BIG-one. This post is dedicated to the whole of our 4 weeks in Peru, a month that can only be described as awe-some (I hiphen that to try to combat the word's lost power. Over excited yanks). From humpback whales to near-frostbite on Machu Picchu, Peru has been action packed to say the least.
Day two conditions @ +4600 metres.
The highest point we reached on the trail was a happy moment, but it was by no means downhill from there.
El campo on day two, a welcome, and beautiful stop after 9 hours of largely uphill hiking, and sopping wet "breathable" Nikes.
Goon shot.
Obligatory team goon shot.
Alice went ballistic at the sight of smultron; wild strawberries found in abundance at their place in Sweden. We didn't make much walking progress at this point.
After numerous digs from Alice, it was time to wash what is now a rather long barnėt.
The food throughout the trip was sublime, this was a starter of tortillas, a big dump of guac, cheese and an olive. Food just tastes that much better when you've earnt it.
Day 5, a 4am rise in apocalyptic rain to get up to Machu Picchu, all of which is steps...
Needless to say there is a Pamplona style rush to get to the top before anyone else, so being the competitive souls we are, Matheus and I took it upon ourselves to bound up the 1772 steps in 40 minutes. Fucked.
When we got in to the site, our initial photos weren't quite the Google Image search results we'd dreamt of...
But after a 10 minute stop in the cafe to warm Alice up from near-deathly cold, we begun to see the spectacular site clear of cloud. It really is as special as people bang on about, and it is only amplified by completing 90km of difficult trekking before hand. It truly is one for you all to add to the list, and with the trek.
After a couple more chill days in Cusco, we then bussed up to Lima with our Dutch amigos; Jantje & Ellen, very ready for some indulgences. This all kicked off with some truly world class Ceviche & Pisco Sours at a spot called El Mercado. To date, this has comfortably been our favourite food of the whole trip (so the whole of South America).
The above shot is the quintessential ceviche you get all over Peru, often as a starter to a 3 course meal, all of which is for a mere £2. It honestly couldn't be simpler - sit any fresh fish (cheap white fish is actually some of the best) in lime juice for 20 minutes, serve with fresh sweet corn sliced off the cob, mashed sweet potatoes, and garnish with red onion and chilli. Failing that, get to one of the ceviche places in London, messy lyrics.
After Lima, we catapulted north to a surf town called Mancora and had a few days to ourselves in a beautiful beach bungalow a few miles out of town.
On day two of our private retreat, we went out with a whale watching operator in hope of seeing the last remaining humpbacks migrating south to the Antarctic.
The team had seen whales 172 days in a row prior to our trip, but sadly our luck was out and it seemed we had missed the tail end of the pack. With this being Alice's life long dream, she was more than a little upset.
We did see heaps of other wildlife, including sea lions, blue footed boobies, dolphins and pelicans, so the trip was far from a wasted one.
We'd had a word with the director of the firm at the end of the morning and she kindly offered for us to come back on another tour the next day, free of charge. A lifeline.
We optimistically headed out on day two and within ten minutes our capitan had spotted two whales in the distance. After 3 minutes and a seriously quick boat ride towards the area the driver had spotted them, two 13 metre humpbacks surfaced. We truly can't put into words just how special these animals are.
This is another one to nestle nice and high on your bucket lists, as it really is breathtaking.
To top off what had already been a blinding morning, this fella asked us if we wanted to hop in and swim with the giant turtles he was feeding with his bycatch of octopus. If Alice's dream was to see whales, swimming with metre and a half long water dinosaurs was right up the strata for me.
Ill-preparation for swimming aside, £1 for a dip with Crush and pals was NAT getting passed up.
From our nature filled private retreat, we then headed down the beach to the lively town centre to a party hostel called Loki. We fully lost our shit here and ended up staying 6 days, and don't have much photo proof to show for it. Other than the daily rum slushies from 12pm, we did manage to get some more purposeful activity in: Alice had a surf lesson and successfully stood up first time...
And I managed to get out kite surfing on 3 of the days, and successfully at that. Any kiters, skateboarders or snowboarders, you need to get on the water and up in the air, the best sport I've ever tried without a snout.
That brings you up to the end of Peru, of which we actually completed almost 4 weeks ago. It's been a busy old time and the lack of Internet is impeding, yet blissful. Next up Colombia, I hope up in a matter of days!
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