After an arduous week of paperwork and many hard decisions, we have begun our various treks around the world. All 113 Bolivian volunteers can now be found in most parts of Latin America and scattered throughout the rest of the world.
I have decided to stick around South America and have begun my adventures heading south of Lima, Peru. On the 23rd of September Helen, Sarah, Erika, Russ and I made our way to Paracas, Peru; known for its many islands full of peguins and turqouise waters. We had our fill of ceviche the first day and putzed around till morning. On the 24th Helen, Russ and I decided to steer away from the tourist track and hiked 11km around the area, finding ourselves where the desert meets the Pacific Ocean; in a little place known as Lagunillas. We braked for lunch, for some more ceviche, and hopped on a tour bus back to our hostel. The next day we took a 2 hour bus ride down to Huacachina, where the immense sand dunes, which look to have come out of the Middle East, overwhelm the landscape. Rocking out in sand buggies and sandsurfing we tired our bodies out for our overnight busride to Arequipa. Arequipa, known as the ´White City¨(la ciudad Blanca) is also the second largest city in Peru. Lucky for us we stumbled across an incredible landlady who offered us her 1st floor apartment for only $5/per person/per day. We stuck around for 2 days before heading east to Chivay and Colca Canyon. Colca Canyon; known for its intense Canyon hikes, vistas and natural baths, certainly entertained and tired us all out after a short 3 days. Day one was spent with a PC Peru volunteer in Chivay, who welcomed us warmly and tipped us off on some great treks for the following days. Day two we arrived in Cabanaconde, after a brief stopover at the Condor Lookout. Unfortunately Helen´s ankle was still busted from a few days before and Sarah was still under the weather, so it was just Russ and I who hiked 5k down to Sangalle; a steep canyon hike leading to a small village along the river (about a 1,500 meter difference from top to bottom) with natural pools and bungalows. The 2 hour walk down was nothing compared to what it took us to get back up.... a long 4 hour hike up a vertical, rocky mountain, under the blazing sun. My body is still aching. Our last day in the Canyons we took advantage of the medicinal thermal baths just outside of Chivay and headed back to Arequipa. Tomorrow I begin my trek further south towards Arica, Chile. I plan on spending a few days at the beach there, before heading east to San Pedro de la Atacama, and from there I will reunite with Helen in Salta, Argentina. From there we will make our way overnight to Buenos Aires and chill out for about a week, in time to cheer on a few of our friends who are running in the B.A. marathon. The vuelta will consist of Mendoza, Argentina (wine country) and Cordoba. From there the path is still unclear.... surprises and adventures around every corner. Peace and Love.
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