Lima, Peru
In the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru there is a park that overlooks the Pacific Ocean called El Parque Del Amor or Love Park. If you are in Peru on Valentine’s Day, snuggle up with your loved one and watch the sunset from one of the parks benches. The giant statue in the middle of the park is called “El Beso” (the kiss). It’s a somewhat awkward couple who are about to get it on. Find out more about the park here.
Category Archives: Peru
Travel Photo of the Week: Valentine’s Day at Love Park
So how much does it cost to travel South America for 50 days?
In an effort to make this blog useful, what follows is a spending summary to give fellow travelers an idea of how much it cost us to travel through Peru, Chile, and Argentina. We are frugal travelers which means we don’t spend a lot of money on things like souvenirs, fancy meals, fabulous hotels, or first-class tickets. We do, however, like to maximize the bang for our buck; this requires planning and research on our part. We are a couple, and this gives us an advantage when traveling as we can split everything 50/50. In fact, a shared double room often tends to work out cheaper than the cost of a dorm bed.
“Day Trips” includes admission fees, taxis, public transit fares, etc.
“Transport” is the cost of transportation between cities: buses, trains, boats, etc.
“Spending money” includes things like beer money, gifts, laundry, and sundries.
The numbers which follow are on a per person basis.
Peru
23 Days
| PEN (S/) | CAD ($) | |
| Accommodation | 504.50 | 196 |
| Food | 368.85 | 143 |
| Day Trips | 608.40 | 237 |
| Transport btw. cities | 182.50 | 71 |
| Spending money | 93.40 | 36 |
| Total | S/1757.65 | $683 |
Chile
15 Days
| CLP ($) | CAD ($) | |
| Accommodation | 116,164 | 246.40 |
| Food | 75,100 | 159.30 |
| Day Trips | 30,740 | 65.20 |
| Transport btw. cities | 65,152 | 138.20 |
| Spending money | 35,087 | 74.40 |
| Total | $322,243 | $683.50 |
Argentina
10 Days
| ARS ($) | CAD ($) | |
| Accommodation | 506 | 101.50 |
| Food | 568.15 | 114 |
| Day Trips | 45 | 9 |
| Transport btw. cities | 329 | 66 |
| Spending money | 47 | 9.40 |
| Total | $1495.15 | $300 |
South America Total
50 Days
| CAD ($) | |
| Accommodation | 543.9 |
| Food | 416.3 |
| Day Trips | 311.2 |
| Transport btw. cities | 275.2 |
| Spending money | 119.8 |
| Total | $1666.40 |
Video Blog
Itchy Feet on the Cheap Prologue
The Itchy Feet on the Cheap budget travel series starts here. Sara and Ryan are documenting their trip through South America. They plan to spend 2 months there and only spend $2000.
Itchy Feet on the Cheap – Chapter 1: Lima, Peru
The first episode of the travel vlog. Ryan and Sara start their budget travel backpacking journey in Lima, Peru. They witness a protest, use the public transit system, go to the beach, and see the awfulness that is Lima.
Itchy Feet on the Cheap – Chapter 2: Pisco, Peru
Sara and Ryan spend a few days in Pisco, an earthquake destroyed Peruvian town on the Pacific Ocean. While there, they visit the Ballestas Islands where they see sea lions and discuss vomiting.
Itchy Feet on the Cheap – Chapter 3: Ayacucho, Peru
Your favourite budget travel couple arrives in Ayacucho, a beautiful town in the Andes mountains. Sara is struck with altitude sickness and it’s up to Ryan to restore order.
Itchy Feet on the Cheap – Chapter 4: Abancay, Peru
Backpacking for 9 days has left Sara and Ryan feeling a bit burned out — nothing copious amounts of alcohol can’t fix! Also, Ryan is bitten by what may be a radioactive spider and they run into Dr. Octopus.
Itchy Feet on the Cheap – Chapter 5: Cusco, Peru
Cusco is an amazing city with beautiful buildings and a unique vibe. At one time it was the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Now it is the pogs capital of the world (presumably).
Itchy Feet on the Cheap – Chapter 6: Machu Picchu
Want to know the cheapest way to get to Machu Picchu? There is a way to get to the ancient ruins without taking the overpriced (and foreign owned) train. Sara and Ryan find more adventure for less money as they take the long way around stopping off in Ollantaytambo and Pisac along the way.
Colca Canyon, Peru
We took a two-day, overnight tour to Colca Canyon from our base in Arequipa through Royal Trips (Santa Catalina 200) for S/115 (CAD$41) per person. We were picked up from our hostel in Arequipa by a minibus at 3am and headed out to the Colca Canyon. We stopped for a buffet breakfast somewhere along the way. It was very early and we hadn’t had much sleep the night before, so everything before 8am seemed like a dream. I just remember it being so very, very cold.
The condors start out flying low in the valley.
We arrived at Cruz del Condor around 8:15am to watch the condors soar over the canyon. By 9am the birds had strong enough thermals to send them up over our heads. It’s an amazing sight. Some of the fully grown birds have a wingspan of 10 feet.
As the sun gets stronger the thermals take them higher up.
Soon the condors are flying high over head.
Condors soaring effortlessly over the tourists.
Soon we were back in the van and heading to Cabanaconde where we began our 7 hour hike into the canyon.
Starting the descent.
We stopped for lunch in a small village on the way to the oasis.
After three and a half hours of descending (we made pretty good time according to our guide, Eddie) into the canyon, we stopped for lunch in a little canyon village and rested for an hour before setting off for another 3 hours to the oasis. Eddie, our guide, was outstanding. He was informative and fun (with an excellent motivational technique of fibbing about how much time/elevation we had ahead of us).
The “oasis”… it seems so close.
Nothing better than a swim at the bottom of a canyon after a long hike.
We made it to the oasis without too much difficulty by 5:30pm – enough time to have a swim. That evening we had spaghetti for dinner and passed out as soon as our heads hit the pillow… despite the prospect of sleeping in a dirt floor cabin with no windows to keep the bugs out!
Our cabin for the night.
5am came far too soon and we immediately started our hellish ascent to the surface. It was dark and torches are a necessity. We climbed 1200 metres in three and a half hours. We were exhausted… destroyed. And if I never climb out of a canyon again, it will be too soon, Ryan.
We made it!
Maca
We had a couple of stops along the way back to Arequipa: Chivay (for the hot springs and lunch), Maca (a small town with artisanal stalls and llama/condor photo opportunities), and a view point of the volcanoes.
The volcano viewpoint
We got back home to Arequipa around 7pm. Knowing we had to catch a bus at 7am the next morning we headed back to Amazing Home Backpackers to catch up on some well deserved rest.
Budget
We spent 3 nights and S/328 (CAD$116) in Arequipa. As always this number includes everything: accommodations, food, transport, day trips, and spending money. We went over budget by S/69 (CAD$24) because the day trip and bus fare to Arequipa were a little more expensive than we expected.
This means we are now S/259 (CAD$92) over budget overall. Eep!
Next Stop
Adios Peru! Our next stop is Arica, Chile.
The White City: Arequipa, Peru
The bus ride from Puno to Arequipa was the best we’ve had so far. We paid slightly more through Cruz del Sur than we needed to (S/54, CAD$18.60), but it was totally worth it. We had front row seats, a meal (read: sandwich, cookies, and juice), and a movie. Not to mention, a clean bus that didn’t stop at every rest stop in the Peruvian wilderness.
We arrived in Arequipa around 8 or 9pm and took a taxi for S/6 (CAD$2) from the bus station to Amazing Home Backpackers (S/70/CAD$24 for a private double with en suite bathroom per night). Alex, the hostel owner, was friendly and helpful and gave us information about the two- and three-day tours to Colca Canyon.
We left our laundry with Alex the next morning after breakfast. Breakfast at Amazing Home Backpackers was a treat. A rooftop patio serving freshly prepared banana pancakes with dulce de leche. With bellies filled with pancakes we went out to explore Arequipa.
Narrow alleyways of Arequipa
Plaza de Armas, Arequipa
Arequipa is definitely one of our favourite Peruvian towns. There is a large pedestrian area with lots of shopping and cafes strewn about.
We stopped in at La Canasta bakery (Calle Jerusalen 115) for lunch. They had some amazing sandwiches on their menu. I had chicken and avocado and Ryan had a toasted chicken and mushroom sandwich. They were very delicious and fresh. We also had a big garden salad for a total of S/25 (CAD$8.50).
Arequipa aka The White City.
Volcanoes!
A woman sacrifices her child to the pigeons in the Plaza de Armas.
A woman feeds the pigeons in the main square.
When we got back to the hostel that night Alex told us that our laundry wasn’t completely done because the town hadn’t had water for most of the day. He gave us what he had managed to do and promised to give us what we needed for our hiking trip to Colca Canyon in the morning before we left. We were leaving at 3am so we went to bed a little nervous we wouldn’t have any socks or t-shirts to hike in the next day.
Sure enough, Alex was up at 3am to give us our socks… though slightly damp.
We had booked our Colca Canyon trip through Royal Trips (Santa Catalina 200, Arequipa) for S/115 (CAD$39.60) per person. We opted for the one night trip which involves seeing the condors fly, hiking into the canyon with a stop for lunch on the way, overnight stay at the oasis, and hike back out the next morning. Some people opt for the two-day tour as you get a little more time at the oasis and there are less hours of walking in a day.
Related articles
- Arriving Arequipa – Arequipa, Peru (travelpod.com)
- In the Shadow of El Misti – Arequipa, Peru (travelpod.com)
- Welcome to Peru – Arequipa, Peru (travelpod.com)
- Condors, canyons and… crepes?! – Arequipa, Peru (travelpod.com)
Lake Titicaca, Peru
Our guide for our trip to Lake Titicaca, Rubin, was a native of the Uros Floating Islands. We first stopped at one of the floating islands where the president of the island showed us how the islands are made and maintained.
The president shows us how to make a floating island
Uros Floating Islands diorama
The five families that live there let us see their houses, which are kitted out with solar-powered TVs (a gift from the government), and buy their hand-made products.
Hanging out with the locals on the floating islands
The view from our home-stay on Amantani Island
Next up we had a 3-4 hour boat ride to Amantani Island where we met our host family. Barnaby picked us up at the dock. Luckily for us we stayed with the tour guide so he was able to translate for us. Mama (as she was called) cooked us a traditional lunch of quinoa soup, fried cheese, potatoes, and oca.
Pachamama on Amantani Island… we hiked up to watch the sunset
We met at the Amantani Island stadium on the way up to Pachamama
After lunch we hiked up the largest peak on the island, Pachamama, to watch the sun set. We learned the benefit of mate de muna which helps with headaches and nausea caused by altitude sickness – it helped a lot. Rubin taught us how to rub it in our hands and smell the mint-like scent; even this helped to soothe my stomach.
The sun sets on Amantani Island
We made our way back down in the dimming light and Barnaby met us at the bottom with a better flashlight than we had and led us back home for dinner. Dinner was a soup made with semolina and a vegetarian stew with potatoes, onions, carrots.
Barnaby and Mama outside their convenience store
The food and conditions are very primitive. They have no electricity and use solar panels for radios and lights. They have no running water and must walk downhill to the well everyday for clean water. Barnaby and Mama run the local convenience store which sells candy, beer, cigarettes, etc. They are Adventists and do not drink or smoke. This means they ply their goods to the Catholics on the island. They also have a flock of sheep in the backyard (literally) and a collection of guinea pigs for “personal use“.
It was freezing on Amantani Island (and in Puno in general). We slept in our clothes and five layers of blankets and we were still chilly. The next morning we had pancakes for breakfast, said our goodbyes, posed in multiple group photos, and set off on the boat at 8am.
Our home-stay family!
Group photo!
Tequile Island, Lake Titicaca
Next up was Tequile Island, about 3 hours from Amantani. We walked slowly uphill toward the main plaza where there is a two-floor market selling artisanal goods (although they are remarkably overpriced). There wasn’t much to do and a lot of free time. We stood on the roof and people watched until it was time for lunch at a family restaurant. The meal was not included in the tour price, but was definitely one of the most delicious we’d had in Peru. Fresh trout and quinoa soup with mate de muna.
An hour boat ride later and we were back in Puno.
Next Stop
Arequipa is our next stop. We booked our bus tickets with Cruz del Sur (S/54, CAD$18, 5 hours) as soon as we got back into town.
Budget
Three nights in Puno, including our tour of Lake Titicaca, cost us S/209 (CAD$70.50). This means we are now S/190 (CAD$64) over budget. Yikes!
Puno, Peru
We caught a bus to Puno from Cusco with a company called San Luis. We paid S/25 (CAD$8.40) for 1st class seats. The ride was about 5 hours long.
Puno isn’t a very attractive town and it doesn’t really hold very many tourist attractions aside from the fact that it sits on the largest lake in South America, Lake Titicaca. The lake sits at 3800 m above sea level which makes it the highest navigable body of water in the world.
We stayed at the Walk on Inn (Jiron La Libertad 115) which cost us S/50 (CAD$16.70) for a private double with private bathroom per night. They served a delicious buffet breakfast for an extra S/8 (CAD$2.70).
Through the Walk on Inn we booked a 2 day 1 night tour of Lake Titicaca for S/70 (CAD$23). It includes a stop on the Uros floating islands, Isla Tequile and an overnight stay with a local family on Amantani Island.
We booked our trip through the hostel, but after discussing prices with other tourists on our bus we found it was possible to get the same tour for S/55 (CAD$19). Shop around at the different tour operators in Puno and be willing to haggle a little.
Unfortunately, we didn’t spend much time in Puno and we didn’t take photos, but this blog has some nice pictures of the town and market.
Related Articles
- Over looking Lake Titicaca – Puno, Peru (travelpod.com)
- Puno – our first stop in Peru – Puno, Peru (travelpod.com)
- Arriving Puno – Puno, Peru (travelpod.com)
Video Blog – Chapter 6: Machu Picchu
Want to know the cheapest way to get to Machu Picchu? There is a way to get to the ancient ruins without taking the overpriced (and foreign owned) train. Sara and Ryan find more adventure for less money as they take the long way around stopping off in Ollantaytambo and Pisac along the way.
