well, i´ve realized that i´m not cut out for this blog stuff. I have averaged 2 blogs a month, and so far i haven´t written at all about being in Peru. I will skip the first week or so, because it was just traveling through to lima. After Lima, I went to Ica, and then Huacachina, a small town out in the sand dunes, famous for its dune-buggying and sand-boarding. I thought it was going to be full of bros, just partying and having a good time in the sun. and i was right. The dune-buggying and sand boarding were both really fun though. I don´t regret going there and would even recommend it, if you can deal with idiots pounding pisco sours and screaming to 80´s music. Next I went to Arequipa, and booked a 3 day hike to the colca canyon, the second deepest in the world. It was a really beautiful place, especially all of the terrace farming, which has been pretty ubiquitous here in southern peru. I could have reached out and touched the condors that flew past the first lookout on the first day in. After running down the trail, passing about 5 tour groups, i had to wait for my group for 30 minutes or so. We stayed at a verdant hostal at the canyon bottom, which seemed out of place. The next day we hiked across the valley floor to another hostal, where we played soccer and swam around in the pool. After running up the canyon the next day, i waited again for my tour group. In the next town i was able to exchange Ivan Turgenev´s Fathers and Sons, for Catch 22...jackpot. On the trek i met an Australian, Dave, who has been traveling with me since. The next day, we caught a bus for Puno, and lake Titicaca. The city was pretty dingy and the islands were extremely touristic, although the villages floating on platforms made of reeds were pretty impressive.
That night, we caught a bus to Cuzco or Qosco as it was called by the Incans, meaning, ´center of the world.´ Cuzco is surrounded by incredible ruins, and we explored them after a day of rest. The stonework is absolutely incredible. I couldn´t fit a knife into the seams between rocks the size of refrigerators. I don´t have pics right now, but Dave is going to send me a flash drive full of them when he gets back home. More soon on Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Getting homesick, so i can´t wait to see you all again.
