 |
| China Town |
The
Magic Water Circuit: The last major thing we did in the historic
district was the light and water show. The Magic Water Circuit was a world
record setting (it’s actually in Guinness Book of World Records) fountain
and water park. This park has
13 illuminated fountains that are either interactive or eye catchers. They have fountains you can walk though or play in, plus they have a water and light show. If there’s
one thing you should check out if you’re ever in Lima, it's The Magic Water
Circuit. Make sure to bring your swim suit if you go because you will get wet.
 |
| The Magic Water Circuit |
 |
| The Magic Water Circuit |
Lima, Miraflores
A day trip:
Since Miraflores was a little too expensive for my backpackers’ budget, me and
my travel companions decided to take a day trip down to the famous district.
You will most likely pay $10 to $20 more in this city depending on the
hostel/hotel, restaurant, or shops (still fairly cheap though) you decide to entertain. The major thing we did
in Miraflores was walk around and breathe in the beauty. This district was a
very clean kept and picturesque. Not to mention, the food in Miraflores was
amazing.
Miraflores is
also extremely close to the beach, so we decided to stroll down and check out
the chatter. Of course, we had no idea that the beaches in this part of Peru are
rocky as all hell, so we opted out on swimming. On the bright side, the view
and experience was amazing and if you have time go check out this picture
perfect district, do it.
 |
| Miraflores, Peru |
 |
| Miraflores, Peru |
 |
| Miraflores, Peru |
Paracus
For this city, you only need to go there for about 3 days, then you've basically done it all. It’s kind of a tourist trap and it’s surprisingly fairly tiny. The
price of food was a little bit more expensive than Lima, but the living (with
accommodations) prices was about the same. Our group spent a good 45 minutes
hopping from hostel to hostel to find the best deal. There are about 10 to 15 hostels within about a half a mile from eachother. We ended up finding a
“suite” that had a bathroom attached to the room and a 5x5 foot kitchen wedged in the corner of the upstairs balcony. it was tight (that's what she said), but the view from this hostel was
unreal. The picture below doesn’t do it justice.
 |
| Paracus, Peru Hostel View |
Ballestas
Islands:
There were a few things we did in Paracus; the first being the Ballestas
Islands. This nature preserved clump of islands was considered Peru’s Galapagos
Islands, and it was for the fraction of the cost. The 3 hour tour (that didn’t get stuck
on Gilligan’s Island) cost about 65Sol ($20). It was to say the very least, a
jumbled guided tour that took us to see the tropical penguins, seals, and
Peruvian blue-footed boobies. The water was crystal clear and the wild animals
were just out of reach. It was fantastic!
 |
| Ballestas Islands |
 |
| Ballestas Islands |
The Spanish guided tour also took us past
the famous candelabra. This artifact was so interesting because it was
carved completely out of sand. The weirdest part, the creators who designed this carving knew that the wind never blew in this one spot. That’s why
it’s still here to this day. Archeologists suggest that the candelabra was
created around 200 B.C. There is still no clear answer to why the design was made,
but there are some ideas on why it was formed. One idea is that sailors made it
as a way tell sea apart from landfall. The other impression
archeologists suggest is that this 595 foot tall trident was supposed to be a
gift to gods from the natives on the island.
 |
| The Candelabra |
Paracus
National Reserve:
The other thing we did in Paracus was walk 3 miles in the blistering hot desert
to a national reserve. On the reserve were flamingos, beaches, and museums. We went
for the museums, even though we did catch a glimpse of the flamboyant pink
flamingos. The museum was interesting and thankfully air conditioned. It was a whole
building dedicated to the indigenous people of Paracus. The reason this ancient
tribe was found (and now preserved) was because people were finding, and then selling, the skulls
of the native people on the black market. The
natives used to bind their heads to create a longer looking skull so they could identify who is
a part to their tribe and who wasn't. These “elongated skulls” were creepy,
but surprisingly enough, this era of locals were fairly good at brain surgery.
 |
| Paracus National Reserve |
Arequipa
I only spent a day or two in this
city, but I wish I had more time to stay longer. This was Peru’s old capital
city and it was somewhere I could picture myself living. These cities not only had
amazing chicken skewers and soft serve, but they were all about the night life.
Our group just happened to be there for the three king’s day parade. That was as
jolly as a holiday Christmas in the North Pole. It seemed to be less about the
bible, and more about Santa and his elves.
Hostel
Guided Tour:
We ended up doing
a free guided tour of the city while we stayed in Arequipa. On our tour, we laughed at the pet llama’s in people’s back
yards, ate queso helado (cheese ice cream), and sucked down pisco sours (all for free with the
guided tour). For those of you who don’t know what queso helado is, it’s
not actually cheese and ice cream, it’s just ice cream that looks like cheese.
And for everyone else that doesn’t know what a pisco sour is, it’s Peru’s
national drink. Pisco, to me tastes like no other liquor I’ve ever tried. So I
classify it as pisco as pisco. Kind of like how I classify vodka as vodka.
 |
| Arequipa, Peru |
Medical note: Arequipa took my breath away, literally. That’s when I started to have issues to accommodating to the acclimation. While I was laying in my hostel bed trying to adjust to the acclimation, I heard a huge “bang.” A girl had fallen through the tile floor by the bathroom, so thank god our group of 4 had brought Neosporin and gauze to help with the awful scrape. She ultimately got her room free, but I’m sharing this story with you so you know to come prepared with a first aid kit. Things like this happen and you should always come prepared.
Puno
Lake
Titicaca:
In this city, the only thing that is really worth seeing in Lake Titicaca. I
almost opted out on going because I felt so sick from the altitude, but I gutted through. For example, I would be sitting on a bench and feel out of breath, it was honestly the worst feeling.
I was
astonished to see how many man made floating islands there were on this lake, it was so cool. I
was even more amazed to see the amount of people that actually choose to live
on these islands. There were presidents per each island and the had literally everything a human could need, even a radio, on this small straw and mud made island.
 |
| Lake Titicaca |
 |
| Lake Titicaca |
Cusco
This city is well known for being
the hub of where people stay before going to see the prominent Macchu Picchu.
Cusco was colder than the other 4 cities I visited, but it was just as active.
I felt that this city was abundant with tourists, so this was definitely the
most expensive city I visited. It makes sense why Cusco was costlier;
it was surrounded by ancient ruins and breathtaking nature for tourists to see.
The
ancient ruins:
I wish I did more reading about these ruins and sites before arriving in Cusco.
I didn’t realize how far apart all these ruins were. I thought I’d be able to
go from site to site in a matter of a couple days. The Sacsayhuaman ruin was
close to the center of Cusco, but it was waaaay too expensive. You could buy
either a single entry pass which was 75Sol ($22), or you could buy a pass to
enter 5 or 6 of the other ancient ruins (which was about 90-100Sol). But like I said before, they are all
so far apart from one another (at least a 45 minute drive); I would have needed lots more time in Cusco to be able to see all these ruins.
Churches
and site seeing:
Cusco had almost everything you needed in a small walkable radius. They had the
history, the views, the churches, and… of course, the food. Starting with the
churches, you could buy a pass to see all the historical churches in Cusco for
about 10Sol ($3). It was great to see the differences in all the astonishing
churches. They are honestly breath-taking.
Cusco is very hilly, so you will definitely
get your work out in for the day by just walking around. All the old cobble stoned roads and eye catching
sculptures are so mesmerizing that you might loose track of time. I for the most part,
would walk around for hours looking at the different city views, landscapes, or local markets. It was fun to see all the culture and bargain buy.
 |
| Cusco, Peru |
 |
| Cusco, Peru |
Food: Not only was llama
the house hold pet for just about everyone in Peru, it was ironically a popular
menu item at restaurants as well. The Guinea pigs (Cuy) in this South American
Country is unfortunately not considered a pet; it’s food. So if you’re as adventurous
as I am, take a nibble at their popular menu items, they are better than you
think. But if you’re too scared to try the native food options, do not fear, there is a
KFC and McDonald’s in Cusco and they both sell fried chicken. I also got pizza there and it was so good.
 |
| Cuy (Guinea Pig) |
Macchu
Picchu:
As we all know, Cusco generates great business because its location is next to
one of the wonders of the world, Macchu Picchu. This was an exhausting day for me but, it was
a day I would never forget. After searching for Macchu Picchu tickets for what seemed like
days, my travel companion Caleb and I settled on buying a 1 day pass to
Macchu Picchu for $250. Take note, and don’t buy your tickets ahead of time
and definitely don’t settle on a price right away. There are hundreds of people trying to sell you
tickets and you could end up being scammed. Here are some
things to keep in mind when buying a ticket:
Make sure a train pass is included. There is a train
that runs from Cusco to Aguas Calientes (the town right outside of Macchu
Picchu) and this is ten times faster than riding a bus to the dinky town. I would suggest going by train instead of bus.
Ask if a ticket to the ruins is included. This may sound
silly, but there could be people selling you just a ride to Macchu Picchu and “forget”
to tell you that you have to buy your ticket at the gate. The price for entry at the gate is around $150-175.
Ask if there is busing included. You should ask
if a bus will pick you up and drop you off at the train station. Some sellers
include a free ride and back to your hostel/hotel from the train station which helps save on overall expenses. Another thing to ask about is if a bus ride from Aguas Calientes to Macchu
Picchu is included. Otherwise, you will either have to buy your own bus ticket in Aguas Calientes or hike up to Macchu Picchu yourself.
Just to warn all of you that haven’t been to Macchu Picchu yet, the hike is
tiring with a lot of uneven steps. There are parts where there is no trail and you have to find
your way, and where there is a trailrock-made steps. It took me about 1 hours to hike down, but the ride up to Macchu Picchu was only about 10 minutes.
Ask about food. Try to see if your seller
includes food with your package deal to the ruins. It's pricy at Macchu Picchu and Aguas Calientes, so asking if food is included is a great way to save money. I received breakfast and lunch through my ticket purchase. If you want to eat, drink, or go to the
bathroom, you have to exit the ruins and then do your business. Your Macchu Picchu entry pass is only good for 3
re-entries that day.
Ask about overnight stay. Even though I decided
to go for the one day adventure to fit my deteriorating travel schedule, not everyone decides to do that since you're awake for about 18 hours straight. So if you plan on doing what most people do and spend a night in Aguas Calientes, ask if a room is
included with the purchase price or if you will have to buy a room when
you arrive. Usually with an overnight stay, you go up to Aguas Calientes the
day before and sleep in the tiny town before heading up the next morning to
Macchu Picchu. The only difference
about going on a 2-day adventure versus a 1-day adventure is spending extra
time in Aguas Calientes. You don’t get to go into Macchu Picchu more times with
the 2-day option, you still only get 3 re-entries for your one day ticket.
Comments
Post a Comment