When I'm on the road, I'll blog as often as possible about our adventures so I can keep the details fresh and down on record before details of the memories begin to fade. When I'm home, I blog only every few weeks, but I love writing on the road. I often look back at my own entries from years later and I'm flooded with memories and smiles, and sometimes the slightest scent riding on a breeze of where I visited. So if you're interested in following along with my travels, subscribe with your email address at the bottom of the page, and/or look for updates on Facebook. Our itinerary is outlined below in case you're interested in some of the sites we'll be visiting and know when to look for updates.
May 24-26: Lima
We'll hang out here for a couple days, just to settle in. We won't explore too much since we'll be kicking off the trip pretty quickly the next day, but it'll be good to rest up before we head inland. Per my friend Nancy's recommendation, we'll be staying in the Barranco neighborhood, just south of Miraflores.
May 26-28: Cusco
Cusco, the capital of the ancient Inca empire, is where we'll be camped for a few days in order to acclimate to the altitude, approximately 11,000 feet. As an asthmatic, I've been training my lungs for months to get into shape and be able to breathe better. I hope it pays off, because at just 9,000 feet in Breckenridge a few years back, I experienced some struggles with the altitude. A few days at the B&B with free oxygen tanks, some coca tea, and we should be good to go. We're also pretty excited about visiting Awana Kancha, a llama and alpaca sanctuary outside Cusco. Samantha Brown visited during one show and with Carrie's enthusiasm for llamas, and as much fun as I had at the elephant sanctuary last year, it'll be nice to get out of town and into nature, up close and personal with the animals. Here the animals are sheared, and local women dye and weave it into blankets, ponchos, hats, and whatnot, then the proceeds are returned to the surrounding villages to support schools and welfare. I'm a fan of conscious tourism (or as much as I can be conscious of what I do and visit), so this place appeals to us on a few levels.
May 28-29: Machu Picchu
Well, there it is, folks. My only fear here is encountering fog. Rain I can handle. Fog that obstructs the view... well... Let's cross our fingers and pray to some Incan god for sunshine. It's supposed to be the dry season, but the 10 day forecast shows rain in Cusco. We shall see. As Samantha Brown did, she should have just waited it out and she'd see the ruins just fine. (And no, we did not plan this trip around Samantha Brown. She just happened to visit a lot of places that were great reference material for our trip) We'll be taking a taxi up to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, from where we'll catch a train to Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu Pueblo, then find our B&B for the night. The next day we'll be up at 4am to catch a bus up to the ruins, and climb Huancaya Picchu to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu. They only allow a limited number of people to climb the neighboring mountain and ancient trail per day, so we want to be among the first. If I've learned anything in my travels, it's this: If someone tells you that getting up at the crack of ass to see the sun rise is worth it, you do it (see also: Cambodia/Angkor Wat). After our visit, we'll hop a 3hr train ride back to Cusco. It'll be nice to settle into some big cozy seats for a train journey through the Andes.
May 30-June 1: Nazca
This is where it gets interesting. Riding a bus through Peru. Disaster stories abound. At least we picked a reputable bus company so I hope I don't have to envision us plunging to our deaths over a Andean cliff, pushed aside by an overtaking chicken bus (or is that in Guatemala?). It's a 6 hour journey to Nazca, and I may be more excited about this place than Machu Picchu (but only slightly). On the 31st we'll go to the local airstrip where we'll board a 12-seater (one of the larger planes) to view the Nazca Lines. My wristbands and Dramamine are packed. The lines can be seen best from the air, as they're lines carved in the hard desert ground thousands of years ago, in the shapes of men, monkeys, spiders, birds, and other figures. It's still a mystery why and how they were created, but fascinating nonetheless. I was obviously leery of boarding a tiny plane in rural Peru, but after some FAA research and advice from very reputable travel agents, we settled on a tour company that contracted through the best airline for this treat. And thanks to Allison's pilot dad, he helped me overcome my fear of flying so one day I'd be able to do this!
June 1-2: Lima
Upon leaving Nazca we'll board another bus for the 8 hour ride back to Lima along the Panamerican Highway (which runs from Alaska to Ushuaia). Back in Lima we're staying at a hotel that has been reviewed as "tacky", "horribly gaudy," and "old" that we couldn't resist that kind of charm and character. Plus it's in an old palace in the heart of the city so at least for a day we'll be exploring a new neighborhood. Carrie located Iglesia de San Francisco where we'll be visiting the catacombs below. Bones! Also in this area is where we'll find the national soccer - er, football - stadium so it'd be fun to try to catch a game. Someone just has to warn us what colors NOT to wear.
June 2-5: Easter Island
Reality still hasn't set in that we'll be visiting Easter Island. We even took horseback riding lessons a few weeks ago to prep for this leg of the trip, since it was my bright idea (to Carrie's protests) to rent horses for an afternoon to explore the moai around the town. However, for the next full day, we'll likely be renting a Jeep so we can get around faster and keep the horsies to a minimum. There are no hotel chains or "brands" on this island of only 105 square miles, so our "hotel" is actually an private cabin outside town, by the water. I don't know what else to write about Easter Island, since information is scarce even on the internet. However, that doesn't make me any less excited!!
June 5-8: Lima
This is where we relax and wind down for a few days. Maybe some salsa dancing. Some ceviche by the Fisherman's Wharf. Some shopping. And after San Pellegrino released their annual list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, we secured a reservation at #42: Astrid y Gaston on our final night. We'll take these 3 days for some R&R before we head back stateside.
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