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Author Archives: Jean Nguyen
Hitchhiking for Beer and Fireworks
Little did we know that our adventure to Vilcabamba, Ecuador would begin right in Maria, the little village nearest to the ruins of Kuelap. We returned to Maria after our morning exploration of Kuelap at 1:15pm, which we believed would be ample time for … Continue reading
Kuelap
Day tours from Chachapoyas to Kuelap, the largest pre-Incan ruins in South America, must only appeal to people with little time; they depart every morning and return every evening for 6 hours of just driving roundtrip. After having spent the past … Continue reading
Posted in Peru
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Buses And A Waterfall
Although both situated in remote areas of northern Peru, I had to make the effort to visit both the Cordillera Blanca in the north and Chachapoyas in the far north due their sites. While the Cordillera Blanca holds what some … Continue reading
The Cordillera Blanca
Upon looking at the calendar I saw that we were more than halfway into our 5-month long South American adventure. Time was running out! We quickly blew through the dismal capital of Lima and made it to the pretty, little … Continue reading
Ica
Not far south from Lima along the coast of Peru lies the noisy, chaotic city of Ica. My reason for stopping by Ica (and I’m assuming this is the same reason for most tourists) was to see Huacachina, a tiny … Continue reading
The Inca Trail
The Inca Trail vs. Salkantay “Do the Salkantay Trek instead,” they said. “It’s much less crowded than the Inca Trail,” they said. “The Inca Trail was completely booked, so we did the Salkantay Trek instead, and we’re so glad we … Continue reading
Cusco and the Sacred Valley
Everyone was right about Cusco. It’s a gorgeous, lively city. And it’s touristy as fuck. Machu Picchu to South America is like Angkor Watt to Southeast Asia. Annoying touts, rip offs, lying tour companies, endless jam-packed tourist vans, and flag waving … Continue reading
Posted in Peru
Tagged cusco, maras, moray, ollantaytambo, pisac, salineras, the sacred valley
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Arequipa and El Misti
The 6-hour bus ride from Cabanaconde to Arequipa was straight forward (and cheap at only 17 soles or ~$5) and by nightfall we arrived to what ended up being our favorite city in South America thus far. Arequipa, the second largest city … Continue reading
Cabanaconde (Colca Canyons)
The largest city nearest to the Colca Canyons is Arequipa (4 hours away by bus), and the largest town within the Colca Canyon area is Chivay. Along the mostly unpaved road west of Chivay that hugs the coast of the canyon … Continue reading
Puno
Peru was literally a 30-minute bus ride from Copacabana and crossing the border was a piece of cake. Four hours later we were in Puno, Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian side. To our amusement, Southeast Asian-like tuk-tuks or moto taxis … Continue reading