alizroundtheworld

I think it’s the first time that I am going to talk about my feelings here in the amazing South America beyond describing my adventures…I don’t know whether it’s the fact that I have been travelling for 4 months now or Peru or the combination of things but for the first time I feel that I miss my life back in London. I miss my family, my friends, my job at Foxy ..the office banter, my nice clothes, my decent look, the bars and Asian restaurants and I could carry on….but hey let’s talk about Cusco and Machu Picchu first.

After Copacabana I got to Cusco in the middle of the night with 2 lovely Dutch travellers, Klaas and Ivora. We got lucky with the hostel (well more or less) as a man was waiting for us with a great offer at the bus station so we went to Apu Wasi hostel close to the centre of Cusco. We didn’t waste our time too much, slept till 10, then went to discover a bit this stunning city.

In the afternoon we booked our Machu Picchu jungle inka trail which started the next day. After a long minibus ride up to the mountains I felt terrible..I don’t know whether it was the altitude again or the serpentine but I felt so sick…I got a bit scared too because I felt that I had fever and it was exactly 7 days after the Jungle of Bolivia which made me think that I had malaria (apparently it kicks off after a week of getting bitten, and I was covered by bites). Once we were on the top of the mountain we started cycling downhill…it reminded me of the Death road but a less scary version of it. The fresh air helped me, so I felt better. Our guide’s name was Martin, seemed like a nice guy. After the bike ride we went for lunch and to our hostel in Santa Maria. It was basic, still nice. In the group there was an English couple, an English guy, a Chilean couple, my Dutch fellows and me. In the afternoon we went rafting. This was the first time I did it…AMAZING.

Once we were back we went for dinner and played pool. I had my first Peruvian Pisco sour..I don’t think I should blame the drink though for falling into a water fount on the way back to the hostel as it was very dark (no street light) and it was hidden on the pavement! I do think I can blame the Pisco sour for my next day diarrhoea though (sorry for the details but I reckon it’s part of the story:P).

The next day after breakfast we started walking up in the jungle..quite hard walk but on the way we were surrounded by stunning trees, banana, monkeys and picturesque landscape while listening the story of Pachamama, coca leaf and the inkas.

Martin painted some Inka pattern on all of us so we could feel that we were part of the history for a few days…

At lunch we went to an Inka farm and chilled for an hour in the hammocks.

In the afternoon we continued our trip all the way until Santa Teresa but just before that we reached the hot springs and had the opportunity to relax our muscles after 8 hours of walking.

Evening- dinner, then we went to a club where I could show off with my salsa moves:)

The next day after breakfast we went to do some Zip line adventure. It was an incredible fun..the only thing that put some shadow on it was that I wasn’t feeling great again. Fever and dizziness.

We had a terrible minibus ride again to the lunch place where I had no appetite and all I wanted was just lying down. Martin suggested me to take the train to Aquas Calientes instead of walking for 3 hours but I didn’t want to be a lightweight so I said I would walk- bad decision. My group walked fast..I felt shit..so I was left behind and walked with a German group- they were nice and helpful…I honestly thought I would pass out during these 3 hours. My group hated me because they had to wait for me (which they only did when they got close to the town). I still had no appetite, went to see a doctor who said I had bacterial infection so he gave me antibiotics. I went to bed at 6pm because the last day was the highlight..Machu Picchu. I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk up the stairs the next morning so I took a bus up there with Ivora ( her ankle was really bad so she couldn’t walk either) at 5.30, and we met Martin and the other up there at 6am. When the gate opened everyone went in and was enchanted by the beauty of Machu Picchu.

We spent up there 4 hours then went back to Aguas Calientes and chilled until our train back to Cusco (9pm). We got there after 1am so we went straight to bed. I was feeling a bit better but because of the antibiotics I couldn’t eat much for days (great way of losing weight, horrible way to travel). I stayed a few more days in Cusco and did some day trips to the Sacred Valley. Met Zoli my Hungarian friend and Danila, my Argentinian friend with whom I was in the jungle in Bolivia.

The next destination was Lima. The bus ride was fairly long, around 20 hours but good. I stayed in the historical centre, met Anne-Laure (French girl, we met first in Brazil- she is studying in Lima), and I hang out with an American girl, Maggie. We got on well. Lima was a nice surprise, beautiful cathedrals, and great vibe. Miraflores is a stunning area by the sea.

After 2 days I took the bus to Trujillo. This is ‘the capital of the North of Peru’, but I went straight away to Huanchaco, 20 minutes by bus to a little beach town which I fell in love with. Upon arrival I got some bad news from back home which changed completely my plans..- I guess this was the aim of the bad news- so I decided to stay here for 2 weeks and study Spanish here instead of rushing to Quito. I realised I needed to take a break of the rush and just chill out for a while. I have to say I did the right thing. My Spanish has improved a lot. My teacher Sam, is a Welsh guy and has been living in Peru for years. (highly recommended!)

He gave me the same deal as I got in Quito, and I have been taking 4 hours per day. Now mentally it’s been tiring but I combined it with some physical activity too such as running, exercise and surfing so I have been busy all day every day and managed to digest the bad news….well..mas o menos…

I found a fantastic place to live- it’s a vegetarian restaurant called ‘Otra Cosa’, where I rented a private room, free from tourists. The restaurant is run by a Dutch guy called Berry- he is living here with his Peruvian (beautiful) wife and kid, there was a girl volunteering from the US and a Dutch guy working for a travel agency..apart from them the kitchen crew was awesome too and they had a little dog Yardy (coming from Yard dog) and Killy the few months old kitten. So I feel I found a bit my equilibrium here..got involved with a lot of local people and made lots of friends…oh I am going to miss those fresh juices and breakfasts on the market in Jerrer’s shop..and the surf guys, and the vibe of this amazing place.

It’s time to move though…tonight I am going to Tumbes (city on the Ecuadorian border) and tomorrow hopefully I will be in Ecuador.

Peru has been amazing…and if I had to choose a place to come back, Huanchaco would be the one.

A few pics on my ‘paradise’ 🙂