My 23 days in Peru are up, and as I sit in the sweltering tropical heat of Santa Cruz, Bolvia, I reflect on my time in Peru....
0: good coffees I had and times I was lost (yay me!).
1: scary bugs I saw (a big spider at a homestay on Amantani Island - not including the dead tarantula on the Inca trail), horrible bus rides (12 hours, 1 stop, dirty bus, even dirtier toilets), meals of alpaca, times I put my togs on, ate McDonalds, had altitude sickness, drank Inca Cola (tastes like bubble-gum) and number of hostels I stayed in (on my tour, we stayed in ´hotels´, however they were very basic).
2: times I dressed in Peruvian costume (the one and only time...ever, I assure you), boat trips I did, local communities I stayed in, number of backpacker braclets I accumulated and number of times I washed my clothes in the bathroom sink of my accommodation.
3: nights I spent in a tent, times I felt lonely, orchids I saw on the Inca trail, books I read, times I had a dodgy tummy, things I´ve lost (my torch - however, not a great loss, see 5 below - a bracelet and a postcard), times I´ve danced and number of different kinds of Peruvian beer I drank.
4: days it took me to hike the Inca trail from the 82km mark to Machu Picchu (about 45 kms I think - with a lot of steep uphill and downhill) and number of Kiwis I met.
5: number of awesome people on my Intrepid tour (ok, so that was the whole group), times my solar powered torch ran out, times I heard the Cranberries (I´m sure pop music in Peru is stuck in 1996) and number of Plaza des Armas I saw.
6: times I dropped my camera on the Inca trail (I´m surprised it´s still working), times I didn´t want to tip guides and drivers (didn´t I pay enough for this already?), number of Incan ruins I saw, different kinds of Pisco I´ve tried and average number of hours sleep I got a night (so many early starts).
7: US$ for a pedicure in Cuzco, total days I went without a shower (not in a row though - ew!).
8: times my camera batteries went flat (can´t wait to get a new one) and number of Nazca lines I saw (I think - I was feeling a bit ill and suffering from vertigo in the tiny plane).
9: times I´ve tried to read my Rough Guide book and decide where I´m going and times people said ´but it´s the rainy season´
10 plus: flamingoes, penguins, seals and alpacas I´ve seen, great meals I ate, number of people who tried to sell me stuff, times I wanted to eat a salad so bad, days I didn´t write in my journal, times I wish I´d learnt proper Spanish before I left, squat toilets I used, number of breakfasts that were bread and jam and the number of incredible, beautiful, funny and amazing things I saw and experienced.
Let´s see if Bolivia can top THAT!
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