I’m finally making some time to write about my adventure in Peru. I spent the majority of last week battling a cold/fever I caught from my friend who caught it on the trip, playing catch up with my course for work (still behind, although not as much compared to before I went away) and just getting back into the swing of things.
A little background info about the trip. I had turned 30 the beginning of September. I’m not much of a party person and not really one to go out and celebrate my birthdays. I do it more for the sake of other people who want to celebrate it. I went to NYC last year to celebrate my bday. I think I’m starting to have a tradition of travelling somewhere to celebrate my bday. Lauren from L Bee and the Money Tree mentioned I often go on BOMB-ASS trips. I live a pretty boring day-to-day life. I rarely go out, rarely see my friends, family and bf because I’ve made my life so busy. I am a self-confessed workaholic. I guess I make up for it by going on BOMB-ASS trips. This was definitely the most BOMB-ASS of them, thus far.
So why Peru? Why Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas? Because it was something different, because it would definitely challenge me and I would be out of my comfort zone. Because it was a completely different country on a completely different continent where I knew I would be in for a culture shock. Most of all, because it was going to be an exciting adventure, something I had been longing for, for quite some time.
As luck would have it, the adventure travel site, Intrepid, had a 2 for 1 deal to Peru. Bring a friend along to Peru. When I saw that deal, I thought this was meant to be. Although the trip was laid out for us, there was still some preparation to be done. I went to the travel doctor to get my shots for Hepatitis A, Measles/Mumps/Rubella and Typhoid fever. I could barely move one of my arms after that. Got some medication for high altitude sickness and traveller’s diarrhea. Tried to make sure I had packed everything according to Intrepid’s ultimate packing list. (That list was like 3-4 pages long).
Booked the longest flight ever.
Toronto to San Salvador, El Salvador. ~5.5 hour flight
5 hour layover.
San Salvador to Lima, Peru. ~5 hour flight
5 hour layover.
Lima to Cusco, our final destination. ~ 1.5 hour flight
Thoughts? Sleeping in an airport sucks. I could still hear the announcements through my earplugs. With the 5 hour layovers, I had time to practice my Spanish and do some Sudoku and word searches. However, I will never book a flight with that many stops in order to save money. I will fork over the extra few hundred dollars and fly direct. TRUST ME. Your body will thank you for the extra time and rest needed to acclimatize before you embark on a physically demanding 4 day hike. Emphasis on the physically demanding. Mind you, I found it to be emotionally and mentally draining as well, but more on that later.
Next stop: Cusco and adjusting to the high altitude. Pictures are coming, I swear!!
I can’t wait until I see pictures! sounds amazing!
Not even a single teaser picture yet? =) Do you know if Canadian vaccine schedules are different from USA schedules? Just wondering why you had to have a MMR… wouldn’t want to do that again anytime soon.
I have no clue. I just took a look at my immunization records and noticed that I had received the MMR vaccine after my 1st birthday. I had brought my immunization records with me to the travel clinic. And online resources say that immunity is lifelong. I guess he didn’t look at it? Maybe I needed another dose? 😛
I agree on the travel times. When I was 20, I could drive 6 hours to catch a plane that made three stops with long layovers. Now I just want to get there. I would love to go to Peru someday. Can’t wait to see pictures.
I can’t wait to see the pictures either. I’ve always wanted to go to Peru myself. Perhaps after retirement and the kids are out of the house. I agree with the travelling, trying to sleep in an airport is terrible.
Wow – 2 for 1 deal? That sounds awesome..
It does sound great! That’s an awesome way to live life…with bomb-ass trips. I had a flight back from Europe once that was hell. I got stuck at every layover, and my final leg was supposed to be a bus route. Missed the bus until the next morning. The hotel I stayed at had no power due to a snow storm. Left Europe and got to my house 3 days later after the time difference.
OMG. That does sound like hell. :S
Ha! At the airport on our way home on our trip we saw a guy lying fully sprawled on the floor, asleep. We think he was probably the guy being paged repeatedly. I just don’t know how that happens – I guess fatigue conquers all after a certain point.
I would also add hunger to the list. 😛
So jealous! I can’t wait to read more!
I’ve always wanted to go to Machu Picchu. Will you be sharing any photos? Maybe just shots without anyone in them if you are looking to preserve identity 🙂
Painful layovers! 🙁 5 hours isn’t long enough to see the city and not short enough to pass by quickly.
Exactly! The 5 hours went by quite painfully slow!