Billie Besos

Hello from Peru.

I haven’t been intentionally lazy with my blogging, it’s just genuinely been hard to find the time to fit it in. I’ve had a pretty manic time since arriving here 11 days ago, having packed in a trek, a day trip and a couple of walking tours, all the while having still not recovered from whatever illness I got back in Colombia. I haven’t let this bug get the better of me though, and have been really enjoying everything this amazing country has to offer (yes of course I went up Machu Picchu, I’ll get to that).

I first spent a couple of days in Lima which really surprised me. Everyone said Lima was a big, dirty and dangerous city and that there was, I quote: ‘no point sticking around there’. This obviously set my expecations extremely low, meaning that I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived there. I stayed in the Miraflores district which is full of bars and restaurants and safe to walk around in at night. I did a walking tour of the city which exposed square after square of beautiful Colonial architecture, I tried lots of Peruvian chocolate, and I watched a beautiful sunset (the first one in quite some time) over the coast. Although I wasn’t there for long, I actually really enjoyed my time in Lima.

Pretty Colonial architecture and a picturesque sunset in Lima

I then flew down to Cusco which I would use as a base for a while. I had been pre-warned that the altitude here would come as a shock so took some altitude sickness pills before arriving. I had bought some at a pharmacy but they were more of a local remedy and Eliza and I were not convinced that they would do anything (you know what all these herbal remedies are like). Luckily, some girls in our hostel had some leftover medication that they gave us but did pre-warn us of side effects. We were supposed to take them 24-hours before reaching altitude so that was what we did… and the girls were right about the side effects. We got hit hard just as we got to the airport, making the whole process a real struggle (we were genuinely dragging our bags around the floor). Then, we found ourselves walking around Cusco like zombies the day after we flew, taking part in a walking tour and almost passing out halfway through. Fun. I’m not sure if these meds helped us in any way in the long run; I like to think they did but my experience of hiking to Rainbow Mountain could prove otherwise (I will get to this).

Anyway, after a couple of days of adjusting to the altitude in Cusco (we were genuinely panting like dogs after walking 10 metres), it was time for us to begin our 4-day, pre-organised hike to Machu Picchu. We had booked this online a couple of weeks prior through a well-known tour company, and were both excited and nervous for the trek ahead. Having stocked up on warm clothing from the local market, we were raring to go. We took part in the Lares Trek which is a slightly less-known hike to Machu Picchu and much less commericalised than other treks such as the Inca Trail (and waaaay cheaper). Due to the fact that we went in low-season, we managed to get a group of just four people plus our guide, meaning we practically had a private trek without paying the extra money.

Our trek took us first to some thermal baths which are used by locals due to their cleansing qualities (I wasn’t sure about this but went with it). We were slighlty put off by the brown colour of the baths but I think this was just because the water came from the mountains and had minerals in it (at least I hope this was the case).

The natural thermal baths that we visited before beginning our trek

Then we were off, passing through some beautiful Andean scenery; there were mountains, brooks, waterfalls and more (sorry the little nature nerd in me is coming out). On our first night, we stayed in the most beautiful campsite on a lagoon. It was frickin’ freezing but the views were worth it.

Some of the beautiful scenes along our trek

Our campsite for the first night

Just me washing my feet by a lagoon

We were also given copious amounts of food by the team on our trek, along with hot water to wash our feet in and a hot water bottle to cuddle when we went to bed at 7:30pm (this is not an exaggeration). So I guess it was pretty cushty and you can’t exactlyyyy call this camping. Day 2 was slightly more difficult because we gained a lot in elevation and then when we reached the top, our view of the famous snow-capped peaks was slightly (ok, completely) obscured by a lovely grey cloud of misty rain.

Here is the snow-capped peak…

We didn’t let this dampen (sorry) our spirits though, and reached camp for the night on a high. Throughout the trek we also got to witness llamas being herded by Peruvians in traditional dress, walk through local communities, and increase our knowledge of the Incas thanks to our lovely local guide Angel. We went into some local homes and saw how people were still living in the Andes like they had done hundreds of years ago. One home had only had electricity installed in the past year, and was no more than a dark shed-like building, that once slept ten people. It was crazy to see that people were genuinely still living like this. The little boy that was the last of the children still living at home was in such high spirits (and probably even more so after we brought him cookies and chocolates).

Pictured: local people bringing handmade goods to sell to us while we were eating lunch (left), llamas on llamas on llamas (middle and right)

The happiest little guy you ever did see outside his family home, ripping open the chocolate bar we gave him

This hike was an incredible experience which was obviously topped off by getting to Machu Picchu at the end (in the blazing sunshine, even though it had been drizzling all morning).

Machu Picchuuuuuuuu

We got such an insight into the Andean culture and how the Incas used to live, and I would recommend something like this to anyone that is considering going to Peru. Since Machu Picchu, we have also made the hike up to the insta-famous Rainbow Mountain.

The image you see if you google search Rainbow Mountain

We were already slightly skeptical about doing this because it’s only there due to the effects of global warming melting the snow off it (GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL PEOPLE), but it has also become such a big tourist destination that the local environment is slowly being destroyed. The hike itself up to the mountain actually turned out to be more beautiful than the mountain itself. It was definitely an experience; I feel like we could have done a similar hike somewhere else in the Andes that wasn’t bombarded by tourists. I also struggled so badly with the altitude (the highest point was 5200m) that it just put a dampener on the whole thing for me. But if you wanna visit it, I’m not telling you not to, this is simply how I felt.

The photos I got at Rainbow Mountain, ever so slightly edited. The colours in the surrounding mountains were beautiful, it’s just sad that the area is now completely taken over by tourists

So that’s a little update on my time in Peru so far. I still have a little while left here and am planning on travelling to Arequipa and Puno before crossing Lake Titicaca over into Bolivia. I will keep you posted along the way! I hope I haven’t bored the hell out of you… Ciao.

Some images of lovely moments I have had in Peru…