PERÚ :) La verdadera aventura pisquera

Well let me start off by saying that Perú has been INCREDIBLE! I am so glad I started my year-long adventure in South America in Perú. I landed Wednesday night only to discover that NONE of my bags arrived with me. Oh well! That's a part of traveling for a year that is almost inevitable. I found my friends C. May (we studied Spanish together at the University of Colorado) and Russell (C. May's boyfriend) and they were nice enough to help me get ahold of my friend Isabel who we were staying with. I met Isabel through one of my Spanish professor's at the University of Colorado. My professor, Daniel, told me his niece was coming to live in Colorado so we agreed to be "intercambios" or help each other with our native languages. Anyway, I have stayed in touch with Isabel and she asked me to come visit her so I did! She picked us up from the airport and we went back to her house.

Thursday morning came and we woke up and went to the airport. We flew from Lima to Cusco and stayed at the Point Hostel. We walked around Cusco which was really pretty. We bought train tickets to Machu Picchu, ate some Peruvian street food (Tuna which is a fruit that is delicious, anticuchos (heart meat on a stick with potatoes, tamale-like corn break wrapped in corn husks, etc.) and made PB&J's for our long day ahead of us in Machu Picchu. Since I didn't have any of my clothes, I borrowed Isabel's jacket and sweatshirt, a lot of C. May's clothes, and I bought some "tourist pants" so I could sleep in them at the hostel. We went to bed at 8 pm because we knew we had to wake up super early.

2:30 am Friday morning we woke up, took a "collectivo" or a taxi van that tries to fit a lot of people, to Ollantaytambo. The road was very bumpy and curvy. We arrived at Ollantaytambo and took the train at 5:30am. The Urubamba River was super intense because it had been really rainy. Some trains were even closed because the river was too intense. We arrived in Aguas Calientes and took a bus up an even curvier road with tons of switchbacks. Machu Picchu awaited us! It was chilly at first and super cloudy. But I was at an ancient Incan site! So COOL! We walked around Machu Picchu, saw Al Pacas, and we were almost 8,000 feet above sea level! Coming from Colorado, though, the altitude did not affect us as much as it did some people. C. May was smart enough to do her research ahead of time and we bought tickets to Huayna Picchu so we could hike the big mountain. We entered Huayna Picchu at 10:15 and began the 3 1/2 hour hike. We climbed stairs, crawled through holes, hiked through rain, and met people from all over the world. We got to the top of Huayna Picchu and were literally in the middle of clouds. It was breathtaking. I was in my Converse and jeans and I knew I was going to be cold the rest of the day from the rain, but I didn't let that stop me from hiking this amazing ancient civilization. We hiked down Huayna Picchu to the Gran Caverna, hiked back up and left Huayna Picchu around 1:30. We ate lunch, took the train back to Ollantaytambo, took a collective back to Cusco and arrived back at our hostel at 9:30 pm after being gone for 19 hours! We were exhausted so we fell asleep almost immediately.

On Saturday, we flew back to Cusco, my friend Isabel picked us up, my bags FINALLY arrived, and we went to the BEACH :) Isabel has a beach house at Playa Santa María which was beautiful. We met Isabel's friends (Hector, Fiorella, Pamela, Roberto, Pierina, and Dennis) and ate authentic Ceviche which was delicious! The fish was so fresh and the taste was mouth-watering. We laid out on the beach, took a nap, and went back to Isabel's house. Later, Isabel and her friends made Chilcanos (Pisco, ginger ale, and sugar syrup, lime and ice) while we played Pictionary. The language barrier was difficult at first but we made it work. C. May and I both studied Spanish at CU so we knew enough to communicate. Russell didn't know much Spanish and a some of Isabel's friends didn't know any English. But we were all able to help each other out. We tried to go to a club but there was a cover for guys so we went back to Isabel's house and played card and dice games.

After a long couple of days, sleeping in felt SO good. I woke up at 11:30 on Sunday and went straight to the beach. I interacted with Isabel's friends, shared with them some English words (like Social Butterfly!) while they taught me Spanish words (esmalte=nail polish!) The sun was strong and I applied sunscreen a lot, but not enough because I am a very pale, Irish girl that never fails to get burned. We ate lunch (which consisted of Tequeños (kind of like Taquitos but better) and delicious fish in garlic sauce. C. May ate chita (a really good fish that sounds like "cheetah!") and I tried the infamous Inca Kola (Peruvian soda that tastes like Bubble Gum). We packed up our belongings and drove back to Lima on Sunday night. We went to Larcomar (an outdoor mall right along the coast) and did some window-shopping.  Then, we ate PERUVIAN CHICKEN!!!! (aka Pollo a la brasa!) which was SOOO good. I had eaten Peruvian chicken in Washington, DC before, but this was AUTHENTIC Peruvian chicken which was DELICIOUS! We also drank Chicha, which is a purple-colored drink made out of corn. We took some more pictures with Isabel's friends (including one that looks like Russell is getting pick-pocketed, but it was just a joke!).

Monday morning we woke up to a beautiful day in Lima. Isabel showed us around her gorgeous house and we drove into Miraflores (a district of Lima) and we went to her uncle Daniel's house (My Spanish professor). Next, we went to Parque del Amor which was right along the coast and was beautiful. For lunch, we went to a restaurant that served Cui (Guinea Pig). I ordered it (yes I ate Guinea Pig!) and so did C. May. I was not a huge fan but C. May really liked it. We also ordered Queso Helado which is a typical Peruvian dessert. Then Daniel and Isabel took us to get our first Authentic Pisco Sour! Perú and Chile argue over who has the true Pisco Sour: Peruvians say Perú invented it while Chileans say Chile invented it. I am lucky enough to drink Pisco Sour from both countries so I will let you know which one I like better when I arrive in Chile. Anyway, we walked around Miraflores and tried more street food: Melcochas and picarones and went to a Peruvian flea market. I bought a bracelet (like I do from every country). Isabel bought us Groupons for a Peruvian buffet at Restuarant Costa Verde. Our table was right by the ocean and we ate authentic Peruvian dishes: Rocoto relleno, etc.

On Tuesday we took Public Transportation into the city of Lima. Isabel suggested we go to the Museo Metropolitano de Lima which provided a historic portrait of Lima. It was very interactive and it had AC which felt nice since it was a hot day outside. Then we took a bus to the city and saw the Governmental Palace and the plaza's in Lima which were beautiful. Lunch arrived and we ate Tacu Tacu (a combination of rice and beans). We walked into Peruvian shops and enjoyed the shade while we could. After walking around and being hot, we decided to cool off by drinking some more Pisco Sours. We ate some more street food and cooled off some more with ice cream. Then we took a Cab back to Isabel's house and I thought I was going to die. The taxi driver had legit Road Rage and was driving in between lanes, not leaving enough space between cars, and cutting people off. It was so scary! But I am ALIVE! We got back to Isabel's house and watched El Secreto de Sus Ojos (an Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film). My last night in Lima I slept very well but am sad that it was my last night. Today Isabel is nice enough to let me do laundry before I leave and we are going to eat some more Peruvian dishes. C. May, Russell, and I all leave Perú tonight which is sad but I am also excited to start my Chilean adventure!
Thank you all for reading :)