Exploring Peru!

Our first morning in Lima had us waking up to an amazing breakfast before I wandered out into the streets of Miraflores to find a fabled cup of java. The streets were blanketed in a cool fog that cut visibility down to a block or two and had me wishing that I had brought a warmer jacket. Thankfully, the coffee was as excellent as advertised, and …

After leaving the foggy dampness of Lima in August, the city of Arequipa practically smacks you in the face with its brilliant blue sky. The elevation is quite a bit higher and the air is immensely drier, but we also were instantly taken in by this colonial town with its quaint narrow streets replacing Lima’s hectic and (almost always) …

While Arequipa’s elevation is already nearly 8,000 feet - which is nothing to scoff at - our guide promised that our next day in the region would be spent exploring areas that are even higher on our way to the village of Chimay. Shortly after leaving the city we climbed up past 10, 11 thousand feet while the landscape shifted from a valley …

If you know anything about Colca Canyon, you likely know that it is one of the deepest in the world, with areas that are about twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. You also might know that it is the habitat for one of the most revered animals in Peru: the condor.

Coming from a place like Montana, we are certainly not starved for …

Our flight from Arequipa ended up being delayed by a few hours, so instead of arriving to Cusco in the morning we ended up getting in halfway through the afternoon. However, what could have been a pretty frustrating day soon melted away after we met our guide JC and started taking in this fabulous city.

Already Peru had wowed us with attractive …

The journey was just getting started with Cusco as our plan was to venture onto the Sacred Valley the next day and then Machu Picchu. Descending into the Sacred Valley had much the opposite effect of going into Colca Canyon, as the elevation gradually decreased this time, going from over 11,000 feet to just above 9,000. Still, I was not going …

There are few places in the world that are as photographed or as hyped as Machu Picchu is, which can make this day feel both exhilarating and also potentially nerve-racking to someone like myself who loves everything about traveling - besides the crowds. However, what little anxiety I had was quickly replaced by awe. Not even a few minutes into …

I knew as soon as I had a trip planned to Peru that I would have to do one of the hikes at Machu Picchu on my second day there. Thankfully, Nico was also more than happy to oblige in a day of some physical exertion and (hopefully) fantastic views. Since I have a *cough* mild fear of heights, Huayna Picchu was out, and I had heard that the views …

Today marked our last day in Cusco, and also the only full day that we got to spend in the city. Even without a set plan we would have still been more than excited to wander around the narrow streets some more, but our guide still had some highlights that he wanted to show us before we moved onto the next adventure.

It started with getting to the …