Today marks the one-year anniversary of stepping foot on my fourth continent! In honor of that trip (and because The May Daily didn’t yet exist), I’ve decided to do a throwback and take you back to an amazing week in Peru with me.
With three of the best friends a girl could ask for and months of planning, we bought new backpacks, hiking gear, and got on a plane to Peru. This is the short version of our week-long adventure to see as much of the country as we could possibly squeeze into seven days.
Day 1: From Lima to Ollantaytambo
We finally landed in Lima at 12:15am and slept in the airport waiting for our 5am flight to Cusco. After arriving in Cusco, and finding it shockingly cold, we headed out to discover the mountainside.
We ended up finding a cabbie, Issac, who took us on a tour from Cusco, through Pisac, and dropped us in Ollantaytambo. He was the sweetest old man (we think -- we could only understood about half of what he said in Spanish.)
Some of our favorite stops included Saqsaywoman (pronounced sexy woman), Animal Sanctuaries (Llama take a selfie), a lookout point over the Sacred Valley, Pisac Market, Urumba (for a traditional lunch buffet), and lastly Ollantaytambo.
From there, we took the Peru Rail up to the town of Aguas Calientes.
Day 2: Machu Picchu
Our second day was the most picturesque part of our adventure, when we visited Machu Picchu and hiked up Huayna Picchu. After waking up at about 4am to catch our bus with a pack weighed down with food and drink for the day, we rode through the switchbacks up the mountain. (Possibly the scariest bus ride I’ve ever been on).
We were some of the first people through the gates that morning, which provided us with breathtaking views and pictures with minimal photobombs. Shortly after, we left for our hike up Huayna Picchu – which was much more intense than we expected. It ranged from nice meandering paths to steps that were higher than our knees, which we had to hoist ourselves up and over. That said, I wouldn’t trade the tough parts for anything, because the views from the top were unbelievable.
Day 3: Ziplining in the Sacred Valley
Back down the mountain in the Sacred Valley, we were picked up for our tour to go ziplining. This was one of those items that we had completely underestimated. We ended up rock climbing up about 400 meters, then took seven different ziplines down the mountain, allowing us to take in breathtaking views of the entire valley.
Day 4: Travel Time
Most of this day was lost to travel time going from the highlands down to the desert region of Huacachina. Planes, buses, and cabs were all required to make it from one part of the country to the next.
Day 5: Winery/Pisco Tour and Sand Surfing
Our next driver, Gjore, picked us up for our Winery and Pisco Tour at the very appropriate time of 10am. We were dropped at a winery, where we had a tour of the Peruvian wine and pisco-making process. We bought a bunch of souvenirs thinking it was our only stop, but we were wrong!
At the second winery, we were taken to what seemed like a store room, full of the clay containers that wine is traditionally aged inside in Peru. Our first tour said that they no longer used those containers and they were just for show, but this evidently wasn't true everywhere. We were able to sample a bunch of wines and piscos straight from the clay jars, using a piece of hollowed out sugar cane. We were quite hesitant to drink so much straight pisco, after our sips of it out the night before, but Gjore let us follow up with the nice wine, so everyone was able to hold onto their breakfast.
That afternoon, we headed out for our sandsurfing adventure. We rode in a sandbuggy through the lagoon. We were first taken to one of the highest points, which was a great view over the lagoon. The first time down, our instructor had us hold the board and lay on our stomachs… then the same the second time… and the third. Although we got to go down bigger and bigger hills, we were disappointed by the fact we never actually got to stand! If I were to ever go again, we wouldn’t chose “Traditional,” we would go on snowboards. We tried to stand on the traditional boards, but our feet just fell out.
Our adventurous day was followed by a night on the town at a favorite bar, “Huacafuckingchina” – obviously a place that catered to English-speaking tourists.
Day 6: Trip to Paracas National Park
We set up a boat tour to go out to the Baellestas Islands, which are also known as the Mini Gallapagos or Poor Man’s Gallapagos. After we rode the shuttle for an hour, we arrived in the harbor town of Paracas. That’s when we were told we couldn’t visit the Islands, because a storm was blowing in from the ocean and the waves were so big that the Coast Guard wouldn’t allow visitors. The tour company changed our trip from the Islands to Paracas National Park. It was perhaps the only disappointment of the trip, but there were still some stunning landscapes to take in.
Day 7: The Last Day in Lima
We didn’t really have a plan for the last day, since Lima unfortunately received the least of our research. We started off with a magnificent brunch along the main boulevard in Miraflores.
From there, we took a cab down to their Bridge of Wishes, which you are urged to walk across without breathing. Let’s just say it was much easier than we expected.
We headed down to the beach, where we found a single restaurant where we could sit less than 20 feet from the crashing waves and continue happy hour(s).
For the rest of the afternoon, we meandered along the coast until we made it to the famous shopping area, overlooking the ocean. You might have thought Larcomar was a traditional American (very expensive) mall until you turned around and saw that view. For dinner we tried the ceviche that Lima is so famous, along with scallops served bacon-wrapped in shells. I could eat that meal a thousand times over.
By that time, we were due to head back to the hotel to get our bags. But we couldn’t resist one last stop. Our waitress at breakfast told us about a park with Fountains of Lights (also known as Magic Water Circuit.). It was also known as the park of lovers, and they aren’t kidding. It is a couple-fest. PDA aside, the visit was so worth it. The lights in the fountains were astonishing. Our favorite was when they projected a twirling ballerina from Swan Lake through the fountains, and it truly looked like she was dancing.
From there, we headed to the airport for our flight home. SO LONG PERU!