Travels In Peru (Part 1) - Southern Exposure Tours

It’s been 5 years since Nick White and I established Southern Exposure Tours, our wonderful brand of unique small group adventures in Latin America. We are both crazy about the place and I recently reflected on when this obsession started for me or even what triggered it. I vividly remember my first trip there and the impression it left on me. That inaugural trip added fuel to the fire and made me even more determined to spend a large part of my life there. As many first timers on that continent, one of my goals was the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu. What I found was so much more than just ruins and pan flutes. I discovered a continent of diverse countries and cultures tied by the common threads of their relatively new language Spanish and of course geography.

Other than Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guyana, and Belize in Central America, the entire region speaks Spanish and often their local languages also. In Peru this is Aymara and Qechua mostly.

Getting back to the trip itself I think I was most culture shocked, impressed or just in awe, when I landed in Lima the capital of Peru and drove through the outer suburbs of concrete block houses all seemingly unfinished with the steel reinforcing rods still poking up through the roofs. It contrasted sharply with the affluent area of Miraflores where our hotel was. The image of the city was not helped when the tour leader advised us to stay out of the center of the city and not to go out wearing watches, jewellery or any other valuables.

Since then I’ve spent six years of my life leading trips in various countries of Latin America and have given out similar advice dozens of times. I escort people to Lima’s city centre to view the amazing Plaza de Armas (central square) and the incredible cathedral with its catacombs underneath. Although it has a somewhat tarnished reputation, Lima has another side to it too which also makes it a trip highlight.

Peru is also a foodie’s heaven and on our first day in Lima we were taken to a fabulous local restaurant serving exquisite seafood and I had my first taste of cebiche. This wonderful dish is marinated fish in lime juice with sweet potato on the side. We were promised more local delicacies in Cuzco, our next destination which we were all looking forward to. Although excitement was mixed with nervousness as there was plenty of discussion that evening on the subject of altitude sickness and if any of us would succumb to it.

The bad news was a 4am wake up call to catch an early flight there and unfortunately my own excitement at finally being able to see a place I’d dreamed about for years was catching up with me. Unable to sleep that night even though I’d just spent 30hrs traveling from NZ, I realized it was going to be a very long day!

To be continued…

Details of the trips can be found on their website www.southernexposuretours.co.nz If you’d like to get in touch, Silvana would love to hear from you. Whether it be sharing travel stories or a list of 20 questions, you’ll hardly get her to stop talking! So phone 0800 804 737 to find out more.

Read Part Two here.

Read Part Three here.

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