Month 10 - Peru

Hola Amigos!

This is again, super delayed as I've been having less and less motivation to write here for two reasons, 1) because it has been getting less and less viewers over time and I think they have all been shifting to Instagram and 2) because in February as I mentioned before in an earlier IG post, I fell into a funk. I became unhappy and needed some time alone. It was almost a whole month where I really needed to be distanced from social media and disconnected from some people.

Anyways, I'm back and am just going to try my best to catch up. For most of the month of February (my tenth month of traveling) I spent in Peru. I was supposed to stay in Patagonia and travel through Chile more, but because of how I was feeling I rushed to get to the familiar (which for me was Peru, I've spent significant time in Peru and it feels comfortable) as I no longer felt in the mood to travel, move around, and have to adjust to new things all the time. It was a weird mood, that's all I can describe it as. So I rushed through Chile (only spending about a week there) and crossed over into Peru by bus.

My goal in Peru was just to relax, eat some good comfort food (I did not like the food in Chile), return to something familiar, not feel pressure to do things if I didn't feel like it by going to a place I had already been before (which sounds stupid but when you travel long-term, you'll find you may experience this feeling at one point or another that even if you're crazy exhausted, you'll somehow feel obligated to get up and sight see because you're already there), have some alone time (which can be hard to get since travelling alone you're almost never alone), and escape to the mountains where I could clear my head and have some alone time.

I spent the first day in Tacna (Peru's southernmost city) where I visited a friend who I worked on an archaeology project with back in 2013. After what I was feeling, this was just what I needed at the time. It was nice to be in familiar company and awesome to get the chance to visit my friend and spend time with her family.


Getting to eat some good Papa a la huancaina, and sandwiches with some chicha at La Lucha's (one of my favorite restaurants in Peru)


After my time in Tacna, I headed a little north to Arequipa where I visited another friend I also used to work with. I also spent more time there just doing some sight seeing in the city. Arequipa is one of my favorite cities in South America for its beautiful architecture and it just feels really relaxed. It was nice to be back in a city I had visited before, not feel the pressure to go sightseeing and do something if I didn't feel like it, and to spend time with my friend.

The center of Arequipa during the Feria de la Virgen

The White city, the source of the volcanic stone used to build the city of Arequipa

Visiting some petroglyphs outside the city

Here is an assortment of foods from fried yucca, fried Arequipa Cheeses (this was AMAZING), to stuffed peppers (a classic Arequipa dish), picarones (a dessert kind of like donuts), and chichas (local and ancient drink made out of corn) at this WONDERFUL restaurant my friend and his family took me to in Arequipa.


Following my time in the South, I went to Cusco in central Peru to meet up with a friend visiting from Colombia. We planned a full almost two weeks of just hiking around. This was exactly the rehab I needed, some peace in the mountains with a good friend.

Happy as a clam surrounded by them beautiful Inkan walls in Cusco. I'm in love. 

The pink river on our way up to Rainbow mountain

Hiking the Rainbow mountain. This is more than 5000 meters high up in altitude and man, you really feel it! The slope from the bottom doesn't look so bad but I would not hesitate to say this was one of the most challenging hikes I've ever done. 

The views were so worth it though

Some photos from another high up and challenging hike, Laguna Humantay

More incredible views from Laguna Paron in the Hauscaran National Park

Heading up to Pastoururi Glacier. We got some spring water and some funky looking palm trees

Us at Pastoururi Glacier

 

Some views from a waterfall filled hike in Ayacucho

Quick stop in Lima where I got to eat at my favorite Churros con chocolate place. Happy me

Visiting the Paracas Reserve off the coast just a few hours south of Lima. This is commonly known as the "Poor Man's Galapagos" since you can see a lot of penguins, sea lions, boobies, etc. 

After the coast we hit the dunes and went dune buggying. Such a fun experience! It's like riding a roller coaster going full speed over some of these dunes!

After the dunes in Huacachina, we headed back to Lima and my friend went back to Colombia. I still had just less than a week left in Peru so I headed north to Trujillo to visit some friends (that I'd also worked with on a project, but a different project). We spent our days on the beach, getting some nice fresh squeezed OJ and laying out getting nice tans and sunburns.  

There were a lot of people out there collecting a kind of seaweed that they apparently eat... I've never seen that before, maybe it's because I've never been in this region this time of year before. 

Two order of the Menu del dia, or Menu of the day. All of $2.50

Some Caballitos de Totora. These are the traditional boats of the region. They were made in ancient times since the people who lived and live here have always been fishermen. This tradition has passed on from generation to generation and still is very much alive today. 

Everything was going swimmingly until the day before I had to return to Lima to catch my flight out to Colombia. There was a huge trucker protest which ended up blocking the Pan-American highway, so all the buses stopped running. I had already booked my overnight bus (10 hour bus ride) back to Lima from Trujillo, but I ended up having to buy a last minute flight (1.5 hour flight) because I was nervous about missing my flight to Colombia. When we first heard news about it in the morning, we thought it would end by the end of the day, but it hadn't so I just bought a flight an hour before it departed and took off. It was super stressful and chaotic. This meant that instead of arriving to Lima the next morning (I had a morning flight to catch), I arrived at 11pm the night before and had to find somewhere in the airport to sleep. The whole situation was a mess but I'm glad I made it to Lima, and finally to Colombia where I spent the first week visiting my friend who was just in Peru with me. More about that on my Colombia post. 

Peru was beyond what I needed. It isn't just comfortable for me but it is also like a home. I am always happy to have the opportunity to return to Peru. Being the worlds' most diverse country, and me having been there 4 times before, I still haven't seen it all. It has so much to offer and it gave me just that, a lot of peace in the mountains and a lot of new landscapes to discover. 

Don't underestimate Peru. It has its chaotic moments, but with its rich food, ancient and modern history, culture, diverse languages,  biodiversity, and landscapes, it is by far one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the privilege to visit and explore. 

Peru was everything I needed in that moment and more.