The big fat guide to South American bus travel

Long distance bus travel is likely to form a central component of any South American trip. 

For cash-strapped backpackers, an overnighter also helps save money as it gives you a nights accommodation as well as the means to get from a to b.

The level of comfort (and safety) of South American buses depends on the country you're in and the bus company you go for. On one bus, we were served champagne (yes! champagne) after our meal (yes! we were served a meal), while elsewhere, there wasn't even a toilet to use on the bus and the freezing temperature on board meant that we had to seriously layer up (and were still a little cold). 

Here's our guide on how to know what to expect and where! The countries are shown in the order we visited them in.

Photo Friday: Viewing the moon

Looking through our photos from our South American trip, I found these amazing pictures that we took of the moon! 

Crossing Borders: In pictures

We crossed a number of land borders throughout our 6 and a half months in South America - quite a novelty for two Brits! Here are some of our border crossing photos. 

Leaving Peru, we were pleased that the border crossing was well marked with the iconic Peru sign and a big bottle of Cusquena beer!

South American top tipples!

Pisco Sour: Peru and Chile

One of our favourite foodie discoveries from South America was the Pisco Sour. Pisco is a grape brandy made in both Peru and Chile. In Peru, lemon, angostura bitters, sugar or syrup and egg whites are added to the brandy to make a Pisco Sour. Traditionally in Chile, the egg white and the bitters are not added. 

First Pisco Sour!

Where we stayed: Peru

Lima: Most visitors to Lima stay in either upmarket Miraflores or slightly bohemian Barranco.  The old town is reportedly not very safe for tourists at night, although there are hostels and hotels there too.

Our quest to visit a Peña

In South America, peñas are or (are supposed to be) bars or restaurants where people get together to play traditional folkloric music, eat, drink and be merry. Intrigued, we first attempted to go to a peña in Arequipa, Peru.

Copacabana and the Isla del Sol

The beautiful Isla del Sol

The Isla del Sol is another island on Lake Titicaca, but is reached from the Bolivian side (see previous post on our visit to Puno in Peru). 

We had been told that the island was a 'must see' in Bolivia and so we left Peru behind, crossed the border and made our way to Copacabana.

Poor old Puno

Puno from the Condor viewpoint

Puno sits on the edge of Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian side and it’s from here that you can arrange trips to some of the islands on the lake, including to the floating "Uros" islands that are made entirely from reeds. 

Puno itself feels pretty rundown and rather unattractive. It looks a little like there was an attempt to brighten up the promenade along the lakeside about 20 years ago, with paved walkways, benches and wooden arched verandas. However, without any maintenance, the paving is chipped and the wooden furniture has certainly seen better days. Unused pedloes sit in the harbor rotting away, surrounded by algae and rubbish. And many of the buildings in the town itself look unfinished and in some cases abandoned. 

A day trip to Tipón

Waterfalls of Tipón

On our last full day in Cusco, we decided that we needed to see just one last Inca ruin!

Chilling in Cusco!

Plaza de Armas, Cusco

While I fell in love with Arequipa and declared that I could live there, James’ favourite city in Peru was Cusco.

Machu and Wayna Picchu

Wayna Picchu - shrouded in mist!

Machu Picchu is Quechua - the language of the Incas and still spoken in Peru today - for old mountain. It is overlooked by Wayna (sometimes spelt Huayna) Picchu, which is Quechua for young mountain.

When booking the Inca Trail, we were given the option of spending a little bit more to climb Wayna Picchu once we were at Machu Picchu on our last day of the trail and a quick search on the internet suggested it was worth it for getting a different perspective on the site.

El Camino de Inca

The Team of Champions!

So we made it!

After 3 long days of walking and a very early start on the fourth, the “champions team” - as we were very aptly named by our guide, Valentin from Alpaca Expeditions - were a very close second through the sun gate to arrive at Machu Picchu at around 6 in the morning.

The sight greeting us was as beautiful as I had imagined. There was mist hanging over the mountains below us and it was drizzling, but we could still see the whole site before us. 

And if anything the mist added to the view and made it seem even more surreal that we were finally there!.

Being vegetarian in Peru

Being a vegetarian in Peru was surprisingly easy. 

Peru is getting itself known as being a bit of a foodie destination and as well as the Alpaca steaks that James enjoyed along the way, this also means that there are an increasing number of (varying quality) vegetarian restaurants.

We ate very well in Lima. Following the recommendations of Neverending Voyage and Indefinite Adventure, we made a beeline for Almazen, where we enjoyed sampling a range of different types of potatoes, cooked in multiple ways with delicious sauces, as well as imaginatively stuffed tomatoes and a yummy stuffed pancake.

Into the Colca Canyon

At the start of the trek

Arequipa is a ‘jumping off’ point for lots of hiking and adventure activities, including trekking into the Colca Canyon, which was thought to be the deepest canyon in the world at 3,400 metres, until its neighbour the Cotahusi Canyon was found to be 135 metres deeper.

There are lots of companies in Arequipa offering tours into the Colca Canyon, but having read up on it, I could see that there was a very doable round trip into the Canyon (with a night at the bottom at the ‘Oasis’) that we could do on our own. And generally we like to try and do things by ourselves where we can, particularly where the route looked as straight forward as this one did. 

A visit to the White City (and the search for El Misti!)

Arriving from the desert of Nazca to Arequipa was a breath of fresh air. The high altitude means that although its warm in the day, it never gets too hot and in the evening we started to remember what cold felt like (but only just). So it was perfect for wandering around and soaking in the sights. 

The city’s colonial buildings are built of sillar, a white volcanic material, which has led to Arequipa being nick-named ‘The White City’.

The cathedral and the main square

Our Top 5 - Lima

1. Enjoy a sundowner in Barranco near the Bridge of Sighs

It may have been that we particularly enjoyed this beer as it came at the end of a very long day. We’d arrived into Lima at 7am, got to the hostal and then pretty much went straight back out again. So this relaxing beer at the end of a long and hot day was very welcome and this was a beautiful backdrop.

On the Gringo Trail

On the coast south of Lima, there are a number of sights and activities, which collectively have become known as the Gringo trail.

I hadn’t actually realized this when I was planning our trip. However, looking at what there was to see and do between Lima and Cusco (from where we are booked on an Inca Trail tour, starting on 23^rd March), I unknowingly managed to map out a perfect Gringo Trail route. So much for trying to get off the beaten track!

Lima - Part 2

On our second day in Lima, we headed to the Centro Historico to take in the sights of the old town. We started in the main square, with its very impressive Cathedral and Government buildings. In the square and surrounding streets there are also a range of other imposing buildings from the Spanish colonial era, many sporting a typical Lima-style balconies.

In recent years, the mayor of Lima has established an ‘adopt a balcony’ scheme, encouraging businesses and individuals to invest in saving these balconies. This has helped restore over 100 of these historic balconies.

In the beginning: Lima part 1

After promising James that as we were going away for a long time, we would not need to rush round to make sure we had seen everything; our first few days away have been pretty hectic.

Lima was quite hot and is quite spread out and so getting about took longer than I had thought. This combined with the heat made getting around quite tiring. We only nearly fell out once though, which is pretty good going.

We stayed in an area called Barranco, a suburb in the south of the city, which was the capital’s seaside resort in the 19^th century, before falling into disrepair. It’s now almost certainly back on the up and the guide books describe it as a place where artists and intellectuals are moving in – James and I fitted in perfectly.

Its the final countdown!

Its just three sleeps to go before we fly to Peru! 

We've said lots of goodbyes and drank copious amounts of fizz... 

Fizz...!!

We've been packing everything up in the house and even managed to find a new home for the fish! Thanks Andrew! They look very happy in their new home.