4 Amigos in South America

As per usual, we arrived approximately 1 hour before our international flight. Maybe I am getting older, but I actually felt a slight panic. At 5AM, YVR seemed unusually busy. After a smooth security screening and customs, we were in less than 40 minutes with time to grab a Timmy's treat before boarding.

English was already the second language …

We slept in as much as we could. We took our time enjoying our breakfast of papaya in yogurt and scramble eggs. The breakfast discussion involved whether was legal to bring cocoa teabag back home since it was highly unlikely the actual leaf would be TSA approved.

We contemplated what to do for the day. Since we have Sacred Valley planned for …

We arranged the Sacred Valley day tour on day one. The tour was quite cheap, only 20 soles (7 USD) which included transportation and an English speaking guide.

Before hopping on a coach bus, we had to exchange some more soles. There were many foreign exchange shops around Plaza de Armas. We quickly picked one since we only had 5 minutes before …

It was an early day for us. At 6AM we hopped into our pre arranged car and headed to the Poroy station that was approximately 20 minutes outside of Cuzco. No more than five minutes after we settled into our seats, we were on our way. I looked at my watch and noticed the train was almost 10 minutes ahead of the indicated departure time. Perhaps all …

We purchased our Machu Picchu (MP) tickets on day 2 in Cuzco at the Cultural Ministry. Friends had recommended we also do Wayna Picchu (WP). Only 200 people were allowed to climb WP at one time during only two time slots: 7 and 10AM. We were very lucky to get the 7AM slot since someone had cancelled theirs. The entrance fee to both MP and WP …

Cuzco to Puno is normally a 5 hour trip by bus. There are other transportation options as well. Flying takes about one hour, but only flies into Juliaca and it is another one hour ground transportation to Puno. It costs about 100 to 150 USD. The other option is by train. Since Perurail is a privately owned and the only train company in Peru, this …

Lake Titicaca crosses two countries: Peru and Bolivia. The tour we arranged yesterday was for the Peruvian side, but also included bus ticket from Puno to Copacabana, Bolivia for 95 soles (36 USD).

A car came to fetch us in the morning to take us to the dock. We hopped on a wooden boat and headed to the Uros first.

Uros, also known as the …

The next morning, we woke up from a very peaceful night of sleep and Julia prepared us pancake for breakfast. Unfortunately, it didn't come with maple syrup. I had to settled for strawberry jam. Julia walked us to the dock after breakfast where we hoped on the same wooden boat and headed to the Island of Taquile.

An hour later, the guide took us …

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)

I don't think Barry Manilow was talking about the same Copacabana. Today was the day we said good bye to Peru and hello to Copacabana, Bolivia. Again tourist bus was the transportation of choice. We arrived at the main Puno bus terminal. The place was already busy …