My Way Thru Peru.

I just woke up in the 27th bed that I’ve slept in over the last 6 months! (insert your own completely inappropriate joke here )

Hola, Medellín, Colombia ! I’M HERE!

On my 1 hour drive last night for a commute that should have taken 25 minutes to the Jorge Chavez International Airport, I knew it was time for me to bid farewell to the city that never rains, Lima Peru. But my readiness to move on to a new adventure didn’t mean Peru was a disappointment.

The people are kind, the weather pleasant, the cost of living more than reasonable and, well, the food makes it all that it is.

But what most gives Peru its fascinating and unique reputation is that it boasts a rich biodiversity and a strong presence of history and of cultural influences. From its varied geography ranging from the high Andes Mountains to the Amazon Rainforest to the coastal regions, Peru is filled with a diverse natural setting with 28 individual climates.

It boasts having 10% of the entire world’s flora, over 1,800 species of birds (2nd in the world), 500 species of mammals (3rd in the world) and 300 species of reptiles (also 3rd in the world.). I met many of them throughout my travels across the country!

With all of Peru’s spectacular diversity – like its world famous cuisine – you’re in for a surprise at every turn.

Over the 36 days that I lived in Peru, I visited 7 cities and the Amazon Rainforest.

Lima

Iquitos

Paracas

Huacachina

Nasca

Arequipa

Santa Maria del Mar

Each city offered an attraction that brings the world to its doorstep. Ruins. Mountains. An oasis surrounded by massive sand dunes. The jungle. The desert. The ‘Poor Man’s Gallapagos Islands’ where penguins live. And pre-Columbian geoglyphs etched into desert sands.

I flew across the country and bussed down its most southern parts to see it all.

Except the one most famous attractions the country is known for… Machu Picchu. My intention for bussing for 6 days down Southern Peru was to slowly make my way to Cusco on the 12 hour drive from Puno, to acclimate myself to the elevation incrementally.

But after previously being sick for 5 straight days and then hospitalized for 3 more with a diagnosis of Typhoid Fever from visiting the Amazon, I left feeling tender to the fact that, without a good amount of time to truly allow my body to settle into the 11,000+ elevation of the entry city to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, I could potentially leave myself susceptible to getting sick again. #NoThankYou

But that just means I’ll be back.

I could spend another month or 2 or 3 trekking about Peru to experience all that it is in more depth and with more curiosity.

Because Peru is not a place that sets its beauty in your lap like Croatia.

It’s a place to be curious. To explore. To fall in love with slowly, as all that she is unfolds in front of your traveling eyes.

Peru, I will be back.

Thank you for graciously allowing me in.

Until we meet again, Peru. Until we meet again.