On our long migration South to catch our return flight in Santiago, we offered ourselves a “retreat” in Chile’s calmest and arid region of the Elqui valley. The villages of Vicuna and Pisco Elqui are famed for making the hard liquor and national drink, pisco, something like cognac. We definitely needed this peaceful stop after our record 22 hours bus from Arica, in the far North. Chile has a long long monotonous landscape: arid mountains on the left and Pacific sea shore on the right, no mas.

That was 5 days of nothingness in the valley, counting the cactus or the stars, drinking pisco sour or siesta-ing. The serenity was only interrupted by a tour to the Capel distillery (more pisco drinking) or a visit to the stars at the Mamalluca astronomy observatory. Elqui has one of the clearest sky in the world, only 40 cloudy days in a year.

This is the second time we stayed in Peru’s second largest city, a pleasant Andean city where El Misti 5,900m and Ampato 6,300m volcanoes are ominously looming over the city (last eruption in 1985). But we couldn’t ask for more for our room had a commanding view over this stretch of god-mountains where a young girl Juanita was offered at the top by the Incas 500 years ago to appease their wrath. Its mummy is now creepily exposed at the Catholic University Museum!

Arequipa is dubbed the "white city” as many Spanish colonial-era buildings are made of sillar, a white volcanic rock found nearby. The huge Santa Catalina convent that once received over a hundred nuns contrasts with its starkingly red-painted walls. The nuns lived in an old “good” fashion manner as each could have 1 to 4 servants, but the party was over when a strict Dominican nun, sent by the pope, reformed and freed the servant and slaves in 1871.

The city of Arequipa also rhymes with good food for us as we spared no money to eat at the bests to try fusion and traditional cuisine. We had a visit at Peru’s best chef Gaston Acurio’s Chicha restaurant, trying all sort of culinary delights like ceviche, the sushi version of Peru bathe in lime juice, onion and coriander, or rocotto relleno, a chili pepper filled with a beef mix. Missing continental food, we went to the Swiss-Andean Zig Zag restaurant where we swallowed as much as 600g of stone-grilled meat plus cheese!

We trekked for 4 days and 45km through hills, ruins, valleys and passes before we had a first glimpse of the Machu Picchu ruins. That was a harsh trek as we hovered up and down between 2,500m and 4,200m on interminable stone steps. We finished on our knees. Hence we felt a great deal of accomplishment when we could finally soaked our sore muscles in the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes. That accomplishment feeling was nearly annihilated when we learnt that a porter of 42 year-old finished the trail in 3h45mn! He must have chewed a lot of coca leaves.

Anyway, walking in the footsteps of the Inca pilgrims through stunning scenery (although it was covered a lot of time and at each of the 3 passes) remains a memorable experience. We have all seen the classic picture of Macchu Picchu, so there was no surprise, however when we first saw the ruins with our owns eyes, after walking pass Intipunku Sun Gate, it was still WOW!

From Lima to Cuzco, we had a big dilemma: either mold 21h in a bus for $60 or fly 1h for $106. After very short deliberations, we took the plane, 21h was just too much after the hundreds of hours we already had on our log book.

We found the city had a mystical vibe despite being an over-touristy spot en-route to the Machu Picchu ruins. A couple of blocks away from the main Plaza de Armas, we could already get out of the whirlwind of tours and restaurant touts, massage girls and amateur indigenous painters selling their artworks for 1 Nuevo sol (1/3 of a dollar). We kept on going back and hanging in the laid-back and car-free bohemian San Blas neighborhood.

Cuzco was the capital of the immense Inca empire, but there are very few signs left of this great civilization as almost all was wiped out by the proselytists Spaniards and replaced by catholic constructions. Some Inca remains could be seen in Qorikancha, once the main Inca religious ceremonial construction at the time. The Dominicans just built their convent over the Inca foundation walls.

We went on to explore other surrounding Inca outposts such as Pisaq or Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. Pisaq is a little village well-known for its indigenous market and impressive ruins. Instead of taking the taxi as advised by everyone, we stubbornly took on the steep trail up to the ruins. At the ceremonial ruins of Pisaq, set on a triangle piece of land, both-sided by abrupt cliffs, the view was transcending.

Who would have the idea of building a city in the middle of the desert? Pizarro himself decided that Lima would be the port where the riches gathered in South America would be shipped from. The city is hanging on steep cliffs that menace to tumble in the next earthquake or mudslide. Still, the most luxurious condominium, houses and commercial centers, such as Larco Mar, are built on the cliffs’ edges with extraordinary views of the coasts. Paragliders were flying near the cliffs at the view of bemused children eating their ration of papas.

We stayed at Carmen’s whom we found through AirBnb. It was a great home away from home with a nice host, a US-educated professional who welcomed us like old friends. Instead of usually heading out to dine, we cooked at her house spicy thai noodles or healthy salads, adding a Rocoto pepper that totally looks like a red pepper but smaller, and god, that was damn spicy!

On a sunny day, we got to the historical centro with all the usual colonial architecture flexing its muscles at some rich casonas or palaces bearing outcropping wooden balconies with Moorish details. But we preferred to spend time in beautiful Miraflores or bohemian Barranco neighborhoods, or even in Chinatown! All in all, we were spending more time sipping coffees at terraces and shopping for Peruvian handicrafts to finally fill our backpacks. We have 3 weeks left on the road.

Our route towards Lima involved many hours in the bus which we managed to break in some meaningful towns, Cuenca and Mancora, and less meaningful one, Riobamba.

Cuenca, supposedly the most beautiful colonial town of Ecuador, is famous for its Panama hats. As fashion victims as we are, after trying amongst a thousand shapes, we eventually bought one each.

In Mancora, a beach town on the northern shore of Peru, we spent our afternoons on the beach reading, enjoying the reddish sunsets or learning for our first time to surf. We managed to stand on the board the first time (the instructor in the back, holding the board, was secondary)! When alone in the water, it was another story…. The next day, our arms ached from the paddling on the board, pulling up our clothes alone was an ordeal.

“Mosquitoes Attack” or “The Revenge of the Cockroaches”, a bad title for a good movie. We finally decided to head down to the Amazons in Cuyabeno for 5 days. It was a whole new experience for us. Lim beat his record of mosquito bites (over 50) and we had dinner with the company of cockroaches on the table. It’s like killing a mosquito in the jungle, it’s pointless.

Our little trip deep in the Cuyabeno Protected Reserve was a great experience. It even beat some clichés such as there is no Malaria because of the decomposition of the leaves that increase the water acidity, the water is literally black; it was cold at night and we needed blankets; it did not rain during our stay despite being in the rainy season.

Unlike in the Galapagos, most of the animals are scared of humans and we only saw them furtively or hidden in the thick vegetation.

Paddling in our canoe or walking on trails, we felt rather watched than watching. Still we saw different species of monkeys atop trees, balancing and jumping from branch to branch. The Tiger Heron stood still on branches, ready to jump at fishes in the water. Macaw parrots were flying in pairs at the sound of click click click, after each wing flap, it seemed they were going to fall. At night, a lonely caiman was lazily floating and then, all of a sudden, violently grabbed the meat thrown at it. The scary Piranhas with their razor-like teeth and red eyes bit the cow meat we used as a bait! Yet, with the presence of anacondas, caimans and piranhas, Lim took a dip in the Laguna Grande.

During our night walk, it was all about insects! While an army of mosquitoes were feasting on our blood, it was hard to concentrate on the spiders, tarantulas, scorpions, grasshoppers etc. We are still scratching our backs like monkeys… If only we had met the botanist shaman before so he would have had given us something more efficient than our 50% DEET mosquito repellent.

Latacunga is an uneventful and run down city, but it is the launch pad for the Quilotoa loop trek. The day we set our foot out for the trek, it rained cats and dogs so we decided to stay in, how convenient! In our bad luck, we could go to the Thursday Saqisili markets that spread around town. There were markets for anything from doors, furniture, grains, animals or fishes, but the liveliest was the market for cuy! The cuy is a cute guinea pig the size of a small rabbit. Imagine this is THE local food specialty of Ecuador; roasted, it is served split in 2 with its head facing you...The market was buzzling with buyers gathering around and looking for their preferred little cuys kept in jute bags/baskets.

From Saqisili, we hopped on a bus bound for the Chugchilan, a village lost in the mountains. The bus was hugged in thick fog the whole time, thus we missed the nice view on the way there. In Chugchilan, a one-street village at 3,190m altitude, we found Mama Hilda Hostel, very cozy, warm and with internet! Gone are the times when we could be totally cut from the outside world. At night we admired the stars, a sign of good weather for the next day!

We started early morning for the Quilotoa crater rim at 3,900m high; the trek is 12km, mostly uphill. The walk seemed impossible without a guide, but thanks to indications from other trekkers met at Mama Hilda and the occasional indigenous people walking on the trail, it became feasible.

The route was really impressive and the good morning weather helped us to enjoy that. The first portion was downhill till Sihui River (2,800m) and Chiaolin stayed in good mood. But the second portion was a steep and long ascent of 4 hours between 2,800m and 3,900m, Lim lost his breathe countless times, and Chiaolin was walking just like the giant tortoise of the Galapagos. The view was however splendid with deep green gorges. No doubt it’s the best trek of Ecuador. We only met villagers busy at their field, women backpacking their children with a shawl, or idled children begging us for food and/or money. After a long winding ascent, we finally reached the crater rim and were rewarded with a great view of the ring-shaped crater filled with a turquoise lake. 30mn later, the view was totally marred by clouds that rolled into the crater. Another 1.5 hour around 1/4 of the crater and we reached under the rain the tiny Quilotoa village, situated right on the rim, totally exhausted.

It is difficult to sum up our underwater experience in the Galapagos. Either snorkeling or diving, it was amazing and we only regret we couldn’t spend more time. At snorkeling, we already had close encounters with lots of tropical fishes, but also manta ray, scorpion fish, marine iguanas, penguins and the playful sea lions!

But at diving, we had the chance to visit the infamous Gordon Rocks, a remnant of a volcano that has been buried almost entirely. Since we couldn’t get to the Top 2 dive sites without a live-aboard, Gordon Rocks was our highest chance of spotting the scalloped hammerhead shark. Only the price tag was: “the stronger the current, the higher the chance”. We carried double our usual weights to descend fast and avoid the strong waves. Underneath, we hung onto rocks not to be carried away by the forceful current. All that stress was rewarded during our second dive with the sight of a school of 8 hammerhead sharks! (Sorry, no picture.)

Fortunately, our other dives were more relaxing, as we drifted over sandy bed covered by garden eels, admired a school of over 20 golden rays swimming gracefully above us, spotted eagle rays, stingrays, white-tip reef sharks resting or simply watched a sea lion putting a show for us. But Lim breathed so much he always emptied his tank before everyone and we had to end our wonderful trip underwater!

Cruising in the Galapagos Islands for 8 days was thrilling. Only the price tag was not. But what an encounter with a National Geographic documentary! The islands are another universe that has been abandoned by humans for millions of years. This is why most of the fauna and flora are just unique in the world, evolving and adapting to their own volcanic environment.

Cohabitation between humans and the rightful owners of the lands has been very delicate in order not to alter the ancestral Galapagos way of life. Buses horn birds to get lost, cars slow down for iguana crossings, and giant tortoises have priority over us on walking path. 97% of the islands have been declared National Park. But our meeting with the fauna was cordial if not very friendly. Sea lions came to play and trick us while we were clumsily snorkeling; Chiaolin even had the scare of her life when a sea lion rocketed from the bottom to have a face to face interview with her. Frigate birds blew their red necks and boobies danced with their raised tails and blue feet, all for the purpose of love, or more prosaically, to attract females. Giant tortoises tried to race us and colorful (monstrous) land iguanas would challenge us at whoever blinks first. Only the mocking bird did not mock us.

Under the baking sun (during the rainy season, it just doesn’t rain), we had nice little adventures such as discovering tropical mangrove in zodiac, walking on a desert of lava with no trace of life except for the occasional Lava cactus, snorkeling around lava pinnacle or climb volcanic crater to have a compelling view of the Galapagos.