Sand, sun and snow in the Andes
1 August 2024.
Today, 1 August, we ticked off our first big milestone – six months since we left Australia to travel the world. That’s six months without a team meeting. Six months without having to iron a shirt. Six months without hearing that hideous Microsoft Teams ringtone (unless you switched it to the remix - those who know, know).
We celebrated our six months with a three-day trek through Colca Canyon - one of the five deepest canyons in the world and double the depth of the Grand Canyon. Although it’s not about the size of your canyon, but how you trek it . . . youknowwhatimean?
Day one is hiking down around 1,000 metres in elevation. Day two is a gentle three hour walk along the canyon floor. While day three is a 6km hike back out (again gaining around 1,000 metres of elevation). It’s not for the faint of heart as you’re sliding across volcanic rock half the time but it’s worth it to see huge condors circling overhead while you soak in the hot spring-fed pool in the tiny village at the base of the canyon at the end of the day.
But what are the key takeaways and titbits from the last six months?
When you see a cheap place to do washing . . . do your damn washing.
Don’t get your hopes up when it comes to coffee, you’ll be disappointed far more frequently than you’ll be impressed. In fact quitting before you leave Australia is probably the best bet.
Schedule in snack buying time before your bus rides. Nothing like a 13 hour night bus on an empty stomach.
And with that, here is last month’s little visual aid:
Closing remarks on Ecuador
Those who read last month’s newsletter know that I was waxing romantic about Ecuador and that certainly isn’t going to change in this edition either. Ecuador really is THAT GIRL.
We started this month with our last few days in the Galápagos. Which, I could try to say more about but honestly my advice is that you need to see it for yourself. Me? The writer of this newsletter refusing to put my experience into words? how novel.
It’ll cost you some coin but trust me you won’t regret it when you’re snorkelling with hammerheads and swimming alongside orcas. I give the Galápagos Islands . . .
After the Galápagos we made our way back to Quito for some well deserved rest. Our highlight of Quito: Round 2 was probably the Otavalo market – the largest in South America. Centred around the aptly named ‘Plaza de los Ponchos’ you’ll never see more ponchos in one place ever in your life.
While I was happy to go without the South American wardrobe staple, someone else was a little bit obsessed and will be debuting this around the streets of Wollongong in the near future:
We then left Quito for another exquisite spot – Cotopaxi. Named for the 5,800 metre high volcano, Cotopaxi National Park is dotted with volcanoes, waterfalls, glaciers and a plethora of hikes to explore each day.
Our hostel, part occupied by a herd of llamas, had a direct view of the volcano – with plenty of hammocks to chill out and take it all in. With wifi only available for an hour a day, it was the perfect place to disconnect and relax after what had been some stressful/busy weeks in Colombia.
Best of all? The hostel is home to five dogs who chill out with you by the fire each night. During the day though they’re busy accompanying you on hikes. Evidence below:
Hiking up to base camp though was the definitive highlight. It was windy, icy, dusty but perfect. Nothing slaps harder than a hot chocolate at 4,864 metres. No walking back down for this diva though, instead we hired mountain bikes and flew down the volcano – squeezing the brakes for dear life the whole way.
Per-what? Per-who? Peru.
We started our Peru journey in weird and wonderful Lima. Known locally as grey Lima due to the daily cloud cover, we hadn’t heard many people rave about it.
The city itself is huge, with a population of around 11 million people or about 1 in every 3 Peruvians, so once you’re in your neighbourhood it’s not easy to move around. Staying in Miraflores, a neighbourhood popular with ex-pats and tourists, we were able to make the most of our time in the Peruvian capital.
We watched the Copa America final in the street with a few hundred other supporters. We met Duo while exploring the oceanfront boulevards. And we enjoyed wandering through Kennedy Park, where the stray cats are provided with custom cat hotels and the locals host nightly dance circles.
It's an odd city, while it’s so big there doesn’t feel like there is that much to see or do. We did enjoy our fair share of ceviche and pisco sours though before heading further down south.
Our first foray into the desert
With the cold water of the Humboldt current having a chokehold on the weather patterns in coastal Peru, the whole coastline south of Lima is drier than a nun’s nasty. At most they get about 2mm of rain a year with some areas in Peru having had no rain in close to 500 years. What the means though is nothing but stunnin’ backdrops to explore.
We started our mini desert tour on the coast in Paracas, exploring the National Reserve for 35km on push bikes for the day. Facing the water, there’s nothing on the horizon but the Pacific. And when you turn around there’s nothing on the horizon but desert. It’s surreal. Like a Dali painting come to life.
Given the lack of moisture to damage them, El Museo de Sitio Julio C. Tello hosts some of the best-preserved artefacts from the region. Walking through the gallery you can see perfectly preserved embroidery and pottery from over 2,000 years ago, presented alongside elongated skulls and bundles of blankets containing mummified corpses that were found buried deep in the desert.
We then left Paracas for Huacachina – South America’s only natural oasis. The small oasis is encircled almost entirely by hostels and restaurants which are then themselves completely encircled in towering sand dunes, some of which reach up to 500 metres.
It’s touristy, but it’s touristy for a reason. There’s not that many places you get the chance to speed headfirst down a dune on a sandboard. Or race across the sand, jumping across the dunes in a 10 seat buggy. Sunsets here are particularly beautiful and it almost feels like a pilgrimage to climb up the dunes outside of town to catch the sun drop down over the endless desert on the horizon. While pricy – it’s a unique part of the world that’s worth seeing.
Other highlights this month
After Cotopaxi we headed to Baños, the adventure capital of Ecuador. With huge landslides occurring in the weeks beforehand, the town was definitely quiet. While the rafting was off limits due to even more landslides that day, we were able to make the most of the hot springs and ziplining still available. We also were able to explore Pailon del Diablo – an enormous waterfall a short bus ride out of town. While we’ve seen a lot of waterfalls on the trip so far this was definitely the most powerful.
While our drag tour faced a drag drought in Ecuador we came back strong in Lima – heading to the same club two nights in a row in Miraflores. After being inundated with reggaeton in Colombia it was sweet relief to dance to Gaga in the club.
trend alert: not tucking . . .
Peru’s second biggest city Arequipa is only a tenth the size of Lima, and like Lima, it isn’t overflowing with things to see outside of the picturesque white walls of the old town. That being said, we did take the opportunity to go rafting for less than $20 AUD. Never a bad time, I’m happy to declare my love for rafting (my second rafting experience after British Colombia). I’m a rafting girlie and that is just how it is now.
Kusi’s Korner
Far out, another month already. This edition marks six months that we’ve been away, which is absolute madness! I thought we’d do a quiz to celebrate this milestone (and to see if you have been paying attention). All the answers are from past editions of the newsletter (looking them up isn’t cheating) - first to email me with all 10 questions correctly wins, not sure what but something. My email is kusi88@me.com, make sure you mark the subject as “Kusi’s Korner Kwik Kwiz” otherwise I will NOT accept your answers 😛
What was the very first thing that went wrong on our travels?
What was my highlight for the month of February?
How many taxis/tuktuks did we take in the month of March?
Was I or was I not wearing the same shirt when we left Sydney in February and April?
Which country did we visit after Laos, and who was it to see?
What was the reason we were back in Aus in April?
What is the unusual deadly sin in Colombia?
What place in Colombia is my new favourite in the world (equal to Disneyland)?
What was the name of the track where we got lost in Ecuador?
What is the name of the market where I bought my poncho?
As always – here’s my little shoutout to the people that helped us make July fantastic:
Becca and Phillie – thanks for making my 33rd birthday in the Galápagos even more memorable!
Rory, Ben and Lockie for the chats and chills in Cotopaxi
Sarah and Darra for laughs over drinks and arepas in Baños
Noah in Lima for a great couple of days exploring the city
Chris, Allinson, Isabel, Sharon & Paddy for being our combined Irish/Peruvian squad in Huacachina
Mathieu in Huacachina and Arequipa – looking forward to more Pisco Sours when we catch up to you in Cusco.
We’re now off to enjoy Cusco before we start our five-day Machu Picchu hike next week – real bucket list kind of stuff you know? Machu pinch-me!
Lastly, remember what I always say – aim for the moon but be happy to land amongst the stars.
Fierce and love,
Spencer xoxo.
P.S.
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