This was a trip of a lifetime. I was able to; cross so many activities off my bucket list throughout this trip, visit my first Wonder of the World, AND...we nearly got kidnapped. It was great! :)
We started the trip off in Lima, where we spent five days and four nights exploring and enjoying the city. We had planned on visiting the small oasis town of Huacachina on August 20th before flying to Cusco in the afternoon of the 21st. But that didn't happen. Renting a car when you're under 25 is much more expensive, plus the fact that the car rental company asked for a $20,000 USD deposit before we could even see the car was a bit too sketchy for us. So we decided to spend an extra night in Lima and chill at our favourite bar downtown. Both nights we went to the bar they would put on a Bruno Mars playlist for us, it was awesome. We were also pretty much the only people there, granted it was the middle of the work week.
So for the first few nights we might not have been staying in the safest part of town...I was in charge of finding all of our Airbnb's for the trip and since I have never been to Lima I had no idea the first place we were staying in was, well, to put it nicely in a not-so-nice neighbourhood. All I saw was a cheap place to stay close to the ocean, too bad the "beach" was really a four kilometre long construction zone. The people there were really nice though! No one we came across spoke any English which was alright and to be expected travelling in South America. Kyle and I speak a tiny bit of Spanish each so we were able to sort of communicate and understand. It made me wish I had kept up learning Spanish after I graduated High School, or that I had studied some before the trip.
There was a small bakery a few blocks away from the apartment we were staying in, so we would go in the morning and have cake or flan for breakfast. It was delicious! The poor guy working there had no idea what we were trying to say for the most part and I felt so bad for how long it took us to understand him telling us not to lean on the wall because of wet paint. It took around ten minutes of him trying different hand gestures and trying to think of the English words to get us to understand. At least he seemed slightly amused at how confused we were.
It was an amazing eye opener to see the difference in living conditions between North America and Peru. Only one of the places we stayed in had consistent hot water, and only due to the landlord's hard work installing a large hot water heater during the first two days we arrived. Not one the windows were sealed or double pained so it would get very cold at night and let all outdoor noises in. This was really only an issue when we were staying in downtown Lima and not too bad in any of the other places. Everyone just started their day so much earlier in the heart of Lima, and I was not ready to be woken up at 6:00 AM every morning. Though the Airbnb's we stayed in might not have had hot water they were all rather nice and very clean. Having hot water in Peru is a luxury that not even all fancy apartments have.
One of the best parts about travelling to South America is in most countries the Canadian dollar is actually worth more than the currency of the country you're visiting. When we visited in August, 2019 the Canadian dollar was worth 1.75 Peruvian SOL, this saved us so much money on food, transportation, and tours! The most expensive part about going to Peru is getting there, as the cost to fly into Lima or Cusco is normally very high. But once you are there all most everything is very cheap, especially the beer as Sam quickly discovered.
In Peru you have to be cautious about how you get around. Not only if you are renting a car and are unfamiliar with the chaotic (and weirdly organized?) driving style of the locals, but if you will be taking public transit and Taxis to get around. Before we made the trip south we research the safest way to get around without a car. There were so many blogs and articles about the numerous Taxi scams and fake Taxis. Most of what I read suggested using Uber as the you could only book one with the app, so they would be held responsible by Uber and were legitimate drivers. The only time you should take a Taxi in Lima is if you get it from one of the designated stations inside the airport. With little to no Taxi laws in Peru anyone can slap a sign on a car in Peru saying "Taxi" and claim to be one, which is one reason why they can be very dangerous.
There are tons of reports of people being robbed or scammed by fake Taxi drivers. If you are getting into an actual Taxi in Peru they will discuss the fair BEFORE you leave with them, and they take the payment in advance to make sure you can cover the fee. If they driver doesn't tell you how much your ride will cost before you get in with them, they are most likely not an actual Taxi driver.
Kyle an I are pretty sure Sam nearly got us all kidnapped (unintentionally) when we picked him up from the airport and were on our way back to our first Airbnb in Lima. Madeleine had stayed back since she was still jet lagged so we went alone to get Sam. The Wifi at the Lima airport is not great to say the least, so using our phones was out of the question without paying a large international data fee, meaning we couldn't hire an Uber to get home and would have to take a Taxi. Taxis are also much more expensive in Peru as well, a cab ride that would cost 45 SOL would cost you maybe 12 SOL for an Uber. But back to how Sam nearly gets us kidnapped, so Sam finds us a driver who is standing outside the airport looking to pick up people. There is an area outside of luggage claim designated to Taxi drivers and their cars to help travellers get into safe and reliable Taxis.
This guy doesn't tell us how much it will cost and then takes us to a parking lot behind where all of the legit cab drivers keep their cars, so where anyone visiting the airport could park and not where all for the Taxis are lined up. Big red flag. Against our better judgement we get in the car, it's been a long day for all of us. The driver says he has to go and pay for his parking pass from having his car parked here and takes off to go pay. Kyle doesn't like this at all so he convinces us to go back and talk to a Taxi agency inside, at this point I am a bit freaked out too. When we try to get out of the cab, Sam's and Kyle's doors are locked and will not unlock from the inside! Thank God I had a weird vibe and didn't close my door all of the way so I was able to get out and open their doors from outside the car. We jogged back to the airport, booked a cab from the agency, and got the heck out of there! So, be safe and use an Uber if you travel to Lima!
I didn't really take any photos of the area we were staying in the outskirts of Lima, I didn't want to put the people living there on display and wasn't sure if they would appreciate phots being taken of them. So I primarily kept my camera in my bag there. Maybe if I visit Peru and Lima again I will do a more photojournalism piece so people who have not been can see the how different the living conditions are in developing countries. It for sure opened my eyes and made me much more appreciative of where I live and what I have.
Two of the main activities I had planned (thankfully not booked though) for us in Huacachina were sand boarding in the desert and parasailing. Sam is a great snowboarder and Kyle loves to surf and wakeboard so I knew the two of them would really like sand boarding as it feels like a combination of the two. I personally find it to be better than either since you don't have to be wet or cold. There are a few touring companies in Huacachina that provide snowboarding rentals and lessons along with dune buggies, if you're ever there I would check them out on Trip Advisor! Just make sure to do your research as there are a lot of scam businesses in Peru unfortunately.
As for parasailing, we stumbled upon a guided tour company while walking through downtown Lima. For around 250 SOL, or about $100 CAD. Quiet the deal huh? Sam and I were both down immediately, but Madeleine and Kyle weren't so sure until we actually talked to the people doing the tours. As someone who is terrified of heights I am really surprised I wanted to do this so badly, I wasn't scared at all once we were in the air either! There was never that awful feeling in my gut that I get on roller coasters or looking over a high edge. Just the wind on my happy little face as we flew over the water, the mall, and a sports facility. This company (I have no idea what the name was) has been doing these tours for over 35 years. Each of the guides has to complete a training corse in the mountains near Cusco, how cool would that be?!
One of the coolest parts of the area we were staying near during the first few nights in Lima was this well preserved temple just sitting in the middle of these apartments. Kyle and I stumbled upon it on our way back from getting KFC. There weren't too many food options where we were staying and the one time we ate at a small local burger shop I am pretty sure we all accidentally ate burgers made from dog meat.....I don't want really to talk about, just thinking about it makes me sick. So yeah, we primarily stuck to more touristy restaurants after that unfortunate night.
Our last stop before heading to the airport for our flight to Cusco was the Lima Zoo. I'm not sure why, but I have discovered I really like visiting zoos in different countries. I have always loved going zoos, ones that take good care of their animals of course! The Lima Zoo had pretty big and some really open exhibits for their animals, there were also more animals from South America there than in most American zoos I have been to, so it was really cool to see some new animals!
After spending the four days in Lima it was time to fly to Cusco! One thing you really have to watch and just be aware of with the airports in Peru is all of the local airlines and people working at the front desks WILL scam you. Even if your flight ticket says it includes your luggage they will charge you around 25-35 SOL a bag, or around there. The flight attendants at the front desk will refuse to give you your plane ticket until you pay this fee. SO, if you are able to you should print your tickets off before going to the airports in either Lima or Cusco. We had more trouble with this at the Lima airport and not so much in Cusco. You also need to be careful the local airlines do not cancel or change your flights because they will not always notify you, so keep a close eye on it!
Besides being scammed each time we flew, the plane ride was short and not bad. We flew as cheaply as we could in order to save money since the whole trip was expensive for a bunch of college students. I think in total we all spend around $2,000 CAD including flights, food, fun, and souvenirs. Trust me we did a LOT of activities so this is insanely cheap for what all we did! We also all got flights pretty far in advance so it's not like we all just coughed up two grand in two weeks.
If you love cats then you'll have to visit this Cat Café in Cusco! It is very close to the Historic Center and not only had so many cute kitties to play with but the food was also amazing. We ate breakfast here the two days we didn't get up around 4:00 AM to go on a tour. This Café also has a new branch in Vancouver, BC I am looking forward to visiting someday.
We didn't spend as much time exploring Cusco as we did Lima, most of our days here were spend out of the city touring ancient ruins or on thrill seeking tours. This trip was seriously not laid back in anyway! The only days we didn't get up and go do something was Madeleine, Kyle, and I's last two days in Peru after Sam had to fly back to Vancouver for cross country training. We all woke up feeling sick, probably from lack of sleep and being exposed to unpasteurized milk if you get what I mean lol.
To me Cusco felt more homey than Lima. The people seemed to be nicer and it is a city I would love to go back to a spend more time in. I loved being surrounding by the old architecture of this ancient city.
The first activity we all did while in Cusco was take this horse back tour to the Devil's Balcony and the Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon). Most activities are super cheap in Peru compared to in Canada or the States. This guided tour was around two hours, included a small lunch, and pick up/ drop off at our Airbnb location. It only cost us around $75.00 CAD each! We booked the last tour in the afternoon and the guide allowed us to take our time exploring, taking photos, and asking many questions about the historical sites we visited.
The first stop on the tour was the Devil's Balcony. The Spanish Conquistadors named it this due to the native people using a cave in the cliff to sacrifice llamas, alpaca, and sheep to their Gods. Because the Settlers were devote Catholics they believed the people were worshiping and making sacrifices to the Devil since the native people did not worship their God. If you look closely at the top of the colourful cliffs, to the left you can see many ancient square stone bricks. Typically when you find bricks like these in Peru you are around an Incan temple as the ancient people of Peru would craft these bricks for specifically their temples.
Along the tour we were able to travel through the locals' farm land. We passed herds of sheep marked with different coloured bandanas to label who they belonged to. As well as a dense eucalyptus forests. Much of the worlds supply of eucalyptus actually comes from Peru.
The tour guide's adorable herding dog Toby leading the way to the Templo de la Luna!
Unfortunately we were not able to go inside of the temple. Too many tourists in the past would break off small rocks to take home as souvenirs, ruining it for any respectful visitors. Archaeologists closed off the site to visitors to protect and preserve it, which we all understood and respected.
The temple was one of many used by Incas to worship the moon. There is a small hole and a sacrificial stone located at the heart of the temple, during the full moon the moonlight would directly come through and illuminate the stone. If I remember correctly they would make llama and alpaca sacrifices there on those nights. There is also a stone ledge near the entrance where people would (and still do!) leave Coca leaves to make wishes. We didn't have any leaves on us to leaf (haha...sorry not sorry lol) but there were many leaves already placed on the ledge from recent visitors.
I would highly recommend taking this tour if you are ever in Cusco. The tour guide was very kind and informative about everything along the tour, they were all also so kind to us and put up with our endless questions about ancient and modern Peruvian culture. Maybe not the best if you don't like horses though! They do have horses fit for people who have never ridden however. Before you take off they ask about your experience level with horse. Be honest so they can get the best fitting horse for you! You don't want to end up on one of the leading horses if you are a beginner because they do not like to go slow.
For Madeleine and I who both have experience riding horses it was a somewhat nostalgic tour. For Kyle who can't stand riding horses it was a great tour besides the horse riding part. It also didn't help that my horse Carmel really wanted his to pick up the pace and would bite his horse's butt! Again, if you are new to horse back riding and would like to do this tour or one of the many similar tours around Cusco, ask for a beginner friendly horse so your guide can keep an eye on you during the trip.
Our next adventure was arguably the coolest, and definitely the most expensive activity during out trip, besides flights. At something like 3:30 AM we woke up and took an Uber to the train station about an 8 minute drive from our Airbnb. From there we made the trip up to the small town of Aguas Calientes, which literally translates to "Hot Water". The train ride was around four hours there and took us through the mountains and countryside. We were able to catch a glimpse of the famous Peruvian glacier Sawasiray (photo above on the right) sitting at 5,818 meters above sea level. Maybe if I have the opportunity to return to Peru I will have the chance to take a hike and get a closer look at this beautiful icy giant.
On the ride up the train provides you with a small lunch. But be wary of the cheese! It may be tasty but most dairy products in South America are made from unpasteurized milk and if you are not accustom to it they can make you very sick to your stomach. As was unfortunately the case for all of us except Sam, who just had mild discomfort. Kyle had it the worst with stomach cramps the majority of the day, I'm pretty sure this trip made him lactose intolerant.
Right after arriving to Aquas Calientes we found the closest place that sold bus tickets and then went to wait in line for our 11:00 AM bus. That line on the left side of the river is for the buses, so many people were waiting as well!
Okay, THIS WAS SCARY! The parasailing was nothing compared to how terrifying the bus ride was! From Aguas Calientes to the entrance of Machu Picchu you gain around four hundred meters in elevation by driving up this tiny switchback gravel road that is barely wide enough to be considered a double lane while other buses head back down. There were a few times when we would have to back up to let a descending bus go by, that was mildly terrifying. We made the mistake of sitting by a window so we could see just how steep and far of a drop it was to the valley base below. The small bridge show in the photo above is right before the bus started the climb up the mountain. This way taken from around half way up the road!
If you are in Cusco and plan to make the trip up to Machu Picchu make sure you don't plan anything else that day besides maybe a soak in the hot springs after touring the ancient city. It is a whole day activity for sure, and not a cheap one either. The train ticket will cost you upwards of $200-$350 CAD each for a normal seat, the bus ticket is around $75 CAD each, entrance fee to Machu Picchu is around $30 CAD each, then if you want a private tour guide it's an extra $40 CAD for a group up to eight people. I can't recall the exact prices so these are based off my memory, the train ride could have been more since we did get it last minute. Make sure to plan ahead if you can! Especially in Peru's winter months (August and July particularly) prices can be higher and space can be limited due to high demand and ever the growing popularity. This is the dry season at Machu Picchu and also when most people have school off or can take vacations so many people travel around then.
I would highly recommend getting a personal tour guide if you are with a few friends. There are no signs around the site so if you are interested in learning about Machu Picchu you need a guide!
Machu Picchu had been though to be the Lost City of the Ica to American explorer and politician Hiram Bingham III who "discovered" the city in 1911. He claimed to have discovered Machu Picchu, though the people native to this area of Peru knew it was there and there were even farmers living in the city at the time of his "discovery". Hiram was searching for Vilcabamba, a hidden city that is thought to be where the Inca escaped to when the Spanish Conquistadors invaded. The explorer believed Machu Picchu was this city all the way until he drew his last breath, then years after he passed on it was discovered that Machu Picchu was not the Lost City of the Inca. The city had never even been forgotten, the locals knew it was there and knew the name of the city.
According to our tour guide, Machu Picchu was a civilization build to hold many of the Peruvian King Pachacutec brides. Pachacutec had over one hundred different wives! So in order to protect himself and his other wives from a jealous bride's wrath, he built this civilization in the Andes for some of his wives and their many, many children. The city was unfortunately never finished, as the Spanish Conquistadors invaded the mountains during their crusade in search for the lost city of El Dorado, the city of Gold which they believed to be Machu Picchu.
Some people still believe that Machu Picchu was the lost City of Gold, but that the residents were able to relocate all of the gold somewhere into the surrounding mountains. The mountains are very steep and filled with dangerous creatures so they are difficult to explore. Around five or six year ago however, a group of archeology students discovered a new stretch of the Inca Trail around Machu Picchu. They hoped they had discovered a trail that would take them either to where the gold from Machu Picchu had been stored, or perhaps to El Dorado. Unfortunately the trail only stretched about two kilometers before they completely lost anymore signs of the pathway. With so many years of weather wear and being surrounded by a rapidly growing jungle, it's no wonder they were unable to find anymore of the trail. Still, it is an amazing accomplishment to be able to find a new section of the vast Inca Trail!
In the picture above, you can see the layout of part of the great city and many of the nicer houses the wealthier people would live in. Unfortunately the people of Machu Picchu were very classist and the city was divided into a wealthy side and a poor side.
You can also see a large clearing in the photo. That used to be a place where they would hold ceremonies and sacrifices to their Gods. There used to be a large pillar of stone that stood in the clearing. I cannot remember who our guide told us it was, but a wealthy important man from Spain wanted to land his helicopter in the city so he could easily come visit. The only place wide enough to lad a helicopter was the clearing, so they knocked down the stone standing in the middle of it for this man to land. Without giving so much of a though to how important that stone might have been to discovering the secrets of Machu Picchu and her people. No one knows where the stone is today, so there are no pieces to research.
The people of Peru have a love hate relationship with Spain, those who are glad they came to their land and those who are not. Our guide was not one of those people who is glad.
Everything the Inca's built was constructed that way on purpose. They may have been drunk or chewing on Coca leaves all the time, including while working, but those people built everything in Machu Picchu with intention. They worshipped the mountains, as the mountains gave them life. Their food, the water, the animals, and their homes all came from the mountains and therefore they worshipped and idolized the mountains they lived in. The windows in their homes would look directly at their mountain gods and frame them like pictures on a wall. In one of the ceremonial parts of the city they had a great rock that was carved to show exactly what the outline of the peaks of the mountains looked like. They would make animal sacrifices to the mountains and thank they for the bountiful harvests of the many plants grown in their mountain top city.
The people brought up seeds of plants like strawberries, coca plants, onions, potatoes, yucca plants as well as animals like chickens for eggs and meat. They used llamas to transport all of their first supplies and goods up into the mountains to cultivate the land. Travelling to the mountain city was a difficult and dangerous trek, so they wanted to be able to sustain themselves without the need of trading. Thankfully for them the soil in the mountains was rich and able to support the growth of many crops.
After the people moved up into the mountains with their llamas, they had a bit of a problem on their hands; how do we feed all of these hungry animals? The quick answer is: they can't. The people of Machu Picchu had to fight off all of their hungry pack animals from eating the crops they had brought in and were now beginning to grow. Eventually they had to increase sacrifices and kill off the population, there was unfortunately just not enough room on the mountain for both the people and the llamas. Today there are still llamas living in Machu Picchu! They are now the only residents of the once bustling civilization. The few llamas left on the mountain are now in charge of garden maintenance in the ruins. They keep the grass short and eat any vegetation growing on the ancient buildings they can reach, they actually make the lives of the people maintaining Machu Picchu much easier! As well has being the city's gardeners, they are also a huge tourist attraction as many people seek them out to take photos with. Just be careful because they can have an attitude!
One of the last things we learnt while in Machu Picchu was in a cave not too far up the mountain from the city archaeologists uncovered a mummified body of a female. Similar to the Egyptians the Inca people would mummify their dead, though it is thought that the Inca would mummify all of their dead and not just the elite or wealthy. This practiced was deemed a Pagan practice and forbidden by the Conquistadors after they invaded. The mummy they found was female, and she had been buried with many items but primarily a staff. In Incan culture a staff is a symbol of power. Some people, including our guide believes that this mummy could have been the major or head of Machu Picchu when the king was away. According to our guide the Inca culture was not misogynistic and that this was the ideas brought over by the Catholic Conquistadors who were strongly misogynistic at the time.
After we spent a few hours in Machu Picchu and explored all we could it was time to head back down and get souvenirs from the market set up in Aguas Calientes. The merchants at all the shops expect you to barter with them so be aware they're going to pester you a little to buy something even if you just walk by and keep your head down. This was so strange to me as I have never had to barter before, though the people were nice and not insanely pushy. The prices weren't bad either, especially since the SOL is worth around half of the Canadian dollar.
It took us a while to find everything we were hoping to get at the market since it was pretty big and we all kept getting lost or separated. Before heading back to the train to Cusco we decided to hit the hot springs for a quick dip. Honestly, skip the hot springs. For one the water in Peru is not safe for consumption (I recommend getting a Hep A vaccine before going!). Secondly the pools were rather gross and not clean at all. Then lastly they were not very hot either. I am glad we went but it was something I don't thing was worth the hassle of getting wet and trying to dry off for. You also have to rent a towel so theres that too.
So fair warning about going to Machu Picchu, the bugs up there are crazy. I don't know if I was attached by chiggers or massive mosquitoes or both but holy crap these bites were so itchy!! My legs itched for over a literal MONTH afterwards. I am not even kidding. The only thing I found that helped was using the Coca leaves our Airbnb host had given us as a narcotic to numb the bites. It worked so well but was the only thing that worked so I was miserable when we returned to Canada. I would soak the leaves in warm warmer, place them over my bites, then put tight long socks on over I would highly suggest only wearing long pants while there or having strong bug stray with you. I was the only one in the group to be attacked since my ankles and lower calves weren't covered by my pants. Both chiggers and mosquitoes are native to Machu Picchu so I am not sure what the heck it was. One thing that helped when I got back was taking a long really hot bath and soaking my legs in the water, then using Absorbine Jr. (a stinky green medical liquid for aches, itches, and pain) on all of the bites. So yeah, if you don't want to itch for weeks then wear pant and have bug spray! :)
The Sacred Valley stretches East to West along the Urubamba River for around 100 km
(62 miles) in length with the base width being around 1km on average. The bottom of the valley is cultivated farm land and towns with steep mountains on either side. The base of the valley is around 3,000 to 2,050 meters (9,800 to 6,730 feet) above sea level with some of the surrounding mountain peaks being as high as 5,893 meters (19,334 feet) above sea level!
The Maras Salt mines are over 500 years old and operated by families who have been working the there for many generations. We were able to take a really cool tour of the mines and get to learn a bit about how the salt is farmed. The tour we took was around $57 CAD each and also included an ATV tour after seeing the mines, we found the tour here on Trip Advisor.
During our tour of the salt mines we learned that many of the families who work the salt mines also farm quinoa in the summer when it is rainier. During the rainy months the salt doesn't grow as fast due to rain diluting the water. The saltwater comes from a spring out of the mountains and flows into the old manmade pools. Instead of mining into the mountain they decided to use the salt water to grow their salt rather than destroying the source by mining it. Unfortunately the workers no longer let tourists walk around in the mines as the increase in tourism was beginning to contaminate the salt. We completely understood so we just respectfully admired the mines from a little ways away.
The pools of water are very shallow, they may look deep but are mostly filled with is salt and not water. The salt settles in the pools with the finer salt being at the top and larger crystals settling at the bottom. In the picture above you can see two small piles of salt that the miners had gathered up while we were there. We also had the opportunity to taste some of the salt and you can buy some from the little shops they have set up. The salt was really good too! We bought a few little bags to take home for our families and for cooking.
One of the last activity of our trip was this ATV tour of the Sacred Valley. We drove around through Farmland and even two small towns. We each had our own ATV and had to wear helmets during the tour. Before you take off following the guide you have to do a bunch of small loops around a little course to make sure you can shift the ATV properly as well as take corners. We all had experience with ATV's so we figured it out a bit quicker than the other tour group who had some trouble at first.
This was such a fun way to explore the Sacred Valley and get to see more of the Cusco region. We were also able to drive through two little farming towns and get up close and personal with the everyday live of people in this area of Peru. Not too many people were in town as I am sure they were busy working. This was another eye opening part of our trip, and I felt almost guilty diving through their town. It felt wrong to go through and view their way of life as if they were just on display for visiting tourists.
Halfway through the ATV tour you get to stop at a lake to take in the view and take a break from all the driving. It really is a long tour and so worth the money, I'm sure something similar would cost more than triple back in Canada or the States.
The ATV tour takes you here to this farming families property to try and get you to buy snack from the farmers. We all would have loved to show our gratitude for allowing us to see their way of life but sadly none of us had any money with us. This is a common thing done on Peruvian tours. The guide will take you to farmers or even flute players depending on the tour for tourists to tip them, many will get upset if you don't. Thankfully we didn't really run into any of this on our trip.
While we were on the little break at the lake we were able to watch the family farm their land and their cattle graze. They had a dock with a bunch of boats that I bet they rent out in the summer and let their kids use in months that are less busy.
Madeleine got to hang out with some cute cows, I learned that sheep had long tails, and we were able to see how some Peruvian farmer families did their work. It was pretty cool. But again, one of those things that just made me feel these people and their lives were on display for the sake of tourism. It is great that tourism is starting to bring more money to Peru, but it made me feel so awkward being there. I also had never seen people using cows to plow a field before, it did not look like an easy job to do that's for sure!
At least all of the people we saw seemed happy and were very friendly. It was also another moment on our trip where I realized how lucky we were to have been born in a fully developed area of the world. I don't think there is anything wrong or worse about their way of life compared to ours, but life in North America, especially Vancouver seems much easier and more luxurious for the most part. I am glad we were able to see the rural areas of Peru, it gives me so much more appreciation for what I have. Like how lucky we all were to be visiting a foreign country, doing all of these cool things, seeing new parts of the world, then going back to our nice lives in a few days.
Right after the tour of the Sacred Valley there is an option to go zip lining over part of the valley with Zip Line Cusco. This cost us around 125 SOL each so roughly $52 CAD. It was a bit more expensive since we booked through the ATV touring company. But so worth the extra $10 or whatever it was since we got a ride back to Cusco. Almost all of the tours we took on this trip included transportation from your hotel or Airbnb and back which was amazing since we did not rent a car. The only tour that did not include travel was the one to Machu Picchu, since we had to buy the bus and train tickets separately.
The zip line was advertised as the largest zip line in the world or South America I can't remember, but it really isn't. It is three zip lines that the furthest one is I believe 800 - 1,000 meters. Since I had never done zip lining before and was really, really nervous for this one. I was totally fine with it being three smaller ones and not one giant one. I think it was more fun this way too. The view over the valley was amazing too!
This was so much scarier to me that the paragliding and I have no idea why that is. I am terrified of falling, like unreasonably afraid of it. So I was the only one in the group to not go upside down or try any tricks as just doing this activity was enough for me. Once we started going and after the first one (the smallest of the three) I was a bit more comfortable but still it was a little nerve wracking to be up so high. I am really glad I did this though it was a ton of fun and a great way for me to start getting over my fear!
On the last and the longest of the lines we all went on our bellies kind of like Superman, this was one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever willingly put myself through. It was much less scary to go across this way but so much more uncomfortable with the harness riding up on you. On the last one we all had a good laugh since Madeleine was too light and needed some help to get all the way across, she did warn them it had happened before too!
This was the last of our adventurous activities during our trip to Peru. Sam had to head back to Canada two days before the rest of us, so he left Cusco for Lima the day after we went zip lining. Kyle, Madeleine, and I just hung out around Cusco and relaxed our last day there. We were a bit tired from getting up early each morning and doing activities all day so it was nice to relax and see more of Cusco. Madeleine and I explored the local market, revisited the Cat Café, and walked around the streets checking out all of the vendors while Kyle stayed at the Airbnb since he was still recovering from having unpasteurized milk.
Our last day in Peru was spent in Lima. We left Cusco early in the morning and prepared to deal with the baggage fee scam at the airport. Kyle was still not feeling too great so he primarily hung around the Airbnb while Madeleine and I explored and the downtown area nearby. We walked al the way down to one of the beaches and even found a cute alleyway that had a ton of plants so we stopped to take photos.
This trip was amazing! Totally different than any trip I had been on before, and a really eye opener to how easy my life is compared to many others. I am so glad we did this trip and that we were able to do so much in so little time. I'm so excited to explore more places!
And a huge thanks to Poéme Clothing for sponsoring us on the trip! It was a pleasure to bring these amazing outfits to Peru. If you are looking for comfy, stylish, and ethically made clothing for your next vacation then Poéme Clothing is the perfect brand to shop from! The clothing is made by wonderful women in Bali, Indonesia and designed by the sweetest lady you'll ever meet in Victoria, BC. Thank you so much Connie for supporting us and trusting us to create great content with your pieces in South America! 😄
Seriously though all of these outfits were super comfy and cute! 😍
Also! None of use are affiliated with any of the links to tours posted throughout this blog, our only sponsor was Poéme Clothing! :)
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this blog about our trip and that if you're ever planning to visit Peru it helps! We had an amazing time and it is definitely a place I would like to spend more time in to learn of the history and modern culture.
See you next time!
-Tris :)
Comments