Peru | sizesoftheplanet

-PERU-

15 days trip

to feel small among giants

Pachatata: father earth

Pachamama : mother of earth and water

My advice before going:

By kindness, learn that "sulpayki" is "thanks" in the inca language of cuzco and "yus pagara" in the oumantay language (pre-inca language)
Do not spend more than one day in Lima. The other places are so much better!
Increase little by little the height of the destinations and get used to Cuzco (3400m) two days before doing a long trekking.
Drink coca leaf tea every morning and always carry nuts or candy in your bag.

Now you are ready! Go to all the tops by walking because going on horseback or by car eliminates most of the pleasure of the landscape!

Day 2-3: Cuzco 3000m

As a new adventure after 26 years of travel: take a plane to Cuzco, the pilote try to land twice, can not because of the wind, return again to Lima, wait in the plane for 2 hours and fly back to Cuzco to try again. A 50-minute flight that lasted six hours!. The best gift? , the beautiful stone house at 3000 meters where we stayed, the night visit of this beautiful city of stone and inca architecture under the stars and the corn soup. We are as in "El dorado" Disney movie. I have three objectives in this beautiful city: 1.try the chicha morada 🌽 : a hot drink based on sugar, purple corn juice, and delicious lime 🍋 2. HUG the lamas, soft and cute quiet animals and super funny aspects , 3. tonight try the cuzco pisco: the Peruvian grapes alcohol accompanied by their tapas 🍹 with typical music.

A beautiful sunny day to make the market, buy handmade souvenirs, write on my book recipes of the grandma's 🤶 of the market and their advices at 3000 meters. Tomorrow begins the 5-days of trecking!....

Day 1: Lima

As all capital of South America and Southeast Asia life begins at 6am in the morning. If there are two words that define them is: noise and chaos. Suddenly you turn a street and you find houses full of color, cathedrals, and between thousands of claxon sounds: smells of sweet potato, ceviches and meat. One day is enough to stay here, but I will remember above all, the kindness of the people.

And from tomorrow we will take the way to villages, altitude, tradition, nature and peoples: The real Peru that we have come to look for!...

Best restaurant: La casa del PISCO

Although its prices are "expensive" compared to the rest, if you really want to try the real (and not the "happy hour tourist pisco" pisco is the only original site. A beautiful decoration, a multitude of colorful cocktails with high quality alcohols and flowers, live concerts, and gourmet food adapted to Peruvian flavors. 4 days in Cusco, 4 dinners here. We also almost our reserved table

And once per week in vivo peruvian /reggae/rock concert! =)

Best HOSTEL: HOSTAL SUECIA 1

https://www.hostalsuecia1.com/en/services/

The kindness of this family is priceless. They are available 24 hours (really!) for you, always with a smile, a very complete custom breakfast, situated in the central square but without noise; A beautiful familiar stone house with an interior courtyard and large rooms. the best option!

Day 4: Sacred Valley

4am: get up for 5 experiences in one day (road map below)!

1.The magnificent lake of Piuray and its llamas with a marvelous reception of the shepherdess family with hot drinks outside 🐑. Here we have assisted to a Demonstration of lama wool dyeing

2.The circus of Moray where the Incas cultivated their plant 🌿 at different temperatures, such a natural laboratory.

3.The Incas temples of Chinchero village, mixed with the constructions of the colonial Spanish; the historical halt.

4.The Salt terraces, where each family posses a salt-rectangle that is the base of their economy during the year.

5.The Inca temples of Ollantaytambo valley and his sun god ☀ in the sky with 30 degrees today!

All this accompanied by a tasteful Peruvian buffet, salty chocolate 🍫 , an a toasts of herbal-alcohol in Quechua language in the bus at 6am!

Day 5-6: Machupichu, God's house

After a long trip in a beautiful old train where we could try different typical hot drinks and see the snow by the window for the first time we arrived to Aguas Calientes! The "artificial village" created near the temple of MachuPichu. I do NOT recommend spend time there as it is all noise, souvenirs stores, and night clubs at night. But our favorite bar "Mapacho Craft Beer" I recommend! Away from the tourists, adorable waiters with whom we have shared life experiences and a giant menu of handcrafted beers and tapas by the river!

After sleeping READY to climb to the sacred temple of Machupichu walking instead of by bus: the most amazing decision we have done and one of the most tired stairs! The force of the Amazonian rivers and their strength, the 30° C of the sun's god ☀ , 80 % humidity, the songs of the birds 🐦 . A set of circumstances that have turned to arrive after two hours a magical moment. One of the seven wonders of the world under the blue sky. There are no words to describe the Inca force that has formed this.

Day 8: Humantay lake

5am: two hours of travel and we arrive! The best breakfast in a farm =)

Humantay: a place full of positive energy, greatness and beauty. Another trek at 3200m, at times I thought my lungs were going to leave me ! But my redhead boy and I have arrived first again! 💪 . This lake reflects the snow of the mountains that surround it as a magical mirror, with all the range of greens and blues imaginable of its water.

Here we make with our group, between this spiritual silence, the three-steps Inca ritual on the lake:

1. deposit three coca leaves 🍃 under a tower of stones to thank Mother Nature

2. Sing the Quechua song for the earth 🌎 , the water 💦 and its mountains ⛰ .

3. before drinking, always pour a few drops on the ground and lift the glass to heaven to thank the gods and the earth for it

A precious ritual, if there is something I like about this culture, it is what they care for and admire its nature. All accompanied by a rich buffet at the horse stable...

Day 7: Winikunka Rainbow mountains

Vinicunca or Winikunka, also called "Montaña de Siete Colores", or "Rainbow Mountain" (the inhabitants call it "Cerro Colorado"). It's a mountain with an altitude of 5,200 meters above sea level. Why these colors? Go back 24 million years ago, when different layers of rock sediments such as sandstone, halite, gravel, limestone ranging from ochre, green, yellow and white, and compacted to form different layers.

After a month without knowing if I was going to be able, we succeeded (we are full of red blood cells :D)! Trekking at 5200m height without symptoms of "soroche" (peruvian name for dizziness, headache, nausea)! The heart beating harder but a sense of infinite purity and indescribable landscapes.

All accompanied by a 5-course lunch 🍚 🥚🍝 🍿 🌽 at an alpaca farm.

And this night? Returning to Cuzco, to celebrate it in our favorite Pisco Cocktails 🍹 bar, because tomorrow at 4am the adventure in altitude continues! ... Funny anecdote: this is the second time we have huge bowls of popcorn for breakfast! (I think I could live here indefinitely :p)

Day 9: Puno

After 7h-bus travel 🚍 we arrive to Puno and its titicaca lake (Titicaca means cougar + stone) at 4000m: the highest navigable lake in the world. For 20 euros a panoramic bus with parquet floor, drinks, leather beds and tv? Take example european transport!

Let's go enjoy the lake and its floating islands 🏝, the most authentic side of Peruvian life, living in the homes of families with hundreds of years of tradition for the next three days, without electricity or water, disconnection . And this night? Peruvian dinner in Puno city with traditional dances , the joy of living, is this country....

TIPS!!

Best bar in Puno: 1. PACHA MIXOLOGY cozy and misterious ambient, and also it's very original molecular-smocked and "laboratory" cocktails (you could drink in a erlenmeyer!) , but also their strong original local beers.

2. La casa del corregidor: Vinyl records of Peru's yesteryear decorate the walls, while board games and clay teapots are ready to adorn the tables

Restaurant: Balcones de PUNO--> Very cheep peruvian food with a big variety of choice while you could enjoy a 2h free amazing show with 6 typical inca dances and "musical theatres pieces", and instruments concerts! The colors of the costume is the best dessert!

Hasta la proxima tierra de gigantes....

Day 12-13: Around the Lake

LLachon village: Today rather quiet, 10km walk among sheep 🐑 , horses 🐴 and donkeys. Climbing the hill of Titikaka Lake to see from the heights the islands 🏝 we have visited. Quick return before the storm ⛈ , billiards with Cusqueña beer and this night try another restaurant different from specialties and piscos. It starts to smell the goodbye and the nostalgia of returning....

The Archaeological Site of Sillustani, a wonder, they are the tower-pyramids of the Incas and Preincas. Below these towers, are the mummies of the important people and their families. When they died, all the servers have to kill themself the same day as the leader to protect it too during death. They were killing with "magic" (toxic) plants 🍄 . Every stone has a sense, and these constructions has survived ato each earthquake!. Here, our last day has arrived.

Small celebration tonight with Pisco 🍹 and Peruvian food 🍲 , and tomorrow ready for almost 60 hours of airports and planes😭 🛬 . But we have superb ideas on how to have fun in the airports ! 🎉. (Activities: play cards, try all the restaurants, meet all the waiters, compare the prices of water bottles as a game, walk, walk again, invent stories of people and survive. In this case I think, why i don't have learned crochet before?)

Day 10-11: Titikaka Lake & Islands

The most immersive human experience of this trip. Living with Inca families for two days on the floating islands of the Peruvian-Bolivian lake titikaka: Uros, Aquiles and Amantani. Islands built by themselves based on compacted earth, roots and layers of local plants 🌿 . On each island of a few square meters, families live with a rotating "president ". They subsist on fishing 🎣, cereals and quinoa, corn 🌽 , 100 types of 🥔 and muña, guests, solar energy and handicrafts. A clear example of minimalism and ecology. Unparalleled hospitality, I have learned with the family to prepare quinoa flour, soups with their white smiles on bronze skin, and an exquisite meal each day accompanied by unforgettable stories and games. These children know how to have fun and learn much faster than us without a playstation or television, but with books and origami histories. Thanks or "yus pagara" to Anna, Camila, Diego and his wife Flavia and his son Boris for so much love. People who have never left their island, and have known how to find their own happiness better than us!

Traditions of the islands

To say hello to each other they exchange two coca leaves from their little bags.
To get married, the woman offers to the men a hand – made embroidered belts that represents several months of work!, once married, she must also give her hair twice a year to her husband and he wear that hair as a wig to dance in the official traditional parties.

If you want to live thar, I really recommend the travel experience agency ALWAYS TRAVEL for the perfect organization and nice welcome.