Peru: Visit from Family
The hardest part about this trip is how long we go without seeing our families. I was lucky enough that we were able to take that quick pit-stop in Canada to see my family, however, Jo hadn’t seen any of his family since we left in October. After the somewhat rough month that was July, we were really in need of the boost that Jo’s sister Nadege and her two children would bring us. Things, however, didn’t start off as smoothly as we would have hoped.
Jo and I were sitting on the bus, less than an hour from Lima, when the Airbnb host of the apartment we had rented informed us that the information presented on the platform was incorrect and that the apartment did not have hot water. Our first inclination was to request a discount, but then we thought - no, this is really not okay. Nadege and the kids would be arriving off of a very long flight from Paris, where it is summer, and landing in cool, fog-covered Lima. They needed to be able to take hot showers.
What ensued was a back-and-forth, where the host said yes, we can cancel, but we have to request the cancel. I told them the application won’t let us without charging us 50% still. He said that on his end, as well, if they did it they would be penalized. I told him, respectfully, that is not our problem: You misrepresented the amenities of your place and waited until the day of the reservation to tell us. Long story short, we have to go through the appeals process of Airbnb - the host will not be helping us.
Beyond that little hiccup, the arrival of Nadu and the kids was a smooth and happy one. We booked another apartment that was quite lovely and in walking distance of plenty of shops and restaurants. It also had no shortage of hot water.
We didn’t spend much time in Lima, though we did take a day to go and explore the historic center, the markets, and eat some of the great food that Lima is known for. We even found a sort-of petting zoo that had peacocks, ducks, bunny rabbits, llamas, and alpacas.
The next day we left cloud-cover Lima behind for sunny Paracas, which was just a few hours by bus down the coast. There, we had a tour booked to go see the Ballestas Islands, where you can observe a colony of Humbolt penguins, plenty of other interesting marine birds, and sea lions. The tour is done by boat, and they bring you as close to the islands as they can so you can see the penguins. You can’t actually go on the islands, as they are a protected space for the health and safety of the penguins and other birds who live there. Though you can’t get a super close-up look at the penguins, what you can get very close to are sea lions. Our boat stopped in front of a booey that a female sea lion had decided to use as a sunny napping spot. Suddenly, another sea lion appeared, taking residence on the booey, as well, We couldn’t believe our eyes when yet another female appeared, though this sea lion was not so interested in napping. Rather, she seemed to be attempting to tempt the other two to come play with her. They were not interested, however, and eventually the third sea lion swam off.
After the tour of the islands, went went to visit an area where you can see some of the lines of Nascas, which are symbols drawn in the sand by the nasca people hundreds or more years ago. There, we also got to see some flamingos at a distance and visit part of the national park there. The area of Paracas is an important one not only for nature, but also to understand the lives and traditions of the pre-incan peoples.
From Paracas, we took another bus to the city of Ica. We were in Ica to visit the desert oasis called Huacachina that is next to it. We had a dine buggy and sand skiing tour planned there. This was definitely one of the highlights of the visit. The desert is vast, like something out of a movie, with these absoultely gigantic dunes all throughout. They were little small mountains made of sand. Nadege and the kids are all fantastic skiiers, so we were able to opt for the tour that requires experienced skiiers only. The dune buggy part is really fun - the driver whips you around all over, up, down, and around the dunes. It was exhilerating and everyone loved it. We arrived on top of the first dune, ready to ski.
Standing on top of the dunes is a bit nerve-wracking. All five of us were a little uncertain of what we’d gotten ourselves into, knowing that skiing in the sand was quite different than the snow. Our instructor, however, was fantastic. He explained to us how we needed to apply the wax onto the bottom of our skis (or in Jo’s case, snowboard, as he decided to board instead of ski). Then, before trying to ski the dune, you have to rub each ski in the sand five to seven times to actually lift a bit of the wax off. Doing this will allow your skis or board to actually glide along the sand. One by one, we went down the dune. The first round we were all a little bit slow and shaky. You can’t ski in the same style in the sand, and you can’t make as sharp turns or movements. You need to have a certain amount of speed, otherwise you will run out of wax on the bottoms of them before you make it to the bottom of the dune.
At first, the kids were a bit frustrated - one of them even suggested that maybe he will just stay in the buggy rather than ski down the dune. To be fair, it was very different from snow skiing, and it took the first couple of dunes to get the hang of it. Once we all did, however, it was a blast. Only one time one of us fell - Jo. Thankfully, he knows how to fall well, hugging his arms into his chest rather than using them to break the fall. He had sand in places he didn’t even know existed, but otherwise he was totally fine.
We only had one other problem that day, and I actually didn’t see it happen because it was when I was skiing down the dune. The way the system works, is that each group has a guide and instructor. This person’s job is to ensure that everyone is taking their turn skiing down the dune and that their group is not too close to another, to ensure that there are not accidents. He had our group lined up at the top of the dune, having us ski down in turn. Another guide came up beside us with his group and just started sending his people down, regardless of the fact that we were already there. Our guide looked a bit shocked, and just held us longer at the top, to avoid collisions. Nadege, the kids, and Jo had all gone down and now it was my turn. This time, the guide was following me down to take a cool video. When I got to the bottom, however, Jo’s niece was crying and her family was embracing her, trying to calm her down. It turns out, this other guide had gone blasting down the dune, wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, and ran into Jo’s niece at the bottom. What’s worse, he barely even apologised for it! Our guide assured us that he would be making sure that the other guide was held accountable not only for that, but for his reckless behavior with his group.
Once we were sure Jo’s niece was okay and she had calmed down, the rest of the afternoon went great. The tour finishes with drinks and snacks on top of the dunes for the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful. From there, we headed back to Ica, where we got on a night bus to Arequipa. It was the first time for Jo’s niece and nephew, who are 10 and 13 years old, on a night bus. I was unsure how they would do on it, but they did great. Though they definitely agreed that it is not the same as sleeping in a bed, they found it cool to wake up in your destination. Not only were we waking up in Arequipa, but we were also waking up on my 33rd birthday.
Again, the day didn’t start off as smoothly as we would’ve liked. As we were arriving in the city, Jo decided to check the address of the apartment that we had booked through Booking.com. When we saw where it was on the map, we were shocked: It was very far outside of the historic center. This can’t be right we thought. We knew we had booked in the center; when searching for the place we looked on the map function of the app and booked one that was noted to be right next to La Plaza de Las Armas - the city’s main square. I sent a message to the host, who replied: Oh, yes, sorry, it was indicated incorrectly in the app. I corrected it a month ago to reflect my actual address. First of all, this couldn’t be true as it was less than a month prior that we booked it. Secondly, even if that was true, why wouldn’t you reach out to your guests to let them know of the error, so they could re-book if they desired? Unfortunately, these were the types of business practices that we were getting used to with Peru. The same conversation ensued that we’d had in Lima, and we realized that, yet again, we’d have to go through the app to contest it. We booked a nice hotel with breakfast included in its place.
Things for my birthday improved after that. Nadege, her daughter, and I went to a spa - another first for Jo’s niece. They gave us a free session in the dry sauna, then we had facials and a chocolate body wrap. For the body treatment, they gave us this throw-away paper bikinis to wear, which were quite funny looking. Then they can in with the chocolate-based rub, which smelt absolutely divine. They covered us neck down in the stuff, then wrapped us up in plastic wrap - we felt like three giant chocolate bars. Next, they covered us in heavy blankets, including this heavy heating pad, and left us alone for half an hour. It was gloriously relaxing. Later they came back, unwrapped us, and we went to the showers to wash off the rub. It was a fun experience and really nice to have some girl time with both of them.
While we were in the spa, Jo and his nephew did some exploring of their own. They found a place where you could visit with and pet llamas and alpacas, and so spent the afternoon making some new, fuzzy friends. We all reunited in the evening and went to dinner at a craft brewery that did tasting flights - one of my favourite things. It was a birthday well spent!
The next day had an adventure planned: Rafting in the nearby Chili Canyon. It was aptly named, as the water is absolutely freezing. Thankfully, they gave us full wetsuits, including booties, jackets, and of course life jackets and helmets, to wear. This helped to prevent us from turning into complete icicles. It was both of the kids’ first time rafting, and they were both a little bit nervous about it. Jo’s nephew, however, decided to throw nerves to the side and sat right in the front of the boat. I took the spot next to him, Jo’s sister and niece behind us, and Jo went to the back near the guide. For the two of us at the front, this meant that we were going to get wet - and wet we did!
The guide, again, fantastic, taught us the different commands we would have to follow while in the canyon: when to paddle forwards, backwards, when to stop, and when to tuck ourselves as low into the raft as possble. We took off, and quickly we were in the rapids. Jo’s nephew and I took all the biggest splashes head-on, often completely engulfing the boy, who is not very tall yet, a splashing me chest or often fast height. Again, it was exhilerating and everyone loved it.
At one point along the route, all the rafts stop in a place where people can get out and jump down into the river below from a cliff. Myself and Jo’s niece decided to opt out of the jump - we were wet enough and cold enough as it was. Nadege, Jo, and his nephew, however, decided to take the leap. I was a little bit jealous watching them jump off, but that was short-lived, as I watched them shaking and shivering while pulling themselves back into the boat. We continued through the last section of the canyon with some of our roughest rapids yet. At one point, when we were all tucked down on the floor of the raft, I actually had to reach my arm around Jo’s nephew and hold onto him by his life jacket so that he wouldn’t get launched out of the boat. We soon reached the end of the river and quickly removed the wet clothes and put on the dry - as I said, the water matched the name of the river, it was very chilly.
That evening, we continued our tourist activities. Arequipa is home to a several hundred years-old convent that is known both for its beauty and its size. The walls are painted either in a rosey-maroon colour or a gorgeous sky blue. There, you can see all the rooms where the nuns used to live, and truthfully, it is like a city within a city. Each had their own house, with their own little kitchen, a small garden, washroom, and area where they did their prayers. There are of course the common areas, including a place where they can share meals together and the church. There is also an area where other people had once lived: usually prominent widows and other women. We went for sunset, where then after dark small fires and candles are lit in order to light your way. If you ever find yourself in Arequipa, we recommend visiting this really beautiful place.
Our last day in Arequipa ended up being quite special. By total coincindence, we were there on the city’s 400-and-something birthday, and the whole city was out celebrating. They had a parade that wound through the entire historic center with floats and hundreds of people either in traditional dress or costumes (clowns, animals, etc) dancing to traditional music. There were also donkies who were adorned in flowers and other decorations being lead through the streets as part of the parade. We had the perfect watching point, which was on the rooftop of the building of the Alliance Francaise.
It was wonderful, except for when we decided to head back to our hotel. We had an early morning the next day, as we had a tour that would take us to see the condors in Colca Canyon. From there, we would do the three-day hike in Colca, and then the same tour would pick us up and continue our tour from there to Puno, along the shores of Lake Titicaca. Trying to get through the crowds on the streets of Arequipa was nearly impossible. Nadege and the kids went straight back to the hotel, but Jo and I needed to go to the tour operator’s office to pay for the tour. The only problem was that we were on the opposite side of the main square from the office (the operator was called Baby Llama), and the parade was still flowing through right infront of them. Not only was crossing the parade route hard, but even just getting to the front of the crowd could have been considered to be an Olympic sport. It took us well over an our of weaving and pushing our way through the crowds, finding an appropriate spot to cross the parade route, and then weaving and pushing our way through again on the other side to reach them. We made it, paid, and then had to do it all over again to get back to the hotel. Though this part was annoying and tedious, the costumes, music, and general ambiance was really something to see.
The next morning we were picked up at 3am outside of our hotel. The reason for the early start was so that we would arrive at the condor viewing point for no later than 8am. This is because the condors leave their nests in the morning, playing with the warm early morning breezes, before they then leave the canyon to go hunting each day. They return later in the day, but instead head straight to their nests for the night. We arrived not long before 8am, just in time. At first there were none, and then all of the sudden one, two, four, six - they just kept coming. In total I counted nine; a few juveniles and several adults. There were a couple that actually came really close to us, as if they saw us there admiring them and thought they’d allow us a closer look. Their wingspan was just spectacular, and I found it so interesting how there was no other purpose to their morning breeze surfing other than pure enjoyment.
Once we’d spent sufficient time watching the condors soar, it was time to continue on. If you’re ever in Peru, I highly recommend this tourist bus rides to travel between main destinations. We did a few of them and really enjoyed. Rather than just a bus that takes you from point A to B, you have a guide who explains things to you along the way, as well as various stops along route to learn and see different aspects of the country. Depending on the route and where you’re going, these can be museums, viewpoints, natural wonders, monuments, ruins, animal watching, the works. They also always include stops for food, often buffet style. We were often impressed by the quality of the food at these places and generally really enjoyed these meals. What’s more, they take what would be a long bus ride and make it into a site-seeing adventure - and you still get to where you wanted to go.
A short while later the bus dropped us off in the town where we would begin our 3 day, 2 night hike through the Colca Canyon. The majority of the first two days is mixed ascending and descending trail, but overall it is net downhill. It was beautiful, sunny, not too hot and not too cold. It could get warm in the sun, but sunscreen, hats, and plenty of water help. I recommend this hike to anyone who is taking their first stab at multi-day hiking. The path is easy to follow, and rather than camping, you stay in these small home-stay-style hotels each night. Our first day we hiked about 12km or so to a lovely hotel that was part way down the canyon. They had hot springs, which we really enjoyed, an amazing view for sunset over the canyon, and cold drinks to be enjoyed while taking it all in. Dinner was served around 7pm with options for beef, chicken, and vegetarian and was really tasty. They also had chickens with baby chicks running around and two adorable cocker spaniels who loved recieving pets as much as we loved dolling them out. Each room was its own little stone cabin. They were rustic but comfortable, and we had no problems getting a good night’s sleep.
The breakfast was equally as pleasant the next morning and with that, we were off on our second day of hiking. This day wasn’t as long, only about 10km or so, and we got an early start to get as much hiking done in the cooler morning air. The hike was again mostly downhil as you descend further down into the canyon, with some uphill to reach the village where our next accomodations were. We saw some llamas along the route, a pig, and some really cute dogs. Our hotel from the night before had prepared some sandwiches and other snacks for us that we could eat along the way. Hiking without having to carry food, tents, and the whole bit was really lovely for Jo and I after the treks in the Cordillera Blanca burdened with much heavier backpacks. This day there was even a small river that we crossed where Jo’s niece enjoyed sticking her feet into.
Hiking with two kids who hadn’t done tons of hiking in their lives was a new experience for Jo and I. Anyone who has children knows that, in general, things can be up and down - one minute they’re happy, the next not - moods and attitudes towards the activity undulate throughout the day, sometimes faster than you can blink. To try and help keep spirits up, we played little games throughout the day. One tradition we developed was that every time we hiked a kilometer, we would sing a french song that goes:
1 kilometre a pied,
Ca use, ca use,
1 kilometre a pied,
Ca use les souliers.
It means one kilometer by foot, that uses, that uses, one kilometer by foot, that uses your shoes. With each kilometer that passes, the number gets higher (two kilometers by foot, 3, 4… etc). This tended to help the kids feeling positive about the distances we were covering. Sometimes, for example an uphill kilometer, it would backfire a little bit, because naturally it takes longer to walk one kilometer uphill than it does flat or down. After a primarily uphill stretch, when also moods tended to dip, then we’d hit another kilometer mark and start singing, and one of the kids would gasp We’ve only x number of kilometers?! Or something along those lines. Overall, however, both kids did really well. The only other hiccup was that Jo’s nephew the night before had refused to eat much at all of his dinner because he decided that he didn’t like it. That meant that he had less energy availability the next day, and so part way through the day he just crashed. There were a number of tantrums that he had to overcome, and his mom did her best to teach him the lesson about why he was feeling the way he was feeling. We had all tried to tell him the night before, but he didn’t want to listen, and now he was paying the consequences of that decision. It was up and down, and I am not sure if he was really ready to except the fact that it was his own fault for his predicament, but also I think maybe, just maybe, he took a bit of that lesson to heart. He’s young, so he may have to learn it a few more times, but at least he made it through his tough day.
Our next accomodations were similar to the previous night, except this one had no hot springs. It did have a lovely garden with views of the path we would take the next day. We arrived there quite early, around 2pm. After resting a little bit, Jo and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we had so much daylight left to get a bit of training in. We decided to preview the route for the next day but running, so that we could give the kids a good picture of what we would be doing. The last day of the hike was going to be hard: It was basically entirely uphill: Climbing 1200m in just eight or nine kilometers. We also had to be back in the town for 9am, when the bus was to pick us up, meaning that we would have to be starting hiking by no later than 4am. For this reason we wanted to check the route out ourselves a bit, so that we could really have them visualize somewhat the challenge that faced them the next morning. We also just really wanted to run and needed some time for ourselves. The run was fantastic, though really challenging. It started out downhill to more of the base of teh canyon, where we crossed a suspension bridge and then started cimbing up the other side. Once you start climbing, you don’t stop - it’s about seven or eight kilometers of long switchbacks until you’re out of the canyon. We ran the first four kilometers of the climb, admired the view, and then turned around for the descent. Traditionally, I am not very good at downhill running. It has been my nemisis particularly since I started trail running. A lack of proper technique plus a healthy dose of fear are to blame here. Over the last year since I started trail running, though, and with a lot of patient help from Jo, I have been improving. On this day, running back down the canyon, I felt like I was flying. For the first time, I actually though maybe I am getting better at this. It was really fun and the run refreshed us both.
Back at the hotel, we met a solo traveller who was also staying there. He was Suisse, from the French part. We had a great time chatting with him and hearing about his adventures, and invited him to eat dinner with us, too. The kids quite appreciated meeting someone knew who was french speaking. In fact, everyone who was staying in the hotel that night was actually francophone. Apparently french speaking people enjoy Colca Canyon.
We were up and leaving far too early to enjoy the breakfast that the hotel owner normally prepares the next day. She did, however, give us some bananas and things the night before that we could eat along the way. We did fantastically getting out on time, leaving at 4am on the nose. It was still dark out and so the first couple hours of the hike we used our headlamps in order to see. Things started off well despite the early hour, until we got to the bridge. Before crossing it, we decided that would be a good moment to take off a layer before the climb and to eat a little bit of breakfast, including the bananas and oranges that we had. This is when the drama started. It was early, dark, and somewhat chilly, and the bananas were, well, not great, One half seemed to be ripe, but the other half of each one really wasn’t; it was like eating moist chalk. For the kids, this caused a big mood drop. The only problem was these were the only things we had, other than a few more snacks for the route, and if they didn’t eat them, they wouldn’t have enough energy to complete the climb. What ensued was a fairly dramatic scene of Nadege telling her kids that they have to eat the bananas and the kids putting up a rather theatrical protest. Finally, the bananas were all eaten, we crossed the bridge, and began the climb.
Here is when I was really impressed with the kids, particularly Jo’s niece. She is not overly sporty (though she loves dance), and doesn’t have a lot of confidence in her ability to do hard things. This was, especially for young, new hikers, a hard thing. She did spectacularly, walked at a good pace the whole time, and maintained a (mostly) positive mood throughout. I was really proud of her. Jo’s nephew did well, too, though he struggled a little bit more regulating his mood most likely do to the incredibly early start. He is a 10 year old boy afterall - his prefrontal cortex is very much still in development. Overall, however, he did really well, as well, and we made it back to the town not only on time for the bus, but in enough advance to get some proper breakfast. I was truly impressed with both of the kids.
In the town, we were supposed to be getting back on the big bus. Instead, a guy with a list of our names explained that the big buses couldn’t pass - a portion of the road just past the cordor viewpoint had collapsed. We would take the smaller vans to that point, then have to get out and do another 20-minute hike up along the side of the mountain (the kids were not thrilled about this) to reach the other side of the section where the route collapsed, where the big bus would meet us, I don’t know exactly how it happened, but from the hike part way up the mountain side you got a complete view of the collapsed road - no vehicles would be passing by there for quite some time.
Stops for this day included a museum to learn about pre-Incan and Incan history, a lunch buffet, ruins of a pre-incan town and temple, some viewpoints, and then finally we arrived in Puno, the largest town along the shores of lake Titicaca. This is the highest freshwater lake in the world, at an altitude of 3800m, and is shared between Peru and Bolivia. Arriving around 8pm, we would spend one night in Puno before heading to the smaller town of Llachon further along the lake for a homestay. Here, we would get a local experience and learn about the history of the lake and the people who have lived there for hundreds and even thousands of years.
The place we stayed was called La Casa de Felix, a place owned by a local Quechua man, Felix, and his wife. He was incredibly friendly and helpful. He told us the story of his life, how he had grown up along this lake, how his parents had died when he was still fairly young, and how he had to teach himself things like Spanish, math, etc because they didn’t have enough money for school. When he met his wife, she shared his ambition and dream of working in tourism. Little by little, they built their place just the two of them by hand. Later, they were able to hire more help, but most of it was done just them. Our stay at Casa de Felix was relaxing. He and his wife cooked us three meals a day, and Jo and I took the opportunity to do some running and explore the inlet on foot. It was stunning, though running at such high altitudes is always a challenge. One of our runs we went up to a lookout, wound around to the other side of the inlet to have a nice view of the bay, then came back down through the village. It was absolutely beautiful, and as always, Jo and I made friends with a local dog who decided to join us.
One of the favourite things that we did here was go out and visit the floating islands that the lake is famous for. On these floating islands live who are considered to be one of the world’s most ancient cultures. They live on islands that they build themselves out of the lake grass and chunks of earth. Most people do a day tour from Puno, however, if you do this, you will only see the islands that they have actually built and set up for tourism. We saw them on our way back to Puno the following day, and it’s almost like a Disneyland type set up. Thankfully, we had a rather different experience. Felix took us to the two islands closest to his home in his own boat, where there are actually families living. One of the men there gave us an explanation of the history and culture of these people, how they build the islands, and what life is like there. We then got a tour around the area on one of their traditional boats (made of the same grasses that the islands are made from), and finally a chance to check out some of the textiles that the women were making. Jo and I put some beautiful pillow covers to have in our home after the trip is done.
The next morning, Felix took us again on his own boat to the island of Tequile, where we said our final goodbyes. We would spend the day exploring this island and then catch a ferry boat back to Puno. Tequile island is one of a few islands on the lake that also is host to an indigenous community. We explored the island, walking up to various lookout points where you have fantastic views of the snow capped mountains of Bolivia. At the highest point on the island we got the chance to explore around a traditional Incan ceremonial site. Back in the main square, we saw them performing traditional dances, ate a lunch of fresh trout from the lake, then head to the ferry to go back to Puno.
The next day, we were headed to our final stop on the Pollak family Peru tour: Cusco and the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. For this journey, we had another one of the tourist busses booked. This helped to break up the long journey from Puno to Cusco and allowed us to see and learn more about the various ancient cultures and history of Peru. Again, if you’re planning a trip to Peru, I highly recommend these routes.
I was quite excited about this part of the trip. I had been to Cusco three years prior with my mom, sister, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s mom. We’d spent quite a lot of time in Cusco before also doing the four day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu, and I absolutely loved it.
Cusco is the former capital of the Incan Empire. It is a truly beautiful city with really lovely architecture. It is full of ruins, museums, and really great restaurants. We took the first couple of days to just relax, do some work, and of course do some running. One of the days, with Nadege, we went to a track to do some running. Upon arrival, we found the track to be closed due to an event for ambulatory athletes, so we couldn’t use it. Instead, inside the sports complex, which was full of different courts, fields, and arenas, we found a round building that was 300m around. We decided to do intervals around this, but boy was it hard. Cusco is also fairly high in altitude, around 3400m, and so trying to do 300m sprints left us gasping for air - even Jo and I, who had now been in high altitude for over a month.
Other activities included exploring the city up to various viewpoints, the museum of pre-columbian art (highly recommended), and a bit of shopping. I also found out the the kids had never seen the Emperor’s New Groove, which is a Disney film that takes place in Cusco and Peru. It came out when I was around 10 years old and was one of my favourites. We had a movie night in our little Cusco apartment where we cooked dinner and watched the movie. Unsuprisignly, they loved it - it is really funny.
Yet again, we found ourselves incredibly lucky, because the region of Cusco had begun celebrations for - something. We think it was something to do with the virgin saint Magdalena. Either way, the streets were full of people dressed in all kinds of different traditional clothing and costumes. There were dance shows in the main squares and muscians and people dancing everywhere. It was visually stunning and so much fun - Nadege and I even got to participate in some of the traditional dancing. The people were all really nice, as well, happily posing for pictures when we asked and telling us a little bit more of the festivities. I couldn’t believe our luck!
Finally, on our third night in Cusco, it was time to go to the offices of Alpaca Adventures - the same company I had used to do the Inca Trail three years prior. The night before the trek they hold a briefing so that everyone is ready and on the same page. It was here that we met our guides Romario and Wilber for the first time, as well as the 11 other people that we would be hiking with.
The Inca Trail is another great option for people who want to do some multiday hiking but are unsure about going alone and who don’t necessarily want to have to carry and set up tents, cook and eat normal trekking food. Though expensive, around $1000 CAD, you have everything taken care of for you by a team of porters. They carry all of your things except for whatever you want to take with you in your own, personal backpack. You are fed three, freshly cooked hot meals per day that are shockingly good. This was my second time doing the hike and the quality and quantity of the food the chef prepares still blew my mind. You will not go hungry on this hike. Each night by the time you have reached the campsite, the porters have long since arrived, set up your tent, and have a bowl of hot water ready for you to freshen up a bit. It’s a bit more rustic than Colca Canyon, as you are camping rather than in home stays, but it is really quite a lovely experience. The hike itself can be challenging, depending on your fitness level as well as how accustomed you are to the altitude. In total over the 4 days you hike 45km, with the highest pass climbing up to 4200m. Along the route, there are plenty of Incan ruins where you stop as a group and your guide tells you about the history and signifigance of that site. You pass through three or four different ecosystems on your way to Macchu Picchu, each one more beautiful than the last. The mornings are early, but the porters wake up every hiker with a hot cup of coca tea and another bucket of hot water - what they lovingly call the “incan jaccuzi”. Hiking and sharing three meals a day with the group also means that you inevitably get to know your team quite well. Both times I have done it, the people in the group have been absolutely lovely. You feel like you have a whole crew of new friends afterwards.
The first day of our hike was a 3:30am wake up to be picked up shortly after 4. Once everyone is in the bus, you go to the start point of the hike, where they have a breakfast prepared for you. From there, we started hiking. The first time I did this trek we had blue skies the entire time. This time, however, we weren’t quite as lucky. The weather was much more mixed, with a lot more cloud and rain that even got a bit heavy at times. Thankfully, this didn’t dampen the spirits of the group too much. The first day isn’t too hard of a hike, with some beautiful ruins along the way. The second day is the hardest day: The trek up to the highest point, known as Dead Woman’s Pass. The name sounds quite ominous, but it doesn’t actually have to do with the difficulty of climb. It is because the view of the pass from a distance looks like a woman who is lying down. I guess dead woman’s pass sounded cooler than sleeping woman’s pass to the local people.
We stayed all together as a group up until a certain point. The guide does this purposely at the beginning to mind people’s pace, wanting to avoid people having too much trouble with the altitude. After a certain point, he lets everyone go at their own pace. Jo and I went on ahead, happy to be able to go at a bit of a faster rhythm. Once we reached the top, we dropped our bags and jogged back down until we came across Nadege and the kids. We wanted to help to give them some moral support, plus it was a bit chilly to stand and wait for a long time at the top. They both crushed it. Nadege and I went on ahead with Jo’s nephew. I was really impressed by his tenacity and his pace - he ended up being the third person in our group to reach the pass, despite have the shortest legs. Jo was behind with his niece, who also did a great job pushing through the challenge. I know she could have done it just as quick as her younger brother did, she just needs to build a bit more grit and some confidence in herself. Hopefully this trip helped show her how capable she is.
We waited at the top until our guide told us to start heading down. It was a bit slick because of the wet conditions, so you had to be more conscious of where you were putting your feet. We had a long descent until we reach the spot where we would have lunch. After lunch, we had another climb, though not as tough as the first one, and then another descent to our campsite for the night. That was the longest, most difficult day.
The third days was much shorter without any really major climbs. It did, however, involve a place full of llamas that actually let you get quite close to them - some of them you could even pet. Once you arrive fairly close to the campsite, there was another set of ruins that were optional for people to go and see. This is one of the best parts about the Inca Trail; you get to freely explore the ancient ruins. With Nadege and the kids we thoroughly enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny. This Inca site also includes a short, additional trek you could do to a waterfall, which we happily indulged in. We even met a few dogs who came with us to explore both the falls and the ruins - we finally left when we noticed it was starting to rain just a little bit harder than we wanted it to.
On the last night of camping, our chef had a surprise for us: He had baked a “happy Inca Trail” cake for us to enjoy! No oven, no problem. It was moist, delicious, with icing and decoration, and it was just the perfect amount of sweetness. We were incredibly impressed. Our guide explained after that he uses a double boiler in order to bake the cake part of it. After cake and dinner, we all went to bed as quickly as possible. The next day we had to wake up before 4am to walk to the gate of the entrance of Machu Picchu national park. Upon arrival at the gate, we would wait for over an hour until they open the park. From there, we hike for another hour or so to the Sun Gate, the first place where you can see Machu Picchu from, then another hour down from the Sun Gate to the actual historical site of Machu Picchu.
The reason for getting up so early when the park gate doesn’t open until 5 or 5:30 is because of the company who owns the train that takes people to and from Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. This company is Belmond, which is part of LVMH. They charge a very high price for this train, which the locals can not afford. So that the porters can get home to their families, they put the first train of the day at a price affordable for them, but it is the only one. If they miss that train, they have to stay in Aguas Calientes until the next day. There are currently protests by the local people against this. After all, it is a foreign luxury brand controlling their rail station, who have supposedly deemed that the train just shouldn’t be for them. We hope that the Peruvian people can take back control of this, because it is outrageous that the only transport is too expensive for them to use and that none of that money goes back into their own communities.
In order to ensure that our porters wouldn’t miss their train, we were up and leaving the last campsite early and quickly. Everyone napped on the benches in front of the gate while waiting for them to open. Finally, it was time to finish this trek, after four days of walking. This part of the hike is really beautiful, with plenty of greenery and plants for us to admire. As I mentioned, we hadn’t been quite so lucky with the weather throughout this trek, so the day was fairly foggy. I didn’t mind this too much, except it was a bit of a shame once we reached the Sun Gate.
When you arrive at the gate, you first have to climb up a really steep, long set of stairs lovingly known as the gringo killer. To be honest, after the hills and climb throughout the previous three days, though, it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Normally, when you arrive at the top, you have some pretty fantastic views. Unfortunately for us, from the top of the gringo killer and at the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu was fully covered in clouds. The Sun Gate is currently sinking due to tourism, so we couldn’t stay there long waiting for the clouds to clear. We began the hike down towards the place with the best views of the ancient ruins, and thankfully by the time we got there the clouds had cleared. This was really exciting, especially for Nadege and the kids who had never been there before.
We took our pictures and then our guide lead us on a tour through the ruins. Just like the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu itself is also sinking due to the number of tourist that visit each year. Our guide says that it is very likely that it will eventually be closed, and you will only be able to come look at it, not walk around inside it like we were doing. This sinking also meant that some of the sections that I had gone to three years ago were actually now closed. For myself this was alright, as it meant that we went to other parts that I hadn’t been to the first time I was there. It would certainly be sad if we will no longer be able to actually enter Machu Picchu, but if it’s between closing it to preserve it or keeping it open until we lose it altogether, I definitely support the former.
After our Machu Picchu tour we had a couple of hours to eat lunch and explore the town of Aguas Calientes. From there, we took the train to Ollantaytambo, and from that town a bus back to Cusco. This is when the saddest part of our day arrive: It was time to say goodbye to Nadege and the kids. Jo and I were staying in Cusco because we had a trail race there in a couple of days. Meanwhile, Nadage and the kids had a flight to Lima, where they would be flying home to Paris from. Though it was an adjustment going from travelling just the two of us to five, including two kids, it was now so weird to think of being on our own again. It was also sad, as we were hugging them all goodbye, to think of how long it will likely be until we see them again. Most likely, it won’t be until we arrive back in France at the end of our trip in late 2026.
Though the goodbye was hard, it was worth having to do it in order to have such a fun visit with family. Hopefully more of our friends and family will come to visit us throughout this adventure!
