Peru

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This travel blog is a bit late, have been in Bolivia for well over a week, but have been too busy to update about my travels through Peru. Peru was AMAZING! Before travelling to Peru, I thought I wouldn't spend much time there, since I thought it would be overtouristy. However, it proved to be amazing, and I'm so glad we spent a lot of time there.

After leaving Montenita in Ecuador, Esther and I headed for the crossing at Tumbes, Peru. We were a little nervous about this crossing, as it has earned the title of the "Worst Border Crossing in South America", notorious for corpution (i.e. border officials wanting a little $$$ in exchange for the privledge of a stamp). However, besides locals trying to sell us immigation cards and being hassled by money changers, the crossing was quite straightforward. After the crossing, we headed to Mancora.

Mancora is a beach town in Northern Peru, famous for its surf and year-round sunshine. We arrived late at night on Loki Mancora, and soon settled into the hostel. Loki Mancora was just opened a few months ago, and its a fantastic hostel. Right on the beach, with a bar and pool, one of the nicest hostels I've ever stayed in, and only for about $8 US a night. Esther and I spent 5 nights at Loki Mancora, spending our days at the beach and the pool, and a night checking out the nightlife in Mancora, which is also really great. We had a few Pisco Sours, one of Peru's most famous drinks. Pisco is a town in Peru that makes the signature alcohol, hard to compare it to anything else. A Pisco Sour is Pisco, mixed with egg white. So good! Glad I tried it - was a bit hesitant at first, but we met an Aussie guy that grew up drinking them (some of his family is Peruvian), and he convinced us to try one. When travelling, I'll try any food or drink once (usually!).

In Mancora, we also met Valen, a fellow Canadian (yay!), and so we headed down to Lima with her, taking an overnight bus on Cruz del Sur. Cruz del Sur is a luxury bus line, complete with blankets, meals, movies (Ladder 49 was playing, and it made us all cry!), as well as a stewardess. We arrived early in Lima, checking into Flying Dog Backpackers. Then, we met up with my friend and former cowoker, Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos was an amazing host, and took us to a traditional Peruvian restaurant, where we tried some delicious Peruvian food, as well as Inca Cola and Chicamaral (corn drink . . . totally butchering the spelling here). After dinner, he drove us around the city, and showed us Lima at night. It was a great night, thanks again, JC!

After Lima, we took another night bus (again, in style on Cruz del Sur), to Arequipa. Arequipa is a stunning city in the South West of Peru, bright and sunny, and surrounded by beautiful mountains . . kind of like Vancouver, but with nicer weather. 😊 Once we arrived in Arequipa, we booked a 3 day two night trek to the Colca Canyon. Colca Canyon is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The trek was an amazing experience. The first day, we hiked mostly downhill to a village where we spent the night. The next day we hiked further down to an oasis with a swimming pool and had lunch there. Then came the hard work . . . a 1900m ascent in 3 hours. This is the hardest hike I think I've done to date. The views though were absolutely worth it, seeing the canyon. We also got to see condors! After the trek out of the Canyon, we went out for drinks with our guide, Geraldine, who was a great guide and full of laughs. Another fun thing about our trek was that it was an all-girl group - Geraldine, our guide, Valen, Esther and I, and two swiss girls. Chica Power! The next day we drove back to Arequipa, where guides from some of the other Colca trek groups took us out to a couple of really fun clubs in Arequipa.

After Arequipa, we took another night bus to Cusco. After the Colca Canyon trek, Esther and I vowed to never, ever, ever go on another hike again. Ever. However, this plan was tossed out the window when we read the itenerary for the Inka Jungle Trek . . . one day of mountain biking, and three more days of trekking to the Macchu Pichu. Since this was actually cheaper than just taking the train in for the day, we signed up. The first day, we biked downhill for a few hours, it was so much fun! It actually was HAILING at the top of the mountain, so it was good motivation to go fast and get out of the cold! The only downside (a rather big one), was that once we hit the valley, I got attacked by sandflies, my legs got covered in bites and are still recovering now two weeks later! The next two days consisted of hiking through Inca Trails, staying at small guesthouses at night. On the fourth day, we were scheduled to walk up to Macchu Picchu from Aguas Calientes, the last town before the ruins. However, a 3 am wake up call, coupled with our aching legs from Colca Canyon and sand fly attacks convinced Esther and I to be like the rest of the tourists and take the bus up, well worth it! The Macchu Pichu itself was great! Amazing, breathtaking views, I've seen so many pictures of it before I got there but being there was amazing.

After Machu Picchu we headed back to Cusco. Cusco in itself is a great city. Not too big, absolutely beautiful buildings and town squares, and a great night life as well. Our tour group on the Inka Trek was quite the fun crew, so we met up the day after we got back and went out to some really fun bars (you must check out Mama Africa's if you ever make it to Cuzco), one with a live band and one with other great music - i.e. lots of 80s dance music!

After Cusco Esther and I left to go to Puno (on Lake Titikaka). It was FREEZING in Puno (a good taste of what was to come in Bolivia). We spent a day out on the floating islands on the Peruvian side of the lake. The floating islands are artificial islands that a group of people made to get away from other aggressive tribes. The islands are maintained once a month using hay to replenish. The ground is really springy and bouncy, which is hard to get used to!

After Puno we crossed into Bolivia - travel blog to be updated soon! 😊 Thanks for reading.

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Photos

Inca Trail
Esther getting her face painted by Philipe

Comments

[Aprilsbigworld]

How is the Crime/Safety?
Hi-love the Canadians! Going to Peru with my best bud in May, was just wondering how safe is it for you 2 women in Peru together? Thanks, April