I was first bitten by the travel bug after travelling to Peru with my high school in March 2011. I was 16 and in grade 11.
Entries from my travel journal:
Day 1 & 2, Lima
- Plane left Toronto Pearson Airport 45 min late at 5:15pm
- Arrived at JFK in New York around 11:30pm for the stopover
- Finally arrived in Lima, Peru at 7am
- Stayed at the Best Western "Embajadores" Hotel in Lima
- Full day of sightseeing districts of Lima
- Baranco had beautiful views
- Ate at Larco Mar, the outdoor mall on the water
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| View from Best Western, Lima |
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| View from Larco Mar |
Day 3, Lima
- Visited downtown Lima
- Went into the San Francisco Monastery - no photos allowed inside; catacombs underground filled with old bones in different patterns
- Peruvian children begging for money and pulling on our bags
- Free time in Larco Mar
- Had sweet potato gnocchi with grilled shrimp for lunch while overlooking the ocean
- Tried Inca Kola - the national yellow soft drink of Peru - not too bad, it grows on you
- Visited the outdoor museum of anthropology
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| Church being restored in Lima |
Day 4, Cuzco (high altitude)
- Flew to Cuzco from Lima at 7:50 am
- Drank cocoa leaf tea for altitude sickness
- Altitude medication made your feet feel like they were melting
- BEAUTIFUL mountains in Cuzco
- Visited Incan temples
- Had Lomo Saltado for lunch (great beef dish) and enjoyed a live band at lunch in which a member looked strikingly like Charlie Sheen
- Went into an Incan cave by the side of the road
- Visited churches
- Our guide did not inform us of the festival going on where children spray you with pink foamy shampoo that stains clothes...
- Visited an Alpaca factory store
- Great soup for dinner at the hotel
- Finally got ipod to connect to wi-fi to email my parents!
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| Cuzco, Peru! |
Day 5, Cuzco
Day 6, Machu Picchu
- Travelled to Machu Picchu by train
- Had lunch in a tiny cafe with yummy iced coffee and gross sandwiches
- Took an insane bus ride up the mountains, no guardrails, huge greyhound buses passing each other, tiny road, deadly fall (pack an extra pair of pants if you plan on doing this...)
- Passport stamped for entering Machu Picchu (different country)
- Finally got off the bus an walked up to Machu Picchu; SPECTACULAR
- Passed by Richard Gere (weird, right?)
- Nice view from our hotel
- Ate alpaca for dinner (sorry!) - tastes like chewy beef
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| View from hotel room |
Day 7, Machu Picchu
- Woke up at daybreak to walk to Inca trail to the sun gate at Machu Picchu
- Met an alpaca while at the gate
- Raining like crazy
- long bus ride/train ride back to Cuzco
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| Can you imagine living here? |
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| Machu Picchu in the background |
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| Crazy bus route up the mountain! |
Day 8, Cuzco
- Went to the Maras salt mines; walked along the thin paths, almost fell in
- Went to Moray: History of Moray
- Bus driver decides to take back farm roads to get home; ended up stuck in the mud and had to walk until taxis picked us up
- Our taxi driver liked English music but didn't know what the lyrics meant so his favourite song was "I'm Too Sexy"
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| Maras Salt Mines |
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| Moray |
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| Literally stuck in the mud |
Day 9 & 10, The Amazon
Day 11, HOME!
Peru was fantastic but I was so glad to be going home. I would go back in a heartbeat.
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| And the sun sets on this journey |
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