Back into the Jungle!

February 9th, 2018

On Friday, we all loaded up the car with our overnight bags and set off towards the jungle. In the car was my host dad, Jeanne, Ana, Victor, and Gerardo (who laid with us all in the back). We set off on our over three-hour car ride. The drive took us down through the mountains, meaning it was quite winding. Jeanne, Ana, and I were are in the backseat, with Gerardo laying across our laps. Before long Gerardo had fallen asleep on our laps. Combining this with the winding road, Ana and I were forced to try and keep our little sleeping boy from bumping around too much. It was actually pretty comical, with us both grabbing the handle bars every 10 seconds. Eventually, we made it pretty far down the mountains and stopped for lunch. We all ate different things (I had ceviche with trout), before we took some photos of the beautiful city square and ate some ice cream. We eventually clambered back into the car and drove to the next town over. Here we stopped at a church upon a hill (and of course took some more photos).

After the church we completed the journey to our house in the jungle. By the time we arrived, it was fairly late. We drove in and had barely set our things in our rooms before Gerardo came and asked us to set up the pool. The whole way to the jungle he had told us about the pool we would have. Well, it turns out that the pool was definitely made for people Gerardo's height. With that said we all put our heads together and built the pool for little Gerardo. After we built the pool, we all left to walk around the city square and explore. While we were walking around, we stopped for dinner, before we all took moto-taxis back. Once back in the house, we all chilled and hung out before we eventually all went to bed to get ready for the next morning.

February 10th, 2018

We all woke up and quickly got around for the tour that our host mom and sister had went and booked earlier in the morning. After a quick breakfast and backing of backpacks, we all boarded a truck that came to get us and went on the first leg of the tour. It was a taste testing of various local crafted drinks. Personally, my favorite one was the drink infused with coffee. After we got our drinks, we waited until we found a tour bus with room for us. About thirty minutes later, we had set off for the next tour stop, a bridge that crossed the main river. We took some photos and explored a little bit before we boarded the bus again and headed to another lookout point...


After we took some photos we headed to a local community that still lives in the jungle of Perú. The members of the community don't speak Spanish, but their own native tongue. We learned a few of the native words before we all changed into clothing the natives wore and had our faces painted. After the transformation, we sat down with a member who spoke Spanish and talked about the community.  After the speech, we all got up to of course dance. We were all in a giant circle with a man completely costumed in the middle. Jeanne, Ana, and I could only hope that we were not pulled into the center. Well, we didn't hope enough, as being the only foreigners meant we had to get into the center. I was pulled in first, and while I tried to politely decline, I failed. After me went Jeanne, and soon after Ana. Victor didn't get pulled in (sadly) as he was a boy. After the dances, we were sent to the goods the villagers make.  We soon were put back in the bus, this time to go head to the restaurant  for lunch. On the way to the restaurant, we stopped at a coconut stand where they cut the top off of the coconut and stuck a straw in before giving it to you. The coconut water was nice and refreshing and we carried on to the restaurant with coconuts in hand. We ordered our food and then took a quick trip down the river while our food was being cooked. After our quick little boat ride, we returned, ate lunch, and then set off to what everyone was looking forward to, the waterfalls.

Once we arrived close to the waterfall, we all set off for a 5-10 minute hike. The walk was quite slippery, but we eventually made it and took some photos. After the photos, Ana and I ventured into the water to wade in the water. It was very relaxing, and much calmer than the waterfall in Chachapoyas. After we were done wading, we set back down the hike and walked to another waterfall, where we took a few more photos...

After the waterfalls, we headed back to our host family. We all relaxed and later went out to go dance.

February 11, 2018

We woke up waaaayyyyy later than intended and had a late start to the day. After we all got around, we headed to an Orange farm where I went orange picking for the first time. Orange picking was quite different from apple picking, as the yard was filled with bugs. We also had to use nets attached to long sticks so that we could reach the oranges. While we went around picking oranges, we kept cutting them open to eat them. Before long, our bags of oranges were full. Before we left however, my host mom had Victor jump for an orange on the tree. When he came down, he smashed a fallen orange with his foot, covering Camila (my host sister) with orange juice.

After Camila got cleaned up, we all went to enjoy lunch with my host father's friend. While our food was being made, we went with an employee through a walk into the jungle. He showed us how they farmed Youka, a type of root that is a stable in Peru's jungle. First, he chopped the tree of the Youka plant off. Then, with much strength, he pulled up enormous roots. After the demonstration, we walked back to eat lunch. With our bellies now full, we went to the nearby river bank to wade in the icy waters. We all waded around, took photos, and played in the sand before we left the restaurant to go back to our house. Once in the house, we quickly grabbed our swimsuits and went to a nearby hotel so that we could swim in the pool. After a few hours and lots of splashing, we returned home exhausted. We caught some sleep and then left the next morning.

North Huancayo/Jauja Tour

February 8th, 2018

Ana, Jeanne, Victor and I all met around 10:30 am in the city center to embark on a tour of the northern part of Huancayo and Jauja (a nearby city). The first stop on the tour was in Huancayo, and was to show us how Alpaca sweaters or other things of Alpaca are made. The man told us how to tell the differences between Alpaca, Llama, and sheep fur; which is useful to know when you are looking to buy. After the demonstration and explanation was concluded, we got to poke around and look at the items. I didn't buy anything, and before too long, everyone had once again boarded the van and we set off to the next stop. 

When we all got off the bus, we were all a little weirded out and confused, as a man dressed completely in black fringe started playing music and dancing. From his mask around his nose dangled a large, protruding, red, hot dog shaped thing. I'm still a little confused as to why he was dressed like this, as I soon realized we were in a place where jewelry is made. He demonstrated how they melt down silver and the procedures they took when making the jewelry or pieces. We once again received some time to poke around the various booths. Jeanne bought a beautiful ring, Ana some earrings for her family, and Victor bought his grandma a necklace and earrings. After everyone finished buying, the bus was boarded and we made a quick stop to see some statues...

Before we got on the bus and left Huancayo for Jauja. We arrived at Laguna de Paca (Lake Paca) and boarded a quaint row boat. The lake was stunning, surrounded by mountains and filled with wildlife (birds and trout). The guide/rower pointed out faces in the mountains (which I didn't see) and explained legends. After we landed back on shore, we took some pictures and boarded the bus again. 

After our boat ride, we were all a little hungry, so we were all relived that the next stop on the tour was a dairy farm. We taste tested some cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and manjar blanco. While the yogurt was good, we all decided to get ice cream (soft serve, coffee flavored). Poor Ana is lactose intolerant, so she didn't get to try too much. After our little snack, we finally headed to the restaurant. Here Ana and I gorged on Chicharron de Trucha (Fried Trout), while Jeanne and Victor settled for steak. We were quite hungry and finished before the other people of our group, so we had a bit off time to look around all of the tourist shops outside. While I didn't find anything but Inca Kola (my favorite Peruvian pop), I wasn't too disappointed in saving my coin. 

The final stop on the tour was a Convent and church. All of us decided to pay 5 soles for the tour. For parts of the tour, we weren't allowed to take photos. For these parts the guide was explaining the various paintings on all the walls. I found the library quite impressive, as it was filled to the brim with yellowed pages. Another impressive part of the tour a room we entered that was painted everywhere. Here, we were allowed to take pictures...

The tour of the convent concluded about an hour later. We took some pictures from outside the church, before we all headed back toward Huancayo. The tour guide kindly dropped us off at a shopping mall a block from our house so that we could more easily walk home. Once home, we relaxed and talked to our host mom about the tour. Jeanne, Ana, and I then headed back to the mall to see a movie, before returning home and preparing for the next days adventure, a trip to the jungle!

Huaytapallana

Huaytapallana is the highest mountain peak in the Huayatapallana mountain range of the Andes mountains in Perú (I bet you had fun reading that sentence). The translation of Huaytapallana, which is derived from a word of Quechua, is to collect flowers. The mountain reaches 18, 232 feet above sea level.

So on February 6, 2018, Jeanne, Victor, Ana, and I all set out to hike four kilometers to reach this breathtaking peak.

Jeanne, Ana, and I all woke up and quickly got around to our bus waiting with Victor. We said goodbyes to our host mom, before we left the city of Huancayo and headed toward where our hike would begin. The road was were bumpy, but the natural scenery made it worth it.

Once we arrived, we all had little motivation to begin the hike. It was quite chilly and the hike began by going up, and up, and further up. While I was definitely short of breath, I was okay. Jeanne had fallen behind with our guide, and I was primarily in the middle of our guide and Victor and Ana (who were hiking together). The hike was definitely difficult, but eventually we all made it about halfway. At the halfway point, we could see Huaytapallana, which was incredible.

At this point, after we took a break, Jeanne decided that she could no longer continue. I honestly didn't feel like continuing, but I conjured up the strength by telling myself I only would have one opportunity. While I now am I happy I made myself continue walking, during the walk I regretted it. As I continued on the altitude certainly got to me. I began to feel nauseous, and my breaks to get to the snow peaks became more frequent. Eventually, I made it. Once I got there everything became worth it. I was surprised to found out that as I reached the peaks, it was not cold at all. As the hike had continued, it had become warmer, and by the time we got to the peaks it was hot. This meant it was quite enjoyable, with the heat radiating from the sun and the snow simply sparkling. It didn't take long before I joined Ana and Victor playing in the snow. It was Ana's first time seeing and feeling snow, which made the experience even more enjoyable. We took pictures, and Ana and I attempted to make a snowman. While the snow was packing snow, it wouldn't roll, so our snowman kinda failed. So instead, Victor and I pressured Ana into making a snow angel. Ana went for it, but only moved her arms so her poor angel didn't have a skirt. She hopped up pretty quick as she was now wet, but we deemed that it was worth it. After we had taken some more photos and thrown a couple snowballs we all left the snow and continued the hike back.

On the hike back, I quickly began to feel more and more sick. While the hike itself was easier as we were going down, my illness definitely made it difficult to continue on. I quickly fell behind Ana and Victor, who were unaware that I was feeling as bad as I was. Breaking every so often, I eventually made it back to them, as they had stopped and waited for me (they got worried). They both ended up helping me climb down the mountain as I was super dizzy, nauseous, and had a blinding headache. I had no sense of balance and am so thankful that I had amazing friends that helped me down the mountain (as I honestly thought the only way I was getting down was by falling).

After we made it down (thank goodness), we all ate a lunch of trout, potato, rice, and onion. Jeanne and I were still feeling a bit sick, so the bumpy bus ride wasn't too enjoyable, but before we made it back to Huancayo, where we all took it easy for the rest of the day.

First Days in Huancayo!

On February 1st we (Victor, Ana, Jeanne, and I) were supposed to take the first bus to Huancayo. However, the path to Huancayo ended up being blocked until February 3rd. The path was blocked by riots between farmers and vendors of market over the price of potatoes. While on paper the issue of potato prices seems pretty trivial, however the riots were getting pretty intense, with two deaths. However on February 3rd, the path was finally opened once again. Our host dad in Huancayo advised us to simply take the bus the next day, as the first day the path was opened would have lots of traffic. With this in mind, we booked our new bus tickets the morning of February 3rd and prepared to start our new lives in Huancayo. 

February 4th,  2018

I woke up late on this morning (bad timing) and with my host family, we all rushed to the bus station (which is thankfully very close to my house). I rushed to give my suitcase before boarding the bus with the other exchange students. I said some more goodbyes to my host mom and sister before I scampered onto the bus. The ride to Huancayo passed very quickly and was gorgeous (as we drove through the mountains). Before the bus ride, I was a little nervous, as we were passing over an altitude of 5,000 meters. It ended up being completely fine, and we arrived in Huancayo. We greeted our family before we squeezed our suitcases into the car and set off for our new home. My new host family consists of my host dad Gerardo, my host mom Clara, my host sisters Daniella (21) and Camila (12), my host brother Gerardo (7), and my host Grandma (Hilda). 

When we arrived at the house, I was pretty impressed. In Lima, I lived in a sort of apartment that was nice and cozy. Here we have a garden, a large house with multiple floors, and for the exchange students our own separate little guest house. Our guest house is cute and consists of two rooms. When you walk in you see Ana's bed and a little kitchenette. If you pass through the next door, you see Jeanne and I's room and a nice bathroom. The main house is quite large, with a beautiful kitchen and a large living space. We were all happy with the kitchen as our host family is excited to taste some food from our countries :)

After we got a house tour, we all went to our little guest house and unpacked our things. We later joined the family for dinner (which didn't include rice) and talked until we were told to go to bed (we were obviously exhausted). 

February 5th, 2018

The next morning we all woke up around 7 so that we could join our family for an early morning breakfast (both of our host parents had to work). We ended up being the first ones at breakfast, but were quickly joined by our grandmother, brother, parents, and later sisters. We ate and talked a little bit before we went back to our room to shower and get fully around for the day. At around 10, we left with Daniela to go meet with some of her friends and play soccer. We first went to a park, before we drove to what I think was our Aunt's house. It had a huge yard and lots of dogs. Jeanne happens to be terrified of dogs, which meant she was not only hesitant to get out of the car, but ended up staying in the house while we played soccer. We had called Victor to come and join our soccer game, but by the time he got to the house it was over (my team won), as it had begun to rain. So instead, we all went inside the house and played charades. We were acting out movies, and while the language difference resulted in different movie titles, my team once again pulled through with the win. After charades, Danielle, Jeanne, Ana, Victor, and I all returned back to our house to have a family lunch. We ate stuffed potatoes (Papa Rellena), and talked about our all countries. After lunch, we went and talked with Victor and showed him around our new house. After running around the soccer game, we were all pretty wiped (the altitude does that), so we just chilled and talked. We later went out with our host grandma to a park quite a ways from our house. There, we played with Gerardo (hide and seek), before we talked with some children that were curious about us. Before long, we went back with our Grandma to the house. Later in the night, we (Grandma, Gerardo, Camila, and all the exchange students) went to a park not too far from our house. The park was quite ordinary, but it was filled with dancers. Every space of the park was filled with people dancing to various songs all at once. It was quite fun to walk around and admire everyone. Ana and I speculated that the dancers were for Carnival (at least a few) as the choreography was all repetitive. After viewing all the dancers, we ate picarrones (Fried dough with syrup) before saying goodbye to Victor and walking back to our house. 

Day 13 (Malecon & Lighthouse)

Saturday, January 27th

Everyone was woken up and ready to go explore the Malecon the next morning by 9 am. After dousing ourselves in sunscreen, we all set off for the walk through the city to get the riverfront. It looked quite different in the daylight, with a completely different atmosphere. We walked down, taking in the views, before we started our descent up. I’m not quite sure if this was technically a part of Malecon, because parts of the area were quite residential, but we all walked up 444 steps in sweltering heat so that we could get to a lighthouse with an amazing view of the city. Even though we were all revoltingly sweaty, the views were worth it…

After descending the lighthouse, we all sat down for a break in the shadow of the church and took in the view. We all chugged water, discussed the trip, and how these last few days together would be the last ones for some of us. It was kinda depressing to think about, and on this note, we all set back down the 444 steps (which was much easier). 

After we got back down, Rotary told us all that we had about an hour and a half to explore the area a bit further. Gracie, Els, Victor, Jared, and I all decided that we were going to walk further down in search of cool tourist shops. We accidentally pondered through a garden/park, before correcting our path. As we wandered around just looking (and playing on park teeter-toters), we slowly began to run out of time. The tourist shops were much further that we had been told, soy after admitting we wouldn’t be able to get to them, we walked to the next best thing, Wendy’s. Now I don’t even go to Wendy’s often in the U.S.. But with the heat, we all thought Frosty’s were a good idea (it also helped that no one wanted to eat chicken and rice for lunch). We were getting really short on time, so we ended up getting a giant bag of Wendy’s (it had handles) and walking to the hotel. Upon arrival, we dug into it with much gusto. 

After our lunch, and all the other students met back at the hotel, we all left Guayaquil and set off for home, aka Peru. After a little time on the bus, we crossed the bridge, putting us in Peru, and shortly after, we stopped at migrations. Entering Peru was definitely less nerve racking than leaving, as I wasn’t illegal. Afterwards however, some others and myself had to talk with a migrations officer because they hadn’t given us enough days in Perú. After that, we all boarded the bus once again and set out for our hotel. We all got into our rooms and ate a dinner of Pollo a la abraza. After dinner, Jeanne and I decided we should give Tiia her birthday gift. Tiia’s birthday is in February, which means Jeanne and I won’t be with her. So, I went to buy her gift before the trip so we could still celebrate with her. 

There was one problem though, when I went to go get the gift, I peeked inside to see if everything was still fine. To my disappointment, the card I had made had been destroyed. Something in Jeanne's suitcase was wet, and had leaked onto Tiia's card. So Jeanne and I ended up making a slightly less pretty card and giving that to her instead. Tiia was really surprised and happy, which completely made my night. She really loved her two shirts we got her, one was a surfing shirt and the other had a cool pineapple. After we gave Tiia her gifts we all hit the packed up and hit the sack. 

Sunday, January 28, 2017

The next day we all ate a breakfast before we boarded the buses and headed to the bus station so we could all get back to Lima. The bus station goodbyes were a little emotional, and I had to say a few tearful goodbyes (even if it was only for a month). After recovering, we all took the bus back home (or at least to my home). 

Day 12 (Getting Wendy's)

Friday, January 26, 2017

I woke up a little closer to on time, got around, and went to breakfast. I was joined by Phoebe and Christian (Germany) at my table. We all tried a new kind of fruit I had never seen in Peru. It was the color of watermelon, but looked like a tomato slice with a green rind. Personally, I wasn’t a fan, as it was quite sour. 

After the experimental breakfast, I went back to my room to grab my swimsuit and to finish packing up. I met some others at the pool for a little time. Before long, we all had to go get our things so that we weren’t late to our checkout. I ended up getting all rushed around as I hadn’t realized everything wasn’t in place. Afterwards, I went and changed out of my swimsuit so that it could fully dry. Leaving it to dry, Gracie, Els, Phoebe, and I all went to take a final stroll on the beach. I somehow ended up getting a little soaked from a big wave (go figure), before we all returned to have a fairly early lunch. 

After indulging in the ice cream of lunch, we all went to enjoy drinks and relax before our bus ride back to Guayquill. Eventually we all boarded the buses and set out on the bus ride. As we entered the city, I saw more of the Guayaquil I thought had been masked by our tours; the rundown, dirtier, and poorer parts. We arrived at our hotel, quickly got our rooms, and then set out to explore the city. All the Americans had one thing on our minds, Wendy’s. Wendy’s is sadly not in Peru, but it does happen to be in Ecuador. All I could think of was a Vanilla frosty with French fries (and I wasn’t the only one). After asking for directions, we arrived at Wendy’s. Now I haven’t been to a Wendy’s in quite some time, but Ecuador’s Wendy’s were much fancier than the American ones (not really fair). They had a Wendy’s Cafe with all sorts of coffees, not to mention Frosty Frappicinos. They also had different flavors of Frosty’s, including Oreo and Kit Kat. Some of the exchange students got Baconators, or the four for four. Personally, I stuck with a Vanilla Frosty (we had to eat later). 

After Wendy’s we all went to walk around. We wanted to find tourist shops or a market, but we failed in finding both. We did however end up walking to the iguana park on accident. I think I also failed to mention that during this time we were walking around in the pouring rain. We were also with Courtney, who has lost both pairs of her glasses on the trip and is virtually blind. So we were navigating her around puddles, cars, and people as we went around. After our walk, we went back to the hotel. Soon later, we went out for a lovely dinner of chicken, rice, and potato. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, sang Dunja happy birthday and shoved a cake in her face. Some of the exchange students, including myself, then left for Manicon. It’s a more touristy place, right on the river front of Guayaquil. I walked around with Salome and Christian, taking in the views and buying a few souvenirs. Manicon was very cute and looked like an interesting place. There were little shops for food everywhere and beautiful views for the city at night. Before long, we went to join the others. Once joining them, everyone began to point out Christian and I’s height difference (6’7 vs 4’11). We all joked around, as we walked the strip taking photos. Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel. 

Day 11 (Enjoying Ecuador)

Thursday, January 25, 2017

I attempted to wake up early, failed, and got up a bit later than planned. I went to breakfast after getting around, and later returned back to my hotel room to put on my swimsuit. My morning was spent at the beach, where I shared a cabana with Gracie and Els. We all swam, later played uno with Pernille and Laerke (Denmark), and even had to rescue Agathe (France) from an Ecuadorian guest that wouldn’t stop talking to her. I swam one again with Martin, but this time with Annie, Grace (USA), Gulliver (Denmark), and Christian (Germany). It was pretty interesting to swim with Christian, as he was the only one who seemed to go out as far as me in the ocean. The waves for me here were quite large. For Christian, I’m assuming they seemed quite small, as he is 6’7. He kept wanting everyone to go out a bit further, but being 4’11, I stuck to where I was. After the swim, we all went to lunch. After lunch, the exchange students continued to enjoy Ecuador’s sun. At some point, Martin one a ping pong competition, and I got dragged into a “salsa” class. The salsa was not really salsa, but it definitely was excercise. We were jumping around, going in circles, and shaking our booties. Nothing could top our instructor though. I’m not exactly how he was dancing the way he was, but it was certainly impressive. He would step with his feet in a pattern, but was somehow able to shake his butt to a different rhythm simultaneously. I’m not quite sure that I will ever be able to reach the level of the instructors dancing, but my dancing has certainly improved since my arrival in Latin America. After the dancing class, we all enjoyed the rest of our day. Els, Gracie, Phoebe, Salome, and I all went on a late night walk of the beach. It was certainly memorable, with us running around like crazy people and doing cartwheels. After our walk, we all got some snacks before we all went to the discoteca (club) on the resort. Normally, no one under the age of 18 could enter, but this night we were all able. I was pretty excited to go to the discoteca as I thought they would have some great Latin music (I’ve become fully obsessed). I was a little let down as every song they were playing was salsa. Don’t get me wrong, I love salsa music, but without a partner to dance salsa, I find it can get pretty boring after a few songs. Its a very easy rhythm that is repetitive, meaning with a partner it can be easy to dance, yet still fun. However, on your own, you can only step touch so much. So after a while, we all left the discoteca, mostly because of exhaustion, but our curfew was almost up. After we left, we grabbed a few more snacks from the snack bar, and then all went to bed. 

Day 10 (Fun in Ecuador)

Wednesday, January 24, 2017

The next day, I woke up and ate the hotel breakfast before going to pack my things and grab my camera to take a few photos and videos. I walked around the hotel filming and ended up at the beach. There was some awesome graffiti on the sea wall to take in, and I took a little walk before going back to the hotel. I put on my swimsuit, chilled in the pool, got out, and drank some more virgin cocktails until we boarded the bus and left for our next hotel. 

The ride to the next hotel was only about 35-45 minutes and was filled with chatter and window watching. Once we arrived, we all went to a conference room and got some information on the hotel. We got out bracelets that said if we were underaged or and adult. Our rooms were still being serviced, so we ended up waiting a little while. 30 minutes later, we got our room, got settled, changed into our swimsuits and started exploring the pools and beach. The beach here was better than the first, with more sand and much larger waves. The waves were some of the biggest I had ever seen. They were very fun and exhausting to swim in. I ended up swimming around with Gracie and later Martin (Czech Republic). Martin is one of my favorite exchange students. He is simply crazy and cooky in the best way (reminds me of my youngest brother). He rolled down the hill of sand straight into the ocean. And told me that I simply must try's method of handling the waves. He put his head straight into the water  (he looked like he was drowning) and he simply let the waves take over. We all also jumped into the waves. I got thrown around quite a bit, but the water was so refreshing. Afterwards, we all went to go play volleyball. Henry and Felix (another Rotarian), even joined in. After a while, I had to leave the volleyball, as it wasn’t my sport and I was now sandy. I took a quick rinse in the shower, went to take a real shower, and then went to dinner. After dinner, a group of the exchange students went to the beach to dance, listen to music, and chill out. Before long, we had to go back to our rooms so we didn’t break curfew. 

Day 9 (Salinas)

Tuesday, January 23, 2017

I woke up early (5:45) my first morning in the hotel along with Gracie, Elsbeth, and Jeanne because we all wanted to see the sunrise. We sadly realized after walking outside that the sky was too cloudy to see the sunrise. In defeat, we all returned back to our hotel beds to sleep for another 2 hours before breakfast (which began at 8). While I followed through with the plan to meet at 8 for breakfast, my entourage didn’t, meaning I got to have a quite breakfast to myself (I even got to enjoy real coffee!). 

After breakfast, I went to swim in the pool (as I didn’t feel it was the smartest to go to the beach alone). I was later joined by my friends that had slept through my breakfast plans, and we all went to the second larger pool. We all swam around (by this point the pool was filled with exchange students). After a while, Gracie, Els, Helena, Lis (France),  Jared, Jeanne and I all walked to the beach. Walking down the beach meant that we were asked/slightly harassed by all the Ecuadorians trying to sell us something or to get us to participate in something. We took one man up (or started to), and began talking about taking a banana boat out. The man first told us the price was $4. Having all been in Perú for 5-6 months at this point, we all have become horribly cheap. The thought of having to pay $4 for a boat ride seemed simply outrageous. So after arguing with the man back and forth for a little bit, we got it down to $2. Jared however wasn't satisfied with this price, as he thought we should only have to pay $1.50. So, we ended up walking away from the man and settling on swimming for a while. The fact that we walked away from a service because of 50 cents goes to show (in my opinion) how cheap I have become in Perú. We of course knew that we were no longer in Perú, and were in fact in Ecuador, but that simply didn’t stop us. The thought of spending money on things I know are much cheaper in Perú prevents me from by and doing certain things. Overall, I felt that Ecuador was a bit more expensive of a country than Perú. This could be because we were along the coast of Ecuador and not living in a town, but with that said, living in Lima (the capital of Perú), felt much cheaper than Ecuador. To add to this argument, were we were at (Salinas), didn’t have many foreign tourists. According to an Ecuadorian, the majority of the beach goers in the area are from Ecuador and simply have condos along the beach (which we were told was fairly inexpensive). 

Bringing the topic back to the beach, we all swam around and had lots of fun. One Ecuadorian lady asked us where we were all from as we were having fun. We all told her where we were from, and it turns out that while she was Ecuadorian, her husband was Dutch, so she had lived in the Netherlands for 22 years. So, her and Elsbeth had a conversation in Dutch while we all eavsdropped. Before long the conversations kept switching languages from English to Spanish to Dutch. It was really cool to talk to her, as she had traveled many places and gave us the insight on the area (hence our knowledge of the condos). She also told us to be very careful as 2 people had drowned in nearby beaches that week and one had almost died the day before. This year is El Niño, meaning the weather and waves are completely different. This meant that normally calm waters now had large waves and strong currents. While the waves in the beach were fairly calm at the time, it was easy to imagine how the waves could change. 

After a while, our conversation ended, and we all got out to dry off. It was then that Gracie and I decided that we would forfeit our 50 cents and pay for the banana boat. Jeanne was also game, and after being conned into it, Lis as well. So, we all boarded the banana boat and went to see if it was worth $2. If you don't know what a banana boat is, imagine a long giant hotdog shaped boat with straps for you to hold onto. The boat is attached to one with a motor, and then pulled around. While the ride was fairly short, it was pretty fun. The man asked us if we wanted to be thrown off, to which we all said yes. I think in general we all regretted this decision as the effort it took to get ourselves back on the boat was a little embarrassing (I barely made it without help).

After our boat ride, we all swam back to shore and got out once again. We dried off in the sun, before heading back to the hotel. Els, Helena, and I all showered and put on real clothes later that night and went out to explore. We walked to all the little tourist shacks, all of which were more expensive than Peru’s. In Perú, I has started collecting bracelets from everywhere we went. In Peru, the cost of the bracelets is around 1 sol. Here the bracelets are $1. It broke my heart to do it, but I ended spending $2 on bracelets. Els had really wanted an anklet made of white stone or shells, but after going to all the booths, we couldn’t find one. So, one kind lady set about and about and made us a custom one. It ended up being $5 and exactly what Els wanted. While in the market, I realized another difference between the Peruvian souvenirs and the Ecuadorian ones. This could be made up in my mind, but the Peruvians seemed more desperate, and more willing to barter with you than the Ecuadorians. 

After the souvenirs, we went to buy snacks and I bought sunscreen ($17, I wanted to cry). We then went to the beach as we had spied some more exchange students chilling. We all danced and played sports before retiring back to the hotel for dinner. Afterwards, we all went to the bar so that we could dance. I wasn’t feeling the music after a while, and ended up going up to my room.

Day 8 (Guayaquil)

Monday, January 22, 2017

Our day in Guayaquil was a treat, not only did we get to sleep in (we didn’t have to leave until 9!), the city proved to be gorgeous. I woke up on time (for once), and got around. I ended up waking my roommate up a few times (she was pretty tired), before I headed down to grab a very quick breakfast. Eating breakfast at the hotel taught me one thing, Ecuadorian men have something in common with the Peruvians, they sure love to stare. After being told it was time to go, I willingly got up and left without complaint, its distracting to try and eat with the heavy stares of men on you. 

We all left the hotel and loaded a city tour bus. This is when we received our first wave of heat. Although the sun had yet to appear, one thing was for sure, Ecuador is called Ecuador with reason. In case you didn’t know, Ecuador means equator in Spanish. Coincidentally, this meant that we were all slick with sweat within 5 minutes of sitting down on the open, upper level of the tour bus. 

The tour around Guayaquil was beautiful. Having lived in a loud, noisy, and a little dirty city for 5.5 months, Guayaquil seemed so different. With that being said, we of course only went through the touristy parts that were clean and beautiful. Additionally, I have never went on a city tour of Lima, so I’m a bit unqualified to depict the differences between my home and my first Ecuadorian city. 

After going down a few streets, we all exited the bus to climb up a slight slope. Here, we were able to see all of Guayaquil, and man was it stunning…

After some photos, we all walked down the hill and boarded the bus once again. The tour continued until we reached the coolest park I have ever went to. It was the conclusion of the tour and rightly so, as I am unsure of anything that could have topped it. The park was filled to the brim with iguanas. And by filled to the brim, I mean every two feet was an iguana crawling around; they were under the benches, wading through grass, and chilling in trees. Liv (Canada) and I, even petted the iguanas (after asking a park employee if it was allowed/safe). 

After the iguana park, we went to a church, and then headed toward lunch. After lunch, we all walked back to the hotel and boarded another bus to travel to Salinas, Ecuador.

The bus ride wasn’t too long (or over eventful) and we arrived in Salinas a little over an hour later. After some time, we all received our roommates. I was still with Leonora, but in our room also was Helena (France), Mara (Switzerland), Lareke (Denmark), Emilie (Denmark), and Pernille (Denmark). Once we got to our room, we realized a slight problem; there were 6 girls and 3 beds. Two of the beds, were singles, and the other was larger (but not large enough for 4 people). So, we ended up all going down to the front desk and explaining the situation. The staff was super nice and accommodating, and within 30 minutes, no one had to share a bed. 

With the bed situation relived, we all went down to explore the hotel pools and the beach. 

I always prefer to swim in the ocean or a lake as opposed to a pool, so I went to enjoy the sun at the beach with Elsbeth (Netherlands), Gracie (USA), Nina (Germany), Jeanne (France), Jared (Canada), Victor (Denmark), Levi (Netherlands), Liv (Canada), and Tiia (Finland). Nina, Gracie, Jeanne, Elsbeth, and I all opted for swimming while the others chose to start a game of volleyball (I got my fill of volleyball during colegio). The water in Ecuador was much warmer than the waters of Lima, and we all enjoyed our time splashing around. After a while, the sun began to set and the night began to cool down, so we all got out to dry. During this time, the volleyball matches had just concluded (Team North America won), and the others were now looking for their next game, fútbol. Victor ended up asking a group of nearby Ecuadorian men to play a match, so we all sat down to cheer on the exchange students as the sadly lost to Ecuador. 

After the match, we all walked back to the hotel and swam a little longer in the pools, before we got out to shower, go grab dinner, and go to karaoke. Before the karaoke, we went to the game room to burn some time (we played ping pong and pool), and after about 20 minutes we could hear the music going. This meant that the majority of the exchange students all came down. Karaoke night was a fun night. I of course got conned/pressured into singing (Adele - Rolling in the Deep), and Grace (USA) and Martin (Czech Republic) performed and acted a remarkable and dramatic duet. After Karaoke ended, we all danced the night away (until Charo and Felix told us we had to go to sleep). 

Day 7 (Into Ecuador)

Sunday, January 21, 2018

We all woke up around 7 so that we could quickly get around, eat breakfast, and finish packing. The plan was to leave the hotel at 8 so that we could be on time to see the turtles. However, time isn’t something that Peruvians particularly like to follow. This meant that our breakfast was served very late, meaning we left the hotel quite late.  

Hoping to be on time and swim with the turtles wasn’t quite enough. We ended up getting to the beach around an hour late. The turtles hadn’t left the area, but the tide had changed, meaning the men wouldn’t let us enter to swim with the turtles (because it could be a dangerous situation depending on the swimming level of the person). We did; however, get to see the turtles. There were probably around 10-15 all swimming around. Because we couldn’t swim with the turtles, we returned to the hotel with the promise we would try again when we went back south. 

Once back at the hotel, we showered, and than hit the road, heading north to the city Tumbes, Perú (about 45 minutes from Ecuador). We ate lunch, visited the Plaza de Armas, and walked around a little bit. We then hit the bus again, and headed a bit further north to ECUADOR! Having been illegal in Perú for some time, I was a little nervous to attempt and leave the country. Thankfully, it went without a hitch, and I was able to enter a brand new country!  :)

Ater we all made it in (no one had a problem), we all went to go board the bus that would be taking us to Guayaquil (where our hotel was and the city activities were). The drive was not too long, but certainly not 30 minutes. My first thoughts of Ecuador were lots of positive ones. It was beautifully green, we kept passing giant fields of banana tree. But of course we passed families that live in poverty too. Before long, the sun had set, obstructing our first glimpses of Ecuador. Not being able to see, Jeanne and I decided we would have a dance party to celebrate our arrival. Pretty soon the whole bus was involved, singing and dancing our way into Guayquil. 

Once we arrived at the hotel, we all waited, got our room numbers, and quickly headed up to our rooms before we went to dinner. We quickly ate our rice, beef, and drank our fresh fruit juice before we went back to the rooms to shower and sleep.

Day 6 (Beach)

Saturday, January 20, 2018 

After a very rough sleep in the bus, we arrived in our next city at 4 am. We thought that we were going to the hotel, but as it turns out, we were only at a bus station. We changed from one bus to a different bus fairly quickly and than continued our route to what we thought was the hotel (once again). Turns out we weren’t going to the hotel, as we ended up arriving at a beautiful sandy beach. We all quickly changed into our swimsuits before we all walked down. The original plan was to swim with turtles, but the time wasn’t right (the tide wasn’t good), so we ended up just swimming. The water was the perfect temperature and the waves were large. This was fun and also challenging for me, as being vertically challenged isn’t necessarily compatible with giant waves. 

Swimming around with all the exchange students was definitely fun, that was until Gracie got yelled at for swimming out too far. While she was out quite far, she has been swimming in the ocean for entire life, so I thought it was a little unfair for her. Getting scolded didn’t stop us from having fun though, but we eventually had to get out to dry off in the scorching sun so that we could finally go to the hotel. On this stretch of beach Courtney (USA) lost her glasses to some giant waves, meaning she would be left wearing prescription sunglasses for the duration of the trip. 

The drive the hotel wasn’t too unbearable, and we arrived about 30-40 minutes later. We got our hotel rooms, settled in, before we went around to explore the hotel’s pool and beach. I chose to take a walk on the beach myself, before I returned to get some more students. As the sun began to set, we all went out to the beach to play frisbee, take photos, and enjoy our time. Before long, it was dinner time, so we all had to return to eat. Shortly after, we all showered and went to bed. 

Day 5 (Gocta Waterfall)

Friday, January 19, 2018

Another early morning and breakfast before we boarded the buses and set off for our early hike. The hike was leading to some gorgeous waterfalls and started about 1 hour away from our hotel. The bus luckily didn’t get stuck in any mud this time around and we all arrived on time. The motivation to do this hike was fairly nonexistent, as the hike to the waterfalls was 2 hours and was through the mountainous jungle. We all somehow managed and we stared the wet and difficult hike to the waterfalls. To help with the difficulties of the hike was the nature…

I eventually made it to the Gocta Waterfall with Elsbeth (the Netherlands). The hike was surely difficult, but the views made it worth it. I had to go change my clothes, which meant I had to go into the trees for coverage. This was all fine and dandy until I slipped and fell going back down. It ended up being alright, as Fred (Germany) came to help me down (I have endeared worse pain). After changing,  I got to swim in the waterfalls with Lise (France), Agathe (France), and Axelle (Belgium), which was quite the experience. While the water wasn’t warm, the part difficult part of being near the falls was the wind that would pick up and spray you with cold water that stung (you also were slightly blind). 

After the swim in the world's third tallest waterfall, we all changed and hiked back. The hike back was worse, as we were going uphill more. However Salome (Switzerland) managed to keep me motivated and going. After we got back, we quickly ate, and boarded the buses. We rushed through the showers, loaded the buses, and headed to our next city. 

Day 4 (Caverna de Giocta)

Thursday, January 18, 2017

Getting up the next day was a struggle, despite the extra sleep Jeanne and I had scored ourselves. We somehow managed, got around bright and early, ate another breakfast, and boarded the bus on time. The bus ride to the day’s destination was a drive away, meaning a few of the students went back to sleep while others (like me), did our best to rouse ourselves and get ready. After a wet ride (we are in the rainforest), we arrived at a hotel in the next town over. Here, we traded our tennis shoes or hiking boots for rain boots.We all got a little snack and then boarded the buses again so that we could continue on to our destination for the day, la Caverna de Giocta. On this trip there was one large charter bus, and two smaller Amish haulers. I just happened to be in the large charter bus (my mistake). As we traveled to the caves, the bus got stuck in the mud. We were in a part of Perú that is technically the Amazon Rainforest but is still quite mountainous. This means that it is the rainy season, so all the roads are completely muddy. This also means the buses are going up winding paths. Putting the two together sadly meant that the good old charter bus got stuck, which resulted in all of us exiting the bus and walking. 

Walking down the muddy path was certainly not what we were expecting to be doing that morning, but sometimes life takes the unexpected route. However, after walking what felt like a great distance, a savior appeared. An Amish van that had already dropped off its initial load was making a second trip so that the students’ journey would be completed sooner. Anna (USA) and I quickly jumped into the Amish hauler, there wasn’t that much space left. Now in the car, we got to drive by all the other students still walking (I only felt a little remorse). 

Once we arrived, all the students that had been waiting around 40 minutes (the originals of the amish haulers) all questioned what had taken so long (hmmmmmm I guess we had to walk uphill through mud). We had to wait a bit longer for some students to arrive, but we quickly started trekking downhill to reach the Cavern. Wet, muddy, and excited, we all eventually got down, used the bathrooms, registered, and began the tour. I was somehow blessed and put in charge of a giant flashlight. This really helped my path through the cave, along with my group of Courtney (USA), Salome (Switzerland), and Emilie (Denmark). While I have been labeled clumsy my entire life (and rightly so), Courtney makes me look like a graceful ballerina. So our group ended up being the last of group A to go into the cave. Nonetheless the cavern was without doubt impressive. While it had stalactites and stalagmites, it also happened to have human skulls and bones. Yes, you read that right, there were skulls and bones throughout the cave (encouraging, right?). The journey through the cave is not something I would describe easy, it was VERY slippery, and at some points you had to cross through water your couldn’t see through, hoping that your foot found a rock and didn’t sink completely into the mud. 

After the journey back to daylight, we quickly rinsed our boots off and boarded our original charter bus (which was now unstuck). Group A then went back to the hotel where we had gotten our boots and ate a quick lunch (you guessed it, chicken :)). After lunch, we hit the buses again and headed to a new destination and hike. This hike also happened to feature some more deceased humans, to be more specific, Sarcophaguses. 

The journey to get to the Sarcophaguses was in no way easy. It was once again a muddy path, but this time with a very steep decline. Steep declines mean steep inclines when you return, meaning as you pudder down, you know that you will have3 to struggle back up. The power of the exchange students somehow got us to our next destination however, and we all made it down to the Sarcophaguses and waterfall. 

After we took it all in, we all made our way back up. Hiking at this point had become a game for me. You have to scan the path to avoid the mud, find the stable stones, and make sure you don’t end up in the horse poop. I was a winner in this game, I even ended up helping the other exchange students not slide down all the mud. 

After the sarcophaguses, we had a quick bite to eat before we returned to the hotel and all slept off our exhaustion. We all attempted to take showers, but there was first no hot water, and then no hot water. I was lucky enough to get a freezing shower :)

Day 3 (Kuelap)

Wednesday, January 17th, 2018

After a rough nights sleep in the bus, we arrived in Chachapoyas bright and early. Everyone was exhausted but we boarded a different bus to get to our hotel. I was once again rooming with Jeanne (we are always together), Vera (Germany), Olivia (Canada), Helena (France), and Phoebe (Missouri). We ate a quick breakfast of eggs and bread, before we were given a little time to change and freshen up. Before long, we had all boarded the bus so we could set out to our next destination. Before long, we arrived at the tour of the day. In order to get where we needed to go for our hike, we had to board  gondolas. I boarded along with a few other exchange students, and we glided across a river and many valleys of the Amazon Rainforest. The views were of course stunning…

After we arrived, we waited around a little bit so that the other exchange students could join us. We had been warned that the weather was very bipolar; cold, then scorching hot, and then rainy. It soon showcased this as it started to pour rain. This prompted many of the exchange students (including myself) to buy ponchos. Now prepared, the group set out on a fairly short but muddy hike to get to some ruins that were at first thought to have been a fortress. However, the ruins ended up not being able to be a fortress as their was no access to water or a holding place for water (something a fortress demands). It ended up being a settlement, with circular houses where families once had dwelled. The views from the “fortresss” were stunning, Perú never fails to amaze me with it’s natural beauty…

After the tour of Kuelap, we all took the hike back down to the gondolas. It was of course wet and muddy, but we made it all back (although I had tripped and fallen in a mud puddle earlier). By this point we were are hungry and a little grumpy, so we once again boarded the gondolas and passed through jungle once again. 

Once we arrived, we waited for the other exchange students to arrive before we headed to go eat a late lunch. We of course were eating a variety of chicken, I personally chose Pollo Saltado (which is pretty delicious). After the very late lunch, we went back to the hotel so that we could all shower. After the shower Jeanne and I initiated a dance party (kinda our thing). We had all of our roommates dancing (we even did the limbo). After this, the others went to dinner (which Jeanne and I skipped on) and to sleep.

Day 2 (Trujillo)

Tuesday, January 16th, 2018

After our giant movie night, it was a little bit more difficult to wake up the next morning. We all however managed, packed up, and got ourselves in the buses on time for the first objective of the day, the ruins of Chan Chan. The ruins were once again very interesting, it never fails to amaze me how much ancient history is present in Perú. Chan Chan is the second largest adobe city in the entire world. The people that lived in Chan Chan (the Chimú) were known for having great riches (around 5,000,000 in USD). When the guide was explaining the people and their traditions, he kindly pointed out that the Chimú were quite short, in fact, my height. It’s reassuring to know that I’m not short, I’m just the same height as the Chimú.

After our tour of the ruins, some of the students that were older had to leave to go and try and get their passports figured out (for the trip to Ecuador). Meanwhile, we all returned to the hotel for a lunch of arroz con pollo. We then all went to completely finish the packing (we also dismantled our giant bed during this time). After a little time had passed, and all the exchange students had returned from the passport situation, we once again boarded the buses, this time with our luggage, and went to a Marinera (typical Peruvian dance from Trujillo) and horse show. 

The horses were all beautiful and of course reminded me a little of home. At one point of the show, the cowboy demonstrated his balance by pouring and carrying around a glass of pisco. At another point they were dragging a red cloth around and talking about a bull. But of course, my favorite point of the show was the dancing. Personally, I find Marinera a beautiful dance. The entire dance is done between and man and woman. The man is trying to gain the woman’s attention and affection, but she is playing hard to get. At one point the exchange students got involved in the dancing and music. We also got to feed a horse and take pictures with the dancers. 

Before too long, we all had to board the bus and start our next journey to our next city Chachapoyas. 

Day 1 (Trujillo)

Monday, January 15th, 2017

Having loaded the bus the previous day with all the kids from Lima, Ica, Puno, and Arequipa, we arrived at our destination Trujillo around 9 in the morning, I had slept the entire 10 hour bus ride (thanks for the short genes mom). Upon our arrival, we were waiting for the second bus with exchange students to arrive. Shortly after, we all boarded a different bus and arrived in our hotel. We all got around quickly, before heading out to our first ruins of the trip. They were Pre-Incan and after Christ. The murals on the wall were impressive and in my opinion, close to detail.

After the ruins, we left for the Plaza De Armas of Trujillo. Trujillo’s Plaza de Armas is Peru’s largest, and a Spanish influence was heavily present in the architecture. In the Plaza, we toured a Bank also.

After the Plaza, we went to go eat lunch. It was delicious, Ceviche and Chicarron de Pescado. There was live music and of course entertaining exchange students. After lunch, we returned back to the hotel once more. We all went to the beach to enjoy the sand and waves. Peruvians were fishing and seemed to find us swimming a bit comical, the water was a bit chilly. After we had swam for a decent amount of time, we all migrated back to the hotel for a bit of time in the pool and then dinner. After dinner, we were all tired, but a group of us gathered outside near my hotel room. Gracie (USA), Tiia (Finland), Jared (Canada), Els (Netherlands) and I all had a dancing party. The dancing eventually morphed into a giant card match of Kemps with some additional girls from France, Belgium, and Victor from Denmark. 

After Kemps, we all returned to our rooms. I was rooming with Tiia, Jeanne, Els, and Nadja (Switzerland). We all decided that we should make a giant bed (we pushed all the beds of the room together), watch a movie, and eat junk food. Overall, it was a very successful first day.