Visiting Peru – Puno and Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca, Peru
Day….sometime in February/March 2017 (Read from the start of the trip)

How we arrived:
We took another bus with Cruz del Sur in the morning and arrived that afternoon. The bus took a total of 6 hours to get there and the scenery is cool.

Peru Bus

Peru Bus

Peru Bus

Quick Overview:
We only stayed one night in Puno. The town is not much to look at. It’s not unsafe but fairly rough looking and not a place you would need to stay for more than one night. It’s a good spot to stay if you want to see Lake Titicaca from the Peruvian side and visit the floating islands on the lake called – Las Islas Uros. We booked a tour through our hostel to visit the islands early the next day for a half day (which is more than enough).

The islands are incredibly made out of the grass reeds that grow in the lake, which actually means the islands are really floating!! The indigenous people who inhabit the islands are called Uros and live in houses made out of the reeds as well. The men on the island remake the bed of each of their own islands every 6 months when the reeds begin to rot.

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Its a must see and something you won’t quite believe. The families are very traditional in the sense that the men work and hunt while the women cook the food and knit touristy trinkets to sell. Although slightly contrived to make money from tourists they seem to have maintained very traditional lifestyles. Although I noted the kids were all wearing normal clothing and were eating sweets and chocolate ha!

After the half day tour we organised a bus to head across the border that afternoon to the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca.

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Uros Islands

Accommodation:
We stayed in a basic hostel called Kantaya Hostel. It was cheap enough for a private en suite and I think its as good as it gets in Puno.

Rory’s rant:
We keep bumping into the same English bloke everywhere we go at the moment. Typical gringo tourist who I’ve decided to hate haha! Whenever I think I really wanna punch that guy, he shows up.

Heather’s highlight:
The day trip to Las Islas Uros was really different. The man-made islands are incredible and the family we visited were friendly. I thought it was funny that all of the women are heavy set considering they live in the middle of nowhere and work so hard to survive. Our tour guide ensured us (with a giggle) that they are well fed and then later on I saw a lad in a boat who sold chocolate bars and crisps to the locals! Who would’ve thought!

Read from the beginning of our trip!

Arequipa, Peru – The White City

Arequipa, Peru
Day 66-70 of our South America trip (Read from the start)

How we arrived:
We took an overnight bus from Cusco to Arequipa. We left Cusco at 8pm and arrived at around 7am. The road was fairly bumpy and windy so I struggled to get much sleep even though the bus was decent. We went again with Cruz del Sur.

Quick Overview:
We stayed in Arequipa for 4 nights. The weather was really good while we were there so decided to add on one more night than originally planned. We also watched the Super Bowl here which I really wanted to see! It’s not the best place in the world to watch foreign sports if anyone is looking for somewhere to watch a big sporting event. If you are in Arequipa for a big match then the Wild Rover Hostel has a big screen and The Kiwi Corner is a decent place to watch sport. We ended up in an American bar called Chelawasi for the first half. They do decent wings and burgers and have craft beer. Then the second half we went to the Wild Rover and watched it alongside the party hostel crowd…

Arequipa, Peru crepe

Arequipa, Peru waffle

Arequipa, Peru

Arequipa, Peru

The city is called the white city due to the white washed buildings that surround the old town. On the walking tour we were told it also refers to the amount of  white Europeans that had settled there in the 16th century. You can do a trek to Colca Canyon which has become a hug tourist attraction in Peru. We didn’t do it, as I think Heather was a little done with treks after Machu Picchu.

Arequipa is surrounded by volcanoes with some of them active. A very large one called Misti is apparently awake and could be potentially devastating to the region. Not to scare ya from going :P.

Monasterio de Santa Carolina

Monasterio de Santa Carolina

Monasterio de Santa Carolina

Monasterio de Santa Carolina

We went to a museum that holds an Incan child Mummy named Juanita who was recovered from the top of a volcano. Absolutely terrifying but something that was really interesting to see and hear about the history of Incan child sacrifices. Also while I watched a Spurs match Heather went to the Monasterio de Santa Carolina.

Super Bowl Arequipa

llama

Dulce de leche sweets

Bus trip Peru

Accommodation:
We stayed in the Flying Dog hostel which is about 4 blocks from the centre and decently located. Nicely restored building that didn’t have too many people staying there when we were there but had good facilities and it was extremely cheap for a private double ensuite. I would recommend staying here.

Rory’s rant:
Hostel breakfasts are generally rubbish. I don’t know why they bother with them as it generally consists of a bit of bread and butter.

Either make it mildly decent or just charge less and don’t buy a load of crap bread.

Heather’s Highlight:

I loved it here, it was really easy to get around and the weather was a little bit cooler than other places we visited so I was loving it! We were here at the off season so it was quiet and some bars and restaurants were closed, but there was still enough to do to justify a few days here. I visited Monasterio de Santa Carolina one afternoon and it was such an interesting and beautiful old convent. We also went to Museo Santuarios Andinos (Museum of Andean Sanctuaries to see Juanita the mummy – it’s worth seeing. The walking tour was also a good activity to do to get to know the place.

Read about our trip from the beginning! 

 

Cusco, Peru – Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

Cusco, Peru
Day 58-65 of our South America trip

How we arrived:
We got another flight from Lima to Cusco as there was very little price difference to getting a bus which would have taken 30 hours. We flew with Star Peru which is a very budget airline with only 14 rows. Smallest plane I’ve ever been on but we arrived alive in about an hour.

Quick overview:
One of the big highlights of a lot of people’s trips to South America is Cusco and the amazing lost Inca city of Machu Picchu. We decided to stay in Cusco for 2 nights before setting off on a trek to Machu Picchu as we were told the altitude is quite tough to get used and the city itself is nice and picturesque. I’m really glad we did as we both found it quite tough for the first day we were there.

Cusco

Working hard on the blog

Soup in Cusco

Coffee in Cusco

Cusco really is a beautiful city and has been well maintained with an Incan and colonial mix of impressive buildings. The days we were there we wandered around the old town and did some walking tours. Food wise we ate a lot of pizza here as it was really tasty. They also offer a serious amount of massages in Cusco. We didn’t get one but felt it was bizarre how much people hassled you to get a massage on every corner.

There was an anti-gay protest in the centre on the second day we were there. Local people were marching and driving cars through the streets to protest against the recent change in the Peruvian education curriculum where it moves away from just teaching children about the Christian teachings of the traditional family (man and woman). The banners and the sheer quantity of people involved in the march was shocking and made us feel uncomfortable. Homophobia still exists in South America but I think the tide is definitely turning and I think this protest isn’t a fair reflection on Peru.

And so to the main reason we came to Cusco… Machu Picchu. We booked a 3 night and 4 day jungle trek with Conde Travel in Cusco. We booked one day before we went on the trip which is the most advisable thing to do as its cheaper and you can shop around in the city.

When you get to Cusco, it’s hard to know what company to go with and what price to pay as there are so many travel agents and they all give you various prices. We did our research by going around to different travel agents and then searching on the internet for reviews. No one seems to put up what they paid and we were trying not to get ripped off! I think overall we did get a lot for what we paid and the jungle tour was a great way to see Machu Picchu.

The first 2 days are spent trekking and doing various activities, which included: Mountain biking, white water rafting, having a dip in a natural hot spring and zip lining. The activities were a lot of fun and broke up the time we had to walk. Please not that going zip lining hungover is a terrible idea. We both regretted the stupid decision to drink the night before a lot!

The day before getting to Machu Pichu we trekked for around 4 hours and eventually arrived at Machu Pichu village. The next morning we woke up super early at 4am to start climbing up to the top of Machu Pichu. We go through just after sunrise at around 6am and it was truly spectacular. It was one of the highlights of the trip without question and worth sweating a bit to get there! We also climbed Wayna Picchu which is mountain beside Machu Pichu which gives you better view of the lost city. It was a touch 1.5 hour climb up but well worth it again.

We then went back to Cusco for 2 more days to recover, relax and wander around Cusco. I’d recommend this as its a really nice town and theres lots of cool bars and restaurants.

See Heather’s review of the trek below in full including prices: Conde Travel Review on TripAdvisor

Jungle Tour Mountain Biking

Machu Picchu

Jungle Tour Mountain Biking

Machu Picchu – our tour guide Conde Travel

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Accommodation:
In total we stayed 4 nights in Cusco and 3 nights on the move to Machu Picchu. In Cusco we stayed in a quiet hostel called Hitchhikers Hostel. It was nice, cheap and comfortable which is what we needed for adjusting to the altitude initially and then after 4 days of trekking. The hostel accommodation for the trek was very basic but we expected that. The first night we stayed at an Eco Lodge which was basic but quite nice. The other 2 nights were spent in places you wouldn’t bring a prostitute back to. Not that I would do that?

Rory’s rant:
There were about 500 travel agencies in Cusco all offering the same treks but wrapped up in different ways to differentiate their tours. It made it incredibly confusing and you never quite knew whether you were getting a good deal or not. They also seriously rip people off if they book online which we thankfully didn’t do. I feel it puts a mark on what is an amazing tourist assets for the country and region.

Heather’s Highlight:
During the ‘jungle trek’ we stayed at an Eco lodge which was a farmer’s family home with guest rooms purpose built for tourists. It was basic, but very enjoyable. They cooked for us and we got to see how they live. They follow traditions going back hundreds of years and it was stunningly beautiful – although very hot!

Read from the start of our South America trip

Lima, Peru – Foodie Paradise

Lima, Peru
Day 54-57 of our South America trip (Read more of Peru trip)

How we arrived:
We took a 3 hour bus from Mancora to Piura airport (very tiny airport) and a one hour flight with Avianca to Lima. We got a free upgrade to first class on the flight so we had an hour of feeling important! Also don’t stay in Piura if you have a flight from there as it’s a dive!

Quick overview:
We arrived late so just grabbed a pizza close by the hostel and went to bed the first night. The next day we did a quite bizarre free walking tour of the historical centre with a guide who had limited English. Luckily he did the tour in Spanglish and Spanish so at least I understood :P. The historical centre of Lima is easy on the eye and has a Spanish and partly French feel to the main buildings such a the Presidents Palace and Town Hall. We learnt about the brief Inca Empire of 100 years in the 14th-15th century. They certainly got a raw deal from the Spanish! That said I’m pretty sure they weren’t too good to their own people, regularly making child sacrifices. Another really interesting part of Peru is the race of people. The have been influenced by various different races including the Inca’s, the Spanish and in the last 150 years – Asians. A lot of people are of various different races due to the integration of people who settled in Peru.

Pisco Sour

Inca Kola

Ceviche

Steak sandwich

Churros

Pisco Sour

We were based in Miraflores which is where most tourists stay in the city and it has become quite westernised with large modern buildings, chain restaurants and a very safe feel. In terms of places we have stayed this is by far the most westernised and definitely somewhere you can walk around and not feel uneasy. That said it does give it less charm than other areas like the centre of Lima. That night we ate and had a few drinks around the lively bars and restaurants beside Kennedy Park.

walking tour Lima

SkyKitchen Peru

SkyKitchen Peru

walking tour Lima

Heather really wanted to do a Peruvian cooking class so we did a 3 hour class in a place called Sky Kitchen which was down the road from our hostel in Miraflores. Although I was a touch reluctant the class was a lot of fun and we learnt how to cook four different typically dishes – Causa, Ceviche, Lomo Saltado and Picarones. We then made friends with a really nice couple from Boston and went back to the bars by Kennedy Park to wash down the food!

SkyKitchen cooking class Lima

Ceviche at SkyKitchen Lima

SkyKitchen cooking class Lima

Lomo Saltado SkyKitchen cooking class Lima

Accommodation:
We stayed 3 nights at pretty basic hostel but with a great location in Miraflores called, Casa Huelpa. Private room with shared bathroom.

Rory’s rant:
I tried Ceviche since I made it in the class and while it wasn’t as bad or as fishy as I thought raw fish would taste, I’ll have my meat and fish cooked thank you very much.

Heather’s highlight:
FOOD. Lima has tones of high quality, delicious food. From street food to high-end…you will not go hungry here! I highly recommend that you eat at La Lucha, it’s fast food but specialises in steak sandwiches…not to be missed! We had the best day at a cooking class by SkyKitchen Peru it was $70 each, but totally worth every penny. We learned how to make ceviche and a few other dishes and it’s BYOB so we enjoyed some beers and wine with our meal.