Cost: Peru for 3-Weeks

We know that everyone spends differently, and a budget can be extremely variable; however, after leaving an area, we want to provide some perspective on the cost associated with staying there for anyone interested in doing a similar trip.  Our budget of $100 - $150/day is for 2 people and does not include the $10,000 round-the-world flights (plus trip insurance) already paid for.  The budget also does not account for the bills we are continuing to pay at home.  Our budget allows for a comfortable, low-to-mid-range lodging in hostels or budget hotels with private bath, meals/drinks, use of public transportation, and cost to do some sightseeing and/or activities.  As foodies, we are not depriving ourselves from eating and drinking whatever and whenever we want to, although we are usually focused on finding budget, local cuisine.  Most of the time, breakfast seems to be included in the cost of lodging, so we are paying for 1-2 meals/day. An article titled, "Set Your Daily Number" by the veteran travel bloggers from Married With Luggage confirms that a daily average is a simple strategy for setting and meeting a budget.  We've got in the habit of taking a few minutes to record our daily expenditure so we can make small adjustments along the way.

PERU
We spent 22 days total in Peru, where on average, $30-50 gets you decent lodging with a not-very-interesting breakfast. Prices were comparable to Ecuador, although we stayed in more metropolitan and tourist locations than in Ecuador, which drove the prices up a little more. Lodging was about the same, but the food and drinks cost more in tourist centers. Still, we could find a full meal for around $8; 25-50 cents for bottled water; a large bottle of beer for $2; laundry service costs $2-3/kg.  We ended up spending 7 nights in Los Organos beach, 8 nights in Lima, 5 nights in Cuzco, and 2 nights in Machu Picchu. Peru currency is the Nuevo Soles, although the prices listed have been converted into US dollars. Here is our breakdown:

LODGING
$43/day.  Not bad! We 'splurged' on a the perfect beach side bungalow in Los Organos for $60/night, but made up for it in Cuzco at the best hostel we've ever stayed in for $28/night. All cost is for double occupancy.

MEALS/GROCERIES
$42/day for 1-2 meals per day, including a few more expensive places due to being in the city or the kind of restaurant. We opted for quality in Machu Picchu, and spent more than expected at Inkaterra Lodge. Also, we treated ourselves to a nice meal at celebrity chef Gaston Acurio's La Mar Cebichería on our last day in Peru. Again, we continued to eat every meal out because we haven't had a kitchen to cook in. The portion sizes are usually very generous in South America so we generally end up sharing one plate of something. Good thing we are agreeable (most of the time) on what we want to eat! Consider doubling the budget if you eat a lot.

DRINKS (bottled water, beer, wine, soda)
$18/day, almost double what we spent in Ecuador. Tourist-centric locations in Lima, Cuzco, and Machu Picchu charge more for drinks at bars and restaurants. Although the cost of buying bottles of beer and water from a regular tienda are still very cheap.

TRANSPORTATION
In our calculations, we included the $640 already paid over 7 months ago for the domestic StarPeru flight and PeruRail train ride to Machu Picchu. Plus, we splurged on a first-class bus for our 18-hour travel from the northern beaches of Peru to Lima for $110. So, our transportation cost ended up being quite out-of-budget at $40/day. Peru is a much bigger country than Ecuador so doing strictly bus travel would've taken forever. Also, transportation to Machu Picchu is just plain costly, and difficult to keep withi a budget. Hopefully, we can make up for this in another country.

PERSONAL CARE ITEMS/SERVICES
$57 total on haircut/shave, soap, toothpaste, etc.  The most expensive item was money spent on mosquito repellant in northern Peru, and it wasn't even a good product. Our suggestion is to bring your own repellant that contains enough DEET. ($2.50/day)

SOUVENIRS/POSTCARDS (including postage)
Just like Ecuador, international postage to send postcards is expensive. $122 total or $6/day. 

CLOTHING/LAUNDRY
When we arrived at the beach, we had to buy some cheap beach towels and hats, and invested in some alpaca accessories (scarf, hat) while in Cuzco, for a total of $119 or $5/day in clothing and laundry services. Obviously, per our expenditure, we didn't buy the super expensive alpaca goods! Plus, whatever we buy, we have to transport for the remaining 6-months, so that fact usually discourages us from spending too much.

ATTRACTIONS/ADMISSION
The main cost here was the ~$100 entrance fee to Machu Picchu. $5/day.

WIFI/COMPUTER/ATM FEES
$49 on ATM transaction fees and re-charging our Skype account. We spent $1 on wifi at the airport in Cuzco. Until now, we've handled almost every transaction in cash because there are added fees for using a credit card. Every penny counts when unemployed. :) Again, our bank reimburses the typical $5 ATM fee initially charged, so the only expense has been the 1% of the withdrawal surcharge. $2.20/day.

TOTAL
[Drumroll]...We came to $162/day, $12/day OVER budget due to transportation costs. Without Machu Picchu, we would've been doing great at $130/day (similar to Ecuador), but Machu Picchu was totally worth the extra cost, and we tried our best to keep it within budget...we swear. Since we are staying in an apartment with a kitchen in Buenos Aires, we should be able to contain our costs again, and in anticipation of higher expenses going into Spain and the rest of Europe, starting August 7th.

Peru is for Foodies!

Foodies will love Peru! Except for a few occasions (that had more to do with the quality, service, or price), we really enjoyed Peruvian food. As with any culture, the range of food runs the gamut from strange to delicious, but we found the majority of their day-to-day food quite appetizing.

Native Peruvian food include maíz (like corn), potatoes, quinoa, and ají (chilis). They also grew and ate cuy (guinea pigs) and alpaca, fished trout, and developed dishes such as ceviche from seafood along the coast. Hundreds of years of Spanish influence incorporated rice, wheat (in the form of bread), and other meats such as chicken, beef, and pork into their traditional cuisine. Interestingly, Peru has a large Chinese immigrant population. The immigrants had to use available ingredients to make Chinese food, which has evolved into what is now called Chifa - a Chinese-Peruvian hybrid cuisine such as fried rice with Peruvian ingredients or lomo saltado (beef stir-fry with rice). Japanese make up a very small immigrant population in Peru, but is the second largest Japanese population in South America (next to Brazil). Japanese food has influenced the way seafood is prepared in the form of tiradito. Peruvian "comfort food", or food that would typically be eaten at home is called criollo.

[Below: HUGE pile of cebiche (Peruvians spell ceviche with a "b"): white fish marinated in lime juice, with red onions and ají chilis. Los Organos Beach.]

[Below: similar to ceviche, but called tiradito. A Japanese influenced dish where the fish is sliced more like sashimi. It is still raw and marinated, but usually does not come with the traditional red onions. This one was accompanied by sweet potato, roasted maíz, Lima beans, and a salad. Máncora Beach.]

[Below: Cristal was our favorite Peruvian beer brand. We also enjoyed Pisco Sours made from Pisco, a grape brandy from Peru, mixed with lime juice, egg whites, and a dash of angostura bitters. We saw a lot of "chicharrones" on menus, which we knew as the fried pork skin snack. However, chicharrones in Peru translates to deep-fried nuggets of meat. So, this was a chicharrones de pescado (fried fish bites). Los Organos Beach.]

[Below: Chupe is soup or stew in Peruano. Chupe de camarones is popular but contains shrimp, which Akiko is allergic to, so she had Chupe de Pescado or fish soup, flavored with chili, potato, broth, and milk. Los Organos Beach.]

[Below: we were getting a little worn from all the seafood, so we found this unexpected place in the small town of Los Organos making great thin crust pizzas in a wood oven. Who knew?? Cabaña de Wielo. We went back for good pasta as well. They had a very busy delivery business. Guessing the fishermen want something other than seafood as well.]

[Below: empanadas aren't just a Peruvian dish, but they got lots of them. Lima]

[Below: this place, a Puerta Cerrada, was one of our favorite local restaurants in the Barranco neighborhood of Lima for the best deal in good traditional Peruvian fare. Appetizer, entree, and drink for US$3-4!! Pictured is the rocoto relleno. Relleno just means stuffed. Rocoto is a Peruvian red chili that packs some heat. If you take a look at what's written on the menu, this is typical Peruvian criollo, or "comfort food".]

[Below: a staple dish in Peru is the pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) or pollo a la parrilla (grilled chicken). They eat A LOT of chicken here. It was usually accompanied by both fried potatoes and white rice, as with most meats. The amount of starch was astounding. Sometimes, we would get potatoes + white rice + yucca + plantains!!!! Death by carbs, good grief. This meal with salad cost US$5. Chicken was our go-to safe meal when we didn't feel like being adventurous. Lima.]

[Below: here's more pollo a la brasa. The chicken scallopine looking dish with beans and rice was part of a set menu that included a huge bowl of chicken soup and a drink for US$2!! Cuzco.]

[Below: a common condiment that comes with meat is crema de ají or ají amarillo sauce (yellow chili pepper creamy sauce.]

[Below: in the Andes, trout is eaten a lot, so we had some trucha frita (fried trout), and of course it came with rice.]

[Below: in the Andes, quinoa is incorporated into many dishes. It is used as cereal, as part of dessert, many soups include quinoa, and this here is quinoa risotto, which was accompanied by none other than...rice. Machu Picchu Pueblo.]

[Below: quinoa is used in a dessert. Quinoa caramel custard! On PeruRail train from Machu Picchu to Cuzco.]

[Below: we tried Peruvian wine...]

[Below: ...and Peruvian chocolate. We visited the Choco Museum in Cuzco.]

[Below: ...and Inca Kola. A Peruvian soft drink that is suppose to taste like lemon verbena (whatever that taste is), but tastes more like bubble gum.  Yellow was a lucky color for Incans.]

[Below: lomo saltado is a very popular stir-fried beef dish with both (you guessed it) French fries and a huge pile of rice. We noticed all the beef is cooked to death here. The flavor was good but very tough to eat. We're not sure if this is for health safety reasons or not, but we did notice that at the local open markets, meat is not refrigerated. In a supermarket, they are packaged and sold in a refrigerated case.]

[Below: we love to find cheap places serving good food to locals, but on one occasion, we had a nice nouveau Peruvian meal at Inkaterra Lodge in Machu Picchu. The Peruvian salad was phenomenal with Andean queso fresco, Lima beans, maíz, and organic vegetables from their own garden. The entree was pan sautéed trout with vegetables.]

[Below: For variety, we searched for something a little more familiar. There is usually an Irish bar in most places, and Cuzco didn't disappoint. Here, we had a Shepherd's pie at Paddy's.]

[Below: Akiko was very happy to have found a noodle dish flavored with soy sauce! Cuzco.]

[Below: ...and an Italian meal at a nice Italian restaurant. Cuzco.]

[Below: sometimes, our meals were what we could scrounge up at the little tienda around the corner because we arrived late and the restaurants were closed or whatever. We've made an entire meal out of chips and beer! Here, we upgraded to ramen, chicharrones (fried pork rinds), and beer.]

[Below: we have no right to complain about FREE breakfast, but we are quite tired of bread and coffee, bread and coffee, bread and coffee. Some places will throw in scrambled eggs. The best breakfast we had so far was at Antawasi Hotel in Cuzco, where they had a buffet breakfast with a cereal bar, hot foods such as egg, pancakes, French toast, fried potatoes, ham and Andean queso fresco, fruit, yogurt, juice, coffee, tea, etc.]

[Below: We think people are waiting to see the photos of us eating cuy (guinea pig), but you will be disappointed because we did not. We've tried other rodent-like meat before which was okay, and didn't want to try it just for the novelty of the experience.]

[Below: we've had an amazing 3 weeks in Peru! To celebrate our last day in Peru, we treated ourselves to one of Gastón Acurio's restaurants in Lima. He is a celebrity Peruvian chef (we liken him to Emeril Lagasse!) trained at Le Cordon Bleu, with multiple international restaurants, including New York and San Francisco. La Mar Cebichería is the best ceviche and seafood restaurant in Lima, and we couldn't agree more.]

[Below: "Chips and Salsa" - plantain,  yucca, sweet potato chips with rocoto chili sauce, aji amarillo sauce, and herb sauce.  Roasted maíz (like corn nuts).]  

[Below: Ceviche Chalaco with white fish, octopus, and clams.  And drinking the Leche de Tigre (leftover juice) was great, too!

[Below: Tiradito Laqueado: tuna tataki with ají Amarillo sauce and Asian soy flavors.]

[Below: Causa Mixta.  Causa is served cold with a mashed potato base mixed with key lime, onion, chili, and oil.  It is usually either layered or topped with avocado, chicken, tuna, or shellfish, hard boiled eggs, olives, etc.  These are the fancy versions. From right to left causa toppings: chicken salad, grilled octopus with kalamata olive sauce, white fish and crab salad, tuna and salmon tartare with crab salad, shrimp cocktail.]

[Below: palate cleanser of mint sorbet!]

[Below: at the airport, you can buy some last minute Peruvian sauces to take home with you!]

Adíos, Peru! What's on the menu next? Argentinian food. Stay tuned.

Day 66: Train Ride Through the Sacred Valley of Peru

There's several ways to get to Machu Picchu from Cuzco.  The ultimate experience is to hike the Inca Trail for 4 days, and there's also a bus, but most people take the 3.5 hour, scenic train ride through the Sacred Valley.  

We purchased our Peru Rail train tickets almost 7-months ago, so this trip has been on our radar for a long time.  Apparently, there was only one other couple from Sydney, Australia who purchased their tickets right before we did, because they had the best seats on board with a window in front of them next to the conductor.  Our seats were right behind theirs.  

Since 2009, trains to Machu Picchu no longer depart from the Cuzco train station, so we had to take a taxi to the town of Poroy from Cuzco (about 20-30 minute ride) to get to the Peru Rail train station.  

The scenery through the Urubamba Valley was stunning! We had many windows to view the scenery from. The entire valley is the Urubamba Valley, where part of it is more famously called the Sacred Valley. The main river is the Vilcanota River, but again, many may know it as the Urubamba River.

We actually got served a nice little meal! Roasted potatoes and Andean cheese skewers with quinoa tabbouleh salad and small crackers.

We loved the windows on the ceiling to view the height of the mountains.

We stopped at the picturesque town of Ollantaytambo to pick up more passengers. This place is also a backpacker haven for exploring the Sacred Valley more closely. Next time, we would love to spend a while in this town.

After Ollantaytambo, the scene started to change from high desert, tan mountains to snow-capped peaks, greenery, and more white water on the Vilcanota River.

At kilometer marker 82 (measured from Cuzco) is the trailhead to the Inca Trail. We saw plenty of Trekkers getting ready to start their 4-day hike to Machu Picchu. What an amazing experience that would be!

We were enjoying the scenery so much that 3.5 hours flew by! We were in Machu Picchu Pueblo (formerly called Aguas Calientes) in no time.

Our return train was a little different. We had table service with drinks and a light meal. Our snack consisted of various Andean cheeses, bread, quinoa caramel custard, and tomato confit.

The staff of PeruRail demonstrated a traditional Incan dance on board.  This reprents costume worn by Sa'qra dancers at the huge annual Fiesta Virgen del Carmen on July 15th, for the  patron saint of the mestizo population. The staff also put on a fashion show of clothing made from alpaca hair! Highly entertaining.