Blogs from Peru, South America - page 4

After breakfast, and full of anticipation, we boarded the boat that would take us to the Uros Islands on Lake Titicaca. An excursion that did not disappoint. Although the inhabitants of these islands still can be said to live in fairly primitive conditions, they have become savvy enough to have a very good organization of how to distribute the tourists around their community. The individual islands' construction and maintenance are the concern and responsibility of all who live on that island, so I can see how they have used the same principles to divide what must be a big source of income amongst the entire community. Upon officially entering the Uros District, our boat captain was instructed about which island we could visit. It turned out to be the "Beautiful Rainbow" Island, home to four families. ... read more

Our second day in the Colca Canyon region was dedicated to exploring the valley and some of the towns founded in colonial Spanish times. Our first mission was to arrive at the Cruz del Condor Mirador early enough to catch the condors gliding with the help of thermal winds, so we set out early in the morning as the viewing site was some distance from the lodge. On the way, we did take some time to stop at the nearby village of Yanque, to watch some of the children dancing in the square, a morning tradition. Along the way, we passed other settlements that dot the valley. I was constantly surprised by the small size of a lot of the houses we passed. They seemed more like Hobbit holes than real houses. Also amazing was the ... read more

A very early morning call saw us on our way to the airport for our flight to Arequipa. I really dislike these internal flights that seem to waste a lot of time dealing with airport procedures, occasional flights delays, etc., although I realize it's the only option when visiting distant locations within a country. We arrived in Arequipa late in the morning and were greeted on our exit from the airport with free beers being handed out by an Arequipa beer company in celebration of the festivities currently going in the city for the anniversary of the city founding on August 15, 1540. Then we had enough time to stop at the Mirador de Yanahuara to view the iconic backdrop to the city, the beautiful Misti volcano, before an idyllic lunch at Tio Dario, some yards ... read more

We are now within about 2 weeks from leaving Chile, and while there are moments of sadness, especially with all the goodbyes we have to say, in my heart I know it’s time to go. It has been an amazing experience here, with some serious ups (the travel, the friends, the culture) and some serious downs (the pandemic, the social unrest)…but I think the biggest testament to all this, is that if we had to make this choice again, I would not change it for the world. There was a time in 2021, probably at this time last year, where we were sooooo close to packing up and leaving early. And thank god we did not. This experience would not have been complete with our last year here, to reconnect with people that we were cut ... read more

After url=https://www.fodors.com/world/south-america/peru/experiences/news/heres-one-trip-you-should-never-use-a-travel-agent-formy article about Amantaní Island was published in Fodor’s, I decided to go back to the island to see what the impact has been so far. If you haven’t read the article, check it out first. (There are also links on my website). This follow-up story will make a lot more sense afterwards. I went for a quick weekend trip and despite how long it takes to get to the island, I went there on Friday and came back to Cusco on Sunday. (Detailed instructions for how to get to Amantaní are at the end of this blog). Abel Mamani, as my main source in the Fodor’s article, has so far received pushback from one of the agencies I called out in the article. All Ways Travel sent hi... read more