Now the travel journey between us begins! I struggled a bit deciding just where to start, and by that I mean…which trip should I write about first? The very first trip we took as a family of five? Or the one that holds the most fond memories for me?? Where to begin? I finally decided I should start with the trip that changed all future trips for us….. It was an adventurous destination, full of exciting adventures. Made all the more fun by the fact that our youngest child Nathaniel was now 4 1/2, and could participate fully in all these adventures. I can hear you now, he’s only 4 1/2?? that doesn’t sound like an age that would be old enough to make a difference on an adventurous trip!? Well, you think that because you don’t know my Nate….soon you will come to see he has been a game-changer in our lives. Usually he and I are hanging out at the bottom of a mountain or pyramid waiting for the others, because he was to young to participate. But on this trip, he was in it to win it. He walked down the whole mountain of Machu Picchu with us! But let’s start at the beginning….
Peru! Lima, to Cusco to Machu Picchu http://www.peru.travel › en-us
We started our journey in JFK and flew JetBlue to Fort Lauderdale, ( 2 1/2 hours flight time ) and connected there on JetBlue to Lima, Peru (4 3/4 hours flight time )
Lima
The popular/built up section of Lima that is located on the coast is called Miraflores. It has a coastline that makes you feel like you are in Southern California ( aaannnddd we ALL know that Cali is my happy place! Amiright?!?! ) It has restaurants, outdoor shopping malls with all the name brand stores, and a coastline that is ridiculously beautiful. We were tired with jet-lag so we took it easy this first day, we walked alllll over, the kids played at a park along the coast, and we watched the paragliders running and jumping off a cliff above the water. It really was incredible to watch! A light dinner and off to bed so we are rested for an exciting day of touring tomorrow.
I call this day of our 4 C’s of Lima day….we saw Convents, Churches and Cemeteries & Catacombs. Catholicism is alive and well in South America, everywhere you look you see churches or monuments. Most of the day was spent touring these places. The stained glass was unreal, the mausoleums austere– with headstones dating back to unbelievable dates. I took a picture of one, an Archbishop that was born in 1543 and passed in 1575!! ( :-0 ) The most memorable tour was the Convent of Santo Domingo, near the town square. This is where Santa Rosa de Lima lived and worshiped, her remains are located in the catacombs under the church. It’s blurry but the picture of my kids is them looking down into her tomb…strangely they weren’t scared…they were very intrigued! To this day my daughter is infatuated with anything regarding Santa Rosa de Lima. Truly an experience to remember!
Don’t forget to make your way to the Plaza de Armas, also called Plaza Mayor, located in the historic center of Lima. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Lima, and one of the focal points of the city. There you find the Government Palace, the Archbishop of Lima’s Palace, the Cathedral of Lima, and Municipal Palace. Make sure to catch one of the changing of the guard ceremonies…its beautiful!
Paracas
From Lima we rented a car to drive into the countryside of Peru….the little towns and villages were nothing like the built up city we had been exploring. Along the way we we passed Tacama vineyards, which is the oldest vineyard in South America..it was built in the 1540’s. Of course we had to stop!! This mom realllllyyy loves her wine 😉 We spent the afternoon on an educational behind the scenes tour of the facilities, complete with a tasting and lunch! Pretty much perfection if you ask me LOL. Later in my sons travel journal for school, he mentioned how we stopped at this place just for mom, because she loves wine so much. He’s not wrong!! I highly suggest visiting! http://www.tacama.com
After our winery tour, Brian continued our drive ( while I dozed ) down the Peruvian coast to Nazca. There we found the Nazca lines…have you heard of them?? They are SO interesting…. they are a group of large geoglyphs formed by depressions or possibly a kind of shallow incision made into the soil of the Nazca Desert. They were created between 500 BC and 500 AD. Some people think ancient Peruvians made the lines in the sand, some think it happened naturally…I suppose we will never know. But they were pretty cool to see! I have to admit it was pretty funny to see my husband the pilot, who is afraid of heights, climb a rickety staircase to a platform so we could observe the lines from above. He definitely was not comfortable up there, and trust me our kids made it super obvious that they were aware of his nerves!! They were relentless with their teasing. Another option available is to take a helicopter tour above the lines….that drew a hard NO from me. I’m not sure what the safety regulations are in rural Peru, but I’m 100% sure it isn’t up to my standards….so the rickety platform suited us just fine. It cost a few dollars US to climb up those stairs, worth every penny.
We continued our drive south…next up for us was a dune buggy ride complete with sand surfing!! If you google this event you will find in google as the address: Arenas Sand-boarding and Dune buggy tour. Tour operator in Peru. Address: Unnamed Road, 11000. I love this so much! On an Unnamed Road in Peru, my family took the most insane dune buggy ride. Complete with using a snow-board to sand surf down the huge dunes. It was unreal!!! So. Amazing.
With sand in our hair, teeth and pretty much everywhere else we continued our drive towards Paracas for the night. Our plan was to visit Islas Ballestas the next day. Google describes Islas Ballestas as: Islands off the southern coast of Peru, near the cities of Pisco, and Paracas. Rich in marine life, the uninhabited islands are home to sea lions, pelicans, Peruvian boobies and Humboldt penguins. What it doesn’t tell you though is how freaking amazing these islands are!! Literally a bird sanctuary about 10miles off the coast, it is home to MILLIONS of birds, sea lions and penguins. The boat ride takes just a few minutes, then you spend the next hour or so cruising between islands that are just crawling with life. The sea lions laze about in the sun, the penguins are busy doing whatever it is penguins do ( one can never tell LOL ) and the birds….the birds are everywhere all at the same time. Swirling above you, playing in the drafty air currents, nesting in the rocks. There are so many birds on these islands that the country cleans 23,000lbs of guano off of them annually….!!! That’s a lot of bird poop! I believe the country has found a way to profit off of said poop…they harvest it, or clean it, maybe they sell some of it. To whom and for what purpose I’m not sure…I could google but I don’t think I want to :-// In case you can’t tell, this boat trip is one of the MUST SEE’S when you visit Peru!
On to Cusco! We took LAN airlines from Lima to Cusco, that’s about an hour and 20 minute flight. The elevation of this city is 11,152 feet, and let me tell you… altitude sickness is a very real thing!! We spent a few days touring around this city, just letting ourselves get accustomed to the elevation. Neither Brian or I experienced severe symptoms, just some headaches and a general feeling of something being ‘off’. The kids had zero troubles thank goodness. We were here over the New Years Eve holiday, and let me tell you, Peru knows how to celebrate. The fireworks lasted over three hours! Our guesthouse was called Torre Dorado, and the staff was wonderful. They had a free shuttle that took us in and out of town, and gave restaurant suggestions. It was at this guesthouse that I had some laundry done, and I have never seen our underwear so pressed and perfect. I will save you from having to look at a photo of our underthings… but just know….they looked amazing LOL. My favorite memories of this mountainous area are of the local elderly women. Safe to say I was completely obsessed! With their traditional garb, and their little hats… I really wanted to pack one up with me and bring her home. They were SO adorable. There were so many interesting things to see and do in Cusco. We saw an altar being serenaded by a mariachi band on its way to the church, we got caught in a CAH-RAZY rain storm ( never seen anything like it ) and we visited an animal sanctuary. There we learned about the local delicacy, which is Cuy, or guinea pig. It is the locals favorite, and there are whole farms dedicated to the breeding, raising and selling of Cuy. If you are at a fancy restaurant, Cuy will be available, and it will be the most expensive item on that menu! I did not partake myself, but Brian & Benjamin both did. They really are such adventurous eaters, they enjoyed it very much.
The first stop on your journey to Machu Picchu is Cusco, from there you take a taxi or a bus to the town of Quillabamba. We chose a taxi, and settled in for the almost almost 5 hour ride through the Peruvian countryside. 5 hours?! Yup….There is only one road, and it’s the only way to get there, so just enjoy the ride! We stayed in a beautiful hotel that night, swam in the pool and explored the little city. Our wake-up call for Machu Picchu the next morning was at the crack of dawn!! We departed by taxi for the town of Ollantaytambo, from there you get on the Inca Rail train which departs for the mountain pueblo. You have to get up early and get to the train station early…there are only so many tickets sold to go up the mountain every day. If you are late, you won’t get to see it, and that would be such a shame…because that mountain is divine. It’s a spiritual experience from start to finish. So set your alarm and get there early!
Once the train arrives at the mountain…this actually takes a while because the train make multiple stops to let people off….there are all sorts of levels of hiking when it comes to this place. Some people start walking at Ollaytantambo, some get off the train at random places and literally just start hiking. Some hikes are WEEKS long, people carrying gear on their backs and sleeping on the ground. We were not quite that adventurous, we took the train all the way to the base of the mountain. Once there, you start hiking up, or you get on yet another line to buy a bus ticket to the top. We chose the bus option, and after touring the ruins we walked back down to town. A process for sure, but far easier than walking up!
The top of the mountain, the ruins of Machu Picchu are breath-taking. There are lots of folklore stories as to why the ancient Peruvians built this place, a lot of mysticism and spiritualism. Crazy things like the windows in the walls line up with the sun when it’s at a particular spot in the solstice, and it will make markings on the ground with shadows type of stuff. For whatever the reason, this place was made/created and it’s spectacular! We hired a guide at the top and spent an hour walking through old buildings, temples and ancient living spaces. It absolutely poured during our tour, then cleared up and the color green was everywhere like it was from a picture book. Llamas roam freely up there ( I’m convinced my daughters obsession with llamas comes from this trip! ) and it’s quite magical. Our hike down took a hot minute, but it was so fun. And yes, my little Nate, the 4 1/2 year old walked down that mountain with no help. See! Like I said at the beginning this trip was the start of something great with him being able to fully participate! I will include some pics below of our time at the mountain. Sadly after this stop we made our way back to Cusco and started the journey home. We flew Avianca Airlines from Cusco to Bogota and then continued on to JFK. Peru really was the trip of a lifetime for us….such wonderful memories!!
Around The World With Three Littles 