We were excited to get to Lima for three reasons – it is at sea level and therefore warmer than where we have been in the last weeks, we know a few people here, and it is South America´s food capital. more „Lima & the Peruvian cuisine“
The Amazon – home to incredible flora and fauna as well as different cultures. On our trip through South America we couldn´t miss coming here. Our life on the Amazon consisted of fishing piranha, looking for dolphins, anacondas, caimans, tarantulas, sloths, monkeys and many more. And mosquitos. more „Life at the Amazon“
Just a three hour drive from Cusco lies the incredible rainbow mountain (montana de los 7 colores) at 5.000m above sea level. You might have guessed by its name that it consists of different colors that run parallel to each other. The colors originate from minerals that deposited here over millions of years. The stripes are supposed to originate from plate tectonic and earth movement. Of course we had to go and see this ourselves! more „The odyssey of the rainbow mountain“
There are a million things to do in Cusco and surroundings. You can easily spent two weeks here. It is a beautiful colonial city. We spent one week here including our three days at Machu Picchu. But as the starting point for trips to Machu Picchu, it also has a downside. It is full of tourists and people try to sell you everything. more „Cusco & around“
Machu Picchu has been built from 1450 to 1540 and it was never completed. When the Spanish came to Peru, many incas fled here. The incas abandoned the sight in 1540 and luckily never told the Spanish about it. It was only rediscovered in 1911. Due to this, the site was never destroyed and still looks a lot like it did 500 years ago. more „Machu Picchu on a budget“
In Peru there are too many trekking options. We have planned to do a few, and the first one was a three-day hike in the Colca Canyon. The canyon is the second deepest in the world. Depending where you are it is between 3.270m and 1.200m deep. In comparison, the Grand Canyon is „only“ 1.800m deep. more „Trekking in the Colca Canyon“
Welcome to Peru! After one beautiful month in Bolivia we finally had to leave… We crossed the border at Titicaca Lake and took a bus to Arequipa – the white city. The colonial city center reminded us of Sucre, but even more beautiful. The scenery with snow-covered volcanoes in the back is even more impressive. You can see most of the city in one day, but it is nicer to enjoy it for a few days. more „First stop in Peru: Arequipa“
Again another big part of our trip is over and we move to another continent. This is the time when our travel become somehow unreal and we can´t really believe what we are doing. We just got used to life in Australia, and now we are entering a whole new world. We are actually moving from Jens´ world to Sandra´s world. She lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and San José, Costa Rica, so she is especially looking forward to coming back „home“. Our first stop is Chile, and Sandra has already been here 5 years ago.
We hope you enjoyed following our path through Australia and keep reading while we take you on a journey through South America. We have no flights booked, so the only plan we have right now is travelling along the west coast from Chile to Costa Rica. So look out for stories of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama as well.