2 weeks in Peru with Yusef

Finally, one of my best friends came to visit me during my big trip! I met Yusef in Cusco and we headed to the Sacred Valley straight away. Since the traditional Inca Trail is too expensive and too touristy, we did our own alternative hike to Machu Pichu. It was a great adventure and a beautiful hike… until …. we got to Aguas Calientes or it’s also called Machu Pichu Pueblo. This town had a feel of the Las Vegas... with all the luxury amenities and 5 star hotels… and expensive restaurants… a bit disappointing… After Machu Pichu, we made our way back to Cusco. What a beautiful city. Cusco used to be the capital of Inca Empire! Beautiful cobbled stone streets and a funky vibe! Lots of cool hippies-artessanaias…. From Cusco to Arequipa, another big Peruvian city. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to do a famous Colca hike, so we decided to go to Puno, on the Lake Titicaca. From Puno, one can visit beautiful and unusual floating islands, that are made out of reef and only last for about 7 years or untill the reef is rotten. Thats when its time to build a new island! Craziness!!! :) Puno is very high in altitude and was very cold! That’s where Yusef got sick with flu..:(( Besides that, the national transportation strike began that paralyzed the whole country… Big mess!!! There were numerous demonstrations in town! At one point, the group of students marched and started to throw the stones at the businesses that remained opened. We were several meters away from that store. We saw it later on the news too…! Unfortunately, we were stock in the cold Puno. The only way to get out of there was to take an expensive flight out of Juliaca, which is 1 hour away! Again, due to the strike getting to Juliaca was an adventure, with the road blocked with rocks and demonstrators screaming at us for being rats who did not honor the strike, etc… Again, everything ended well after some unusual turn of events and we landed in Lima safely the next morning! Lima is a big city, not many touristic sites... but had a nice vibe still. We stayed in a really nice hostel with a beautiful view in the center of the Miraflores. We attempted to jump from the cliff to paraglide, but the weather was not cooperating... So, we just relaxed for a few days and ate well... until Yusef was a gonner... :((. I am on my own again....