Hiking Colca Canyon in Peru (2019 Updated)

While we don't consider ourselves hiking pros, we like to add a hike here and there while we travel. So when we heard about Colca Canyon, one of the most recommended hikes in Peru, we added it to our list. Although this trail is super popular amongst tourists, we feel that many decide to hike it without realizing the conditions of the trail. We laugh about it now, but we were almost in tears a few hours into hiking down the canyon, and we want to save you before you get yourself in the trouble we did. This guide will help you prepare for a 3 day hike in Colca Canyon.

What you should know about hiking Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon is 11,155 ft (3,270 m) deep. This is one of the deepest canyons in the world, and you are about to hike it both down and out. If this doesn’t scare you, nothing will!

How to prepare for the Colca Canyon trek

Like we mentioned before, hiking Colca Canyon is not easy! A steep grade, loose gravel and no shade make this trail extremely difficult. But we did it, so it’s not impossible.

Hiking Colca Canyon is absolutely stunning and you should not cancel your plans yet. You just need to get yourself ready. You will be hiking down for hours to get to the bottom of the canyon, and you need to be in very good physical condition. It’s not a bad idea to hit the gym at least a month before, to strengthen your quads before you do this hike. Also, try the StairMaster, and get used to walking with a bit of weight on your back.

What to bring to Colca Canyon (3 day trek)

 Bring enough clothes for a three-day trek. That way you don’t have to spend time renting or buying new stuff when you get to your destination. Be prepared for very high temperatures during the day, and cold nights in the canyon. You need to have proper layers in case it get’s chilly.

 Packing List for Colca Canyon

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1.     Money

You need money to buy cold drinks, pay for lodging or a mule to get you out of the canon unless you’re apart of a pre-paid tour. Even then, have some cash.

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2.     Map

Print a map, bring a GPS, or have a map on your phone. You just need a back up incase you lose one of these.

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3.     Phone

It’s useful to bring a phone with you for light, and if you have an offline version of maps on your phone.

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4.     Phone charger

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5.     Converter
In Peru there are two types of power plugs and sockets ( the one that looks like in the US, and one like in Europe). The Standard voltage in Peru is 220 V, which is higher than in the United States of America, which is 120 V. You can not use your US devices in Peru without a converter to protect your devices from frying.

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6.     Portable Battery pack

Power outages are common in Peru especially in remote area. If you want to charge your phone, camera batteries etc, you will need to bring a portable battery pack with you. Make sure you fully charge if before you leave on your hike.

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7. Day Backpack

A small day backpack is enough for a 3-day trek. We were able to fit all our clothes, and camera gear in it. You don’t need to bring a lot with you.

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8. Sunscreen

You will need good sun protection while hiking. This hike has no shad,e so we highly recommend to bring sunblock with good SPF. We love this Neutrogena sunscreen. It’s non greasy and it smells nice.

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9. Fast drying towel

You will need to bring a towel with you to Colca Canyon. There are numerous hot springs, and rivers where you can swim and relax. Guest houses typically don’t have towels so you will need to have something to dry off after shower. Microfiber towels are great for travel. They dry fast, are absorbent and portable.

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10. First aid kit (bandages, and disinfecting cream, gauze, elastic bandage)

Defnitelly bring a first aid kit with you while hiking. You might get blisters, scratches, that you wil need to properly take care of so your wouds wont get infected. Even a simple blster can get badly infected, not to mention how miserable you will be hiking with a blister on your foot.

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11. Refillable water bottle

If you run out of drinking water you can always refill your Lifestraw water bottle. We have been traveling with these bottles for years. You can refill them with water from a stream, or pond and the charcoal in the filter will kill any harmful bacteria. By using refillable water bottles, you reduce the amount of trash created from plastic bottle drinks.

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12. 2L of water per person for the hike down. 

You can buy more once you’re in the canyon.

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13. Lip balm with SPH

Your lips will get fried and cracked from the sun, so don’t forget to add some SPF not only on your body but your lisps as well.

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14. Insect Repellant

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15. Bug and Sunburn cream

Dry air and sunburns can crack your skin fast. We always travel with this ointment that helps with insect bites, sunburn skin and it’s also moisturizing.

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16. Pain killers

After the first day of hiking we were absolutely wiped. Painkillers relaxed our muscles and helped us sleep. Having painkillers with us really saved us!

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17. Imodium

In case you have stomach issues or get a diarrhea.

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18. Small bar of soap, travel size shampoo and conditioner.

Use travel size containers for liquids like soap and shampoo. This will save you a lot of space in your backpack. These are also great when you are flying and you only have a carry on luggage.

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19. Travel Insurance

You should purchase travel insurance before you go on a hiking trip in Peru. Hiking can be dangerous. Stuff happens, and you don’t want to get stuck at the bottom of the canyon, injured and needing any assistance when you get out. It also gives you piece of mind. If something bad does happen you are covered and will get medical help.

Make sure you read all the terms and condition of your travel insurance policy before you purchase it. Not all insurance companies are equal. World Nomads is the most popular health insurance for short-term travelers. Some of the biggest travel bloggers use it, and they have very good track record. We have being using IMG health insurance for years, and we are very happy with their services. You want to read more about travel insurance plans read this full article. 

Clothes Packing List

• 1 pair of shorts

• 1 pair of long stretchy pants

• Thermal shirt (long sleeve)

• 2 T-shirts

• Light Jacket

• Waterproof jacket

It didn’t rain when we went, but it can happen

• Hiking shoes

Make sure your shoes are broken in, and you have enough toe room! You will be hiking down a lot, and the constant pressure on your toes could lead to getting black toenails. Yep, it happened to us (we both lost nails) and it was terrible because we still had 2 more days of hiking. The trail is covered with gravel and it’s very easy to slip and get injured, so make sure your shoes have proper soles.

• Light jacket

• Hat

• 4 pairs of Socks

Having the right pair of socks is so important! Too thick socks can cause blisters, and too thin will make your foot slide around.

Tips for preventing blistering. Wear two pairs of socks. Put the first pair on normal and the second pair inside out. This will prevent your foot from sliding around, which causes blistering)

• 1 pair of wool socks

Wool socks will keep you feet warm at night.

• Gloves

It can get cold at night even during summer, having a pair of wool gloves really helps. We also wore them during the day to keep our hands from sunburns.

• Sleeping clothes

  for women and for men

Bring something war to keep you warm and dry at night. You don’t want to get hypothermia. Most guesthouses aren’t heated, but they provide warm blankets.

• Bathing suit for women and swim trunks for men

• Flip flops

• Underwear

Optional Items:

Hiking poles

Camera and camera lenses

We are a couple who is passionate about photography and film, so naturally we each had a camera, but we limited ourselves to the necessities. 1 camera, 2 lens each. No tripods. Our backpacks were already quite heavy, and we are glad we didn’t pack anymore. It would have been nice to have more, but this was more about hiking and surviving, than photography.

You don’t need to bring food with you but if you like snacking bring some trail mix with you.

The trail 

The trail is covered in loose gravel. It is steep and narrow - which means danger. Make sure you know where you are stepping and pay extra attention when you start getting tired because that is when most accidents happen.

Can you hike Colca Canyon without a guide?

Depending on your hiking experience and personal preference you can hike Colca Canyon independently or with a guide. The trail is in general very well marked and we chose to hike without a guide, and it went smoothly.  

Trekking without a guide is the most economical and it will give you more independence. We saw many guided groups along the way and honestly their pace was a bit too fast even for people from those groups. We saw a few hikers struggling to catch up with their group.

It is necessary to have a good map with you all the time. Have a printed copy as well as a digital version on your phone, or a gps. You can download free maps from Treeking Peru.

Familiarize yourself with the map before the hike because you will be relying on your abilities to read the map in order to get in and out of the canyon safely. It is always a good idea to trek with a companion, so try to find a hiking buddy if you can.

 The hike is one of the most popular hikes in Peru, and you won’t be alone on the trail. Along, the way you will meet locals selling various goods, and you can also pay for a donkey to carry your bags up the hill. This option is especially nice when you are hiking out of the canyon.

Permit and Fees for Colca Canyon

 You can book your trek from the local tourist office in Arequipa. They offer a similar service, pick up form the hotel and transportation from town to the trail, but shop around for the best price. You can purchase the permit to hike Colca Canyon from the Official Tourism Agency in Arequipa. 

 Lodging

You will be staying in various guest houses in the valley. There aren’t enough guesthouses for every hiker, especially during the high season, and beds fill up quickly. Nobody will turn you away but in the worst-case scenario you might need to sleep on the floor or in a shared room.

3 day Itinerary Colca Canyon

If you decide to hike the Colca Canyon your itinerary will be something like this: 3am-pick up from Arequipa. 3.5h drive-arrive in Chivay for breakfast. Stop at the view point to watch the Condors fly. Start your hike around 9am, either from Chivay or Cabanaconde. We started our hike in Chivay because we were told it's an easier hike down the canyon.

Tips: If we had to do this a second time we would want to arrive the night before our hike and stay at a guesthouse near where the trail starts because by the time we started hiking we were already awake for 6 hours and the trail ahead of us was not easy. We also didn't start hiking until almost 10am and you want to start your hike as early as possibly, due to the strong sun and no shade on the trail.

Day 01

Colca Canyon is the 3rd deepest canyon in the world, so hiking down hill in one of the steepest trails is brutal. Funny enough, when we started the hike, we even said "oh this isn't so bad", only to cry a few hours after we said that.  We couldn't wait for the torture to end. Yes, the first day felt like torture. Our knees were giving up and the sun was beating down, making the sandy trail very dusty. The loose gravel that covers the trail, was constantly slipping from under our shoes giving us a heart attack that we might fall off the cliff.

When we finally reached "the bottom" and the suspension bridge, about 3 hours later, we were exhausted. We know that 3 hours of hiking doesn't sound that bad, but we would take a 15 hour moderate hike over this anytime. There were some locals waiting on the bridge for the thirsty tourists, with cold drinks at a very hefty price. At that point paying triple price for ice cold water, that would prevent us from over heating and fainting didn't sound so bad. 

After a short rest in the shade, we had to keep moving to find a comfortable bed for the night before everywhere got full. Not too far from the bridge, we found a nice, clean room with a bathroom and food for $18 in the small village of San Juan de Chuccho. We stayed at La Casa de Roy Colca, and we highly recommend this guesthouse. The family who runs it, is incredibly sweet and we got know a bit about them. Apparently, with the little money they earn they managed to support their daughter and her language studies. The daughter is now living and working in Germany and studying to become a doctor. Wow!

At dinner we met two German hikers, that concured how difficult the hike was. They decided to catch a local bus the next day instead of continuing with the hike. Quit honestly, this was also very temping to us.

Day 2 in the Canyon

A good night of sleep made us feel much better and despite the sore muscles and bruised toes, we decided to continue our hiking adventure. The German hikers were gone to catch the bus before we ate our breakfast. We thanked our hosts for their  hospitality and started our hike at 7am. We joined another hiking couple, with whom we explored the nearby villages selling honey, regional clothes, and even a healer who treats people with herbs concoctions. The second day would have been actually very pleasant if it weren't for our sore feet and legs and our new beautiful black toenails! Yep, our nails later did come off... Luckily, the trail was a mix of flat and just small uphills.

We decided to skip Sangalle also know as "the Oasis". We've heard that the place became a sort of party town, with a bar and many backpackers, and being around loud people was the last thing we had in mind so we headed towards the Llahuar village and the hot springs.

By 3pm we reached our final destination Llahuar lodge, which was the highlight of our trip. This place had natural hot spring pools, which worked like a miracle for our tired muscles. We spent the whole afternoon soaking in the hot pools and drinking cold beers. In the evening we had a warm dinner with other fellow hikers, who told us that we could catch a bus at a nearby town if we didn't want to hike anymore. (ask for directions at the Llahuar lodge). At this point, we felt a bit defeated and we told ourselves that we had enough and wanted to get out of the hot canyon.

 Day 03

As planned, in the morning we hiked about 1 hour up the same hill we came from, to the nearest road to catch the bus. We waited with some locals for a while, but there was no sign of the bus. Unfortunately, the only bus that drives everyday through the canyon to Cabanaconde broke down, and nobody knew when the replacement was going to show up. We tried to stop a pick up truck, with plenty of space in the trunk, but the driver speeded up and all we saw was a cloud of dust after him. It was heartbreaking. Eventually, the replacement bus showed up, but it was going the opposite direction. We still got in, fearing that it would be totally full by the time it returned for us.

Although we technically didn't hike the full 3 days like we planned, we knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant hike out on the exposed, hot and dusty trail. We are definitely not trying to discourage anybody from hiking in Colca Canyon, but you should definitely know that there is no shade on the trial, at least hiking in and out of it, and the path is very steep. Definitely bring a hat, sunscreen, and make sure you have plenty of room in your shoes, so you toes don't get smashed like ours. Depending on your exit route there, is also the option to hire a donkey to get out of the canyon. If you take care of yourself in the beginning with these easy tips, the rest you hiking advenure in the Colca will probaly be much more pleassant that ours was.

Cheers!

LLAMA LOVE

High in the Atacama desert of Chile, there is a place... where you can have your very own llama... and take it for a romantic sunset walk.

Epic travel movies & shows to inspire your next adventure

The Tipsy Gypsies are big film buffs and although we don't watch much TV, we love cinema. Here is a list of our all-time favorite travel movies. Get you popcorn, your favorite drink and get watching! 

1. Lost In America

This classic 80's comedy is probably our all time favorite. David and Linda, a couple from LA decide to quit their jobs and travel across America in an RV. They have hilarious adventures along the way, and the topic is still so relevant today. If you are thinking about purchasing an RV, definitely watch this first!

2. The Beach

This might not be an Oscar winner, but so many millennials wanted to travel to Thailand, and many actually did, after watching The Beach with Leonard DiCaprio. In this movie Leo, goes on a crazy adventure to Thailand, where he learns about a secret beach. 

3. Vegas Vacation

Chevy Chase aka Clark Griswold takes his family to Vegas. Clark wants to renew his wedding vows and spend some quality time with his wife and kids.  Unfortunately for them, things don't go as planned but that means lots of great laughs for us.

4. Into the Wild

A beautiful movie based on a true story, about a young graduate, who despite feeling the pressure from his parents to pursue a career, decides to go on a life changing adventure. A beautiful story and imagery. You will probably cry watching this, we sure did. 

5. La Gendarme de Saint Tropez

This is a 1960's comedy with Louis de Funès, and it takes places in France. De Funes plays the role of a hilarious police officer, whose task is to make sure the beaches of Saint Tropez remain respectable. Louis de Funes was a comedic genius and after watching this movie you will want to book your next vacation on the French Coast. 

There are also more series of this movie: "Le Gendarme à New York"

*These movies are a bit hard to find. They have never been on Netlix or HBO ect. You might want to buy it on Amazon. It's worth it!

6. European Vacation

Another classic with Chevy Chase. This time the whole Griswold family goes to Europe to find out about their roots. What could go wrong?

7. Around the World in 80 days 

A 19-th century inventor from England wants to prove that he can travel around the world in 80 days. He goes on a crazy adventure in a gas balloon, but due to the weather ends up in the wrong countries. He constantly has to convince others to help him get back to where he started. This movie is based on a famous novel by Jules Verne. There are re-makes of this movie, but we like the original the best.  

8. Rat Race

6 team members need to race from Las vegas to New Mexico. The winner can collect the prize of 2 million dollars. Who will arrive first? *spoiler: It doesn't matter because what happens along the way is absolutely hilarious.

9. French Kiss

Yes, it's a romantic comedy, but it takes place in Europe and Meg Ryan, an American who follows her fiancé to France, is learning how do deal with the cultural differences. 

10. Eat, Prey, Love

A newly divorced woman decides to step out of her comfort zone and search for what is important to her in life. We probably liked it so much because in her character Julia Roberts, travels to one of our favorite places, India. Also, pretty much anything with Julia Roberts is great!

11. Leap Year

Surprise, another romantic comedy! Wanna guess who wrote this post? We would love to travel to Ireland someday, to explore the countryside and drink as many beers at the pubs as we can. 

12. 127 Hours

Based on a true story, starring James Frano, about a young guy from Utah, who gets trapped in a canyon, when a boulder falls on his arm and traps him. 

13. Wild

Base on a true story, about a woman who hikes along the Pacific Crest Trail, to help her figure out her self-destructive behavior and trying to piece her life back together.

14. Y tu Mama Tambien

A fantastic story of two young men traveling with a female companion throughout Mexico. This movie shows a lot of rural areas of Mexico and reflects on life and the political system of this country. Great characters and overall a very well done movie!

15. Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The holiday season is usually stressful enough, but when your flight has been canceled it can turn quickly into a nightmare. John Candy who is an easy going, chirpy fellow offers to help Steve Martin get home for thanksgiving, but he quickly gets on Steve's Martin nerves.

Why don't the studios make these types of comedies anymore? They were the best and the humor is timeless!

17. Samsara

Incredibly beautiful visuals! You will fall in love with the diversity of our planet.

18. Touching the Void

This is a true story of two alpinists, and their survival for life in the cold, icy mountain. We were on the edge of our seat watching it!

20. An Idiot Abroad (TV series)

Karl is a good friend of Ricky Gervais, for real, and Ricky enjoys sending his friend to far away places to experience other cultures. Karl doesn't care too much for traveling. You know there is a bit of Karl in you too. It's a funny show!

21. Departures ( TV Series)

We got hooked on this show before we even knew that we were going to travel around the world. Two friends from Canada, take you on a beautiful, very honest adventure around the world. We love the interactions between the two men and the locals.

22. Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown, or  No Reservations

Oh, our heart aches writing this. Anthony Bourdain had such a huge impact on our life, and definitely the way we travel. To us Parts Unknown and No Reservation were more about travel and life than food.

23. The Trip

A food critic and his best friend travel and dine throughout England's finest restaurants. Their conversations are hilarious and the food looks delicious! 

24. The secret life of Walter Mitty

The main character played by Ben Stiller, works for a Magazine and he often days dreams about wild adventures. He finally gets a chance to escape the routine when he is sent on a photo assignment.

25. 

Let us know, what are your favorite travel movies? We are always looking for new movie recommendations.

Cheers! 

Chasing the Sun with Peter and Michelle. A story of two expats who have been living the dream life on a small island in Cambodia.

One of our favorite things about traveling is meeting new people on the road. But lets face it, most backpackers are in their 20's, and we are waaaayyy older than that. When people find out our age, they always ask us about kids. Nate and I have been together for nearly 14 years, and we decided a long time ago, that having kids was not our lifetime goal. Even some of our friends, and family back home can’t understand why a "healthy" couple would choose to live childfree. The answer is simple: Not everyone wants to have kids!

I recall the time, when we used to live in LA. Every year our circle of friends with no kids became smaller. Friends, we could hang out with and do adult things like day drinking and vegging out on Sundays. Sorry, parents. We still love you, but your sexy stroller, baby and bottomless mimosas just don't pair well. Prove me wrong, but somebody might call child services on you.

The reality was hitting us harder everyday and we decided to do what every other adult couple in their late 30's would do. We sold our belongings, packed our backpacks and well, ran away. 

This is a story dedicated to those who love to wander the world, to the powerful women that prove that having kids is not their only role in life...and to the believers in unicorns!

Michelle +Peter

When we arrived in Cambodia and met Michelle and Peter, a couple much older than us, living a nomadic life style for more that 25 years, without kids, we felt like we found two unicorns. We needed to capture them (at least in pictures), and share their story with the rest of the world.

Maybe it was the 4 hour long boat ride from the mainland to Koh Rong island, or the homemade Baileys that Michelle welcomed us with at the restaurant, but I (Marta) felt immediately connected to her. She was extremely nice, happy and she was just the right person to be greeted by.

I assumed she was in her 50's. Every time I spent time around Michelle I was wondering if she had any kids of her own. I fell into the same stereotype that I hated so much, where people assume that a woman obviously has kids. One day, I finally got the courage to ask her about it, and to my "relief" I found out not only that Michelle didn't have any kids, but she also is like me and she never wanted to have them.

I realized that I had much more in common with this woman than with most women I meet. We both loved Baileys and don't want kids! Like Michelle, I also have always been very career driven and loved working. Michelle is responsible for overseeing the house keeping staff at the resort, amongst many other miscellaneous jobs. 

From Germany and England to Africa

In 1964, a 20 year old Peter moved from Germany to Zimbabwe, to work in a refinery. He said, “it was an exciting time to make money quickly there” and as a young guy, he grabbed the bull by its horns. He said that he was able to afford a new car after only working at his new job for only 3 weeks. Peter recalled, “I was so proud to buy my first car and there was only one problem… I didn’t know how to drive.” Luckily, his two colleagues were former taxi drivers, and taught him how. Peter said, “It took them the whole night to teach me how to reverse and drive forward and the next morning, only driving 20 miles, I drove to home.”

Peter was quickly promoted at work to a CEO, and was making great money. He married his first wife and had 2 kids, but his family soon fell apart. He admitted the reason his first marriage failed was because he was a workaholic, and wasn’t a good father or husband.                                                   

Michelle is originally from England. She moved to South Africa, with her parents when she was a teenager. Around 1991, a grown Michelle lived with two roommates, one of whom worked for Peter. The roommate decided to set Michelle and Peter up on a blind date. 

At that point Peter was in his 40’s, and although his career was at its peak, his romantic life was pretty much non existent. Michelle on the other hand was a brilliant, young woman with dreams of her own. She wasn’t exactly looking for the company of another man, but she agreed to go out on a bind date that her roommate arranged. Despite the 18 years of age difference, the two clicked right away. They were a great match because they both had similar passions for traveling and neither of them wanted to have kids. Disclaimer: Peter had already fathered two kids with his first wife, but Michelle made it clear that it wasn’t her dream to ever become a mother.

One morning some years later, as usual, Peter was making tea in the kitchen when he saw a blooming rose outside the kitchen window in the garden. At that moment, Peter decided he wanted to propose to Michelle. While Michelle was still in bed, he served her the freshly brewed tea, with the rose in his mouth, and for a final touch of romanticism, he was completely butt naked. But as he bent his knee he saw how surprised Michelle was, and at the last minute he chickened out turning the whole thing into a joke. Peter said that from that moment on, he knew in his heart that he wanted to be married to her but he was afraid of rejection.

Finally on June 4th 1999, they both decided to get married. There was no formal proposal, it just happened naturally and mutually. Their wedding was small (only 5 people), but it was perfect and it didn’t cost them anything. There was no big dress and fancy diamond rings. Michelle wore white pants and a top she borrowed from her friend. Their only wedding gift was a honeymoon vacation from all their friends at work.

“Home is where I put my head on the pillow”

Some time after their wedding, Michelle and Peter both got tired of their corporate life and decided to follow their passion of traveling. They both wanted to work in hotel service. Michelle took a job as a head of service in a hotel in Cape Town, and Peter was pursuing a career as a professional chef.

Eventually South Africa became too dangerous as crime was rising, and after losing too many friends to that very crime, in 2000 the two decided to move to Scotland, where they worked in a castle and later on, they managed a pub near Liverpool. They also went to the Butler Academy to become professional butlers.

After a while, they get got sick of the dreary weather in Scotland, and decided to find some sunshine. With the last of their money, they bought an old Audi at an auction for 400 pounds. The car wouldn't start shortly after they bought it, but somehow they managed to drive it all the way to Spain.

In Costa del Sol, they bought a local newspaper and found an ad: “an a English man and his dog looking for management to look after him and his villa.” They applied and got the jobs right away! They worked for him for 2 years.

Their jobs were always exciting and sometimes even dangerous. While working for an American businessman in Granada, they discovered that his bookkeeper was fudging the books. There was a lot of hostility towards Americans in Granada during that time and the newspaper quickly picked up the sensational story about “an American, who hired two South Africans to help with his shady business”. Michelle and Peter were held hostage in the house where they worked, but luckily a local friend helped them to escape potential jail time or even death. They fled in a boat and hid there till it was safe to buy a flight to Venezuela.

Nowadays, Michelle and Peter are living quietly in Cambodia on the small island of Koh Rong. Besides their work at the resort, they also run a small school for kids from the nearby village. They teach young kids the basic subjects: English, geography, math and train the older teenagers to work in the hospitality business.

When I asked them how long they will stay in Koh Rong, their answer was, "how long is a piece of string”? and that was followed with, “we are not planning on a family, so instead we are just committing ourselves to each other. We don’t have to prove anything anymore. We are trying to help other people to achieve their goals”.

Meanwhile The Tipsy Gypsies are currently still traveling the world, staying in cheap hotels, eating street food and measuring time by "beer o'clock". You might be at home, cooking dinner or cuddling with your kids. We clearly live our lives differently but no matter what you do or where you are in your life, with or without kids,  I want you to remember: Never stop chasing your "sun"!!!

NORTHERN PERU

Every tourist knows about Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley, but not nearly as many people make the trek to Northern Peru. Although you won't see as many iconic sites we found it absolutely worth the trip. From Amazonian lush jungles to the misty highland mountains that touch the sky, all the way down to the coastal deserts. We spent countless hours driving between destinations but the view was always spectacular. Here is some B-Roll we shot for the tour company, Kuoda Travel.

Are Companies Like UNILAD Adventure & Must Do Travels Bad for Content Creators?

If you're a travel enthusiast and on social media, there's a good chance you're a follower of at least one of the digital media platforms known as UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels. 

If you aren't, in brief, these are companies built entirely around filtered self-submitted content, combined with soliciting and asking travel bloggers, filmmakers, and photographers to provide them for free, with travel inspirational content that they can then re-edit if they wish, re-label, and share as their own for profit, and in trade, the content provider will receive credit in the comments (or if they're lucky, the post description) and in theory, drive traffic to the content creator. 

These digital media platforms have millions of travel-hungry followers who eat up the material these "regurgitators" provide. According to Cityam.com, "Between June 2014 and March 2015, UNILAD recorded a turnover of £377,727". Forbes during an interview with founders Liam Harrington and Sam Bentley in 2016, learned that UNILAD can charge advertisers up to £40k for an original branded video.

We couldn't find any financials for Must Do Travels but it is a for-profit business and its follower base is a million and a half more than UNILAD Adventure at the time of this articles writing. 

Needless to say, these kids have built fantastic little empires for themselves, by doing what? By sharing content they paid nothing for. Quite brilliant if you ask us. 

So is this good or bad for content creators? Let's take a look!

In December of last year, both companies reached out to us, asking to share an excerpt from our trending film Rhythms of Peru. Excited about the possible of the publicity and potential follower growth to our blog, we agreed. A few days later, their mutilated and rebranded molestation of our precious film material was released, and we can now confidently say the pay off was... less than lackluster. "Well, your content must have sucked!" you'll say. "Maybe it just wasn't popular enough!" you'll shout.

We'll let these screenshots speak for themselves:

A huge success!!! A job well done, The Tipsy Gypsies! So after 1.1 million combined views, our Facebook must have caught fire right?

Let's take a look!

From December 11th, the date of the first publication, to December 18th a week later and well past the life cycle of this type of content, we had gained 512 followers. A descent growth you might say for one week's work! "Tragically", we had also received a Vimeo Staff Pick for Rhythms of Peru that same week, and every time we get a Vimeo Staff Pick.... up go the followers. Unfortunately, there's no way for us to collect the data on the source of each new follower but it can easily be assumed that these new followers came from multiple sources. Later on we also gained over 1000 followers just by uploading and sharing Rhythms of Peru on Facebook ourselves and letting it get a virus... we mean go viral!! Way more than UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels gave us combined.

On top of that, when Must Do Travels first shared our video, they didn't even credit us as promised and it wasn't until hours later when we noticed, and the video had been liked and shared thousands of times before they corrected it. I spoke with the founder of Must Do Travels after the incident and to his credit, he seemed extremely apologetic and promised if we shared more with them, it would be done correctly. Which in our eyes is basically the equivalent of saying, "We were going to pay you $1000 for this job, but we forgot half the money at home so here's $500. But on next job, we promise we'll pay you the full $1000!". If your only method of payment is a credit, you have to get that right every single time and we talked to multiple people where this was botched. Once the cats out of the bag, there are no re-does. 

And this shows why the credit-as-payment system doesn't work. The fact is, 99.9% of viewers will watch the video, like the video, and share the video, but only .1% are going to see your name, click your name, visit your page or wall and then if you're lucky, like or follow it. This leaves UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travel receiving 99.9% of the benefits of your content, FOR FREE! 

The largest complaint we heard from content creators is that these sites aren't even properly crediting them. While this video received more than 1.9 million views, the content creators credit can't be found anywhere. Not on the video, and not in the video description. The credit is buried in the comments as with the majority of other videos. Ours was the same until we demanded they change it.

Must Do Travels claims they care deeply about their content providers. Yet one filmmaker reached out to me, sharing that his film had been featured on Must Do Travels without his consent. It turns out some unknown person had submitted it as their own and Must Do Travels accepted this submission without question or proof. Their response to the filmmaker after plagiarizing, reaping the benefits of 190k views, and not even crediting the actual creator was,

"I assure you that we do not rip off filmmakers, as we are filmmakers ourselves and actually only share other people’s footage who have quality work and willingly ask us to share that on their behalf to help them grow awareness of their own fan pages or professional services."

Were there any repercussions to Must Do Travels or compensation for the hard-working filmmaker? Of course not. Because these companies are completely unregulated or held accountable. They did eventually agree to take the film down.

So what's a model that could work? Well, we can tell you that there are other sites just like these two with the same travel focus, same style of videos, same millions of followers, and they pay their content creators. Is it a lot? No. About the price of 1 1/2 clips from our stock footage business, for a polished one minute video. But it's something. It's a gesture. 

Which leads to our final point. Whether it be small pay or no pay, it's our choice as content creators right? Whether to share or not to share. None of these sites are breaking the law (aside maybe from when they share content without proper permission... but hey, that’s just a mistake right?) So the final question we want to ask the travel community is...

just because it's legal, does it make it right? 

Just because someone who spends thousands of their own dollars/yen/pesos... on travel and equipment agrees to create content for these companies, for free in hopes of a few new followers... does that make it okay? Travel content creation is already a hard enough business to make a living at, so do we really need some of the most popular travel influencers in the world encouraging the idea that our material isn't worth anything?

Ultimately this is bad for everyone. If content creators can't find sources of revenue, they're ultimately going to stop creating content. Although we would never encourage anyone to try and make a full time living producing content for these types of sites, they can potentially provide some additional income. 

An example you say?? Why sure! We recently had some extra footage, some free time while resting in Quito, made a little video for the travel platform TasteMade Travel, and guess what? Not only were we credited...

we were paid!

Another media platform doing it right, would be Passion Passport, who makes it their main goal to focus on and feature content creators when sharing. 

Not only do they feature the content creator prominently, they typically don't re-edit the original material, providing it as the content creator intended.

We were not paid for sharing our film with them but still found it completely worth the trade.

Therefore, there are business models that work. Models that are mutually beneficial, but when platforms like UNILAD Adventure and Must Do Travels continue as they do, encouraging their type of "business" model, they are setting a terrible industry standard for what our material is worth... 

nothing.

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FINAL NOTE:

After reaching out to Must Do Travels and UNILAD Adventure for comment (UNILAD has not responded to our requests), we began an email discussion with Steven Kenniff, the founder of Must Do Travels. Although our opinion still stands about the previous and immediate state of these companies, we were really impressed with Steven's engagement with us and what felt like genuine concern and an interest in improving his company to be more beneficial to his content providers. He claims they are already implementing some of our suggestions and are currently working on several ideas for this year that could include a form of payment for at least select content creators.  Therefore, we feel optimistic about Must Do Travels future but we can't comment more on UNILAD Adventure as they won't speak with us. Despite the many issues discussed in this article, we are actually rooting for these companies and want to see these platforms reach their full potential: continued success as a business, but also a respectable and profitable place for professional content creators to contribute. 

Having said that, this is, in the end an op-ed, and just one blog and two bloggers opinion.

If anything in this article resonates with you, offends you, or you find it a worthwhile discussion, please consider sharing your opinions or experiences in the comments below and also consider sharing this article with friends and colleagues so together as a travel community, we can keep this conversation going and maybe, just maybe... get them to see the light.

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CREATOR COMMENTS & COMPANY RESPONSES

We reached out to content creators who have shared with either UNILAD Adventure and or Must Do Travels. The only criteria was having more than 500k views for videos or 30k likes on photos.

Below are their opinions as well as An official response from Must Do Travels. UNILAD Adventure did not respond to our multiple requests for comment:

(To protect the privacy of the content creators, no names have been provided)

Travel Filmmaker

“It’s like expecting to get followers for your broccoli farm because a popular restaurant uses your produce in their salad.”

Travel Filmmaker

"Before editing and sharing this video, they asked me my permission. I gave them but I wanted to have a link to my youtube channel. I thought they were going put it in the description of the post. What a bad surprise when I saw that the link was only in comments... Indeed, this post didn't increase my views on my original video. But it was an honor for me to be published by this page."

Blogger

"Honestly, I don't think people really look to see where the pictures or videos came from, so no, I don't think it made a difference at all in traffic on any of my sites."

Bloggers / Travel Filmmakers

"We think that submitting your work or letting platforms with millions of followers use your content for free definitely has some benefits, however there are a few issues with the whole idea of claiming others work as their own. If they do choose to share a piece work then it can definitely receive many views, comments and/or shares that it otherwise wouldn’t have gotten. One of the annoying issues though is crediting - to be honest, most platforms suck at it! We really had to fight with one platform to make sure that our credit was given in the description of the film and not buried in the 3rd or 4th comment that no one was ever going to find, let alone read... After being shared on large platforms it brought us a minor boost in followers - nothing to write home about though. But, it does give us creditability when we are discussing a project with a client and we can say that our content has received over a million views across different travel platforms. We liked the way Matador Network went about sharing our work. They offer some money for a license of parts of your film, and although it is not a huge amount of cash, it shows that they understand that people work hard to create the content and deserve at lest some sort of renumeration."

Travel Filmmaker

"When I was just starting I was absolutely stoked to be featured anywhere and I let everyone do it no matter who it was. Maybe it helped maybe it didn’t. But nowadays I’m really particular about what pages I post my stuff on. Because on one hand, these “feature pages” are just getting loads of free content. Content that would cost thousands and thousands of dollars to produce on their own. They are using the system to their advantage hardcore. And as much as I don’t agree with that and I’d never do it myself, you have to see the other side. As a creator, when unilad shares your video you are almost guaranteed a half a million views on a video you created. This can be then used to pitch to other brands and leveraged to help you grow your brand. But not all the content creators know how to do that, so the opportunity goes largely unused. I think it would make it a lot better and a lot more incentivized if these huge companies started paying small amounts to the creators. Even throwing someone $20 to some of these smaller creators would go a long way. Seeing as they are making hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars from each video that’s the least they could do. As much as I don’t agree with it I can’t deny I still do it from time to time. You just have to know how to leverage that and come away on the + side of things"

Travel Filmmaker

"...my opinion is that we do get something in return even though it’s not money. Exposure. And something to add to our portfolio... Keep in mind I’m very much a hobbyist, people doing this professionally may have a totally different outlook. However, I don’t think posting on these travel websites is a good way of making money because the cost involved with travel is massive and the pay off is small."

Must Do Travels:

"A few of my friends and I started Must Do Travels about 18 months ago with our own footage of various destinations that we had traveled to or lived in, and from there we started to get approached by other content creators to collaborate on their footage and to promote their personal blogs/websites/social profiles, etc. Much like how you had reached out to us in hopes of having us consider your personal footage. Since we saw that relationship as a mutually beneficial one, we developed a standing partnership with many high quality content contributors that enjoy seeing their work published on our page. It gives many videographers a chance to reach a larger audience with their work than they might otherwise be able to reach if they were to just publish it on their own, especially when they may just be starting out.

Our small team still continues to travel on a regular basis to film locations that we enjoy, or that we have always wanted to go to and needed a reason to get out and do it. That’s why we formed up in the first place. Sometimes it feels like we are always on the road, living out of a suitcase or backpack.

I think we are quite a bit different than what many people might have in mind. Unlike some of the other travel sites and pages out there that I am familiar with, we do not take ownership of your content as a part of the submission process. We know the time and work that goes into filming/editing/traveling and all that, and wish to allow all contributors the right to retain all ownership of their hard work. We simply agree to share the ones that we enjoy the most. If you check the terms and conditions of many of the other pages out there who work with other content creators you will see that they often take exclusive ownership of all content submissions (meaning that they own the video or photo from that moment forward, and you no longer own your footage that you submit for consideration to them), whether they choose to use the footage or not, and often only compensate when and if they do publish the footage online.

Many of the contributors that we work with prefer our type of arrangement, as they are able to not only get distribution and promotion of their content at no cost to them, but they also retain the rights to their hard work that might otherwise not be worth giving up for the chance to possibly earn a small portion of money that wouldn’t even cover the cost of producing the footage in most cases.

We do not run ads in tandem with our content, which means that we do not generate an income off of the video views that our own content or other submitted content gets on our page. I think that the general perception out there might be that if you have a lot of views online you must be making a lot of money, but when there are no ads available to show along with the content on Facebook at this time. We also do not have banner ads on our website articles, so we don’t generate income from that web traffic either. Likewise, we do not have a television channel or a print magazine on the shelves of book stores to generate any sort of revenue. If it wasn’t for our love of travel and being videographers and video editors too I don’t know if we would still be doing it. It’s definitely a labor of love!

In addition to what we film on our own and what is submitted to us unsolicited, from time to time we come across really cool videos online when we are looking for personal inspiration on where to travel next, or get recommended a cool video on YouTube after we just watched another similar video. In those cases we may reach out to some of those content creators to let them know that we enjoyed their work, and invite them to submit their content to us if they wish, so that we can edit it and share it and then link back to their profile or wherever it is that they prefer us to link back to from the video post. Some people never respond to us for whatever reason, and some do.

I wish we could guarantee that every time we shared a video on behalf of someone that it was going to generate some specific level of success for either of us, but we are ultimately not in control of how many views, likes, shares, comments, link clicks to their profile, followers, etc. that any given video can generate. We always hope for the best, and position the content in the way that we feel it will have the highest likelihood for a successful outcome."

UPDATE AUGUST 2019:

Content creator Thomas Norway wrote us:

Thanks for a very nice post, and I agree fully with your opinion. As a content creator myself, I have had similar experiences. Sites like Unilad Adventures and Must Do Travels is great for getting views to boast about, but little more than that. I recently submitted a video to Must Do Travel. After a week I had more than 120 000 views which I felt very good about. However I gained very few followers as a result of this. As in your experience I was credited only in the comment section and not in the post description, which was a negative surprise for me. Furthermore they included my Instagram name in vertically in the upper right corner of the video, which is not very visible on a mobile format, and the logo is much smaller than Must Do Travels. Given mr Kenniffs comments here I would have expected this situation to change one year down the road.

FUN THINGS TO DO IN LIMA

 

Lima doesn't have the best reputation amongst travelers, nor the locals living outside of the city. Stories about dangerous slums and tourists getting robbed in broad day light, circle the web. Although any large city has a mix of good and bad, we found it quite the opposite of the online opinions. Friendly faces, great food, and lot's do. This article is about all the fun things do in Lima.

MAGIC WATER CIRCUIT show at THE RESERVE PARK

This is probably the number one tourist attraction in Lima, and we shamefully have to admit that we skipped it the first time we visited the city. The second time we came to Lima, we were talked into going by our guide, and we are glad we went. At night the park truly turns into magic, with every fountain illuminated with different colors and synchronized to music. There are 13 fountains total in the park, and the biggest attraction is the light show at the Fantasy Fountain. There are 3 shows per day/except Mondays at 19:15, 20:15 and 21:30, more info here. 

It's best to visit the park during the week to avoid the big crowds. People will be around, but it's much more enjoyable. About 10 minutes before the show starts at the Fantasy Fountain, everybody lines up against the railing to watch it, so make sure to get there on time. Most people choose to stand close to the railing, but we personally think it's better to sit on the benches, further from the crowd, where you get a bigger "window" to see the whole show. 

There is a level of cheesiness to the show: lasers, holograms of people and the same classic songs you've heard the street bands play on the flute, but it's the kind of cheesy that make it cool. The show is about 20 minutes long and before it ended we ran to our favorite fountain in the park -"The tunnel of surprises" to take a few pictures without any people in it. It worked!

We spent the most time at this fountain, walking underneath it and looking at the cool, orange beams of water running over our heads and occasionally splashing us with water. 

Make sure you allow yourself enough time to explore the park before the main show and getting there can be a nightmare because of the notorious traffic in Lima, but definitely don't miss it!

At night the park truly turns into magic

 

Explore Centro Historico

Head down to the historical center to start your tour of Lima. Around the Plaza Mayor you will see many colonial buildings, and the interiors are equally beautiful. In particular, the Cathedral of Lima is worth visiting as well the Archbishops palace adjacent to it. The Archbishop of Lima has a nice house to live in for sure: lavish furnishing, beautiful paintings and ornaments fill the interiors. 

Just around the corner from the main square is located the Monastery of San Francisco. An interesting place to visit because of the large catacombs with neatly organized bones that create a form of morbid art.

China town in Lima

Lima is a melting pot of cultures and people: mestizo, Indian American, African and Chinese to name the biggest groups. From 1849 till 1874 approximately 100, 000 Chinese migrated to Peru. They mainly worked as laborers at sugar-cane plantations and the cotton industry. Many Chinese immigrants never left and settled in Lima.

For the most part people live in peace today, and you will see most of the cultures food represented. Walk to China town, aka Barrio chino, one of the oldest chinatowns on the west, and to try Chifa, a blend of Peruvian and Chinese food. Chifa means “eat rice in Mandarin”. Another classic Chinese dish in Peruvian cuisine is lomo saltado, a beef stir fry. It's delicious!

Below: Plaza Mayor

 

Casa Aliaga

An impressive mansion still inhabited by one of the most prominent families in Peru, since the 16th century. Jorge de Aliaga was one of the first Spaniards, who arrived to Peru along with Francisco Pizarro. Aliaga was Pizarro's right hand and he played an important role in conquering Peru. He participated in the capturing of the Inca Atahualpa, and for his loyalty he was granted this property, next to the presidential palace in the center of Lima. Only a small part of this large estate is open to the public. The house is beautiful, but honestly the tour is very overpriced, $30/per person , to see a few rooms and a courtyard is just too much. Our tour package included it, but we would not recommend paying the full price for it on your own. They also offer a culinary experience at the mansion. A lavish dinner prepped by a chef who is a member of the family.

 

Convento de santo domingo

When the Spanish conquered Peru, they decided to express their beliefs by building as many churches as they could. It feels like there is a church on every corner, and they are always full of people.

Convento de Santo Domingo is a church and also as the name suggests, a convent for priests. Although the grounds of the church with courtyards and smaller chapels are very beautiful, the best part of visiting this church is actually climbing the tower to see the view of Lima. 

The entrance to the tower is a bit hard to find. Look for the red staircase (pic on the left), walk up to the second floor where the church organs are, enter another door and you will see stairs leading up the tower.

Left : staircase leading to the tower

Below: View of Lima from the tower

 

Murals in Barranco

Barranco neighborhood started to develop in the 19th when European settlers started to move in. They wanted to be closer to the water as bathing became more fashionable. There is no better way to explore Barranco than walking. Wander through the trendy Barranco neighborhood, and experience the colorful murals this area is known for. These beautiful murals adorn walls, cafes and private houses. It seems that all residents of Barranco prefer art over simple paint on their houses.

There are lots of cool cafes and restaurants in this neighborhood, that invite you inside for a snack or a drink.

 

Alternative Peru tour

This is a super interesting tour that takes you to off the beaten path areas in Lima. You will see some amazing views on this tour and visit the other Lima that most of the tourist don't dare to wander to on their own. We had a lovely lunch in a shanti town and we got to talk to the locals about living there. Their hospitality was exceptional. There are more exciting locations that you will explore on this tour, but we won't give away everything. It takes a whole day, so make sure to bring comfy shoes, water and a good attitude. The guides are great and they make this tour fun!

Above: Lima, shanti town. Below: Coast of Lima

 

Vista point

Just a beautiful view of the rugged coast. It was one of our favorites places in Lima. It is hard to imagine, but there were no hipsters around taking Instagram pictures, except us :)

(Location: Malecón la Herradura, Distrito de Chorrillos 15064, Peru)

 

Museo Larco and a Cafe

A fantastic museum with a large collection of pre-columbian art, and beautiful gardens.

Museo Larco was founded by a sugar lord Rafael Larco Hoyle in 1926, and it is situated in an old mansion. Inside the museum is the largest collection of Peruvian Pre-Columbian art, around 45,000 pieces. The displays of various indigenous art are very beautiful, but the truth is that most people come here to see the very graphic, erotic collection of pottery (ourselves included!). 

 

The best Peña Music in Lima

You absolutely must go see a peña music performance, while in Lima. Pena originated in the poor immigrant neighborhoods in Central Lima. It’s a type of folk music, a blend of African, Andean and Spanish roots. This folk music was played at homes and in unofficial clubs till the word got out and nowadays no matter what your social status is, everybody loves peña.

Going to Peña at Don Porfirio was the most fun we had while we stayed in Lima. Excellent music and a dance show with a great crowd and the best Pisco sours we had in all of Peru! How Nate drank and survived 13 of them, we will never know...

This is a small place and it gets busy fast, and it would be wise make a reservation. We didn't, but thanks to the merciful hostess, she managed to squeeze us a table. They literally brought a table from the back and squeezed it between another party. 5 minutes later, that the place was so packed that they were turning people away and the doors were shut. It's a bit intimidating, because it seems that every guest is a professional dancer, but your shyness will go away after a few Pisco sours. 

 

Pisco Sour Bar

Visit the Aforo bar at the Maury Hotel that it claims invented the Pisco Sour cocktail. Whether the story is true or not, this was a good enough reason for us to visit this vintage bar in the center in Lima and try their Pisco sour. 

The hotel looks almost run down from the exterior, but the interior is vintage and classic. The original wood paneling, leather swivel chair and seasoned barman making your cocktail almost enhance the experience of this drink. 

 

 

Visit the bar that it claims invented the Pisco Sour cocktail.

Where to stay

Villa Barranco

Located in the colorful neighborhood Barranco, this historic villa, turned into a boutique hotel, offers quiet and chic accommodations. Breakfast is served in the garden and the rooftop patio is perfect for an afternoon cocktail with the sunset.

We hope that on your next trip to Peru you will stop in Lima for a visit! We sure will be back, maybe next time and we will try paragliding off the cliffs!

THE MAGIC WATER CIRCUIT

Lima has an amazing fountain and light show that goes on three times a night, five nights a week. In fact, this park holds the Guinness Book record for the largest fountain complex in the world! At about a $1 for the ticket, this evening activity is a must for any Lima visit!

Music provided by our talented Peruvian friend and musician, Tayta Ed Bird Please check out his SoundCloud page as his music is fantastic! https://soundcloud.com/taytabird

DESTINATION: PERU - Central & South

Most tourists come to Peru to visit the main attraction, Machu Picchu. This incredible ancient city, built by the Incas is undoubtedly an exceptional site, but there is so much more to Peru beyond it. Let us take you on a journey through the lakes, mountains, cities, and villages of central and southern Peru to show you the vast cultural diversity of this country.   

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LIMA

Lima is the capitol of Peru and the largest city in the country. The Lima Metropolitan Area has over 10 million inhabitants, so you can imagine it's a large and busy place. Located on the central coast of Peru and overlooking the Pacific ocean, Lima definitely has a surfer's culture. Despite the cold weather and grey skies, you will see on any given day surfers riding the waves. The locals call this phenomena "panza de burro" which translated into "the donkey's belly", but when the sun is shining Lima is one of the most beautiful cities with a cool breeze and gorgeous sunsets. 

If you plan your vacation in Peru you will most likely stop here for a day or at least catch a layover. Sadly most of the tourists, unaware of what the city has to offer move on quickly to their final destination, like Machu Picchu, never giving this city a chance. If you know where to go and stay, Lima can be a lot of fun. 

The best neighborhoods to stay in Lima are Miraflores and Barranco. Both of these neighborhoods are very walkable with trendy cafes and restaurants.

Read a full guide to Lima here

If you don't know where to go you can sign up for one of the free walking tours. They are fun a great way to meet locals and other travelers. 

Before you go to explore the famous archeological sites of Peru, visit some museums in Lima to get a taste of the Pre-columbian culture and art. Museo Larco in Lima is a wonderful place for that. 

Museo Larco

Privately owned museum in Lima with a large collection of Pre-Columbian art, famous for its erotic pottery.

Barranco

Go on a free walking tour to explore the art district of Barranco with colorful murals.

Huacachina

This small desert oasis is very popular among young backpackers. The main attraction in the town are the sand dunes, where you can go sand-boarding or ride in a sand buggy. Huacachina is fun and definitely worth stopping by if you have the time, but one night was enough for us.  It's a relatively small place and there isn't much to do besides the activities listed, but if you're into relaxing and drinking cold beers by the pool you might want to stay a few night longer.

Watching the sun setting down from the sand dunes over the town is a must!

There are 41 islands on the lake and you can visit some of the communities that still live there, by a speed boat. There are many companies that offer a similar service that you can book from Puno. Make sure to ask for the speed boat, otherwise your journey will take much longer. 

Remember to bring some cash with you since there are no ATM machines on the islands and you might want to buy some handicrafts.

LAKE TITICACA

The highest navigable lake in the world, located on the boarder between Peru and Bolivia. The lake consists of two basins: Lago Grande situated in Peru, and Lago Wiñaymarka or Lago Pequeño in Bolivia. The nearest town is Puno, which perhaps is not the most charming, with clustered unfinished brick buildings. However, the sunsets and sunrises overlooking the lake are breathtaking. 

Where to stay

Hotel Libertador, Lake Titicaca

This is the only hotel situated on Lake Titicaca. This hotel is a part of a known upscale hotel chain in Peru. Request a room with a sunrise view. Although the rooms could use a new fresh design, the hotel restaurant serves the most incredible Peruvian cuisine.

Below: Sunrise view of the Lake Titicaca is the reason why people like stay at the hotel Libertador. Plus there are llamas roaming the grounds of the hotel. This is a perfect place for a relaxing vacation.

A glass of wine and a cheese platter, at the patio with an outdoor fireplace is perfect to watch romantic sunsets.

"The Floating Islands"

The Floating Islands of Uros are a series of islands on lake Titicaca occupied by the Uros people. They are constructed from reeds that grow abundantly on the lake. These manmade islands were designed to be moved if necessary, and they need to be constantly maintained by their inhabitants. Fresh reeds are added constantly, otherwise the islands would rot and sink. All the dwellings on the islands, even the boats are made out of these golden reeds.

Like many native groups in Peru, the Uros people wear unique traditional clothing. Woman wear colorful, oversized skirts, and the tips of the long braids are tied together with large pompons.

You will only stay about one hour on the islands total. The natives will demonstrate how the islands were built and afterwards they will offer to sell you some local souvenirs.

These beautiful and unique islands along with the colorful outfits of their inhabitants will make you feel like your on a Disneyland fairytale set!

Taquile Island

Taquile Island is much bigger than Uros, and it's a "proper" island situated on a rock. If you have ever been to Catalina island in California, you might find it very similar. Hilly rocky terrain with Mediterranean climate and blue waters surround it. Most of the locals are involved in agriculture or fishing but tourism is also thrives.

As part of our tour we ate lunch at a local restaurant: a homemade quinoa soup and a fresh trout from the lake, were simply delicious.

There are also some interesting traditions on this island. For example instead of a handshake, people greet each other by exchanging coca leaves that they carry in a shoulder bag. This culture is also known for weaving intricate textiles, and you see almost everybody, young and old, women, men and children always occupied knitting some clothing garments: hats: bags, belts etc. Knitting is such an important part of their lives and they say that if you don't know how to knit there is no way to get married.  

The island is self-sufficient and there aren't any cars on the island.

The Arequipa region is abundant in minerals, and with several mines, it's the richest state in Peru. There is a strong regionalism in this area, with many locals almost wanting to separate from the rest of Peru. They considered themselves neither Peruvians nor Europeans. The sense of pride is very strong. Arequipa is also a distribution center for the whole southern part of Peru.

AREQUIPA

A charming colonial town with a beautiful church and cafes surrounding the main square. The fountain in front of the church is a popular meeting point for tourists and locals, especially in the afternoons you will see locals, food vendors, shoeshiners and others offering their services. The Misit volcano with a height of 20, 000ft makes a beautiful backdrop for Arequipa.

Where to stay

Hotel Libertador

Beautiful hotel in a very good location and large gardens. They even have a small petting zoo with Llamas and a tortoise.

Logistics and transportation: PeruHop

We want to thank PeruHop, a transportation company who we traveled with for a few weeks to see these incredible places. We chose to travel with them because of their excellent driving records, well-organized tours, and comfortable buses. Peru is infamous for reckless drivers and unfortunately, you have to be very careful about the bus company you travel with. We were very happy with PeruHop and we highly recommend them to travelers visiting Peru. They offer a range of services: from transportation to tours, meals and accommodations. Traveling with them not only gives you peace of mind and you know you will get safely from point A to B, but you will also get to makes some stops and see some sights you wouldn't on a local bus.

A fairytale village in Czech you've probably never heard of

Some of the best places we visited on our travels have been discovered by coincidence and that was the case with Loket, a small village in the Czech Republic.

Small and mellow is the best way to describe Loket, for only about 3000 people live here. As you enter the town across it's main bridge, it may begin to look oddly familiar. That's because this little town was used as a stand in for Montenegro in the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale.

The big G sign is where the locals hung out. At the Restaurace u Karla IV. Beer was good and much cheaper than in other bars.

Despite the early hour, there was not a soul to be found on the streets and the only one grocery store in town was already closed. As we tried to navigate through the narrow streets looking for our B&B, we got a glimpse of this fairly tale town, with a castle sitting on the top of the hill. We couldn't believe that we had never heard of this place before. 

Our hotel Stein Elbogen, which we booked just a few hours earlier turned out to be better than in the pictures. Perfectly situated by the river, this beautiful mansion, painted in a tasteful pinkish color with original stone walls, used to belong to the owners of the oldest porcelain factory in Bohemia. After dropping our bags off in our spacious room, we headed down to the restaurant. We walked down an old, stone staircase with vaulted ceilings, which felt like walking through an old castle. The hotel restaurant was just like the town, cute and quiet. We sat by the crackling fire place and ordered a beer. Behind the bar the owner was casually chatting with a friend and we kept wondering where were all the people on a Friday night? 

A day in Loket

Loket castle

Saturday morning felt unusually quiet and most of the shops around the main square appeared to be closed. We headed to the castle on a self guided tour, which included some typical castle stuff like a porcelain display room, armory, and of course, a torture room in the dungeons.  We spent a few hours walking amongst the cold castle walls, and we even climbed the tower to see the view of the city. Again, there were barely any tourists around, which was great for so many reasons, but most importantly we didn't have to photoshop any of our pictures. 

The gingerbread tradition in Czech dates back to 1324 and it was probably introduced by bakers from Nuremberg, Germany. Till this day gingerbread is baked here, and Loket is known for a specific type if gingerbread called Elbogener Pumpernickel. You can see a wooden mold for gingerbread in the middle picture below.

The Bridge

After the tour of the castle we walked out on the bridge to get a full view of the town. You really get a sense of the scale from a distance. The original suspension bridge opened in 1835, but was later replaced with the existing stone bridge due to the economic crisis in 1936. From the bridge you can take the stairs down to a path along the Ohře river, where the locals like to go for walks.

The Brewery and Museum

Rodinny Pivovar Svaty Florian is an excellent local brewery with a long tradition of brewing beer. The first floor is a small museum/gift shop and the bottom floor is a restaurant and a brewery. They serve four types of beer: light, dark, and two smoked. They are all excellent! You can also try some traditional Czech food here, but we've been told that food is not as good as the beer.

At the end of the day we returned to our lovely B&B and booked another night. We wanted to spend another day here repeating what we did the first day. We also found out why the town has been so empty. Apparently, after the new years a lot of businesses close for a holiday break and reopen in late February. Some hotels might still be open but most of shops and cafes are closed during this time. We actually enjoyed the quiet and peaceful atmosphere during our stay in Loket but next time we would love to come back and visit in the summer when everything is in full swing.  

Cheers!

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SHERA

Fresh snow in Poland means it's time to get out and explore... at least it does when you're a dog named Shera...

ʍɐsɹɐʍ / warsaw

An afternoon wandering around Warsaw in December, 2017.

POLAND: WINTER WONDERLAND

We were home in Czestochowa, Poland visiting my wife's family for Christmas and there was a big snowfall one day. Decided to head out to the countryside and get a few shots...

YELLOWSTONE

GET TIPSY ON: CAZUELA

The Tipsy Gypsies recently discovered this amazing drink in Guadalajara, Mexico. We would describe Cazuela as something between a traditional Margarita and Sangria, but much lighter. If you love tequila, refreshing and low sugar cocktails you will definitely love this drink.

Cazuela originally is a popular dish, similar to a stew, served across the latin Americas. Its name comes from the cazuela cooking pot (a shallow terra cotta dish with a wide opening). Some genius decided to throw some fresh fruit with tequila into the pot, making this delicious drink and its been tequila heaven ever since!!! 

Ingredients

Serves 6 people (or two Tipsy Gypsies)

Fresh squeezed juice from 1 grapefruit

Fresh squeezed juice from 2 oranges

Fresh squeezed juice from 2-3 limes

3-4 cups of tequila blanco 

Fresh cut slices of oranges, grapefruit, lime (one of each)

Fresca, Squirt, *Jarritos or other Grapefruit Soda (about 5-6 cups)

* Jarritos is a traditional Mexican soda and it can be found in the USA in Hispanic grocery stores, but if you can't find it you can use any other grapefruit soda or even a lemon soda. 

Ice

Salt, chile spice (optional)

Straws

Instructions:

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients: juices, sliced fruit, tequila, ice and top it with some grapefruit soda. 

Serve the drink in a cazuela or other shallow dish with a straw. Decorate the rim of the cazuela dish with salt and chile. First cut a lime and rub it on the rim of the cazuela dish. Then dip the rim of your cazuela in a mixture of salt and chile. 

Salud!

Thai Egg Custard in a Pumpkin

We had the pleasure of learning how to make this delicious dessert in Thailand at the Sompong Thai Cooking School. We definitely recommend attending their fun cooking class when visiting Bangkok. This dessert is light, easy and relatively fast to make. If you want to know what Thailand tastes like, try this recipe below.

---

 

Ingredients:

1 pumpkin (500-600 gram.)

4 eggs

1 cup coconut cream

1 cup palm sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5 pandanus leaves (or 2-3 drops of vanilla extract )

1. Clean the pumpkin, remove the top and scrape out the seeds and membrane, but leave the flesh intact. ( you can use a thai soup spoon for this process, which makes this process fast and easy)
2. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, coconut cream, palm sugar, pandanus leave/or vanilla extract and salt. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Pour the custrad mixture into the prepared pumpkin, filling until about 1/4 inches from the top. ( You can also use small custard cups, instead of the pumpkin to cook the custard. Pour the custard mix into the cups and add shredded pumpkin flesh on top.
4. Steam low heat the pumpkin in a stacker steamer or other steamer for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the custard comes out clean. It will look set but still jiggle a bit when shaken. The custard firms up as it cool ( about 10 minutes). ( If you are using small cups, steam for about 10-15 minutes.). To prevent your pumpkin from cracking, put it in a bowl that fits nicely around it, and avoid steaming with excessive heat. After the custard is done steaming, leave it to cool before you remove it from the steamer.
5. Cut the custard including the pumpkin "crust" into wedges and serve! Voila!

RIDING OUT MEXICO'S BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE IN A CENTURY

Doctors recommended dose: take 2oz. per shake.

It was probably 20 minutes after checking into our 10th floor Airbnb in Mexico City when Marta asked her obligatory, "can this natural disaster happen here?" question. This time it was earthquakes. Previous choices have been tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides and of course, volcanoes. 

"Yes, I believe Mexico does have earthquakes" I replied, but I couldn't say for sure. A quick google search by Marta and our question was answered as she stared in horror at photos of the devastation from the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The death toll from that quake varies wildly from 5,000 - 45,000. Regardless of the actual number, it was catastrophic. 

Marta then expressed concerns about us staying on the 10th floor of a building whose design she questioned. Naturally I brushed her off and said everything was fine. 

A few days later we were exploring the city with our local friend Rodrigo and the '85 earthquake came up. He reassured Marta that most buildings since then were either built or retrofitted to withstand a powerful earthquake. I'm not exactly sure how much this reassured her, but throughout the next few days she kept talking about her feeling that there would be an earthquake. I of course thought she was crazy. 

Then on the evening of September 6th we heard a loud siren blare and a message in Spanish blasted over a speaker. It reminded me of the tsunami and hurricane sirens I heard growing up on Kauai. We had no idea what it actually meant so I began searching for "Mexico City sirens" and discovered that it's a sophisticated earthquake warning system that can give you up to 60 seconds to evacuate before the quake hits. At this point it was too late to leave but luckily nothing happened. I then read further that these sirens go off all the time as false alarms and residents of Mexico City now suffer from "alarm fatigue" and so basically everyone just ignores them. None of this reassured Marta any more while we lay in bed of our 10th floor apartment.

Moving on to the night of September 7th... it was probably about midnight and I had sipped a bit of delicious tequila that evening so I was just heading off into a mariachi slumber when.....

"RRRRREEEEEEEERRRRRRR...... Atención! Something, something in Spansish...."

I looked over at Marta and told her it was going to be another false alarm and that it happens all the time so she had no need to worry. Again, she was not convinced. So I rolled back over and closed my eyes and just as I did I heard her say, "the building is moving". I opened my eyes and I definitely felt something.... but was it the building, or the tequila? 

Then I saw the suspended light start to swing. Okay... it wasn't the tequila. No worries, it will just be a small tremor. Again, I was wrong. Then the building REALLY began to sway and you could hear the walls creaking and cracking. Marta ran into the living room to find our roommate there. She asked him if he had ever experienced something like this in Mexico and he said, "never". 

I threw on a towel and joined them in the living room. As the building continued to creak and sway, we lay on the floor next to the wall. Finally, as things began to ease up, we all decided to vacate. 

So down ten flights of stairs we flew and out onto the street were we were greeted by many other frightened people. As it finally became clear that the tremors were over, I got a few giggles and laughs from those passing by as I realized I was still in just my towel. Safety before clothing right? 

After returning to our apartment and finding paint chips from the wall everywhere, we saw the damage was minimal. Looks like Rodrigo was right! Our building held up well. 

As we lay sleeplessly in bed watching the news unfold online, we would learn that Mexico City did quite well. But unfortunately the states south of us were not so lucky. Oaxaca and Chiapas received heavy damage as they were closer to the epicenter of the 8.2 earthquake. This was the largest earthquake to hit Mexico in a century!

I must say, I am now absolutely terrified of my wife and her confirmed ability to see disasters coming. Now if she ever questions a flight we take, or a place we go, I'm going to be left shaking in my boots. 

We have since sadly watched the death toll rise from a few to almost a hundred over the last few days and now seen the pictures of the catastrophic damage to the region. Unlike Mexico City, the construction in the south is not as sophisticated and I don't think they have the early warning system either. Many people were fast asleep when the quake hit. 

But what was most surprising to use was the chance to witness this warning system they have in place in Mexico City. Coming from Los Angeles we have heard the debates of trying to build a similar system for years, yet nothing has been done. And here we are in a FAR more impoverished country than America and yet they are LIGHT YEARS ahead of LA or even San Francisco when it comes to preparedness for this type of event. 

Seeing the potential it has for saving lives I cannot fathom how this hasn't been budgeted and implemented YEARS ago. And the only answer I can come up with is yet again, politics have trumped social wellbeing. And that of course, makes me sad. So I bid you adios until next time, as I I take another sip of Cazadores and go back to playing, "Is it Tequila, or is it Tectonic?"

A STROLL THROUGH GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Even the smoke from the largest active wildfire in the U.S. (at the time) couldn't completely hide the vies of Glacier National Park. We had a lot of fun exploring this awesome place (aside from almost getting eaten by a bear and her cub!)

Best Bars in Siem Reap

Aside from its rich culture and architecture, Siem Reap has one of the best drinking scenes in South East Asia. The most famous (or infamous) place to get drinks in Siem Reap is of course, Pub Street. Pub Street is exactly what it sounds like, a street full of pubs, but also some restaurants and massage parlors. Most of the bars on Pub Street are known for their cheap buckets, a mix of terrible bottom shelf alcohol and your choice of soda. A 20 year old backpackers paradise. Buckets are a fun and fast way to get drunk but sometimes you might want something a little more sophisticated. Every bar on Pub Street is offering the "best happy hour" in town and it can be hard to decided where to go. 

So we did the work. We drank A LOT. The Tipsy Gypsies got completely drunk (again), and although Pub Street is great, we also discovered a lot outside its neon glow. Therefor we've created this list of our favorite bars in Siem Reap, on and beyond Pub Street.

"You see we never ever drink

Nice and easy

We always DRINK nice and hard

We started the night nice and easy but finished it hard"

(thanks Tina Turner "Proud Mary")

Miss Wong

One of our favorites, Miss Wong has the best central location. It is situated in a small alley, just few steps away from the madness of the Pub Street, which is way more relaxing and classy.  Miss Wong is well know amongst locals and tourists, and it is well worth the visit not only for drinks but also the elegant atmosphere.  

We arrived at Miss Wong around 6pm, just when the bar opened and things were just coming to life. We were immediately impressed by the gorgeous interior: high ceilings, crimson red walls, glowing lanterns hanging off the ceilings, lots of paintings and moody lighting. This place is sexy! There were so many great details in this bar and our eyes were constantly traveling up and down the walls discovering new trinkets.

We were greeted by the super cool owner of the bar Dean, who is an expat from New Zealand and has been living in Cambodia for the last 12 years. Dean opened and designed the bar himself 8 years ago. The design is based on a paining that the owner's grandmother had in her home back in New Zealand. The painting is of Miss Wong, a beautiful, mysterious woman painted by a Russian artist, who became famous for his prints of Chinese ladies he painted. The painting was a great inspiration for an asian theme speakeasy and it also reminded him of his home.

When Miss Wong opened the idea was to offer something different from the popular and cheap buckets of alcohol. The owner wanted to serve a top shelve alcohol to his clients, but 8 years ago that was a problem in Siem Reap. The better quality liquor had to be imported and was very expensive. That is why he decided to infuse his his own alcohol. Dean's background is in biochemistry, and when you taste his infused vodkas you can tell that he knows his craft. The infused vodkas, also used in mixed drinks, are very unique flavors like Tom Yum (yes the famous Thai Soup), cardamon or pepper. Vodka has never tasted better!

The Tipsy Gypsies recommend:

Mixed drinks:

Jen Queens Ang-Pau

Jen Queen Year of the Cocktail

Apricot & Kaffir Lime Martini

Spiced Bloody Mary

The Elbow

Shots:

Pepper infused vodka

cardamon rose gin

Tom Yum Gin (so pretty much all of them)

They also serve delicious appetizers. Pictured below: dim sum

Georges Rhumerie

This place is all about rum, but not just any rum. This rum is made in house and to make it even better, it's all infused. This place is a MUST try in Siem Reap!

We arrived to Georges Rhumerie by rickshaw around 8pm and the place was not very busy. Perhaps because G.R  is located a bit "outside" of the tourist zone (aka away from Pub Street), and is why this place is not super crowded. If you want to hang out with some awesome expats and stay away from the crazy drunken tourists of Pub Street, this bar is great! The rickshaw ride was only $3 and it was totally worth the cruise outside downtown. Also, don't worry about getting back to your hotel. They have trusted rickshaw drivers waiting outside so when the bar is finally closed, they will help you get home safely. And after this journey through rum heaven, we definitely needed some assistance getting back.

We sat at the outdoor bar area, which is very casual, but if you need AC they also have an indoor restaurant. The relaxed atmosphere, very friendly bartenders, who joke around and talk with the customers is probably why so many expats (and us), love to hang out here. 

Our bartender served us a flight of rum shots to start with. The flight was 10 different infused rums, and if you think we can tell you what was our favorite, we would have to say all of them! We definitely recommend this sampling experience as all of the flavors are wonderfully unique.

We desperately needed to eat something after our "little" sampler of rums, so we ordered a delicious appetizers plate of samoussa, bouchon, baida and crackers with home-made delicious jams! Trust us, you will want to snack on something while you're sipping on one of their many delicious concoctions. The snacks were well paired with the drinks and we never thought that jam and crackers would go so well with rum, but we swear it's worth it!

We don't know when to say no to alcohol, and so when our bartender suggested that we try some of their cocktails we ordered not one, but two: Bokator and George's Grog, both very delicious, refreshing and light. 

Our master bartender, Houern, who was entertaining us the whole night told us that the staff likes to create their own drinks, and if they are popular they end up on the menu. He mixed us his latest creation, which was not yet listed on the menu, and we hope it has since been added because it was absolutely fantastic. It was hands down one of the best cocktails we've ever tasted. He called it a "Svay" or "Mango cocktail" ( ingredients: mango rum, mango juice, mint syrup, lime juice, milk). If you visit Georges you must try this cocktail!

Park Hyatt

The Park Hyatt is probably the most gorgeous hotel in Siem Reap, and we had the privilege of staying with them. We highly recommend that you go to and splurge at least one night with them and have a drink either on their patio surrounded by fire pits, enjoying a traditional dance performance (check schedule) or you can sip a cocktail in their gorgeous 'living room" lounge, decorated with pinks sofas, fresh lotus flowers, dimmed lights and soft music playing in the background. The design alone is worth the $10 plus drinks.

If you time your visit right, the traditional Cambodian dance performance is absolutely spectacular. Just sit in the patio and enjoy your drink and the show.

The Tipsy Gypsies recommend:

New York Sour

 Singapore Sling

Hemingways Diary

Victoria Angkor

This hotel has a great pool and if the day is hot, which is almost always the case in Siem Reap, there is no better way to cool down than by the pool while sipping on ice cold drinks. The best time to go is for brunch on the patio, overlooking the pool area or directly by the pool under umbrellas. There is also a bar inside the hotel and their drinks are very good, but there isn't much night life going on. 

The Tipsy Gypsies recommend:

Frozen Coconut Mojito

Passion Daiquiri

Mango "Caviar" Fizz

Angkor What?

Did we mention the buckets? Angkor What? is a very popular, if not the most popular bar in Siem Reap and it would be wrong not to mention it. It was probably our least favorite bar because it's a bit loud. Every time we went there to meet with friends they were blasting obnoxious music. We are not saying they should change what they are doing, just keep this is mind. If you are planning on conversing with friends at this bar, forget about it. But if you want to get some cheap buckets and dance your ankles off, this is the right place for you. Angkor What? is located on Pub Street and with it's grungy design and cheap drinks, it obviously attracts a younger crowd. The buckets are large and strong so be prepared to get shit faced or make some friends to share it with. And lastly, don't wear anything white as all those "invisible" stains will be shinning bright in their black lights. 

“The more I drink, the better I write and the more I write the better I drink.”

Disclaimer: We make sure to have at least few drinks before we start to write any bar or drink reviews! Because who wants to write about drinking when you're sober?

Cheers!