Monday, May 30, 2011

My trip to Peru - Machu Picchu and The Amazon

Hi everyone. Sorry for the last of posts, I've been backpacking in Peru for the last 2 weeks. It's been a tiring trip of 3am starts, camping, cold showers/no showers and high altitudes but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Here are some pictures Id like to share with you. Bear in mind, I was backpacking. For more of the trip I was wearing minimal to no makeup. By the end of the trip I was severely sleep deprived, so I'm going to look pretty rough in some of these pics!

*All the pics can be enlarged by clicking on them*


Boat trip on Lake Titicaca, located high in the Andes.


Me with our guide, and a new friend from the group


Tequila Island


The most amazing lunch ever. Was in love with the view.



My husband and I and the rest of the group. Was such a great mix of people from all over the world, and we all grew close during the trip.


Our 3 walled accommodation in The Amazon. The 4th wall is the jungle. No electricity, no hot water. Creatures found in our room included:
- a bug the size of my palm with super long antennae
- a mouse watching my husband shower


It got dark by 6pm, so we used our head torches for light or else shower in complete darkness.


The food was amazing. Always 3 courses, lunch and dinner.


The night walk was pretty creepy. You never know what's lurking at you feet. Above is a wild Rainbow Boa. I mustered enough courage (stupidity?) to touch it. Below is a Wandering Spider. The most venomous spider in the world.


As creeped out as I was about the night walk, I still enjoyed it. We also got to see Bullet Ants which have the most painful bite known to man. Our guide also switched off his torch to render us in complete darkness for a minute to fully experience the amazon at night. It was wonderful! My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and I felt like I was seeing the world in a new light. Like I was in the movie Avatar or something...


Children living in the Andes. So cute. They have to grow up fast though. The older girl is about 3 years old and already has to look after her little sister while their parents are out farming.


More adorable children.


Day 1 of our 3 day trek up the Andes. (Though we trekked so fast we finished a day early-yay!)


The view was spectacular, and made the hard trek really enjoyable.


Me at the second pass of the trek. 4600m above sea level. A few of us were horsing around until the rest of the group arrived.

Me in glasses in our tent. All vanity went out the window during this trip to Peru. I found myself bespectacled and makeupless a lot.

Finally we arrived at Machu Picchu. Such a beautiful sight, the whole place felt 'otherworldly'.



As if we hadn't had enough of hiking, we climbed up Wayna Picchu. In the above pic (with my husband in red) you can see what a steep climb it is. In the Incan days, Wayna Picchu was the spot of a guard tower for Machu Picchu.



Our group resting at the peak of Wayna Picchu, surrounded by clouds.



More pics to illustrate how steep it is. Sorry if we all look a bit rough, we've been camping for the last few days and have been up since 3am.

Husband on the edge of the abyss.



Machu Picchu is behind me covered by cloud. Have better pictures of the aerial view of Machu Picchu that I forgot to put up!





More pics of us exploring the great city.



We sat here for ages just enjoying the view (and recovering from our hike up Wayna Picchu). You can see Wayna Picchu in this pic, it's the tall peak behind.





For me this trip was a great experience. It was amazing to see places like Machu Picchu and the Amazon. We also got the stay with a local family in a small native island community (complete with frogs in the bedroom and toads in the bathroom). We learned the basics of the indigenous language of Aymara so we could speak to them. I learned alot from this trip and now no longer take the little things for granted like; running water, having a bathroom, and having a bedroom without frogs.

I also spent my birthday in The Sacred Valley (or Urubamba Valley of the Andes), which was a truly memorable experience.


36 comments:

  1. It looks like you had an amazing time! I don't often here about people taking trips to the Amazon or visiting Machu Picchu, so your trip is particularly interesting & I love your photographs. Especially the one where you're jumping in the air - it's surreal!

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  2. The view of Machu Picchu looks so amazing!!! Ah, your whole trip looked like so much fun. It made me want to backpack too, something I've never really thought about :)
    & whoaa 3 walled accomodation sounds pretty interesting. It'd be cool being so close to nature, but I'd be scared of all the creepy crawlies haha.

    x

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  3. OOOH MY GOOOSH. u really went to macchupicchu? I've been really2 wanting to be there! >___________< what a lovely lovely pic u've got here. I wish I could take a trip to peru too someday =)

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  4. Ahh it looks amazing! I'm scared of heights so I couldn't possibly do it myself haha.. I do love Latin America, I used to live in Venezuela and loved it :) Love the 3 walled hotel too, the wildlife is incredible!

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  5. Wow that's amazing! I personally don't think I could do this myself! xx

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  6. Thank you. Following you too. :D

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  7. Wow I'm so jealous! Looks like you had a really lovely time xx

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  8. Beautiful! What a great vacation. I have never hiked in the Andes, but I do my share of through hikes, and I bet I know exactly how you felt when you had your first hot shower. I practically screamed when I finally had mine. ;-) I must say, those accommodations looked quite luxe. And not having to prepare oatmeal over an open fire was a bonus! I could do without critters the size of my palm, though.

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  9. AMAZING!!! surely u had a magical time in the amazon and machu picchu! thank you for sharing some of your wonderful photos, AMAZING Penelope! AMAZEEEENG. ^______^

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  10. Wow! What an amazing experience!
    Your photos are amazing!
    You both are so brave to sit by the edge, I would be too scared! :P
    In saying that, I would love to do something like this :) Thank you for sharing! xxx

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  11. That looks SO lovely and beautiful! I can't wait to get out there and travel!

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  12. Wow, your pictures are so beautiful, I'm almost at a loss for words!!! The views are breathtaking and look like they're straight out of a postcard. The snakes and extremely venomous spiders and large chasms seem quite scary, but I'm sure it was really amazing adventure with all those mixed in. Seeing the children was a good reminder of how different and privileged my life is here. Thanks for sharing your trip, it really looks you had a great time.

    And how does your hair manage to look so good in every shot despite all that outdoorsy stuff? lol.

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  13. This looks like such an incredible trip! How did you plan it all out?

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  14. holy those pictures are so cool, and I've always wanted to go to Machu Picchu! the hiking pics look incredible with the mountains :D

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  15. Amaaaazing! Machu Picchu definitely is on my list of places to see before I die... so beautiful!

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  16. Those are amazing pictures and your trip to Peru must've been stunning. Looking at these photos reminds me of the National Geographic--especially the shots of those children, the views, and the mountain.

    You seem like a very interesting person--I've taken a look around your blog and really love it. I hope you don't mind me following you.

    JC
    www.makeupdiary.org

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  17. Amazing pics ! Ohhhh i'm so jealous with you <3

    I just followed u, and if u don't mind please folow me back :)

    xx

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  18. the pictures look amazing! =D and you don't look rugged at all because you're naturally beautiful. judging from the pictures it looks like you had an amazing time, creatures in your hotel room aside. x)

    and those kids look super cute too! :3

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  19. aw what beautiful pictures! The one of you sat with the mountain behind you is amazing!

    The 'bedroom without frogs' made me laugh :P

    Looks like you had a wonderful time, thanks for sharing xoxo

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  20. wooow... amazing trip
    yes OMG thats so creepy...
    i hope i can visit that wonderful place too

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  21. holy! those pics made me wanna go to peru's machu picchu <3 so surreal :D

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  22. The place looks beautiful and I love the nature pictures! I would be scared to sleep outdoor after reading there's bugs there! And the night walk, I think I would've backed out!!! Awww the babies are cute but its make me sad seeing them like that!

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  23. Oh my gosh, I love your blog! It's so charming! I have a friend that just came back from Macchu Picchu and I'm so jealous! It look wonderful and totally magical :)  I was hoping we could follow and friend each other! Thanks!
    <3eimi
    shiikwaasaababy.blogspot.com

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  24. these pictures are amazing!!!!!!! i can't believe how beautiful it is there! I'm completely jealous! looks like you had a great time!

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  25. Sounds like you had an amazing time even with the lack of facilities, I'd die without electricity sadly =[

    The scenery is amazing, will you partake in more backpacking trips in the future?

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  26. How gorgeous! Love the scenery, and those round-cheeked little ones are so cute.

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  27. great adventure. i wish to visit manchu picchu one day. not sure what i'll do when i see those bugs and amazon creatures. you still look fabulous without makeup. where can i find more info about the tour. your post makes it so tempting.

    ps: those black eggs taste just like any other hard boil egg. supposedly eating 1 egg will prolong your life by 7 years

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  28. even tho i'd love to visit surreal places like that, i'm sure i'd freak out at the sight of a snake -.-;;; kudos to your courage and guts!

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  29. Thank you for this enlightening post! I just found your blog! I can't believe I missed it! My youngest sister is headed to Peru right now- it looks amazing. I will probably never visit but felt like I got a mini tour with your wonderful photos and prose.

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  30. Fantastic post! I really enjoyed looking through all your beautiful photos and reading your descriptions. The views of Machu Picchu look absolutely stunning! Thanks for posting :)

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  31. lovely photos! :D seems like you guys had fun!great adventure.. and an inspiring post!

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  32. wow! this is an amazing vacation/experience!!! I've heard about the rooms in the jungle. People I know have found monkeys in their room when they woke up in the morning hahaaha

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  33. Just simply amazing! I admire you for having the guts to travel out there, I am too worried and anxious in such travels. I really want to see there one day...thanks for inspiring and showing us your amazing trip!

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  34. You look rough?! LIESS! You looked amazing! Seriously.

    The pictures of Machu Piccu were wow, wow wow! The view is to die for. Makes me wanna go there too. While I don't mind the trekking, no electricity, hot water etc. just seeing the bugs would have killed me off.

    Snakes I can handle, but venomous spiders, painful ants and perverted mouse? Uhhh...

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  35. Omg that trip looks amazing! Looks like you had quite an experience. I like how raw your trip is.

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  36. the holiday looks amazing and i want to soo one a holiday...need to save up..
    Mi-Mi
    x
    mi-miworld.blogspot.com/

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