Loyal readers (i.e. Kayla and Ryan), it’s the blog you’ve all been waiting for: the travel post.
I firmly believe that there are two kinds of study abroad students in the world: the ones that do research, and the ones that don’t. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I fall into the former. Before coming to Lima I knew: the exchange rate was good, the food was great, Peru was the largest exporter of cocaine in the world, the Peruvian accent was relatively easy to understand, I had to get a photo with an alpaca, Machu Picchu was a thing, and my flight left on July 30th at 10:00 pm.
Other students came much more prepared: they brought a Lonely Planet guidebook, they came with their 60L trekking backpacks, they prepared a list of all the places they wanted to visit with detailed notes, they brought microfiber travel towels and travelling charging ports and other convenient travel accessories. The only real research I did before my arrival was money related: I opened a Charles Schwab investor checking account because there’s no ATM or foreign transaction fees (note: I have saved a TON of money doing this! And Senor Schwab is the best. It’s worth looking into).
So anyways, the point is that when my friends suggested weekend trips, I hopped on the bandwagon without really knowing what to expect. And this worked out so incredibly well for me. I did so many things I never thought I would do—and all because I didn’t have the opportunity to talk myself out of it. I’m a city girl. I live for the concrete jungle, free Starbucks wifi on every corner, and Sundays at Downtown Crossing. But here in Peru, I went on a three day trek in the Andes, camping in the freezing cold and climbing a mountain up to 4750 meters. I spent four days in the Amazon jungle, sharing a mat on the ground with some beetles, letting termites crawl all over my hands, holding an anaconda, playing with monkeys, and fishing for—and eating!—piranhas. In the south, I went on a dune buggy ride through the desert and sand-boarded the biggest dunes I’ve ever seen. 
For those who don’t know, Peru is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It boasts great surf, the Andes Mountains, the Amazon rainforest, expansive deserts, and many ecosystems where two—or more—of these meet. For example, Machu Picchu is actually considered a jungle climate, even though it’s up in the Andes. It’s hard to say what trips have been my favorite. Probably the ones that I never knew I would do: the Santa Cruz trek in Huaraz and my four-day stay in the Amazon. They were both challenging for their own reasons, and forced me to really get out of my comfort zone (there is nothing comfortable about sleeping on frozen ground. Nothing. Nor is there anything comfortable about letting bugs crawl all over your belongings). While in the Amazon, we visited one village a few times since they were at the start of one of our treks. We also went to their “neighborhood block party.” It was so insightful to meet these people and play with their children. I’m something of a child myself, so we got along well. The first night, I let the kids play with my iPhone. They loved the game Minesweeper, and we called it bombitas. They also loved playing with my Music app and dancing along to whatever random song they selected. At the neighborhood party, I played with a group of children in the sand, drawing pictures of our favorite animals and flowers. My program coordinator in Lima told me, “the people of the mountains are always sad, and the people of the jungle are always happy; even if they move to the city, they never lose their roots.” At least in the jungle, I found this to be true. Walking back from the village one night, I asked our guide: if the villagers could have anything, what would it be? Free and easy access to clean drinking water? Reliable electricity? More school books? What would benefit these peoples’ lives? Glen said, “Nothing. We’re happy here. Some villages have electricity, but most prefer the darkness and the river.” Glen is one of 10 children; he is the only one who stayed in the jungle and didn’t move to Iquitos or Lima.
All The Places I’ve Been In Peru:
- Lunahuaná – a small resort town on a river; I went white water rafting and enjoyed the sun
- Huaraz – the Santa Cruz trek; we started at 3300 m. and climbed to 4750 m. SO rewarding, SO worth it!
- Huacachina and Ica – visited a nature reserve, saw a natural oasis in the desert, and went sandboarding!
- Iquitos and the jungle – Iquitos is the largest city in the world that can only be reached by air or sea. Departing from this city, I stayed for four days in the Amazon, conquering one fear after another! Went with a Peruvian named Hitler for S./ 100 a day (about $30), including food, lodging, guide, water, etc.
Mancora – a surfing town in the north, a few hours from the border of Ecuador
- Arequipa and Colca Canyon – a colonial town, with Colca Canyon only a few hours away. Fun fact: Colca is deeper than the Grand Canyon!
- Puno and Lake Titicaca – the largest navigable lake in the world
- Cusco and Machu Picchu – does it need a description? I actually did this trip solo, which was really fun and rewarding. Most people either trek to MP (too expensive and I didn’t have the time), or take the train (too expensive—it’s actually one of the most expensive trains in the world per kilometer). So I took a 7 hours combi ride to a random stop, and then walked for 3 hours along some train tracks to Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu Pueblo. Talk about saving money.
