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Weeks 32 & 33, Peru: Llamas, Alpacas, Machu Picchu, and the last of Lima

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The dramatic conclusion...or not so dramatic conclusion... The experiences Week 32 kind of runs together for me because I was such a lazy person. I did make it out to walk around a few times to get out of the room, enjoy the Plaza de Armas and restock on water. Hydration is important to avoiding altitude sickness and the terrible headaches that come with it. Quito was almost 3,000m above sea level and Cusco was nearly 3,500m above sea level. For reference, when I traveled to Albuquerque for work, that was only about 1,500m and a good number of us would frequently complain of shortness of breath, headaches, and general yuckiness.  The Quechua flag looks a lot like the pride flag. Though cooler in temperature, the sun was bright and hot. Fabulous colonial colonial architecture in the city Quechuans called Cusco or "navel" at the center of it all Cusco is a pretty touristy place but there isn't too much you can do in the area besides shop and eat tourist
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Week 31, Ecuador and Peru: Rain, Rafting, and moving closer to home

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Wait...did you think I was done? No way...I was still out there in the southern hemisphere for another couple weeks. The experiences After  checking out of a very posh hotel in Quito, I made my way to the bus station once again to go a few hours south to a little place called Banos. I'd been warned in advance that there wasn't much to see here but there was much to do. This happened to be a good place to be adventurous. Very touristy for its size but I'd go again. My first day I was still recovering from my cold so I stayed in and didn't do much but go out for dinner. I couldn't believe my luck finding this amazing Italian place with pizza good and spicy. I would end up going there a few more times in the handful of days I was in Banos. Adorable and delicious This was the first time I was in a hostel or hotel that had Netflix speed internet for almost the duration of my trip so of course I spent day two watching some movies and then planning which activiti
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Weeks 29 & 30, Peru and Ecuador: Buses and the Galapagos

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I know, I've been home for about 6 weeks. Admitting that this chapter is closed is not my favorite. I'm determined to finish the blog though. This post in particular was difficult to write because it was AMAZING and the pressure to make it good was high. So quality be damned, I am putting something likely sub-par out there to close this out. The experiences It will be obvious in a minute why I'm combining these weeks, but this one will be a bit long because I had a new type of travel experience that I quite liked. I spent a few nights in Lima, Peru where I didn't do too much but relax, read, and book a bus to Quito, Ecuador from where my Galapagos tour left. I did, as usual, walk around the hostel neighborhood. I had to see Kennedy Park where 50 plus cats live. It's a very pretty park and the cats are just happily napping or being cuddled by people on a break from work. It does smell like a litter box though. Looks like a normal park.... Until you look
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