whenwelookedoutside

[whenwelookedoutside]

Made it home safe and sound. What a journey it has been.

Art by: Stefanie Walker

[whenwelookedoutside]

2/2 Ristorante Central

Tonight I fulfilled a life goal of mine that I don’t even know I had - to dine at one of the world’s top restaurants. We celebrated food tonight at Central, a restaurant that is ranked #6 in the world’s top 50 restaurants, and the best restaurant in all Latin America. It was incredible! It was certainly expensive (to be expected of a top 50 restaurant), but if you know anything about us it’s that we would rather have a culinary experience than anything else! This chef and restaurant are featured on the Chef’s Table series on Netflix. And halfway through the meal we even caught a quick glimpse of the genius chef behind the restaurant (Virgilio Martinez) and became really excited! Virgilio has created a tasting menu that features the different ecosystems of Peru by their elevation above (or below) sea level. There are courses that vary from the ocean to the desert, from the valleys to the rainforest, to the 15,000+ foot-tall Andes mountains. The meal celebrates the biodiversity of Peru, and we were extremely excited to experience it!

We dressed up (as best we could in our travel clothes) and walked down the block for our 8:00p.m. reservation. We were quickly seated, and instantly directed to the circular pieces of cardboard that would be our menu for the meal. We opted for a wine pairing flight, and began our journey through the elevations of Peru.

And then the food started! We had signed up for a 16-course tasting menu, but little did we know that a single “course” was often 3-5 bites of food. There was so much food to experience! We ate lime-filled razor clams, frozen cactus pear, sea urchin, duck tartar with goat cheese, crunchy Peruvian potatoes with pickled root vegetables, potatoes cooked in clay, fried piranha skin and yucca root, scallop ceviche, rice cakes, potato croquettes (they have over 3000 varieties of potatoes in Peru!), tender goat meat with dehydrated goat’s cheese, cocoa gelatin, edible clay meringue, green algae balls from mountainous lakes, and much, much more. A third of the ingredients we could not pronounce, and half of them we had never even heard of! It was truly a unique experience to the variety of food that Peru has to offer.

Before we knew it, it was 11:00p.m.! Three hours had passed in a frenzy of poured drinks, dish explanations, and flavor explosions. By the time we finished, we hauled ourselves up to stand and took a short tour of the facility. Even though he is wildly successful, the head chef constantly tries to discover new Peruvian ingredients and figure out ways to turn them into courses worthy of fine dining.

What a way to spend the final evening of our travels around the world! Tomorrow we have one more day in Lima, and then we return to the snowy cold of New York to brave our the rest of the winter with our families.

See you all soon!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/30 Sacsayhuaman

Our good weather streak has been broken! Today was very rainy all day. The precipitation started out light, so Amanda and I decided to go on an adventure to the ruins site of Sacsayhuaman that overlooks the city of Cusco. Unfortunately, there was soon thunder in the distance and we got soaked to the bone! It was okay though, because the ruins were practically deserted.

We saw rocks here that were much larger than those in Machu Picchu. It was amazing! Some of them were so incredibly massive that I was at a loss for how they were carved and transported. And the stones fit together like puzzle pieces, what skill these people had! It only took us about an hour to see the entire site.

You can tell by our faces that we were thoroughly wet and cold, but it was worth the trip. We also had a great view of the city of Cusco down below us, and at the end we spotted what looked like a Peruvian fairy house!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/29 Machu Picchu

There is a reason that over a million tourists each year journey from around the world to see Machu Picchu - it’s because the ruins are absolutely incredible. They were built somewhere between 1400 and 1500 (really not that long ago!) and are still holding together extremely well. The stone carving and fitting craftsmanship in places was stunning! There were literally no gaps between some stones in the walls. We climbed up and down countless stairs, as the various sections of Machu Picchu are at very different heights. And we saw some lawn-mowing llamas up at the higher sections!

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Needless to say, we were humbled to be in such an amazing place, and grateful that we were healthy and had the opportunity to see it.

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/29 Wayna Picchu Mountain

WE MADE IT!!

We woke up very early for a 5am breakfast and lined up in the dark to catch the first flight if shuttle buses up to Macchu Picchu. From where we were in the valley, the buses drove a mile down the road, and then drove up the side of the mountain along 15 long switchbacks that covered a length of road over 4 miles long! And then, finally, we were at the gate. We entered Machu Picchu at 6:15am, and we had additional tickets for a 7am hike up the adjacent Wayna Picchu mountain.

It was really foggy! For the first half hour,we wandered the ruins and appreciated what we could see, but the fog was obscuring most of the site. We decided to do our hike first and hope that the fog cleared out while we were climbing up.

The trail was STEEP. It climbs 1,100’ in just over 1.2 miles - Amanda and I were getting flashbacks to our stair-filled trek in Nepal! We stopped many times along the way to catch our breath as the altitude was affecting the amount of oxygen in the air. After about an hour of uphill slogging, stone steps, and hand ropes we eventually made it to the terraced ruins at the top. My first thought was “Who was crazy enough to build this here?!?” And then we ran into more stairs! These stairs at the ruins are playfully known as the “stairs of death,” and were at a whopping 60 degree angle!! Needless to say, I climbed up these vertical stone steps on all fours...

And then we were there! The fog had mostly cleared out and we had amazing views of Machu Picchu below us and the surrounding mountains and valleys. We spent some time admiring the breathtaking views, before turning around and heading all the way back down to see the actual Machu Picchu ruins in the daylight.

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/28 Buses, Trains, and The Andes

One day until we are in Machu Picchu!

Today we made the backpacker pilgrimage from Cusco to the town at the base of Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes (more recently just called “Macchu Picchu Town”). We started on an early bus to a town in the Andean Mountains called Ollantaytambo - from there we took a “Vistadome” train the rest of the way to Aguas Calientes. It was an interesting ride!

The town of Aguas Calientes exists for a single reason - to cater to the masses of tourists that visit Machu Picchu every year. Just off the train, we got lost in a maze of souvenir tents that seemed to go on forever! But we found our way around and enjoyed an afternoon in this unique tourist town in the mountains.

Tomorrow we set foot in one of the ancient wonders of the world!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/27 The City of Cusco

What a good rest! With no more busses to take, we all slept until a very late morning. With the sun shining down on us, we decided to spend the day strolling the streets of Cusco.

We saw the beautiful Plaza de Armas, pretty churches and arches, a HUGE indoor market, and tons of tiny side streets. The city center is pretty flat, but a few streets out the city begins to crawl up the sides of the surrounding hills. We looked in lots of shops, and even stopped into a churro bar for a mid afternoon snack! Cusco overall is a wonderful city. And with all of the tourist infrastructure (people stay here before going to Machu Picchu), it was comfortable to walk around and eat in restaurants.

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/26 Cusco!

We woke up at a decent hour (FINALLY) in Puno and headed out to the middle of the Andes mountains, to the beautiful city of Cusco. We saw dramatic mountains along the way and ate a surprisingly good buffet lunch in the middle of nowhere. The corn here is incredible! We finally arrived at our destination late afternoon.

Our room was off of a cute little courtyard. Tired, we plopped down our bags and rested with a little Netflix in the room.

Later we walked a few blocks through the city center of Cusco to a restaurant called Nuna Raymi, where we had a wonderful dinner!! I had a great mixed drink with Pisco, ginger, and lime, and both Amanda and I ordered some alpaca steaks. It was good! Very tasty, and not gamey at all. After, we walked through the restaurant’s own herb/vegetable/fruit garden and appreciated the spread of organic foods they had for sale. It was a great restaurant!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/25 Floating Islands of Uros

We headed out really early again, before sunrise, towards Puno. Over about seven hours, we climbed higher and higher in elevation, working our way slowly into the Andes mountains. At one point, we reached 4,550m high (that’s nearly 15,000 feet in the air!!). Even with a gradual change over time, we began to feel the effects of the altitude. We saw lots of white llamas, and even a rare vicuña!

Puno is a city located on the banks of Lake Titicaca, the highest elevation of any boat-navigable lake in the world (at around 12,500 feet). We were all quite tired and feeling low energy in the really high elevation. Amanda decided to stay in bed and rest, but I went with Chris and Taylor on a boat ride to visit a unique community of Puno - the Floating Islands of Uros.

Yes, the islands are actually floating! I could see and feel it slowly move as waves from other boats rolled underneath it.

The people use the lake reed for everything. The roots of the reeds are filled with air pockets - so the Uros people use cube-like pieces of soil+roots as a base for the island. Then, a hefty layer of dried reeds makes the walking surface, and all buildings (and even traditional boats) are made from these same dried leaves. And they eat the reed too, and we got to try it!They also eat fish and lake birds and such, but it is just incredible how versatile a single plant can be.

The islands started as a colony of native Peruvians who wanted to escape the imperialism and taxation of invading Spaniards in the 1500-1600s. Life was simple and the people lived almost completely without need to contact those on land. However, due to the effects of globalization, they now support themselves completely through tourism. They have solar panels, and cats and dogs, etc. Our visit felt a little bit like going to a zoo or an artificial exhibit... but it was still a very unique experience! And the grandma’s embroidery was so beautiful, I felt it would be a good way to support these unique people by purchasing a small souvenir.

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/24 Arequipa

What a long bus ride! We slept on the bus and arrived at our next city at 5:30 in the morning - suffice to say, we were TIRED. We crashed in our hotel and didn’t get up until 11:00.

We saw Arequipa’s Plaza De Armas (each city has their own plaza de armas near the center), and then visited an old monastery, the Monestario de Santa Catalina. We saw many nun bedrooms and beautiful courtyards. Their bread ovens were so interesting!

After that we stopped by Alpaca Mundo to see some various alpacas up close! We fed them, learned about the wool processing techniques, and learned that Peru is home to 5 different species of cameloids! There are llamas, two kinds of alpacas (short and long-haired), and wild species of vicuñas and guanacos. It was a lot of fun!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/23 Pisco and Nazca

Today was a long travel day - we left our hostel at around 10 in the morning and drove to a Pisco winery. In the same way that Champagne is made in Champagne, France, this particular alcohol is very popular in Peru and only made in Pisco. We took a tour to see the traditional (and still used!) tools for making the sweet wine and spirits out of this special variety of grapes. Then, to the cellar for a tasting! The wines were extremely sweet (almost unpleasant), but the Pisco itself was very tasty.

Then, back on the road. After a few hours we arrived at a very flat, VERY dry area. It was time to see the Nazca lines! We climbed a few flights of steps up a small tower for an aerial view of three different symbols: hands, tree, and lizard (the tail is visible just past the tree). Seeing the lines next to the road really put their size into perspective. Apparently, they are no more than a few inches deep. The lack of rain in this area (0.001 inches per year!) is the reason that the lines have been preserved so well.

Their origins are still a mystery, but scholars think that ancient Incans made them as a tribute to their gods.

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/22 Huacachina oasis town

Is it still today?! This trip around Peru has brought so much more adventure and unique experiences than I imagined it would.

We left the coast town of Paracas and headed further inland. A mere hours’ drive found us in this tiny tourist town of Huacachina, located on a natural oasis surrounded by towering sand dunes. (It seemed really remote, but was actually only a few miles outside a larger city). Shortly after checking into our rather loud hostel, we walked up a small hill from the oasis for a dune buggy adventure. These buggies were really big - they sat eight people plus a driver.

And then we were off! Our driver shot us across the sand. We went up and down some REALLY steep dunes, it was like a roller coaster and almost felt like we were going to tip forward at times! The wind was in our hair, and we were pelted with bits of sand (it wasn’t bright out, but I’m glad I had sunglasses!). We drifted on banked corners and sped around for about twenty minutes.

It seemed like the dunes wen in for forever. We eventually parked at the top of some small dunes and got out for our sandboarding experience! Chris and I attempted to stand on the boards down the hill, but the sand was very sluggish and caused too much friction/drag - also, the fact that our boards were basically plywood ovals with thin velcro straps didn’t help the cause! Anyway, these first few dunes seemed really cool, and then our driver said they were “para niños” (for children) and took us to the real deal. The dunes were so tall!! It was such a rush to go sledding down hills of sand. The sand got EVERYWHERE, but we were laughing and yelling with excitement, and utterly tired at the end. Not bad for $15 a person!

At night we were social and stayed up in the bar with other travelers who were also using the PeruHop company to get around Peru. It wa a a really packed day of fun!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/22 Ballestas Islands National Park

This morning was incredible!! We woke up in Paracas and took a morning boat tour of the Ballestas Islands (a.k.a., the “Poor man’s Galapagos).

We first saw a 200-year old symbol that looked like a candelabra dug into the hard sand on the coast - our guide said it was used in shipping routes. Then we made it to the islands and saw pelicans, Humboldt penguins, boobies, cormorants, seagulls, guanay guano birds, turkey vultures, sea lions, and the occasional red-orange crabs tucked between barnacles. The sights were amazing, and there were so many birds! The smell of poop from thousands of birds was quite intense... but so worth it.

Over 1,500 sea lions and 50,000 birds, we felt like we were in a National Geographic video.

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/21 Lima to Paracas

It’s the beginning of our bus tour! Last night, Chris and Taylor arrived to our hotel; this morning we all woke up at 5:00a.m. To catch our PeruHop bus. We left the large city of Lima behind and headed south along the desert-like coast of Peru until we hit the small fishing & tourist town of Paracas that morning. Our hotel was comfortable, but the sight of the adjacent poverty-stricken houses really made us think of how lucky we are, among other things...

We took a free tour of the nearby Paracas Natural Reserve (equivalent to a National Park here) and saw some great views of the desert coast.

Then we hung out by the hotel pool, took a nap, and strolled along the waterfront during sunset. Dinner found us in a small restaurant called Misk’i, a Rasta-themed place with a wood-fired pizza oven. And the pizza was actually good! (Even for NY standards)

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/20 (El Veinte del Enero, for you Spanish lovers)

We are here in Peru! Currently we are in Lima, the capital city. We have been resting for the last two days, after over 24 consecutive hours of traveling through four different airports... but we’re here in one piece!

Lima varies from one district to another, much like NY. However, we chose to stay in a Brooklyn equivalent area, so things are nicer here. Besides the polluted tap water (even the locals only drink bottled water), we are pretty comfortable for being in South America.

As you can see, we have only taken pictures of food so far! (If you couldn’t already tell, we both love authentic and tasty international culinary experiences 😁). We lucked out on this one, because one of Lima’s top ten restaurants happened to be a mere block from our hotel!! So, naturally we had to go. It is called Panchita, and the food was just incredible. We shared a dish of five different tamales to start. Then, Amanda ate crispy pork belly and I ordered the marinated, grilled beef heart (It was actually good! A little chewy, but tasted just like gamey beef); both main courses came with fried potato halves, some of the largest corn kernels I have ever seen, and really flavorful sauces. We finished with what will probably be the best tres leches cake I will ever eat in my life - it was magical!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/16 Pololu Valley

Time to go hiking again!

Much like the Waipi’o valley in our last post, this destination was a secluded black sand beach only accessible by foot. (In fact, both valleys are on opposite ends of a dramatic stretch of coastline called the Hāmākua Coast.) With only a moderate, half-mile hike down into the valley, we were able to spend a good few hours just sitting and enjoying this magical place. The ocean at this beach is known for having dangerous currents, so we played it safe and only got our feet wet.

This was our final adventure of Hawaii! Tomorrow we get on a plane (multiple planes, actually...) and make our way south to Peru. Wish us “buenos viajes” (good travels)!

[whenwelookedoutside]

1/13-1/15 Mountains and Coastlines

The past few days for us have been full of some cool experiences, pristine & quiet beaches, and lots of fresh seafood and tropical fruits.

On Tuesday, we drove out to Waipi’o valley, the place of residence of the ancient Hawaiian royalty. Although we didn’t hike down, the view from the top was amazing. Along the way we drove through large eucalyptus forests, and even enjoyed a fresh coconut from a roadside fruit truck. That night we went out to a nice restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. I can’t believe it has already been seven years since we met! And each day is an adventure (at least, living with me it is...). The manager and servers went out of their way to ensure we had a wonderful experience, it was a night full of good food and much laughter. The word Ho’omaika’i is a combination of congratulations and thankfulness, and I was definitely feeling both of those!