Amazon.
After our five treacherous days of trekking to Machu Picchu, we were excited (to say the least), about our Amazon River cruise!
From Iquitos, we jumped on our boat for another five day tour with Aqua Expeditions, but this time, it was much more relaxing.
Machu Picchu.
I’ll start this post with a confession. Obviously, the Inca Trail is the famous route that everyone wants to take. However, we were unaware that the Inca Trail treks sell out six months in advance. We sadly figured this out at the end of February and were pretty disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to do it. However, after more research on other trekking options, we found the Salkantay Trek. This has the reputation of being the hardest trek and I must say, IT WAS, BUT SO WORTH IT! We were told by multiple people, including guides, that the Inca Trail is so packed, you’re never alone to enjoy the moment. But Salkantay exceeded every expectation possible. I couldn’t recommend this more. Absolutely remarkable. I’m sure one day I’ll still do the Inca Trail, but this was the best decision (though we didn’t have much of a choice) we’ve made thus far.
Cuzco.
Most tourists travel to Cuzco to acclimate before heading to Machu Picchu. Cuzco is at 11,200ft, Machu Picchu is at 8,000ft. For us, we’ve been above 9,000ft for the past 2 weeks in Bolivia so we used it as a time to explore the city. Cuzco is full of culture, history, and charm. We also haven’t been around many tourists in a very long time so that was a bit of an adjustment as well. Michael’s mom, Bonnie, met us in Cuzco to do the trek to Machu Picchu so it was fun to all explore Cuzco together.
PeruRail.
Traveling by train = The way to go.
Planes, trains, and automobiles. But trains are by far, the best. We decided to be tourists instead of travelers for a day. We splurged with a 10 hour train ride from Puno to Cusco, instead of the classic six hour bus, and I’m so glad we did. It finally felt like we were on vacation.
Copacabana:
I’m sure most people haven’t heard of Copacabana, Bolivia (not to be confused with the ultra popular Copacabana, Brazil). But most probably have heard of Lake Titicaca. Copacabana is made famous by the infamous Lake Titicaca. I was definitely excited to see the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,507ft and check off another bucket list item. The four hour bus ride from La Paz to Copacabana had lovely views of the countryside. Bolivia really is a beautiful country.
La Paz.
“The city that touches the sky” — While the official capital of Bolivia is Sucre, La Paz has more government departments, and at 11,975 ft. is the highest administrative capital, and highest large city in the world. Michael and I realized that we’ve been above 8,000 ft since San Pedro in the end of March. And we’ll continue that trend until Lima, Peru at the end of April.
Potosi.
One of the highest cities in the world at an elevation of 13,420 ft, Potosi is a true mining community, but felt a little like San Jose, Costa Rica to me. Very poor, dirty streets, trash everywhere, terrible traffic, and the worst pollution I’ve ever encountered. It was physically difficult to take a deep breath. The city is packed with Bolivians living their lives, and not many tourists exploring the town.
I must admit, Bolivia wasn’t on our initial list of “Must See Places”, but after traveling through South America and every traveler we encountered exclaimed in sheer horror, “WHAT? You’re not going to Bolivia?? It’s amazing!!” We knew we had to change some plans. Thankfully, when you don’t have a definitive plan in the first place, changing them is quite easy 🙂
San Pedro de Atacama.
We took a two hour flight from Santiago to Calama in Northern Chile on Sky Airlines. Then a one-and-a-half hour bus from Calama to San Pedro. A beautiful drive through the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world, encircled by volcanos in every direction. You may have heard of the Atacama before as this is the region that the 33 Chilean miners were trapped and survived in 2010. No, we didn’t go to the mine, we only stayed in San Pedro. There was enough excitement there.
Pucon.
A 10-hour overnight bus ride from Santiago, delivered us to the adventure-filled, adrenaline-junkie loving town of Pucon.