We finished our 5 1/2 week house sit in Lima at the beginning of February. It was sad to leave our new dog friends, but we were ready to get on the road again and do some more exploring. Because I love to leave no stone unturned, we decided to take an unbeaten path to Cusco, first heading north and then south through the mountains.
Our first stop was about 3 or 4 hours north of Lima in Caral to visit 5000-year-old ruins. From Caral, we continued north to Huaraz, a small city in the shadow of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range and the stunning Parque Nacional Huascarán. There we visited more ruins, a small town on the other side of the mountains, and got to experience the beauty of the national park. From Huaraz, we turned south to find more ruins in La Union. After La Union we continued through the mountains, finishing the month in Huánuco where we toured more ruins and took an all-day tour to visit a waterfall, an owl cave, and another town, and did some random touristy things.
Along the way we ran into unexpected parades, friendly people, scary roads, and wonderful wildlife.
(All pictures are click to enlarge)
Expenses
* A few notes about these expenses. Because Spanish classes are not a “normal” travel expense, I am presenting this expense separately from the total of everything else. I am also no longer reporting alcohol expenses. In the past, I reported exactly what came out of my bank account each month. But since we may book one or two months of accommodations, transportation, or Spanish classes ahead of time, I’m now reporting not when I spent the money but what month the money was spent on.
Learning Spanish: $0
Everything Else: $2,156.88
The Grand Total: $2,156.88
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
Learning Spanish
$0
We have immersed ourselves in the language. It is very rare that we meet English speakers anymore.
One of best experiences was our first stop after Lima in Caral. We stayed at a hostel hosted by Scott. Scott is a Peruvian with Scottish ancestry. He comes from a middle-class family but decided long ago that normal life wasn’t for him. He spoke to us in clear, slow Spanish. We understood almost everything he said! And he said a lot! It was a huge confidence boost for us. And we loved getting to know Scott.
All the tours we take now are in Spanish. Often times we miss a lot of what is being said, but the more we listen, the more we understand. We have also had lots of interactions speaking Spanish with the Peruvians we meet on tours, shopping, or just walking down the street.
We still use our apps to practice and are far from fluent, but it seems like our Spanish is improving all the time.
Communication
– Phone, $45.10
We spent $26.23 on Greg’s Google Fi plan in February and $18.87 on my Peruvian plan with Claro.
Consumables
– Groceries, $349.12
I’m happy to see that our grocery bill came down from January ($640.34) when we were Lima. We are buying more groceries from fruit and vegetable markets. – which is cheaper than the big chain grocery stores. The prices at these mercados are not marked up to include the 18% IVA tax. Unfortunately, though, we no longer have access to the variety of foods that big chain grocery stores carry. We struggled in Huánuco to find frozen french fries and settled for frozen potato balls. We are trying out new recipes with easy to find local ingredients. Instead of black bean burgers, I now make lentil burgers. I experimented with making a Peruvian dish, Papa a la Huancaína, made with potatoes (potatoes are plentiful as long as you don’t want them cut into strips and frozen), eggs, a sauce of queso fresco and aji chili peppers, and olives.
I’ve also been making foods that are easy to carry with us on the bus, like my homemade granola bars (even though we may have to search several stores to find the four ingredients that go into them – dates, chocolate chips, bananas, and oatmeal).
– Cleaning/Paper Products, $1.63
We spent $1.63 on aluminum foil. Foil is good for wrapping up fruits and veggies and lining pans for baked dishes.
– Medicine Cabinet, $82.54
Medicine cabinet stuff is expensive. Before we left Lima we stocked up on vitamins, supplements, and contact solution.
Entertainment
– Drinks and Eating Out, $417.05
We did a lot of eating out. We were still enjoying Lima for our first 8 days and made a couple of visits to a local brew pub. We had nice last night’s dinner of pizza and crêpes for dessert in Miraflores. We ate out several times in Huaraz. We indulged in ice cream (now our go-to lunch when we are out and can’t find any vegetarian food) a couple of times. Our cheapest meal was a $5.42 lunch for 2, including soups and two entrees. Our most expensive was lunch at a touristy place, Café Andino in Huaraz ($39.27). If we had known how big the portions were going to be at Café Andino, we probably would have spent less. We took home leftovers from that meal.
– Museums/Attractions/Music, $194.16
We visited a lot of ruins and museums and did several tours. Museums and ruins are cheap. Entry for two ran from $1.36 to $5.92. Tours were all-day events with many stops and reasonably priced for two people, running from $26.96 to $51.54 (our longest tour at 13 hours). But additional costs on tours like park entrance fees, boat rides, and tips added up.
Personal
– Clothes, $111.40
The three pairs of leggings I brought with me all had holes in them. I replaced them with a pair of Levi’s ($33.80) purchased in Lima and two new pairs of leggings ($18.87) purchased in Huaraz. Greg and I each got new t-shirts before we left Lima ($47.93), a little pricey, but they are very nice. And Greg got another new t-shirt in Chavin de Huantar ($10.80).
– Gear, $6.74
The umbrella we purchased in Medellín, Colombia broke. We purchased another one in Huaraz.
– Subscriptions, $121.41
Our subscriptions this month are for Abode Photoshop, Netflix, and Michael Fox’s (A freelance filmmaker, journalist, podcaster, and musician reporting from the road in Latin America) Patreon account ($41.41). We also resubscribed to my friend Holly’s Substack ($80 per year).
Traveling Life
– Storage
We pay $76 for a storage locker back in the US.
– Accommodations, $657.80
We spent the first 8 days of February at our house sit in Lima. See last month’s expense post for more about that. This sit was an exchange – pet sitting for accommodations, so there was no expense. Except on our last day, we gave the house cleaner a tip of 100 soles ($26.79). She was at the house two days a week, allowing us to explore the city without crating the dogs. She was a really sweet person and we didn’t have to do any cleaning for the entire 5 1/2 weeks we were there. We appreciated her.
Caral, Perú
February 8-10, $13.46 per night (2 nights) bed in a hostel. (Found on Google Maps)
We wanted to see some of the oldest ruins in Perú – Caral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But the few options on Airbnb and Booking.com were either expensive or not appealing at all. We could have stayed in a nearby town and taken a combi to the ruins site, but I really wanted to make things simple and stay in the town. So I started looking on Google Maps for other accommodation options. This is how I found Eco Hostel y Camping Caraltambos Backpackers. The place looked rustic in the pictures. There were several photos of the same man, one with a deranged look and a watermelon, who we assumed was the owner. But the reviews about the owner were outstanding.
I sent a WhatsApp message and got a reply right away. 50 soles ($13.46) a night. It was a good deal.
We took a bus from Lima to Supe, a small city about 15 miles away from Caral. From Supe we caught a combi to Caral. Scott messaged us and told us when we got the combi to just ask the driver to take us to la casa de Scott. Yes, the driver knew Scott and dropped us off on the road near Scott’s house where Scott was waiting for us. Scott led us down a road, through a neighbor’s property, past their barking dogs, over a stream, and through some brush to his hostel. It was very rustic and a bit run down. The first thing we did was help Scott move the refrigerator so he could plug it in.
For some reason I thought we were going to have a private room, but Scott led us to a dorm room with many beds. He let us know that we would be the only ones sleeping there. We piled our stuff on a couch in the dorms. The bathroom was around the corner outside the room. The shower in the bathroom we were using wasn’t usable, so he showed us another one. There appeared to be other bathrooms that had been completely out of service for a very long time. The shower didn’t have hot water, but Caral was hot enough we didn’t need it. There was a kitchen that we could use.
Our accommodations weren’t ideal, but Scott was an amazing host. As I mentioned earlier, he spoke Spanish that we could understand. He helped us catch a combi to the ruins site and went with us to the entrance. He shared a watermelon with us. And on the day we left he rode with us all the way to Barranca and made sure we caught our next ride to our next destination.
Huaraz, Perú
February 10-17, $31.17 per night (7 nights) two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. (Booked through Airbnb)
This place was nice, with a good kitchen, a cozy couch for lounging, comfortable bedroom. It was on the 4th floor and there was no elevator and since Huaraz is around 10,000 feet above sea level, climbing the stairs could be a chore. But the views were great. On the roof, one flight above us we could see the mountains and the city. On the one day it didn’t rain, we had a lovely sunset. And out our window, almost every day, there was a funeral parade with music and dancing to the cemetery down the street.
Huaraz, Perú
February 17-20, $37.71 per night (7 nights) two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. (Booked through Airbnb)
We decided to extend our stay in Huaraz so we could take a tour to Chavin de Huantar to see more ruins. When I looked on Airbnb, our current apartment was already booked. I searched for a new location. Luckly, we found another apartment in the same building – down on the second floor. Nice! This apartment was much like the one on the fourth floor with a few differences. It didn’t have the open, kitchen/living room floor plan, the furniture wasn’t as comfortable, and access to the roof was now a climb. But we still liked it. The host left a variety of beverages, water, beer, and wine, that we could purchase if we wanted – which I thought was a nice amenity.
La Union, Perú
February 20-22, $13.56 per night (2 nights) hotel room with bathroom. (Found on Google Maps)
Once again I couldn’t find adequate lodging on any of my apps, so I went to Google Maps. Hotel Real EF had a webpage, the rooms had bathrooms, and it was cheap. We booked the more expensive room with a view. We brought some food with us for meals that didn’t need to be cooked, since the town had few options for us to eat out (the one time we did eat out, our vegetable pizza ended up including ham). We made sure we didn’t bring anything that needed to be refrigerated. The room was good, but there was a bit of noise during the day as they were still constructing the hotel.
Huánuco
February 22-March 1, $35.10 per night (7 nights) two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. (Booked through Airbnb)
I appreciate Airbnbs that welcome you with snacks and water. Many times, we arrive hungry and thirsty, but are too tired to go back out and shop. This place had a nice living room with lots of windows. It had a well-equipped kitchen, but the oven was tricky to light. After a video call with the owner, the help of a friend of the owners, and trial and error, we were able to use it to crisp up some potato balls. The apartment was close to the fruit and vegetable market and the Plaza de Armas. And we got to watch a mysterious parade of young people covered in flour right outside our window.
– Transportation, $83.01
In February we traveled in 2 buses, 1 Uber, 4 combis (minivans), 2 colectivos (multi-rider SUVs), 3 Taxis, 1 moto-taxi, and 2 tuk-tuks, traversing over 503 miles. Based on an average gas price of $4.24 per gallon in February in Perú, if we had been driving our van (which got approximately 15 miles to the gallon), we would have spent about $142 in gas. Not a bad deal. But these numbers don’t take into account the amount we spent on tours. If we had our own vehicle, the cost of these tours would be unnecessary.
Besides all the wheeled transportation, one of our main forms of transportation was our feet. We walked 253,467 steps and 93.25 miles!
We have managed to get ourself wherever we have wanted to go, but finding that transportation isn’t easy. Information about how to get from one place to the other can be very elusive. In Perú, unlike other countries, there is often not one central bus terminal. Many bus companies have their own terminal or office. And oftentimes, buses aren’t the best way to travel to other cities.
I keep adding to my transportation finding skills. Since we have been mostly traveling off the beaten path, I can no longer rely on blog post accounts from other travelers to tell me how to get to places.
I have been utilizing a 2023 version of Lonely Planet, which has been very helpful (when the information is accurate). Websites such as redBus, busbud, and Rome2Rio can be helpful with bus companies that already publish their schedules online. One of my new tactics is to search “bus” on Google Maps to find the locations of bus terminals or stops, hoping there will be photos, giving me hints on where the buses or combis go and at what times. And finally, we just asking around.
Then there are all the little transportation adventures…
I’m always a little unsure we will get where we are going until we are actually on the bus. When we were leaving Lima, we thought we were where we needed to be to catch our bus until we saw our luggage being wheeled down the street on a cart. We followed the cart around a corner to find out the bus was arriving in a totally different spot.
Our collective to Huaraz suddenly stopped when a tethered cow was blocking the street.
And after seeing all the evidence of landslides when we left La Unión for Huánuco, we started to realize how lucky we were to get anywhere at all in the windy mountain roads of Peru during the rainy season.
Right Now
We are still in the Peruvian Mountains in a small city called Abancay. From our apartment, we can hear the festival that is dancing through the city. It is a bit of a rejuvenating day. But honestly, our trip has become tiring. It is still amazing, but there is a reason that many people don’t travel the route we have chosen. Although the mountains are beautiful, the distances are long. I have suffered from motion sickness on our last few bus trips. Greg’s long legs don’t have enough room in combis and cars. We have grown weary of spending our first days in every city looking for groceries and transportation to our next destination.
And this weariness has made it difficult to keep up this blog. When we have downtime, I just want to zone out doing online puzzles or scrolling mindlessly through social media. But there are still so many stories to tell. And I will get to them all one day.
One of the highlights of our trip is coming soon. In less than a week, we will be at Machu Picchu. I can’t count how many times people have asked us if we have been there, and we responded, “Todavía, no”, “Not yet.” After Machu Picchu, we have a two-week rest in Cusco. Then we will start on the last month of our Peruvian adventure.
To see all of our expense reports, click here.
If you are interested in reading other expense reports from nomads who really know how to live cheaply while still having a good time, check out the blog from our friends Mark, Liesbet, and Maya who are traveling in their truck camper in South America at Roaming About.
If you are interested in becoming a Trusted Housesitter or having a Trusted Housesitter take care of your pet, use our link for 25% off!
So enjoyed your blog this month. I realized how much i admire your adventurous spirit! You are full of innovation and courage. I was anticipating your blog several days ago. Know that your sharing of adventures is inspiring. Love you both and safe travels. Look forward to future posts. God bless.
Thank you, Brenda! I love hearing that we are inspiring – because, you know, you are an inspiring person, too! Love you too!
A decent expense month! You were under your budget for accommodation. Thanks to the week of house sitting still, probably, but there were some really cheap rooms as well. The Airbnb ones all look so comfortable and luxurious to me!
When you were talking about frozen French fries, my first thought was, why don’t they buy potatoes? They are so omnipresent and available. But I guess frozen stuff is easier to cook after a long day on the road. If you have an oven.
Ice cream for lunch? Sounds decadent. I can’t remember the last time I ate an ice cream. I think it was in the US, from my MIL’s freezer, last September. I really ought to spoil myself more. We can’t wait to get to cheaper countries again!
Despite us being careful with our money, this month our total bill will be close to yours in this blog!
Looking forward to catching up and sharing stories – and food and drinks! 🙂
We are tending to go over budget on our accommodations lately. Roughing it – staying in small or primitive places is good every once in a while, but we like to have a nice place we can just enjoy being in. We pour over listings to find the right one at the right price. Usually we pick pretty well.
Yes, I thought about the irony of being in a place that has 100s of different variety of potatoes and searching for frozen french fries. Frozen fries are just so much easier.
We have really gotten on an ice cream kick. I never used to eat ice cream. But I think it started here because lucuma ice cream is a thing here and I decided we needed to try it. We liked it and soon got in the habit of trying artisanal ice cream and then realizing it was a quick, cheap, satisfying lunch.
It’s time to start totaling up March’s numbers! Can’t wait to see you guys!