Peru
Ancient Ruins, Sacred Valleys, and a Night on the Side of a Mountain
This trip was about as spontaneous as it gets. I decided I wanted to go to Peru on a Sunday, bought a ticket, and left two days later. I was going through a lot at the time and needed to get out of my own head. Five days to myself, no kids, no obligations. I described it as Eat, Pray, Love Myself—and that's exactly what it was.
I spent my first day and night in Cusco at the hotel getting acclimated to the elevation. I did feel sick for a few hours, but went to sleep and woke up feeling much better. Altitude sickness is real and giving yourself that buffer day is non-negotiable. I used that downtime to make a decision—for the next five days I was going to step outside my comfort zone and do all the things pre-divorce me would never have done.
I booked a 2-Day Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu Tour from Cusco by Train, which turned out to be a great way to structure the experience. Day one started with a stop at Awana Kancha to learn about Peruvian textiles and weaving, then a lookout in Taray with views over the Sacred Valley and the Urubamba River. From there we spent a few hours in Pisac, where the guide walked us through Incan agricultural methods before taking us through the Pisac Market to barter for souvenirs. Pottery, textiles, the usual—but in a setting that actually felt local. Lunch in Urubamba on our own, then on to Ollantaytambo and the Archaeological Park before boarding an Inca Rail train to Aguas Calientes for the night.
Day two started with breakfast and a bus ride up to Machu Picchu. Most people arrive this way—the bus ride from Aguas Calientes takes about 20 minutes and the train from Cusco is around four hours with views of the Andes the whole way. Once you're at the citadel, a guide walks you through the grounds before you get free time to explore on your own.
Machu Picchu is more impressive than it is emotional, at least it was for me. Standing inside something that was built in the 15th century, high in the Andes, with no modern machinery—the scale of it is what gets you. It's one of those places that makes you ask how, and nobody has a fully satisfying answer.
After the tour we took the bus back down to Aguas Calientes for lunch and free time before the train back to Ollantaytambo and the drive to Cusco.
But the part of this trip I talk about most is what came next. I spent a night at Starlodge Adventure Suites—a transparent pod suspended on the side of a mountain in the Sacred Valley. The afternoon started with a safety talk and equipment check, then a Via Ferrata climb and zipline before transferring to the lodge base to check in. Dinner, a briefing on the pod facilities, and then the ascent up to your pod for the night. Sleeping inside a glass pod on the face of a mountain with the Sacred Valley spread out below you is one of those experiences that's hard to describe without sounding like you're exaggerating. I'd do it again without hesitation. In the morning you come down on your own for breakfast before the van takes you back to Cusco.
Peru gave me exactly what I came for, even though I couldn't have told you what that was when I bought the ticket. I came searching for myself and found a version of me that was braver and more confident than the one who'd been sitting at home stressed about a courtroom. I initiated conversations with strangers. I slept on the side of a mountain. I jumped on a plane to South America on two days’ notice. I was finding my voice again, and Peru was the place where I started to believe it had been there all along.
