South America!!

3 weeks

4 countries

2 sisters

2 friends

30 hours in transit

one heck of an adventure! =]

So here are some collections of activities and what i found interesting.

Having negative fitness level the hiking and walking around wasn't too bad. Was most concerned about Cusco considering the altitude and how I come from a land down under to which my friend states is like zero meters above sea level. lol. 

Fortunately I only suffered a headache when I landed at the airport, and was gone after I slept til 3pm the next day lewl.

Adjustments I had to make that I wasn't used to_

. not throwing the toilet paper in the toilet but rather the bin provided next to it (so it doesn't clog the system)

. buying bottled water everywhere

. not being able to communicate since everyone speaks spanish

. wow there are so many potato variations in cusco

. mutant corn

. eating out everyday (could get used to it :P)

So here are some pics. 

 First stop Cusco

 City Centre
Super touristy, and there was even specific tourist police roaming around

mutant corn!

markets next to the bus tour stop

friends got me a handy drink bottle holder
which i'll probably end up using more back home than there lol

breath taking scenes

horticulture, lots and lots of different step levels to grow potatoes

 fascinating to think how people lived here so long ago

 the day i was too tired and didnt want to walk up, but did anyway :)

 llamas! or alpacas? I don't know the difference

 the children there are quite energetic and really want to hunt you down for a photo, 

it is their source of income in a sense

 random shot that is my fav

 travel on peru rail, this part reminded me of home 

i think its the colours

 close up of housing

 wet season when we traveled

 charlie and the chocolate factory!

 i would say this was the worst walk because of the super uneven surfaces and just rocks, it was the walk to check out a waterfall that wasn't that impressive, but the company was great. So not complaining :)

 a rock that looked like a potato! 

 guinea pig is one of their typical dishes
I would have tried it if my friend didn't say it tasted super disgusting

 recycled drink bottle christmas tree was a thing

 nobody wanted to play a game and instead were on their phones -.-

 that joinery

machu picchu!

 we made it!

 it is actually lower altitude than Cusco city

 endless wonders to wander

 we arrived i think at 6am at the foot of the wonder and it was super foggy.

it was worth it to see the clouds roll back and reveal the ruins, one moment you see it and next moment you don't.

 It felt like we were in a castle in the sky with the fog and clouds

 many different colour plant species

 if you look towards the middle bottom its actually an old bridge, where it leads? we have no idea.

But they actually walked along that and built that! wow

 resting, so peacefu

 we found a rock that looked like australia!

 photobomb!

 the view from downstairs of where we stayed

 yay we did end up playing a game on the way back, piction-whispers

 Cusco is famous for the pre-christmas markets

 traditional dances :)

 so so colourful!

 we joined local tours when we got there. quite funny. its bilingual but they spoke so fast I could barely catch what they were saying, apart from the phrase "that's nice" to which was said about anything he pointed to. So that became the catch phrase for the entire trip :P

 endless compacted sea of earth coloured housing

this is the only one that has water coming from it
the windows aren't really windows but represented sun, sky, earth, hell etc.
or something like that... he spoke too fast 

 locals!

 this kid lurked the store and had a water gun shooting us.
i joined in his imaginary adventures and we played cops and robbers

 more markets, full of alpaca wool products, instruments and goodies.

baby alpaca wool is the softest

 what fascinates me is the moon, full moon to be precise
even more so incredible seeing it from the plane!

 view from our hotel

 more locals

 Next stop: Santiago, Chile

 old vs modern

 could not get over how endless this city was, cannot see its borders!

 University

 the car ride to Valparaiso 

 incredible artwork

 and tangles of wires. had no idea how he would do his job

 Beach! reminds me of Venice Beach in the US

 Going up their Sky Costanera, the tallest building in Latin America, 

which wasn't that tall but the view was still all encompassing. 

 i love how close it is to nature/mountains 

 earthquake resistent architecture

 catching a mini snoopy exhibition/promo up the top was a delightful surprise 

New Years Eve
that patch of yellow caught my attention

apparently wearing yellow underwear is lucky =]

and carrying around a briefcase nye means that you welcome in many travels the following year.

 Next stop: Buenos Aires!

 it was some touch farewells before we wandered the streets ourselves. 

graffiti and art EVERYWHERE!

 even on what i considered a fancy building

 and each station is uniquely coloured/themed

 Day trip: Uruguay

 Back in Buenos Aires on their free citybus tours that provide headphones with information in English. yay! this is our chillaxed tour host during one of the bus breaks

 since we hear meat is a thing in Argentina. We ate steak/grill EVERYDAY!

bwhahahhaa
oh so good!

 each house was so different, here is another property

our last meal before the flight back,
which took way too long.

I shall miss this meaty country XD