Pretty animals or Machu Picchu?
I am considering where I want to go next year on vacation. It will probably be our last big vacation before we start concentrating on buying a house. Originally I had considered going to Africa, but I now know that I don’t want to sit on a plane for 18 hours. I have decided that 10-12 hours is my limit. It’s not that I don’t ever want to go to Africa–In fact, I fully plan to some day. But later in life. Not now.
So, due to the (relatively) shorter plane ride and the fact that I (sort of) speak the language, Kyle and I are considering South America. I haven’t read up on South America enough to make this decision, but right now we are seriously considering Peru.
Things that Peru has:
- Machu Picchu
- Lake Titicaca
- Wild llamas (!)
- Hummingbird tours
- Volcanoes
- The Inca capital of Cuzco
- The Amazon rainforest
- The Nazca Lines
I find Peru really interesting and have always wanted to go there. In addition, I heard that they are considering restricting or shutting down parts of Machu Picchu because tourism is destroying the place. So I want to see it while I can.
However, I am also interested in the Galapagos Islands. They are off the coast of Ecuador, which is right above Peru. For a couple of exciting hours I thought I would see both Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands, but that doesn’t look logistically possible. At least not without tremendous effort and a lot of extra travel. Which is too bad, because the Galapagos Islands have:
- Unique species
- Giant tortoises
- “An incredible mix of polar and tropical species, from penguins and fur seals to flamingos and tropical fish.
- Volcanoes
- Animals that aren’t afraid of humans (I wonder if tourism is changing this?)
If we did the Galapagos Islands, we would go to Ecuador instead of Peru and then have a side-trip to the islands. I don’t know much about Ecuador yet, but it doesn’t sound as interesting as Peru. So I keep going back and forth. Animals that aren’t afraid of humans or Machu Picchu? Giant tortoises or wild llamas? Island life or the Amazon river (well, the Amazon goes through Ecuador too)?
What would you pick?