[PUNO] Budget and Itinerary

TUESDAY: 28 June 2016

Breakfast (Bolivia Hop) - 8.00

Uros Floating Islands Tour (Bolivia Hop) - 30.00

PEN38.00

Estimate of PEN1 = PhP15.00

TOTAL – PhP570.00

[PUNO] Lake Titicaca

I decided to try Bolivia Hop for the trip from Cusco to La Paz. With our train from Machu Picchu arriving in Poroy at 9 PM and the bus leaving at 10 PM, there was enough leeway. They did tell me to be at the office by 9:15 PM, though. The taxi arrived at 9:30 PM. But it was all chill. We left at exactly 10 PM despite not boarding until five minutes prior. We arrived in Puno at around 5 AM. I knew because the bus stopped long before they woke us up for breakfast at 5:30 AM.

[CUZCO] Budget and Itinerary

MONDAY: 27 June 2016

LC Peru (Lima - Cuzco) - 77.98

Perurail (Poroy - Machu Picchu) - 95.00

Airbnb (1 Night) - 17.00

Perurail (Machu Picchu - Poroy) - 99.00

LC Peru (Cuzco - Lima) - 71.55

USD360.53

Bus (Airport - Avenida del Sol) - 0.70

Bakery (Pastries) - 2.00

Store (Supplies) - 5.40

Sepia (Lomo Saltado + Lemonade w/Mint) - 34.00

Store (Print) - 1.60

PEN43.70

[URUBAMBA] The Ruins of Machu Picchu

Climbing Huayna Picchu is not mandatory. You can tell by the number of passes available per day (2000 for Machu Picchu; 400 for Huayna Picchu) that the ruins themselves are more in demand for tourists. That’s just understandable given the challenges you have to face in climbing the mountain as well as time restrictions. The thing about Machu Picchu, though, is that it’s always full of people, especially if you come during the peak summer months.

[URUBAMBA] Climbing Huayna Picchu

I don’t really know what came over me to even think about hiking. Once I was on top of Huayna Picchu and saw the zigzag road the bus took to get us up there, I wondered if I would have survived such a hike. From Aguas Calientes going up, you are likely to take an hour and a half to get to the entrance of Machu Picchu. You will be traversing the same mountain the bus does through the zigzag road, but there are trails made especially for hikers so that you won’t have to zigzag and just head straight up.

[URUBAMBA] The How Much of Machu Picchu

Everyone talks about how they want to go to Machu Picchu and how it is on their bucket list, but seldom do they discuss how they intend to go there. And so the wish remains just a wish. You actually need a plan of action, and that plan is not as simple as landing in Lima. Come to think of it, even getting to Peru is a challenge in itself if you are coming from Asia. You’ll be spending about USD 2000 on airfare alone which makes it a rather prohibitive journey, a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

[CUSCO] You Must See Cuzco at Night

Or the Plaza de Armas, at least. My phone’s camera ran out of batteries but I don’t think it matters because it didn’t really give the scene justice. And then I suddenly asked myself, why the heck am I so preoccupied with photos when I am right here right now and I can just remember this view in my head? I’m not selfish, you know. I want you to see it too. But I guess this time around you’re going to have to come here and see it for yourself. It’s one of the most beautiful nightscapes you’ll ever see.

[LIMA] Budget and Itinerary

FRIDAY: 24 June 2016

Interjet (Mexico City - Lima) - 153.84

Airbnb (3 Nights) - 45.00

USD198.84

[LIMA] Shopping by the Pacific

It was Sunday morning. No rain was falling but my sore throat was back with a vengeance, even though it wasn’t as strong as before. I knew I should have taken more than two paracetamols in the last 24 hours. The agenda for the day was simple: Go malling at Larcomar. If you Google shopping malls in Lima, two names always come up in the results, this one included. The other one has the word “Jockey” in it and looks really fancy but I only had time for one. I chose Larcomar because it’s right there at the coast.

[LIMA] Saturdays in Lima

The plane ride felt like knocking on hell’s door. My one-week old sore throat finally decided to let me expel the mucus starting this morning, which wasn’t enough preparation for the flight. The almost six hours I spent on that plane felt like eternity and the cherry on top was a crippling migraine of Oberyn Martell proportions as we were about to land. With the very sorry state I was in, I knew I’ll have another run in with the airport’s thermal scanner. Surprise, surprise, Lima’s airport doesn’t seem to have one.