Peru tests you before it rewards you.
I stepped off the plane in Cusco and immediately knew this trip was going to test me! The altitude hit first: 3,400 metres (about 11,150 feet) doesn't mess around. The next day I spent the whole time lying flat, staring at the ceiling, convinced my legs had officially quit on me. Yuuki, meanwhile, parked himself on the windowsill and watched the Plaza de Armas like he'd owned the city forever. By the following day, the terracotta roofs and colonial facades had my energy back. Coca leaves really do help, I can confirm.
The train to Aguas Calientes left at dawn, and I hadn't even finished my coffee yet. I got to Machu Picchu mid-morning, followed the crowd without really knowing where I was headed, then turned a corner and the terraces just appeared, huge, green, oddly quiet despite the crowds. I stopped dead in my tracks. Yuuki was resting in the backpack, and I felt his paws shifting, like he wanted a look too. We stayed there a while, both of us, completely still. It's wild, honestly, a place that can leave you speechless like that.
Lake Titicaca surprised me in a completely different way. On the floating Uros islands, women in embroidered skirts showed me how the reeds are woven into the ground beneath our feet, a ground that sways slightly with every step. I had this irrational fear of falling through. Yuuki put one paw down, pulled it right back, gave me an accusing look, and refused to leave the bag for the rest of the day. Honestly? Same.
Peru, As I Lived It!
Chicha & a Surprise
At the San Pedro Market in Cusco, a vendor handed me a glass of chicha morada without even asking if I wanted one. I swear, I had no idea whether I was supposed to drink it or just smile politely and back away. I drank it. Sweet, faintly spiced, completely unexpected. She explained it's made with purple corn, pineapple, and cinnamon, and that people drink it all over the country. I bought a whole bottle before leaving. Yuuki sniffed my glass, turned his head away, and walked off with absolute dignity.
The Sun Gate
We left the hotel at 4am to reach the Sun Gate before sunrise. Yuuki was asleep in his bag, snoring softly. The climb was steep, it was still pitch dark, and all I could see was the head torch of the person ahead of me. Then the sky slowly started to lighten behind the mountains. When the light finally hit the ruins for the first time, nobody was talking anymore. Not even me. That kind of silence, I'd never felt it anywhere else.
Ceviche in Lima
The cevicheria in Miraflores was packed, loud, and... really loud. They sat me at the counter, wedged between two regulars arguing loudly about a football match playing on the TV overhead. The ceviche arrived in a tiny bowl, with way more chilli than I ever saw coming. Raw fish cured in lime, red onion, sweet potato, giant corn kernels: it all blended together perfectly in one bite. Eyes watering, I immediately ordered a second one. Honestly, it's the best decision I made in all of Peru.
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