Rainbow Mountain, Peru

When I first stumbled upon an image of Rainbow Mountain or Vinicunca on Instagram a year ago, I couldn’t believe such a place exists. I mean, it looks like a slice of ham or rainbow cake, but you know when they say you can’t get to a place you don’t believe exists. So after I purchased my flight tickets to Peru, I knew I have two missions here: Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain. Well, I guess life has bigger missions for me rather than just visiting two places.

How to get to Rainbow Mountain or Vinicunca? 

I joined Rainbow Mountain Travels for USD30/person including pick up/drop off, breakfast, lunch, and guides. They pick you up at your hotels in Cusco at 3.00 am, I know it’s super early and super cold too ( don’t forget to bring gloves and scarf ) but actually it’s good to start hiking early before other travel companies drop their guests.

While Colca Canyon taught me so much about strength and resilience, I found the hardest part of hiking Rainbow Mountain was simply dealing with the altitude sickness. With an altitude of 5200 m above sea level, it was definitely not easy to hike Vinicunca. But that’s what I love most about being in nature, feeling so tiny but yet so alive. Mother nature knows best how to humble, surprise and remind you that you never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice. Breathing is hard enough when you start hiking the Rainbow Mountain, but when you take a pause, look around and see how the local people bring tourists up and down the mountain, working so hard to earn a living…I feel incredibly lucky and blessed for all the opportunities and access I have to chase my dreams and live the kind of life I have always dreamed of. Sure I have problems but it’s nothing compared to how hard these people have to work every day. After one and a half hours ( plus so many breaks in between ) I finally made it to the top of Rainbow Mountain. There’s a sense of pride, a joy that I couldn’t even explain but also a huge question mark how did I even get here? Looking back, things were so different last year.

It’s crazy I’ve been in Peru now for over a month. I had a goal to hit South America this year and I’m grateful Peru has been nothing short of amazing from day one. This country has filled my soul with peace, joy, love, and gratitude. I remember I was so nervous the moment I landed at Jorge Chavez International Airport, Lima. I don’t speak Spanish and if you read the news, people would only tell you how dangerous Peru is - especially for solo female travelers. No one really describes or write how magical this country. How incredibly nice and kind Peruvian people, and ohh the food…how delicious and cheap Peruvian food, honestly I couldn’t stop eating. I also find Peru is safe, pretty tourist-friendly but you still have to be careful. Within a month, I’ve grown from someone who walked into a local restaurant in Lima and pointed the food that I want to eat without actually know the words, to someone who gets more confident each day as I pick up new words in Spanish. I made new friends not only with a bunch of travelers but also Peruvian people I met at the hotel, cafes, pole dance studio. If only I knew what was waiting for me in Peru, that life has prepared this huge surprise with a huge amount of love, wild adventures, lessons, challenges, beautiful nature, food, culture, and people. But of course from the beginning of the trip even months before I purchased my tickets, somehow I knew Peru would change my life for the better. I knew this entire trip would be a life-changing experience. I knew I’d meet the right people and life would take care of me as usual, provide me with everything I need from good stamina, good weather to good people. Something tells me everything’s going to be fine and I’m going to have so much fun.

Colca Canyon, Peru

It all started with a picture of Machu Picchu I saw on internet few years ago. Then last year when I asked myself where would I celebrate my birthday this year, I could only think about Bhutan, Portugal, New York and eventually end up in Peru. I didn’t know how I’d make it to all those places, a girl can dream and life shows me the way.

It’s been over two weeks in Peru and I have no words to describe how incredibly special this place. Things have been absolutely perfect from day one. I’ve met bunch of beautiful people and experienced new things. Peru not only fills me with a deep sense of happiness that I’ve found very few places in the world, but also challenges me, push me out of my comfort zone and brings out the best in me. 

Few days ago I signed up for Colca Canyon trekking for 2 days 1 night. I was craving for nature, craving for the peaceful feeling you can only find when you’re by yourself in the mountains. Where the loudest sound you can hear only your footsteps, breath, your thoughts and nature. So when in Arequipa where it’s a must to visit Colca Canyon, I decided to join two days one night tour. I have more than enough time in Peru, so why not going trekking instead of just one day tour? Little did I know, my decision to join Colca Canyon trekking ( with almost zero research, untrained and unprepared ) has changed my life for the better. 

Trek the Colca picked me up early morning at 3.30 am and together with other participants we drove to Chivay for quick breakfast. We started trekking maybe around 8 am. My God, Colca Canyon is stunningly gorgeous. The first two hours trekking was honestly okay, but after walking for more than three hours with the heat and altitude attacked me - it seemed nearly impossible to keep going. The thought of giving up came into my mind maybe every few seconds. I can’t do this. I can’t. But also I prayed God would give me strength to keep going. Just five more steps. C’mon Gyscha. Five more steps. I can do this. I thought it was going to be a fun, easy hike but oh boy what was I thinking. But it was a little too late to give up. The only option left for me was to keep going, no matter how slow..even if I need a break every 5 minutes, it’s all about one step at a time.

I learned once again life always has a funny, strange way to humble, uplift, remind and inspire you. Just when I thought I could never make it, well life reminds me it’s totally OK to go slow. Do not see the entire mountain, it’s never about the destination, but enjoy the journey. One step at a time. Do not rush, do not compare yourself with others. Keep going on your own pace. Rest if you have to. Breathe. Enjoy the moment. Take pictures. Count blessings. We are bunch of lucky people who get to visit Colca Canyon. After more than 10 hours trekking, we finally made it to our lodge. With blisters, my toe turned black, hungry, mentally and physically exhausted but my group and I couldn’t be more proud and happier. 

Colca Canyon was by far the hardest, the bravest, the craziest, the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I could never forget how scary it was to ride the mule without saddle on the second day. I had to put my hands and holding on tight between the mini rugs that I sat on. Also when the mule hiked up the narrow path and I could see there’s a very thin line between life and death. For a second I had this thought what if something happen and the world would never hear anything from me again? Your mind can be your best asset or your worst enemy. 

But then I learned to breathe and enjoy the moment. I learned to trust nature and my strong, fierce mule. I let him to take me up. After 10 minutes, I started to enjoy the ride and even brave enough to take out my handphone from my pocket and capture the moments. I am truly grateful nature took care of me. Provided me with everything I need from good people, beautiful weather, perfect health, strong legs, good stamina. Colca Canyon not only reminds me of how tiny I am and my problems are, but also I am stronger and braver than what I thought. 

Would I do this again? Absolutely! With better shoes, better preparation. I am excited to visit Cusco tomorrow and slowly making my way to Machu Picchu.

Huacachina, Peru

I’m going trekking for few days tomorrow morning so before I’m taking sometime off I thought I wanted to update the blog quickly. After spending around 10 days exploring Lima and Paracas, I was down with the flu for 3 days ( something that never happened to me before and obviously I hate being sick especially when you’re alone in foreign country ) so I decided to rest in Huacachina for 3 days. Thanks to Peru Hop for making my first trip in South America a lot easier than I thought. Not only I got discounts for accommodation and meals but also they organized most of my tours from vineyard visit to Nazca line to Ballestas island and sand boarding at Huacachina. But since I was unwell, I knew I had to slow down a bit and chose to join dune buggy tour. Funny I thought it was gonna be a chill, easy ride but our driver took us to what felt like a rollercoaster ride in Disney World. Me and few other travelers were screaming, laughing hysterically, holding each other hands and went completely silent as the sun went down. How lucky and blessed we are to be able visiting Peru and experiencing this magical moment in Huacachina.