09.09.21

Part II of our journey started in Lima on a tour bus called Peru Hop at 05:30 in the morning. After several days of weighing options, we decided to take the bus south and visit several different cities which eventually would lead us to Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu. We did this so we could see different parts of the country along with acclimating to higher elevations from sea level.

The first five days, part I, we spent in Lima, and they were fairly uneventful, and regretfully, we really didn’t get around that much. Since Kathleen and I had to coordinate travel plans for the next week to several months, much of that time was spent doing that along with figuring out details about the trip to Machu Picchu.

We were at an Airbnb room outside downtown Lima, so we got to know the local area well, including the amazing restaurants that were abundant and very inexpensive. But overall Lima did not stick out in our minds.

One of the biggest topics of conversation was altitude sickness, since it is a real thing and we had to look at all the different cities and how high the elevation was. The net result was that we committed to staying hydrated, and just watching for symptoms.

We started our bus tour in the dark and a few hours later found ourselves in the city of Paracas, a small seaside village that is known for their access to the Ballestas Islands, about 45 minutes away by boat, which is a bird sanctuary. We were hoping to find sun filled skies to compensate for the overcast days we had in Lima, and as we were finishing our tour the sun did come out which was a refreshing change.

After a nice lunch, we were back in the bus heading to the town of Huacachina, which is literally an oasis in the middle of the desert. This town is known for their enormous, and I mean enormous, sand dunes that you can buggy up, or hike, or do whatever you wish to do in the sand, but we chose not to partake. The air was extraordinarily dry and the idea of getting sandy and hot just did not sound appealing. We find our pleasures where we can!

The next morning was pleasant with a cool mist in the air, and during the day we visited a chocolate factory and a winery and got to sample both. Then it was back to town and back on the bus for our next leg to the town of Nazca, which is world renown from their lines/ pictures in the sand. There are about 70 of them, but most are viewable only from the air. After driving for several hours we got to the viewing tower which is about five or six stories tall and were able to see them from above. They were cool, no doubt, but I thought they would be much larger than they were. Regardless, they are an iconic part of Inca history. We got there just before closing and after a meal, prepared to take our first overnight bus trip to Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru.

It was due to leave at 9:00 pm, but got delayed till about 11:00, but inconveniences are part of life and of traveling. The seats were comfy, but still, a good night’s sleep on a bus is difficult. We rolled in at 0900 and went to our nice $12 per night room where we stayed for two nights. A great breakfast and nap got us refreshed and the next morning at 0300 (that’s a.m.!) I left from for Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in South America. Wisely, Kathleen decided to skip that one since it was going into extraordinarily high elevations, which turned out to challenge me as well..

Sleeping on that tour bus was just not an option, so it was beautiful watching the night sky and the dawn as it rose over the mountains. On the way I kept monitoring the elevation and eventually at the summit hit the highest point I have ever been: 16,000 ft, then we went a bit lower, and over the next few hours explored the beautiful canyon, got to see my first condors, and also had my first exposure to altitude sickness.

I was not sure what was behind it initially, since I had been hydrating like crazy, and I ate a piece of fruit that made me a little bit queasy, but for several hours I felt like crap. Eventually I did throw up, which helped, and as we eventually got back to Arequipa, my stomach and head started settling down into normality. Here I thought I was immune to it, so I learned a very valuable lesson. Good health came just in time as a few hours later we departed for our second overnight bus ride in 3 days. BTW, this is not a schedule that I would recommend. Overnight buses are fine, but spacing them apart is a more wise move.

We left at 8:30 p.m. for Cusco, which is a 10-hour ride. This bus was much nicer than the prior one, but we found sleep challenging, and unfortunately Kathleen had some bouts with altitude sickness combined with motion sickness. Let’s just say that bus rides need to be taken in moderation. At 11,000 ft elevation, our plan was always to stay in Cusco only as long as we needed to, which is exactly what we did. We found it challenging finding canisters of oxygen at 0700 on a Saturday morning, but a very cooperative taxi driver was able to help us. Rather than take a very crowded but cheaper collectivo, we hired him to take us to our next stop, Ollantaytambo, the city it has taken me a week to remember!

That city is one of the several gateways to Machu Picchu, and that will take us into part III.