Huacachina, Peru

It´s a lot of fun, but WOW YOU GET DIRTY!

Going over this dunes at 60+ mph in one of these will definitely get your heart going.

This is the sunset we watched on my last day of my 20´s. Although it was hard day, I truly know that I am starting my 30´s out right!

Ok, here is the sun setting on my first day in my 30´s ...........I decided to be happy since I get to see stuff like this everyday instead of being at work!

Here was a picture from the Birthday PARTY!!! YEAH

I found out where I came from.....I fell out of the sky on my head and that is why it is so big! It´s just swollen.

This is the town of Huacachina! If you go to Peru.......GO HERE TOO!!

This will always be one of my most memorable places on my trip! Here in Huacachina, Peru I turned 30 and had a great Birthday party with a great group of people. The night before my birthday we were playing in the pool and I hit my head really hard on the side of the pool. The next morning my head was still bleeding a little, but it managed to heal ok. The part that really hurt was actually my neck. I was really worried at first because I thought I could have broke my neck. I am writing this a week later, and although my neck still hurts a little it is 90% better. For my birthday with a group of friends that I had made, we were all going to go sand boarding and for a ride in the dune buggies, but I decided that it would not be a good idea for me to go with the curse of my birthday, and the fact that I couldn´t turn my head. The next day I was going back to Lima anyway to pick my Mom up at the airport and we were passing right back through and I could let my neck heal a little first. It was ok because I really enjoyed a day sitting in the sun by the pool drinking a nice cold beer.... Or 2.... Or....We will just say I didn´t feel so good the next day!.............. We had about 25 people celebrating my birthday with me, and that night was a blast. If you go to Peru this little oasis is a kick in the ass!

A few days later when I came back with my Mom we took the tour on the Dune buggies and went sand boarding! I didn´t think that my Mom was going to be interested in going sand boarding, but she was usually the first one down the hill and out of everyone in the group and she wiped out the hardest.

Four days later and I still have sand coming out of my ears!

l

Pisco, Peru

About a 4 hour bus ride south of Lima is the little town of Pisco. In the guide book it says it is a nice place to visit, but when I arrived there, I couldn´t believe how bad of shape this town is in. Most of the building are rubble since it was currently hit hard by an earthquake about a year ago. The most popular thing to see here is the Balstead Islands......... and that is about all that is worth doing here too! We took a boat out to the Islands and saw the most birds I have ever seen in my entire life. The Islands are big rocks sticking up out of the water with a ton of caves underneath them. For a few big rocks with a lot of SHIT piled on top of them I really enjoyed seeing the Penguins, Birds, Sea Lions, and other Sea Creatures found here! I was lucky to enjoy this tour twice since I went once with my friends and went back to go with Mom too! A big surprise to me is how much area below Lima is desert. I really like the way the sand dunes look as they meet the ocean.

Lima, Peru 9-17

I arrived to Lima about a week before my Mom was going to arrive so I decided to go on and see some places outside of this massive city first. I have heard from many people that Lima is just another nasty big city, but I was surprised that it was much nicer then I imagined it to be. Coming back and picking up my Mother in Lima, we took a city/ruin tour and saw some mud ruins that were not holding up to the conditions very well, but as we passed through Lima on a two story bus we had a great chance to see a lot of the city. Although I can´t say it was the most exciting thing so far on the trip, It was a very exciting day to see MOM! On our first night I could tell that my Mom was a little nervous about being outside of the USA when I woke up the next morning and we had all the furniture, backpacks, and what ever else she could find piled in front of the door!

Santa Cruz Trek, Hurraz Peru

WOW! I LOVE LIFE

This whole area is known as Cordilla Blanca. Here there are the largest peaks in Peru and this has been my favorite thing I have done in Peru so far. On September 17th I am getting my 2nd visitor of my trip. I have to say she might be my favorite person in the whole WORLD!!!!!!! MOM! For the next 2.5 weeks I am going to be in overdrive trying to see the entire country with her. I am probably going to need a vacation after she leaves because I know her, and now it´s time for POWER TRAVELING!..............

Santa Cruz Trek, Hurraz Peru

I really wish my pictures could do justice to how beautiful it really is!

My feet are really getting adjusted to all this walking. We managed to go around 35 miles in 4 days up to .........well............4750 meters! Multiply that times 3.28 for feet and you can feel like I do! Here soon I am going to be able to multiply any number by 3.28 in my head, be able to convert Celsius to fahrenheit, and not need a calculator to know how far a distance is when they say 58 km. I think it is awesome when I can just walk up to somewhere around 14,000 feet, go 35 miles and come back and ask what´s next, because I´m not tired!

Let me tell you what tough is. I was freezing up here at 15,500 feet with all my gear on, and here we have a donkey porter in his sandals. For 4 days I froze my rear off while this is all he had to keep warm, yet I complained about the cold more then he did.

All I have to say is what an amazing group!.......If any of you are reading this I hope that adjective is good enough for you! I have been so lucky to get stuck with some of the best people and for 4 days of rainy/snowy weather, I enjoyed great conversations and laughs with everyone here. Thanks for your time and GOOD LUCK!

MOO .............MOO..............Don´t ask me why?............I LIKE COWS!!!

Northern Peru

This is a picture of the Central square in the town of Trujillo located near Huanchaco.

PERU!!! YEAH COUNTRY NUMBER 9

If you look closely this dog has no hair. This is Peru´s famous hairless dogs. It is said that these dogs temperature is about 4 degrees warmer then other dogs.

CHAN CHAN

Top of a hill I climbed near Valley of the Pyramids.

I have been moving from Ecuador and working my way through Peru with a stop in Chiclayo. Here I visited Valley of the Pyramids and really need to say that if you travel out of your way to see this, you better be ready for a disappointment. Because I passed it along my way it was worth visiting.......that's all I have to say about that! So many of the ruins here up in Northern Peru were built out of mud bricks and now they look more like uniform piles of dirt. As I moved further south, I stopped in Huanchaco which is a little town based right on the Pacific Ocean. Here I spent my time surfing, visiting near by towns, and touring another ruin site ¨Chan Chan¨. Chan Chan was definitely better then Valley of the Pyramids, but again I really have to say if you are passing by definitely stop to see this, but don´t go out of your way. Surfing was great fun and one of my favorite evenings so far included a simple meal at a Pizza Hut and going to see a movie at the theater ....IN ENGLISH.....YEAH. It´s funny how much I really appreciated that evening when at home it is just a different thing to do on a Friday night. I am still traveling with the same Swiss guy for a month now and can for sure say I have a new great friend for life. After spending 3 nights in Huanchaco I moved to Hurraz and I am experiencing my first exposure to Peru´s majestic Andes. Here I decided to do a 35 mile 4 day trek called the Santa Cruz Trail. Along with that, I spent a day rock climbing and one thing I have decided is, when I get home, I am definitely going to get the gear to start climbing.

Inspiration!

I just want to say thanks to all of you who follow the blog and take the time to send comments and emails. Since I left home, I have received so many emails that have given me so much inspiration it is unbelievable. A friend that I have only recently known who came to visit back in Costa Rica wrote,

Hey Luke,
It sounds like you are really learning a lot of new things. Like I say ¨ It´s important to never stop learning.¨ Sorry I haven't been to your blog for a month or so, I guess I have just been busy. One thing about my life and I am sure about everyone here who still has a job knows, its very easy to forget what day it is or how much time has passed. You have caused me to think a lot about my life and it´s direction. While your trip doesn't have the same appeal to me as it does to you, there are things I admire about it.
1) Its a big trip, It would be better for me to stay in one place and relax more, but you have a lot of stuff to see and you are making the most out it. It requires a lot of self discipline and a can do attitude.
2) Even though you have a schedule to keep, you are not bound by a punch clock, and that I am envious of.
3) Since I came back from Costa Rica, I have found my job really boring. It doesn't challenge me and it's not meaningful to me. I have thought long and hard about when you said,"You are living your life." I always thought of it as your were taking time away from your life, like you needed to get perspective of things or something. Your attitude has always been one of the best there is, and it's one of the reasons why I like you. I finally came to the conclusion that you are living your life because of the people you meet and affect. I have only known you for a small amount of time and yet your impact has been huge. Hundreds of people are getting that same gift, whether it be other travelers or locals, you carry yourself with dignity, morality, and and overabundance of energy. It makes me happy to know that you are an ambassador of the States and humanity. I am sure when anyone bashes America, the people you meet will quickly say,"I can't speak for everyone, but I met this guy,¨ and that can't be overlooked. I have decided that starting next year(classes start Jan 6th) I am going to start training to be an EMT, then after I get some experience I want to become a paramedic. I want to have a bigger/smaller impact on the world too. This will allow me to go anywhere and also help the hurt and the sick

So thank you Luke for keeping the perspective that life more than a 9-5 job, with good benefits. Have fun, I know you will, and I will try to make sure not to let a month go by before I look at you blog.
Bobby

The great part of it all is I get messages like this on a regular basis. Never in my life have I got so many meaningful emails and thank you to all of you who take the time to be a part of my life!!