My three week Peruvian life

Our first stop. Peru. The country that set our adventure in motion. The flights were rough (like I always say....the hardest part is getting there) but the adrenaline and excitement hit once we felt the hot wind and humidity of Lima. Camden and I were giddy with excitement. We couldn't believe we were actually in Peru and starting our journey.The thing with traveling is one must always be flexible. Prepared for the unknown. And so as life had it, we met some amazing new friends, hopped on an overnight bus (something we would have to get used to if we wanted to see all of Peru in three weeks) and set off. We saw so many amazing sights and participated in so many incredible things along the way.In Nazca (a huge farming city and home to the nazca lines), we went through the dunes on buggies and visited ancient pyramids, a local nazca cemetery and went sandboarding down the dunes (my video of that experience is up on YouTube!). We participated in a Pachamanca; an Andean ceremony which gives thanks to Mother Earth for providing us with food. The food from the pachamanca was to die for. So fresh and organic!! It was an honor to be part of something so sacred. It was also very humbling and a good reminder of how fortunate we are, and what a shame it is we take so much for granted.In Arequipa, we were given the day to explore. Camden and I wandered thorough the beautiful city. There was so much Spanish colonial influence; it was interesting to see how so much could change city to city based on the history of their people. We went with our new friends to an incredible rooftop bar where we enjoyed Pisco Sours (a new favorite for me) and had some great talks getting to know one another. I love meeting other travelers who share the same goal: to experience and explore. Learning all about their lives back home and the culture that comes along with that is something I always look forward to with travel. We spent the rest of the night together. A highlight was going to a famous restaurant Tanta, where I had the Peruvian dish, Gallína. yes, yes, yes. If you go there, get it. It's amazing.Chivay is where I first laid eyes on the alpacas, llamas and vicuñas!!! Needless to say I was ecstatic! The bus ride up was a bit brutal due to our first introduction to extreme altitude. We were 14,000ft above sea level and oh, could we feel it. The locals gave us coco leaves in different forms to help us cope with the elevation. As we were driving along the mountain side we noticed thousand of rock pilings. Some where incredibly tall. We were informed that the local mountain people were making these as an offering to Mother Earth. They believed that by doing so, the Apus, or the spirit of the mountains would protect them. The mountains we were surrounded by were said to be sacred, so we paid our respects and headed down to the valley where we would be staying the night. The day was not over here, we stumbled upon a peruvian buffet where i ate alpaca! And it was great! We walked around the small city of Chivay and Camden got to play some soccer (fútbol) with some local kids. We headed down to the local hot springs where we got to relax a little with an incredible scenery. Today was a great day.The next morning, we woke up very early in hopes to see Andean condors... and we lucked out! This time of year it's very difficult to see the condors and we were lucky enough to see 30! After our time at condor cross we went to colca canyon. Beautiful scenery to say the least. To capture something so vast was next to impossible. The rest of the day we were on a bus to Cusco :| so that's the end of that.We finally arrived in Cusco after our last overnight bus (thank god). After cleaning up and feeling humane again, we walked around the city. I can honesty say I LOVE THIS CITY. It literally took my breath away (especially with all the inclines in the elevation). We were led to a local restaurant where they had a traditional folklore show, as well as traditional (and out of the ordinary) Peruvian food. All the food was amazing and surprisingly I tried bull testicles and Guinea pig. And yes, they were both good. Camden and I spent the rest of the day wandering around the beautiful streets of Cusco. The brown cathedrals to our backs, the amazing fountain the the middle of the square, the lady selling tamales on the corner. Everything was perfect. The altitude was a killer, calling for constant breaks and an ice cream stops but it was nothing compared to what was in store for us the next few days.The next day, we headed out of Cusco to be part of a home stay in the mountains of Peru. The people here are unbelievable beautiful. Our time here was one of a kind and I am so incredible glad we were able to be a part of their daily routine. ( check out my separate blog on my homestay)!!!From the home stay we went to the city Ollaytaytambo, to stay over night, explore the city and prepare for our first day on the inca trail. The city was great, we got to see old incan streets and how the people live in those communities! They had Guinea pigs all over their house as well as kittens and puppies! Needless to say an unexpected moment of pure joy. We had some dinner with friends and watched a lightning storm from the balcony of our hotel. Great way to spend a day before a long and enduring four day trek.The following four days were spent on the Inca Trail and marveling at Machu Picchu. Check out my separate blog about those experiences!!After visiting Machu Picchu, we arrived back to Cusco in the late evening. We all decided to go out and celebrate our achievements by going to a local bar and dancing the night away. We were definitely exhausted, but how many times can you celebrate hiking the inca trail and making it to Machu Picchu?! Exactly.The following night it was time to say goodbye to our new friends while we stayed behind in Cusco (with Adam and Anniken) and enjoyed the oldest city in South America for 5 more days.And then, we slept and slept and slept and slept.After our much needed R&R, we headed out into the city to see the local lifestyle of everyday Cusco. And boy did we see some things....protestors about diseases, protesters about the government, sidewalk priests preaching to large crowds while neighboring blocks were seen gambling and drinking Chicha beer (corn beer). It was quite a sight. Back at the hostel we participated in karaoke, pub quizzes and beer pong. **warning I'm about to brag** Anniken and I owned the hostel and took our prize of a free night's stay after three hours of beer pong tournaments!!! Booooooooo yah. It was a great experience and I was so incredibly thankful we still had some time to spend with our new friend Adam and Anniken. It was such a fun few days together and really made our Peruvian experience even better.Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And our time in Peru was up. Camden, Adam, Anniken and I went to a fancy shamncy dinner while we talked about future plans meeting up and what we were looking forward to in our travels after Peru (we were all traveling for extended periods of time). Saying goodbye while traveling is weird. It's not about the length of time we knew these people, it was the undeniable bond we formed while living in such close quarters. It felt like saying goodbye to an old friend (that you may or may not see again). But I'm confident we will meet again! We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I can not thank our new friends enough for their friendship, we will always cherish you :)We made it way back down to Lima and stayed two days at the Regatas Club. It was BEAUTIFUL! A huge Thank you to Justo family for extending their generosity to us and allowing us to experience this once in a lifetime experience!! The beach was amazing and I had the BEST lomo saltado while overlooking the ocean and the Skyline of Lima. These two days was a very nice mix up from the other activities we were doing.All in all, Peru was incredible. What I wrote was only a snapshot into the experiences we have encountered. I highly recommend traveling to Peru, it does not need to be lengthy as mine, as this whole country has beautiful and diverse things to offer.In my following blog, I will relay travel tips I believe are handy while traveling in Peru.  Hope you all enjoyed this post!!To follow our journey in even more depth please check out our other social media outlets!Instagram:@christinabammbina @marlon_cramdo#boygirlandtheworldYouTube:https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCC9qwNoy9QSRXLHKgoKLHtw