3 Months in Peru

I had every intention of returning back to Costa Rica after hiking The Camino de Santiago with my mom this past fall. So how did I end up in Peru?

As I was on the Camino with my mom, I kept seeing this job posting for a part time marketing/ part time yoga instructor job in Peru. I saw the posting a few times, and every time, it had me a little bit more intrigued.

So, I reached out to the person who was reposting the job (who happened to be a friend from Costa Rica) and asked a few logistical questions. Long story short, I applied and accepted the job, and off my boyfriend, dog and I were to Peru!

Fortunately, & unfortunately, the job didn't end up working in Peru - but that in of itself was a lesson to stand up for professional boundaries. I won't go into that any further - but anyways, we ended up staying 3 months in Peru. One month working, and two months exploring.

The Sacred Valley

Urubamba

The job we came out for was close to Urubamba - in the Sacred Valley of Peru, about 1.5 hours outside of Cusco. We spent almost 2 months there - with a few trips sprinkled in.

Urubamba is a decent sized town - with many public buses going to Cusco and Pisac and pretty much everywhere in the Sacred Valley.

There weren't many expats in Urubamba - but a few. There were two types of Peruvians in this area - more modern Peruvians and Indigenous. The Indigenous people spoke Quechuan - the ancient Incan language. I'll be honest, I felt pretty judged by the locals. Anytime my tattoos were showing, I had multiple abuelas staring. Anytime I wore shorts, the same (I even had an abuela point at me with her granddaughter). But I respect that the indigenous culture is more modern.

Urubamba had many local events happening often, and a daily market where farmers and butchers all sold their local produce and meats. Beware, butchers do not refrigerate meat in Peru most times when selling it. Furthermore, sewage water is dumped into the local rivers and creeks and irrigation systems - which not only makes water undrinkable but also dangerous when used to wash vegetables on it's on. (Follow along for food poisoning stories...)

Our apartment that we rented was a two bedroom, one bathroom in an apartment. This apartment had insanely beautiful views, and was beyond affordable (as is most of Peru). We paid 500 soles, or roughly $135 USD per month. This apartment had 4 floors, and we were at the top. It was a very simple apartment with no oven, no hot water (which was not fun as it often got down to 40 degrees F), no heating or air conditioning. It came furnished but with very basic, old and uncomfortable furniture. The apartment was a 15 minute walk from the main road where the bus picked up, and since we didn't have transport, this made grocery shopping a little bit of a hassle as well. But, for $135 USD per month, who am I to complain too much... and like I said, the views were GORGEOUS.

Our favorite adventures in the Urubamba area included a hike in the Pumahuanca Valley, a Cacao ceremony with Discovering Kaia, and Migas Coffee Shop.

The hike we did in Pumahuanca Valley was 6.3 miles round trip and took you past some Incan sacred sites. The top of the hike had amazing views, and was so tranquil and peaceful. This hike was steep, but had many viewpoints and places to rest along the way. We found the hike on AllTrails which gave us guidance and reviews prior to know what to expect. Almost everywhere in Peru you can see llamas and alpacas, and this hike had them plentiful as well as donkeys, horses and dogs. We took our little dog on the hike and she did great (just had to lookout for the local dogs running around).

The Cacao ceremony with Discovering Kaia was an experience as a local house, with two new friends I had met - Dan and her partner. They own Discovering Kaia and do a variety of plant medicine ceremonies and retreats in Peru. The Cacao ceremony was guided with Rape, singing, and a meditation, which was quite lovely and allowed me to come back to center.

Migas coffee shop was our other favorite, because it was the most accessible for my gluten allergies, and had the most "Americanized" food if you will - sandwiches, sourdough bread, matcha, lattes, etc. We would come here and work or just enjoy a date day, and they were dog friendly (as are most places in Peru)!

The public buses in the Sacred Valley are easily accessible, and affordable. You can wave them down practically anywhere, you do not have to be at a bus stop to get picked up. However, safety is another thing... The bus drivers and other vehicles on the road often drive at high speeds, pass each other on two lane highways when another car is close, don't wait for you to fully sit down before accelerating, etc. Moto taxis are also very popular and affordable, they're basically a 3 wheeled motorcycle with some canvas covering and a "backseat" to make a cab. Convenient, but also scary driving. The traffic scene in general was pretty unnerving to the nervous system all around... There were a few times I almost got taken advantage of money wise on the public buses as well. I knew the typical cost as we lived there a while, but there were a few times I was quoted higher than usual, or not given the correct change. Unfortunately, Peruvians are known to be a little hustly when it comes to money, so be aware of this and brush up on your Spanish to be able to confront if needed. The public buses also go on strike often, so don't be suprised if the bus isn't running on a random Tuesday.

Bartering is also a big thing in The Sacred Valley. I never paid sticker price. Whether in the market, in a taxi, on a tour - everything is negotiable. If you don't negotiate, you will get the gringo tax. And you need to negotiate in Spanish.

We spent Christmas in Urubamba which was cool to see. Peruvians often celebrate on Christmas Eve, instead of day. We went to sleep early on Christmas Eve, and were awoken by fireworks at midnight on Christmas Day - a Peruvian tradition. Every town in the valley had their own Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene in The Plaza which we loved to go around and see.

There are also many Peruvian holidays that are observed that we do not observe in the US. Catholicism is the main religion in Peru, and while I was raised Catholic as well, the extra holidays observed in Peru were different. You'd often see streets blocked off and parades with Peruvian dancing and Mother Mary sculptures being held by Priests. I loved when I came across these parades as the dancing was impressive and very culture heavy.

Arin

Arin is a small neighborhood between Urubamba and Calca. It is notable for it's waterfall hike and area. The valley tends to be more of a desert, but this hiking area is heavily wooded and abundant with water. We loved this waterfall to refresh our mind, body and spirit.

Pisac

Pisac is a very popular town in The Sacred Valley. It's known for its plant medicine retreats, expat community, and Inca ruin. I had heard mixed reviews of Pisac being going - some people really enjoyed it, and some people thought it was too new-aged spiritual. After living in Urubamba, it was a breath of fresh air for many reasons - the access to so many shops and restaurants, yoga classes, English speakers, community events & more. You can also buy artisanal drums and hats, incense, plant medicine, and more in Pisac.

We actually really Pisac all in all. Some of our favorite things included Cultura Viviente cafe, Sacred Valley Tribe temple, Kinsa Cocha hike, and the views from our hostel Tayta Wasi.

Cultura Viviente was our favorite cafe for many reasons, but especially the vibes. All of their employees were so genuine, truly welcoming and caring when asking "Que Tal?" They had a resident cat, which was adorable and friendly, even around my little dog. The downstairs has a store in it that sells teas, herbs, local cacao, crystals, hemp clothing, incense & more. All quality products. There was a communal bookshelf with books and games you could use while there, and a rooftop balcony, oftentimes with locals playing guitar. Their food is gluten free and vegan, and the tastes were very flavorful.

Sacred Valley Tribe is a commune just outside of town, you have to take a car or taxi to get there. There is a beautiful temple on the property that hosts spiritual events, ranging from yoga to ayahausca to cacao ceremonies and more. I went twice - once for an ecstatic dance event, which was actually cancelled due to Christmas but we were not informed... and neither were other individuals who showed up! This was actually one of my favorite memories of Peru. 6 strangers who showed up for a cancelled event, so we decided to make our own! What started out as silent meditation led into singing and dancing and sharing laughs with eachother. Truly, the vibes led this energy. One man was from Greece, one woman with her daughter who were Peruvian but living in the US, a Peruvian, a European and myself. All from different walks of life ending up in the same place and creating a wholesome experience with eachother. The other time we went to the temple was for a Gong soundbath and Cacao Ceremony with hammocks! Such a cool experience. I had been to sound baths before, but a gong sound bath with something else. I could feel the precussions entering into all levels of my cells, and the cacao helped facilitate. This was my boyfriends first sound bath and cacao ceremony, and he ended up falling asleep he was so relaxed!

Kinsa Cocha is a gorgeous hike above Pisac, about a 40-minute drive. We took a taxi to get there, and wow, was the drive actually terrifying. It was up a steep canyon with no guardrails, many blind turns, and one car sections... but we made it and got to see many local villages along the way. The hike has two lagoons, alpacas, and rugged mountain views. Peru had been so hot and desert-y for us, that we didn't pack many extra clothes or gear, and since we climbed so much elevation between the drive and the hike, we ended up having to turn around before completing the hike because we were too cold! This hike takes place at 13,221 feet above sea level!

Lastly, the views from our hostel. Truthfully, all of the views in Pisac and most of the Sacred Valley are incredible. And I could write so much more about what we enjoyed in Pisac, but I am writing a blog, not a book! So these were the most important mentions... Anywho, our hostel Tayta Wasi had incredible views. This hostel was affordable, dog friendly, and had private rooms. It was in the main area of Pisac, however, on the roads bordering, so it was fairly quiet which was nice. The road was great for walking our dog and taking in the farming views. There is a TON of farming in the Sacred Valley - much of it being corn, but also a lot of flowers, cilantro, potatoes, and more.

Lares

Lares Hot Springs was a highlight of the trip.

It is a natural hot spring that has been made into a mini resort with pools. There are different pools with different temperatures, including a cold pool. To get there, you have to drive about an hour and a half from Urubamba, through a windy road. The drive is gorgeous and takes you over a mountain pass. I would definitely recommend a trip here if you have the time.

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo is the town that you use to get to Aguas Calientes, which is the town below Machu Picchu. There is a train running from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Most people only come to Ollantaytambo to make their way to Machu Picchu, but it is also home to one of the most impressive Incan ruins (in my opinion). We took a tour to hear more about these ruins and learned so much! Ollantaytambo is also one of the only towns with original Incan and indigenous housing, people live in the original structures still to this day. The roads are all cobblestone, and I found the city to be quite quaint. However, it is pricey, and a tourist trap due to its proximity to Machu Picchu and high tourism traffic.

Aguas Calientes

Aguas Calientes was probably my favorite town in The Sacred Valley! The views were outstanding! Rugged mountainous views, hot springs, and a powerful river running through town. Aguas Calientes is also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo, as it is the town below Machu Picchu where you can catch the bus to enter. With that said, it is another touristy town. We noticed many of the restaurants have the same menus with many American dishes, prices were high, and neon signs were everywhere up the main strip... we stayed closer to the square which had less of that. One great restaurant I definitley recommend is Chullos! It's close to the main river and train tracks, prices are very affordable and the dishes are Peruvian with a modern flare. The gnocchi with the alpaca there is to die for (my mouth is watering just thinking about it.) The hostel we stayed at had amazing views, was quiet, less expensive and less touristy - but I unfortunately cannot recommend it because we had a bad experience with the owner... On a different trip (more info below) I stayed solo at a fairly pricey hotel right on the river/ train tracks names Horel Ferre. This hotel was beautiful and had a great continental breakfast in the morning with a huge spread. They also had free late checkout, hotel & reliable showers (hard to come by in Peru), and air conditioning.

Machu Picchu

I visited Machu Picchu twice during my time in Peru - and yes, it is as amazing and breathtaking as people make it out to be! The rugged mountain behind the town, the architecture and history - everything about it is truly mesmerizing.

The first time I went to Machu Picchu was with my boyfriend. We took the bus from Aguas Calientes up, which was definitely an interesting drive... no guard rails, big buses, one lane roads and sharp turns - I had to close my eyes at some points because my anxiety couldn't handle it. However, the bus drivers are very skilled, and we made it with no issues. You need to book bus tickets and Machu Picchu entry tickets in advance. We did this when we booked our train tickets from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. We used Inca Rail to do all of this, which I had no complaints with! Alternatively, you can show up in Aguas Calientes in person for next day tickets. The government holds a set amount for in person bookings, however, this is a little more unreliable, so we did not go this route.

Since Machu Picchu has increased in visits over the year, they now have different circuits associated with tickets as well. We booked circuit 2B, which is the "classic" route. Exploring Machu Picchu has some stairs and walking, but isn't difficult once you take the bus there. You get 2 hours with your ticket to explore. We didn't book a tour guide, but you book one for more information. There are even tour guides waiting at Machu Picchu to get booked same day.

My second trip to Machu Picchu was through the Inca Trail! If you've followed me for a while, you know I love to hike, camp and explore the outdoors. While you can do the Inca Trail yourself with permits, most people do it through a tour group with porters and booked campsites, which is what I decided to do. Although it was a decent chunk of money, I felt as if the value of the trip was worth it. It was just under $800 for the 4 day trek. This included tents and other camping gear, porters to carry your packs, porters to set up and take down camp, 3 meals a day, coca leaf tea, guides, toilets, and more. While the first two days of this trip were amazing, unfortunately, the entire trip didn't stay that way. 9 of us came down with food poisoning on night 2. These 9 of us were almost all awake at 3 in the morning by the sounds of eachother getting sick in our tents, what we think was from the chicken. Unfortunately, I came down with it the hardest and ended up getting emergency evacuated out of the trail. While I wanted to "tough it out" and finish the trail, for many reasons, I had fell so ill that I began hallucinating from dehydration as I was vomitting consistently for 12 hours and could not keep water down. I had to make a safety call for myself at this point to evacuate out.

I have to be brutally honest - the tour group I took, but also from my experience and knowledge, every tour group on the Inca Trail does not have proper safety and emergency evacuation plans in place. Once I told our guide that I needed to be evacuated out, I was basically met with no options. He said there is a helicopter that could bring me out for $10,000 USD, but it hasn't been used in years because of low visibility on the mountain. Sounded safe and realistic (sarcasm). I was so weak I literally could not walk by myself without collapsing. When I tell you I can't remember the last time I was ever this sick, I'm serious.

The guide told me my other option was to walk ~2 hours from our camp to a park ranger office where a stretcher could take me down from there. I immediately began crying because how could I walk 2 hours down a steep incline if I could barely walk to the toilet without collapsing? I pleaded to stay at the camp and have the rangers bring the stretcher to me, but I was told this was not an option. (Mind you, 8 other individuals of our tour were vomiting, having diarrhea, dehydrated and weak themselves. This was not safe). The guide told me, again, my only option was walking 2 hours to the ranger office. So, what was I to do? I literally began crying because I couldn't fathom this walk. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my post talking about the other individuals on the hike, and how amazing those humans were. Our group clicked almost immediately - joking and laughing together. And when I fell the most ill and couldn't imagine myself walking 2 hours to evacuate, our group literally took turns helping me walk down the hill. At some points, they made a human stretcher (one of the individuals took an emergency first aid course and remembered this position). But for the majority of the way down, the men who weren't ill along with the rest of us took turns on either side of me with my arms around them, taking some of my weight and adding stability to help me walk down. As I type this, and during the experience, I am slightly embarrassed at just how helpless I was.

It was a very humbling experience, but honestly, so heartwarming to see how these, basically strangers, were so quick to help me. I truly don't know what could have happened to me without their physical support getting me to the ranger office.

Moving on with the story - realistically, I probably could have written an entire blog on this Inca Trail experience alone - we eventually made it to the ranger office where a stretcher was waiting for me. I was originally told by the tour guides that 2 porters would help me down on the stretcher, and I'd be expected to "tip" them 50 soles each (about $14 USD). I'd also have to pay to use the stretcher, 50 soles. Well, once I got to the office, there were 6 people prepared to help, and I'd be expected to still tip each of them 50 soles each. So, this went from my unexpected-expected 150 soles to 350 soles. But, I didn't really have a choice. There was no short cut for evacuation - the porters had to carry me hours to complete the Inca Trail and exit me through Machu Picchu. I had to ask them to "pull over" multiple times as I continued to get sick. It began raining as well, and the stretcher was not waterproof so not only was I ill, I was also soaking wet and shivering now. As they were carrying me through Machu Picchu, visitors were taking photos of me in the stretcher being carried down, super uncomfortable, but honestly hilarious at the same time. I can't wait for my next game of 2 truths and a lie with this fact... there's a medic at Machu Picchu that they took me to originally for medical care... do you think the story could get worse? Just wait. While the doctor and nurse were able to get me in immediately with no wait, they started by trying to give me much needed fluids through an IV. There was one other patient in the room who had just been given an IV herself. The doctor and nurse did not speak any English, and the tour guide that stayed with me from our tour company didn't speak much English either to be able to translate properly. Luckily, I had been learning spanish for almost a year at this point. The nurse took the needle out of the other patient in the room, immediately walked over to me, and began prepping to administer my IV. With the same needle. I was APPAULED. I cannot thank God, the universe, whoever enough that I was lucid enough to be able to notice this and stop the nurse before poking me. I am still absolutely appauled while writing this that this medic tried to use the same needle. I understand Peru is a third world country, but with a high tourist place like Machu Picchu, this safety issue is unexscusable to me. In my broken Spanish, I objected to the nurse and doctor, and began to have a panic attack. I told the guide I could not be treated here and needed to go to another clinic or hospital. I did not feel safe there anymore.

So, the guide took me down from Machu Picchu on the bus, and into town at Aguas Calientes where we went to the community health office. Mind you, I was still vomitting/ dry heaving - 18 hours at this point. The health office got me in almost immediately, but since I was so dehydrated, they had to poke me 9 times before they were able to successfully enter a vein. I received fluids, and two meds for nausea and stomach lining support. These medicines helped wonders, and my vomitting stopped. I wasn't given much guidance from the tour guide or company as to where I could stay that night (I would take the train back with the rest of the group the following day still), so I booked a hotel on my own as I have always been independent and knew I needed to take care of myself that night. I eventually, slowly but surely, regained my health.

During my time in Peru, I noticed a lot of extortion & manipulation by the locals as a white tourist - charging you higher prices than listed, not giving correct change, etc. But I think this tour company gave me the most manipulation, not only from this event, but post event. The tour guides told me this has never happened to them in their 13 years with the company, meanwhile I overhear porters talking in Spanish about how often this occurs. I set up a meeting with the manager of the company to discuss reimbursement for medical expenses, he was 2 hours late to our meeting. I stood my ground and stayed in the office until he arrived, but I'm sure he was just expecting me to give up and leave. When we were discussing the event, he point blank said to me "You're in a 3rd world country, what did you expect?" In my opinion, an absolutely disgusting response as a business manager. He eventually reimbursed me for medical expenses after arguing with him for 45 minutes, he even had a contract and cash in his pocket all along.

While I want to call out this tour company on this blog, at the end of the day, I truly believe this is just a risk of Peru. The monetary manipulation and food safety. As I said above, Peru doesn't refrigerate their chicken or other meat when they sell it in the market and the water isn't safe. I think this food poisoning and manipulation could happen with any tour company, not only this one. And as you'll read below, this wasn't the only time I got food poisoninig in Peru. It is common.

If you have the desire to do the Inca Trail yourself, I'd say do it - it was beautiful and rich with history. With that said, I would be very careful with the food - avoid the meat, bring your own water filter, and possibly your own meals or meal replacement bars. If you have any health issues, know evacuations are very unreliable.

Overall, the Inca Trail was still one of my highlights of Peru - the days before I fell ill, but also the connections and faith in humanity I gained during my illness from the other hikers in our group helping me. If you're reading this and were one of those people, thank you again, from the bottom of my heart. You guys are angels.

Cusco

Cusco, Cusco, Cusco (you hear yelled at the bus stops of any big town within The Sacred Valley). Cusco is the main city of The Sacred Valley. It holds the airport you fly into from Lima, many architectural sites, and a lot of Spanish architecture. Cusco means King in

Quechua, the Incan language. Cusco has the most expats in The Sacred Valley, and is a little more expensive than the rest of the valley.

One of our favorite places was La Bruja - an apothecary and bar with both alcoholic and non alcoholic cocktails with holistic benefits. The owner is also a gem!

Some other key points are the Statue of Christ, The Plaza, The San Pedro Market, and the museums.

We ended up spending New Years in Cusco which was wild! The Plaza de Armas was packed with people (I mean, PACKED). Yellow is a common color to wear in Peru on New Years to attract good fortune, so you'll see yellow everywhere. There were many, many fireworks - mostly done by locals, you can buy them almost anywhere on the street. It was a giant party!

Honorable Site Mentions

Maras Salt Mines, Moray Archaeological Site, and Chinchero town for weaving.

Honorable Food Mentions

Guinea Pig, or Cuy, is eaten very often in The Sacred Valley. At first, I was so sad at the thought of eating Cuy. But, after time had passed in the area, I decided to do it for the bit... Most Cuy is served on a stick with everything still attached - literally just a Guinea Pig on a stick. But, I found somewhere that served it looking like regular meat - so I couldn't necessarily tell what I was eating. It wasn't anything special, I must say. It truly did just taste like chicken.

Lomo Saltado is another popular dish in Peru, which I LOVED. You can also find it served with Alpaca meat which, again, I felt a little sad about (ex vegan here), but, I wanted to do it for the experience... and honestly, it tasted delicious. It tasted similar to Bison in my opinion, a little gamey, but good!

Chica Morada is a popular drink in the area made with purple corn and cinnamon! You can find it bottled and powdered in the grocery stores (artificial) but the real way to do it is to get it at a restaraunt or on the street (at your own risk on the street). It tastes like a sweet juice, hard to explain. But it does not taste like corn, don't worry ;)

Lima

We spent a decent amount of time in Lima, as it is central to many other places we visited. Below I'll go into specific neighborhoods and areas we visited. Lima has a very different vibe from The Sacred Valley - The Sacred Valley being more indigenous, Incan, and historical - where as Lima is more modern.

Callao

Callao is close to the airport but also a marine base. We went to Callao for a tour of the Palomino Islands - 10/10 would recommend this tour! We found it on Viator, which I have talked about previously in my blogs. The tour of the Palomino Islands includes history on Lima's equivalent to Alcatraz, history on military training in the sea, swimming with sea lions, views of penguins, and more. We went on this tour for my birthday, and I thoroughly enjoyed. Although, the water is COLD! Beware. We also attended the military museum while we were in the area, which had history on the Spanish invasion as well as original boat pieces from the military.

Barranco

Barranco was probably our favorite neighborhood in Lima. It's hip, close to the sea, has many bars and restaurants, and wonderful street art! We went surfing during the day, salsa dancing at night, and just explored the streets in between.

Miraflores

Miraflores is another popular, modern neighborhood which neighbors Barranco. Love Park is a notable park in Miraflores, which has a beautiful sculpture in the middle and a fence where people place locks in symbolism of their relationship. Kennedy Park is another park, more in central Miraflores. It's surrounded by many restaurants, bars and shops, and has a center where people gather to dance. The park is also home to many stray cats.

If you ever happen to need a dog sitter while in Lima, Miraflores is also home to DogPackers - where we had Irie stay overnight for a few nights while we ventured to Ica and Huanchaco. They were very attentive to make sure all dogs get along, and they don't crate their dogs, while I prefer with Irie.

Old Town

Old Town is less visited by tourists who come to Lima, but it had some of the most history. This is where the president lives, whose house was guarded by guards that reminded me of London with their uniforms. The spanish architecture in Old Town is beautiful as well - from government buildings to churches and more. We also visited some of the museums in the area, which many were free! The museums outlined the history of the Spanish invasion, Incan history and art, old coins and currency history, and more.

Another thing we enjoyed in Old Town was The Magic Water Circuit Show, which is a park with an affordable admission fee that contains many fountains and a light show. This attraction had more locals than tourists, and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

Ica

Ica is a 4.5-hour drive or bus ride from Lima, and it is home to the Huacachina Oasis. Ica is also home to many Pisco (local alcohol) distilleries and wineries. We did a winery tour that our hostel organized and saw 3 different wineries, heard about their process, and tasted some. The bus was easy, we took Cruz del Sur. This was about $20 USD one way per person from Lima to Ica. There were specific bus terminals for this bus in both city's, unlike the public buses in the valley. The buses were very comfortable, with TV's, air conditioning, toilets, reclining chairs, and even curtains for privacy! You could check bags below or bring them up top, but beware - you can't bring alcoholic in your bags up top (they search).

Alternatively, if you don't want to stay overnight - there is a great day trip option from Lima.

Huacachina Oasis

Another highlight of our trip was Huacachina Oasis. To get from the bus terminal in Ica to the oasis took about 10 minutes and 10 soles. This is a giant desert/ sand dune that stretches 2 acres! The oasis is a small town in the middle of the sand dune with a little lake that you can rent boats to take out on. It is definitely a smaller town than we were expecting, and we spent two nights there but kind of ran out of things to do. Everything on the oasis is also very expensive! We stayed at a hostel that was one of the cheapest - and the accommodation definitely matched - no frills, no A/C (it gets HOT at the oasis), and old furniture. But it had a pool and did the trick for what we needed. Most of the restaurants at the oasis are also tourist traps - the food is very mediocre and almost Americanized. Valdelomar Snack Bar and Cafe was the most affordable, yet yummy, place we found.

You can hire a tour company to take you on doon buggies, but we did not. We rented sandboards in the oasis for 10 soles for 2 for an hour and walked up ourselves to sandboard a bit. The entrance to the actual dunes is 3.5 soles.

Trujillo

We only used Trujillo as a point of travel. We flew in here from Lima to get to Huanchaco, and we took the bus from Trujillo to Chicama a few days later. There is a big mall we also visited for some essentials, and a cafe. Overall, nothing too noteworthy. Mostly locals, we didn't see any expats or tourists really.

Huanchaco

Huanchaco was another one of our highlights! We visited the area for some surfing and stayed at Ola Surf House. 10/10 recommend Ola Surf House! It is locally owned by a sweet Peruvian family and surf coach named Cesar. Cesar lives part time in Europe, part time in Peru, where he teaches surf. Staying at Ola Surf House gave us such an authentic Peruvian experience - homecooked meals, salsa dancing, Jiu Jitsu classes, hanging out with the family & more. I really enjoyed the Jiu Jitsu class (my first ever!) The instructor even pulled me aside to show me some self-defense techniques to take off the mat, as I was the only woman there. The wave was less than a 10-minute walk, but there were a few waves nearby. The water is cold, so wear a wetsuit! There were also many fishing nets right where the surf was, which made me nervous to wipe out...

Huanchaco is where I fell ill for the 2nd time, and my boyfriend for the 1st, from food poisoning, again from chicken. This did not happen as Ola Surf House, but at a restaurant in town. Luckily this time was not as bad as the first - no hospitalization needed.

There was a cool local market/ group restaurant on the beach that served local Peruvian food, a beautiful boardwalk/ pier, and a lookout point at the top.

If you're a surfer - new or experienced - I'd definitely recommend visiting Huanchaco and Ola Surf House! The people were way more authentic and welcoming than the other places we visited in Peru, the culture was authentic, and the vibes were great.

Chicama

We visited Chicama from Trujillo as this is the longest left in the world. With my boyfriend being from Pavones, Costa Rica (the second longest left in the world) - we felt obligated to visit the 1st. This bus ride was about 2 hours from Trujillo, but easily accessible. We weren't sure which bus to get on (no official terminal), but the locals on the streets were eager to help us. Unfortunately, there was no wave when we visited, so we weren't able to surf. But we checked out the beach (very hot!) and walked around town.

All-in-All

Peru was beautiful and very culturally rich. We loved the mountains, hiking, spiritual themes, and adventure-rich excursions. The history with the Spanish Invasion and the Incans made everything much more sacred to learn about as our visit went on.

However, this trip wasn't an easy one! I've been to over 20 countries, and I must say - Peru was challenging for me. Obviously, this blog highlighted more good than bad, but the food poisoning, often tried manipulation from Peruvians, judgment, and more made it very difficult. I didn't feel very welcomed in Peru as a white person - I felt like I constantly had to be on my toes to make sure I wasn't getting swindled or taken advantage of. People on the streets or workers weren't keen to help you if you had a question or needed directions, if you smiled at a stranger they wouldn't smile back, etc. Obviously, there were exceptions, and we had some very pleasant experiences with Peruvians apart - but as a general consensus, the vibe didn't feel welcoming. I am still very glad for this time in Peru, and loved all of the adventures, growth and lessons it brought. Normally when things are difficult, they're a catalyst for growth, and I learned a lot about myself on this trip.

Overall, I am very grateful for this time in Peru and cherish all of the wonderful memories and people we met as highlighted above.

Planning a trip to Peru yourself? Have any questions, comments, etc. on the info above? Feel free to drop a comment on this blog or email me at jordan@ivywildwellness.com.

Looking for a vacation but aren't interested in Peru?

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Thanks so much for reading and following along on my journey.

Love Always,

Jordan

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