Peru: Hiking with the 'Sexy Llamas'

Peru - from here on, every tourist wears an Alpaca / Llama sweater (similar to a Christmas reindeer sweater in our culture) - this is necessary for warmth even with continuous sunshine! Additionally, tourists in Peru are no longer the attraction, the locals are the attraction at tourist spots.

For us, Peru was all about hiking, even though we didn't plan it that way. We started in a picturesque mountain town at the foot of Peru's highest mountains, with peaks reaching almost 6,800 meters. This was the starting point for many exciting tours. We met up with a football colleague of Thilo's for a beer and a warm-up hike. However, our main goal was the 'Santa Cruz Trek', a 4-day tour up to 4,700 meters, with cold temperatures and camping. And so, after two acclimatization hikes and a teacher strike that blocked the road with fire and stones for three hours, we found ourselves on the mountain with our small group, able to enjoy impressive altitudes and landscapes away from the tourist paths. Fortunately, the mules carried the tents, and Thilo could take a break from carrying anything.

The detour to the capital city pleasantly surprised us with its amazing street food (especially the best churros we have ever eaten), great buildings, and breathtaking views of the sea. We also went shopping - on the clothes market in Lima, there was everything imaginable on an area that felt as big as Markdorf - except for original brands. The streets were bustling with Peruvians eager to shop, and we sometimes felt a bit out of place, but we were successful in finding what we wanted.

After that, we continued to a desert oasis where not only the pool of our luxury campsite invited us to relax but also where we raced up and down the dunes with a buggy.

After a beautiful little town called Arequipa and another 2-day hike in the second deepest canyon in the world, we finally found ourselves in Cusco, near Machu Picchu, where we were welcomed with a big parade.

Of course, we didn't want to miss the opportunity to climb the famous Inca city in 4 days of hiking. We thought it couldn't be that difficult since we were now seasoned hikers. Our guide, a Peruvian man with a ponytail and a little belly, led our group, which he lovingly called the 'Sexy Llamas' (which, by the way, caused confusion and laughter among other hikers), at a good pace and set the record for 'chewing the most coca leaves and still talking at the same time'. By the way, coca leaves are supposed to help prevent altitude sickness, so we all chewed them.

The trail led us through a diverse variety of landscapes over 8-10 hours a day. We started with snow-covered peaks and ended in the heat of the jungle, earning the Machu Picchu with a steep final climb at 5:00 in the morning. The mission was made more difficult by the less than hygienic food preparation on the tour, which caused some health issues. At least we didn't have to spend the whole night vomiting, like about 30% of the other hikers. The view, however, made up for all the hardships. We celebrated the end of our Peru trip and the climb of Machu Picchu in style with our hiking gang at the Irish Pub.

To sum it up briefly: We spent a total of 24 days in Peru, 12 of which were spent hiking, 4 nights sleeping on buses, and 11 days waking up between 3:00 and 5:00 in the morning. We were above 3,000 meters for 20 days, with 23 days of radiant sunshine and 1 rainy day - the rainy day happened to be at Machu Picchu. We enjoyed the 24 days very much and met many super nice people. We were impressed by the country, which provided us with so many beautiful memories.