Summary
Episode 7 is a lighter chapter with the stress wading away from the previous chapters — dreams are made and there are some fascinating insights.
This recap of Apple TV+ series Long Way Up season 1, episode 7, “Peru” contains significant spoilers.
We will be recapping every episode — check out the archive.
The opening
Another week and another episode of Long Way Up and this time, Owen and Ewan seem more relaxed as they tackle easier terrain and certain dreams are achieved.
Episode 7 opens up in Bolivia and the pair are leaving the country. Ewan notes the culture has been vastly different from the previous places. They’ve crossed Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia so far; next stop, Ewan and Charley are in Chucuito, Peru. They enter the Temple of Fertility. People visit this place when they want to increase their chances of conceiving. Of course, this part of the episode brought a few sly jokes from Ewan and Charley as they made themselves “more fertile.”
Animal sanctuary
And then the next part of the journey — heading to Cusco. Both men enter the animal sanctuary of Ccochahuasi. Inside is a condor, the world’s biggest flying bird. The condor in question was injured from the Spanish tradition — bull-running.
Ewan’s dream
It’s always good to see someone achieve their dream and Ewan manages to succeed in a life-long ambition of his in Long Way Up episode 7.
Ewan and Charley sit on a train to visit Machu Picchu — its 8,000 feet and the train helps people reach it. Ewan has always wanted to see it. Both men head out early so they can see it at sunrise. Evidently, at this altitude, it’s difficult to walk up to it. Charley cannot do the full journey so leaves Ewan too it — his legs cannot handle it anymore. When Ewan reaches the start of Sun Gate, it turns into a celebrity photo session for Ewan McGregor as he forgot about people trekking from the other side.
I felt slightly sorry for him in this scene — he looked exhausted but still gave his time to people.
Charley’s route means he has to sign a document in case he hurts himself. It’s a steep part of Machu Picchu. As for Ewan, he reaches Sun Gate and he’s so happy to see it. Many Inca sites were destroyed by Spanish Invaders but they couldn’t find Machu Picchu. Charley sees the same view from a different perspective.
It made me want to visit this place one day.
Continuing the route
Next en route is getting to Ayacucho. Ewan and Charley are a little sad to be leaving. The pair end up on an absurdly muddy road. They end up on a windy mountain road that has epic views. Eventually, the road winds down which regenerates their bike batteries. On the way down, they see a Peruvian Paralympian training on his bike. The pair end up on a helicopter to scour the mountains. In quite a funny scene, Charley and Ewan enter a forest, and Charley drinks water from tree bark.
A fascinating forest community
But what’s more fascinating is the community they find in the depths of the forest — it’s sustainable agriculture — the hope is that the traditionally nomadic Asháninka people will remain in this forest long-term, and protect their lands from further deforestation. Ewan and Charley sleep in the village of Cutivireni.
The ending
Ewan and Charley take awhile to adjust to busy Peruvian roads and the way it deals with traffic. They head to the Ecuador border. They are off to visit UNICEF again, who have set up a camp to help refugees fleeing from Venezuela, a country going through an economic and humanitarian disaster. It’s been brutal for the children that they meet. One of the teenagers describes how critical it was in Venezuela. It’s devastating for Ewan and Charley to witness.
The episode finishes with Ewan and Charley crossing over into Ecuador. Ewan states the next phase will be the trickiest part of the whole trip.
Long Way Up episode 7 is a lighter chapter with the stress wading away from the previous chapters — dreams are made and there are some fascinating insights.
