Lukas Pieter

Just few hours here, and I knew I was going to love the city (not sure why so many tourists don’t show much affection for it?). Whether in the trendy Miraflores, the business center San Isidro, or the historic center, the capital seemed to have the buzz, diversity, and culture I had been craving on my trip, and frankly had not seen since leaving Buenos Aires. While the museums and theaters can’t match up to those of BA, they are still pretty good and you can easily spend few days here exploring the exhibits, strolling the streets, and sampling the gastronomical creations of the local chefs. Peruvians (and Limenos even more so) are proud, and rightly so, of their cuisine, as diverse as their people and the landscapes. I had some of the best sushi ... read more

Hiking in this mountainous region was fantastic - exhausting but deeply satisfying. However, Huaraz gave me mixed feelings. This town, arguably the trekkers’ capital in Peru, located in the proximity of perhaps two dozen 6,000 m peaks (including Huascaran the Peruvian highest mountain and Alpamayo, supposedly voted for as the most beautiful mountain in the world) seemed in a disrepair. The major plaza and many streets in the center were under construction, many restaurants marked in my guide were no longer there, and Edward’s Inn, a highly recommended hotel, was totally empty when I got there. However, its citizens were nice enough and once we got used to the mess in the streets we were able to enjoy what the city had to offer - access to premier mountain equipment, mountain guides, agencies, and some ... read more

We stocked up on food, rented hiking poles, and left Cuzco briskly, at 6:00 am. We had a private transportation to Mollepata, the starting point for our 6-day hike around Salkantay, at 6,200 m the 3rd highest mountain in Peru, and later joining the classical Inca trail leading to Machu Picchu. Strangely, our tour agency arranged a mid-size bus for just the two of us. Even more strangely, we had 4 locals accompanying us on the first part of the trip - a guide, a cook, an assistant cook, and a horseman - and 4 horses to carry our luggage and food, all of this just for two tourists! While quite uneasy at first with the luxury (the cook even warmed water for us three times per day so we could comfortably wash ourselves before ... read more

Shared between Bolivia and Peru and with 8,500 sq m, Lago Titicaca is the largest high-altitude lake in the world, slightly larger than the Lake Tahoe in California but smaller than the incredible salt flats in South West Bolivia (measuring 10,000 sq m). The 4 rivers flowing into the lake from the Peruvian side provide enough water circulation to make it a fresh-water lake, supporting a healthy (and very tasty!) fish population. Looking at the vast body of water reminded me of the Lake Superior in Minnesota, but the landscape here was even more dramatic with snowcapped mountains reflecting on the lake’s steel-blue surface. This region was the original founding place of the Inca and Tiwanacu civilizations, and is a home of some of their most sacred sites, particularly on the Isla de Sol in ... read more

When we learned that our flight to Rurrenabaque was to be canceled for the third time, we lost patience and decided to take the much longer and also adventurous bus ride there. Distances or rather driving times are mind boggling in Bolivia. A bus ride to Rurrenabaque generally takes 18 hours, while flying the same distance takes just 30 minutes. Well, in our instance, it took 33 hours to get there. The journey was truly spectacular, taking us first through high mountains and later, as we descended into the river valley, through the jungle. The road we took was declared as the most dangerous road in the world, claiming lives of dozens people every year. It is narrow, windy, and overused. As we entered deeper in the jungle, it was obvious why the flights had ... read more