Peruvian Llama Smooches

If you only come to Peru for the llama kisses, you will not be disappointed because, trust us, there are plenty to go around.

We started in Arequipa for what we thought was 1 night, but ended up being 3 days [#altitudeacclimation]. Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru, is beautiful and full of delicious restaurants.

Our Arequipa do-not-miss restaurant list:

• Chara Tacos: simple, well-priced, and soooo good.
• Hatunpa: amazing local food on top of a wide variety of local potatoes.
• La Luciernga: pizza that is very good, but, more importantly, will deliver on rainy nights, and they speak English (for anyone who speaks a foreign language, you know that phone calls are the hardest).

After 1 false start, we headed off on our Colca Canyon 2 day/1 night tour with Carlitos Tours. If you want to do the Colca Canyon, you need to book with these guys. Check out our review here if you don't want to take our recommendation at face value. Side note: if you're considering the tour, the 3 day and 2 day tours are the same, so if you're in not great shape, the 3 day will be easier.

We had gorgeous weather as we hiked the 3rd deepest canyon in the world (the Grand Canyon is the 5th deepest, for reference). It was medium hard for us, with the toughest part being the last 20 minutes on the 2nd day because of altitude. 

I was in Peru ~2 years ago to do the Inca Trail and it was a total whirlwind. If you did the Inca Trail, and then crossed Peru off of your "countries achieved" list, you're selling yourself short. Arequipa is incredible: the people, the culture, the views, the food.

Thailand, which has been holding our "number one spot" for quite some time, may be ousted by this incredible country by the time we leave. As for now: onwards and upwards to Cusco [literally: it sits at nearly 12,000 feet]!