For a long time Peru has been on my list of places to travel and fit my quest of traveling once a year to somewhere adventurous and off the beaten path. We decided to take Lexi and Jack on a holiday in April, once their university exams were finished and before their summer jobs began. Ross was left at home, working hard on his schoolwork, not feeling too badly, as he has traveled with us, a lot! An adventure holiday with lots of hiking and culture was just what we were looking for.

Our journey began with an eight-hour late night flight to Lima. Did you know that Toronto is closer to Lima than Los Angeles, CA? We met a couple from LA while traveling in Peru, and they mentioned that their flight to Lima was over 8 hours. I checked the distances and Toronto is 6,209 km from Lima, while LA is 6,732 km. Don’t know why I thought Southern California would be closer to South America, yet now I know!

After a short sleep in Lima, we flew to Cusco. Situated in the Andes, Cusco is at 11,200 feet above sea level. We worried about feeling the effects of altitude, yet Advil and Peruvian chocolate quickly started our acclimation process. We tried tea made from coca leaves that is supposed to help with altitude sickness. Our guide asked if we were expecting any drug testing in the next month and if so, we should not drink the tea. The coca leaves contain alkaloids, which are the source for base cocaine. The tea is quite diluted, and is a mild stimulant. Paul had a cup of the coca tea late in the day while we were camping at 13,000 feet and was up all night, unable to sleep, yet enjoying the starry night. My advice when traveling to high altitudes- stick to Advil and chocolate!

One of the first things we noticed in Cusco was the number of dogs wandering the streets. Our guide assured me that rabies is not an issue in Peru because vaccinations for dogs- both pets and strays is free. Most stray dogs do in fact belong to someone, and are just enjoying the freedom of wandering the streets and return home at night. With all of the dogs we saw, we never saw any dog poop, as the cities and towns have cleaners who keep on top of this potential problem. The dogs are a mix of many breeds, with hints of Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds appearing in most. There is one breed that is unique to Peru and is considered the original Peruvian dog. It is medium size and hairless and quite unattractive.

The love of dogs is traced back to the Inca times, when it was believed that to be able to cross into the after-life through the Milky Way, one must be accompanied by his dog. A condor (a very large bird) acts as your transportation and your dogs from the past accompany your blind soul. The Incas would mummify their dogs to preserve them to be buried with them when they died. If you were not kind to your former dogs, you would not have anyone to help you cross the celestial river and your soul would be destroyed. The same would happen if you killed a dog, as it is very bad luck to kill a dog. Today, drivers in Peru do their very best to avoid dogs on the road. In remote villages, newborns are given a puppy, which is considered a very special gift. Needless to say, we had plenty of opportunities to add to our “Dogs of the World” photo collection.

It was in the Sacred Valley and the town of Ollantaytambo where we discovered that Peruvians love to eat Guinea Pigs. Rural homes dedicate a ground floor room to raising Guinea Pigs, and once they are full-grown, they are barbequed on festival days. We arrived in Cusco on a festival day, and as we drove along we saw many roadside barbeques, offering take-out Guinea Pig. Guinea Pig was on the menu of most of the hotels we stayed at, and Jack was the only one in our family brave enough to order Guinea Pig Confit for dinner one night. Jack got halfway through his meal, yet could not finish, once he had thought too much about it. Alpaca is the other meat that was on most menus, yet none of ventured to try this local delicacy. Most meals were served with potatoes, which are a major crop in Peru. In fact, there are over 3000 varieties of potatoes grown there. Quinoa is the other popular side dish, also grown in Peru. An interesting fact about quinoa is that is only grows above 8000 feet above sea level. The high altitude provides the daytime heat and nighttime cold that it needs to grow.

We arrived at Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate, after hiking the final 10 km of the Inca Trail. The hike was stunningly beautiful and with the high altitude, very challenging. 2500 visitors go to Machu Picchu each day, yet it is so vast, the other tourists are just specks in our pictures. It was a rare, perfectly sunny day and our guide suggested that we take lots of pictures, warning that it often rains or is cloudy. Sure enough, the next day the sky opened up! It is Peru’s largest tourist attraction and is a worthy destination to have on your bucket list.

Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911 and was declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. There are over 200 buildings on the site and hundreds of terraces surrounding it. Historians believe that it was built as a retreat for Inca royalty. James Hilton’s book, The Lost Horizon came to mind as we toured the site and heard more about it. It is on the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World, and wondrous it is!

It is a mystery to me how these Inca settlements were built in the 1400s at the top of mountains, using rocks that weigh a ton! Our guide explained that the rocks were often from a quarry in the next valley, and were transported up the mountain using a sliding pulley system. Once the rocks arrived, they were placed with extraordinary precision, like a puzzle and without mortar, into structures that have survived earthquakes and the elements for hundreds of years. The construction is a technological and architectural feat, causing New Age Andean cosmologists (and me) to wonder if the Incas were in fact aliens.

If you go to Machu Picchu and want to really challenge yourself, hike up Montana Wayna Picchu. It is the small mountain which looks over Machu Picchu, and the climb is not for the faint of heart with narrow steep paths beside exposed drops. In Inca times, it was the residence for the high priest and the local virgins. Another hiker made my day when I mentioned that Lexi and Jack were my kids and he couldn’t believe it, saying that he thought that we were a group of friends out hiking. I smiled the whole way down, while Lexi rolled her eyes. The steep descent was as challenging as the heart-pounding assent, so much so that my legs were shaking when I reached the bottom. When I admitted this to the kids, I was relieved to hear that their legs felt wobbly as well. It was time for lunch and a soak in the hotel’s hot-tub!

We were all a bit uncertain about the two-day hike and camping overnight in the Sacred Valley. Perhaps we were a bit spoiled after staying in some lovely hotels, and the thought of sleeping in a tent and using an outdoor make-shift toilet wasn’t too appealing. Our trepidation vanished and our excitement grew, as our driver dropped us off at the trailhead and we met up with our “team”. Our group consisted of our guide, the four of us, two cooks, two muleteers, two donkeys, one horse and a mixed breed dog named Groucho. We began hiking a section of the Moonstone Trail, and as we made our way up, we quickly began to see why this trek was on our itinerary- the scenery was magnificent. The high altitude required us to take frequent breaks for water, picture taking and to catch our breath. By the time we reached our campsite, the team had began to set-up the tents and prepare a delicious lunch. Some of the best food we ate on our trip was eaten on our camping trip. Following lunch, Lexi, Juan Manuel (our guide) and I continued up along the trail to the Gate of the Wind, at 4000 m (14,000 ft.) above sea level. A stone structure that was once an Inca shrine overlooked the entire valley and a glacier topped mountain. We felt on top of the world! The dreaded camping overnight turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of the trip.

After a few days of touring the city of Cusco, we said good-bye to our guide and flew to the last stop on our adventure, Lake Titicaca. We landed in Juliaca, Peru, not far from the Bolivia border and we were picked up by a van from our hotel. The long, bumpy ride to Titlaka Hotel, was well worth it. This boutique hotel, a Relais & Chateaux was the perfect spot to relax after a busy holiday. The hotel décor is exquisite and the views from all windows were breathtaking. Lake Titicaca’s name refers to the shape of the lake which resembles a puma hunting a rabbit. It is the highest navigable lake in the world. We visited the Uros Islands, a group of 42 islands made of reeds from the lake and occupied by the Uru people. The Uru people live an isolated and simple life on their islands, and rely on visiting tourists for their income. It was a culture shock to Lexi and Jack to meet young people, their age, who are already married with children. I purchased a wall hanging from a woman named Leandra, who was the matriarch of the island we visited and around my age. It was an awesome cultural experience for us all.

The night before our last full day in Peru, Lexi and Paul, within minutes of eachother, both came down with a violent stomach bug/ food posioning. Kind of ironic to get sick at the nicest hotel on our journey and according to Trip Advisor, the nicest hotel in Peru… perhaps we let our guard down! Jack and I left the sickly two behind at the hotel when we went on our last adventure, downhill mountain biking along the shores of Lake Titicaca. An accompanying van picked us up for the long uphills, to give us some relief from the high altitude. The coasting ride allowed for us to take in the dazzling scenery as we glided through coastal farmland, breathing in the last hours of our grand adventure. When we returned to the hotel, it was time to begin the long journey home.

Our trip to Peru was full of memorable experiences, physical challenges and beautiful scenery. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with Lexi and Jack, who go away to school and have not joined us on recent family adventures. I feel that we successfully accomplished my mission to travel to a place off the beaten path and see a part of the world totally different from home. I can hardly wait to plan our next family adventure… I hope the kids will join us next year and for many years to come!