After Colombia, we traveled back to the states to spend Christmas in South Carolina with Leigh’s mom before heading off to darkest Peru. During nearly two years on the road we would make three trips back to the States. Besides catching up with loved ones, this was a great opportunity to change out clothes, leave things we weren’t using, and stock up on home comforts.
On December 27, 2017 we arrived in Lima. Peru–and more specifically Arequipa–was one of the places on our list that met most of our criteria for long-term relocation, so we were excited to explore the country. Arriving in Peru was a real adjustment as we were back living at a high altitude for the first time since our initial stay in Ecuador. Operating at in the thinner air initially makes you feel extremely unfit as even a short walk leaves you panting.
It was cool to arrive in Peru just after Christmas as decorations were still up everywhere. Particularly notable were elaborate nativity scenes – large with extensively laid out landscapes and often water features. New Year’s is also a big holiday, with a range of yellow decorations for sale everywhere – including yellow underwear – apparently it’s good luck to be wearing them at the stroke of midnight!
Our visit to Lima was brief but jam-packed. Notable sites were the MATE Mario Testino Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Magic Water Tour (El Circuito Mágico del Agua) at the city’s central park.
Three days later we flew to Arequipa to stay at Casa de Sillar, a hotel in the heart of the city. We were still trying to get another Workaway gig at this point but not having much luck. There wasn’t a lot of choice or availability and what was on offer were generally hostels where we’d be living separately in dorm style accommodations.
After failing to secure volunteer work, we decided to rent an apartment in Arequipa for two months and give living there a try. It’s a testament to James’s Spanish skills that we were able to work with rental agent who spoke no English through the complex and bureaucratic process of renting an apartment in the Vallecito neighborhood, about a twenty minute walk from the old city center.
We explored the city, enjoying the range of architecture and colorful houses. It was oddly quiet in the city as it turns out that January and February are school vacation and many families go to their beach houses for several months. The sprawling Santa Catalina convent – basically a self-contained village within the old city – was a favorite destination, as were meandering walks to explore the range of colorful architecture, new and old. There were several modern shopping malls on the outskirts of town where, among other things, we attended a dog fashion show and felt an pretty strong earthquake. Our friend from DC, Jeanette, who is Peruvian, came into town for a family event and we had a lovely lunch with her and her nieces/nephews and cousins. Leigh found a local yoga studio and started taking yoga classes in Spanish. She also took up crochet which necessitated many trips to the local markets to locate yarn and other supplies. Leigh also got a teaching job at a local English school, but unfortunately, due to the holiday season and lack of students, never actually did any teaching.
We had high hopes for Arequipa as a potential long-term home. It’s a beautiful colonial city with a mild climate year-round and lots of English schools as potential sources of employment. However, what we did not expect was constant heavy traffic (mostly old buses and taxis) throughout the city, and a steady supply of desert dust blowing in through windows. There are environmental regulations for vehicles but they don’t seem to be enforced, meaning overall poor air quality most days. We suffered from headaches and other sinus symptoms nearly constantly. We decided it was time to change our approach and began researching the world of pet-sitting, which we’d learned about from a friend in Ecuador.
But before we left Peru, we knew we had to visit Machu Picchu. We decided to splurge on the scenic train journey. Because it was low season, we had to take the train departing from Ollantaytambo (vs. Arequipa). So, we flew to Cuzco first where we stayed two nights. It’s a beautiful city (and at even higher altitude) made especially enchanting by a large population of indigenous people, most of whom seem to travel into the city by day to make a living selling a range of goods and services – everything from candy to shoe shines and photos with cute baby sheep.
Our driver from the airport in Cuzco turned out to be a tour guide and we were able to hire him to take us from Cuzco to the “other” main Inca ruins site at Ollantaytambo two days later, stopping at several other ruins on the way and an ancient site, still used today, where salt is collected and harvested from a mountain stream. We also stopped at a local outdoor market where indigenous people in colorful clothing sold a range of items from produce to building supplies.
Finally, we arrived in Ollantaytambo, where we stayed at an intriguing hotel set among the small town’s long, narrow alleys. That afternoon we explored the ruins of the old town, which was at still higher altitude, and puffed our way to the top of amazing stone terraces.
The next day we took the special (a.k.a. pricey and fancy) train to Machu Picchu through the Valley of the Incas . It had been, and was still raining heavily and much of our rail journey was along the banks of a raging river. When we arrived at the train station we purchased “official” plastic ponchos for what we knew was going to be a rainy exploration of Machu Picchu. The ruins definitely lived up to what we’d anticipated based on stories and photos from friends’ past journeys. Because it was low season and raining it was far less crowded than it could have been, but it still felt quite packed with people. We decided not to hire a guide or join a tour, instead relying on our guidebook and sneakily listening in on various tour groups we encountered. We’d read that you could exit and re-enter the site once and so we ducked out to eat our pre-purchased sandwiches and take a break from the climbing and crowds. Weather luck was on our side and when we returned in the afternoon it was finally sunny. After an enlightening but exhausting exploration, we took the bus back to town and then another (less fancy) train to Ollantaytambo. Then we took a long bus ride back to Cuzco and flew back to Arequipa the next day.
We then flew back home to Washington DC for a brief respite and some administrative chores (Leigh renewed her passport and James showed up for jury duty) before heading out on a new stage of our adventure.
