Peru. Checking off More of the Life List before we Kick the Bucket

Last year a fantastic movie with Jack Nickolson and Morgan Freeman came out, and everyone jumped on the band wagon of making a “Bucket List.”  I am glad that this started getting people to finally get out there and start living their lives.

Sand Dunes in Peru

Dave and I made our first Life List way back in 1996.  We had all of these things that we wanted to try.  Scuba Diving, Rock Climbing, Tai Kwon Do, Yoga… this list goes on and on.  Since that time, we have checked off the original list and added to it extensively.  Every year, as we check off a few finished tasks we add ten more!  It keeps life exciting and it is a feeling of great accomplishment to say that one day we are going to do something and then a couple of years later, we follow through and do it.

Toasting our Bucket List

Now that we have crazy and more extreme ambitions it is nice to visit places like Victoria Falls or Egypt, where we can tick a bunch items on our “bucket list”  in one destination.  That was what it was like when we visited Peru.
It was a whirlwind 2-week adventure and we made the most of it by making specific plans of what we wanted to see and do.

Finally making it to Machu Picchu

1. See Machu Picchu. In our last post What to do with 2 Weeks in Peru, we talked about visiting Machu Picchu one of the great ruins of the world.  Seeing all of the great ruins on the Planet is a big bucket list item for us. And Machu Picchu is one of the best.  After finally walking on the grounds of Machu Picchu, we feel worthy in saying that we have explored almost all of them by now.  We talk about our favorites in the world in our Top Ruins Post. Life List Number 9-check.

Dave Taking Flight

2. Paragliding high in the sky. The next life list goal was for Dave.  He has always wanted to parachute. Preferably jumping out of an airplane, but Paragliding over Lima was a close second.  We walked down to the waterfront, asked around on how we could go about booking a Paragliding excursion and next thing we know, he was being harnessed up and getting a crash course on how to jump off of its great cliffs towering over the ocean.  All for $20!.
I take a little more coaxing and need to go through safety and training in more depth, but Dave jumped right in with no fear.  It was an adventure of a lifetime and he loved flying over the skyscrapers, doing maneuvers over the surf and floating  high into the sky. To see Dave take flight go to our video of Peru in the top right corner of this page.  Life list number 24-check.

Dave and Deb with our Sand Boards

3. Sand board in the Desert. We are avid snowboarders and have been on the slopes all over British Columbia, Switzerland, Quebec and Vermont.  Naturally, when we visited some of the highest sand dunes in the world we had to try sandboarding. Before visiting Peru, I didn’t even know that they had a desert, let alone a giant desert occupying 188,700 square km.  It is one of the most stunning deserts I have ever seen and riding its slopes was a blast.
We weren’t as good at it as snow boarding. It is a little harder to carve out edges, but once we got the hang of it, it was a thrill.  We found it was easier to ride high on the sand and point the board down not turning too much.  I like the snow better though because that sand gets everywhere; but what a thrill it was, to stand atop a dune and see nothing but desert as we plunged into its deep valleys. Breathtaking. Life list Number 36-check

Dave at our Oasis

4. Visit and Oasis. At the same time as sand-boarding, we ticked off yet another life list dream, to visit a desert Oasis.  Huacachina is a village built around a natural lake in the middle of the desert called the Oasis of America.  It is an incredibly beautiful location.  We stayed at a great backpacking hotel with a swimming pool and the giant dunes in our back yard.  The sand dunes tower over the entire Oasis and you can spend days here just chilling out.  You can even get your daily exercise in as you grab a board from your hotel and drag it up the tough hike to the top of the sand dunes.  It is a hard walk up sand dunes and it can really take your breath away, but the views are worth it and the run and tumble down is a blast.  Life list number 51-check

Dune Buggie in Peru Desert

5. Go on a Crazy Dune Buggy Ride.  I have see stunt men riding dune buggies on TV, I have see crazy adventurers ride through deserts on the discovery channel and I have always wanted to be strapped into one myself and tumble my way through hills and valleys.  And yet again Huacachina in the Ica Provence, we checked off yet another item on our bucket list. As usual, Dave and I go big or go home, so why not make our first dune buggy excersion on the biggest sand dunes on the planet?  I didn’t realize just how scary it would be, but when we were climbing to the top of one of these giants, my heart was racing.  You could see the peak coming at you and as we drove closer, I thought to myself, “We aren’t actually going over that thing are we?” Sure enough, we zipped over the edge and plunged in a near vertical nosedive.  It was exhilarating and terrifying, and this went on for hours!   We nearly rolled a couple of times, we got stuck, we raced and swerved and then we stopped and watched the sun go down behind the dunes. I will never forget that experience in my life. Check out the video on the right of our webpage to see our hairy ride. Life List number 31-check

Sea Lion, Isla Ballestas Peru

6. Go to the Galapagos Islands. Ok, this didn’t happen, but we did get to go to Peru’s version of the Galapagos Island’s at Isla Ballestas. Near the town of Pisco, you can catch a boat out to the islands to see Sea Lions and Penguins frolic around in their natural habitat.  It was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  I could spend hours watching wild life. The only problem with these tours is that they really disrupt the lives of the animals.
Destinations like this are a bit tricky. If conservation and standards are put in place for the best interest of the wildlife than it is a winning experience for everyone. I was hoping that this would be the case, and disappointed when our boat approached the sea lions way too close for my comfort.  Their motors are loud and their exhaust is strong causing discomfort to the animals I am sure.

Penguins, Isla Ballestas, Peru

It is a double-edged sword.  Without tourists going to see the wildlife, there is no need for conservation in the eyes of governments but then it is the tourists that disrupt the lives of the wildlife that they are going to see.  But we all know that this planet is ruled by money, and if people can’t make money off of preserving their natural resources, they will find another way to either destroy them or use them up. It is a pessimistic view, but in my eyes, I see it as being true.
I am still glad that I went though, I know that as time goes on, Peru will learn from its mistakes at Isla Ballestas and soon, restrictions will be put in place.  At least the seals are protected and not being clubbed over their heads for fur. (Ooh, did I just slam my country?)  Life list number 5? It deserves a portion of a check. I still need to see the Galapagos Islands, but Isla Ballestas gave me the glimpse of wildlife that will tie me over for a while.

Peruvian Boobie, Isla Ballestas

What are some of your goals for the future.  We are thinking of posting a page of our remaining Bucket List Items and checking them off as we go.  Some of our biggest items that we are most proud of following through on are…Competing in an extreme adventure race by cycling the continent of Africa, Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Seeing All of the Worlds biggest and most extraordinary ruins and taking our scuba diving to the level of being certified rescue divers. We have hundreds of other bucket list items that we have reached like riding an elephant, riding a camel, seeing the Sahara Desert and Bungee Jumping in Victoria Falls.
And we still have hundreds more to fulfill. Like hiking the Great Wall of China, Going to Everest Base Camp, Horseback riding accross Mongolia, riding the Trans Siberia Railway and making it to the Galapagos Islands once and for all.  Life isn’t fun to us unless we have a list.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed for latest posts via email or on your homepage!

What to do with 2 Weeks in Peru; Part 1

Llama's reside at Machu Picchu

When you don’t have a lot of time, Peru can be a little overwhelming to try and travel through.  It is a vast country with so much to see.  Where do you start? Do you go to the Amazon Basin, check out Lake Titicaca in the far south or do you climb Cordillera Huayhuash?  Having never been before, we decided to do what the tourists do, since we only had two weeks in Peru.  How can we go all the way there, and not see Machu Picchu? It would be like missing the Pyramids while in Egypt. (something my sister Val did when she was there by the way)

We decided on our Peru at the last minute. We were looking at where we could go with our free Aeroplan points. Europe was an option, but when we saw that we could fly into Lima for free at the peak of tourist season, we just had to do it.

View of the Andes from our flight

Upon landing, we decided to immediately grab a flight to Cuzco to see Machu Picchu.  Being so busy in the country, it was going to  be difficult to catch a train up to the ruins.  Having made our plans only 2 weeks earlier, there was little chance that we were going to be able to join a trek along the Inca Trail.  Normally you need to do that a year in advance. But at least we were going to see this famous Incan sight and we couldn’t wait.

Flying into Cuzco was breathtaking. the Andes were extremely beautiful with their snow capped mountain peaks reaching up to the heavens.  I was seriously taken aback by their beauty.

We landed at the airport, caught a cab for 5 soles ($1.65) and we were dropped off at the gorgeous square, Plaza De Armas. Cuzco is a lovely town and we didn’t mind taking in its beauty as we looked for a room.  Albeit, we were feeling a little fatigued from the altitude.  Cuzco sits at 3300 metres.

La Catedra, Plaza De Armas

It took a while to find a place. Everything was sold out of course, so we settled on a cheap room just off of the Plaza de Armas.  At least there was a wine bar around the corner, so we know where we would be that night.  We immediately dropped our packs and went off for some Cocoa Tea to take the edge off of our altitude sickness. The sun was shining bright and we mellowed out on a second floor terrace over looking the square.  Already, I knew that I was going to love Peru.

That night was a cold one in our concrete room and it didn’t help that the altitude was causing us to have to pee every hour.  Having no toilet we had to walk down the stairs in the frigid night air to go to our dark bathroom with a missing toilet seat.  No worries, we were heading to Macchu Pichu tomorrow. …WRONG…

First thing in the morning, we went to the ticket office to buy our train ticket to Aguas Callientas. We thought we would beat the line up and be on the first train out, but when we got their the line was around to corner.  By the time we made it to the front of the line, the day was sold and tomorrow too!  Plus, only VIP tickets were available for the next day. Well, we only had 2 weeks so we sucked it up and paid the $100 USD each.  Now what could we do in Cuzco for the next day and a half.

Sacred Valley, Peru

Turns out there is a lot to do.  We booked a tour to see Ollantaytambo and impressive Inca ruin it its own right.  Located in the Sacred Valley, surrounded by the Andes, we walked along its agricultural terraces, checked out the structures.  We took a tour of the valley and walked along a section of the Inca Trail.  We went to the market and enjoyed the countryside and visited a church. It was definitely worth the visit.

A Man at the Market

We spent the night enjoying Pisco Sours and trying the Alpaca meat and then it was up bright and early again to catch our train to Machu Picchu.  The glass ceiling allowed us to see the entire view of the Andes and it was incredible.  It was a slow ride, but relaxing and we were fed a meal and enjoyed the scenery.  Once we arrived in Aguas Callientas, we had the task of finding yet another hotel.  As usual, everything was sold out, so this time we had to settle on an expensive room at $100 US.  We didn’t mind though, at least we had flown there for free!

We had awoken the next morning at 4:00 am ran through the rain to beat the queue for the first bust to leave at 5:00 am( ish) and there was already a crowd when we got there!  We sat around on the bus for quite awhile and then finally it was our turn to leave.  We couldn’t see the harrowing ride, luckily.  It is a nailbiting journey winding up the side of a mountain with steep vertical drops. We made it up unscathed though and arrived to see hundreds of people already standing in line.

Llamas as we approach the Ruins

It turns out we were pretty smart (unwittingly) and booked our entrance tickets to Machu Picchu at the cultural centre in Aguas Callientas as soon as we settled in. We stood in line with everyone else for a couple of minutes and then realized that we didn’t have to be in line. We already had our tickets! So we stepped out of line, walked up to the gate and went directly into the ruins.  We were one of the first people on sight.  I was taken aback as I walked in the dark and came across a Llama in my path.  It turns out there are llama’s scattered all over the ruins.  They made for some spectacular photo opportunities.

Arriving so early, has its pros because we had beaten the crowd and we had plenty of time to explore in peace and quiet, however, it was dark, it was raining and the fog was dense.  However, they restrice how many people can visit Machu Picchu each day, so I wouldn’t want to chance going later to stand in line forever and then be denied access.

We were pretty bummed out for a couple of hours as we walked around thinking that here was our one chance to visit Machu Picchu, and it was shrouded in cloud. But miraculously, as the sun rose, the fog burned off and the spectacular view was revealed.

Sunshine and Llama's, who could ask for more

The incredible thing about visiting Machu Picchu is that you can hike up other peaks to see it from different angles.  Seeing it from above really gives you a sense of the scope of the place.  To understand how the Incan empire built this city clinging to the side of a mountain, with terraces falling into the valley is incomprehensible. The back drop is absolutely stunning.  It is even a bit of a thrill to be there. Get too clse to edge at times and you are plunging into the valley.

We may not have been able to hike the Inca Trail. But I certainly enjoyed my time at Machu Picchu.  We explored Aguas Calientes and shopped a lot at the market. We took advantage of happy hour with pitchers of Sangria, we loved our room since we were paying $100 and it was nice for a change to know that we wouldn’t be having to get up and have to trek or cycle or climb some mountain.

Sometimes an adventure can just simply be the experience in itself. Hiking around sacred ruins, enjoying the sunshine and view and actually being in Peru. Wow, that is exciting, I never thought that I would get to Peru.

Spectacular Photo Opp. at Machu Picchu

So there are days 1-5. Our whirlwind tour of the Sacred Valley, Ollayantaytambo, Cuzco and Machu Picchu. A must on any travelers destination. But we still have 10 more days to go.  Stay tuned for part two of What to do with Two Weeks in Peru.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed for latest posts via email or on your homepage!