Hannah & Angus' Honeymoon : Destination Peru
PART ONE - LIMA TO CUSCO
The second piece compiling my trilogy of Honeymoon blogs, is actually about my own honeymoon experience back in autumn 2014. At the time, I was lucky enough to have 28 days flexible holiday in a year (as I worked most weekends) and so took the month of October off to travel across the world to Peru. My husband has worked for himself for over ten years. As you can imagine, the conversation with the boss about taking a month off went pretty smoothly for him.
I was lucky enough to visit Peru 18 months before, but as I was without my beloved, there were a few things that I skipped in order to do these things together at a later date. They were - the Inca Trail, Manu National Park in the Amazon and the Nazca Lines. Onto the story….
As busy-bodies, explorers and adventurers at heart, we decided that Peru would be the most perfect place for our honeymoon. Lots to see and do, adventure and nothing too stuffy. We do enjoy luxury hotels and beaches on occasion but for this, our ‘luna de miel’ in Spanish, we wanted something off-the-wall. We took off from Heathrow with our backpacks full, walking boots on and excited about the prospect of a 4 week adventure and break from UK life.
Touch down - after 20 hours from South London, over 6000 miles and not quite enough sleep, we arrived in the bustling city of Lima. First things first - taxi. If you’ve never been in a taxi in Lima, my best suggestion for you is to keep your eyes closed and listen to some zen music. It can be a hair raising experience through 7 lanes of bustling traffic and only a passing familiarity with seat belts.
Deciding not to miss out on a second, we had prearranged a ‘street food walking tour’ of the city by night. It was awesome - we had a guide to ourselves and went from street food vendors to humble cafes, sampling the local cuisine and learning about who and what inspired the food. The cow’s heart kebab was not my favourite gastronomic conquest, but the mazamorra arroz (blackberry rice pudding) was off the charts delicious! Ending the first night on Peru’s national drink, the PIsco Sour, was perhaps not the best idea. We staggered home.
Whilst in Lima, we also visited catacombs, pyramids and the hub of the city to really get a feel for this bustling metropolis. All in all, a great start to the trip! Lima, check!
After Lima, we travelled 4 hours by bus south towards Ica, and stayed in the small village and major traveller honeypot, Huacachina (whack-ah-chee-nah). This pop-up style village, exists purely because it is an oasis in the middle of the desert. Oh yeah, Peru has deserts, beaches, mountains and jungles. It’s awesome! It’s probably important to say that there are only two passable places to stay in Huacachina and we decided not to stay in either of them (because we’re rock and roll). Our hostel of choice was sort of half built with very good…erm…ventilation, on account of there not being an abundance walls or roofs. Our room was fine and comfortable although it didn’t have a lock; that’s where our bags came in handy to prop against the door during the night. A full proof intruder alarm system!
In Huacachina, there are two things you must do. Sandboarding on the dunes and going on a buggy ride, again, on the dunes. It’s super quick and easy to organise from basically any hostel or shop in the village and it’s right on your door step! After boarding the dunes, it’s time for a mandatory visit to the restaurant ‘Huacafuckingchina’ to enjoy their unique and aptly named drink, the ‘Huaca-fucking-china!’ From memory, it contains both vodka and gin, several multi coloured syrups and a cherry on top. It’s also quite lethal as the rest of the evening was a wonderful blur. Huacachina, check!
A two hour bus ride across to Nazca was next on the list, to fulfil one of Angus’ childhood dreams. A flight over the world famous Nazca lines. Of unknown origin, the lines are ancient ‘drawings’ created by shallow depressions in the ground. They are so large, you can only see them in their full glory from the air. It’s worth mentioning now that I get travel sick pretty easily and don’t particularly enjoy flying and Angus has a fear of heights. Having said this, we are both very much believers in the Nike slogan of ‘just do it’. So we did. A short trip to the airfield and a little wait in the queue, we stepped outside into the baking desert and met our pilots and our plane. Just big enough for 4 people, it was the smallest plane I had ever flown in. On account of the baking hot sun and the circular motion of the flight, it felt as if we were little clay pots inside a rapidly rotating 200 degree kiln. Stifling my vomit from making an appearance as the pilots tilted the wings directly at the ground, we circled the impressive Nazca lines below in a 360 degree motion. Check them out online and see if you can get your head around them - they are really quite beautiful! Nazca, check!
After some chill time in town, it was time to head for the overnight bus. A 9 hour trip to our next stop Arequipa (Ara-key-pa). The buses in Peru are sort of like what I imagine a 1st class aeroplane seat to be like. For around £30 for the 9 hour ride, you get a fully reclining padded chair, a TV screen and food service. Pretty sweet! This journey turned out to be closer to 13 hours due to a 4 hour delay and a subsequently unhappy wife moping in the bus terminal (which I liken to a small forgotten school canteen without the food). I have never been so happy to see a bus in my life and after checking our bags on and settling in, it was lights out!
Five in the a.m. wake up and we’re in Arequipa, a pretty city with a beautiful central plaza and huge indoor markets. We stayed in a beautiful white-washed hostel 10 minutes walk away from the main centre and noticed immediately the distinct change in altitude from the desert we had journeyed from. Walking up a slight slope in the road with a backpack on felt a little like being punched in the lungs - it was time for us to start acclimatising to the Peruvian highlands. Our first night out in Arequipa proved eventful. We decided to treat ourselves to a date night, Peruvian style. We booked a restaurant overlooking the plaza and ascended the staircase to the open-air balcony. It was beautiful! I’ll say now, that the service and food were pretty shocking and we realised then why we prefer to eat in markets and from street food vendors - it’s usually much more authentic and tasty!
The icing on the cake to this mediocre evening was the fact that due to the elections that were happening that weekend, the whole of Peru was prohibited from selling alcohol. It was at this moment my Spanish really came in handy, as we were accosted by two policemen whilst enjoying our beers and bottle of red wine. When you get really upset and pretend to not know what’s happening, it generally works in your favour. A night to remember, that’s for sure!
The next day, we decided to take a trip to see one of the beautiful volcanoes outside of town and cycled back, enjoying the mountains and scenery that Peru has to offer. This was less of a ‘cycling tour’ and more of the tour operator driving Angus and I out into the wilderness and saying “follow me back”. Tentatively and for the first time since I was a child, I cycled as fast as my little legs could go, following the 4x4 and Angus down the winding mountain roads (that were filled with lorries by the way). After my initial terror, I actually began to enjoy the feeling of freedom and totally letting go of every fear and letting it be.
By the time we got back to town though, I genuinely thought we were going to die as we cycled back to our hostel, adrenaline coursing through us! Turns out, Peruvians don’t have a lot of time to wait for cyclists and on several occasions, I said my prayers and shed a few tears, preparing to reunite with my maker. All in good fun, eh!?
It was in Arequipa that I introduced Angus to two very important things about Peru. Firstly, it is a right of passage to try the EXCLUSIVE fruit called lucama (loo-ka-mah) that is hugely prized and makes a killer smoothie. A lucama smoothie tastes exactly like blended dates mixed with frothy milk. It’s pretty tasty! Secondly, and although not strictly Peruvian, it became a ‘thing’ for us to seek out the oh-so-delicious Bolivian treat, the saltena (sahl-ten-ya). How to describe a saltena? Sweet, meaty, gravy goodness inside a crispy doughy hedgehog shaped pastry. Quite simply, the best thing we ate in Peru AND only 20p for four - RESULT! Arequipa, check!
From Aerequipa is was on to visit Colca Canyon; an absolute must in Peru and an opportunity to see the snow capped mountains and vast chasms that make up this extraordinary place. Visit local women selling their wares at 5000m above sea level and stand beneath the clouds watching the incredible condors as they cruise the thermals. We were lucky enough to see not just one of these magnificent birds, but 14 of them, most of which were soaring directly overhead. One of these magnificent birds got seriously pissed off with a tourist taking photos and tried to steal his camera with its huge talons. (To give you an indication of the size of the Andean condor; they grow up to 15kg in weight and 3 metres in wingspan).
The night we stayed in Colca Canyon, we were put up in what can only be described as the Fawlty Towers of Peru. Never in all my life have I been so chilled to the bone and so praying for my body to fight the blisteringly cold Andean mountain air that whistled through the cracks in the doors. Hot water? Forget it. We slept in our thermal leggings, thermal long sleeve tops, thermal socks, hoodies and had 3 duvets and fleece blankets. Needless to say, no romance that evening! That night is one we look back at and laugh and all the while, we didn’t complain (considering we paid £2 for bed and breakfast, there wasn’t much room to!) In Peru it definitely pays to be prepared. Wherever you’re staying, make sure you have fluids and snacks. You never know the next time you'll be able to find something. This motto came in handy the next morning when we were greeted with a breakfast of one small bread roll and a sachet of jam. Colca Canyon, check!
Another 10 hour bus ride later and warm again in the beautiful sunshine, we were in Cusco; truly the hub of tourism in Peru and the go-to city for all of your Incan and Amazonian needs! You can do just about every tour from Cusco and the convenience of travel agents and hostels being right on your doorstep is fab! We got to Cusco a few days early to acclimatise to the altitude and to get our bearings. There is plenty to do for any travellers waiting for a trip to the jungle or waiting for their trip to hike the Inca Trail. (It’s important to note that accommodation in Peru, whilst still being much cheaper than any European accommodation, is comparatively not cheap when looking at the rest of the country). We did have to bounce around to a few different places in the interim due to some rooms just not being quite up to scratch. We weren’t fussy; but the rooms had to be clean. That was the only prerequisite. Anyway, back to the activities!
We spent a day out of town quad biking to some of the awesome salt planes and in general, just whizzing around the mountains. It wasn’t 100% legit but because of that, it was just the two of us and an ‘instructor’ who was about 15 years of age. Nevertheless, we had a great day and it was nice to get out of town for a while. We also walked around the city, checking out the architecture as well as spending a day looking at some amazing Incan ruins that surround the city. On the evening before our 7 day trip to the Amazon, we went to the Observatory in Cusco and looked at the planets and the stars. Angus saw a shooting star which typically I missed. We drank hot chocolate and snuggled in blankets whilst enjoying a lengthy lowdown on the Incans and how they used the sun and the stars to help with their farming and understanding of the seasons. Definitely worth a visit the next time you’re in town! Just before we left for the Amazon, we pre-booked a stay in one of the best hotels in town. £120 per night and we got the honeymoon suite with a huge delicious bed, hot tub in the room and full buffet breakfast. We figured we’d quite like somewhere comfy to stay when we got back from the jungle and were preparing for our 5 day hike. We weren’t wrong! Cusco, check!
Then the day finally arrived. We were off to the Amazon………..