Dueling Backpacks

Day 147 (November 22, 2018) – Arequipa, Per ú We spent an entire week in Arequipa, but it went by in a blur. We were busy making bookings for our New Zealand trip, which required a lot more pre-planning than most of our stops in South America. To be honest, we spent most of our time in our Airbnb apartment on our computers that week, but we still spent some time exploring the city. Arequipa ended up being my favorite city in Per ú. It took a bit of getting used to, but there was a lot to enjoy. It felt very authentic, not overly touristy, and a good city to spend some time in.

Day 136 (November 11, 2018) – Ollantaytambo, Per ú On our way back from Machu Picchu we spent a couple nights in Ollantaytambo, within the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This is where many people depart the train from Machu Picchu and grab a bus or van back to Cusco, but we had heard it was an interesting town to spend some time in so decided to stay a couple nights.

Day 134 (November 9, 2018) – Aguas Calientes, Per ú This was and will probably remain one of the greatest hikes we’ve ever done. We took nine days to hike from a trail head outside of a town called Cachora through to the Inca ruins of Choquequirao and onward to Machu Picchu. This took us over 120 km and up and down mountains having over 6,000 meters of elevation gain and 7,000 meters of descent. There was a lot of hiking, sore legs, some confusion and uncertainty, but a lot of satisfaction from the breathtaking scenery, mysterious Inca ruins, and of course, finally finishing.

Days 124 (October 30, 2018) and 141 (November 16, 2018) – Cusco, Peru We were in Cusco twice. The first time was essentially a whirlwind shopping spree, taking us to the far-flung corners of the city in search of camping equipment. The second time in the city was after we had returned from our Choquequirao/Machu Picchu trek. It wasn’t until our second trip to the city that we could relax and take in some of the sites like a normal tourist should.  

Day 119 (October 25, 2018) – M á ncora, Per ú We arrived in M á ncora before dawn after taking an overnight bus from Cuenca. The ride was about 9 hours, but it felt like we had gotten on a plane and flew half way across the world. The difference between Cuenca and M á ncora is shocking. We left the regal, grand, and ornate city of Cuenca and got dropped off in the sandy, dusty, and strewn together beachside town of M á ncora.

During our month in Ecuador, we saw big cities, small towns, hiked the Andes, relaxed in thermal pools, and even took a week of Spanish class. Ecuador has a lot more to offer, but we never had time to see it all. There is an entire coastline along the Pacific Ocean and the opposite side of the country is home to the Amazon jungle. Our travel style is definitely slowing down a bit, having been on the road for four months now, so there still remains a lot of Ecuador we'd like to see one day if we return.

Day 115 (October 21, 2018) – Cuenca, Ecuador Cuenca is by far the most stunning city we've encountered in Ecuador. The grandiose architecture is unlike anywhere else we've seen in the country. 

Day 107 (October 13, 2018) – Ba ñ os, Ecuador We were in Ba ñ os for four days and for three of them we did the exact same thing every day. Wake up, go into town for breakfast, spend the morning catching up on the blog or planning future travels, grab lunch, and then head to the Termas de la Virgen, the local thermal pools, for the rest of the afternoon. Ba ñ os, set in an almost tropical valley between Andean mountains, is known for being a hub for every adventure sport imaginable. However, we forwent all the adventure and instead decided to spend our time relaxing and luxuriating.

Day 103 (October 9, 2018) – Latacunga, Ecuador This was our most ambitious hiking journey yet. We had completed some seriously difficult day hikes in El Cocuy, Colombia, but our trip around the Quilotoa Loop was our first multi-day hiking trip. In fact, I feel like we can now say we’ve gone “trekking,” which sounds very outdoorsy and all.

Day 98 (October 4, 2018) – Otavalo, Ecuador Not all days of this trip are glamorous. In fact, most days are not. It always takes a couple days to orient ourselves to a new location and learn the unspoken rules. Are the taxis safe? How does public transportation work? What parts of the city should we be avoiding at night? What is a reasonable price for a cup of coffee? Is contact lens solution sold in grocery stores or pharmacies? There is a long list of things to figure out in each new city, and it always feels like a very complicated puzzle that needs to be solved.

Day 94 (September 30, 2018) – Quito, Ecuador Quito was our first stop in Ecuador after leaving Colombia. We were a bit sad to be leaving Colombia, but we were also looking forward to seeing what adventures Ecuador had in store for us. It didn’t help our mood when we had to exchange our few remaining Colombian pesos for US dollars. Something about using US currency abroad makes the trip feel a little less exotic.

Colombia is one of the world’s best kept travel secrets. We’ve traveled fairly extensively over the years and Colombia remains one of our all-time favorite countries to visit. During a one-week vacation in 2017 we traveled to Colombia’s Caribbean coast, visiting Cartagena, Santa Marta, and Tayrona National Park. It was only a week, but as soon as we got back home I already knew that I wanted to return one day. When thinking about where we wanted to go on this year-long trip, we thought of many places, but the one place that I knew for sure we needed to go back to was Colombia.

Day 86 (September 22, 2018) - Pereira, Colombia Pereira is probably the biggest city in the coffee region of Colombia, but it is seldom visited by tourists. Our guide book said it's not really a tourist destination at all, but it's a good place to visit if you're looking for a fast-paced, friendly city with a throbbing nightlife that is off the tourist trail. While many tourists pass through the bus station on their way to Salento or other towns, not many stop. We decided to visit Pereira for six nights, mostly to relax after our somewhat tiring visit to Salento, but also because our flight to Quito, Ecuador was departing from Pereira. We did test out the offerings of Pereira and can certainly attest to its lack of tourists, throbbing nightlife, and cosmopolitan feel.