The final chapter of my 6-week journey through Central & South America, chronicling adventures through southern Peru and La Paz, Bolivia. Scroll to the end for quick links to the other posts I’ve made about this trip, and an album of all 1100+ photos!
Itinerary:
Days 34-36 (Aguas Calientes): The Lares Trek
Day 37 (Cusco): Machu Picchu Day
Day 38 (Cusco): Tattoos, Ruins, Clubbing
Day 39 (Puno): Travel Day
Day 40 (Lake Titicaca): Floating Islands, Village Homestay
Day 41 (Puno): Kayaking, Visa Scramble & Halloween
Day 42 (La Paz): Travel Day
Day 43 (La Paz): Death Road Biking
1. The Meaning of Adventure
When I left for this trip, I had no idea what to expect. Although I’m always open to new experiences, I was most excited for the outdoor elements: hiking, caving, snorkeling, as well as opportunities to explore new cities.
I (foolishly) assumed I would have downtime during this trip, and could not only keep up with providing these updates, but also plan ahead to my eventual landing in The Netherlands. Obviously, that ended up not being the case…
But all this adventure and travel gave me great insight on how to travel on my own, outside these companies. I have a much better grasp on what is possible, how to keep myself safe, and what degree of planning/flexibility is ideal for me.
While this kind of travel was incredibly rewarding and exciting, I think I’ll take a different approach the next time I make a big trip, and save the two-week-high-intensity-tours for more ‘vacation’ vibes when I need them.
2. Altitude and Coca
In South America, there is a plant called Coca, which you have definitely heard of – if not for its use in cola, then for its ability to be refined into cocaine. The Inca considered the plant sacred, and more valuable than gold, and it has caffeine-like properties that help with altitude sickness.
Starting with Colca Canyon, this segment of the trip had us reach higher and higher altitudes in preparation for our big treks. On the bus ride there, we got our first (of many) tastes of coca tea, which did seem to help with the initial lightheadedness we felt. Thankfully, I handled the altitude really well, even without coca (I assume it was all the childhood trips up to Big Bear, Tahoe, June, and Mammoth).
But that didn’t stop me from munching on those leaves till my mouth went numb! After all, it’s still energizing, and a nice distraction from the physical effort of hiking.
3. Travel Log
This entire post was written nearly a full month after my travels concluded (Nov 25 – Jan 4), which I’m sure affects which details I’ve included and/or remembered. Despite this, the amount of time I’ve spent writing in my travel journal, organizing trip photos, and THINKING about this post, means the details are still very much fresh in my head. This documentation has been a labor of love, but a labor nonetheless (at least 100 hours), and I’m happy to finally conclude it here.
Days 34-36 – The Lares Trek
I had far too many photos from this hike, so feel free to follow along to this section with my Lares Trek album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cNmQTqokE7VWJrWN8
After a long (3.5 hr) bus ride up the mountains from Ollantaytambo, we started our hike on the edge of Lares town, heading West. Our guide Yonathan (“Johnny”) was an energetic and charismatic young man (29, making me the oldest person on our hike!!!) who loved outdoor guiding and had a deep respect for nature.
In addition to his knowledge about the communities, geography, and wildlife throughout the hike, he kept us motivated and entertained, and encouraged us to take frequent breaks.
Our group – Connie, Johnny, me, and Lewis (an Essex lad from a different G Adventures Group), would eventually be dubbed the “Speedy Sexy Llamas” as we crushed the average times given to reach each new destination on the hike.
The first day of the hike was an “easy” 9 km (5.6 miles) up 500m elevation (1600 ft), mostly passing through farming villages in the valleys of the Urubamba mountains, following well-worn trails or even occasional roads.
Side note: despite this being a very physically taxing hike, it was definitely a level of “glamping” I’ve never experienced before. In addition to Johnny, we had a whole crew along with us for the hike. Our meals were handled by the chef Rolando and the waiter Milton, who we met as we set down our daypacks and hiking poles at the first lunch break.
We were pretty beat by the time we reached our lunch break, but the food and rest gave us the confidence and strength to continue.
We later arrived at our first campsite in a village called Cuncani, to the sight of G-Adventures branded tents: one for Connie and me, one for Lewis, and one for Johnny (our crew opted to sleep indoors – Johnny just really likes camping).
After setting our stuff down we received the first of many “hot water buckets” we’d use throughout the Trek to wash our hands and faces, or (on the first night) take a bucket shower. After dinner (I gorged myself on crackers, bread, jam, and tea), a briefing on the next day’s plan, and some classic late-night tent talk with Connie, we went to bed.
The next day, we got a 5:00 wakeup call from Milton in the form of some Coca Tea, had our first trek breakfast, then made official introductions to our rest of the crew before heading out.
We were joined by the horseman Fernando, who was in charge of the mules that carried the supplies (and our duffel bags), with his two dogs (Ooccooccoo and Bobby), as well as the immensely experienced Victor, who had hiked the Inca Trail over 5000 times in his life.
The crew would always get to our next stopping point and set up our tents and/or food before we arrived. So we got to just set our stuff down, wash up, relax, and eat. Both mornings, we would just leave our duffels and sleeping bags in our tents and head out for the day, to then see our crew sprint past us 1-2 hours later.
The second day of the Trek was by far the most difficult part: 17 km (9 miles), up 1000m and down 1500m. It was initially planned as 13 km and only down ~1000m, but Johnny gave us the option of going further to the “good” campsite, and so our last day would be easier. Of course, the Speedy Sexy Llamas rose to the challenge.
We spent most of Day 2 trying not to think about distance or time, and enjoy the views while we had them. We passed by streams and lagoons, met locals working alpaca farms in the mountains, saw wild vicunas and chinchillas, and I pet every herding dog we saw.
Also, in line with much of Peru’s economy today being based around tourism, the local women occasionally made money by selling items to trekkers. So imagine climbing like 500 steps in the middle of nowhere, more exhausted than you thought possible, turning the corner, and you see a nice old lady spinning yarn, selling beers and Powerade laid out on a blanket in front of her.
This relationship to trekkers was reciprocal, as well. Throughout the trip, Johnny would stop to give locals things not easily found in such a remote area: fresh baked breads, fruits, coca leaves (they don’t grow well in the mountains), and even candy for the kids. He said other guides usually do this as well, as many of them come from this area, or villages like it, and consider it their way of giving back.
Despite trekkers being a common sight in these villages, our group was the only one we saw throughout the entire hike, so I felt validated in my choice for the more remote route.
Especially in areas outside the villages, the peak, and most of the way down, it felt like we were truly in the wilderness, a nice change of pace from all the city-hopping I had done until now.
At the peak, Victor shared a bit of his spirituality, and led us through a ritual of offering coca leaves to Pachamama (mother earth). There is a Quechua belief that when you die, your soul travels back across all the places you’d been in life; therefore, a piece of our souls will always exist at the top of this mountain.
In that moment, I was immensely grateful for the opportunity to do this, both in terms of my financial/life/social situation, as well as my body’s ability to bring me here. I hope that I can repay the earth in some way, for what I got from this experience.
Of course, all good ponderings need silliness in equal measure:
BRIEF TANGENT:
I hope to someday make a separate post about spirituality and my own personal worldview, but in case I don’t, I want to use this opportunity to do so briefly. I tend to be very grounded in my beliefs, and put a lot of stock in what can be observed, measured, predicted, and understood. As a result, I (generally) don’t believe in divine intervention or supernatural beings, or that there’s anything before/after the reality we know as life.
However, I know the reality of existence as beautiful and strange, full of meaning and complexity: in our humanity, our relation to each other, and especially our relation to the natural world around us.
What is intelligent design if not the way a single seed contains the genetic information for a forest? What is divinity if not our planet’s rotation and orbit around its yellow sun – perfectly attuned to create conditions for life? What is a miracle if not for the way our bodies can repair broken flesh? Or how ecosystems sustain themselves with such wildly different organisms and even more complex relationships between them? What is purpose if not finding belonging in the existing harmony of the universe?
So anyway, I guess all that is to say, I do think a part of me lives on that mountaintop now, in the Pumahuanca Pass. Like the Pass, and the joy I felt there, live in my memory, the impact of my presence will forever remain.
The paths I walked on, stones I skipped in the lagoon, and the unfortunate amount of bathroom breaks I took, all subtly influence the ecology and geology of that place, and its future. Negligibly, of course, because I am but one tiny creature, and these mountains are older than my species.
As I’m always saying: it’s good for humans to live near mountains (or oceans), to keep them humble.
OK, BACK TO THE HIKE
Highlights of Trek Day 2:
- Seeing a kid run down the hill in front of us, puppy in tow, holding a schoolbook above his head to keep dry in the misty rain, heading toward school in Lares town.
- Learning Lewis was in a bodybuilding competition earlier this year, shortly before he put on headphones and left us all in the dust as he hiked ahead.
- Johnny finally drinking the beer I bought him on Day 1, which he brought with him all the way to the peak.
- Telling My Queer Story to Connie to distract from how tired she was on the final stretch.
- The baby alpaca that surprised us during a photo-op (please cycle through that sequence in the album, it’s so worth it).
We got to our Day 2 campsite just before sundown, so Connie and I quickly ran to the nearby stream for bucket showers. There wasn’t great cover, so I tried washing one half of my body at a time, which just led to me spilling my hot water, and having to use the stream (it was ~45 F outside, and the water was colder).
I finally got our herding dogs comfortable enough with me to let me pet them, then had a brief moment of stargazing before stormclouds came in and covered the sky.
The third day was fairly straightforward: a delicious breakfast and surprise mountain-baked-cake, an educational stop at an old Inca site, and a nice farewell lunch with our crew. The hike was really short and really easy, on account of our extra distance the day before.
After a quick stop at a local chicheria, we enjoyed a relaxing train ride to Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Town. It was wild to see how much the geography changed on a short ride.
In an instance of cosmic cruelty, our room was in the 5th floor of a hotel near the very top of the hillside town, so we had one last hike – WITH our duffel bags now – before we could rest.
But unfortunately, I have this insatiable need to Do As Much As I Can. So instead of resting, I grabbed my swimsuit and met up with Anna Lena, a German girl from our group who opted not to do either hike, instead enjoying a pleasant stay in Cusco with Fredy.
We went to the titular Aguas Calientes (hot springs), which sadly were much less luxurious than the ones in Colca Canyon – think more “crowded public pool” than “relaxing spa retreat”. Although they weren’t as hot either, we had a nice soak, then I took one of the longest showers of my life when I got back to the hotel, and had SUCH a good night’s sleep.
Day 37 – Machu Picchu
The main feature of the trip. Anna Lena, Connie, Fredy and I started from the hotel and took a bus up to the top of the mountain; our companions were reaching the Sun Gate, the last crest of their hike to Machu Picchu. We had a wonderful reunion after our separate tours of the ruins (Connie and I were sadly separated too), and lunch when we all got back to the town.
Not much to say about the ruins – they’re cool, mostly still mysterious, the architecture and astrology of ancient civilizations never cease to amaze me, and all that. The mountain range surrounding them, though, was unlike anything I’d ever seen.
And we were so lucky to get such clear and sunny weather, especially this time of year. Like the Red Valley, photos don’t do it justice, but I hope to see it again someday, to climb the mountains themselves.
We got back to Cusco that night, so as the Inca Trail hikers all crashed, Connie and I went out for some incredible street burgers.
Day 38 – Cusco Pt. 2 (Oct 28)
I should mention now that on one of the bus rides around Arequipa, I had convinced Fredy to go in for a tattoo pact, and both get new ones on this trip. 4 others ended up going in on it too, so Preethi and I (and later one couple) went to the tattoo studio Fredy recommended, to schedule them for later that day.
Then we met up with friends to see the Saqsaywaman Inca ruins at the top of Cusco. Preethi and I convinced our group to take a public bus (actual public bus this time, but in Peru that’s actually a private bus? People just like run their own transit there, it’s wild), then when it dropped us off much further than we wanted, Preethi and I broke off for some mediocre lunch, then I spent most of the rest of the night getting a tattoo.
That night was karaoke night at the hostel, and our last night in Cusco, so naturally we had to participate. That turned into another night out with Fredy, but we turned back after about an hour (the club was so loud and so hot). Was it a good idea to do karaoke and clubbing with a fresh tattoo? Did it scab and heal poorly in one spot, likely as a result? Who’s to say. What I do know is, I had a good night with friends.
Day 39 – Puno Pt. 1 (Oct 29)
Another mostly travel day: 8 hours on a bus from Cusco to Puno, a quick hotel freshen-up, then an orientation walk of the city and dinner (at an italian place – but Preethi and I split off for ramen and curry).
Day 40 – Lake Titicaca (Oct 30)
The day was adventure start-to-finish, beginning with rickshaw rides to the docks, followed by a boat ride to a floating island, a real island, and then a tiny farming village on a peninsula, to play high-altitude soccer and lose to an eight-year-old named Joshua, then dress up and copy a cultural dance.
This was a Local Living (TM) moment from the tour company, in the lakeside village of Luquina Chico.
Everyone was hosted overnight by a different family in the village. My usual roommate Guro (SWE) and I were housed with a sweet old Aymara woman named Sofía and her husband José.
We helped chop potatoes for dinner, where I devoured two servings, and Sofia said it was the first time in years someone ate more than one portion, and that it made her very happy. (Side note: we were warned in advance to not feel obligated to finish the large portions of dinner. I found them to be typical American sizes, and I was very hungry from all the activity).
Day 41 – Puno Pt. 2 (Visa Scramble + Halloween)
After helping flatten dough for breakfast, Guro and I ‘helped’ (followed along a path) José herd their sheep down to the coast to graze. Then I had my pre-booked Kayaking trip with 4 others from our group, which was nice, but I wished I had more time to hike around the village.
As luck would have it, I forgot to note what Sofia’s house looked like from the outside when I left that morning, so I DID get a chance to explore the village as I asked strangers “dónde está la casa de Sofía?”.
After one last meal at our houses, we said goodbye to our hosts and left back for Puno.
We made a brief stop to jump into the lake to ‘cleanse bad energy’ (very cold, very fun), and as we were approaching Puno, Fredy told me he had just remembered something. American citizens need an additional visa to enter Bolivia, which we were doing the next day. “You got that, right?”
I did not got that. Nothing in my bookings said I needed it. So my first experience getting a visa was an interesting one…
Fredy more than earned his MVP status that evening as we power-walked through Puno: from the Bolivian embassy to a passport photo shop, a bank, a print shop, then back to the photo shop, and over to the embassy before they closed in an hour. Thanks to the clerk staying a few minutes past close, we got the visa processed and I was (hopefully) cleared to enter Bolivia the next morning.
When I found out I had to pay $160 USD on top of all this paperwork, I learned that this is the Bolivian government’s retaliation against the U.S. for its strict immigration and visa policies. Which is very fair tbh. So as someone who benefits from America’s imperialism in that I have never needed a visa to travel before, this was a reasonable ask.
Once that was settled, it was HALLOWEEN and I wanted to PARTY, so I showered my stress sweat off, made my best eyeliner cat whiskers, and went back for more ramen at the Japanese place. Most of the group were tired and went to bed early, so I ended up exploring the city and soaking in the celebration.
The city center was packed full of kids and their parents, running from store to store for candy (since there weren’t residences in the city center, they trick-or-treated at hotels and restaurants and print shops and banks and such). I took in the vibes, got some dessert, and eventually met up with Fredy, Preethi, and Rob who were the only ones keen on dancing that night.
We ended up at Positive Rock n’ Reggae, a small bar with an ideal level of grunge. Since we were the only ones dancing, we directed the “DJ” (bartender playing youtube videos) to play Halloween bangers, and had a great time dancing.
Unfortunately, the night ended quite badly for me. I made some poor judgements (impaired by several tequila shots) and got myself into a scary situation! Thankfully, I was able to stay physically safe, and Preethi was there for support afterward. But my feelings on this day are mixed, to say the least.
Days 42 – Bolivia Border Crossing
This was a really rough day. I’m grateful it was mostly a travel day. My friends assumed I was hungover (I was, but it was mostly my dissociating they were noticing). We crossed the border without issue (though Fredy had to pretend to not be with us – Bolivian borders, like Mexico, sometimes gives tour leaders trouble). In La Paz, we had a brief turnaround at our hotel, then an orientation walk and very late lunch at an English Pub (I didn’t pick it…).
Since this was the last official night of the tour, we all agreed to meet up for drinks and goodbyes. I think I prefer getting to say goodbye to people individually as they turn in for the night, rather than one big goodbye to everyone at once. By the end of the night, a small group of us went out to dance, and I gave my ‘last’ goodbyes to them before heading to bed.
Day 43 – Death Road Mountain Biking
So this was both the last day of my trip, and the first day of the next leg of the All-South-America journey some of my friends were on. So some people and I, including Fredy, ended our travels in La Paz, while everyone else got new group members and continued toward Argentina and Brazil. On this free day, we were offered an optional day-long mountain biking trip down Death Road, infamous for steep windy curves and historical vehicular accidents.
Guro, Preethi, Connie, Vicki (AUS) and I spent 5ish hours following our guide through rocky turns, waterfalls, and amazing vistas. It was genuinely difficult, as well as physically taxing, which meant I LOVED it – it reminded me of my motocross days as a kid! Maybe it’s the ADHD, but there’s something about brain-focused full-body physical activity that just Clicks with me. This, and all the boat travel this trip, inspired me to build more of it into my life.
On the long bus ride back to La Paz, I began preparing for my 3AM flight back to the U.S. As I looked through my email for my flight confirmation, I saw emails with my boarding information and gate. “It’s weird they know the gate so early, huh?” I checked the timestamps, to my horror.
I had already missed my flights back home that morning.
For whatever reason, I thought these 3AM flights were listed by the previous date (because they were later ‘that night’?). And I was so confident in my own organization system (google calendar) that I never stopped to double-check the date after booking. Needless to say it was a stressful rest of the ride back home, especially with no cell service to try to resolve it. Thanks to my friend Kristen, who I was staying with in Chicago, I was able to send texts and get options for my flights.
After a futile call with my bank’s travel service, I paid for tickets for the actual flight I wanted at 3AM that night. I got to crash and shower in Connie & Preethi’s room while they had their Welcome Meeting for the next leg of the trip. Preethi and I went out for one last stroll and drinks, then I had a tearful goodbye with her and Connie, before taking a cab to the airport.
4. Conclusions
I wanted to put together some of my final thoughts and takeaways from this trip, which for context was:
- The day I moved out of my apartment in Ohio
- 1 month after quitting my job
- 6 months after selling my house
- 9 months after my ex moved out
- 16 months after deciding to divorce
- My first time ever south of the U.S.
- The longest trip I’ve ever taken, by twice the duration
- The first period of deliberate unemployment in my life
- The day after I said goodbye to my Columbus Community of 8 years
My adventures through these countries were obviously life-changing. Mostly in ways I expected: opening my eyes to new places, peoples, cultures, history, geography, and nature. But the real substance of this trip was in the unexpected:
- Adjusting to life away from home, life on the move, and life by myself
- Continuing to re-author myself in this new phase of my life, as I introduce myself over and over
- Learning from my fellow travelers, gaining perspective, wisdom, and inspiration from their experiences
- Building my “global network” with such incredible people, many of whom would be happy to host me along future travels
- Broadening my perspective on tourism and travel as they intersect with culture, economics, and technological development.
As fun as the trip was, a good deal of it was spent pondering, dwelling, and dare I say wallowing, in the loss of the life I had before. I know I chose this path, and I am still excited to see where it takes me, but it’s been difficult to accept the tradeoffs. I want financial stability, my own living space, and friends nearby; but I also want constant variety, and to live all over the world. I want deep connection, love, and trust; but I don’t want to intertwine my life with another person. I want everything and none of the bad that comes with it. So I am grateful to every one of my travel companions, as they all let me ramble, rant, and reminisce about my sorrows and joys.
Finally, some reflections… On Reflections
I like being able to share my thoughts, experiences, and jokes with people, especially those I am close to. I started these travel posts in the hopes of keeping all my loved ones up-to-date on my life, without having to rely on social media, or individually texting these mini-essays to friends. But the time it took to remember, review journals, write summaries, select photos, and organize shared links, has been great for really internalizing this trip in my memory. Especially since so much happened during my travels, it’s been great to have this space to unpack it more gradually over time.
I think in the future, I’ll adjust how I write these, the level of detail I include, and hopefully spend less time on each post. I have a lot of other plans for this website and my life updates, and now that this MASSIVE trip has been thoroughly documented, I plan to continue with periodic life updates from my move to the Netherlands, and updates/additions to the website (I still haven’t posted any of my art!)
To those of you who read through all these posts: thank you so much, it really means the world to me. I always appreciate confirmation that I’m not writing to the void, so feel free to text me, or leave a comment here. If you’d like to start from the beginning, I’ve added this Table of Contents to each post so you can quickly move between them. I also created an album of this entire trip, so you can see even more photos than I posted here (1100+): https://photos.app.goo.gl/oMGR5vmyJHW1tErh6
💜 Ada
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