Dec 7, 20214 min read

Peru Musings - The Gap Year Gallery

Fuelled by my childhood passion for Tintin’s adventures in South America, and my determination to experience both Machu Picchu and the Amazon, I decided to spend a portion of my gap year travelling in Peru.

Although it was tempting to find someone to travel with, I decided to go solo – something which I will properly touch upon later.

Cusco

I spent close to three weeks in the city of Cusco - a vibrant and historic place formed from the wonderful mixture of the Spanish colonial architecture (typified by the Cathedral Santo Domingo) and the Incan ruins situated in the surrounding hills.

At 3,400m the altitude there did take a bit of getting used to, and the language barrier was at times an issue (the only Spanish I knew were the lyrics to the Gypsy Kings) However, both were factors I acclimated too during my time there!

There were plenty of fun bars and clubs, and a wide variety of backpackers and tourists, populating the various honeypot sites in the city.

Macchu Picchu

I volunteered at an Incan Museum 3 days a week and spent the rest travelling around the area: This included visits to the ‘Sacred Valley’ and a trip to the awe inspiring Macchu Picchu. Feeling like a knock-off Indiana Jones, I climbed the last part of the Inca trail up into the mountains to Macchu Picchu and feasted my eyes on the incredible Incan citadel. With mist swirling around the mountains, it was easy to see why this is such a renowned sight.

One activity I would highly recommend is visiting the “Museo Manuel Chávez Ballon”, situated at the bottom of the final climb from Aguas Calientes. The museum tells the stories of the excavations and is a great way to spend a couple of hours.

Puerto Maldonado

After my time was up in Cusco, I headed to south-east Peru and the capital of the Madre di Dios region, Puerto Maldonado.

This was non-coable to Cusco; partly because it was incredibly hot and humid! After a 2 hour boat ride down the river into the heart of the Amazon, I arrived at the Taricaya Ecological Reserve – an animal rescue/ conservation project centre, and my home for the second half of my Peruvian adventure.

Venturing off the boat and into the jungle is a feeling I will never forget. The sights and smells brought to life all the rainforest documentaries I had watched growing up. The centre was incredibly welcoming. My first evening involved playing football in a clearing in the rainforest against a local eco tourist centre team – just 20-minutes down river. Let's just say, the beer afterwards was very much required.


One of the most heart-warming experiences in the rainforest was meeting Cholita, the bear  the rescue centre had been looking after. Dubbed the real life ‘Paddington, the story of Cholita is one that is heart-wrenching but poignant. Cholita had been in a Peruvian circus and was so badly abused that she lost all her hair from stress. ADI rescued her from her plight and Taricaya has been looking after her for 6 years. I knew about Cholita before I went out there (it was covered in the UK broadsheets in 2015 – and I was sent the links before I flew out). It was heart-warming because Cholita is now able to live a happy life, surrounded by very caring volunteers!

During these 3 weeks in the rainforest, I was the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been, both physically and mentally. Every day I either woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise from a viewing platform in the canopy, or set off into the heart of the rainforest to partake in bird watching.

Regular activities included feeding the animals, forging new paths through the rainforest (a particular favourite, which made me feel like a stereotypical Victorian explorer!), camera trap collection and wood turning. I genuinely could write endless pages about my experience out there, as it has been incredibly formative regarding my outlook on the environment and conversation. The people here are on the ‘front line’ in preserving the Amazon and you can feel their passion for it too.

You feel as though you are making a difference and you are proactively involved in the day-to-day running of the project, ending each day feeling as though you have achieved something.

The people were almost as interesting as the Amazon itself. An eclectic range of backgrounds, including locals from Puerto Maldonado and volunteers from all over the world. Every night, the task of washing up was decided by playing a card game, however I never really understood it, so ended up doing lots of the washing up! Everyone was so friendly, and I learnt an incredibly amount from everyone there (including a tiny bit of Spanish, Dutch and Danish!).

As mentioned at the beginning of these musings, I cannot recommend travelling by yourself enough. While initially it was slightly strange, forcing yourself to make random friends in bars, coffee shops or even in a salsa class (yes, I did attend a solo salsa class), it was also an amazing opportunity to think and reflect. Both school and the initial start to my gap year had been incredibly hectic and it was wonderful to have that time to collect my thoughts and enjoy the freedom of travelling in a completely new country. Ultimately, I cannot recommend Taricaya Ecological Reserve or indeed Peru highly enough!