This 26-year-old Pinoy traveler proved that revenge travel is real!
After the eased restrictions due to the low recorded cases of COVID-19, Mico Bautista literally travelled to the other side of the world!
“Ininnvite namin ‘yung friends and colleagues namin na available usually sila ‘yung frequent travellers talaga. Ayun, pumunta kami dun bilang revenge travel namin, we try to make up the time lost during the pandemic. So 2 years kaming di nakapag travel,” Mico told The Philippine STAR.
Mico, along with his friends, visited Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu in Peru, and UAE last March 2022.
“‘Yung buong travel kasi namin hindi lang Peru o hindi lang Machu Picchu, kasama diyan ‘yung Brazil, Peru and then UAE so inabot din ng almost one month,” he shared.
The highlight of their trip was the historical Machu Picchu. In order to reach this destination, he traveled almost 50 hours from Manila, visited five airports, one train ride, one land transfer, one bus ride and a two-hour hike.
“We spent a total of 10 days in Peru so pumunta muna kami sa Brazil, and then Lima, Peru and then Cusco, Peru kung saan ‘yun city malapit ‘yung Machu Picchu. There are no direct flights kasi from Manila to Peru so ‘yun nga nabanggit ko, it took me four flights,” he explained.
Despite the long haul of travel, Mico said that he really wanted to see and explore Machu Picchu.
“That’s always been a travel bucket list kasi seasoned travelers na karamihan samin so ito ‘yung lugar na ilang beses ko na nakita sa TV, books, internets, and postcards. Pangalawa, it has fascinated and intrigued me since I discovered its existence, maganda kasi and mysterious talaga ‘yung Machu Picchu and then siguro pinaka obvious reason is one of the new seven wonders of the world,” he noted.
He noted that the long trip was definitely worth it!
“Iba talaga ‘yung feeling pag nandun ka na, iba ‘yung feeling na nakikita mo lang siya sa pictures or videos,” he said.
“Super kasi breathtaking talaga actually we had no words, absolutely magnificent ‘yung Machu Picchu. Most of us were left speechless when we saw the iconic view of the Inca Ruin,” he described the place.
Mico had the chance to explore the 15th-century Inca citadel for three hours. For the whole trip, he spent P600,000 for his mid-luxury tour.
Mico said that travelers who are planning to visit Machu Picchu should conduct a checkup before traveling to get medications for altitude sickness.
“Para maiwasan ‘yung altitude sickness nagspend muna kami ng ilang days sa Cusco. Ang altitude sickness kasi happens when you rapidly ascend to a high altitude without letting your body adjust so tulad namin direct flight from Lima to Cusco agad. Lima, mababa na altitude, Cusco, mataas na altitude so mabibigla ‘yung katawan,” he said.
“Actually, naranasan ko ‘yun hanggang matapos, hanggang 10th day namin sa Peru, naranasan ko ‘yung altitude sickness so pinainom kami ng Coca tea –Coca leaf tea para marelieve ‘yung symptoms of altitude sickness,” he added.
After an amazing travel experience, Mico encourages Pinoys to include Machu Picchu in their travel bucket list.
“Recommended ko pa rin na pumunta sa Machu Picchu, well restored and maintained ‘yung site. Truly fantastic piece of preserved history so ‘yung hike to the highest point was kinda challenging. It’s one of the most challenging things that I’ve done but it’s one of the most rewarding too,” Mico said.
