Peru ❤️

Final report Peru

After spending a good three weeks in Peru, we would like to briefly summarize how we liked the country and what special features it had for us.

The people in Peru are very friendly and helpful. Many people in the larger towns speak English, so communication was often easy. And if not, our knowledge of Spanish was often enough :)

Peru is very diverse: it is located on the Pacific coast, has desert, the Andes and jungle. So there's something for everyone!

We can definitely recommend that if you want to go to Machu Picchu, starting from Cusco (altitude approx. 3,400 meters) you should slowly get used to the altitude so as not to run the risk of altitude sickness.

So it was optimal for us to first spend 5 days at an altitude of 2400 meters in Arequipa and then continue our journey. You also have to give yourself enough time to acclimatize. So we often didn't do much on the first day at a higher place. If you suffer from headaches and dizziness for more than a few hours, it may mean that you have to travel to lower altitudes again.

Our highlights were definitely Arequipa and Machu Picchu. In Arequipa the old town is really beautiful and you can go on really great excursions. We also clearly ate the best here :)Machu Picchu is simply impressive, but also correspondingly expensive. If you go there by train and have a tour guide on site, you pay around 270 euros per person for one day! We actually wanted to hike across the tracks (approx. 10 km), but this was not possible due to landslides, so we had to make the expensive excursion.

There is a lot to discover and do in Peru. Be it one of countless Inca buildings or simply the beautiful nature.

Now a few more facts:

- Since in many places there are only mini markets instead of supermarkets (equipped with drinks, snacks and sometimes fruit), it is often difficult to cook yourself. At prices of 5 - 8 euros per meal, eating out is often more worthwhile.

- There are no heaters, but in an emergency there is an extra blanket for the night (especially in the Andes it is warm during the day, but it gets cold at night), and warm showers are unfortunately a luxury and not always available

- In public toilets you don't have to pay for the use but for the toilet paper (often around 0.25 to 0.5 euros)

- while we're on the subject of toilet paper: due to the narrow pipes, you can't flush it down the toilet, you have to use the trash can. Definitely unusual for us Europeans

- Peru has a well-developed bus network with which you can get from A to B cheaply and often overnight in couchette buses

- We thought alpaca was tasty, but not really guinea pig

- Peruvian cuisine is very tasty, often with chicken or beef and rice and chips

- you shouldn't underestimate the height in the Andes, for us lowland Schleswigholsteiners, climbing stairs to over 3000 meters was a real challenge. Since the air contains significantly less oxygen, you should drink a lot and just relax a bit :)

- good shoes are a must! Not only because of the many hikes, but also because sidewalks are often badly damaged and uneven

- Unfortunately there is often a lot of rubbish in the area, there is a lack of responsibility for the environment, but there is also definitely a lack of sufficient rubbish bins

-In Peru you can pay by card (almost) everywhere!

We would definitely come back to this diverse, friendly country. Also because, for example, we haven't been to the jungle yet. So if you're ever around the corner, stop by Peru!

Best regards

Laura (for a change, Freddy can't have work all the time :D)