Peru

Language- Spanish

Hello- Hola

Good Bye- Chau

Thank you- Muchas Gracias

Currency- Sol

Lima- (October 2007) Peru is so special to us- it’s the first country Joe and I have ever traveled to together- we love languages and different cultures and always dreamt of hiking to Machu Picchu so Peru was such an easy choice for us- because it was our first trip we booked with G Adventures- https://www.gadventures.com – it was such a great choice- everyone in our group was amazing- there was only 4 couples and our guide Jose was wonderful – we arrived in Lima on our own and walked along the mosaic wall and watched the kite surfers in the water – we saw so many street dogs- they leave you alone but they are looking for food- later that night we met with our group

Cusco- (October 2007) we flew from Lima to Cusco and the minute I got off the plane I felt drunk- the altitude is no joke – sitting at 11,152 feet, Cusco is a great place to get your bearings before heading to Machu Picchu – drink water and take care of yourself as you adjust – people can get really sick so don’t underestimate it- we did a couple hikes here to adjust and boy could I feel my heart beating in my chest- they have you chew on coca leaves to help with altitude sickness- Cusco is such a cute town with such kind hearted people- I loved all the bright colored clothing and animals everywhere

Ollantaytambo- (October 2007) this is where the sacred valley is and is not to be missed! This is halfway point between Cusco and Machu Picchu

We stayed in Ollantaytambo for the night – did some great and interesting shopping – the alpaca teeth walking sticks for the win though- the boys also found these cool Peruvian masks

Machu Picchu- (October 2007) Day 1 – This is a 4 day trek through the Andes Mountains- it’s an unreal experience- you can also take the train up if you are not able to hike- you do have to book early cause there are only so many people who can enter a day- we got put with another G Adventure group and Cesar was our guide- he was wonderful and did a coca leaf ceremony- he was very spiritual and taught us all about pachu papa and pachu mama – he made our experience even better – also our local porters blew my mind!! They would wear sandals and red bags bigger than them and just run up these mountains

Day 2- this day you will hike up to dead woman’s pass- this was a challenging day as you hike up to 13,828 feet – but the views are insane- our porters carried all our food and sleeping gear – they were so kind and made us such amazing food

Day 3 – there are still no bathrooms still just a dug hole for you ! Not sure if that is different now though! when we woke up we came out of our tent to unreal views- our Porter friend brought us hot water to wash up and some tea and then we were off again – now we are starting to see ancient areas where people lived and getting so much closer to Machu Picchu! There is even a store we can buy a beer and snacks! You do not need to bring many snacks on this trip- they feed you so much food

Day 4 – final day ! They wake you up at like 4am and then you still have like 3 or so more hours maybe more depending on your speed- and it’s a challenging hike up- but then you walk through the gate and wow is it more amazing in person- you have to just pinch yourself!! After exploring for the day you take the train back into town

Puno- (October 2007) we spent a day in Puno so we could head to the islands and do a home stay the next day – in Puno we learned that Guinea Pigs are wildly eaten in Peru

Taquile & Uros Islands- (October 2007) we took a boat ride across Lake Titicaca to visit the islands and have a home stay with a local family- we bought them food and gifts in Puno and they had a room for us and fed us- we all went to play a game of football in the field and they then they taught us a local Peruvian dance – it was so fun!

Uros Islands– Lake Titicaca- (October 2007) these islands are also know as the reed islands as they are made up of totora reeds- they have weaved the dense root together to form a sturdy layer- they try to make money off tourist by them buying their hand made goods as they get a very small percentage of the tour money – so buy something! They also make their boats from the reeds as well