I spent the entire month of June in Peru. It wasn’t nearly enough time, but I did enjoy a bit of what this amazing country has to offer.
The experience began far south on a sunset cruise across Lake Titicaca to Puno, along with four other stranded travelers (due to a transport strike & road blocks). The captain had a flashing phone taped to the upper left bow window as our beacon. It was a good reminder that I was a long way from the safe surroundings of home.
I’d bounce around Peru for the following 30 days, which mostly involved a combination of the following on a daily basis:
The great outdoors
From an overnighter in and out of world’s second-deepest canyon, to hiking to Yumbilla, the 5th tallest waterfall in the world (unimpressive fall, cool hike), to a cool, Andean lake at 4500 meters altitude, to backpacking old Inca trails, it was an amazing place to be outside.
Soccer on TV
It was a summer of soccer with Copa America & Euro 2016 going down. However, the latter was far more difficult to find than it should be in a country where soccer is the national sport! The local channel only broadcast one game per day live, and bars & hostels just didn’t have DirecTV. I quickly became an expert at distinguishing DirecTV dishes on rooftops from a sea of competitors.
My frustration got to the point that I resorted to knocking on a complete stranger’s door to ask if I could watch the England vs Iceland game. I was lucky that Cristian was super nice, as he had the only DirecTV dish anywhere in sight. He welcomed me into this home, and we enjoyed the epic game over a liter of cola on his bed. I love how the beautiful game unites people!
Beer
Cusqueñas Negras & craft beer went hand-in-hand with #2. Chelawasi Public House (in Arequipa) was my absolute favorite find in Peru. They had quality beer and the best service of every pub I was in over 4 months in South America.
Barranco Beer Company in Lima was a great find; lots of offerings and located in a neighborhood with character. I enjoyed Sierra Andina and Barbarian beers in a bottle quite a bit; not so much the experience at their overpriced pubs (what kind of craft beer joint has no beers on tap?! Tsk, tsk, Sierra Andina) in Huaráz and Lima, respectively.
Ceviche
I’m pretty sure I had more ceviche on this trip (sometimes twice in one day) than I had in my entire adult life! The dish was created in Huanchaco about 3000 years ago and the Peruvian version is, in my humble opinion, the best in the world. Most of the meals I had were solid, and under $8 USD (and mostly 3ish on the street).
Rocks
Peru has an abundance of great archaeological sites & museums, so my inner Indiana Jones came out to play quite a bit here, with an amount of quality site visits unmatched since my jaunt to Egypt.
I started with my second trip to Machu Picchu, this time taking the fun/scenic/healthy cheap route, then…
Choquequirao – a tough Inca Trail to one of Machu Picchu’s sister cities. Trail and site were nearly empty and quite impressive. Huge place, insane location! In the future, I will definitely think twice before doing a 4-day trek with a heavy-as-hell rental tent in two days.
Huacas del Sol y la Luna – These cool pyramids still have a bunch of colored carvings and walls. As its still an active site, a guide was provided. Starting the visit at their excellent museum was a still a good call, though.
Chan Chan – Huge site right off the coast, north of Trujillo. It has an intricate and interesting build to it, with a strong fishing theme. This fishing culture used one of the first known surfing vessels and is credited with inventing ceviche…3000 years ago or so!
El Brujo & Dama de Cao – The site that established that a woman could be a respected and powerful leader in ancient times. Her mummified remains are on display, tattoos still clearly visible, along with the treasures she was buried with. It was the second-most impressive burial trove behind…
Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán – A wealth of beautiful burial treasures from the famous Señor de Sipán group of tombs are on display at this fantastic museum, which is definitely one of my favorites in the world. The displays explained things from an archaeologists’ perspective, as opposed to just a curator. It was fascinating.
Replica burial sites, original tools used in the digs, great explanations on the restoration process, and insight into the smuggling of cultural treasures for sale in the black market are all part of the exhibits. The quality and craftsmanship of the items on display are truly impressive, and some were left unrestored to show what the find looked like before the restoration process.
Kuelap – Another really fun adventure, scenic and devoid of tourists of the most part (the hostel owner said would be impossible to make it, that I should just take the tour. Pshhh). Day one started on an unmarked Inca Trail on the outskirts of Chachapoyas, with a stop for some Euro 2016 action at the trail head in Tingo, and continued all the way to Hospedaje Imperio Kuelapino, 500 feet from the site. I don’t know how many kilometers, but it was a lot. One of my favorite adventures in Peru.
The next day was one of my favorites, as I was one of three tourists all morning. It was conducive to spending an hour with Francisco, the lead archaeologist and site director. He provided a lot of interesting insight into Kuelap, the Chachapoyas who built it, and the Incas who never fully conquered the cloud people. Moreover, he explained the struggles of modern archaeology in Peru, where impoverished locals, corrupt authorities, meager budgets, and a cable car debuting in November make things difficult. He also suggested I visit some sites, which I’d never even heard of, on my way back to Lima. I’m damn glad I did because…
Chanquillo & Cerro Sechín – were small, interesting, and empty sites in the desert. The latter was in much better condition than the former, with its murals and mummy in good state. The dusty trek to Chanquillo, the oldest known astronomical observatory in the Americas, was worth it. The adjacent concentric circle site on a hill made one’s imagination wonder. Damn glad Francisco mentioned them.
Caral – The oldest dig in the Americas, ca. 3000 BC, it’s the second most important behind the Mesopotamia, and more ancient than the sites in Egypt. Modern displays clearly explain the history of the site and its people, which was amazing. Good info is harder to find at archaeological sites in Peru than a bathroom with soap (which they also had!)! Even mighty Machu Picchu only has wayfinding signs, which is a pity, especially given the price. My visit there was part of one of the coolest days of the trip. You can read about it here.
I finished the whirlwind month in Lima, a modern city with the usual drawbacks. Polluted, noisy, expensive,, it was a stark contrast to the previous 27 days of the trip. But I did put its two Starbucks within walking distance of my hostel to good use. The Circuito Mágico del Agua was much better than I imagined and well worth a visit, too.
With a bounty of beautiful, diverse, landscapes, friendly locals, great gastronomy, spoils of history, and easy, affordable transportation, Peru truly packs a punch. Highly-recommended and a place I hope to return to some day.