peru-me
Disclaimer: it’s my last night in my 20s as I write this sentence.
Disclaimer: that is the only sentence I wrote in this entire post while still in my 20s. :D
It’s actually my birthday as I’m writing this. My THIRTIETH freaking birthday, if you can believe that.
No longer will this girl hold the title of “F, Minneapolis, 20s” in my Pelo profile #RIP BUT I’m in freaking Cusco, Peru on the most gorgeous day since we’ve been here. The sun is shining bright, I found a yoga studio this morning to move my body at, and the hotel staff even left me a little birthday treat para mi cumpleanos! It’s a great day, even mixed with a couple hours of work. Something about looking over the mountains while in sunshine makes working more bearable :P We also leave for the Andes tomorrow!! STOKED about it.
So Peru; we’ve been here about 5 days now, and I’m due for a travel update.
THE ROAD TO PERU:
Starting with the flight. We made it to Miami just fine, our stopping point, and went to check-in for our next flight…only to be told by the staff that starting April 1st, Peru was changing their definition of “vaccinated” to requiring 3 shots OR a negative PCR. Lucky for us, our flight was due to arrive in Lima at 6:30AM on April 1st. So we ended up heading down the airports 24/7 COVID testing station and paying $175pp for a freaking negative COVID test.
Turns out, the Peruvian government announced this rule change on March 28th - 2 days before we took off. So ultimately, our bad for not monitoring the updates, but still a little bitter about it. The most annoying part is the negative test wasn’t even looked at upon arrival. Okay, I will stop talking about it. We are here and it’s great and it’s not worth dwelling on! Basically, it just negates the #deals I found us on our flights :P So, once we made it past that sitch, it was breezy. The Visa process was really smooth and quick as well, and actually, we were never charged anything for a Visa? Contrary to what I read about…maybe they felt bad about the April 1st COVID test rule change ;P #karma
STOP 1) LIMA:
We arrived in Lima early; just so early that we were both extremely exhausted from travel and didn’t sleep great on the redeye. We took a cab to our hotel (after running around the parking lot trying to find our Uber) and then took a nice, needed nap. The next 2 days or so were spent exploring the city! Lima is known for its food (and not much else), so we did a lot of walking and a LOT of eating. See food porn reel further down!
We stayed in Miraflores, but made it out to a couple other parts of town like downtown. Lima is big, and although we had no “safety” issues, there are parts of town you will be told to avoid. We even ventured onto local transportation, with the help of a local!
favorite things in Lima:
The coastline - it’s beautiful. The city is built up on the hillside from the ocean, so everywhere you go along the cliffs, you can see gorgeous coastline (highly recommend staying on the coast!). It’s very lucious and the cliffs are filled with gorgeous wild flowers! It’s also pretty active with many parks along it. Great running boardwalk!
Churros - I can confidently say this now that we are in Cusco and having a helluva time finding churros! Churros are everywhere in Lima, and apparently nowhere in Cusco.
Paragliding park - although we weren’t the brave souls strapped in, there is a park along the cliff where paragliders take off. There is excellent viewing where you can just go watch people run off the cliff and start flying like a kite.
Coffee with views - along the coast, there are also some coffee shops that have great views. Such a great way to spend a morning!
The weather - alright, so coming from 30F temps still in MN, 80F and partly sunny felt amazing. And it wasn’t too hot; it was just right warm. It’s fair to note that the coast has different weather than the downtown / inland area. The day we migrated downtown, it was at least 10F hotter and WAY more sunny.
Kennedy Park - a lively square in the center of Miraflores with cats chilling in the flowers.
2 days in Lima was enough. I’m sure there are many more places to venture. We have to basically bounce back to Lima multiple times before going home, so we’ll have the chance. I’ve been having mad cravings for Mexican food, so the Burrito Bar in Barranca is definitely something I will not miss before heading home. :D
STOP 2) CUSCO:
We flew to Cusco from Lima; even though I have a soft spot for bus travel, the trip to Cusco is LONG. You add so many miles just to get around the mountains vs going through them flying. (TIP: if you are going to fly from place to place, I highly recommend booking at least 1-2wks out. We did not do this and ended up paying way more than we should have for flights) The landing in Cusco was nutty as well - I had never experienced flying in between mountain ranges, with the mountain in such close view.
This town is just amazing though. Situated at 11,500ft, surrounded by mountains, the views are great and the air is THIN. If you are a sea level bum like me, take the advice and leave a couple days in your schedule to lay low while your body adjusts. Jake & I felt pretty good the first evening we got here, but our first night of sleep was pretty horrible. The next day, we both woke up with deep headaches; we spent some time just laying low, took a nap, and by the afternoon (about 24hrs after arriving), we were really feeling good & even did a little hike!
Don’t be mistaken though. The huff and puffs still continue. Especially since this city is basically a bowl with mountains on all sides, you are always walking up stairs and climbing one way or another. This is part of what makes it so special! The streets are very old and super skinny and may appear to be walking streets, but if you hear a horn, you better dodge to an edge. The city is lively! Even with the lack of tourists around yet (impacts of COVID still strong), the markets are great and there are so many nooks and cranny’s to explore.
favorite things in cusco (so far):
the wood-fire pizza @ El Pisonay; if you are here, it’s a must. Sounds ridiculous and super American-y to eat pizza in Peru. BUT pizza joints are everywhere and seem to be some kind of specialty. Cooked with Andean cheese & lots of fresh toppings - MUY bueno!
San Pedro’s market: if you love overwhelming yourself with tens of stores selling the same things, you will love this place. It reminds me a lot of the markets in SE Asia - fresh meat (except it also has guinea pig and alpaca), juices, nuts/chocolate, and all of the local-inspired textiles you can imagine.
Fresh jugos: also in the market and in all cafes, you will find fresh juice. In the market specifically, there are 20+ juice stands, each with the same menu, but a different name at the end of the sign. For ex. “Jugo de Maria” next to “Jugo de Rosa”. It’s quite comical, but very much recommend the mango, strawberry, orange juice.
the views from up the hill: luckily, our hotel is one of the places up the hill with awesome views. Many restaurants also have something similar. It just doesn’t get old! You can also climb up further for free to the Cristo Blanco (white Jesus) for even better views!
vibes: hard to put this into words, but it’s just a really laid back, outdoorsy, neat city. It’s the gateway to the Peruvian Andes and the crowd matches that.
yoga class: I found a yoga studio that just matches the vibe. Love doing yoga while traveling <3
Organika: another plug for an amazing restaurant, but all organic, locally grown foods at this place. And their presentation is 100. I was deeply cravings a huge plate of green stuff, and Organika came in clutch.
After we hit up the Andes, we plan to come back to Cusco for a few nights (some work, some play, some Rainbow Mountain). So I’m sure I’ll have even more favorites by then :D
Since I’ve talked about the food so much, it deserved it’s own little photo reel.
That’s all I have for now. My Spanish is getting WORKED, but even in just 5 days, I’m feeling so much more confident and expanding my vocabulary extensively. The amount of English here is really hit or miss. I would say majority of the store owners that you run into on the streets can speak very little English. I highly recommend having the basic Spanish skills down if you come here! It has been MUY helpful. Even Jakers is catching on :)
Buenos dias mi amigos,
yo’girl Jen, Peruvian style
