Peru Country Round-Up

Jon & Lana Sotherland Country Round-Up, Peru

Statistics

Days: 42. Arrived in Peru on November 23. Left Peru on January 3.

Cities: 8. Lima, Paracas, Huacachina, Nasca, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, Puno, and Arequipa.

Apartment Rentals: 2. We rented apartements in Lima (over Thanksgiving) and Arequipa (over Christmas and New Years), both through AirBNB.

Our apartment in Lima was really comfortable and one of our favorites so far!

Hotels/Hostels: 6. We stayed at: Eco 360 in Paracas, Rochabus in Huacachina, Nasca Trails in Nasca, Asiri Cascada del Inka in Cusco, Casa Andina in Aguas Calientes, and Utasa Inn in Puno.

Modes of Transportation: 9. Bus, metrobus (similar to a tram), walking, boat, airplane, taxi, dune buggy, shuttle van, and train.

We traveled exclusively on Cruz del Sur in Peru and loved it! For overnight trips, we paid extra to sit downstairs and have seats that reclined almost all the way, with airplane-style meals, personal tvs, pillows, and blankets. It felt like first class (at least for a bus!)!

Q&A

What was your favorite site or place that you visited?

J: That’s a tough question; I liked a lot of the places we went to! I’ll have to pick two – visiting Machu Picchu and seeing the Nasca Lines. I’ve always wanted to see both of these places so I have to pick both!

L: This is a hard one since we visited so many different places in Peru! If I had to pick, I would say our time touring the Sacred Valley. I loved seeing all of the different ruins and learning the history of the Incans and other people who live in the area. In particular, Tipon was my favorite ruin.

The flight over the Nasca Lines was amazing – we both loved the experience!

What was the biggest surprise you had during this time?

J: The biggest surprise was probably how much I enjoyed the country. There were a lot of places to go and things to see, and it wasn’t terribly expensive. In a lot of the countries we’ve been to, there have been a few specific things we wanted to see and then we’ve moved on. However in Peru, there’s so much to do and see, that I could spend a lot of time there. There’s always something interesting – the attractions, the food, the culture.

L: The altitude surprised me. I knew that Cusco and Puno were high (3,400m/11,150ft and 3,800m/12,500ft respectively) but I hadn’t expected that we would be affected so much by the altitude. In Cusco, Jon got hit hard our first day so we spent the day in our room drinking coca tea and relaxing. We would both get out of breath climbing 2 flights of stairs to our hotel room and in Puno, we both had trouble sleeping because of the lack of oxygen.

There was a lot of history and culture on display at one of the wineries we visited in Ica.

What was the lowest point for this part of the trip?

J: I don’t think there was a low point while in Peru. I think one of the most difficult things we dealt with in Peru were the altitude in Cusco and Puno. Also, when Lana got sick in Arequipa – we couldn’t go out and do anything and I had to run all the errands for a few days.

L: This will come as no surprise, but getting sick (as it has been in almost every country thus far!!). I ate or drank something that disagreed with my body while in Arequipa, and spent a couple days not feeling well (including New Year’s, boooo!).

What was your favorite food or meal that you had?

J: Cuy! It was a novelty for me – it was a local dish that was fun to try once. It was prepared really well and tasted good!

L: I have two: one is the dinner in Cusco when Jon had cuy and I had aji de gallina, since it was such a memorable evening. The other is the meal that we cooked during our cooking class in Arequipa, consisting of our two favorite dishes from Peru – fish ceviche and lomo saltado.

Lomo saltado – easily one of our favorite dishes so far on this entire trip! We ate it frequently throughout our travels in Peru!

What would you change if you were to do it again?

J: I don’t know that I would change much – I was satisfied with our time in Peru! The only thing I can think of is to have a better Wifi connection in Arequipa, so that I could have worked more while Lana was sick.

L: Honestly, I can’t really think of anything! We had a great time in Peru and didn’t encounter any problems (except for my one bout with being sick, which was only for a couple days).

What advice would you give someone doing a similar trip and route?

J: Definitely use the buses in Peru – we had great experiences (just be careful to keep an eye on your bags, as always). Go out and make a point to visit the smaller attractions or cities – those can be just as fun and rewarding as the big sites. Whether it’s spending one night in Paracas or visiting small museums in the city, they were just as much fun as the big things like Machu Picchu and Nasca Lines. Also, make sure to try the ceviche and lomo saltado! Those were our favorites!

While Paracas is a small town, we’re glad that we spent the night to see a different type of city in Peru!

L: Be prepared for altitude if you are going somewhere with a high elevation and give yourself a couple days when you arrive to relax and acclimatize before you try doing much activity. Also, pack for all types of weather! We visited Peru as they were going from spring to summer and we encountered a huge range of temperatures. In the desert and on the coast, we were sweating in tank tops and shorts, taking a siesta most days just to beat the heat. But in the mountains and at higher elevations, we wore jeans and long-sleeve shirts every day, and even bought a hat and pair of gloves to wear in the evenings when the sun went down. Layering is key!

I was happy to have a pair of jeans and rain jacket while in Cusco – it felt really cold after spending time in the desert!

What is the best memory that you’ll carry with you?

J: Machu Picchu – it’s such a big and famous destination. We got to take the train there, be high up in the mountains, spend hours at the site. Another is Huacachina – I got to go sandboarding down the dunes which was pretty awesome. In Arequipa, on New Year’s Eve, I went up to the rooftop and got to watch fireworks going off to ring in the new year. I can’t pick just one!

L: The flight over the Nasca Lines is my favorite memory. It’s no surprise by now that I love small planes, and I think I liked the flight itself almost as much (or maybe more!) than seeing the lines. The only thing that could have made it better is if Jon and I could have been on the same flight, but even so, I could have stayed on that plane for a couple of hours.

Visiting Machu Picchu was a wonderful experience and something we will never forget!

What to read more?

Read about our time in Peru…

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