Safetygoat

My Peru Trip: Top 10 things we did

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

When you write for web, you start thinking in “how-to” and “top 10s”, so I thought I would do the same with my trip to peru!  Here are my top 10 things from my recent trip to Peru!

10. “Bird poop island” AKA the White Islands

And when they call them the White Islands, it’s definitely the “few feet of guano” that they are referring to.  I didn’t get pooped on, so it was definitely a successful boat ride!

9. Beautiful  churches and ruins

If you want to see Inca ruins and 16th, 17th and 18th century South American churches, Peru is definitely going to satisfy your craving.  We saw many many fantastic Inca ruins, including Macchu Pichu, of course, as well as Inca cities even bigger than that between Cusco and Puno.  The most stunning church was probably San Pedro de Andahuaylillas, considered the Sistene Chapel of America (incredible painting and art pieces).  I preferred the more rustic churches, though.

Convent of Santa Catalina

Considered the most important building in Peru, it’s easy why people are impressed with this place.  More like a mini city than a building, it’s got a few streets and it probably the most beautiful, colourful place I saw in all of Peru.

8. Sheep, alamas, alpacas, cows, donkeys, one goat, and oh so many stray dogs!

It’s no wonder their hats and scarfs are made from llamas and alpacas, as they are everywhere!  They really have a different relationship with their dogs in Peru.  We thought the dogs were all strays, but it looks like owners just let them wander around during the day.  I was in love with all the animals we saw EVERYWHERE!

Oh, and eating guinea pigs!

It’s the traditional dish in Peru, and they eat them on special occasions.  Even their paintings of the Last Supper features guinea pig!  It was actually delicious– tasted a lot like chicken actually!

6. Chivay’s dancing and hot springs

Near the Colca Canyon, we stayed in a little town called Chivay.  While we weren’t keen on the “touristy meal” idea, their live band and hilarious dancers really made our night.  I was the first to go up and boogie with the guy, and then Ollie was roped into a 10 minute long dance fiesta!

El hot spring-os

What could be better than a hot spring in the mountain side?  More like a swimming pool than a spring, yet it was over 39 degrees celsius in the pool, and 87 degrees where it came into the pool!

5. Our new card playing friends in Puno

We went to the bar and were going to play some cards.  Somehow I dealt our bartender in to a simple game of 31.  I’ve never seen people having so much fun playing such a simple game! Our friends played some great tunes, and we had an absolute ball that night.

4. Sanddune buggy riding and sandboarding

Well, let’s just say my throat was killing me after sandduning in this buggy from screaming so much!  We’d go down almost vertical hills; it was MENTAL!  We also got to try sandboarding.  It’s just like snowboarding, except not as fast and not as cold.  Ollie was brilliant on his first few attempts, so we think he really has a future in it!

3. Playing soccer with the kids on the floating islands

They build their lives on floating islands made of reeds from lake titicaca, and yes, it’s definitely a touristy thing to do.  Their lives are hard but simple, and they seem to be a very happy people.  This little guy approached us to play soccer with him, as we got some free time.  After almost kicking the ball off the island, we managed to get a little game going, and then his brother joined in.  They wanted to practice header balls, which was hilarious as the older guy would just launch the ball at his brother’s head and knock him over! We were sad to leave, but at 3800m above sea level, you can’t run around very much without feeling like you’re going to die!

I then got to row a traditional boat… It looked so easy, and I’m an excellent rowboat rower… The guy who was taking us on the ride let me try, and then was cracking up at how horrible I was at it!

2. White water rafting near Cusco

We signed up the day before, and had no idea what to expect, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ollie so excited!  He must have swallowed half the river from grinning and laughing like a madman!  It was the start of the rainy season, so the water levels were pretty high, and the guide said they were level 5!  A few close moments of almost falling in, definitely, and “surfing” under the rapids was hilarious!  We had an AMAZING time!

1.  The Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu

Well, no surprise here, but the Inca Trail is absolutely beautiful, and Macchu Pichu is stunning.  The walk there in itself is difficult, there’s lots of stairs, and with the altitude, it’s slow going.  We were so lucky to have a fantastic group of mostly Australians, and while everyone kept up, no one held anyone back either.  The porters and tour guides we had with SAS Travel (Paull, our main guide, and Rodney who has sexy legs!) made up our camps for us every night, and we had a trained chef who made our meals (which was incredible considering what he had to make it with!).  We had lots of laughs (“stop peeling your corn”, “stunt cow” and so many more retarded jokes!), and at least one of the nights we all went to bed crying from laughing so much.  While the journey made your shoulders and legs ache, knowing that we did it, and seeing Macchu Pichu from the trail was an epic experience!

Overall, we had a fantastic time, didn’t get robbed, didn’t get hit by a car, and spent a fortune doing all the things we could! El-tripio was a huge success, and as Ollie would say, “Vamos!”

If you’re looking for a few more pics, you can check out all the albums on Ollie’s flickr.  Here’s the highlights album!