Peru, Highs & Lows

Hola! It’s been a while!

Since we wrote our Colombian news while in Ecuador and our Ecuadorian news from Peru, it's only fitting that our Peruvian update should be written as we head south on the Bolivian Altiplano...

We only spent 3 weeks in Peru- not long enough to appreciate this country of extreme contrasts - but our trip was fittingly full of highs, and a couple of lows – energy-wise at least!

We sped through the desertic North, stopping to visit several impressive pre-inca sites where the kids imagined themselves as huaqueros, modern-day Indiana Jones, finding gold and treasures in the hidden corners of the desert. We enjoyed our first Pisco sours and ceviche but otherwise we had to race on, which wasn’t such a bad decision as the Northern Coast of Peru is basically an open air rubbish dump! Not just your usual coke bottle and plastic bag roadside decoration, this was trash overflowing into the road, streets lined with household waste, industrial debris and dogs rummaging through... It was a stark contrast to get to the sacred valley of the Incas and the polished photobook streets of Cusco.

Somewhere along the way a nasty resilient wee bug snuck its way onto our plates and Florent was the first to come down with an awful stomach bug. We did however get to appreciate the Peruvian health system where a morning on a drip, doctors’ fees and drugs came to a whopping 8€!

Luckily Florent was restored to health in time to make the drive from the mysterious Nazca lines on the west coast up to highlands. Sea level to 4000m in two hours was quite a feat for the bodies and we were all suffering! Zoe's nose was bleeding, our heads were hurting, peripheral vision was nill and we could hardly dredge up enough energy to put one foot in front of the other! Luckily our next stop to pick up Pippa’s parents in Cusco was a little lower and our bodies were beginning to acclimatise...

With Pippa’s parents we hired a beautiful house in the sacred valley at Calca whose garden was a haven of peace, complete with fragrant datura tree, hummingbirds, view of the 5000m-high peaks and of course a cage of the local speciality guinea pigs.... which were on our plate a few days later! J But this time it was Pippa's turn to pick up a bug and her first days were spent in bed lamenting eating those ceviches on the side of the road ... After almost a year on the road we thought we had iron stomachs but this was one nasty bug! Nanny and Poppa fed us back to health and after a week of coffee stops, Poppa's treats and even a Swiss fondue, we have regained our energy, Flo’s not looking quite so much like a war prisoner, and we are feeling like ourselves again!

Too wiped out to envisage the hike to Machu Picchu 'through the back door', and too budget-conscious to fork out for five golden train tickets, we chose to visit several smaller Inca sites in the sacred valley and just to enjoy the fantastic climate and stunning scenery of this area. And we don't regret it! The kids loved playing in the various ruins, learning about Inca mythology and setting up fortresses in case the Spaniards attacked!

We then packed Nanny and Poppa and their three bags of souvenir alpaca jerseys into Picar and hit the road again, south to Lake Titicaca and the floating islands at Puno. An easy border crossing later and we were in the original Copacabana, a small lakeside village in Bolivia with an absolutely stunning cathedral (that inspired the chapel on a beach in Brazil). We thoroughly enjoyed our lazy days spent in Copacabana, going from cappuccino stop, to market, to lunch stop which rolled into pre- dinner drinks... Travelling Nanny and Poppa style! J The daytime weather was sunny and perfect and definitely no more problems sleeping due to the heat! The kids enjoyed spending time with their grandparents and being rewarded for their translation and bargaining skills with some local souvenirs.

After a couple of days in La Paz, taking the cable cars up and down the lung-bursting hills, Nanny and Poppa have headed back to the US and we are headed south, possibly to -12° on the salt plains, or possibly towards borders shut due to heavy snow.... We have our gloves and hats ready and are looking forward to some more amazing Andean scenery!

Besos, bisous, hugs and until next time!