Welcome back! I know I’ve been slacking on this blog post so please forgive me but life, you understand. Let me pick up right where I left off.
Day 5 – Another day of exploring Cusco and learning about the Inca culture. Like most days we had an early start, we were picked up from our hotel about 6am and set out for our first stop of the day Maras Morray. These concentric terraces were just as memorizing in person as they were in photos I’d seen before my visit. We learned that these were created from a meteor crash that caused the initial hole in the ground where the Incas then created circular terraces. Each terrace had it’s own micro-climate. They were used to acclimate and adapt different crops so different plants could grow successfully on each level of the terrace.
Next on the agenda was a visit to Salineras de Maras or the Marras Salt Mines in English. There is only one source that creates the salt mines, a natural spring which is a local subterranean stream within the Qoripuky mountain. The water from the natural spring fills the ponds (usually about 3 days). A blockade is lowered so no water is allowed in, leaving time for the sun to evaporate the water. This process takes about 20 days, once the pond is fully evaporated you’re left with salt crystals. The families who maintain the mines then scrap the salt crystals from the pond and reopen the blockade to begin the process again. The process used today is the same process used by the Incas. The day we visited we saw ponds in different stages, some were completely crystallized and some were only a few days into the process and full with water. Locals had created a small market leading into the salt mines, here they sold, you guessed it salt, along with other handmade souvenirs.
Making our way back to Cusco, we made one last stop. I think this may have been my favorite and the most interesting. We stopped at a local village, Chinchero where local women welcomed us with coca tea to sip on while they gave us a demonstration on how they make clothing & other items from alpaca wool. They explained how they clean the wool, how they dye it which I think was the most interesting part. They squish bugs to get the color for the dye, seriously the most interesting thing ever! They then twist the wool into string and use a wood instrument to weave the wool to make cloth which then make all the sweaters, scarves and beanies. The process to create a scarf can take up to 65 days, the entire process is handmade. Oh I forgot to mention, these women carry their kids on their back while they work! These women amaze me with their strength and love for their culture. Our group then had the opportunity to purchase souvenirs they had handmade. Although, there is a lot of tradition in this town, I love that they cater to tourists. they did have a credit card machine for us to make our purchases. These ladies are making money moves in Chinchero, I love it!
Thankfully we had a short day, we were dropped off in the city center about 4pm. We had time to grab an early dinner. And today was the day we finally got to try a local cuisine we’d been hearing so much about. We were not disappointed, lomo saltado was delicious! It’s made up of marinated beef with sauteed onions & tomatoes sitting on top of a bed of french fries served with a side of white rice. It was honestly one of the the best dishes I had eaten on the trip! It was the perfect way to end our day and left our tummy’s full and our hearts happy. We headed off to our hotel to get some much needed shut eye for our extra early start time the following day.
Day 6 – Up and at’em! Half asleep but awake and ready for pickup at 3:30am this morning. I was so excited for the day to come and looking back it was probably the best day of our entire trip. I had no expectations for the day and maybe this played a part into the magic that happened, or maybe it was just fate on our side to have the best experience ever! Either way, I’ll take it. Our trip to Rainbow Mountain will always be full or memories I cherish dearly.
The first stop was breakfast at 6:30am. Mind you we are in a small van with 5 other people, it was dark and cold on the ride and everyone was sleeping. We had only mumbled good morning to each stranger as they boarded the van to join us early that morning. When we stopped for breakfast we had an intimate family breakfast, with large windows that had beautiful mountains with the sun rising as our view. We were able to introduce ourselves and immediately we all connected, we were instantaneously friends. The conversation & laughs were flowing and it really set the tone for the remainder of the day.
We continued our drive to Rainbow Mountain. It was approximately another 2.5 hours to basecamp. Let me tell you, this road was unreal! It was a windy rocky dirt road alongside a mountain. There was only enough room for 1.5 cars, leaving almost no room for oncoming traffic or passing, it did not have a guardrail which meant a plummeting death with one wrong move. Man we had a lot of trust in our driver, ha! FINALLY, we arrived. We were well rested and eager to get this hike started. Our tour guide for the day was Paqo, he was so nice, knowledgeable and so good with his words (more on that later). He really made our group feel like we were a family. Paqo gathered our group in a circle, said a few words blessing us on this journey and really hyped us up for what was to come. We all had hiking sticks, we placed them in the center and on the count of 3 yelled our group name ‘SUPER HIKERS’!
Before the trek we decided as a group we’d all take horses 80% of the way up. The reason being is we would be in such high elevation and we wanted to be kind to our bodies. But even hiking just the last 20% I was out of breath and had to take breaks every 10 minutes or so. Elevation sickness is no joke, thankfully I only had mild effects like shortness in breath and a headache.
We made it to the top! Honestly, my first thought was ‘This is it”? When you’re close to the mountain you don’t really see the colors along the side and it’s a bit unimpressive at first glance. But when you make you’re way up a bit further you can really see its beauty. I was ‘that girl’ who posed with a alpaca wearing tassels around their neck, but honestly they are so darn cute you have to! Our group hiked up a bit further where the real beauty was. Behind rainbow mountain you could see more mountain ranges a clear blue sky with clouds breaking up the sun. Breathtaking! Our group took some more photos and even a few group shots before beginning our trek down.
What most don’t know is there is another hiking trail at the same basecamp as Rainbow Mountain. As a group we decided we’d take on Valle Rojo and I’m so glad we did! This trail was less trafficked, beautiful and peaceful. I felt extra spiritual this day. Being in nature, exploring new places with new friends is really something that makes you realize how great life is. How blessed I am to have these new experiences and really cherish the moment. After getting our Passports stamped and taking some photos we decided to trek down the back of Valle Rojo. It was secluded and again gave me and our group time to reflect on the wonders of the world and our ability to be here. Paqo as I said earlier was a man of wisdom, culture and great with words. Along our trek Paqo asked each of us to pick out a rock. We stopped and gathered in a circle to begin a Peruvian ritual. We each placed our rocks into a carin over a pile of coca leaves. Paqo explained the ritual and importance of it to his culture. He said more beautiful words blessing us, this trip, our hike and our new found friendship. He then asked each of us to close our eyes and to make a wish. You guys, I know it sounds silly but being with this special group of people out in nature and I was feeling extra spiritual and at peace with life. I made a wish and honestly got goosebumps. I almost felt as if I was in another world. I truly felt a blessing from God in that moment.
After one of the longest days yet, we made it back to our van and worked our way back down the windy road. We stopped for dinner at the same place we had stopped for breakfast. This time we truly had family dinner and it was amazing! The laughs and conversation continued on for the last couple of hours on the drive home. We attempted to learn more about the Inca culture from Paqo and attempted to learn a few words in Ketchwa, the native tongue in Peru.
We finally made it back to Cusco. We were the first to be dropped off, we hugged everyone goodbye (mind you this was the first time we felt so connected with our group to even say goodbye let alone hug them) and made our way back to our hotel.
Day 7 – Another day another early morning; this time pickup was at 4:00am. We had another long drive head of us as we made our way to Humantay Lake. We stopped about 1/2 way to have breakfast in a small village. It was really beautiful, there were a few casitas which opened up to a common area with outdoor seating, from it there was a walkway to a garden overlooking a ridge. Absolutely stunning! During breakfast we were able to mingle with the others in our group while eating at a family style table.
Another hour drive before arriving to basecamp of Humantay Lake. Once we arrived we were given directions up the trek, our tour guide advised he’d meet us up top. After 2 hard days of hiking I was ready for the views but not the trek. It took us just over an hour to get to the top but depending on experience can take anywhere from 1 – 2 hours. I was exhausted and this day elevation sickness hit me hard. I was short of breath the entire way up. I stopped about every 20 mins to take a break, catch my breath and hydrate. I kept telling my friend Sadaly, this was the hardest hike so far. But she disagreed!
Finally, we took one last stop on a flat area with large rocks perfect for sitting. It was warming up, and the sun was scolding hot the higher we hiked. Sadaly convinced me to keep going and I’m so glad she did. We were only about 100 feet to the most beautiful views. The Lake is tucked away in a sea of rocks, but my God, it was stunning. I had never seen anything like it in my life.
We had enough time to take in the scenery and have a snack before meeting up with our group. We made out way down which was so much easier than the way up! But before and after you hit the trail you pass a secluded residential area. Here we saw pods and hostile type places that people could rent via Airbnb most popular for hikers beginning the Inca Trail. They had a clear view of the stars at night and easy access to Humantay Lake.
Finally, we arrived at the van ready to hit the road. We were hot, hangry and exhausted. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep on the ride home. I woke up when we arrived at the same village we had stopped at for breakfast. Here we had a late lunch before the last hour of the drive to Cusco. These stops were a nice way to have a bathroom break, stretch your legs and take in new views. Finally, we returned to Cusco. Everyone was dropped at the city center, Sadaly and I had decided on the drive home we were going to look for a place to get a massage. After 3 intense days of hiking we decided we had earned a bit of relaxation. This turned out to be the best decision we made, we had the best stone and fully body massage EVER! And you cannot beat the price it was $35 including tip. After that amazing massage I decided to treat myself once more with McDonalds. I really love trying McDonalds in each country I visit. I have no rhyme or reason to, well maybe comfort food might be the reason. But in all honestly, most of them taste the same and only a few items are different than the menu back in the states.
After a late dinner, we finally made our way back to our hotel. We showered and packed our bags so we’d be ready for a travel day ahead.
Day 8 – The day had come, our last day in Cusco. We had a scheduled van pickup from our hotel to the airport. This would be another travel day making our way from Cusco to Lima. This was a special day for us, it was the 4th of July back in the states. Me and my dear friend Sadaly thought we’d celebrate by wearing American flag scarfs to honor our country. We had many Americans who loved that we remembered the holiday and wished us a Happy 4th of July while we made our way through the airports. We arrived in Lima mid-day checked into our Airbnb and set out to explore the city. We walked around our neighborhood Miraflores which is known to be the most hip and lively neighborhood in Lima. This city was very fast paced, lot’s of traffic day and night and tons of honking cars! Drivers there honk no matter the time of day. This is definitely different than drivers in the US. The streets filled with people walking to and from restaurants, park centers, local grocery stores and coffee shops. Life seemed to never stop in Lima. After exploring Kennedy Park nearby, we did some shopping, I even had time to get a manicure, by the way it was one of the best I’ve had and was under $6 with tip! We ended our night with dinner nearby then back to our room.
Day 9 – We didn’t have any set plans while in Lima being a large city with lots to do we thought we’d wing it. We finally had a day to sleep in and we took full advantage of that this day. After a lazy morning we finally got dressed and set out for breakfast about noon. We walked around the corner to a local favorite restaurant called Manolo’s. They are known for the churros BUT had a pretty amazing breakfast. We couldn’t stop in without trying a churro or two, so we treated ourselves to this sweet treat. Delicious!!!
Because we didn’t have an agenda we decided to walk around town and explore some more. We needed souvenirs so set out for some local markets. Before visiting I heard of this local group that offered free city tours. I registered us and about 4pm we met at the visitors center which was just a few blocks from where we were staying. On this tour we met other travelers and made our way through some of the historic places in Barranco. We stopped at Kennedy Park which is actually named after US President John F Kennedy. Another stop on the tour was Love Park overlooking the ocean where large sculptures celebrating you guessed it love. This park is highly trafficked and a local spot to come with your significant other to canoodle (thank you Mean Girls, ha!). We also visited a local chocolate museum, here we tasted handmade chocolate and other goodies. This tour was very laid back, slow paced and informal. Along the tour our guide would mention the best restaurants, bars and shops to visit while visiting. We ended the tour at the Larcomar, which is an upscale mall in Peru. The selling feature is it overlooks the ocean. We had a recommendation to visit Pardo’s Chicken from a girlfriend who used to lived in Lima, so after the tour we were able to taste what all the fuss was about. Pardo’s had amazing chicken, it did not disappoint. We walked around the mall a bit more before making our way back to our Airbnb.
Day 10 – Our last full day in Lima. We grabbed coffee and breakfast at a nearby local favorite before headed out fo the day. Before visiting Lima I had been researching things I wanted to do while we were in town. The only thing I was determined to find were these heart shaped arches made up of flowers I had seen on Instagram. I didn’t do much research, but assumed they were located in the Circuito Magico del Agua which translates to The Magic Ciruit. I forgot to mention on our way to Lima our Airbnb host mentioned water would be shut off for most of the city during our entire stay. Given The Circuito Magico del Agua is a large park that hosts a water show (similar to the water show at the Bellagio in Vegas) we didn’t put two and two together that the water shut off may affect the park hours or it may not even be open for the day. We arrived and of course the park hadn’t opened for the day. We decided to kill some time and, we walked about 40 minutes making our way down to the historic part of the city. We really got a different feel of the city compared to Miraflores. This part of the city definitely had many more historic buildings like Plaza de Armas, city centers and lots of people out in the streets enjoying the perfect weather and local events.
After exploring for a few hours we decided to make our way back to The Circuito Magioc del Agua. When we returned to the park; the gate attendant advised because of the city wide water shut off the park would not host the water show but was still open for business. Interesting enough this actually made this the perfect day for our visit. The park was nearly empty leaving me so happy when we finally found the heart shaped arches. My girlfriend Sadaly was probably annoyed with me at this point. I had changed outfits (in the middle of the park, true story) and I drug her along this entire day just to make it here. But we finally we made it and I was in IG heaven!!! After about 200 pictures and 25 boomerangs my heart was happy.
This was the last stop on our agenda for the day. We took an Uber back to our room and before headed up we grabbed some dinner and made some last minute souvenir stops nearby before calling it a night.
Day 11 – After over a week of traveling, sight seeing, shopping, good food, and great company our trip was finally coming to an end. We made our way back to the airport to catch our last flight from Lima back to Tijuana. We arrived about 6pm and slowly reality started to kick in. After long trips I look forward to getting home and sleeping in my own bed, there is no better feeling.
I really hope you all enjoyed my adventure to Peru. I cannot wait to plan my next trip. Do you have any destination suggestions for me?
