Blogs from Peru, South America

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South America » Peru » Lima » Lima » Lima January 3rd 2024

From Giangi's Kitchen: Origins of tomato soup. It originated in the region of Andalucia in southern Spain. Gazpacho is widely consumed in Spanish cuisine as well as in Portugal. In 1897, Joseph Campbell came out with condensed tomato soup by reducing water in the tin, making it easy and lowering storage and shipping costs. Where did grilled cheese and tomato soup originate? The combination of tomato soup and grilled cheese has been around since WWII when feeding hungry seamen. School lunch programs, after WWII, were added to the menu because of the added vitamin C that it provides. They are flavorful and a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, vitamin K, fiber, beta-carotene, and antioxidants. In a nutshell: a very healthy recipe for all of us. Secret ingredients: Saffron: I added saffron to give it ... read more
Great combo

South America » Peru » Cusco » Sacred Valley December 21st 2023

Reflecting on our Travel Adventures in South America Our travels in South America in many ways have indisputably taken us to a whole new level of adventure. It already feels surreal to think that we condensed so many new experiences - navigating around Buenos Aires, a city of twenty million in a second language; taking on a four day, 48 kilometre hike at 14,000 feet altitude to Machu Picchu; hiking the 16,000 foot Polccoya Mountain; and experiencing a week of boat riding, trekking adventures in the Amazon jungle - all in less than six weeks. Looking back, I am not proud to admit that one reason we waited so long to travel to South America was because we believed it would be too dangerous for us. That we could not be as carefree as we are, ... read more
Solitary Man Stan, Polccoya Mountain, Peru
Above the Clouds Surrealism
Inka Trails We Walked

South America » Peru » Cusco » Sacred Valley December 19th 2023

Family Reunion in Peru During our month in Peru, we were fortunate to travel to all three of Peru’s geographical regions: the Peruvian highlands, the Amazonian jungle, and the coastal region. The first two regions were explored with family, as they were the sites selected for our pre-arranged family reunion. I have compiled all three into one entry, so this post is far too long. My apologies, but I simply did not have time to write a short one. I would suggest just passing on this post, unless you have a lot of patience and interest in Peru, as this is primarily an information based blog. The philosopher returns for the next entry. :) The Peruvian Highlands Our first and most extensive explorations took place during the two weeks we spent around Cusco, Peru, during which ... read more

South America » Peru » Cusco » Machu Picchu December 13th 2023

Undoubtedly the greatest challenge I’ve taken on in my life I’ll clarify a couple things here before beginning. First, I am writing entirely of my own experience in this blog, as my Dreamchaser soulmate Stan opted out of this particular adventure. Secondly, I’d like to state that, although I have done a few hikes in the past, I am not a devoted trekker. Not even close. I’ll take a bike, scooter, or kayak any day, instead of walking. The last - and only - time I even did an over night hiking trip was when hiking the Kalalau Trail on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, but that was close to fifty years ago, when I was about twenty years old, and I believe there were some mushrooms enhancing that hike. 🤣 So I think its fair ... read more
Alone in the Mists and Magic, Chanting to the Gods
Well, looks like yet another staircase.  Bring it on!
The Highlight of My Trek

South America » Peru » Cusco October 29th 2023

Saturday, 21 Oct The train journey from Puno to Cusco begins with heavy rain from the hotel to the station. It’s an easy check in process and our carriage is full, mine is the only single seat and table, so I guess I was lucky getting a booking. Travelling in luxury from Puno to Cusco is around 10 1/2 hours, however there are fashion shows, music, dances and fine food. The train arrives at 5.30 in the evening and I’m taken under the wing of a Peruvian named Alex who helps find me a taxi to send me to my hotel. My hotel is right next to Plaza de Armas the main square of Cusco. It’s been twenty years since I was in Cusco and traffic has grown exponentially. On my last trip my memory is ... read more
Machu Picchu
Religious Procession in Cusco.
Cusco Procession

South America » Peru » Lima October 1st 2023

Lima I arrived in Lima in the evening after the boat tour and stayed in a cute area called Barrenco which is super hipster with lots of restaurants, bars and cafes, street art and has a really cool atmosphere so I spent the evening walking around there. The next day I explored Miraflores and had a nice, steady day which was great as I have been go, go, go for a week and I haven’t slept in the same bed for more than 1 night in a row! I was surprised by Lima as I expected it to just be a big capital city but it had lots of character, charm and the Miraflores/ Barrenco region was green and had lots of parks and a great sea promenade for walking, running and cycling. I really liked ... read more
Lima promenade
Puerto Maldonado
Amazon

South America » Peru » Arequipa September 26th 2023

Peru I took and overnight flight to Lima followed by a flight to Arequipa and got there early in the morning. Arequipa The second largest city in Peru. High altitude, surrounded by volcanoes. The centre is very cool architecturally with cathedrals, monestaries, lots of Juliette balconies and courtyards. Lovely coffee shops, nice place to hang out for a day. The main reason why I wanted to do Arequipa was the Colca Canyon which is a very Deep canyon in the Andes. I did this with a 2 day trek tour with a very early pick up of 3am! We arrived at the Canyon after having breakfast in a town along the way and stopping to watch Condors. We then descended into the canyon and walked along the bottom for the day. We stopped for lunch and ... read more
Colca canyon
Colca window
Huacachina

South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco September 3rd 2023

Have you ever pondered the issue surrounding the wonders of the world...? I have, and I usually always conclude that I wonder why there aren't more of them, at least in terms of how I value individual places of great beauty. Those issues aside though, among the officially-dubbed wonders of the modern world which I have set about ticking off a bucket list as I have journeyed my way through life, the latest to appear on the radar was Machu Picchu in Peru, and just about the first node on the Peruvian itinerary. Getting there was a case of ditching the rental car option at the last minute in favour of a rail journey to Machu Picchu Pueblo from the town of Ollantaytambo, which appeared to be the last stop-off point before road access to the ... read more
Cusco
Abode of the Gods
Plaza Mayor, Lima

South America » Peru » Cusco » Cusco July 2nd 2023

My 2020 weekly blogs were so popular that I'm reinventing them as a weekly travel tip! You'll also get links to my latest blogs and published articles. Please sign up for the travel tips on my website heatherjasper.com Here's a sneak peak from today's travel tip. Weekly Travel Tip #1 Sign up for flight price alerts. Travel doesn’t have to involve flying, but it so often does that I wanted to start my weekly travel tips with this important step. Every year, there are more and more great services that will help you find flight deals. Sometimes a credit card that you already have has travel services. Here are my three favorite services, with their pros and cons. For all three of these services, you need to have any idea of either where you want to ... read more

South America » Peru » Cusco May 9th 2023

This blog is available with more photos on my website https://heatherjasper.com Waqra Pukará is one of the most spectacular Inca ruins in Peru and one of my top recommendations for alternatives to Machu Picchu. It’s an isolated tower, with two giant stone “horns” that give the site its name. Waqra is the Quechua word for horned and Pukará means fortress. The Apurímac River Canyon far below makes the high promontory even more dramatic. The ruins are at 4,140 meters above sea level (13,583 feet) and the river is at about 3,230 meters (10,600 ft). I think the location is much more impressive than Machu Picchu. From a distance, Waqra Pukará seems completely natural. When you get closer, you’ll see the remnants of walls surrounding the site, flat areas that were obviously leveled by people and stairs ... read more
Waqra Pukará in April
Waqra Pukará terraces
Only four groups of tourists on a weekend




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