This is my 4th time in Cusco, Peru. The previous 3 times I concentrated on Machu Picchu (yes, I’ve been there 3 times but have never hiked the trail), other Incan sites (Sacsahuaman, Pisac, Moray), and (my personal favourite) the Salinas de Maras. This time around, I didn’t plan to stay very long in the…
Huacachina is a small oasis surrounded by sand dunes and looks pretty amazing, until you realise it is only 5km outside the large city of Ica in southern Peru. If you’ve never seen reasonably large sand dunes and are travelling through Peru – this would definitely be worth a visit (though unfortunately the water in…
The other reason (apart from Kuelap) that Chachapoyas won out over the other towns with archaeological sites was that the Sarcophagi of Karajía really captured my imagination. I’d come across them on the Atlas Obscura website that Charlotte put me onto and I just had to visit another site with “big heads” given I’d done…
Who knew that Fruit Loops had so much nutrition! According to the packet, all the Angel brand cereals come enriched with 14 vitamins and minerals that help in the following ways: Iron – to prevent anaemia Vitamin A – to help strengthen teeth and bones, for good vision and to care for the skin Vitamin…
Chachapoyas is a long way from anywhere in Peru but, if one looks at it a certain way, it is on the way to Tarapoto where I was headed to do the Vegetarian Cooking and Yoga retreat. I decided to head here (as opposed to Cajamarca or Chiclayo which were my other options) because of some…
One of my favourite things about travelling in South America is the extremely cheap set lunches you can get everywhere – the Menu del Día. Usually you get a choice between 2 entrees and 4-6 mains with the dessert and drink always set. Here’s what I had for lunch today in Huaraz, Peru for 7 Nuevo Soles (less…
When I was putting together my year-long trip last year, I had very few concrete plans. In fact, the only plan I made for Peru was that I knew I wanted to do some hiking in the Cordillera Blanca near Huaraz. And it was for this reason that I’ve been lugging around a relatively…
This one’s a bit of a cobbled together post as I kind of sampled Ecuadorian food in a haphazard manner… My first foray into Ecuadorian food was through the Quito Culinary Tour and Cooking Class, which was followed up by the Friday Night Food Walking Tour offered by Community Hostel in Quito. There were about 15…
Something I discovered in the main market in Cuenca on the Free Walking Tour. If you want to: attract someone get rid of someone get rich or any number of other desires in life, all you need is perfume! It’s legitimate, quality assured and 100% effective according to the advertising on the boxes, and here I…
One of the things I was excited to do while in Cuenca was to get out and explore Parque Nacional Cajas. So I signed up for a day tour with one of the agencies in town and was joined by a family of 3 from the US. We all crammed into a very small…