Preparations – Dani Francuz Rose

We just got back from another incredible trip, which means it’s time to reflect and reminisce. This trip was unlike many others because it required a lot more prep than we’re used to, so if you’re planning a trip to Peru, hopefully I can help you out a little with my breakdown of some of our plans and experiences. And if you’re not planning a trip to Peru, here’s your sign to start!

The Preparations

As I mentioned, we actually had to do quite a few things well in advance for this trip. Generally, we just book our flights and lodging and let the rest of the trip unfold in real time; however, there are two things about Peru that forced us to think ahead a bit more: 1, we knew we’d be at elevation again, and 2, Machu Picchu is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

For the elevation issue, we decided to play it safe and get a prescription for Acetazolamide from our local pharmacy. Here in Québec, we didn’t need to see a doctor, we just had to talk to the pharmacist about our trip (how long it was, what the elevation would be, etc.), and he gave us a week’s worth of a medication that we started to take a couple of days before we left. This medication works by helping your blood carry more oxygen, which can prevent the symptoms of altitude sickness (known in Peru as “soroche”).

The other challenge we faced months before our trip was booking everything for Machu Picchu. To say there are a lot of options would be a gross understatement. You can take weeks and hike in from far away places in almost every direction; you can camp; you can glamp; you can take a scenic train ride; you can stay in Cusco and do a day trip; you can stay at the base of the mountain in Aguas Calientes – really there are so many options, and you basically have to decide all that before you can buy your park tickets for the specific day/time you want. The trickiest part is the fact that those park tickets are released in batches about 5 months in advance, and they get snapped up pretty darn quick!

Cusco

So, we chose Cusco as our main base for this trip because we knew we needed to acclimate to the elevation (Cusco sits at 3,400m or 11,200ft), and it’s such a great jumping off point for things like Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, and Vinicunca. We totally thought it’d just be a place for us to rest and generally just pass through, but we absolutely LOVED Cusco! It has so much to do and is so beautiful that even when our lungs were screaming after climbing all the stairs, we continued to push through just to see a little more. Everyone we met was extremely friendly, and the food was some of the best we’ve had, so really, I cannot recommend Cusco enough!

One of our favorite things to do in Cusic was to just wander the different neighborhoods. We stayed in San Blas, and it was absolutely beautiful, but there are many points of interest and fun things to see everywhere you turn. We also enjoyed grabbing a coca tea infusion or a coffee at one of the many cafés in the city. The Chocolate Museum was free and definitely worth a pop-in, plus right next door is Cervecería del Valle Sagrado, which had our favorite beers of the trip. Also, I mentioned the food in general was excellent, but our favorite restaurant of the trip was LOCAL where we had their empanadas, grilled fish, ceviche, and lomo saltado (all delicious)!

Machu Picchu

And now for the main event! Of course, one of the main reasons we chose Peru was to visit Machu Picchu, but I’ll be honest, you have to really want it! Since we decided on a day trip from Cusco, we started our morning at 3am by walking to the IncaRail office where we got on shuttle bus (i.e. van) that drove us the 2 hours out to Ollantaytambo. From there, we got on the train that took us another 2 hours through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes was another surprise for us – it’s such a cute town with quite a few restaurants/shops and a local flavor of its own. If I were planning this trip again, I think I would have made it an overnight trip to Machu Picchu, staying at least 1 night in Aguas Calientes.

Once at the base of the mountain, we opted for the bus ride to the top. You can hike up, and it apparently only takes an hour or two, but I’m so glad we chose the bus! The buses kick up a lot of dust that the people walking had to battle along the way, not mention the bugs, the sun, and lots and lots of stairs. Once in the park, the “circuits” or paths that you choose from when buying tickets, ended up looking quite similar and even crisscrossed at points, so don’t let that decision haunt you for too long. There are also some additional hikes you can do that take you out of the park, but I felt we got plenty of incredible views and hiking opportunities regardless.

However, I do wish we had taken them up on hiring a guide to accompany us up from Aguas Calientes because unlike any other tourist attraction I’ve ever been to, there were no information signs anywhere on the mountain. We followed our roped path and wondered aloud about everything. Whose llamas are these? When did they begin restoration? How many people lived here? Basically, we had a lot of Googling to do, so if you want real-time commentary, definitely get a guide. The other thing I would make sure to do next time is to book any and all train transport during daylight hours – the train ride in was incredibly beautiful, and it was a shame that we rode back in the dark. I absolutely wanted to see it all again in reverse!

Vinicunca

Our second day trip was down to Vinicunca, also known as Rainbow Mountain. This particular Airbnb Experience also required a very early start as we made our way to a pick-up location in the city, this time to be shuttled 2 hours in the opposite direction of Machu Picchu to Cusipata. There we had a buffet breakfast and guzzled down some more coca tea in preparation for our hike. After another very windy 2 hours in the van, we were at the base of Vinicuna. Here we could opt to either hike on foot, ride a horse, or wild out with some dirt bikes. We went the traditional route even though it was the slowest option, but again, I’m so glad we did. We took our time looking in every direction at the stunning scenery around us, and eventually we summited the 5,0036m (16,500ft) mountain.

We’ve done a few hikes at elevation now, and we’ve always been fine. We take any recommended medication, local remedies, and general acclimation advice, and although we often experience minor symptoms like a headache and breathlessness, we’ve never gotten sick. I will say though that in both Ecuador and Peru, we saw several people being helped down with stretchers, and at Vinicunca, someone left in an ambulance, so I would recommend anyone traveling or hiking in these conditions to do your research and take it easy! That said, Vinicuna has 1,600m (5,000ft) on Machu Picchu, and we absolutely noticed that difference – I’m not sure we felt anything elevation related at Machu Picchu, whereas Vinicunca was tough.

After our gorgeous hike up and down, we went back to Cusipata for another buffet and then napped the rest of the way back to Cusco. This excursion started at 4am and ended at 5pm. Our Machu Picchu day started at 3am and ended at midnight (honestly a day trip and a half). And all of this was after our 24+ hour-long journey just to get to Cusco from Québec City, which is why I’ll say it again, you really have to want it! Of course, I hope it also goes without saying that it was absolutely worth every second of uncomfortable travel, and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat! #YOLO

Lima

After Cusco, we went onto to Lima for a couple of days to recover and reset before the long journey home. Lima is the capital of Peru, and it’s located in a desert on the coast – very different from Cusco or anywhere in the highlands. Lima is huge, and the first decision you have to make is which neighborhood do you want to stay in: Cercado (the historic center), Miraflores (the modern tourist hub), or Barranco (the artsy, bohemian district). We chose Miraflores and were happy to be in the middle, well-positioned to explore all three neighborhoods. We did a walking tour of Cercado, and it was fantastic – my only regret was that we did it on the last day of our stay rather than the first!

Other than the walking tour, we really enjoyed strolling along the malecón (boardwalk) and watching all the paragliders. If we’re ever back in Lima, that’s the first activity I’ll be planning! We also loved sipping our Pisco sours at the Gran Bolivar Hotel, where the drink was allegedly created, and walking through Parque Kennedy and seeing all the cats (and their embassy-sponsored shelters) was also really fun. Despite being the sixth South American country we’ve visited, Peru surprised us at just about every corner, which is, of course, just how I like it!

The Food

And last but not least, as has become a sort of custom on these posts, I want to end with a list of all the Peruvian dishes we were able to try while there. We always make ourselves a little checklist, and here’s what we had for Peru:

Ají de gallina (chicken stew)

Alpaca meat

Butifarra sandwich (ham, pickled veggies, and chilies)

Causa Limeña (stuffed mashed potatoes)

Ceviche

Chifa (Peruvian-Chinese fusion)

Chica morada (purple corn and fruit drink)

Empandas

Grandma’s soup (chicken noodle soup)

Inca Cola (most popular soft drink)

Lomo saltado (stir-fried beef and veggies)

Native potatoes

Picarones (sweet potato donuts with spiced syrup)

Pisco sour (Peruvian cocktail)

Pollo a la brassa (rotisserie chicken)

Ah, December. The pinnacle of the holiday season, the last month of the year, and the official start of winter – yay! Last winter was our first in Canada, and we gleaned so much information. For example, we know that the first snow Ottawa had last year was on October 30th, and the last snow of the season was on April 24th. The coldest day was January 19th at -20°C (approximately -5°F), but overall, it was really a very mild winter. I, personally, hope this year we get a lot more snow and a much longer stretch of extremely low temperatures. How else will I put all our new northern climate knowledge to the test? Knowledge like:

Preparation is Key

One of the first surprises we encountered last winter was just how much preparation both the city and its inhabitants have to do before winter. Everyone started putting out salt chests and snow markers well before the first snowstorm. Businesses added tents and flaps to entranceways; boot trays and coat racks were everywhere, and we even saw insulated porta-potties at nearby construction sites. For our part, we were focused on acquiring all the right winter clothing, which I’m happy to say was well worth whatever we paid for it all! We also had to buy quite a few car accessories, such as shovels, scrapers, sand, winter tires, and non-freezing windshield wiper fluid. This time around, it has been less buying and more restocking, but still, the preparation really makes for a smoother transition.

Everything Takes a Little Longer

Even after all the preparation was taken care of, we were still surprised by how much longer literally everything takes in winter! Getting dressed, lacing up boots multiple times a day, warming up the car, walking carefully on the ice – it all adds up like we couldn’t believe! Maybe this year I’ll time how long it takes to get the three of us dressed and ready to go outside because I’d guess it’s an extra 10-15 minutes every time. The other time-suck that I didn’t even think about prior to having such long winters was how much more laundry we have. When you’re wearing so many more layers every day, it really turns into a mountain of laundry after just a couple of days.

Winter is Kinda Messy

Having only lived in northern climates as a child (and/or for short periods of time), I was completely unaware of just how messy snowy winters can be. Everyone walks inside constantly dripping on the floor – the floors of restaurants, our building’s lobby, and worst of all, the entryway of our apartment. It didn’t take long for me to put an extra mat and towels by the door (yay, more laundry), but it doesn’t matter because there’s no containing it all. And you might be thinking, “hey, no big deal, water dries”, which is true, except this isn’t just water. It’s salted, which means everything gets a nice crusty white layer of salt even after it’s dry. The salt and sludge obviously got to the car as well, and we ended up having to get a carwash halfway through last winter because we literally couldn’t see out of the windows. I’m pretty sure I could count on one hand the number of times we’ve ever washed our car, and I would have never thought we’d have to wash it in the dead of winter!

There’s Quite a Bit of Extra Work

Okay, so we learned you have to prepare in advance, spend more time than usual, and always expect a mess, which, of course, requires some extra work, but the amount of extra work really kept surprising us! Scrape this, shovel that, clear a path for the dog to get to the “grass” because the snow walls are taller than she is! On and on it goes! Jenn, too, has to put a bit more effort into her daily tasks. She has to endure the multiple layers of clothing, scale snowdrifts when looking for a place to pee, and get wiped down whenever she comes back inside – all to her chagrin. On the bright side, I do feel like we still meet our exercise quotas because walking in the snow and scraping ice are definitely high calorie-burning activities!

So Many New Tricks to Learn

Another huge positive is that we developed a whole new set of skills. The best way to stomp excess snow off your boots? We know it. The best way to layer for easy transitioning between indoors and out? We’ve got it down. We’re also now very attuned to the sounds of the snow plows, which comes in handy, and I’m very happy to report that I didn’t fall on the ice even once last year (which I cannot say about our first Polish winter). I’d also add that we’re now very good at switching between Fahrenheit and Celsius, and we’re pretty much experts in interpreting the various weather alerts and winter vocabulary, regardless of the source. If you want to know more about the difference between hail, freezing rain, and sleet, I got you fam.

Lots of Surprises

All in all, I think we took everything pretty well in stride last year, but there were still a few things that we just didn’t believe until we experienced them ourselves. For example, our neighbors told us to watch out for the sunny days because they’re often the coldest, and wow, they were absolutely right! Apparently, clouds signal warmer temperatures – who knew?! We were also extremely surprised by how quick and easy it was to do some of the winter challenges, like freezing ramen noodles in mid-air. It took less than ten minutes! Another thing we didn’t think much about was how gas mileage would be affected, nor did we think we’d even notice if it was. Spoiler, we absolutely did. And perhaps most surprisingly, it didn’t take long at all for 0°C (32°F) to not really feel all that cold. After a week at -10°C (15°F), hovering right around freezing felt downright balmy.

Luckily, It’s Incredibly Fun and Beautiful!

I know most people reading this will say things like “that’s why I hate winter” or “I never want to live somewhere like that”, but even with these added challenges, we had an absolute blast last winter and are so eager to do it all again (hopefully just a little more efficiently this time). Winter is definitely still my favorite season even if it does require a bit more effort up here. In fact, I’d say we actually enjoyed it more because of those extra efforts. Ultimately, it was fun to slow down, get a little messy, and learn a plethora of new things. For me, winters like these are so fun and so beautiful that I quickly forget about any negatives. So, who wants to come visit us in January and see for yourselves? Our winter wonderland will be waiting!