Week 19 ~ Peru
- Mary Kate gKing
- Jul 25
- 6 min read
Toda mi vida he soñado con el Perú
Peru has been on my bucket list since I first made a Pinterest account in high school. I remember learning about it in Spanish class and always being drawn in by their peaceful flute music, adventure opportunities, their colorful ponchos, culture and history. I think I asked Nicky to pinch me at least 10 times in the last week because it still feels so
surreal to be here.
They say, don’t meet your heroes, because it will just let you down. I was concerned about that when venturing to Peru after 4 months for travel. So far, it has lived up to and surpassed every expectation.
Some key observations Nick & I have agreed upon since arriving to Peru:
Spanish is SO much easier to understand in Peru. After taking a couple months off from speaking Spanish while bopping around Asia, we were afraid we’d forgotten everything we’d learned while in Patagonia. We are communicating better now in Peru than we were in both Chile & Argentina.
Peru is truly rich in culture, history, and food. The food as been delicious so far, with and endless amount of corn, potatoes, llama, alpaca, cuy, and other delicious cuisine to choose from. I won’t get too much more into this since International Chef will be covering this at the end of our Peru stay.
Cusco is such a cool town. Very quaint, tranquil, and beautiful with rolling mountains in the distance of the plaza. In between me gasping for air during our strolls through the streets of Cusco, you could hear me saying “Que Linda”. I’d love to say the panting subsided after 24hrs of acclimating to the 11,000ft elevation, but unfortunately that was not the case. Our take away -listen to the locals and drink the coca tea.
Now, Mr. Big Lung’s note on the coca leaves:
Kale & quinoa are not superfoods. I will tell you what a superfood is.
Peru has an all-natural, organic, and vegan superfood that cures jetlag, combats altitude sickness, and improves focus. It curbs hunger cravings. Produces mild feelings of euphoria. Is not addictive. No withdrawal symptoms like caffeine headaches.
After 48 hours of flying, three servings of this superfood locked me in so much I made my surf video in mere hours.
For a big bag of this, it costs 1 sol, or 30 cents.
A testimonial from a Peruvian porter: “I hike 20km a day at 3000m of altitude. I am strapped with 50kg of supplies, and I move three times faster than the gringos on the trail thanks to this.”
If you could figure out how to concentrate the effects of this superfood, you’d be a billionaire.
An aside on superfoods – quinoa used to be a primary staple of the lower-class Peruvian diet, until it got labeled a superfood. And now, all of it gets exported to Cava & the homes of health-conscious white women.
Quinoa is nothing compared to the other Peruvian superfood. I am recruiting to bring this superfood to the globe. A quick advert:
Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months in the jungles. Safe return doubtful. Honor, recognition, and a Netflix series dedicated to you in the event of success. (credit to Ernest Shackleton for this)
The Coca leaf is what I am talking about.
Grown all across Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia, the Coca leaf is consumed by chewing them & in teas.
You may be familiar with its concentrated derivative, made popular by Pablo Escobar, and found all across the US: cocaine.
The coca leaf & cocaine aren’t really the same, but as they say, when in Rome.
In our early days in Peru, fighting the 11,000 foot altitude & jetlag, the Coca leaf has powered us through our days. We have enjoyed it in tea form & in direct leaf form on the hiking trail.
Written in thanks to the Coca leaf.
Our first week in Peru has lived up to the hype. We spent 6 days in Cusco, spending a few nights near Aguas Calientes and Urubamba.
Some pics from Aguas Calientes (The nearest town to Machu Picchu- accessible from Cusco by car + train)
First Stop: Machu Picchu
Booking only 4 months in advanced did not allow us to reserve the 4 day 3 Night Inca Trail Trek; however, we did get to earn or sights of Machu Picchu by doing the 2 Day 1 Night camping Inca Trail which was still incredible. Walking through the sun gate after a long day of hiking to see Machu Picchu still gives me goosebumps when I think of it.
Again, not trying to step on the toes of our infamous International Chef, but the camping food provided by our tour company was next level.
We loved our tour and learned so much about the Inca civilization. We also met some ‘friendly’, sexy, llamas along the way.
Similar to the cow situation we found ourselves in Chile, at one point we were surrounded.
Considered to be pretty friendly, our guides ensured we had nothing to worry about. We were convinced they could sense we ate their cousin for lunch and did our best to avoid them even when they came for us.
Not pictured was Nick taking on an even more intimidating Mamma Llama.
"Lo siento, Muchas llamas"
I think by the end of this week, we were finally able to make peace with the llamas and alpacas. No hard feelings about the eating their tia & novio.
One thing not discussed yet, was how amazing the people were on our 2 day tour. We got super lucky with the people in our group, some could even say they surpassed our climbing group in Vietnam. Our group consisted of a couple from Hong Kong, a Greek couple who'd been living in Sweden for the last 15 years, and two girls from Miami who were our only fluent spanish speakers aside from our Peruvian guide, Aldofo. We got very lucky because it can always be a hit or a miss when it comes to group tours.
Our favorite experiences we've had during our travels is conversing with other people along the way. One thing our vagabonding book talked about was how you might learn more about Bulgaria in Thailand, or about Germany in Chile. That has been the case for us along the way, and here we found ourselves having another similar experience during our final lunch with our group. We all could've taken our couple of free hours to go explore more of Aguas Calientes but instead we sat around our lunch table comparing politics, religion, and healthcare across all of our countries. Connecting themes of power leading to corruption and all the other topics you are warned to never discuss at the family Christmas dinner table. It was one of the highlights of our week- maybe even of our travels.
And nothing like the energy of a pisco sour to have us partnered up for a 90 minute train ride with the couple from Hong Kong (Anthony & Crystal - their english names;) ). No lapse in conversation, talking about everything under the sun... stereotypes, politics, education, and freedom. We're extremely grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know them on a deeper level than "where's your favorite country you've traveled to?".
After our adventures in Machu Picchu, we decided to choose a more relaxing accommodation in Sacred Valley that included …… more llamas .. & alpacas!!
Our accommodation boasted scenic views and a common dining area that was.. for lack of better words.. quite the vibe.. all of which included extensive visitations from the local llamas and alpacas.
At some points it felt like we were starring in the Peruvian version of Yellowstone. Especially on our second day when we went out for a ride.
“Montar un caballo, puntas” - Beth, Kayleigh, & our amigos from the Oaxaca wine bar know how iconic this activity is for me & my duolingo Spanish.
It was Nicky’s first time horseback riding. Nicky proved to be a natural, even if his horse was at least 10 meters behind the group most of the time, occasionally hitting a trot to catch up.
Additional activities explored in the Sacred Valley included self-guided mountain biking. Mountain biking at 11,000ft proves to be an extraordinary feet when peddling uphill. Or at least for the gringos.
So cheers to hoping that the uphill mountain bike climb is our biggest challenge while in Peru. Next stop: Rainbow Mountain.
Salud!
Weekly HLUL - Peru Pt 1
NK:
High: seeing the different large Incan villages, Winawayna & Machu Picchu.
Low: the unsettling times of waking up and not knowing if it was going to be midnight, 2am, or 7am, due to jet lag.
Unexpected: eating Cuy. The spanish word for Guinea Pig. Sorry, Chunky.
Learned: Machu Picchu was started over 5000 years ago. It was discovered by the Inca people in the 1430's and they worked on it for 100 years, until 1532. 800-1000 people lived there.
MK:
High: Finally being in Peru and seeing Machu Picchu for the first time.
Low: Motion sickness during the lengthy car rides to Machu Picchu & Sacred Valley
Unexpected: The ~vibes~ of Cusco, Aguas Calientes & our Mountain View Experience Hotel in Scared Valley
Learned: A lot about the Inca civilization which I’ll let Mr. Big Lung touch on… & the way to tell the difference between llamas and alpacas is that llamas have long faces, ears, and bodies while alpacas have more rounded faces, ears and bodies.
Gracias para leyendo!
Love,
MK & Nick
I was going to ask what the differences were between Llams & Alpacas and then you filled me in with your HLUL :) One observation... looks pretty arid or semi-arid in Peru, not a lot of trees and other vegitation as seen in some of your other destinations. Still pretty damned interesting nonetheless!!
Wow! Better than anything I have seen on National Geographic! International Chef, have you tried the anticuchos de corazon yet? It's supposed to taste like filet mignon. Keep on trekkin' onward and upward! Lots of love❤️
Sooooo cool!! The pics are incredible and so are you both!!!