23- Machu Picchu

25th to 26th of March 2019 - Machu Picchu

There are different ways to get to Machu Picchu from Cusco
- take the bus
- take the train
- walk

All tours are a combination of the different methods.
You can do different trails (Inka trail, Sanktuary trail or Jungle trail) which means you walk for a certain amount of time. Mainly 3-5 days. I personally didn’t feel like this. I didn’t had the time & wasn’t sure if I would have the required fitness level. Also these trails are very expensive. Think the Jungle trail is probably the most exciting as it includes mountain biking, zip lining & water rafting. Pretty cool.
Many people also take the transportation- bus to Ollantaytambo & than the train to Aguas Calientas. From here you can take the stairs up to Machu Picchu for about 1.5hrs or the bus. Train tickets are very expensive as well, but here you get the chance to do MP in only 1day.
I went for the cheapest method, which was still 160US$ (incl the ticket to MP).
I took the bus (6hrs) to Hidroelectrica and than walked along the train tracks for about 3hrs to Aguas Calientes. I stayed there overnight & on the next morning at 6am I took the bus up to Machu Picchu & than later walked back along the train tracks to Hidroelectrica where I took the bus back to Cusco to arrive at about 9pm. So the whole journey was pretty long and exhausting.
Machu Picchu itself was quite nice and it’s good to have this ticked of the list, but it wasn’t the best I have ever seen. I was a bit unlucky with the weather, although the clouds looked pretty amazing, it was quite freezing and the rain could have stayed away, but that’s just how it is sometimes. If you want to do MP yourself get a map, as many ways are one ways and there are people everywhere to make sure you don’t go back. Which means without a map & a clear plan where to go, you don’t get the chance to see everything. Worst case would be having to pay for entrance again. Same if you need to use the bathroom, as they are only outside.

22- Cusco, Peru

22nd to 29th of March 2019 - Cusco, Peru

The bus from Cusco to Arequipa took the whole day (6am to 7pm) and we drove through a very very amazing landscape. I also saw herds of Lamas & Alpacas along the way. I scored the front panoramic seat again & I am very very happy about that. I will never understand while most people just sleep or watch a movie or so when in a bus or in a train. I think they miss out on half of their travels.
On my first day in Cusco I just relaxed. It is recommended to take it slow the first few days due to the high altitude and I saw a few people getting sick. I personally had just a headache, but I also realized that you really have to take it slow & steady as everything is just so much harder for your body. For example it was quite hard for me to climb up the stairs to the breakfast room on the forth floor in the hotel. My heart was beating very fast & I had to take a rest half way through.

I explored the city for 2 days, which is surprisingly big (500,000 inhabitants). I took two of the free walking tours, which I highly recommend. The guys are awesome & very passionate about their city & their culture & love to work with people. The tours aren’t actually free, they ask for a tip at the end, which I was very happy to give. It’s nice to do a few tours to see the different parts of the city & to hear the different explanations as every guide takes you slightly different ways & focuses on slightly different things. They also variate their tours based on the interest of the group. Finally it’s also a good way to meet new people.

You can also get very good and cheap massages in Cusco. I had a so called Inka massage which included Shiatsu & hot stones, lasted for 1hr and the costs were S/.30, which is about 8€. Amazing!! She also knew exactly about my back, shoulder & neck issues & helped me a lot with the pain management.

Tours I did from Cusco:
- Machu Picchu (2 days partly walking variation)
- Sacred valley
- Rainbow Mountain
- Maras (salt mines)

I will have separate blog posts for them.
So I stayed about 1 week in Cusco. It was quite stressful & exhausting with tours almost every day. As usual, I wish I would have much more time to take things slower.

21- Arequipa, Peru

19th to 22nd of March 2019 - Arequipa, Peru

We left Huacachina on 19th of March 2019 & drove to a vineyard where they produce wine & Pisco (main ingredient for Pisco Sour - the national drink). A tasting was included, good that I had a decent breakfast.
When we left, the bus broke down after a few meters & we stayed for about 40mins in the middle of the road while the driver tried to fix the bus. After it worked again, we drove for about 1hr & than the bus broke down again. This time we stayed for over 2hrs on the road. They didn’t give us any info what was wrong, only that there were technical issues.
Because of this circumstances we missed our stop at the Nazca lines. Although they were never really high up on my list, I am now very very disappointed that I never had the chance to see them. Very annoying, but that’s just how things sometimes go & you can’t do anything about it.
The bus than continued fine over night to Arequipa. I had a panoramic seat & very lovely company- this time from Germany. We talked for hours. Unfortunately he didn’t go the same route as me & left the bus earlier. That’s the hardest part - meeting amazingly interesting & inspiring people & than have to say goodbye.

Arequipa is a white city, with many buildings made from white volcano stone. The architecture in the city is incredible and it’s fun to walk around and see something new and interesting on every corner. I stayed here for 2 full days. If you have more time here, you can do a tour to the Colca Canyon which seems to be worth a visit, but I skipped it. One month in Peru is basically nothing and I have to compromise and can’t do everything unfortunately.
My highlight in Arequipa was the visit of Santa Catalina, an old Monastery. It seems to be like a little city within the city, it is wonderfully colorful & you can sneak into every corner & explore everything which is pretty amazing. I stayed for over 4hrs in there.
Arequipa seems to be having a whole lot of vegetarian & vegan restaurants & cafes, which is pretty amazing, after Ecuador & the north of Peru were so tricky when it came to a vegetarian diet. Down from Lima & up to Cusco is much more touristic, which definitely has its plus side when it comes to food & communication.

20 - Paracas/ Huacachina, Peru

17th to 18th of March 2019 - Paracas & Huacachina, Peru

I got picked up at 7am in Lima by PeruHop.

There was a breakfast stop on the go and we also had a quick stop at Tambo Colorado an ancient Inca fortress.

We landed in Paracas, a beach town, at around 2.30pm.

The beach was not nice, dirty and overcrowded, I am happy that we will leave again the next day. But: there were Pelicans very close by on the beach. It was the first time I saw them that close - this was very lovely. They are huge.

The next morning we did a boat tour. We passed ‘El Candelabro’ a 2000 year old sand sculpture (170m high) & went to Ballestas Islands. Which is a protected national reserve with thousands of thousands of birds and sea lions. It’s not allowed to leave the boat, but we drove around the islands quite a bit. It was a good experience.

We than had a bus tour to the National Reserve (desert) which was a very cool place as well, especially to see where the desert meets the ocean. Met a very lovely couple from Norway.

We than continued the bus tour to Huacachina, which is an oasis inbetween sand dunes. A very lovely place. We did a sand buggy tour (very shaky and I lost my checked shirt - it just got popped out - 1st thing I lost) and even did sand boarding, which I loved. But I was just lying down on the board.
After that long day I went for dinner with a nice girl I met on the tour.

Tambo Colorado 

‘El Candelabro’

Desert meets the ocean

19 - Lima, Peru

14th to 17th of March 2019 - Lima, Peru
Came with the bus from Trujillo and got picked up for free at the bus station by my accomodation. How nice is this 😊. Unfortunately the bus were about 2hrs delayed (traffic) & the poor man waited at the bus station the whole time. I felt so bad for him 😢.
I was still sick and didn’t do much in Lima - again. But I think it will get better rapidly now as I think I found the root cause. A few days before I went to Chachapoyas (which is the amazonas region of Peru) I started taking Malarone - a prophylactic against Malaria. This was recommended by the doctor I went to in Ireland. Fore I started traveling. I am pretty sure this is what is making me sick and I now stopped taking them. It’s just not worth it!
I walked around a little in Miraflores, but I haven’t seen much of Lima, which is a shame.
For further travels into Bolivia I booked PeruHop. It’s quite a good amount of money, but I think it’s easier (even brain less) & I hope I will see more & meet some people on the go.

18 - Trujillo, Peru

11th to 14th of March 2019 - Trujillo, Peru

I arrived in Trujillo with a night bus from Chachapoyas. We were about 2 hours later as at 2am in the middle of nowhere one of the bus tyres had to be changed. There are no day buses available, I would have loved to take one during the day to see more from the landscape.
Trujillo was a shock temperature wise. It’s soooo hot here, around 35degrees. After the 15-18degrees in Chachapoyas this is just crazy. I am also still sick and only managed to walk around a little in town the first day & stayed in bed completely the 2nd day. I am getting sick of being sick & very very unpatient. So annoying!
On the 3rd day I did a day tour. First we visited the ruins of the temple of moon & sun & than the ruins of Chan Chan, a pre-Colombian city & archeological site. Both were alright. My highlights of the day were the time we spent at the beach at the end of the day & my company. As the tour is completely in Spanish, my hotel hired a girl from Venezuela who acted as a translator for me. Very lovely girl who was very excited to be on the tour.
Next stop: Lima

Traditional boats on the shore

Trujillo 

17- Chachapoyas, Peru

07th to 10th of March 2019 - Chachapoyas, Peru
I arrived with the night bus from Chiclayo in Chachapoyas on 07th of March around 7am. The bus was a bit delayed & the journey took around 10hrs. I pre-booked a hostel, so I went straight there and into bed. I seem to be the only person in the whole world, who is not able to sleep in buses or planes or so. I can only drift off for a few minutes, that’s it. I got a panoramic seat, top floor front row & the bus was warm inside, so the journey was still quite enjoyable.
On my first day in Chachapoyas there was a thunderstorm, as I was exploring the city in the afternoon, so I got sooking wet. Not good, as nothing drys here. Luckily it was the only really bad day during my stay here.
It was almost impossible to find anything to eat, which is vegetarian & not sweet. After I tried about 15 restaurants (I am serious!) and was already desperate & starving, I ended up with a bunch of rice and an egg. Better than nothing. Later I googled & found one restaurant which has veggie options, so I will eat here for the next days. It seems to be good & the prices are alright.

The first day tour I did was to Kuelap, an ancient walled city in the middle of nowhere. It was a good bus ride, than we took the teleferico over the mountains - wow - and than had to walk about 30mins uphill to Kuelap. It is being named a fortress all over the internet, but our guide ensured that we know that it never was one, it was just a walled city. Our 74year old tour guide Edgardo was very knowledgeable and very passionate about the place & surroundings & it was a very good tour with him. Also the group of people I did the tour with, were very lovely.
Before we went to Kuelap itself we went into a restaurant to pre-order our meal for later one. There I got a new name ‘Ana Gringa’ 😂.

The 2nd day tour I did was to Quiocta (cave with stalagmites) & Karajia (sacorphagis over a cliff). It was the same guide again - lucky me. We had lovely talks. Such an interesting person, who had such an amazing life. Very inspiring. As much as I love being at new places & seeing new things - I mostly enjoy the company & the people I meet.

As a 3rd day tour I had planned a hike to the waterfall, but unfortunately I felt very ill & therefore stayed in bed until it was time to catch the night bus to Trujillo. What a pity.