredibly busy by the time the others arrived, and I'm glad to have avoided it. When we got to the bottom, we waited for the rest of the group and boarded the bus to head back to Cusco. We stopped for a buffet lunch, which our bodies needed after a gruelling yet short walk, and it was surprisingly good. I even tried Alpaca for the first time, and it was really good. We chilled here for a bit, but most of us were ready to get back to our rooms to have a warm shower and a lay down. Doing our best to nap on the cramped buses, we eventually arrived back in cusco. I was horrible stressed that the water wouldn't work again, but luckily, it was, and we could have a shower and a proper nap. When we awoke, we barely had the energy to find some food, so we settled for maccas, easy and quick. Once we ate, we found the energy for a quick stroll to see the city at night before going home and going to bed for good. We were due yet another early morning.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 37

    Shopping Day

    March 30 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Cusco is a beautiful city, with one of the most unique and pretty main squares I've come across. Every direction you look at, there is a monument or building that makes you want to take a photo. Sadly, photos never do it justice. It is also well known for their artesnal and interesting shops that line the many tiny streets throughout the historical centre. As such, we couldn't help but wander and explore each little alleyway and hidden courtyard to see what cool items were being sold. It ended up being a great place to get presents for family and friends. As such, we spent most of the day relaxing, shopping, and eating good food. By the time the afternoon hit, we headed back to the hostel to make ourselves a nice and cheap Easy Mac dinner before a very early night. Tomorrow, we were due another big day and a very early morning.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 36

    Machu Picchu

    March 29 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    After a long couple of days, we awarded ourselves another very early morning. We woke up at 4am and began our journey to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, it is not a quick nor easy journey given that we are travelling during the less busy time of year. This means that the trains don't run directly and therefore we had to catch a bus to a train to another bus. That being said, we can hardly complain given that we opted against the 4 day hike that many complete to see the monument. We figured that, being short on time and it being the wet season, we were not willing to gamble 4 days of our travels with the risk of not end being able to see the site if weather isn't permitting. Not to mention, the many days hiking that would occur in heavy rain. After about 6 hours and as many naps as possible, we just about completed our journey and arrived at the little town of Agua Caliente. We enjoyed a coffee while we waited for our final bus and eventually boarded with hundreds of other people and completed the shuttle up the mountain to the site. The winding road did sometimes make you feel ill, especially as you looked down at the near vertical drop to the bottom of the valley, and you could only wonder why they chose to build a monument in such a site. But after about 30 minutes we arrived at the entrance and jumped in queue. We were a bit nervous given the amount of people on the bus weather it would be crowded but they do a good job of limiting the number of people to the site, and staggering the times in which you enter. As such, when we got our first view of the monument, and as you explored, it didn't feel crowded at all, and you could really take your time to enjoy Machu Picchu. As we looked out over the ancient site, we were blown away, firstly but the extravagance and the uniqueness of the site, but also by the minblowing location in which they decided to build it. Giving it was rainy season, it is completely possible that you can spend the day in the pouring rain with zero view of the site from the top. And, despite the day being quite wet and dreary, it cleared up just as we entered and remained completely clear the whole time. So very lucky. This meant the view of the site was perfect, but also, the view of the beautifully green valleys and mountains was barely impeded at all. We explored and followed our circuit all the way around the site, even exploring the Inca bridge, which was a cool addition. We walked through the old homes and admired the storage houses atop the even higher mountain that stood over the site before seeing the temple of the sun at the very end of the circuit. Llamas explore the site alongside the tourists and are a cool addition to the experience and a brief reminder of life as the Incas once experienced. After a couple of hours, we headed back to the town of Agua Caliente, where we got some food and enjoyed a few pisco sours. Eventually, though, the reverse journey had to be completed. So as 6 hit, we boarded our train, to our bus, and then onto our Uber to get back to the hostel. To make things worse, the train ran late, and we didn't get back until about 11pm. Making our total day about 19 hours total. Would likely reccomended a night in the small town of Agua Caliente if you aren't up for such a big day.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 35

    Exhausted in Cusco

    March 28 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    After our brief sleep and early plane ride, we arrived in Cusco at about 7am. Of course, we couldn't check in, so we had no choice but to drop our bags off and head off to breakfast. We then joined a free walking tour as it should kill just enough time to get us to check in. The tour was pretty good. We learnt about the different periods in which the city existed, admired some of the major monuments, and tried some of the traditional drink, pisco sour. After this, it was time for lunch. A good Thai dish satisfied the hunger, and then it was finally time to check in and rest after a big day, relative to the amount of sleep we got last night. Only then did we discover that the water in the hostel was out. A tragic realisation as we were desperate for a good clean. We tried for a good hour before giving up and taking a nap. Luckily afterwards it was fixed. This meant we could simply get some dinner, a nice maccas feed, and head back to bed and call it a day.Read more

  • TravelerThe Americas
    Day 34

    Fustrating travel day

    March 27 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We once again allowed ourselves to sleep in, this time getting as much as we could, until about 10am, before packing our bags and checking out. We left our bags at the hostel for a couple of hours while we got breakfast before some brief shopping. Then, it was time to go to the airport for our evening flight. We arrived in Lima for our overnight stopover, at about 9pm, and after some time of wandering the more dodgy parts of the city, we finally found our accommodation. This almost perfectly coincided with the news that we had to walk all the way back to the airport to collect our luggage. This is despite being told, and having a bag tag that stated our bags would go straight to Cusco. Given we were needing to be up at about 4am, this was very unfortunate news. We checked in, walked all the way back to the airport, and had to go through a security checkpoint again before finally picking up our bags and heading back to the hotel. Our night only got worse as when we arrived and showered for bed, a "club" was blasting music insanely loud. To the point of feeling vibrations through the bed. I say club, but it was basically just a gazebo with lights. It was very annoying and we lost a few hours' sleep as a result. It is even more annoying knowing that it was a Wednesday night. Eventually, tho it stopped and we got a fee hours of sleep.Read more

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