A highlight of my time from university was spending an amazing six months travelling, learning, and eating my way through South America. What started off as three months living in Cusco, Perú, living with a host family, working at an afterschool center, and taking classes, quickly turned into so much more.
Perú
Bolivia
I had one of my most unique spring breaks ever, where I crossed the border into Bolivia with three friends from my program. We visited Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, and spent two nights on the seemingly never-ending salt flats of Uyuni. We visited the Salar de Uyuni in April, which was the end of the wet season. During this time, a thin layer of water covered the ground causing a beautiful mirror like effect. The Salar de Uyuni may be one of the most otherworldly type places I have been to yet.
Colombia
As our program in Cusco was coming to an end, I realized I had to come up with a plan for where I was headed next. Once I saw that I could get my open water dive certificate on the coast, I was ready to book the flight. It didn't take very much convincing to get my friend Sara to join me for two wonderful weeks galivanting along the Caribbean coast.
We started off in Taganga, which is a sleepy fishing village where many go to eat incredibly fresh fish or to learn how to dive. I did both!
Once I finished my dive course, we headed up into Minca, a mountainous village located in the Sierra Nevadas. In Minca we drank delicious coffee, hiked to waterfalls, slept in hammocks, and got stuck in a massive jungle storm. All in all, I would say it was a very well-rounded stay. We ended our short, but sweet time in Colombia exploring the cities of Santa Marta and Cartagena.
Huaraz, Perú
Once our time in Colombia ended, my friend and I parted ways, and I flew back to Perú to volunteer at a dog shelter outside the city of Huaraz. I used Worldpackers to find this opportunity and was able to exchange work at the shelter for free food and accommodation. Huaraz is the second largest city in the Peruvian Andes and the gateway to many beautiful treks and alpine lakes. When I wasn’t walking dogs at the shelter, I was taking them on fieldtrips to local markets and ice cream shops.
More Perú!
The end of my time at the dog shelter came with much anticipation. My partner, Riley, and I were meeting up to do a ten-day road trip by bus from Lima down to Cusco. Two-night busses, one karaoke night, and many side quests later we met up with my parents in the Sacred Valley. After a wonderful day witnessing the incredible Machu Picchu and hiking Huayna Picchu we headed back to Cusco where I showed my family around the wonderful city, I was lucky enough to call home for a few months.
Although Riley was leaving Perú, my parents and I still had one more crazy adventure before they, too, had to say goodbye. We flew into Iquitos to spend 3 nights in the Peruvian Amazon. It took us two tuk-tuk rides, three hours in a van, and another hour and a half on canoe to arrive to where we were staying in the Libertad Village on the banks of the Ucayali River. While not glamorous in any way, it was truly a unique experience to be hosted by such a generous group of people. Although our guide may have gotten us slightly lost on a hike to see some monkeys, we had a great time swimming with the pink dolphins in the river, meeting a local sloth named Pablito, and looking for caymans.
Chilé
After my parents flew back home, I still had a bit of adventuring left to do. I flew down to Santiago, Chile, to meet up with a friend, where we had plans to spend two weeks volunteering at a farm outside of Valparaíso. Experiencing the slow farm life while seeing as much of the Chilean coast as we could was the perfect way to unwind after six months of incredible adventures.
From being welcomed into a vibrant community with open arms in Cusco to exploring the beautiful, vast, and diverse landscapes of Latin America, I truly did have the trip of a lifetime and cannot wait to return.