So we took Peru Hop from Cusco to Lima and we didnt get off to a great start. The first bus was pretty crappy, bad smell from the bathroom and the seats reclined about 10 degrees if that. Fortunately there werent many of us so we were each able to get 2 seats and kind of stretch out. Not a lot of sleep that night. We arrived in Puno early and they had arranged a full day tour of the floating islands for us for $20. It was so cool. What a concept, islands made out of reeds that whole communities actually live on. There are dozens of islands with one being the capital so to speak which has a restaurant and some services on it. The one we visited was very small with only a few houses. They did a demonstration for us and explained how they harvest the reeds from the lake and form the islands, then anchor them to the bottom of the lake. I cant even imagine living there, so bizarre. The men fish and the women make handicrafts to sell to the tourists. Tourism apparently is their main industry. The boats take turns visiting the islands so no one island gets all the benefit. Our guide was from the islands and knew the history well. We also stopped at a larger island on the lake which is essentially a mountain. We docked at one of the ports and hiked to the top where the town is. There are 3 ports around the island and the locals hike up and down regularly. I cant imagine how strong their leg muscles must be. We had lunch at a local restaurant, the usual fried fish, white rice and salad. Boring and too expensive but you dont really have a choice unless you bring your own food. We took some pics and hiked back down to the boat. It was a pretty good tour and the floating islands are definitely worth the trip. Back on the bus for another night trip to Arequipa but this time we get an actual Peru Hop bus. Its a little better, seats recline a bit more, cleaner and not so smelly. For me though, another night without sleep. They drive like maniacs here, no matter what Peru Hop says. The top heavy buses sway side to side with every curve and they love to pass, regardless of oncoming traffic. Weve hooked up with a girl from Scotland, Charlotte, and we hung out together all the way to Paracas.
Arequipa is a great city. Clean, beautiful colonial architecture, cathedrals of course and really safe. Im regretting not doing more shopping in Cusco though, I was told you can get the same stuff in Arequipa but cheaper. So not true. Do your shopping in Cusco. We took a walking tour of the city, the guide was great and we learned a lot. Some walking tours are better than others but this one is definitely worth it. And of course you cant go to Arequipa without seeing Colca Canyon. After much research we opted for a full day tour, which leaves at 3:30 am, oh god. A very long day and not really the views I expected. We did see Condors though and managed to get some pics. None of us really felt up to trekking but it would be worth it if you can do it. You can take donkeys back up from the bottom of the canyon. We stopped at a hotsprings, really just a complex of pools fed by the springs, but it was nice to get in the water none the less. We really enjoyed our time in Arequipa, its a nice city to spend a few days in or more if you have the opportunity. The bus picked us up at 6am Saturday morning and of course Charlotte and Josh decided to go our for a ¨¨few¨¨ drinks the night before. They rolled in around 3 am and got maybe 2 hours sleep. Charlotte is younger and I think more accustomed to it so shes not in bad shape the next morning but Josh on the other hand is wiped out. Im not envying him the bus ride. Turns out hes sick about 4 times in the bus bathroom, a real no no, no solids allowed!. Our next stop is Nazca and Josh and I are spending the night so he can do the flight over the Nazca lines in the morning. Good thing its not this afternoon. We walked a little in the city, not a place you really want to spend any time, and went to the little planetarium. Its in this tiny little building on the parking lot of a hotel, the host spoke English, and it was really informative about the area and the history of the lines. The next morning Josh took off for the airport and took his flight. He wasnt feeling so well but at least he got to do it and got some pics. It was on his must do list. We then hopped in a collectivo and raced for Huacachina to meet up with rest of our group and the bus. And I mean raced. The taxi drivers are even worse than the bus drivers. No rules, no speed limits, just get there as fast as you can.
Huacachina is a funny little town. A tiny ¨lake¨, in the middle of a tiny town surrounded by sand dunes. You can take a dune buggy up for a hair raising ride and then sandboard down the dunes. Josh and I opted out so we just hung out around the pool at the hostel. Thats right, a hostel with a pool, how cool is that. And we were allowed to use all the facilities without even staying there. Once everyone got back from sandboarding we hopped the bus and headed to Paracas. We planned to spend 3 nights there but only ended up staying 2. The hostel was great but it was a bit too much of party hostel for us. Pretty nice though, pool, bar, right on the beach. We went kayaking once and did the boat tour to the Ballestas Islands, known as the poor mans galapagos. Saw lots of sea lions, birds and few pengiuns, finally my pengiuns. Only from a distance though. We also did a Peru Hop tour to a pisco vineyard for a tasting and Not a whole lot else to do so we decided to part ways with Charlotte and head to Lima.
Lima was not my favorite city the last time we were here, I wasnt really looking forward to it. But wow, has it ever changed. The growth is amazing, shopping, gas stations, apartments. What a difference. I actually really enjoyed it. Peru has implemented traffic control all over the country and its interesting to see the drivers trying to adapt to it. They have a long ways to go! Its obvious though the country is doing better economically, at least in the cities, I suspect the rural areas arent seeing the benefits though. We met up with the people we stayed with in Huancayo last trip, Nilton and Eli. They had been away in Cusco and were traveling through Lima on their way home so we just caught them at the airport for a half hour or so. They were so excited that we made the effort to meet up with them. It was great to see them, they had the kids and Eva, Elis mom with them as well. We also went for lunch with Maryanne who was our Spanish teacher last trip in Huanchaco. Josh is in touch with her on facebook and it was really great to catch up with her as well. All in all not enough time, we could have spent a few more days for sure. Lima was the end of our Peru Hop adventure. I would definitely recommend it even with the crappy bus. The guides are incredibly helpful, they booked hostels at every stop for anyone that needed them, gave us advice and just made sure we had everything we needed. And it was nice to have some consistency while traveling for a while instead of having to spend so much time planning.
I feel blessed that we got to see more of this country we love so much. Its till my favorite of all the countries weve visted.
