Peru

Lima is a bit insane! This is the South America we're used to. Cheap, crowded and questionable haha.

Our Airbnb is a huge apartment in Miraflores, the swanky aka safe part of Lima. We're not far from the ocean, but high up on a cliff.

Isa and I only spent a quick night in Lima before we were off to Cusco. We all headed out to a "fancy" restaurant for dinner because after the prices we paid in Chile, this was 1/2 the price and 3x the food.

Chicken hearts 

Meanwhile, Isa and I arrived in Cusco and grabbed some food from a local restaurant. We sat with a local couple and learned that traditional Cusco cuisine is vegetarian. After buying some art and a few alpaca products ( no one escapes buying alpaca products here) we found our Airbnb just around the corner from one of the squares and settled in for the night. We were both a little worried to over do it and get altitude sickness. Even a quick yoga video steals yoga breath away.

The next day we set out to explore Cusco. Our first breakfast place was a bust - closed. We ended up having breakfast at a cute café called Qura and wandered through the streets up to a vantage point over the city. It's absolutely gorgeous here.

We headed back through town and out to a market for some more targeted souvenir/xmas presents to take home. Lunch back in town was at Mr Soup, it was rainy and Cusco is quite cool, so we thought it was the perfect way to warm up. I had a quinua which was stellar. At this point it was raining pretty hard, so we headed home for a siesta. I was lucky enough to find a copy of The Alchemists (have been craving to read it for a while now), so I settled in with that. For dinner we went to the sister site of our breakfast joint where they serve budda bowls. They were delicious.

 We spent the evening gathering the rest of our supplies and perusing Cusco by night....then it was raining again (we are here in wet season). Tomorrow is our big climb!!

Alpaca products for everyone!!

We were up and out for 4am. We went with a small tour operator who was absolutely well worth the money. In the end it was just the 2 of us with Jose, our guide and Carlos, our driver. The drive to the mountain was incredibly scenic and Carlos gave us some info about the region. We stopped for a quick traditional breakfast, then continued our journey to Rainbow Mountain.

We arrived long before all the giant tour buses. Jose started our journey with a little ceremonial prayer/offering to the mountain and we placed cocoa leaves between our gum and cheek to ward off altitude sickness. He also has a medicinal concoction we inhaled. It helped. The trek was slow and steady. It's amazing the challenge of being at altitude. Vinicunca or Rainbow Mountain sits at 5,200 meters. The last 20% of the trek is a few steep inclines that litterally take your breath away. Jose was amazing, patient but also pushed you hard when you needed it. He was also concerned not only for our safety and well-being, but that of everyone we passed. Sharing cocoa leaves and his inhalation potion. The results.......

We did it!!!! We actually trekked slightly higher in order to get the great vantage point over the mountain. It was incredibly cold and windy with the visibility slipping in and out, but it was magical to be up there. You could see the entire red valley, which was just as impressive as the mountain itself.

When we planned this trip we contemplated Machu Pichu, but chose Rainbow Mountain and I am extremely happy with that choice,

After the trek back we drove back down to have lunch and continued home. Isa wasn;t feeling too great post climb, although she was amazing during it. We got home and crashed for a bit. By the evening, her stomach was being unkind, so I ventured out in search of soup and dinner for myself. This is where I met Rio...

Rio struck up a conversation with me while I waited for my to go sandwich, This turned into 5 Cusquenas (local beer) and a couple hours of conversation. Rio is Incan descent and a shaman, He is also hillarious and speeks very frankly, It was honestly one of the best interactions I have had with another human being in my life,...I have also just finished re-reading the Alchamist, so that may have some influence. Regarless, he made me add him to Facebook and promised to take me to the jungle, his jungle, on my next trip to Peru.

I returned to our room to a sleeping Isabel and the sound of rain, so I was asleep quickly,

The next day, we headed back to Lima. Luke and the boys spent their time at the park and trying to survive solo parenting. Luke is a pretty amazing guy for pulling that one off. He grabbed our cab from the airport back to the airport to head out to Cusco himself. He wandered around the city for 2 days. No mountain climbing, but he was able to check out the local market and visit some local ruins.

Isabel and I got into a running routine along the beautiful path that follows the ocean and brought the boys out daily for park time. One thing I've noticed in South America is that kids are allowed to play, without parents hovering over them. If a kid goes down the slide and hits another kid sitting on the slide....so be it. Are they really going to get severely injured? NO. There is no one there micromanaging play time. They are there to insure safety but not police play. Also, if you bring a toy to the playground, it becomes communal and fair game to all children until you leave. It's so refreshing to experience this. I hope we don't lose what we've learned here.

Luke made it back the night before we leave. We put the kids to bed and went across the street to grab some last South American street eats. Not much sleeping before our flight, if any. Who books a 3am flight with toddlers anyways??!! Crazies!

Salchipapas

See you soon Canada!!!