Peru: Part 3 (Finally!)

Hello everybody!

Sorry I've been MIA for a while! It's really a lot of work to do each of these posts (like 10+ hours!) and I just haven't found the time lately. I've been busy with work (yay!) and we've had a lot of activities going on - hikes, concerts, cinco de Mayo, Cirque du Soleil, camping, brewery bus tours, and more!  All of which I'm also behind on sharing! Regardless, I'm happy to bring you the third and final installment of our trip to Peru - day in Cusco and the jungle. Enjoy!

DAY 11 - EXPLORING CUSCO

After a long 4 days on the trail, we were looking forward to an easy day in Cusco. We slept in a bit, had a nice breakfast and then hit the streets. 

Cusco is a city that is very proud of their Incan heritage. There are murals and statues and such all over telling the story of the Inca reign and the Spanish conquest. Here is one such large mural on one of the main streets. 

The city is also located in a valley - which means there are great views of the mountains all around. I loved the old architecture and roof tops. 

In the afternoon, we went inside the Coricancha - a church that used to be the Inca temple of the sun. The spanish built a Catholic church over it but the original Incan architecture remains. It was really beautiful. 

Shortly after, it started pouring - it rains all the time in Cusco! We found a little cafe to hide out in and enjoy a little happy hour. 

We got the 2 for 1 special - two Machu Picchus and two Pisco Sours. The Machu Picchus were the rainbow colored drinks and they were horrible. Yuck. The pisco sours were really strong but not too bad. 

Later that night we met up with the group for dinner and then went out for some local music with Nuri. I LOVE going to local music places in other countries - it is so much fun! We danced the night away and had a great time. 

See a little video of the fun here.

DAY 12 - PUERTO MALDONADO

The next morning we took a short flight to Puerto Maldonado, a small port city located in the Amazon region of Peru. We  could see the river flying in. 

As soon as we got off the plane we realized we were not in the Andes anymore! It was SO HOT. We were dripping with sweat within minutes of arriving. It was like a miserable humid Atlanta summer day. Ugh. Horrible. We were picked up by a bus and then had to take a 2 hour boat ride to get to the lodge. Man, the breeze on the boat felt amazing!

Here is a video of the boat ride.

Our guide Elvis (yes, Elvis) was a "local jungle boy" and he helped us spot wildlife along the way.  First - a family of turtles sunbathing. 

Then, a capybara on the river bank. Get a good picture Joey!

Around mid-afternoon, we reached the lodge and went to our little cabin to relax for a bit. 

Later that night, Elvis led us on a night walk.  We saw lots of creepy bugs and giant spiders - which was awesome right before bed...

DAY 13 - EXPLORING THE JUNGLE

After a light jungle breakfast, we all put on some mud boots and headed out for our morning walk. Elvis told us all about the plants and animals in the jungle. Check out the crazy roots on this tree!

We spotted some monkeys along the way. 

Some of the trees were so huge. Here is the group in front of a Kapok tree (the same tree from that children's book - anyone read that?)

And here is Joey inside of a Strangled Fig. These trees grow on top of others and then kill the host tree - making it hollow inside. So cool!

At some point, we reached a lake and canoed across. 

We saw a group of bats sleeping under a log. 

Then we fed the piranhas crackers (Who knew piranhas like crackers?).  Elvis told us not to worry though, apparently piranhas will only attack humans if they are really hungry in a very small body of water...

After our morning outing, we went back to the lodge to relax a bit. We spotted some more monkeys eating bananas right outside the dining hall. Hey monkeys!

And the lodge's "pet" parrot. They have really sharp claws!

In the afternoon, we took a short boat ride to a nearby jungle "farm." There was a beautiful rainbow over the trees. 

Elvis cut up the fresh fruit from the farm so we could all try it. We had starfruit, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, some nasty fruit, and a cocoa fruit (used to make chocolate - I didn't know chocolate came from a fruit!!) The lemon was the most delicious lemon I've ever had in my life.

Then we walked through the "fields" - this wasn't like any farm I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot of farms!

After the farm, we took a quick dip in the river (not the smartest idea - sorry CDC! but we were so hot!) 

And then went out on a caiman search after dinner. Caimans are small reptiles from the aligator family. Elvis was AMAZING at spotting these little guys!

See the creepy eye!? How in the world did he see that from across the river?

DAY 14 - HEADING HOME

The last day was full of travel. We woke up early to pack up our things and say goodbye to Elvis and the river lodge. 

Then we took a miserable 3 hour boat ride in the rain back to the port at Puerto Maldonado. 

We took a short flight back to Lima, stopping in Cusco, then went out for a final dinner with the group in Lima. Here we are on the combi bus again. 

After dinner we said goodbye to Nuri and headed to the airport for our midnight flight home. I'm really going to miss Nuri. She was awesome!

We got upgraded to first class again and had access to the lounge. Here Joey is enjoying his complementary Johnny Walker Black Label scotch. Life is good in first class!

Twelve hours later, with a stop in Houston, we arrived safely in San Diego. Whew, what a trip!!

So that's it! That's our whole trip to Peru! It was one of the best trips we've ever taken. (Although, I did pick up a parasite while there and spent the next two weeks at home feeling pretty sick.)  I was really surprised how much I liked traveling with a small group. I will definitely look to Gap for future trips. 

See the full album of part 3 here: