As all good stories go, my decision to go to Peru started in a bar.
"Hold my beer, I'm gonna go to South America."
I've been dying to leave the country for quite some time now, but being in grad school put a hold on most of my adventure plans. Last year was particularly tough, with 30 hours of internship, 30 hours of work, and 4 classes to attend to each week. I had ambitious plans to open a practice immediately after graduation in December, but found myself needing space to explore what it meant to be out of grad school and on my own again, instead.
"Hold my beer, I'm gonna go to South America."
I've been dying to leave the country for quite some time now, but being in grad school put a hold on most of my adventure plans. Last year was particularly tough, with 30 hours of internship, 30 hours of work, and 4 classes to attend to each week. I had ambitious plans to open a practice immediately after graduation in December, but found myself needing space to explore what it meant to be out of grad school and on my own again, instead.
Alpamayo at Sunset When a friend mentioned she would be spending two weeks alone in Peru, I jumped on the opportunity to join her.
Here is my (lose) plan for the trip:
Land in Lima, get to Arequipa where I will make my first venture above 19k ft up El Misti, a real life volcano.
Make my way to the Colca Canyons where I'll try to find this awesome oasis and hot springs I've been reading about.
Head north to find Elle in Cuzco, where we will take the train up to Machu Piccu and spend the night.
After that we head up to Huaraz to attempt a few of Dan Jenkin's "Warm up" mountains in the Cordillera Blanca, including Urus Este and Ishinca. A dream would be to do Alpamayo, but I'd want to find a guide to go with and that might be too expensive.
After that we casually head back to Lima to go home. I'll try to post pictures and stay in touch, but with everything I want to do and the fact that I have a bivy with me, I don't think I'm going to be in civilization much. You never know though.
I'm excited to be alone with myself for a while, to feel what it's like to re-learn how to function in a society, and to embrace the possibility of getting completely lost. The title of this post, "Finding Peru," accurately reflects that I think. Maybe it's more about finding me.
Up Next: What on earth did I pack? (Feedback welcome)
Here is my (lose) plan for the trip:
Land in Lima, get to Arequipa where I will make my first venture above 19k ft up El Misti, a real life volcano.
Make my way to the Colca Canyons where I'll try to find this awesome oasis and hot springs I've been reading about.
Head north to find Elle in Cuzco, where we will take the train up to Machu Piccu and spend the night.
After that we head up to Huaraz to attempt a few of Dan Jenkin's "Warm up" mountains in the Cordillera Blanca, including Urus Este and Ishinca. A dream would be to do Alpamayo, but I'd want to find a guide to go with and that might be too expensive.
After that we casually head back to Lima to go home. I'll try to post pictures and stay in touch, but with everything I want to do and the fact that I have a bivy with me, I don't think I'm going to be in civilization much. You never know though.
I'm excited to be alone with myself for a while, to feel what it's like to re-learn how to function in a society, and to embrace the possibility of getting completely lost. The title of this post, "Finding Peru," accurately reflects that I think. Maybe it's more about finding me.
Up Next: What on earth did I pack? (Feedback welcome)
