My brother and I are 5.5 years apart in age. As adults, when people started asking which one of us was older upon meeting us, I felt like I was starting to win back some time lost to bickering and little brother taunts. Even though we spent much of childhood fighting to the death, we bonded as adults. There is no one on this Earth I would do more to protect, even in the days we battled as video game characters (on-screen and in reality).
Just a year and one week before I was born, my cousin Joe entered the world and we were destined to be BFF. He was the “brother” I voluntarily spent my childhood with. While Joe and I were much closer in age and interests, he was also a boy who liked video games and sports, so my brother looked up to him, and as a result, he played a great middle man. Because Joe spent so much of his childhood as an only child (and because of his magical ability to make both my brother and myself happy), he often accompanied our family on vacations growing up, much to the delight of literally everyone involved. It didn’t take long for Joe to become essentially our other sibling.
It dawned on me that I couldn’t remember the last time the three of us had done something together. I decided to recreate our family vacations for the first time as adults, so in January, we got on a plane for Costa Rica. I can’t tell you how excited I was to take this trip with them, and it was also just nice to have some travel companions for once. As much as I enjoy the solo life and have done the vast majority of my life’s travel on my own, there’s a lot to be said for good company!
Because I was traveling with other people, this was the most planning I did for any trip. Typically, I plan my flights, accommodations, and any pre-departure COVID procedures about a month at a time, but that’s it. After that, I feel things out on the ground and decide what I’d like to do. I also usually have a little bit more time to work with in a location and we were doing one week in Costa Rica and then one week in Peru, just Joe and I. In order to make the most of our time together, I organized a detailed itinerary and consulted them on their preferences. We stayed in one Airbnb apartment, with a great view, in San José and took day trips out to different areas to explore, focused on the beaches and national parks on the Pacific side of the country. The trip started with mimosas in the airport lounge using Joe’s membership (but that’s not why I invited him mwahaha). From the moment we landed, we ate and explored well! From trying the local fare, to learning how to distinguish between three- and two-toed sloths (at least for five minutes), to beach-bumming, we had a fabulous time. Even when we just hung out in the Airbnb talking trash or watching football with Spanish commentary, it was a win. We didn’t hit a single hiccup in Costa Rica; something I’ve been so lucky to say for most of my travels thus far.
When we parted ways for the US and Peru, Joe and I found ourselves in a much more interesting predicament. We spent the first two days in Lima and found the Barranco area beautiful and easy to navigate. It wasn’t until the day before our scheduled flight to Cusco that we learned there had been a mudslide at Machu Picchu, requiring the rescue of over 800 people. The incident took out access to the famed site for the week and nullified our tickets. Going to Machu Picchu was the main reason for our trip so we were extremely disappointed, though grateful we hadn’t been caught in the disaster ourselves. We headed to Cusco anyway, prepared to enjoy what we could of the Sacred Valley and spend some time in the city before heading back to Lima. When we landed in Cusco, we were in for another surprise: a strike was blocking the only road into the Sacred Valley and to our hotel! I called the hotel, all but expecting to have to find somewhere else to sleep that night on our own, but this is when it pays off to have been a little bougie in booking your accommodations. Luckily, our hotel had a partner hotel in Cusco and were able to make arrangements for us to stay there for the night, and even potentially our entire reservation should the strike continue. Relieved, we got an Uber and made our way to the Palacio Nazarenas as hail began to pelt down from the sky. I’m not usually one to make such an entrance, but here we are.
When I tell you I was woefully unprepared for what awaited us at this stunning former palace and cathedral, I would still be downplaying it. The staff was extremely accommodating, especially our personal butler, Edgar (I swear we didn’t spend a ton of money y’all!). Exhausted and still too early to check into our room, Joe and I planted ourselves in the restaurant to get something to eat. Everything was perfect! As the altitude started to weigh heavy on our systems, we just stayed there, drinking Andean tea, enjoying more food and just talking with a view of the pool. When our room was ready, we could not believe how amazing it was and I was impressed with all of the small details in our room and around the property. We agreed that as much as we would hate to miss the Sacred Valley, we could certainly do worse than being “trapped” in this paradise. The next morning we ate breakfast and checked on the status of the strike – it had concluded! We decided to spend time exploring Cusco before heading up to the Sacred Valley. I loved leaning into the history of the city from the museums to the shops and cathedrals. That afternoon, we made our way to our original hotel, Rio Sagrado, which was equally stunning as the first hotel with the added benefit of a backyard patio for our room and playtime with llamas! Our most striking experience was walking the ancient city of Ollantaytambo, also known as the “Living Inca City.” Such a unique experience and a way to travel through time.
I was not prepared to love Peru as much as I did. I was relieved to find the Peruvian accent in Spanish is very easy to understand and I probably did the most successful practicing there. I can’t even cover all of the little things, but I think Joe and I ended the trip in the most perfect way: dinner at Maido, one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Book early, bring a friend, and hopefully, they’ll install a ramp to make it easier to roll yourself out of there at the end. Exquisite! Clearly, we’ll be back to finally experience Machu Picchu, but in the end, the only real downside was I don’t think either one of us ever actually acclimatized to the crazy altitude. Though the light-headedness dissipated after the first day, anything more than one flight of steps felt like an oxygen tank would imminently be required, and wearing masks on top of that – Sweet Lord Jesus. And to think people complain at home where oxygen in the air is plentiful. I’d almost be generous enough to fly some of these anti-mask clowns down there just so they can understand what true asphyxia feels like, but it’s cheaper to just call them stupid. At some point, oxygen probably was indeed withheld from their delicate brain cells.
In any event, my first foray into Central and South America was nothing short of memorable, and I’m grateful I have done something new with two guys who know me too well.
Fluent Wandering 