so, peru was amazing and perspective-changing and beautiful and i had a wonderful time, but first things first: fuuuuck american airlines and fuuuuuck miami international airport for ruining the beginning of my trip! i think i cursed myself by mentioning to my seatmate on the way from boston to miami that i was two for two in terms of awful experiences at MIA.
long story short: i got to miami at 11am and my flight to lima was supposed to leave at 3:45pm. they boarded us on the plane, made us get off because the AC was broken, started boarding us again, stopped, then proceeded to delay the flight countless times for SEVEN HOURS with excuses ranging from "they're cooling down the plane" to "they're replacing the cockpit seat." at one point, this elderly dude sitting near me at the gate goes, "i'm an old man. i've seen a lot. i've never seen so many lies!" LOL.
during this time, i also spotted two other people from my tour group by their luggage tags, so we quickly bonded and commiserated together. we were told we were finally leaving at midnight and—i shit you not—at about 10:45, they go "folks, we have a brand new plane, we have a pilot, and we have flight attendants. we're just looking for a first officer. once we get an update on that, we'll let you know." at this point, we're all like....this is an absolute joke, right? we're being punk'd, right? RIGHT?! two minutes later: "ladies and gentlemen, this flight is canceled."
picture being at an airport gate for nearly eight hours with ~200 other people, delirious, upset, and tired, and finding out you're not getting to where you're trying to go anytime soon for no discernible reason at 11pm. people were legit SCREAMING—like, to the point where people were recording the pandemonium. it was truly hell. we all had to stay overnight in miami because AA couldn't rebook us on a flight until 5:30pm the. next. damn. day. at least they gave us a $12 "meal voucher" which covered half a stick of gum!
funny enough, i had written a blog post for my side travel content writing gig about the wynwood walls in miami just a few months ago and was like "huh, sounds like a cool place. maybe i'll make it there someday!" little did i know, that day was coming way sooner than i expected! it was a cute way to kill some time.
anyway, my flight to lima left on time that night, but that wasn't the end of it. because our group had already flown to cusco, the next destination, we slept for 3 hours and had to hop on another flight at 3:30am from lima to catch up with them. but we did it, dammit. and then the fun began!
cusco
we kicked things off with a sightseeing tour of the historic city sites:
the convent of santo domingo
sacsayhuaman (which, yes, is pronounced "sexy woman")
i didn't really have any major issues with the altitude, probably because i was paranoid and had been taking chlorophyll supplements twice a day beginning the previous week, but hoo boy. at 12,000+ feet, you climbed five stairs here and legit felt like you just ran a marathon.
we explored the city center a bit:
i also posed for the best picture i'll ever be part of in my life:
so i was cracking up at this today because it is the PERFECT example of everything looking better on social media. don't get me wrong, holding a baby alpaca is undoubtedly a highlight of my life and this was an amazing moment, but here's what you don't see:
-the fact that i could barely keep my eyes open because i was so sleep-deprived and delirious
-that right after this, we went to lunch where i barely picked at my food because i had absolutely no appetite, went back to the hotel, slept for an hour, threw up from probably a combo of the exhaustion/roasted guinea pig i ate/shot of pisco my group convinced me to take at the chocolate museum, slept for another hour, and forced myself to go to dinner with the group, where we watched some traditional folk dancing:
fortunately, after i got one decent night of sleep, i was good as new!
pisac market
i was a little obsessed with this small village with a ton of vendors selling handicrafts, clothing, and souvenirs. this was what i pictured when i thought of peru—it was like stepping back in time. and, considering that there was not a functioning ATM to be found despite our best efforts, it actually WAS stepping back in time. i got a little magnet and a journal and an alpaca shawl for my mom.
ollantaytambo
these ruins were incredible! it was a great place to visit the day before machu picchu because i was like "how can machu picchu be better than this?" i mean, it was, but this was still awesome in its own right.
then we hopped on the perurail train to aguas calientes, which was cute. they gave us free coffee and a little brownie and the scenic views were amazing.
aguas calientes and machu picchu
we stayed overnight in the town of aguas calientes aka "machu picchu town," which solely exists as the gateway to machu picchu for tourists. kind of wild. i was actually really charmed by its narrow cobblestone streets and massive market. our hotel was also super cool, nestled into the hillside, and had great food and a bar where we had drinks before catching the train to the sacred valley.
but first...machu picchu! pictures truly don't do it justice, and every level you ascend just gives you a breathtaking new perspective. y'all know i'm not a super-huge nature/outdoorsy person, but it was absolutely stunning and worthy of a bucket list item designation.
my tour group
sidenote: this was my second tour with go ahead (and third with EF), and i was once again so incredibly impressed with the experience from beginning to end. in the midst of the disastrous flight situation, they were on the phone with us constantly to figure out the best course of action so we could catch up with our tour as soon as possible, and kept us posted the entire time. and, of course, the group itself was great. it's always an interesting mix of personalities and you instantly bond over the fact that you're americans navigating a new culture together (and in this case, an extremely different one). highly recommended!
sacred valley
our hotel in the sacred valley was this cool converted monastery, and i loved it even though my room was kinda dungeon-like:
since it was in the middle of nowhere, it was its own little village with a restaurant, coffee shop, pizza place, etc.
you know i'll try just about anything food-wise and i'm all about adventurous eating, but real talk: aside from the ceviche in lima, peruvian food was decidedly not my jam. i think it mostly had to do with the specific meals i had, but a lot of the staples in their cuisine are sweet potatoes (ick), squash (blech), and lots of straightforward meat-and-rice-and-vegetable type stuff. the first night we got here, i was so over it and was craving a cheesy, saucy pizza. my prayers were answered in the form of a pie with chorizo, pepperoni, onions, and olives. paired with a glass of white wine, i was such happy lil' american.
then, the next night, our entire group got dinner at the fancy restaurant and i ordered bolognese lasagna, which was probably the best meal i had the entire trip. i like peruvian italian food, i guess? i also sinned and ate a bite of alpaca steak just to try it. it was delicious but i just couldn't bring myself to eat one of those adorable little dudes!
the one thing i did love was the country's signature cocktail, the pisco sour. knocked a few of those tasty guys back GLADLY.
sorry, back to the actual sites:
maras salt flats
salt for daaaays. it was cool.
moray
more inca brilliance:
chinchero
aside from machu picchu, visiting this village was probably my favorite part of the trip. we ate a really good lunch at this cute restaurant (i had chicken crepes and pork chops so again, not really super peruvian)...
and then headed to this weaving co-op. the women were so joyful, warm, and welcoming, smiling and dancing with us. they even gave us this delicious mint tea to sip as we watched their weaving and textile demonstration. the one that led it was hilarious! she held up a bone and asked us whether we thought it was a human or animal bone and goes "maybe my husband bone? maybe my mother-in-law bone?" bahahaha.
this adorable little girl started following me around with her basket of dolls and speaking to me in spanish and melted my heart! i somehow remembered the word for "dolls" (muñecas) and she was all "sí, sí!" and it was the cutest damn thing i've ever seen.
THEN WE FED LLAMAS AND ALPACAS.
long story short: i got to miami at 11am and my flight to lima was supposed to leave at 3:45pm. they boarded us on the plane, made us get off because the AC was broken, started boarding us again, stopped, then proceeded to delay the flight countless times for SEVEN HOURS with excuses ranging from "they're cooling down the plane" to "they're replacing the cockpit seat." at one point, this elderly dude sitting near me at the gate goes, "i'm an old man. i've seen a lot. i've never seen so many lies!" LOL.
during this time, i also spotted two other people from my tour group by their luggage tags, so we quickly bonded and commiserated together. we were told we were finally leaving at midnight and—i shit you not—at about 10:45, they go "folks, we have a brand new plane, we have a pilot, and we have flight attendants. we're just looking for a first officer. once we get an update on that, we'll let you know." at this point, we're all like....this is an absolute joke, right? we're being punk'd, right? RIGHT?! two minutes later: "ladies and gentlemen, this flight is canceled."
picture being at an airport gate for nearly eight hours with ~200 other people, delirious, upset, and tired, and finding out you're not getting to where you're trying to go anytime soon for no discernible reason at 11pm. people were legit SCREAMING—like, to the point where people were recording the pandemonium. it was truly hell. we all had to stay overnight in miami because AA couldn't rebook us on a flight until 5:30pm the. next. damn. day. at least they gave us a $12 "meal voucher" which covered half a stick of gum!
funny enough, i had written a blog post for my side travel content writing gig about the wynwood walls in miami just a few months ago and was like "huh, sounds like a cool place. maybe i'll make it there someday!" little did i know, that day was coming way sooner than i expected! it was a cute way to kill some time.
anyway, my flight to lima left on time that night, but that wasn't the end of it. because our group had already flown to cusco, the next destination, we slept for 3 hours and had to hop on another flight at 3:30am from lima to catch up with them. but we did it, dammit. and then the fun began!
cusco
we kicked things off with a sightseeing tour of the historic city sites:
the convent of santo domingo
sacsayhuaman (which, yes, is pronounced "sexy woman")
i didn't really have any major issues with the altitude, probably because i was paranoid and had been taking chlorophyll supplements twice a day beginning the previous week, but hoo boy. at 12,000+ feet, you climbed five stairs here and legit felt like you just ran a marathon.
we explored the city center a bit:
so i was cracking up at this today because it is the PERFECT example of everything looking better on social media. don't get me wrong, holding a baby alpaca is undoubtedly a highlight of my life and this was an amazing moment, but here's what you don't see:
-the fact that i could barely keep my eyes open because i was so sleep-deprived and delirious
-that right after this, we went to lunch where i barely picked at my food because i had absolutely no appetite, went back to the hotel, slept for an hour, threw up from probably a combo of the exhaustion/roasted guinea pig i ate/shot of pisco my group convinced me to take at the chocolate museum, slept for another hour, and forced myself to go to dinner with the group, where we watched some traditional folk dancing:
fortunately, after i got one decent night of sleep, i was good as new!
pisac market
i was a little obsessed with this small village with a ton of vendors selling handicrafts, clothing, and souvenirs. this was what i pictured when i thought of peru—it was like stepping back in time. and, considering that there was not a functioning ATM to be found despite our best efforts, it actually WAS stepping back in time. i got a little magnet and a journal and an alpaca shawl for my mom.
ollantaytambo
these ruins were incredible! it was a great place to visit the day before machu picchu because i was like "how can machu picchu be better than this?" i mean, it was, but this was still awesome in its own right.
then we hopped on the perurail train to aguas calientes, which was cute. they gave us free coffee and a little brownie and the scenic views were amazing.
aguas calientes and machu picchu
we stayed overnight in the town of aguas calientes aka "machu picchu town," which solely exists as the gateway to machu picchu for tourists. kind of wild. i was actually really charmed by its narrow cobblestone streets and massive market. our hotel was also super cool, nestled into the hillside, and had great food and a bar where we had drinks before catching the train to the sacred valley.
but first...machu picchu! pictures truly don't do it justice, and every level you ascend just gives you a breathtaking new perspective. y'all know i'm not a super-huge nature/outdoorsy person, but it was absolutely stunning and worthy of a bucket list item designation.
my tour group
sidenote: this was my second tour with go ahead (and third with EF), and i was once again so incredibly impressed with the experience from beginning to end. in the midst of the disastrous flight situation, they were on the phone with us constantly to figure out the best course of action so we could catch up with our tour as soon as possible, and kept us posted the entire time. and, of course, the group itself was great. it's always an interesting mix of personalities and you instantly bond over the fact that you're americans navigating a new culture together (and in this case, an extremely different one). highly recommended!
 |
| there were 24 of us but this was some of the group! my cousin and her friend came along, too. |
our hotel in the sacred valley was this cool converted monastery, and i loved it even though my room was kinda dungeon-like:
since it was in the middle of nowhere, it was its own little village with a restaurant, coffee shop, pizza place, etc.
you know i'll try just about anything food-wise and i'm all about adventurous eating, but real talk: aside from the ceviche in lima, peruvian food was decidedly not my jam. i think it mostly had to do with the specific meals i had, but a lot of the staples in their cuisine are sweet potatoes (ick), squash (blech), and lots of straightforward meat-and-rice-and-vegetable type stuff. the first night we got here, i was so over it and was craving a cheesy, saucy pizza. my prayers were answered in the form of a pie with chorizo, pepperoni, onions, and olives. paired with a glass of white wine, i was such happy lil' american.
then, the next night, our entire group got dinner at the fancy restaurant and i ordered bolognese lasagna, which was probably the best meal i had the entire trip. i like peruvian italian food, i guess? i also sinned and ate a bite of alpaca steak just to try it. it was delicious but i just couldn't bring myself to eat one of those adorable little dudes!
the one thing i did love was the country's signature cocktail, the pisco sour. knocked a few of those tasty guys back GLADLY.
sorry, back to the actual sites:
maras salt flats
salt for daaaays. it was cool.
moray
more inca brilliance:
chinchero
aside from machu picchu, visiting this village was probably my favorite part of the trip. we ate a really good lunch at this cute restaurant (i had chicken crepes and pork chops so again, not really super peruvian)...
and then headed to this weaving co-op. the women were so joyful, warm, and welcoming, smiling and dancing with us. they even gave us this delicious mint tea to sip as we watched their weaving and textile demonstration. the one that led it was hilarious! she held up a bone and asked us whether we thought it was a human or animal bone and goes "maybe my husband bone? maybe my mother-in-law bone?" bahahaha.
this adorable little girl started following me around with her basket of dolls and speaking to me in spanish and melted my heart! i somehow remembered the word for "dolls" (muñecas) and she was all "sí, sí!" and it was the cutest damn thing i've ever seen.
THEN WE FED LLAMAS AND ALPACAS.
lima
i couldn't leave peru without seeing at least *some* of lima, so i extended my trip by a day in order to explore. honestly, that was more than enough. the city was big, dirty, depressing, and uninspiring—and this was in miraflores, which is considered to be the bougie, hip district. :|
however, it was my mission to eat at maido, which is one of the 50 best restaurants in the world and the #1 sushi restaurant in the world. i got there before it opened, hoping to try my luck for a sushi counter seat because reservations for this place book up many months in advance.
i got there before it opened, and they ended up giving the one open seat to the man who walked in right before me, but i wasn't about to give up. they told me to come back in an hour, so i wandered around for a bit. it was during this time that i walked by a shop that was blaring "rude" by MAGIC! aka the worst song i've ever heard in my entire life and i actually burst out laughing, because i was like, "okay universe, i get that you're trying to fuck up my vibe right now but YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED." and it didn't! i came back and got a seat and had an amazingly delicious lunch and all was right in the world:
hasta luego, folks.
i couldn't leave peru without seeing at least *some* of lima, so i extended my trip by a day in order to explore. honestly, that was more than enough. the city was big, dirty, depressing, and uninspiring—and this was in miraflores, which is considered to be the bougie, hip district. :|
however, it was my mission to eat at maido, which is one of the 50 best restaurants in the world and the #1 sushi restaurant in the world. i got there before it opened, hoping to try my luck for a sushi counter seat because reservations for this place book up many months in advance.
i got there before it opened, and they ended up giving the one open seat to the man who walked in right before me, but i wasn't about to give up. they told me to come back in an hour, so i wandered around for a bit. it was during this time that i walked by a shop that was blaring "rude" by MAGIC! aka the worst song i've ever heard in my entire life and i actually burst out laughing, because i was like, "okay universe, i get that you're trying to fuck up my vibe right now but YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED." and it didn't! i came back and got a seat and had an amazingly delicious lunch and all was right in the world:
hasta luego, folks.
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