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My stomach churned as the bus rolled over yet another dusty bump in the road. 28 hours on the bus traveling across South America and my body refused to take another second of it. Just as I pressed my head to the cool window and readjusted my ear buds, the motion came to a sudden stop. “What a beautiful thing it is to stop moving.”
South America has been a whirlwind so far! We’ve officially been traveling for one month and we haven’t had a second to breathe. We spent the first two weeks of our trip galavanting across Peru. When I say galavanting, I mean, we really moved. Arriving the first night after a long day of flights, we passed out in a dorm in Lima, only to wake up at the crack of dawn the next morning to hop on the first bus of MANY.
We were headed south to Paracas, a beautiful little fishing town off of the coast. We spent the evening walking on the beach and exploring the quaint town. The next day was filled with natural beauty from our boat ride to Ballestas Island, also known as “the poor man’s Galapagos,” to a drive through Paracas National Reserve. We were amazed by how drastically our worlds had changed in a matter of 48 hours.
After a day in Paracas, we traveled to Huacachina, a small desert oasis surrounded by sand dunes. While we were there, the sand buggies
were out of operation due to an accident that occurred before we arrived. Have you ever hiked sand dunes? It goes something like..burning legs and a face full of sand, but you don’t really care because the views are insane! We made the grueling hike up the dunes several times to sled back down on sand boards. This process repeated itself until the sun began to set and we sat in awe of the changing colors reflected on the mountains made of sand.
The next day, we were off yet again, but this time, for our first overnight bus ride. Fortunately, we made stops for dinner and to see the mysterious Nazca lines (massive drawings of animals mysteriously preserved in the desert sand for centuries) from a viewing tower. It’s important to point out that South American buses are so comfortable! The seats are spacious and recline to 120 degrees (or more). There are often movies playing and sometimes, you’re even provided with snacks! All o
f this combined with our hoodie pillow
s and sleep music, and I found it actually possible to get some decent sleep.
After 29 hours on the road (ha, we thought this would be our longest ride), we finally made it to Cusco! Cusco meets the classic American expectations of Peru -- a rustic town bordered by the towering Andes mountains, women dressed in traditional indigenous clothing selling alpaca wool on the side of the road, markets abounding everywhere you turn! Cusco was our first real chance to take in a sip of air before heading to…..the jungle!
We booked a four-day jungle tour through Loki Hostel. Honestly, this was one of the most economical decisions that we made in Peru. In our time at the fun (though wild) Loki Jungle Hostel, we hiked twice on the ancient Inca trail, made the trek to see the world-famous Machu Picchu, white-water rafted through glacial waters, rode mountain bikes through rugged, dusty neighborhoods, and enjoyed the sweet thrill of a swing over the edge of the Andes. We made great friends from all over the world during these days and our hostel fed us well.
As our time in the jungle came to a close, we were back on the bus on our way to Arequipa. Before we could see the
city, we were picked up for a two-day trek through Colca Canyon, the deepest (hikeable) canyon in the world! 48 hours of stunning views and more incredible new friends later, we were headed back to Arequipa. We spent our last day in Peru traipsing the streets of this stylish city, eating artisan pasta and learning about the production of llama wool.
Our absolute whirlwind of beautiful sightseeing in Peru came to a sudden ending. We said goodbye to the mystic culture and the colorful mountains all too soon to head to the next destination. And how did we get there? You guessed it--by bus!
The trip to Chile took a whopping 39 hours total. We traveled from Arequipa to Tacna, Peru and crossed the border in a little local bus (a surprisingly stress-free experience). On the other side of the border, we found the Arica bus station and hopped on an overnight bus to Colama, Chile. The next morning, the kind bus driver allowed us to stay on the bus for the extra hour to San Pedro de Atacama at no additional charge. We then took an unmarked taxi (no real taxis exist in San Pedro de Atacama) to our hostel.
After the constant motion of Peru, arriving in Chile felt like a lurching halt. Suddenly, we found ourselves in the middle of the desert with not much money to spend and no Wifi to be found. We spent time sleeping, reading under the spring blooms, cooking quick meals in the hostel kitchen, and walking to town to buy empanadas and ice cream on repeat. While the topsy turvy motion of Peru was starting to get to me, the screeching halt honestly felt a little too shocking for my system.
Up to this point, I had experienced a lot of motion sickness. From the twisty jungle roads of Cusco to the long hours on heavy charter buses through the mountains, my stomach was just not having the car rides. As soon as we arrived in Chile, the motion sickness stopped. Maybe it was the straight, desert roads or maybe it was just the forced pause allowing me to really be present that made my whole body reverberate. When you stop moving after motion sickness, your stomach kind of rolls over, bracing itself for the vehicle to jerk forward again. It takes some time to start feeling like yourself again. The Atacama Desert was a place for us to reflect on everything that had happened so far (a lot) and to try to process. We finally had time to feel, to think, and to ask questions. At first, slowing down the pace of the trip felt like getting out of a car after a long trip--like my head was still spinning, like I didn’t remember what stillness felt like. But each quiet desert walk and thoughtful conversation slowly brought me back to just being, just experiencing. What’s the cure to motion sickness? Stopping the movement.
Our time in the desert ended with a star tour of the brightest night sky. Sitting under a blanket with a mug of hot cocoa and listening to our guide rattle off ceaselessly amazing facts about the universe, finally made me feel settled in my place-- so small and so in tune with the more steady, spinning motion of this incredible world.
Peru/Chile Quick Summary:
120.2 miles hiked
5 mountain ranges
$857.60 spent (including flight and bus tickets)
8 hostels
78.5+ hours on a bus
6 ice cream cones
Looking Forward…
Since Chile, we’ve made it to Argentina--where we’ll be for the rest of October. Stay tuned for more updates about our experiences. You can follow along for more frequent updates on Instagram @One.Way.Wanderers. We love to hear your comments and answer your questions so let us know your thoughts in the comments section below! Thank you all for following along!
Hasta luego!
-Allie