Cusco, Peru 🇵🇪 

We meet at the agreed travel agency and then get amalgamated with other agencies onto one bus.  Our first stop is a site about an hour from Cusco, Pisac.  Pisac is an Inkan town around 2000yrs old, that would have been home to 10,000 people.

There are mud buildings at the entrance built for more common people, and granite constructions at the top for nobles.  All leading up to Amaru, door of serpent to the Temple of the Sun.  

Pisac has 96 farming terraces, at different temperatures with warmer at bottom.  Coco leaf would be grown at the base, maize in middle and potatoes at the top.  All crops would be watered via a irrigation system from the glacier.

We had a university student trying to sell a book and another selling local liquor, neither seemed to make much profit from our bus.  Next was lunch, which despite being buffet style wasn’t bad.  Finally we visited the most anticipated ruins at Ollantaytambo.  

This place was rammed with tourist buses, but was still amazing.  The two sets of terraces went up from the entrance, so they were like concrete waterfalls with just a few steps up the side.  It wasn’t as bad as it looked going up as we stopped regularly on our way to the sun temple.  Obviously the Spanish conquistadors had destroyed the main structure as they overran the Inka empire but it was cool to see the size of granite bricks with their lego style interlocking carved parts.  

From here we could see the quarry the granite would have been transported from over 7km away.  We could also see structures on the hill opposite the terraces that would have been used for crop storage, it seemed a long way away to me.  The Inkas had also carved two huge faces into the hill, one of the sun god and the other to the side that aligned perfectly to the summer solstice rising sun. 

We stopped briefly on the way back to see local weaving traditions and also the xxxx church which is just stunning inside.  I managed to nap the rest of the way back to Cusco so I was ready for dinner tonight.

Cusco, Peru 🇵🇪

Sacsayhuaman was a Inka fortress that gringos call 'sexy woman'. Steve has the day in Machu Picchu via the Hiram Bingham train today, so Justin and I decide to scramble up the hill behind our hotel to explore the site.

We have to buy a tourist ticket at the gate that is valid for several sites over the next week. On entering we turn left to walk under shrubbery and enjoy the vista view of Cusco laid out below. There is music and a parade of sorts we can see in the main Plaza far below.

Continuing on we find that the site is quite extensive with evidence of lots of buildings and the base of what would have been a main tower. We find a photogenic group of Alpaca clambering down towards us before heading to graze, taking a few tourists along with them. The main ceremonial area is overlooked by the door to the sun temple and huge high walls.

These walls have been created in a zig zag shape, said to either represent the teeth of a puma or bolts of lightening. What you can't overlook is how big the stones are, precision carved and stacked slightly leaning without mortar. Apparently they are the largest stones used in a structure in South America.

On a hill across the way is the cemetery and a slide formed of stone that people are trying to slide down. We sneak through a cave before heading out of the site and down the hill to the city. We visit a museum that is part of the tourist ticket, but it doesn't hold our attention.

We spend the rest of the afternoon walking in the sunshine and trying to set up a tour of the Sacred Valley tomorrow. All tour operators seem to close on a Sunday and we finally get a message response confirming us on a cheap tour. I hope it is okay.

Steve is back too late for us and we crash early hoping he has had a good day.

Cusco, Peru 🇵🇪

Saturday morning airport run is quicker as we check in for our flight with LCPeru to Lima with time to spare. Flight went smoothly and despite being ripped off for a taxi, we arrive safely at our hotel. The hotel is beautifully decorated and is my favourite hotel yet. It is up a hill but a short walk from the Plaza de Armas. We eat a fabulous healthy lunch at Organika before taking a tour of the town.

Cusco was the centre of the Inka empire and whilst the Spanish destroyed their significant structures, they replaced them to create a pretty colonial town. In one street Inka stone foundations still exist, showing off their precision building. One section would have been part of the 'house of the chosen virgins' groomed for sacrifice and the wall miraculously has a 12 sided brick crafted to ensure a perfect fit.

We walk to San Blas and through the narrow streets to a ice cream parlour for a stop. Continuing on we take a peek in the central market that is full of groceries, juice stands and souvenir stalls. We continue through a couple of other plazas before trudging back up the cobbled streets to our hotel for a siesta. Dinner back down the hill is tasty lomo Alpaca for me before a early night.

Lima, Peru 🇵🇪

Big day today, we booked months ago to secure lunch at the bar of Central Restaurant.  This is the number one restaurant in South America and 5th in the world so I have high expectations, I have even got Justin to bring out smarter trousers for me to wear.

First we take Justin down to Larcomar to see the Paddington bear statue and I buy a lovely new fleece.  We all stroll along the promenade watching the surfers down below before doubling back to the hotel to smarten up for lunch.  It is only a short walk away but the entrance is so inconspicuous we walk past it at first.

We have a lovely cosy table with a great waiter, and of course we select the tasting menu with alcohol pairing.  Our waiter painstaking explains the thinking behind each dish and what is just decoration versus can be eaten.  I will let the photos show the culinary journey through Peru that we enjoyed, all nicely satisfied and merry come the end.  They surprised us with a book of ingredient drawings and presses, then we got a tour of the kitchen and back of house.  It is phenomenal to see and enjoy the effort that goes into maintaining a restaurant of this standard.  It's only mid afternoon when we finish and get over the shock of the bill. 

We walk down to show Justin the Barranco district and sample an ice cream.  This evening we return to the aqua park to see the fountain show at night.  The colourful lights really add to the park, really pleased we made the effort to come.  On the way back we drop into the girl's hostel to have a few beers and bid farewell.

Huacachina, Peru 🇵🇪

I really feel like I have visited every corner of tiny Paracas, thankfully today we continue on our trail south to Huacachina.  Last time I visited I didn’t go into the sand dunes, partly because I had rolled my ankle and partly as I knew we would as part of this visit.

Huacachina (as you know) is an oasis near Ica, but until you climb out on the dunes you don’t really appreciate how vast the desert behind it is.  We took a 12 seater dune buggy up with possibly the craziest driver.  He took us up and down huge dunes at crazy speeds, I think Steve might think I am trying to get him killed.

We stop briefly to photograph the landscape before zooming to our sand boarding location.  There are 7 runs in total, increasing in height and all to be attempted whilst lying on the board.  Having seen this kit, there is no way you could stand up on these boards without breaking something.  First couple are easy but there are a few in the group that stop at this point.  The penultimate one was steep and as the first guy went down I knew I would have to get on with it.  The dune line was steep and then bumpy, I bruised knees and scraped my arms before deciding to roll off to stop.  This stopped my pain but put sand everywhere!  I motioned to the group to take another line which looked softer but Steve still came racing down like a bullet.

On the last and highest run it was only Steve and I that zoomed down. Steve was concerned that the driver would drive us over the edge if we didn’t go down on the boards and as we heard the revving of the engine the crazy guy did just that with the others screaming all the way.  We climbed back in and raced to see sunset before heading back to town. It felt good to be alive as we clambered out of our roll cage.

Paracas, Peru 🇵🇪

Our boat trip out today is to the Ballestas Islands, which are known as the ‘poor man’s Galápagos’.  As we journey out it is great to see flocks of Pelicans bobbing in the water.  On one of the hills there is a Nazca drawing of a Candelabra.  It is only a 30minute boat ride from the mainland but we do see a pod of dolphins in the distance.

The protected islands are huge limestone rocks.  We see lots of birds, I even spot a Humbolt penguin or two.  There are sea lions relaxing on the rocks that seem quite unbothered with us motoring by.

After coffee and a couple of cakes to keep Steve going we wandered along the shoreline watching Pelicans and found Flamingos at the far end.  For lunch I took Steve to the little shack restaurant I had tried previously as their ceviche is really good.  Steve opted for steak and chips, and proclaimed the chips as the best he had had in years! 

Our afternoon is spent in the national reserve, this time on quad bikes.  It is so much more fun than a bus although more dusty.  I am not the best driver, tend to take curves too wide which slows me down.  We visit a couple of viewpoints and see the Red beach from a higher point whilst dolphin spotting.  It is just a nice place to be roaring around on quads.

Early bus pick up as we set off to Paracas on PeruHop. On our way we drive up to the large dirt hill that you can see from Barranco, with the cross that is illuminated at night.  I thought it was strange that nothing had been built on this part of the densely populated Lima.  The hill contains a memorial to those who died in the war with Chilie, this being the last point of defence for the city.  The illuminated cross is actually furnished from cables brought down in terrorist acts.

We stop briefly for breakfast at a traditional Tambo, enjoying freshly baked cheese filled bread and coffee.  Next up is the old San Jose mansion which has the slave tunnels I saw previously.  I send Steve down the tunnels whilst I relax on the beautiful veranda. I do get to see inside the church this time and it’s beautifully carved altar, with secret section to join the escape tunnels.

We arrive in Paracas for lunchtime and wander along the beach to a small restaurant sat on a pier.  The warm low sun is lovely as we enjoy the afternoon of relaxing with cerviche and a bottle of chilled white wine.  It’s a small town, so after wandering back along the beach we visit the tasty Italian for dinner.

Lima, Peru🇵🇪

Slept really well last night and post breakfast we set off to explore Lima.  First stop was the San Francisco monastery, built in the 17th century it is an amazing building.  Our tour is at speed with the world’s fastest talking man.  There are lots of Spanish tiles that were brought over to decorate rooms and courtyards, big cedar wood carvings including a whole domed ceiling over one staircase.  The monastery is full of riches but the best part is being able to descend into the catacombs.  These excavated tunnels contain the bones of around 25,000 people piled up for us to view.  

Our tour finished in time for us to head over to the Plaza de Armas to see the changing of the guard.  The guards do some fancy footwork to a marching band for around half an hour as the crowd cranes for pictures through the railings.  After a busy morning we stop briefly for fuel enjoying a large slice of chocolate cake and coffee.

This afternoon we visit the museum of art, MALI where they have a great temporary exhibition showing art and textiles from the Nazca period in beautiful condition.  The other exhibits have pottery and artefacts from pre-inca civilisation which is beautiful, together with more modern art.  We stroll down further to the Parque Reserve to look at the funky 13 fountains before catching a taxi back to Barranco.

I show Steve the Bridge of Sighs, and some of the cooler graffiti as we walk down to the beach.  It is all smoggy today so no hope of a decent sunset but surfers seem happy with the waves.

Ali (NZ) has arrived in Lima today, and is excited to join us for dinner.  She is looking well, but has had a bit of a scary time in Peru at some points putting herself in danger as a lone female.  Her story sounds horrific but she is happy to be safe in Lima and enjoying a few strong Pisco Sours with us.  We are at Isolina restaurant for some incredible food, the portions are huge but I enjoy cerviche with fried octopus followed by the best roast pork ribs.  I am fading by midnight as we head to a bar for a cheeky beer before calling it a night.