8/10: Exploring Peru's Universe π¦β°οΈβοΈπ΅ππ
Discovering the lost Inca Empire on two wheels
We left Isla Del Sol and headed north. We skipped the popular tourist destination of Puno and its floating islands on the Titicaca lake.
There are so many things to see and do in Latin America. And while it is usually super cool, it can also be pretty tiring and oversaturating.
Our next stop was Cusco β the capital of the Inca Empire and the most popular tourist destination in Peru. It is very touristy. Which is good and bad. I generally dislike super touristy spots. Hence, Cusco was not my favourite, but I still very much enjoyed visiting it and highly recommend it!
There are a lot of tourist sights to see, visit, and hike around Cusco (including of course Machu Pichu). While most visitors explore the are with organized tours we decided to take a more non-conventional path by renting a scooter to drive around the Sacred Inca Valley. And that was hell of a decision! Kudos to my companion Diego for his excitement to find, rent, and drive us around π
/PICS from ollaytantambo/
The trip didn't go without issues as we got a flat tyre on the first scooter day...which was annoying. It slowed us down, it prevented us from see all the sights we intended, and force us to drive 90 super cold minutes after sunset.
The second motorcycling day was better! Actually, it was absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed magnificent views of the Andes, the Inca heritage, the Maras Salt Mines and the local peoples. Traveling by mortorcycle around Moray Ruins, Pisac, Chinchero (especially in the late afteroon as the sunset approached) was a true feast to the eyes.
/Video/s of travelling/
[!Travel Tip] If you can, go explore beautiful nature by scooter, motorcycle, ATV, or cabrio. These massively improved my travels in the Andes in Peru and the Swiss Alps back in the day.
Machu Pichu: the crown of the Inca Empire (and another mysterious civilization)
I am really not a fan of touristy places. I even suggested to Diego we could skip Machu Pichu. A girl we met told us it was "overrated", which further reinforeced my thinking - why go to a place where "literally everyone goes to overpay and watch some old rocks"?
Fortunately, Diego pushed back against my contrarian thinking. "We cannot afford to visit Peru and not see Machu Pichu" he would say. And thank God he did so. Machu Pichu was breathtaking, thought-provoking, and inspiring even though we visited it on a kind of shitty rainy day.
The bus ride of a lifetime: from Cusco to Machu Pichu
We got the $16 bus (in both directions), though I am sure the $100 train is very nice too. The bus is definitely not the option for the light-hearted, but it was a ride to remember:
- π 6 hour drive
- π Started from Cusco at 3400 m
- π Stopped at a cozy 4333 m hut
- β¬οΈ Desended to about 1600 m as we got near Machu Pichu
- π³ Breathtaking views, mindshaking 300m deep vertical precipices...
/Pics/
5 ways to maximize your Machu Pichu experience
- Watch documentaries before visiting. I recommend this one and especially this second one.
- Hire a guide! We hired a great women right in front of entering the sight. It cost us EUR 8 per person (after a little negotiation and combining in a group with two other tourists).
- Be curious :) Ask "how" and "why" questions (this is also a key to living a better life).
- Get a raincoat or better a pocho in case you have bad luck with weather (like us).
- Book the classic route 2: if you have a strict schedule buy your ticket in advance. But if you have a more lax travel plan like we did, you can buy the ticket the previous day or two at Agua Caliente (the town next to Machu Pichu).
Machu Pichu is one the of the world's seven wonders. And with a very good reason. After visiting it I asked myself: what type of leaders and what faith made the Incas (and civillizations prior to them) invest years and decades to build this city in this extremely remote precipituous jungle? The construction quality and resilience of Machu Pichu is astounding when compared to today's mediocre, ephermal facilities, roads, and even skyscrapers, made to generate a quick buck.
After visiting Machu Pichu I don't think we live at the pinnacle of human civilization. Sure, we have some advaced technologies, but most of us lack faith, purpose, and perspective. The Incas and most notably the mysterious empire/s before the Incas were builders who left a legacy for millennia.
Avocados on the way to Santa Teresa's SPA
After Machu Pichu we decided to relax for a couple of days at Santa Teresa - Π° nearby small town with hot mineral water springs. As we hiked from Machu Pichu to Hydroelectrica, we encountered avocado trees for the first time in our lives! And we picked some up, brought them with us, let them ripe and turned them into a delicious guacamole 2 weeks later :D
We enjoyed the two restaurants in the Santa Teresa city center, a morning breakfast at with a breathaking view, and of course the water spings themselves. Reaching them was extremely fun and unconventional due to the heavy recent rainfall and the resulting huge landslides - which literally destroyed the road ...(emoji)
/video in tuk-tuk/
Motorcycling Peru's volcano mountains at 4900 m to reach its magnficent Canyon Colca
Our next stop was Arequipa - Peru's white city (reminding us of Bolivia's white city of Sucre). I liked the central part, the beautiful sunsets, enjoyed a night out with the locals, and that was about it. It was nice, but nothing specific really stood out in my mind about Arequipa.
/Arequipa PICS/
What did stand out was the two-day trip we made to the (kind of) nearby Canyon Colca. Once again we traveled on two wheels - this time we upgraded from a scooter to a 300 cross country motorcycle, which unfotunately was somewhat old-ish but it did the job. Kudos to Diego for driving us safely π
I realized (almost) all mountains around Arequipa were once active volcanos. The landscape was very different from anything I have seen. There were vast areas with zero trees. Only low grass and bushes. It was kind of like a desert, though not quite.
The road to Canyo Colca passes through the absolutely marvellous National Reserve of Salinas and Aguada Blanca. In terms of vastness and pristine uniquiness reminded me of Alaska's Denali Park, the Alps, and the Israeli desert. The moment that will forever remain in my memory is the picture of us driving through the winding asphalt road through the lush green flora with fresh spring water, and hundreds of llamas, alpacas and vicunas. I didn't take a picture of it...I chose to enjoyed the moment and keep it in my memory.
But I did take a picture on the highest point I reached thus far in my life: 4900 meters altitude:
/4900 m PICS/
Hungry from the ride, we filled our stomachs with the very popular trucha fish (local trout) and drove straight to the hot spings of name... We greatly enjoyed doing push-ups, pull-ups, and practicing active laziness in between the hot springs and the cold pool for 3 hours or so.
/SPA pics/
As the sun started going done we went to a local guest house, where I was facsinated by the beautifully roundish local sheep in the /name/ village.
/sheep pics/
Next morning we started a long day exploring the canyon on the motorcycle and eventually competed with the time to drive back to Arequipa before the sunset (and the imminent cold spell) - remember we are still at an average of 3000m altitude :)
The canyon did not disappoint, featuring magnificent views, royal condors, and local pastoral gorgeousness.
/PICS/
Lima - a very pleasant surpise
We took another overnight bus from Arequipa to finally reach a large metropolitan city by the ocean, which felt like quite a change following our journey through the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes.
I really liked Lima. It is a 13-million city β **most of it is noisy, busy, and mesy. But the three neighbourhoods Miraflores, Barranco, San Isidiro stand out with order, a safe environment, modern facilities and many things to do:
- Surfing in the ocean;
- Playing tennis by the ocean;
- Running, biking, dancing salsa;
- Many artistic and botique experiences in Barranco;
- And basically most of the things that you would look for in a large city.
/PICS of coastline + City/
Lima's old historic center is also very much worth visiting. Good vibes and worhwhile architecture.
/Pics of center/
At this point, Lima's prime neighbourhoods are cheaper than Sofia's prime areas (and every other EU capital). When you take in consideration the good weather and quality food, Lima delivers an attractive proposition for spending longer periods of time or even living there.
Peruvian feast for the food lovers π π π π² π π½ π
Everyone talks about Peruvian food. All the tourists...but also the locals π And for a good reason. Peru's cuisine stands out with the plethora of its meats, herbs, hundreds of corns, hundreds of potatos, fresh fruits, etc.
Not surprisingly, they have the world's best restaurant in Lima: Maido. I didn't visit it this time as I wanted to have a compelling reason to come back again :) Just kidding...frankly, I forgot about it... And I remembered now as I am writing this piece. Anyways, definitely going back and trying it out at some point!
One very important culinary note I have to the average Peruvian is that Butterβ Margarine. Guys, butter is the real thing and margarine is fake fiat immitation. All acrosss Cusco, Santa Teresa, Macchu Pichu, Arequipa, and Canyon Colca locals would serve a thing branded as "butter" but really being margarine. Life is too short for margarine, guys!!! And never forget that:
A dish is only as delicious as the amount of butter it has! (This is a joke. It is also not a joke...if you know what I mean ;)
A special food hightlight for me was the Peruvian ceviche. Oh my God! This is easily some of the tastiest and most nutritious foods one can have: raw fish booked in lime juice and mixed with red onions, cilantro, and many other goodies. In addition to the restaurant ceviches, I had the pleasure to visit an amazing local get-together organized by the local Peruvian Roncito, where he prepared a 5-start ceviche! Absolutely fantabulous! If you ever visit Lima, I recommend following him on Instagram and go to his Saturday events to enjoy a top-quality classic Peruvian cevice.
I got so inspired by the Roncito, that I even prepare my own very first cevice. Mine was certainly way simpler, but still very proud of it!
/pic of my ceviche/
Peru is hell of a country! Highly recommend visiting it. I feel like I saw so much and at the same time there was still so much more to see and experience.