Our tour guide picked us up on a Sunday and drove us to a station called Ollantaytambo. There we had to catch the train to Aguas Calientes. The road to Ollantaytambo was a unique experience as the road was full of landslides due to the heavy rain. Fortunately our guide was a super experienced driver so we made it safely. We had about an hour to get some brunch and get a quick tour around the city before we had to catch our train.
{fotos de Ollantaytambo}
We walked about 15 minutes to get to the trainstation and boarded the train. It was a very classic train with the cealing made out of glass so we could see everything from the inside. The ride was about 2 hours and I assured you I could not stop from looking at the scenary which was preseted at us every meter we travelled.
{photos of the ride to Aguas Calientes}
After being enchanted with the scenary we made it safely to Aguas Calientes. The town was known to host many visitors to the Magical City of Machu Picchu. We rapidly pulled up our phones and started to look for our hostel. It was a very small city so finding it was quite easy.
{photos of aguas calientes}
Once we settled we decided to head to to the famous hotsprings cite to check it out. It was quite close to our hostel so getting there took us 5 minutes. After walking a few meters more and walking into the hotsprings cite we decided not to get in as it was crowded. But agreed that it was the perfect place after a long hike.
Who you travel with is the key to have an amazing travel experience. Somebody I’ve been able to travel with often is my bro Manu. Today is his birthday and I created a quick summary of our latest adventures. Check it out!
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: “life is a JOURNEY, not a destination.”
A moment I was able to experience this was on my way to the Mighty ancient city of Machu Picchu. Getting there was quite an adventure and I will never forget it. We were picked up by our tour guide who then drove us to Ollantaytambo. From there we checked out the city a bit then went to catch our train. We had no idea whatsoever what this train would be like. It ended up being a life experience.
We had only been to Cusco for about 2 days. Nevertheless, the Inca culture seemed so outstanding in its core beliefs and the architectural footprint it left behind. The trip already had surpassed our expectations. But there was more to see.
Valle Sagrado
Before our Machu Picchu adventure we had a day in El Valle Sagrado. Our tour guide picked us up and we drove about an hour to visit the Sacred Ruins of Pisac also know as the Citadel.
Good vibes from the sacred ruins
As soon as you entered the Citadel you are struck by the astonishing architecture. What’s noticeable at first glance are the agricultural terraces.
Pisac Sacred Ruins entrance
We only had a an hour to check out the sacred ruins so we had to speed through in order to see it all. I was certainly perplexed by the scenery as the green grass contrasted with the white fog.
Pisac Sacred Ruins
What I enjoyed the most about this magical place was the fact that you could walk forever and always find a new amazing spot. The ambiance provided this vibe of peace I can recall even now.
Hiking on Pisac Sacred Ruins
The place was so huge at one point I lost track of Manu. We managed to find each other on one of the many trails the archeological park has. I strongly recommend having confortable shoes as this park involves quite a bit of walking.
Found Manuel in one trail
After much walking and checking out many ancient baths, altars, water fountains and ceremonial platforms we headed out to grab a bite. We were so lucky that as soon as we walked out the fog became stronger and made it really difficult to appreciate the majestic features of the archeological park. However, we had already seen it all.
Walking out of the archeological park
Don’t forget the corn
So much walking motivated us to go straight for that Corn without much thinking. It was probably the biggest corn I have ever seen in my life. The lady gave it to us with a big slice of homemade cheese. Definitely recommend having a bite.
Having a bite of that corn
New friends
We still had a long day full of adventures ahead of us. As soon as we finished eating the corn we headed to a small Inca town to check out a market and see how they fabricate the famous Inca Jewelry made out of magical stones.
Inca Jewelry
As soon as we finished the Jewelry tour we were intercepted by a group of kids and their alpacas. The deal was you get a photo taken with their pets as long as you give them a tip. It seemed like a good deal so we went ahead and had our alpaca picture taken.
My new alpaca friend
Alpacas and Llamas are highly special as they’re characterized for being cute and friendly. I instantly fell in love with them.
For lunch we headed to a famous Inca restaurant. The food was beyond amazing, however my favorite thing about the place was the cutest alpaca I met on the entire trip.
Cutest one ever
Newborn talent in the Sacred Valley
One rule our tour guide pointed to us was that if we ever were late to the bus we would have to sing to the rest of the team. Since we’re adventurers, we decided to risk the timeframe for the sake of getting to know our alpaca friend. However, the consequence was I had to show the reason I’m not a singer. The tour guide quickly reminded my duty for being late to the vehicle.
trying out singing on a tour bus
Ollantaytambo
During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti. (See more on Wikipedia) What struck me the most were the impressive terraces built on top of the hill. It took us a while to get to the top as it was considerably high. As we walked around the archeological site, our guide explained how the rocks were put in place by hand. It showed clearly what team work can accomplish.
Ollantaytambo
We continued walking towards the side of the mountain to check out the size of the structure. It seemed as if there were no limits to the architectural potential of the Inca Empire.
Walking around this site was a majestic adventure. It was mind blowing to think we had access to the same structure used by the Inca king and his empire.
Walking around Ollantaytambo
Something hard to miss was a face profile visible on a side of the mountain across from the archeological site. Our tour guide said it was the face of the creator god, Wiracocha. Check out the following video until the end to see out what it looks like. Click here for more info.
Final stop
We had seen so many things in just one day, however we still needed to check out one last spot before we headed back to Cusco.
The plan was to visit an Inca town to learn more about their culture and they way the do things.
Once you spend a couple of days in Cusco it becomes hard to remember the height at which you’re located. However, when I looked outside of the bus window and saw the snow on the mountain tops it hit me.
Mountain tops
Upon arrival to Chincero, we were warmly received by a group of ladies who kindly started to explain to us the nitty gritty on the Inca Culture. We spent quite a bit of time there to get a grasp on this wonderful culture.
As soon as we got back to Cusco from our amazing adventure, we went out to get some food. As it was my birthday we wanted it to be something different. We ended up trying out Cui (guinea pig). It was absolutely delicious and I cannot wait to go back and try it again!
Cui for my birthday
I was impressed by the amount of things we were able to do in a single day. This trip confirmed my belief that is not a matter of how much time we have but how we spend that time. Something I will keep in mind due to this trip is how durable a legacy can be as long as we strive to make the best out of our existence on earth.
I’ve always admired the talent of reporters who are able to appear on national tv and perform so well with a broad audience. But, I never expected to be interviewed by one during a global pandemic.
Last week I had the chance to appear on Panama National TV to talk about my experience being a recipient of the Walton Scholarship.
Talking about my awesome experience at Harding University.
There’s so much I can talk about my experience being a Walton scholar. But I’ll summarize it using a few pictures I sent the reporter by email for the news cast.
The crew
Esta fue una de las primeras fotos que nos tomaron. Estos chicos eran los de mi generación y se convirtieron en amigos de por vida! Hasta el día de hoy vamos nos vemos cada cierto tiempo en algún país que nos quede céntrico a todos. En ese grupo hay personas de todo centro America y Mexico.
This was one of the first pictures ever taken to our group. These guys were from my class of Walton scholars and they became life long friends. Even today we see each other every once in a while in some convenient country. There are nationalities from all across Central America and Mexico.
The brotherhood
Una de las cosas mas significativas que hice en la U fue unirme a una hermandad. Ahi conocí muchos de mis amigos y hasta el día de hoy estoy en contacto con ellos. Hacíamos de todo juntos. Deporte, comida, viajes. Sabia que siempre podía contar con ellos. Para los breaks como thanksgiving y christmas siempre sabia que podia hospedarme en sus casas.
One of the most significant things I made in my time at college was joining a brotherhood. There I made many friends even today I’m in contact with. We would do a lot of fun things together: sports, food, travel. I knew I could count on them. For holiday breaks such as thanksgiving and christmas I knew they all were willing to host me.
The sports
Acá fuimos a jugar fut golf con mis amigos de la hermandad. Teníamos una hermandad muy fuerte en todo momento.
We would play all kinds of sports. In this picture we had just played fut golf. We had a strong brotherhood at all time.
The silliness
Nos gustaba tener fiestas de disfraces donde nos divertíamos un montón. El sentido de comunidad se notaba en el ambiente en todo momento.
We loved having costume parties where would would have a ton of fun. The sense of community was noticeable at all times.
The soccer club
Una cosa muy importante que hicimos con varios amigos fue crear un club de futbol. Nos reuníamos todos los domingos a jugar. Siempre se unían muchas personas especialmente los estudiantes latinos, de Africa y Europa. Estos domingos de futbol nunca se borraran de mi memoria.
One of the most important things a group of friends and I did was to create a soccer club. We would gather on Sundays, Saturdays and Wednesdays to play. Many people would join us specially latinos, africans and europeans. These moments will always be in my memory.
The sense of community
Valoro mucho todas las amistades que hice en mi tiempo de estudiante en la U. Cada una de las personas tenia muy buenos valores y un sentido de misión para mejorar al mundo que hasta el día de hoy me inspira.
I value so much all the friendships I made at my time in college. Each one of the people had fantastic values and a sense of missions to change the world that even today inspires me.
Give something back mindset
Participar en una ONG fue de mis actividades favoritas. Nuestra misión era recaudar fondos para niños necesitados de Centro America. Poder colaborar con esta causa abrió mucho mi perspectiva del mundo.
Being part of a non-profit was one of my favorite activities. Our mission was to collect funds for kids in Central America. Being able to collaborate in this cause opened my perspective of the world so much.
Enjoying life
En la U siempre teníamos todo tipo de actividades como: conciertos, obras de teatro, musicales, deportes, guerra de pinturas. No faltaba la interacción social y en comunidad.
At college we had all sorts of activities such as concerts, musicals, theater, sports, paint war. Social interaction and community never lacked.
Friends from everywhere
Algo que fue muy valioso para mí fue conocer personas de diversos países. Me dio una perspectiva muy global del mundo y las diferentes culturas que existen.
A valuable thing for me was being able to make friends with people from all over the world. It gave me global perspective of the world and the many different cultures there are.
Best campus ever
En spring siempre sacaban este sign para fotos. Así demostrábamos nuestro cariño por la U. Ademas el campus siempre estaba super cuidado. Motivaba a estudiar. 🙂
During spring they would always have this I <3 HU sign. This way we could show our appreciation for Harding University. Campus was always neat. It really was an environment which motivated studying.
The Academics
Acá estamos con el presidente de la U luego de ganar el 3er lugar en el proyecto tesis de Computer Science.
Algo fundamental para mí fue todos los recursos académicos disponibles que tuve. Los profesores eran muy accesibles y eran muy expertos en las clases que daban. Se notaba la pasión con que lo hacían. Siempre sentí que su objetivo era hacernos profesionales de la mas alta calidad. Hoy en día en el ámbito laboral utilizo muchas de las cosas que aprendi de ellos.
On this picture we’re posing with the president of the university after earning third place on the Computer Science capstone project.
Something fundamental to me was the academic resources available. Professors were very accesible and experts at the classes they taught. You could see the passion with which they were doing their job. I always felt their objective was to make us the highest quality professionals. Nowadays I use many of the things I learned from them.
Faithful fans
Siempre apoyábamos a la U en todos los deportes en que participaban. El ambiente de los fines de semana era fenomenal.
We would always support the university at all sports they participated in. The environment on weekends was fenomenal.
Graduation
Para la graduación mi mami y mi hermana tuvieron la oportunidad de asistir. Este día fue uno de los mas felices de mi vida. Se cumplían 4 años de estar en uno de los lugares más maravillosos que he conocido y que me pulió como persona.
La beca Walton y la oportunidad que me dio de estudiar en el extranjero definitivamente cambió mi vida. Todas las experiencias aprendidas me han servido hoy en día no solo en lo profesional sino también en lo personal y espiritual. Tengo muchos buenos recuerdos y amistades que no cambiaria por nada. La educación que brindan es fenomenal y junto con la experiencia social y de comunidad lo hace algo fuera de este mundo. Creo que muchas universidades pueden ofrecer buena educación. Pero ofrecer buena educación y a la vez forjar el sentido de misión y propósito en individuos es algo muy difícil de encontrar.
Muchas gracias por la entrevista Maria de los Angeles! Aprecio mucho lo que estas haciendo!
For my graduation my mom and my sister had the chance to come and see me. That day was one of the happiest in my life. It had been the end of 4 years in one of the most marvelous places I’ve known. This place definitively polished who I am as a person.
Final thoughts
The Walton scholarship and the opportunity to study abroad definitively changed my life. All the experiences I learned have helped me not only professionally but personally and spiritually. I have many good memories and friendships I would not change for anything. The education I was given was fenomenal and along the social and community experiences made it something out of this world.
I think many universities can offer good education. Nonetheless, offering quality education and forging the sense of mission and purpose in individuals is something truly hard to find.
Thank you so much Maria de los Angeles! I appreciate all you’re doing.
Isacar
Bonus
My first time in Malibu with my bro Spence.
There was soo much traveling during college. No other why I can’t stop. Check out my story to Grand Canyon and Vegas
If you want to know more about the scholarship check THIS out.
There’s a huge difference between wishing and doing…
The friendship
One of the things I really value in a friendship is the ability to plan things and strive to make them happen. My friend Manu is the perfect example of this. He is one of the people who I’ve been able to accomplish many awesome things with!
Manuel and I after a workout the night before our adventure
We’d been wanting to do something really exceptional and out of the box. We wanted to mix up our weekly routine with some excitement to remind us why we love working in the airline business. However, the only caveat was we counted with sparse 48 hours to accomplish our goal.
As usual we rapidly headed to our thinking zone (the free coffee spot at the office) and started to brainstorm of places we could go for the weekend. Our goal: doing something truly awesome.
The conception
The brainstorm started with south America, the likes of Argentina and Chile but figured the departure times would not work and would detriment the scarce time we had. Hence, we starter looking in central America. As we checked flights for central America we found space on Costa Rica and El Salvador. Nonetheless, Manu and I had already been to either one or the other (we both love Costa Rica). We then went and saw places up north. There were viable options in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago and Las Vegas. An astonishing piece of adventure was our target. We started looking up amazing things to do on all of those places when all of a sudden booooom. We found the Mighty Grand Canyon.
The closest airport we could fly to was Las Vegas so we went ahead and booked our stand by tickets to LAS. Funny thing, we did not even think to check the return flight. Without much talking we returned to our working spots to continue the day grinding to then hit El Malecón for our nightly workout.
Getting to Vegas
The following day we could not wait for it to be 5 pm so we could head out and catch our Las Vegas flight. Fast forward and we were already seated on a plane headed to Las Vegas to have the most outstanding 48 hours of our week. We were both wondering how much can be done in 48 hours if we went to Las Vegas, Nevada. We were ready and set on a plane waiting to get there and find it out.
After 6 hours of flying high through the skies we landed on LAS. We were excited to see all the awesome things awaiting for us. But, we first hit the McDonalds to replenish our bodies with some food and the headed to check out the strip on the car we had just rented. After seeing The Strip from afar we headed to our hotel as we only had 5 hours to rest for our mighty adventure the following day.
The road trip
The following day we were headed to our most astonishing experience of the week. As we were checking out the map for our adventure we found out that the weather up there was not as warm as it was in Vegas so shorts would not make it. We rapidly adjusted our outfits to account for this climate and started to head towards The mighty Grand Canyon.
We had to drive about 4 hours to get to our destination. The road on the way there was impressive as we could see the snow caressing the mountains we were about to walk over.
On the way to the Grand Canyon
Driving to the Grand Canyon National Park was quite the experience (and a long one). After 4 hours hitting the road we were already on National Park Nation. We could feel the scent of nature screaming to our souls.
The Mighty Grand Canyon
As we entered the park we had to pay a 30 bucks per vehicle fee. But found this to be totally worth it as the minute we walked in to the park we were able to experience one of the most breath taking landscapes a human can admire. The mighty Grand Canyon.
As we only had 48 hours in Vegas and we already had spent half of our day getting there, we only had about 4 hours to enjoy this marvelous spot of the world. There was a trail with many spots were you could appreciate this fantastic nature wonder.
We spent quite a bit of time relinquishing the amazing mouth watering scene of The Grand Canyon and also took plenty of pictures for this very blog post.
This site made me realize how passionate I am about being able to see how fantastic the world is. It is truly a gift to be able to see amazing landscapes across the world and even better when you don’t need to take days off from work.
The surprise on the trail
As we admired the nature of this park we continued walking the trail and found what I thought was a reindeer on our way. We were astonished as obviously this kind of animal is not to be found in Panama. We managed to get permission from the reindeer to go through and continued the trail.
Reindeer on our trail
At this point we both agreed: “There’s a huge difference between wishing and doing.” Even though we did not have much time to spend at this site, the breathtaking views we saw that day will remain on our minds for a lifetime.
“There’s a huge difference between wishing and doing.”
As we walked the trail, the night started falling upon us Nature gave us the best Sunset one could ever which for.
We made our way to the bus stop to head towards our rented car. As the bus approached the stop some campers who had camped on the riverside of the colorado river were talking about their awesome experiences on the river. That made me write down on my bucket list {camp on the Colorado Riverside} as the stories they told were as fantastic as the place we had just seen from afar.
We soon approached our car and were ready to head back to Vegas. It was gonna be a long 4 hours trip as we had spent much of our energy on the Grand Canyon walk trail.
The trail
Check out this site to get more info on visits to The Grand Canyon.
Back to Vegas
Two hours into the road and we had to make a stop to get some food and the hit the road again. We did not regret even an hour of what we had to drive as the views our brains registered are one of a kind . I personally believe every individual oughts to pay a visit to the Grand Canyon and appreciate the majestic power of nature.
As we arrived to Las Vegas, we rapidly returned our rental car and headed towards our hotel to drop off our stuff and get ready for the Strip. It was almost midnight, but the environment seemed to ignore this fact. The streets were full of people. We spent quite a bit of time appreciating the Bellagio Water fountain and then entered the Casinos to check out the ambiance. What happened after that… well… stays in Vegas.
A world tour in a day: The Venetian
We woke up super early the following day as our flight would leave at midnight and we wanted to take advantage of the hours we could and see as much as we could. The plan was to walk the entire strip and see the main Casinos on the way.
Manu and I both love Europe so Naturally we were delighted with our stop on The Venetian. It made us feel as suddenly transported from the US to Italy.
The Venetian
A world tour in a day: Greece
We moved on to Greece as we entered Caesars Palace. During our time inside we could appreciate the attention to detail in all the sculptures. It truly was astonishing.
A world tour in a day: France
As we continued walking down The Strip we came across the Eiffel tower. It just made me feel as I was right in Paris.
A world tour in a day: New York
The next stop was the Empire State, New York.
A world tour in a day: Egypt
We had already walked quite a bit and felt the hunger screaming in our stomach. Therefore, we stopped to get some food at a random plaza. After our fast lunch we continued hitting The Strip. Our next stop was Egypt.
Pyramids of Egypt in Vegas
The famous Las Vegas Sign
As we approached the end of The Strip, we walked towards the famous Las Vegas sign. There was a huge queue to get the picture taken. We cleverly played with the camera angles. Doing this we avoided making the queue. After all we only had 48 hours.
Vegas famous sign
We had been walking since 8:00 AM checking out as much as we could. Unfortunately it was already 10 PM. It meant we needed to start heading towards the Airport for our midnight flight back to Panama. We decided to pay a last visit to the Bellagio Water Fountain. I personally thing it is one of the most impressive attractions in The Strip.
We walked around the strip a bit more to enjoy the last minutes we had on the strip. During this walk we found the most christmas oriented street we could find on Vegas.
Finally, we decided to Uber to the airport. The plane was full so the standby list was quite an experience. At last minute they called our names to get our boarding passes. At this point we realized our 48 hr adventure had come to an end. A phrase resonated on our minds: “There’s a huge difference between wishing and doing.”
Fast forward and after so much planning I was on a plane with 2 of my favorite people in the world: Berna and Joss. We were on our way to a place so different and of which I had heard so many good things. I could not wait to land on the beautiful island of Cuba.
Cuba is the only place where your host/driver can end up being a medical surgeon. Our host on this trip Mario was super friendly and started to give us tips about being in Cuba as soon as we entered into his vehicle. What stood out to me was how secure he assured us Cuba was.
Our driver showing around Havana
One of the key things we needed was cash so we made sure to get a good amount ($200) so we could get by for a few days. But keep in mind for every dollar you get 10% penalty on top of the fees. Even then you end up with a lot of bills… probably because of the exchange rate? who knows…
Holding Cuban money
After finishing counting our newly acquiried Cuban money and setting our stuff in on Airbnb, we headed out to the main Plaza to see what Cuba was about. We had to walk through some neighborhoods which look super scary but as our host told us they are indeed 100% safe (Even more when you look kind of cuban).
Walking down Havana
Random Havana street
The Capitol
One of my favorite things about Havana was its architecture. It takes you right back to the colonial times as all the buildings look pretty Spaniard. My favorite building from them all was El Capitolio. According to wikipedia “It is similar to that in Washington D.C, but a meter higher, a meter wider, and a meter longer, as well as much richer in detail. To finish its construction they needed more than 5000 workers, 3 years, 3 months and 20 days; as well as approximately 17 million American dollars.” No wonder why it looks so majestic.
The crew: Berna, Joss, and I
El Malecon
After taking a bunch of pictures for Insta we started to head to famous Malecon. We were so lucky to catch the sun on its way down and ended up having some pretty awesome shots.
Malecón
I do recommend walking the entire strip as you get a nice perspective on the city from around. We spent quite a bit of time around el Malecón as it has this relaxing feeling. From there you can see locals and tourists going about their lives. It is a pretty chill environment.
The best (most expensive) Havana ride
The host we had never failed to deliver our yummy breakfast daily. As soon as we finished up our breakfast we headed back to Havana to continue on our adventure.
The first thing we wanted to do as we did not have enough time in Havana was to get a classic car tour. They’re available every where. So we picked a ride we liked which I think cost us 150$. Now looking back to that I definitively recommend you do some research before taking any tour as you might find some cheaper options.
Cuban Breakfast
Our Havana Ride
Gotta love those monuments
Our tour guide took us around the most touristy places along Havana. One of the stops we made was to see the largest monument to a writer in the world the José Martí Memorial. Our tour guide at that point explained to us the Role Jose had on the Cuban history Jose as one of the greatest patriots and nationalists.
We made a few stops to check out interesting parts of Havana. Including a river side used mainly for witch craft. As we walked around the river side we even saw some people practicing pretty interesting stuff.
A stop that definitely was worthwhile was at the Jhon Lenon Statue. There’s a pretty interesting story behind the statue as it was the result of Castro change of tune and looking at Jhon as a revolutionary. (Read more)
Jhon Lenon’s statue
After saying goodby to our friend Jhon, we continued our adventure with our crew. Our next stop was the neighborhood of Casa Blaca. A spot where we could get a better look of Havana.
Look of Havana from Casa Blanca
Last hours in Havana
After a few hours walking around Havana and getting used to no internet connection, we started to plan out our next adventure in Cuba: “Varadero”. Our plan was to have a driver take us to Varadero as we did not have time to take the bus.
Around La Havana
Although we did not spend much time in Havana, I loved the fact that everyone seemed to be going about their lives in a very chill way. It seemed as to despite all the troubles they might have they put a smile on their face and thrive. I enjoy being around such happy people!
Some busy street in Havana
Varadero
A few hours on the road and we were Already in Varadero. It took us around 2 hours from Havana to Varadero. Our driver explained us the nitty gritty details about Cuban life on the road which was quite a nice experience.
We got to Varadero right on time to watch the sun dawn right from the back yard of our rented place. After we settled into our place we decided to go out and explore the town.
Beach at Varadero
The following morning we went out to enjoy the beach for the last time and headed onto our next stop. One of my favorite parts of being in Varadero was the fact that we were staying so close to the sea. It felt as if we were at a very exclusive place as very few people were on the beach.
Waking up to the beach in Varadero
Our last stop before we headed to the airport was 20 meters deep. They call it the Cavern of Saturno and personally one of the trip highlights.
Walking down to see Saturn cavern
After a a lot of steps down you could start to see the impressive architecture of the cave. The humid breeze could be sensed from afar as we approached the cold waters underground.
We spent a few hour swimming on these underground caves as the temperature made them even more appealing considering the hot weather on the outside.
We then got dressed and headed back to the Airport to finish our Cuban Adventure. Despite it being a super short trip, having two awesome friends and being an awesome place is definitively a successful adventure! Cuba is definitively a place you have to visit.
Super iconic bridge near Matanzas.
Check out this to learn about my adventure in Peru!
Before you get to travel to Machu picchu you have to get to Cusco, which is why it’s called the gateway to Machu Picchu.
The adventure continues
We had only been to Peru for less than 48 hours and we had already seen alien created art, ruins in the middle of Lima, seals, penguins, an oasis, a desert and rode on a buggy. All of this but our adventure had just started.
As we got back to Lima from Ica, we decided to go out and see the city at night. It’s been one of the most impressive night sceneries I’ve seen in my entire life. We took a moment to think about what was awaiting for us in Cusco as we gazed over the night sky, then headed back to our hostel to get ready for our morning flight the following morning.
Finally in Cusco
Plaza de Armas
As soon as we got to Cusco we headed to Plaza de Armas, which is the center of Cusco and where you can find guided tours around the city.
One thing you will always hear when heading to Cusco is the height sickness you might experience which can turn bad. Neither me and Manuel suffered from it at all but I would definitively recommend having medicine ready in case you suffer from it.
We hung out a bit at the Plaza de Armas as we waited for the tour guide who would guide us through and around the City. The first stop of our walking tour was the most important temple in the Inca Empire, Coricancha.
Coricancha temple
We were so lucky our tour guide was a university professor and knew every detail about the Inca culture and history. As you can see in the following video, he is super fluent on the Inca language.
Coricancha tour guide
Amazing ruins
Our second stop during our tour was a citadel on the northern outskirts of Cusco called Saqsaywaman. It was astonishing to see such a huge structure built by hand. According to our guide all the stones were dragged using ropes by hundreds of men.
Sacsayhuamán Citadel
Into the fountains of youth
Since we didn’t have too much time, we only spent about 45 minutes appreciating the perfect mix between the human stone structure and the nature surrounding it. Our next stop was a fountain of youth. Before we got there we intercepted my favorite animal (the llama) along the way.
llamas on the way to the fountain of youth
The walk between the llamas and the youth fountain was quite challenging as we were currently at 4K meters of above the sea. Apparently the higher we go the hardest it is to do any physical motion (which includes hiking). Thankfully we survived the small trail without puking and were able to be delighted by what promised to keep us young forever.
Fountains of youth
It was too cold for us to drink the water so we decided to give a pass to the waters of youth… We probably wont live forever but we were excited and looking forward for our next destination on our trip. El Valle sagrado.
Manuel and I not drinking from the water of youth at the fountain of youth
To be continued…
Check out our friends from Peruvian Wonders if you wish to have an awesome adventure as ours.
As we headed to the coffee machine I asked Manuel: what destination could be worth it now? As we had recently been to the mighty Grand Canyon… a few coffees in and the answer was right there in front of us… we already had a plan to go to Peru!
Tocumen International – Tuesday 8:50 PM
After a rough week at work, we were ready to start our new adventure! We got upgraded into business cabin so we were already starting with the right foot!
We met on Saturday and planned in a coffee shop the main things we wanted to see and set up a budget all in 2 hours. We were so eager to figure out how all the planning would turn out!
Lima, Peru – Wednesday 2:00 AM
The plane ride was fantastic, we could spend hours in that front cabin! As soon as we landed we were thinking about what awaited for us in Peru.
Being on a plane is one of the things I enjoy the most in life. Being able to see the earth from above makes it really easy to understand how vast the world is and how much traveling one needs to do in order to get to see it all!
Barrio Miraflores – 9:00 AM
The next day we decided to walk around Lima as we only had one day to experience the city. We found the coast to be welcoming and full of life.
After some walking we found out about some ancient ruins in Lima so we decided to check them out. It felt like a good warm up before the upcoming adventures.
Huaca Pucllana – 2:00 PM
We purchased the 1 hour tour offer for about 5 dollars and had a complete guide on the details of construction and usage of the ruins back in the day. Between 200 AD and 700 AD it served as a religious and cultural center for the Lima culture back then.
Even though the ruins were so full of fascinating history, my favorite part about this tour was the new friends we made… (if you watch the video you can meet them too)
Lima Center
After we said our goodbyes to our new friends, we headed to the Center of Lima to meet up with an old friend. We walked around the plaza and got a taste of the only soda type of drink I like along with one the best fries I’ve ever tried…
We headed back to our hostel and went out for the night to continue exploring the city. We didn’t want to go to bed yet as we wanted to see as much as possible of Lima. We ended up getting back to our hostel at 1:00 AM to get ready for our tour which started at 3:00 AM. We didn’t know what was awaiting for us…
Paracas – Thursday 8:00 AM
Our plan was to sleep on the ride. But as usual plan don’t always go as planned… We ended up sleeping for about an hour on our 5 hour ride to Paracas.
As soon as we got to Paracas we boarded a fast boat and our adventure took off from there. Our first stop was at El Candelabro geoglyph. There are many versions surrounding the origin of it… I decided to go with the one were Aliens draw it with their spacecrafts.
On our second stop we were able to see happy feet and his crew… I don’t have to say much cuz a video is worth more than a thousand words?
After we said hi to happy feet and their friends we stumbled upon a very sleepy seal. I have to admit it was the most adorable thing we’ve seen so far on our adventure. (watch the video and be amazed!)
Starting a 3:00 am tour had already proven to be an awesome idea! We were fascinated by the biodiversity we were able to see in one place! I have to admit not sleeping for 48 hours straight is not the easiest thing to do… I pretty much slept during the entire boat ride…
Huacachina desert- 1:00 PM
(I definitively recommend this place if you want to have a super epic profile picture)
Our adventure had just started, our next destination was an oasis located in the dessert of Huacachina. 3 hours later we got there so excited to experience a real life oasis…
We started by hanging out around the oasis as our buggies were getting ready to take us around the desert. We definitively didn’t know what to expect next. We had to climb up a sand hill to get to our buggy. Thankfully Manuel and I both had good footwear for this task. After we arrived to the spot our buggies were at we started to board and the engines began to roar. I felt like I was on the Mad Max movie. That tells you how wild the experience was. Our drivers were super experienced. We started to reach speeds of about 100 kms per hour according to my senses… don’t take my word for it.
We had a first stop and there Manuel’s driver tried to scare me with his awesome buggy as you can see in the next video…
Through the years I’ve found myself reading articles talking about a number of things people have learned in life (specially when a new year approaches). Before 2019 ends I wanted to come up with my own list of things I learned this 2019. When I started developing my list, I realized it’s almost impossible to have only 5 items. There is so much that can be learned in 365 days. So I ended up picking 5 things people might relate to. These items are not necessarily in order of importance but I hope it serves somebody on their life journey. Here it goes…
Life takes a different route when you realize you live in a network and you’re a vital node in it
This year I was able to help gather Christmas gifts for a community in need. I didn’t realize the impact I was having until I saw the faces of the children. This was just an act of normal people trying to help. We were able to collect toys from those who were willing to help kids in need. At that point, I realized each person can have an impact since we live in a network. Everything we do will impact those who surround us. This gives me a totally different perspective about the things I do and spend my time on.
The past prepared you for what happens now. Today is full of opportunities for growth, peace, and happiness.
Lets face it we all make mistakes, say dumb things, do dumb things, hurt people and do wrong stuff. Instead of regretting our past mistakes, we should learn from them. As long as we learn from mistakes…they are allowed. This year I made some mistakes but I grew because I learned a lesson from each one of them. What matters is that we look forward and try to be the best version of ourselves.
Never settle!
You might be thinking “well that’s very cliche”. I think it’s actually a key attitude to be happy. At least in my case. I learned you have to start small. For example, if you’re planning a trip don’t stop looking until you find the thing or place you think is perfect. If you’re shopping for a pair of shoes, don’t stop until you find a pair you fall in love with. If you don’t settle on small things then, when the time comes, you’ll fight for the bigger things that you really want. Never stop until you get them!
People and experiences are more important than things
So at the beginning of this year, I set myself a goal of traveling at least once a month. I had to give up on things such as clothes, new phone, or new shoes… stuff in general. Now that 2019 is ending I feel all the money that I spent on traveling was well worth it. It was an investment that helped shape my character and personality. I was able to learn so much from all the different cultures and places I was exposed to. I could go on and on at this point but just think about it…when we stop existing physically what can we take with us?
Ponte en los zapatos de los demás
So this phrase means put yourself in other people’s shoes. Basically, before you judge somebody’s behavior/personality, think about their situation or background. Don’t look down at them or say something negative. Instead, think how you can help. Life takes interesting turns. We really never understand somebody’s behavior until we go through it. Before judging, walk a mile in their shoes. The best thing we can do is to understand and be there to help.
Bonus
So at the beginning of this year I set myself a goal of writing an article each month on this blog. I started strong in January but that was it. This New Year’s Eve I have two options. I can either quit or try again. Which one do you think I should chose?
Comment below on the meaningful things you learned this year.
