Arequipa - The White City

Arequipa is one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen - cobblestone streets, colonial buildings, historical sites, majestic mountains, stunning canyons, friendly locals and 'Zig Zag' the best cuisine in Peru (in my opinion).

We did the 2 day / 1 night Colca Trek. The Colca Canyon is the world's deepest canyon, after the Tsangpo in China. We saw a lot of massive condors - which has the largest wingspan (at 3.2 m or 10.5 ft) of any land bird, according to Wikipedia. They were just magnificent to watch.

As for the trek itself, the scenery was beautiful but the trek was average. We spent the first day walking on a really dusty trail and your face, nostrils, clothes are just covered in shit.

The second day was more fun. We started walking at 5am for 2 and a half hours, it was just a constant uphill of 1,200m. It was a bitch but like our previous tracks, it's very rewarding.

On our way back to Arequipa, we went to the hot springs which was much nicer than the ones in Aguas Calientes, as it's bigger, cleaner and quieter.

The next day, we just strolled around the beautiful city center of Arequipa. The gorgeous white Cathedral was worth a visit and you definitely don't want to miss the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, which is like a city within the city with houses, alleys and gardens inside the stoned walls.

We were going to do the Chachani trek, which is the world's easiest 6,000m trek and we were all psyched up for it all day and night. But in the end, the agency (most expensive in town) wasn't able to provide us with proper equipments (there were holes in the boots, paper thin jacket for the snow, 'ski pants' as thick as my hiking pants etc), so we cancelled and got a refund.

It sucks because we were so ready for it but shit happens. In the end, we treated ourselves to Zig Zag, the best restaurant in Peru! Ostrich carpaccio, excellent trilogy of meat (alpaca, beef and pork) and delicious passion fruit dessert.

Well, we have done everything we wanted to do in Peru, so we are heading off to Bolivia tonight, I have been snooping around peoples facebook photos of Bolivia and they look awesome!!! So I can't wait, although the night bus journey and getting through the Bolivian border will not be fun ;)

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Machu Picchu - The Lost City of the Incas

 

We flew into Cusco from Lima and did a day trip to the Sacred Valley before our 5-day trek to Machu Picchu.

On the first day, I underestimated what was waiting for me and I cursed through the 10-hour trek. I didn't take a single photo as I was just trying to make it to the camp in one piece!!! I finally calmed down when I started meeting other people from our group and I learnt to laugh again.

The second day, as expected, was a bitch! It was a constant uphill to 4,600m altitude. Again, I had no interest in the scenery until I reached the top alive. On my way back down, I realized I was surrounded by a beautiful scenery and I became stronger through the afternoon.

The third and fourth day were really easy, 5-hour trek each day. We ended the fourth day in Aguas Calientes where some of our group went to the hot spring which was pretty fun...and strange. Haha...everyone there probably hadn't had a bath for over 3 days but no one cared. It was a blast!

The fifth day was one of the most unforgettable days of my life. We got up at 4am and had to race up 2,500 steps (400m up) in order to get a pass to go to Wayna Picchu (there is a daily limit of only 200 people at 7am and 200 people at 10am).

It was harder than the previous 4-day treks and the 4,750m Santa Cruz trek because there was nothing other than darkness and 2 or 3 steps ahead of you. It was still dark and we had to trek with a head light. You know it's game over once you stop as there were tons of people behind you trying to get your spot.

I was really concerned with Rupert as he was really struggling. I, surprisingly, was getting stronger and stronger as we ascended. I still don't understand how I did it but I'm very proud of myself for achieving this.

I had tears in my eyes when we reached the top and were one of the first 200 to be there. I never thought I would make it and this had made me believe in myself more.

Machu Picchu was stunning. It's located in the middle of nowhere and its magnificent stonework and craftsmanship were just unreal. It was worth the all the hardwork, tears and sweat. No words or pictures can describe Machu Picchu. You have to be there to experience it. The Lost City of the Incas should lives up to it's title as the New Seven Wonders of the World.

To top such crazy day up, we went back in town only to realize our agency hadn't reserve Rup and my train ticket. No one know who to call to solve the problem and we were really stressed out!!! What made things worse was no one spoke English and no one gave a shit.

Thanks to my 3 angels - Menno, Tobias and Sven - who helped us translate, ran around from hostal to hostal and to the train station with their bloody backpacks! Somehow, we finally were able to get on a later train on the same night.

Thus, all in all, the 5-day trek to Machu Picchu was very adventurous, fun, challenging and rewarding. It was one of the most memorable experience of my life.

Huaraz, Peru - Trekking to 4,750m alttitude

The first day in Huaraz, we visited Chavin, a 3,000-year-old temple next to a small village. It's an impressive temple built from stone with a maze of tunnels, chambers and alleys that you can explore (really cool stuff).

We rested for a day before we embarked on our 4-day Santa Cruz trek in the mountain range of Cordilleras Blanca, which is the second highest mountain range after the Himalayas.

Every day, we woke up at 6am and would start trekking by 7am. It's the hardest thing I have ever done. I recently blogged about the hard work required for surfing, well it's nothing comparing to trekking to 4,750m altitude.

It's one of the best things I have ever done in my life.

I was worried about not being able to shower or wash my hair fo 4 days, but that was the last thing on my mind. The weather was so unpredictable that one moment, it's sunny, another it's pouring, then it's hot, then it's cold.

You could be trekking in your T-shirt during the day and you would be sleeping with your ski pants, thermos, beanie, gloves and fleeces at night.

Every step upward required so much strength and determination at such high altitude.

Breathing was one thing, hanging on to dear life was another. There were points when I thought I wasn't going to make it. But thanks to my husband who was my motivational angel and a great team of people we were trekking with, I finally made it.

And once you open your eyes and see what's around you rather than worrying about a shower, the coldness and wetness, fatigue or having a congested nose, it was all worth it.

The beautiful scenery of snow capped mountains, icy water falls, bright and colorful flowers, horses eating grass next to you, cows and donkeys strolling around, gorgeous valleys, river, lakes, trekking on peddles, stones, grass and mud, was just unbelievable.

We saw the Artesonraju which was said to be the Paramount Picture logo! Now that's amazing in itself.

I'm very proud of myself for doing this 4-day trek to 4,750m altitude. It's one of my biggest achievements in life and something I will share with my children.

Trujillo, Peru - Moche and Chimu

From Mancora, we took an 8 hour bus ride to Trujillo, then we visited the Huaca de la Luna and del Sol by the Moche and the Chan Chan by the Chimu, and took a night bus to Huaraz on the same day.

There wasn't much in Trujillo so there was no point in staying overnight.

The Huaca de la Luna and del Sol by the Moche was built around AD600 and the Chan Chan by the Chimu was built around AD1300. To be honest, after seeing all the ruins in Mexico, these ruins in Trujillo were rather disappointing.

Of course, I understand many ruins are reconstructions but for that very same reason, I expected to see...something. Since both the Huaca de la Luna and del Sol and the Chan Chan were built by mud, sand and clay, whenever it rains, everything gets washed away. They looked rather like a huge pile of sand in a construction site to me.

It's heart breaking when you see how big the sites are, they were massive and possibly bigger than Palenque in Mexico. But mother nature hasn't been kind. It made me sad to see that what once was a great empire is now a fallen and destroyed site with nothing but piles of sand.

Mancora, Peru - my first surf

Peru has so much to offer - the jungle, the coast, the mountains, the dessert...

Our first stop was at a small town called Mancora. Nice clean beach with killer body surfers, crazy waves and the best ceviche (tuna) in the world!

We took an hour of surf lesson and headed out to do our first surfs. Surfing looks so easy but it's bloody hard work! The paddling out with waves slamming directly at your face already took up most of my energy! I was glad that I stood up once and did a proper surf but the whole experience was rather scary!

Surfers were everywhere and I had seen at least 2 close calls where beginners were paddling out while another surfer just managed to surf above his head! And when you fall in the middle of a wave, you have no idea how long or deep the wave would drag you and whether you would be hit by someone's surf board. You just have to close you eyes and pray.

Having said that, I'm glad I did it but when we went back on the next day and the waves were crazier and we saw 3 broken surf boards, we decided we should practice more at a beginners beach later in our trip.

If you are there, you have to have their ceviche! So fresh and chunky and mouth watering, the best ceviche we have had so far and rather cheap! Only USD 3 for a huge bowl of fresh marinated tuna. It's healthy and tasty.

We felt like total athletes when we were in Mancora!