Surprising Peru
Peru was such a great country to start the South American portion of our travels in. We landed in Lima and easily made our way to our Airbnb in Miraflores, described as “a residential and upscale shopping district south of downtown Lima and one of the most affluent districts that make up the city of Lima.” Immediately we were struck by the long stretch of endless beach and waterfront parks along our drive from the airport to our apartment.
After a 40+ hour travel day from Auckland, New Zealand to Santiago, Chile and then to Lima, Peru, we crashed immediately and woke up the next morning to our friends from Louisville walking through the door of the apartment at 6:30am. The next few days in Lima were a blur of deliciously fresh Ceviche, their national dish, which I ate every day and sometimes twice a day, surfing lessons, pisco sours, market tours, music, and swimming with Sea Lions (and massive jellyfish)!
In between all this fun, we also got to meet my Aunt Carmen’s daughter, Patricia, and her two children. A connection I didn’t even realize was possible till a few days before our arrival. Between my broken Spanish and her broken English (and a little help from Ben’s near fluency in both 😁) we had a blast seeing parts of the city with Patricia and her family.
After 4 days in Lima, we were off to Cusco for a visit to Machu Picchu. Our place in Cusco was right in the center of town and an easy walk to the main square and a plethora of great restaurants, all serving the local specialty…Guinea Pig, which we tried (and Patty and I actually liked…tasted like dark meat chicken). In Cusco, we explored the main square, made chocolate from the bean and took pictures with ALL the Alpacas and llamas! From Cusco, we booked a two day tour through the Sacred Valley of the Incas and Machu Picchu with an overnight in Aguas Calientes. From Alien looking circular formations thought to be an agricultural laboratory for ancient Incas to expansive salt pools and the stunning remains at Machu Picchu, each stop was more beautiful than the last.
On our final night, we even got to celebrate the wedding anniversary of our friends, o’Sha and Patty, along with Kelsie and the kids. So many fabulous memories made with great friends. Peru has definitely pushed its way into one of my favorite countries of the trip.
