MACHU PICCHU

This place needs no introduction.

Having trekked to the Lost City and around the Quilotoa Loop, we opted instead for the much easier, much more expensive route to these ancient ruins. Though we caught the earliest train at 6 in the morning, we actually didn't reach the site until 5 long hours later.

The clouds shrouded the tops of the mountains, lifting only periodically and briefly to reveal the sheer brilliance of a city long abandoned. At 2,430 meters above sea level, it was hard enough to climb the high stone steps of the city without gasping for air. It truly is a wonder knowing that a civilization was constructed here lifetimes ago.

Between huffs and puffs, we wandered up to the Sun Gate and down to the imposing stone edifices, admiring each and every step of the way. Before making our way back to town, we spotted and couldn't help returning the gaze of a rather flirtatious llama. 

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ROUND & ROUND

It was a 40-hour journey from Quito to Lima. 4-0 hours. Because of the holidays, we couldn't get a direct bus and decided instead to tackle the journey ourselves. Bus from Quito to Huaquillas, cab from Huaquillas to Tumbes, bus from Tumbes to Lima. Aside from the miserable heat and mosquitoes, we came out all right, arriving on the eve of New Year's Eve. 

We ran errands, which seems to be our thing in big cities where amenities are more abundant, and explored around Miraflores and Barranco, celebrating outdoors at El Parquetito for dinner and then topping it off at La Lucha Sangucheria for dessert. (Their brownie milkshake is yum.) In Lima, I developed a deep appreciation for fish ceviche despite not being much of a seafood person. 

As hard as we tried not to, we rang in the new year in the comfort of our hotel room, catching up on social media to the sound of infinite fireworks until the wee hours of the morning. 

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WE HEART PTO VRS

Okay, so I have a lot of catching up to do, considering in my last post we were in Ecuador and now we're in Chile, but there's time for that later. 

We made it to Puerto Varas yesterday, hoping to rent a car and make our way down through Patagonia, but unavailabilty, border crossings, and unbooked ferries made things quite complicated. We decided to change our plan (which we're still figuring out) and the day's disappointment actually turned into a really lovely evening. The weather was pleasant, the town, which I've likened to a ski resort, so quaint, the people incredibly friendly. 

As we were finishing up dinner, the sun had just set and produced this array of pink, purple, and blue pastel hues not only in the sky, but also on the lake. The air was clear and fresh, giving full visibility to a snow-capped Volcan Osorno in the distance. 

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