Peru

Peru was nice, great people and great food, although I did get sick a few times, as did a friend of mine who went there shortly after I did. Also, be wary if you go in their winter; the hostels don't have heat. I got to see a couple of my big sites that I want to see: Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines. A lot of people skip the world-famous Nazca Lines to go sandboarding at a nearby town. It just floors me; you're right beside one of the greatest mysteries of history, a really phenomenal cultural site, only to be seen in Peru, and when you're right next to them you go sandboarding instead; you can do that in lots of other places but you can only see the Nazca Lines here. Also, you get a really fun plane ride out of the deal too. Arequipa was a cool town and I swear there were more taxis than regular cars. Inca Kola was unexpected, there is a picture and description of it on the first page of photos. I decided to skip Lake Titicaca since I was short on time. Got my yellow fever vaccination at the children's hospital in Lima, for $20 instead of the $140 it is here in Winnipeg. I would really like to go back one day and see the mountains at Huarez, the Amazon jungle, and the archaeological sites in the north; most importantly I would like to see the ruined fortress of Kuelap near Chachapoyas. Also, most of the ruins in that area are unexcavated an the guidebook says not many people go there and it is really Indiana Jones type stuff. They had me at "not many people go there." I met a really nice couple during the Salar de Uyuni tour and it turns out that the woman is part of Cirque de Soleil! When I went back to Lima for my flight home I was able to get a backstage pass to the show and got to see what goes on behind the scenes, met a lot of the performers, and got to see the show itself as well. Thanks again Mimi and James! It was down to the last minute; I took a cab straight from Cirque de Soleil to the airport.