Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Tag: South America

  • Packing for Adventure: What I Packed for Peru

    Packing for Adventure: What I Packed for Peru

    I’m going to let you in on a little secret with this post on what I packed for Peru in July. Not only do I make regular packing lists before I travel, I also make a visual packing list of my clothing. Behold:

    I know. So dorky, right?! And I know what some of you are probably thinking: this takes more time than normal people are willing to spend on a packing list. Though I usually whip these up in about 15 minutes or less. What can I say? I’m a visual person, and this is the perfect way for me to see if I’m going to have everything I need before I drag it all out of the closet and dresser.

    My visual packing list also shows me if there’s anything repetitive, if I’ll be able to mix-and-match, or if I planned more than I need to take. To make the visual packing list, I simply right-click and copy the images of my clothes from online stores, and then I paste the copied images onto a blank document in Photoshop. I scoot the picture layers around to fit, and add/delete as needed. Easy breezy!

    For this trip to Peru, Chris and I spent a couple of days each in Lima and Peru, but the majority of time we were trekking through the Sacred Valley on the Lares Adventure with Mountain Lodges of Peru. So I mainly needed hiking-appropriate outfits, and a few things I could wear around the lodges in the evenings. And also mountain-themed socks, of course.

    Because we had some early mornings, we needed to be prepared for the low temperatures as well as the highs. The range for our trip mostly ended up being between 35-75 degrees F. We lucked out with a long string of sunny or partly cloudy days, and even though I bought a cute new rain jacket, I never needed it. So in addition to the visual list above, here’s the checklist of what I packed for fifteen days in July:

    • 3 quick-drying short-sleeve shirts
    • 3 casual short-sleeve shirts
    • 2 long-sleeve shirts
    • 1 1/4-zip technical fleece
    • 1 pullover hoodie
    • 1 tank top (not pictured; for sleeping)
    • 2 pairs of lightweight hiking pants
    • 1 pair of jeans
    • casual jacket
    • waterproof rain jacket
    • waterproof hiking shoes
    • Vans casual shoes
    • bras, undies, and socks (I love Exofficio for travel – they dry quickly after washing!)
    • baseball cap
    • knit beanie
    • small Ona camera bag to hold my SLR and a point-and-shoot
    • swimsuit (not pictured above)

    My hiking outfits were the hardest part for me to decide on because my pre-trip research found photos of people hiking the Sacred Valley trails in tank tops and shorts, but also in puffy jackets, gloves, and scarves (same people on the same trip). Elevations on our trek ranged from 6,232’/1,900 m to 14,646’/4,464m. Most of our days we needed long sleeves and layers that we could peel off as the day got warmer, but I never ended up in short-sleeves except for at Machu Picchu where it felt much warmer than the rest of the trip.

    All of our stuff was neatly organized into our trusty Eagle Creek packing cubes and into our suitcases. It’s worth mentioning that while Chris and I tend to only bring one carry-on suitcase each (plus a personal item/backpack), our plan was foiled this time around because of my hiking poles.

    I bought a really great new pair of poles to use on the trip specifically because they folded down into a compact size, only to find out that hiking poles are not allowed in the airplane main cabin and we had to check our bags! Womp womp. MLP provided poles, too, so I probably didn’t even need to bring mine. Oh well.

    I ended up wearing everything I brought except for the rain jacket and the knit beanie. Generally I don’t think anything was missing from what I packed, although I did feel like I kept repeating my warmest hoodie every night around the lodge. I easily could have bought an extra sweater though. We had plenty of opportunities to buy beautiful alpaca sweaters at almost every turn!

    So that’s my packing list for two weeks of mainly doing outdoors-y stuff in Peru. I hope it helps you prepare for your own adventure! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about packing for either of these places.

    Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for reading and for your support!

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  • Peru Snapshot

    Peru Snapshot

    I am long overdue for a snapshot post about our Peru trip! Better late than never, and I’m always happy to look back on the memories and relive the adventure a little through these highlights (and lowlights) posts. I suspect because I had so many posts lined up about Peru that maybe I Peru-ed myself out a bit, hence the delayed snapshot. But I love writing these entries, and even more, I love looking back on them years later.

    Trip Details

    Chris and I traveled to Lima, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley region of Peru. We flew round-trip from IAD to LIM, and round-trip domestic from LIM to CUZ (on LATAM). Our two-week itinerary from July 1-15 included two days in Lima, two days in Cusco to acclimate, a week with Mountain Lodges of Peru on their Lares Adventure trek, two nights in Cusco after the trek, and two more nights after we returned to Lima.

    Best Moment

    I mean, I don’t know if one can go to Machu Picchu and not name that as the best moment of the whole trip. I’ll admit that I didn’t have the overwhelming feeling of a magical connection like some visitors are said to have experienced, but I definitely understood the significance of where I was, and I was in awe.

    Worst Moment

    Even taking into consideration the situation with the protests in Cusco and nearly missing our opportunity to see Machu Picchu, I’m still going to say the worst moment was my stomach issue on Day 2 of our Lares Adventure. Thankfully I recovered quickly and in time to continue on without missing much.

    Funniest Moment

    If I had a dollar for every time we were solicited to purchase a llama keychain in Cusco I think we could have paid for our entire trip. I generally don’t mind the solicitations and in fact, I’m impressed by the hustle of tireless street vendors, but the llama keychain pressure was intense and overly frequent! Every time we left our hotel to explore the streets of Cusco, we were offered street art, sunglasses, hats, and most of all, llama keychains. And I’m all for supporting local artists, but I’m selective and purposeful about purchasing something that will have a purpose or a prominent place in our home. I’m not a big fan of buying stuff just for the sake of buying stuff. I’m not a tchotchke collecting kind of person.

    Days later in the peaceful calm and quiet of the Sacred Valley, Chris and I received the key to our accommodations at the K’uychi Rumi Lodges. We dissolved into giggles to see lo and behold the key was attached to…a llama keychain, of course. I actually do kind of wish I had purchased one after all.

    Best Meal

    We ate so many great things on this trip and I ended up dedicating a whole post to good eats in Lima. It was indeed in Lima where we ate our best meal. ámaZ in Miraflores came recommended to us from a friend, and we ended up there on our last night in Peru for a huge Amazonian-Peruvian feast. Wild boar empanadas, a charcuterie board, lomo saltado, fried rice, and pork-stuffed plantains – I’ve never been so full in my life. I didn’t even have room for dessert! And that’s saying something.

    Something We Learned

    All the Inca (or Inka) history! I thoroughly enjoyed having such knowledgeable guides for the duration of our time in the Sacred Valley. Eddie and Admil educated us on the region’s ancient origins, the agriculture, architecture, religion, lifestyle, and beyond.

    I also learned the difference between a llama and an alpaca. Llamas are bigger, and have long faces with banana-shaped ears, while alpacas are smaller with smaller faces, and they have short ears. Alpaca fleece produces a soft fiber used for fine wool garments. These are alpacas pictured below. (And maybe a few of them are llamas?! Even knowing the differences, it’s still hard to tell!)

    We’re Thankful We Packed

    Good hiking shoes!

    We Didn’t Need To Bring

    Rain jackets or ponchos. We brought both, but lucked out with amazing weather and didn’t use them once (although I would always recommend having proper rain gear on hand).

    Trip Regrets

    I initially wanted to tack on some time in the Amazon or maybe even a week in the Galapagos Islands, but we just couldn’t make it work logistically. We ended up being happy with our itinerary and I think it would have been too much if we tried to squeeze anything else in, especially in hindsight with the protests and transportation issues. It would have been nice though to consolidate some of the things we know we want to see in South America. We will hopefully get to do those other bits soon!

    Reasons To Go Back

    I really really wanted the postcard shot of Machu Picchu which I did get, but I also really wanted a photo of a llama with the ruins in the background, which I didn’t get. I was completely overwhelmed at the Inca citadel, and I actually didn’t end up taking as many photos as you might think. I soaked much of it up through my mind’s own lens, so hopefully those images in my memory will last. But I’d love to go back someday to take some additional photos, and to hike Huayna Picchu, which we didn’t have time for on this trip.

    Favorite Photos

  • Hotel Love: El Mercado

    Hotel Love: El Mercado

    Following all of the recommendations to acclimate to the higher altitude in Cusco before moving on to our seven-day adventure to Machu Picchu, Chris and I decided to book two pre-trekking nights in the Inca Empire capital as well as two additional nights post-trip. Situated in the heart of Cusco, but just right outside of the main hustle and bustle, the El Mercado sounded like the perfect location for a little acclimating.

    Chris and I arrived to the El Mercado feeling slightly woozy from the altitude change and a lack of breakfast or lunch, but we were instantly soothed by genuinely warm hospitality, beautiful surroundings, and cups of coca leaf hot tea. The hotel courtyard hosted a huge collection of plants that would have impressed my garden-loving mom, as well as cozy benches equipped with wool blankets surrounding a fire pit. Not pictured: my delicious super late-afternoon lunch at their restaurant La Taberna that I ate way too quickly to photograph.

    After filling out some guest forms, we were escorted to our rooms on the top floor and I instantly fell in love with our home for the next two nights. This is one of those hotels you’ll want to stay in as long as possible. The cleanliness, comfort, service, and amenities were all top-notch. Not to mention, look how cute that room is! The unbelievably comfortable bed did make it somewhat difficult to get up for our early morning departures so perhaps that’s one downside, but it was heavenly for the days we were able to sleep in a bit.

    Luckily I had the foresight to book the El Mercado for our post-trek stay in Cusco as well, so we could look forward to returning. And on that note, the hotel staff graciously held onto our extra luggage during the week of our trek and kept our belongings safe so that we didn’t have to lug extra items around the Sacred Valley.

    The large bathroom was perfectly appointed with fluffy towels and upscale toiletries as well as plenty of bottled drinking water which was replenished the next day. And something I truly appreciate in the bathroom but don’t always have: so much counter space!

    This was the view from our window! We could spot the Plaza de Armas a few blocks away, but the area surrounding the hotel was blissfully quiet.

    We especially enjoyed making use of the courtyard in the evenings when the fire pit was ablaze and the happy hour menu was open for orders. We loved the street food snacks, pisco sours, and a Peruvian treat similar to a donut called picarones. Chris and I curled up with alpaca wool blankets and relaxed to the sounds of local musicians performing for the happy hour crowd. And just in case you’re wondering if you’ll get a quiet night’s sleep here – the fiesta ended at 7pm each night.

    I missed snapping a photo of the entire breakfast spread, but El Mercado had every breakfast option imaginable in their El Desayunador breakfast lounge including a long list of made-to-order crepes, as well as something we couldn’t have imagined: the Emoliente drink! Feeling adventurous, we tried this therapeutic herbal cocktail (non-alcoholic) one morning. It’s said to have medicinal properties good for liver support, digestion, and general health, so I figured it couldn’t hurt. It reminded me of warm beet juice, even though I don’t think it had beets in it. Or maybe it did? There were a lot of natural ingredients! I can report that while it wasn’t my most favorite drink ever (it’s probably one of those flavors that has to grow on you), I did feel a good boost of healthy energy. Try it and let me know how you like it!

    We loved everything about El Mercado and would highly recommend it as the perfect spot to begin or end your Inca adventure around the Sacred Valley. We easily walked to all of the Cusco sights and restaurants mentioned in this post. I love that next time we’re in Cusco, we definitely already know exactly where to stay!

    Note:  This post is not sponsored by El Mercado and I did not receive anything in exchange for this post. We just loved our stay with them!

  • Moving Pictures: Peru

    Moving Pictures: Peru

    If a picture is worth a thousand words a video must be worth millions, so here is a three-and-a-half minute collection of clips I shot of our time in the Sacred Valley of Peru!

    I had fun trying out a new handheld gimbal for my GoPro. It was fairly easy to get the hang of it and the gimbal helped me keep my footage steady and way smoother than without it, especially while walking. It even did a great job of steadying the footage while on a very bumpy bus ride up to Machu Picchu. I’m still learning some of the features, and if you make it to the end of the video you’ll see what I mean. 😉 In all fairness, I only skimmed the user manual shortly before our trip and I should know better!

    Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

  • Lares Adventure – Day 7: Machu Picchu!

    Lares Adventure – Day 7: Machu Picchu!

    Like many travelers who make plans for Peru, my ultimate goal was to see the magnificence of Machu Picchu, and our trip would not have felt complete without a visit to the ancient citadel. And for most of the morning and afternoon on Day Six, we thought we would miss out on seeing it. But late that day, we made it to Aguas Calientes, and on Day Seven of our Lares Adventure we did see Machu Picchu! And it was indeed magnificent.

    But let me go back to the start of our time in Aguas Calientes. We arrived by train around 7pm and walked from the station to our lodging for the night, the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel. The hotel grounds are breathtaking, but after having sort of a stressful day I just didn’t have it in me to take many photos. Plus by the time we ate dinner and arrived to our rooms, it was dark. And we left first thing the next morning to try to beat the crowds to Machu Picchu. All of this is to say I did not end up taking photos of the beautiful hotel.

    But we did have some time after our tour of Machu Picchu to do a little bird watching – the Inkaterra is home to dozens of hummingbirds!

    Despite getting to the line for the bus by 8:15am, there was quite a queue already formed. But the line moved fast, and I think we only waited for maybe twenty minutes. And I was too excited to care! We were going to see Machu Picchu!

    Our bus ride up the long and winding Hiram Bingham Highway took us right to the entrance of Machu Picchu and we were the only ones there! Just kidding. Everyone else in the world was there, too. But still…Machu Picchu!

    After waiting in that line and getting our tickets scanned…

    …we walked up a path and turned the corner to see this!

    Group photo with one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, check! We went on to tour the grounds and the various structures, and we learned about the religious, ceremonial, and agricultural aspects of each area. I’m especially fascinated by the astronomical features of the Inca sites. The Incas worshiped the sun, and they aligned their structures to tie into the sun’s movement on significant ceremonial dates. Eddie pointed out several features of Machu Picchu that illustrate how the Incas honored the sun.

    Oh, and there were also llamas!

    Shortly before Chris and I left for Peru, we heard the news about changes to the rules for tourists at Machu Picchu which became effective just a few days before we were set to arrive. Basically instead of allowing visitors to roam freely around the site, a specific set of paths has been set, and entrance must be accompanied by a guide. Not knowing in advance how the rules would work, I worried that the new restrictions would keep me from getting the one photo I wanted – the postcard view from the top near Watchman’s Hut.

    Our tour did stick to a specific path, only in one direction, and guards were posted throughout to keep tourists from straying off that route. We had to exit Machu Picchu and re-enter in order to climb up to Watchman’s Hut and we did so without Eddie, but for some reason that was allowed with no issues. If I remember correctly, you are allowed to re-enter Machu Picchu two times as long as it was within your ticketed timeslot, but I’m not exactly sure why we didn’t need a guide to go up to the hut.

    We ended up having to choose between this and the Huayna Picchu hike though, because we only had time to do one or the other. I’m a slow hiker as it is, and I think I would have taken even longer on HP with the steepness. I also really (really really) wanted to see the Watchman’s Hut view. So Huayna Picchu is on the list for next time! I’m glad we chose to climb up to Watchman’s Hut because the view is spectacular and I did get the shot I wanted (even if the lighting wasn’t quite perfect), plus some fun pictures of us.

    Side note: I should mention that I failed to wear bug spray at Machu Picchu even though I knew it was recommended and I even brought it with me. I’m all smiles in the photos from that day, but what I didn’t know at the time was that I would end up with a dozen of the reddest, itchiest bites I’ve ever endured, and that even as I’m writing this blog post two months later, I still have marks on my legs! I implore you to wear bug spray!

    I feel like this would be a fine place to end our story in Peru, but transportation woes continued to be an issue for us as we attempted to make our way back to Cusco. The trains were shut down during our day in Aguas Calientes since the tracks were still being dismantled by the protesters. At least this time we were able to linger over a delicious lunch in the Inkaterra hotel instead of at the train station. We enjoyed the comforts (and WiFi) of the lobby while we awaited our train.

    We waited all afternoon with no news until all of a sudden our window of opportunity arose and we rushed to the train station. This was another time on our trip that I was incredibly thankful to have a guide. If Chris and I had visited Machu Picchu on our own, we might not have even reached Aguas Calientes, or if we had, we could have gotten stranded there. Eddie managed to arrange our train transfer back to Ollantaytambo, and I suspect he had to work some magic to expedite things for us. We breezed by throngs of weary travelers who seemed surprised and perhaps a little disgruntled that we were on the next train out. Again, I don’t know what went on behind the scenes to make that happen and I was happy Eddie expertly handled it for us. We breathed a sigh of relief when we were seated on the train and it actually departed.

    Upon arriving at Ollantaytambo, trying to exit the train station was somewhat of a mob scene (see blurry iPhone snap below). Hundreds of people were pressed against the fences yelling and shouting, trying to get in, possibly after having been delayed all day or maybe even from the day before. Our group had to wedge ourselves out of the gate and through the crowds, trying to keep a close eye on each other. Cars and vans lined every inch of the roads with drivers attempting to locate their passengers amidst the confusion. They, too, had waited all day for clients or family/friends who were unable to reach the station on time if at all.

    We located our van in the chaos and piled in for the long ride back to Cusco in which our driver expertly navigated the back roads to avoid potential protester road blocks. We reached Cusco late in the evening and deposited each of the trekkers at their respective hotels. Chris and I said goodbyes to our newfound friends, with whom we formed bonds over adventure, new experiences, and the wonders of Inca history, and retired to our room for the night. (Actually we ended up going to grab Subway sandwiches at about 10:30pm, and then we hit the hay.)

    Even with the drama we encountered with getting to and from the citadel, Machu Picchu certainly did make for a superb grand finale to our week. Mountain Lodges of Peru calls this trek a “seven-day journey through the rich history, living culture and magnificent landscape of Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas,” and I can’t think of a better way to spend a week in Peru. I loved every minute of it…minus the bug bites.

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