Peruvian Tales: post and photos by @henrykfotos

Not knowing what to expect when we got to Peru, the dark night skies added to the mystery as we saw dimly lit glimpses of Miraflores: a touristy district in Lima. Arriving from Auckland meant we had to set our time back 18 hours. We had to acclimatize a bit, and Peru’s local energizing tea helped us stay awake longer and adjust faster.

Another great way to avoid jet-lag is to wander around the city. So, we wandered around Lima. Lima has a mall built into an ocean-side cliff: here we walked around and had beautiful views of the South Pacific Ocean from most of the restaurants and walking areas. We also took a stroll to the artsy district of Lima, Barranco. It is basically hipster Peru. Buskers and street vendors here tend to notice tourists and tailor to them. For example, a woman who looks North American was carrying a camera, dead giveaway, and a vendor followed her noting that she clearly needed a carpet. Odd, though, she didn’t bite. Another Peruvian rapper saw me, and maybe it’s my ginger beard, I don’t know, but suddenly he was rapping in English. I almost understood him. It was fun, and we both bantered jokingly when we met again later.

Not everything is a joke though, and a bit of sadness began to creep in as we realized that Peru was one of the last few countries we would visit before heading back to Canada. Don’t get me wrong, we are looking forward to seeing our family and friends again. It’s just that having lived on the road for around eight-months has leant a familiarity with the new. Basically, our routine has become adjusting to the unfamiliar, and the thought of not having the regular change of environment leaves us fearful of familiarity.

Anyway, Peru is likely the most beautiful country we have seen. Close only with New Zealand. Both New Zealand and Peru have incredible landscapes. However, I believe that Peru’s steep and lush mountains, especially in the Amazonian Cloud Forest, put Peru on the top of the beautiful countries list. Exploring the mountains is not merely done for beauty, though, as the roads in Peru seem to lack the North American safety standards. We often drove alongside cliffs where our van was inches from a thousand-meter vertical drop: no guardrails present. Each time the driver swerved on the muddy road I kept imagining the free-fall time, wondering if I would enjoy the fall or pooh my pants. Either way, a fall would not end well. So, I took a break from the beauty and the adrenaline and forced myself to sleep, trying to ignore my seemingly imminent end. By the end of our time in Peru, though, I had grown used to and almost fond of the stellar views and unguarded cliffs of the mountain roads.

We also did some time in the Amazonian jungle of Peru. It was a full day of van travel to get to the jungle. When we began descending through the cloud forest we stopped for lunch. While we were eating lunch outside, on the road, with jungle mountains, waterfalls, and clouds surrounding us, a troop of Grey Woolly Monkeys descended through the trees to watch us. We were all quite excited, and the monkeys gave quite the show of athleticism: jumping from tree to tree, often falling ten or fifteen feet before grabbing a branch. Next, we took the river stix, I don’t actually know what the river was called, from the end of the mountains into the jungle plains. The river flows rapidly, and I wondered if the boat would be able to make it back upstream later. Thankfully it did, it just took a while. In the lowlands jungle, it was hot and humid. One night I hung my socks to dry and when we woke at 3 am, to set out on our next adventure, they were heavier than when I hung them. The volume of colorful birds is impressive. Not only do tropical countries have better weather, but their plant and wildlife seem to be more creative as well. Of note are some of the monkeys and the pig-like tapir. We did not see a tarantula, perhaps unfortunately, but we saw a million different bugs and we even witnessed a fellow tourist being bitten by a wasp—three times in a row. Quite educational: do not get bitten by jungle wasps.

This may be the last post in this travel blog, since we are winding down our adventure. Thank you to those who have supported our journey and checked up on our happenings. We very much look forward to seeing and being with you soon.