My most memorable holiday is a 3 weeks trip to Peru which took place in 2002. The journey itself was (without a doubt) a brilliant experience but, I certainly cannot say that it went according to plan. I saved up for months prior to this trip and carefully planned what to do and see during the stay. After a very long flight I arrived to Lima where I was told that my luggage had gone missing. The airline’s staff reassured me and guaranteed that it will definitely arrive by the next day. They were wrong!

It took 5 days for my rucksack to arrive and, during this time, I was stuck in Lima (where I initially planned to stay only for one night). I couldn’t leave Lima because everything I needed for my stay (especially the Malaria tablets) where inside my bag. The airline tried to make up for it by providing me with vouchers to buy some items of clothing and offering me to stay full board in the Marriot Hotel in Lima. This was certainly a very luxurious and comfortable hotel. Nonetheless, I felt unease there; it didn’t feel right to be staying in a place where a room costs hundreds of pounds per night in a city where far too many cant even afford a roof over their heads.
The reality was that I had to wait there until my baggage arrived. In the mean time, I tried to make the most of my time in this beautiful city and visited the historical centre with its Cathedral and Monastery as well as the modern part of the city. I also got to know well the Miraflores area (where the hotel was located) and its many tiny streets and shortcuts to get to the beach.

When my luggage arrived 5 days later I felt that my trip was now really starting. I immediately left for Cusco where I spent a few days. It was on my arrival in Cusco that I began to feel the first symptoms of altitude sickness. I read that it was meant to be bad, but I didn’t imagine it could be SO bad. The first indications of it were dizziness due to lack of oxygen to the brain. Then it got gradually worst and I ended up with a very upset stomach (vomit and all the rest).

After a couple of days I was fine, I could finally start to enjoy the place! It was so exciting to be there. Even in the 21st century, everything in this place reminds you of its Inca roots. The first day was spent exploring the city, its churches and colourful markets. During the following week I went to see the villages of Pisac, Aguas Caliente, the Urubamba Valley and finally Machu Picchu, the old Inca City. The sight there was unbelievable! It felt as if I was in a different world, in the middle of an ancient Inca city, surrounded by gigantic mountains at nearly 3000 metres above sea level. The final week was dedicated to visiting Puno and Lake Titicaca.
I took a boat trip across the lake and visited the floating Islands. There are several of them across the lake. These Islands are made out of straw and are actually inhabited. Walking on them was a surreal experience since that the surface moves under your feet! The next day I want on a trip to one of the main islands of the lake (Amantaní).
Here I stayed over night with a local family which took me around the island and welcomed me in their home. Bear in mind that there was no electricity on the island so when it got dark, it really was pitch black! The only light was given by the fire that the mother was using for her cooking. I sat around the fire with the family and we attempted to have a conversation which wasn’t too easy (partially due to my Spanish and partially due to the fact that they spoke mainly Quechua).

It was a shame that my bags went missing for so long because this meant that I had to change my plans and didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked… but overall I had a truly unforgettable experience!