Heartbreak

Yes my friends, the time has come. My last blog:( which means my last trip:( which means I'm going home:( I have never had such a bittersweet feeling. I just spent 4 months of my life in a completely different country. What? Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to come home. It took me being away for awhile to realize how many people back home that care for me just as much as I care for them. But at the same time, I'm leaving a part of my life here in Peru. The people of Peru have taught me some great lessons. Their love for life here is exhilarating. But as I've said in some earlier blogs, different doesn't always mean better. This past week Marki, Claire and I took our last trip to Arequipa. Let's just say that I wish I would've came earlier. This is the kind of Peru that I love to see. Less trash on the streets, less homeless animals (thank god). It's more of a hippie town that is definitely ahead of the rest of the country. This trip was one of our favorites because we didn't feel rushed. We got to choose when we want to whatever we wanted. The first day we just went window shopping and relaxed in the beautiful plaza. The second day we left to go to Puno. If you've read up on Peru, there is a place in Puno called Lake Titicaca. It's the highest lake in the world. Our hostal was a few blocks from that. We also took a tour to the floating islands. They exactly what they sound like.  We spent a few days there then took a bus back to Arequipa. The day after that, we went to Colca Canyon. It's supposed similar to the Grand Canyon but I have no idea how accurate that is. Colca Canyon is known for its high peaks to be able to watch their national bird: the condor. We got up bright and early and made our trek. The whole day consisted of a lot of time on the bus and getting to know the people on it. We tried a Colca Sour which is made from a fruit only found in the canyon. It's 10x better than a regular Pisco sour. On our way back down, we stopped to take pictures of an alpaca farm. I step off the bus and literally roll down the hill. I promise you that my luck is never ending. I got up and just bust out laughing because only that would happen to me. I busted my scar from my former roller blading accident open and swallowed a ton of dirt. I can honestly say that I entertained quite a few people that day. (I secretly do it for my fans) I could describe everything that happened on this trip but honestly it's kind of boring. It's one of those (you had to be there) moments. But let's go back to talking about my trip as a whole.

Wanderlust is the world I'll use. The entire trip just had me in awe. Everything I did here I just though "when will I ever get the chance to do this again?" And the answer to that is "hopefully real damn soon". This trip was lacking in only a few departments. The main one would be that I didn't have my friends and family to celebrate with. Yep I'm corny. But seriously, I am so happy I have the chance to love on some of the best people on this green earth. If I got you a gift from Peru, you are included in my list. Now I can't top Yurinas post but I will say a few things about my good ol' chicas I just spent the last four months with. I love you all more than you will ever know. You may not think you have, but each one of you guys have impacted my life for the better. Thank you for blessing me with some great friendships and a wonderful four months of my life! I can't wait for our Peruinions when we are all back. ❤️ But I'll end this with something I really hope I can keep to: It's not goodbye, it's see you later Peru!

MUST READ! I'm cool. I promise.

"The people that don't have anything are the people that give you the most" (quote of the weekend) No doubt, I've had the best weekend of my life. If you don't know me already, I'll tell you that I love animals. And after the first couple hours, this trip has already surpassed the coolest things I've ever done. 

Things about Iquitos

•Iquitos is the city which is about the same size as Omaha. The Amazon isn't part of Iquitos, it is its own district.

•In Iquitos they have so many mototaxis that it felt like Sturgis only the jungle version.

•Pirahnas are given a bad name. They don't bite you if you don't give them a reason to.

•Bug cream is not as effective as bug spray.

•Monkeys give love bites so hard that you may bruise. It's totally worth it.

•Rain doesn't stop people from doing anything here.

Day 1: We got to our hostal at about midnight. We had made reservations but how lucky are we that they didn't go through. 100% think it's my fault because  I think a cloud of rain follows me with all the terrible luck I have. But the manager went out of her way to find us one to sleep. And they had air conditioning. The jungle is definition the last place I would think had that. So we slept until about 7:30 and went to have breakfast. When we got back, our tour guide came to pick us up. We then took a mototaxi to our boat that took us to our bungalow in the jungle. The boat ride took about an hour and half on the actual Amazon river. We made a stop on this little reservation thing where you could feed the fish. At the Henry Doorly zoo they have one of the biggest fish in the world. Well we got to feed them. They could literally eat a child if it fell in the water. Freaky. We got to our place and they said they serve lunch at 1. After that we went to the thing I had been waiting my entire life for: Monkey island. We got there and immediately had spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and capuchin monkeys hanging all over us. They are more playful than little puppies. I don't know how much time passed by but I didn't care one bit. On the other side of the reservation, there was this deep pit. Turns out a big ol anaconda lived there. Our tour guide just poked around until they caught the tail. They then just yanked him out and grabbed his head. I then faced one of my biggest fears and (partially) held an anacond. My monkey wanted to come with me. They also had McCaw birds and Toucans there that we got to hold. I put one right on my shoulder (just for you Syd). We we left I think we all left our hearts with the monkeys. We went back and went on a night hike. That was kid of terrifying. Our tour guide let me use a head lamp. Nature is awesome but I think the bugs tried to eat me alive. (This is my only complaint) They only have electricity from 6-9 everyday so we all charged up in that time. Then we got in our little mosquitos netting and some of us went to sleep. 

Day 2: Up and at em at 5:30! We got on our boat and went fishing for pihranna. Yes I'm serious. Shelby never caught a fish before but she caught 6! Marki and I were the only ones that didn't catch one. It was a little bit discouraging but I was just really happy Shelby had such a good time. Fishing is fun when you catch something. On the way to our next stop, our tour guide stop and picked up a little tarantula. I held that gross thing too. Then he climbed a tree and tried to grab a snake for us to hold. These people are nuts but they have the coolest job in the world. We then left and came to a little village. These two little kids greeted us with a baby caiman (alligator) and a sloth. I can now die a very happy girl. I cuddled with the sloth until they had to pry her off me. Her claws are so sharp! We had been waiting to eat at 8 but here we are at about 10 still haven't eaten anything... I think they tried to kill us. We finally ate and then took the scenic route back to camp. At 1 we ate lunch and then headed back out at 3. At three we request d to go back to monkey island because duh. They ended up having the sloth there this time. This one was a boy and loved to cuddle. We all took turns holding him like a little baby. Ugh loved him! The monkeys only wanted to play with each other so they didn't care about us this day. But this badger looking animal (part of the raccoon family) really wanted to play with me. Turns out my payment for playing is a crap ton of scratches that will soon scar. It's okay because he could not get enough of me.In order for us to get back to monkey island, we had to buy something from the reservation. So I bought some really sketchy alcohol made out of tree bark. I think I might keep that for people with iron stomachs. After we left we took our boat into the middle and jumped in. We swam with the famous pink river dolphin. He was really far away because we did get to see them. I know there's terrifying stories about the Amazon, but a piranha only took off one of my toes. Not too bad right? (Kidding grandma Judy) We went back and ate dinner quick and set out in dark again...This time our tour guide just rowed the boat in the dark. We saw bats and bugs and even a tiny tree frog that stayed with us all the way back to the bungalow. (I named him "chancho" which means pig in Spanish. No idea why but I did it) Lights out for us.

Day 3: We woke up at 4:30 to watch the sunrise. Turns out we got up for nuthin because it was too cloudy to see anything. We just went right back to bed until breakfast was ready. After that we took a little boat ride to the village. This is where we hiked to see a performance from one of the 75 tribes that are in the Amazon. In exchange for their dances, they offer jewelry to buy as compensation. We also got to shot two darts out of their blow dart gun. Incredible to say the least. Later we came back, ate lunch and were on our way. It was actually really sad because they made us feel right at home. Granted it was a home with millions of bugs, but home nonetheless. We took our two hour trek back to Iquitos and went to our hostal. We found a Mexican restaurant and gorged ourselves with food. We were in the jungle for three days, I think we earned it. Now we just had to wait until 3:30am to go to the airport. 

If you didn't realize already, this was by far my favorite trip. Who else can say they've lived the Amazonian experience like we have. Bugs and all, I wouldn't have changed a thing. (The bugs thing is a complete lie, I hated those damn things) All I can say is that I'm nothing but blessed from this experience and I really hope one day I can make it back!

 

Familia

Life is too short. So everyone should travel. That's what I think at least. If you don't want to travel, do something you love. (But I think you're a little off if you don't want to travel). That's what I'm doing. I'm traveling and experiencing Spanish culture and holding baby animals: all things that I love. This blog is dedicated to all the people that should have gotten the chance to experience their dreams. And also to the people who still have time to do that! So if it's not for you, do it for me PLEASE. I think its a pretty reasonable request don't y'all?

This blog is meant to be about my family. Who do you consider your family? I have my mom, my stepdad, my two sisters, my niece, my brother-in-law, my boyfriend, my best friends, my friends of friends, and anyone in between. Not to mention my good ol' dad up there in the sky. Too many people to count on my fingers and toes but I have to tell you, that's the best feeling in the entire world. This trip has really let me experience the feeling of being loved by all of these people. Being away for this long is kind of terrible but kind of awesome. Yes I'm very contradictory but hey this is my blog not yours. I do what I want. Anyways, the other day I got to FaceTime my niece and let me tell you, all the homesickness I shoved away came rushing back. I thought surely she'd forgotten who I was by now. But that little princess immediately said "Hi Aunt D" and then I just wanted to jump on a plane right then and there. After that I came to the realization that I need to stay: for her and for myself. What would I accomplish if I just got up and quit right then and there. Honestly I'd probably be fine for a little bit then I would miss the last week in Peru. Ugh decisions are hard. Here I am making what should be an easy decision but turns out its hard. I can tell you though, that my family will wait the extra week and half for me to come back and man I cannot wait.

Now, lets talk politics. HAHA I know, I never talk politics. But I finally (kind of) understand it...her in Peru at least. So on Sunday, they had elections. The voting age here is 18 just like the U.S. But the difference is, you have to vote. If you do not vote, you will get fined depending on the place you live. My host sister is studying in Germany right now. She eve has to pay a fine. She can't get out of it from half way across the world. RUDE PERU GOVERNMENT RUDE. So there are a few things that do not make sense about election weekend. You cannot buy alcohol on election weekend. Us girls wanted to have a little party and we had to buy alcohol on a friday. Ugh #thirdworldproblems. I heard from my host sister that if you get caught drinking that you could get in a lot of trouble. I don't know how accurate that is though. Because on Saturday night we went out with our Peruvian friends and they seemed like they could care less about this rule. So to sum it up, I actually know nothing about politics still. Oh well.

Next order of business: I go to the Amzon tomorrow! Holllah back. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. This has always been my dream and now I get to go see little baby animals and snuggle with them and they might bite my head off but I don't care. My next blog with most likely be me bragging about getting bit by a piranha or licked by a sloth or some weird stuff like that. I can't wait.

So chao for now!

picture me holding a monkey instead....blessed

The light at the end

I don't have much to talk about. If you ask me, it has been a pretty boring week. I've taken some pretty extensive naps. We are talking 4-6 hour naps. And I don't nap. But that's what this blog has come to, me talking about naps. First off I don't nap so I guess I'm grateful for this time to nap? I don't know. Let's switch it up though.

I had a panic attack the other day. I went to class and on my way back I couldn't breathe. You want to know why? I felt like I needed to be home in that moment. I was incredibly sad because I miss everyone back home. Even if you think I don't miss you, I do so so much. So I got back to my house and had a good long cry. I then proceeded to call anyone who could calm me down. My best friend Sydney picked up the phone. She talked to me while I just bawled. Then I seemed to be fine. Sometimes it's all you need huh. The comfort of your best friend. I was thinking that I needed to spend a crap ton of money to go home early because I was that sad. Then Sydney sent me a message and said that I might miss out on the best week of Peru if I was gone. So I snapped out of it. I need to be happy about my time in Peru so that's just what I'm going to do. Heck 

yeah that's called optimism my friends so I'm going to go hang out with my friends here in an hour. Also just a heads up, I am about to register for my senior year of college so naturally I am freaking out. Here I come adulting.