anyone in Peru or have advice?

12-14 days in cuzco is way too much, 3-5 is enough. You need to stay in Arequipa if you aren't already and go to El canon del Colca. You can also visit Ica/Pisco south of Lima to do some sandboarding in the dunes there, go to our jungle in Cochabamba or Iquitos or Oxapampa and/or go north to the beautiful beaches like Mancora, Zorritos, Punta Sal there in Trujillo/Tumbes and do some surfing.

thanks for the advice. the days include travel time between cities on bus so i imagine it will be more like 9-11 full days to actually do stuff. going to google the other places now.

not comin to lima?

I don't really do drugs. But if I ever make it to Peru my plan is to to go for 500milli on Temple Run 1 whilst high on 89% pure grade peruvian cocaine in the Temples of MachuPichu. I've logged an insane amount of games so I'd like to get that monkey off my back at last. I'm not sure if I'm joking or not.

Are you going to try Ayahuasca? I probably sound like a druggie in this thread and its a bit embarrasing but when I think Peru I think i am being logical to an extent when I think of their famous drugs lol. I'm not sure what the sentiment of peruvian locals are to this type of person and I'm inclined to think it's not good so I'm sorry if it offends the Peruvians here.

how is your trip? had no clue u were traveling ;p

check out the sacred valley. cuzco is an awesome city

i went north east to iquitos as well to go to the amazon with woodbrave

have a great time!

On December 02 2013 14:31 SPEWTARD wrote: not comin to lima?

i wasn't planning on it, what are the main arguments for going? i do admit i miss the nightlife in Buenos Aires and i suppose Lima is the closest thing to that in Peru (or Bolivia), isn't it a tad sketchy for foreigners though? my Spanish is intermediate level on a good day.

@heims: LOL. i don't intend to try ayahuasca, it seems like a disproportionate number of stories i've heard from people who've done it involve more puking and sweating than enlightenment, although it might just be sample size. a couple years ago i probably would've. oddly enough i was thinking about trying coke in Bolivia (never had it before), but i came down with a nasty fever last night (still have today) and don't feel like doing shit to my body.

On December 02 2013 15:52 mnj wrote: how is your trip? had no clue u were traveling ;p

it's good! i am almost incapable of planning ahead for traveling (this blogpost is probably the most i've done since leaving BA). i left BA on the 8th of Nov. spent 5 days in Salta which is more than i planned, but the girls running the hostel i randomly picked were really awesome and fun. i have friend who lives in Jujuy with her family and she invited me to stay, thought it was going to be a couple days but ended up being over a week. then went to Potosi, Bolivia (highest city in the world) where I spent a couple days. went on tour of their silver mines which was really fucking brutal, apparently it's common for mine workers there to die around 45-50. also my mask broke right before entering the mine, so i got my lifetime dose of silicate and whatever the fuck else is down there. then went to Sucre which is where i'm at now. i was going to leave for La Paz tonight but i just feel like shit atm with my flu and don't want to do anything. Potosi and Sucre are both really pretty though.

i'm thinking about going to Colombia after Peru (in which case i guess it would make more sense to hit Lima too?), but not sure. also kind of want to fly down to Ushuaia and spend some time in Patagonia.

On December 02 2013 17:47 chris wrote: check out the sacred valley. cuzco is an awesome city i went north east to iquitos as well to go to the amazon with woodbrave have a great time!

i will look into it, thanks! yeah cuzco seems amazing, that's why i think i wouldn't mind spending a couple weeks there tbh. did you guys do any of the long machu picchu hikes?

we took the train to machu picchu and did not do the hike. the train ride was great - very relaxing, modern, good food, beautiful scenery. we saw hikers humping their way there. not for me.

once you are up there, the elevation can kind of mess with you, as can the swing in temperature from the early morning to mid-day. i would suggest going to machu picchu the town, spending the night and going to the site of the wonder in the morning by bus - it takes you right to the top.

they are pretty strict that you have your passport and bathrooms are non existent up there (just a head's up).

the sacred valley tour was an all day thing, with hikes, villages, great scenery and historical perspective. it was a great, full day.

the locals sold coca leaves to tourists to chew or made coca tea to help with the altitude, because in some places i think you are as high as 12k ft above sea level.

are you going to try guinea pig? i didn't, but i liked a few restaurants you could eat at on the second/third floor with great views of the city center at night. there was also this great trendy cafe i went to where you could go on the roof and you are right in the middle of the city it seems, and you can get a great view of the cross in the mountains.

post some pics on here man, i miss cuzco

oh, there were horseback riding trails, but i was sick from the jungle and didn't go. i had a blast walking around the city, period.

I went to Iquitos, to the jungle @ amazon river and I had a great experience, a couple guys of my group tried ayahuasca with a chaman who was there in the jungle with us and they had a good experience, I didn't do it cuz I was taking medicine and I got told by people of the jungle better not do it, but still you get to know basically another world inside that jungle, I'd say go for it if you have the time and the will.
GL.

sounds like a blast

well, in lima is basically food and night life, u have nice places to visit at the center of it but its just cathedral, gov palace, etc. + if ur gonna come from cuzco to lima in bus its a 22 hours trip iirc so meh maybe not worth it.

My gf said a lot of good things about Arequipa, Uyuni and San Pedro de Atacama. She had a sick flu as well, basically 2 days with no activity on the trip.