Anne leans over a rail and looks out on the Pacific Ocean in Lima Peru

Early Thursday morning, November 17, 2016, we jumped in an Uber and headed for Tampa International Airport. We had packed in a way that we had one big bag each to check, and a bookbag each to carry our electronics, paperwork, and emergency clothes just in case the checked bags went missing. One of the things that struck me early in our adventure was that flights to other countries don’t really take that long compared to domestic flights. It makes sense when you think about miles, but emotionally Mexico and Peru seem so much further from Florida than Chicago or California.

A seat screen on the flight from Miami to Lima Peru shows the plane's route

Unfortunately, we had a delayed flight and a 5-hour layover in Ft Lauderdale, but overall, the actual flight to Peru only took a little under 6 hours. We got into Lima around midnight, and after an exhausting travel day we just wanted to get to the Sheraton Lima and pass out. We had made it though. We were in South America, in a country no one we knew had ever been, and the adventure was on!

A wide view of the exterior of Casa Roosevelt in Lima Peru — Casa Roosevelt in the heart of Lima

We woke up early and started exploring. We knew we were getting in late, so the first night we stayed at a hotel near the center of Lima. We had a light breakfast and walked down to La Plaza de Armas. It was here we ran into another road block… quite literally. APEC and President Obama were meeting and the historic plaza was locked down. “Thanks, Obama!”

Luckily for us, the surrounding historic district was still up and running. We checked out the Cathedral de Lima, an excellent example of historic catholic architecture in South America. It’s hard to describe the beauty of the artistry, architecture, and iconography on display all around this area of the city. We went in and out of churches, government buildings and more. We got some cakes from a street vendor, delicious snacks that she made every morning and brought down to sell out of her basket. When she unloads them all, she’s done for the day, not a bad gig. We did more sightseeing and grabbed a lunch of tamalitos and papas, the Peruvian spin on tamales, at a local hole in the wall. We headed back to check out of the hotel and enjoyed beers (a Pilsen Callao for me) and pisco sours (a great local drink, but more on that later).

Later in the evening, we jumped in a cab and traveled to our real home for the next couple of days: the Dragonfly Hostel in Miraflores. We hit a local market and got some great Peruvian empanadas. We picked chicken, pork, beef, and potatoes. Headed back to the Hostel and enjoyed beers and nightlife with fellow travelers. This would become one of my favorite things while traveling around the world. There’s nothing more fun and inspiring than kicking back with people who have been to places you’ve never been, and telling them about the places you’ve been that they haven’t yet. If you’re staying at hostels, hotels, doing guided tours, etc., and don’t link up with other travelers you’re really missing some great opportunities.

The next day we headed back out. We stumbled upon a local Farmers market while wandering around Miraflores, and tried some amazing white cheese and tomato mixture, more empanadas, more tamalitos, fresh bread and more. We went looking for the 100 cats at Kennedy Park. This was one of those weird things that for some reason ends up in travel guides and blogs, and when you get there you’re like… “okay, it’s a park, and there are a few cats hanging out… cool?” Definitely not the 100 cats we were promised, more like 14, but the park had a nice lady with a fresh popcorn cart, and it was solid people watching, so no real complaints.

We found a local spot called “Los Inkas” and had some great fish and chips. We walked over to el Parque del Amor and saw “El Beso”, a pretty cool art piece of two lovers embracing, and people watched as couples and families strolled along the oceanside park. It was one of those nice slice of life experiences where you really got to see what locals did on a Friday night in this neighborhood. Couples had picnics and made out, friends drank and laughed, kids ran around with wide eyes. I loved it.

Anne overlooking the ocean and Parque del Amor

In the evening, we had dinner at Punta Sal, a nice two-story restaurant overlooking Parque Antonio Raimondi and the ocean. We ate some really good Remos de Longastinos (similar to a fried lobster egg roll) and some of the freshest and best ceviche I had ever had up to that point. Great experience. Then, with our bellies full, we headed down to the park to check out sunset over the Pacific Ocean. A bottle of wine and good conversation, sharing experiences, with our hostel mates back on the rooftop of Dragonfly was the perfect end to our Lima experience.

After some great days in Lima, we flew to the historic city of Cusco. Flying over the Andes mountains was worth jumping in a plane all by itself. I had flown over the Appalachians and Rockies before, but there was something breathtaking about the Andes that can’t be put into words.

a view of an airplane wing over the Andes mountains — A view of the Andes Mountains from the air

Cusco itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we stayed in the historic district to take in the best sites. We stayed at Hitchhikers Cusco Hostel, and you could tell this was a repurposed villa of some sort. We had a really good location, lots of restaurants, a good mix of tourists and locals, and a great town square, La Plaza de Armas de Cusco, for people watching.

a landscape view of La Plaza de Armas de Cusco with a man napping in the foreground — La Plaza de Armas de Cusco

The first thing I noticed about Cusco was how difficult it was to walk around and keep your breath. I’m not a small dude, but walking a couple of blocks uphill has never gotten me so winded. We met an older traveling couple, Alec and his wife Janice, who told us we had to grab dinner at Morena Peruvian Kitchen. We tried the Aeropuerto, a Peruvian fried rice with prawns, pork belly, Chinese vegetables and more, and the Lomo Saltado Morena, a stir fried beef fillet and vegetables on a mixture of aji Amarillo, quinotto and topped with a huancaína sauce.

Peruvian fried rice and Lomo Saltado Morena in beautiful bowls — Peruvian fried rice and Lomo Saltado Morena from Morena Peruvian Kitchen

The altitude really does a number on you. I’ve had air pressure headaches before, but this one hit me harder than anything that’s ever happened back in the states from some bad weather coming in. I was out of commission for most of our first full day there, while Anne went out and explored.

An Alpaca Burger and fries from Fuego, Burgers and Barbecue Restaurant

I was able to eventually meet up with her and try my first Alpaca burger (check out the video here) at one of the local restaurants, Fuego, Burgers and Barbecue Restaurant. It was delicious, kind of like a slightly sweeter, lighter more tender beef. At Fuego, I was also introduced to a tea that was supposed to help with the altitude sickness, and I don’t know if it was the tea or a placebo effect, but I was feeling better after a couple of cups. It was Coca leaf tea. Yes, the same coca leaf that they make cocaine out of. No, I didn’t get high because it has to be hella concentrated to be a drug. The leaves have been used in this region for thousands of years.

A bronze sculpture of a "Chubby Woman" surrounded by birds sits in La Plaza de Armas de Cusco with a description of the exhibition in the background — A “Chubby Women” statue

We explored the square, where they had a traveling exhibition from Guangzhou, China. The sculptures were called, “Chubby Women” and were from an artist named Xu Hong Fei as part of Culture Week. It is interesting how siloed we can be in retrospect, but of course other countries interact and share arts and culture with each other. This doesn’t just happen in major American cities.

A bronze sculpture of a "Chubby Woman" balancing on a violin sits in La Plaza de Armas de Cusco — Another “Chubby Women” statue

Another interesting thing is how different cultures blend in other countries. For dinner that day, we had a stone fired pizza with chicken, pork, and alpaca… and it was amazing! Food Fusions were a big thing when we were traveling. Almost every city had some “odd” combination of cultures’ foods that almost always ended up being tasty.

a Panoramic view of La Plaza de Armas Cusco

Our time in Cusco was mixed, thanks to both of us going down at different points due to altitude sickness, but we ate some great food, and the town was a nice jumping off point for the archaeological adventures to come. Next up, the Golden Valley and Machu Picchu!