We left in January and are coming back in May, were like birds that flew south for the winter, except when we flew we got quiche; so
the birds definitely got it better!
We’re in Miraflores Peru right now, it’s a suburb of the capitol city of Lima right next to the ocean. Being right next to the ocean has been great because seeing it and smelling the salty ocean air makes us nostalgic for home on the Oregon coast. In Miraflores we tried surfing and did decently good. Daniel did the best, he hit the fewest people. At times I felt like I was Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway. We would try to paddle out and the waves would pummel us backwards, and then we’d fall off the board and step on a sea urchin. It really was fun though. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do on the Oregon Coast, but I’ve always been too warm to want to try it there.
It was a really big culture shock being in the Amazon jungle one minute to being in the capitol city of Peru an hour later. The places are so vastly different, you wouldn’t believe it was the same country. Over there I ate a fried beetle (tasted like a pistachio) and over here I ate at a Popeye’s (they make the best biscuits in the world). We really couldn’t get over how different it was for a few days. What it reminds us most of is actually the city of Portland. I don’t know what it is but it seems very similar. Lima is by far the most modern city we’ve been to on our trip, hopefully that’ll make our transition back to the States that much easier too.
For some reason there are literally thousands of the old school slug bugs here. Daniel and I had to stop playing the slug bug game because our shoulders couldn’t handle it.
It’s hard writing a blog without using any ‘lol’s’, ‘haha’s’ or smiley faces, I just want it to be known that I’m a struggling millennial.
The dynamic of travelling is a weird one because you’re constantly meeting and saying goodbye to people after having known them for a month, day or an hour sometimes. After a while it can make you semi-jaded and not want to continue building on those relationships because it’s not going to last anyways. However, one of the things I have personally learned while travelling is the importance of continuing to work on those friendships with people, even if you won’t see them past that day.
You’re always meeting fellow travelers and local people, the amount of new people you meet on a daily basis can be a little overwhelming sometimes, remembering names is almost impossible.
But meaningfully talking with those people has been really rewarding. I’ve learned a lot from people that I’ll probably never see again, our paths only cross this one time. People like Toronto Tim, Belgian Jim, Guarani Grandpa, Petey and a bunch of others (some that I know the real name to) that I am better off for having met.
In reality, a lot of the people that you meet in life are only there for a short time. Whether it’s only for high school, or at a job or for less than a week while you’re travelling; most people won’t be in your life for the long-run, whether you know it or not. But, getting to know them and their story can be really impactful. It has been for me.
However, this isn’t one of those cheesy morals that I’ll take with me when I leave here though, I will for sure go back to being decently introverted.
Well that’s our last blog, people. I hope you enjoyed reading it, because I hated writing it :) Daniel took all of the beautiful pictures, so thank him if you liked those and thank you all for caring. Honestly.
