Jumping on Board with PERUHOP!

When traveling solo for an extended period of time, a person can get sick of a few things…  like having to take all of your things to the bathroom when you are on the bus so that nothing gets stolen or contantly putting yourself out there to make friends for an evening only to go separate ways in the morning. There is also a great deal of decision-making fatigue from constantly evaluating options about everyting from what to eat, where to go, what hostel to stay at, which bus to take, what trinket is worth carrying around for the next 2 months…etc.

I think before I left, I forgot how planning a trip as you go is HARD – or at least I thoght it would be easier than it has been.  There are nights when I pour over my tablet for hours trying to figure out what/where/when to go next.. the whole time,  I´d rather be out exploring.  Travelling is full of fun, adventures and good times, but there is also a lot of work that goes into making those things happen. These ¨working¨ moments just don´t make for interesting photos on facebook or instagram!

So after a month of ¨work¨I was ready for a bit of a break so I signed on with Peru Hop for an 8 day package from Lima to Cuzco. They take care of almost everything – safe transportation, accomodation, travel companions, a number of stops and tours on the way, a guide and lots of fun! All decisions made for me? Yes, please!

For me, the best part of Peru Hop was traveling with a little community. There were about 40 of us on the bus (about 15 of us who never hopped off and always stayed at the same hostels) and over the week we shared some pretty incredible and hilarious experiences. It was nice to ¨have people¨ and be part of a group again!

Here are some pictures of highlights from my Peru Hop Week!

Beautiful area of Lima from the lookout… apparently this was the nly the 2nd day of sun that Lima had seen in months! Yikes! Lucky me!

Stopped at an old Hacienda (like a plantation) and this was a tunnel used to smuggle in slaves from the atlantic about 17km away.

Beutiful sunset at the Hacienda.

Mysterious lines – maybe to signal to pirates? On route to the Ballestas Islands. All those black dots on the right are sea birds.

The seabirds of the Ballestas Islands – literally thousands of them! count the black dots if you don´t believe me!

PENGUINS! Cool!!!

Amazing coastline near Ica, Peru…

Admiring the sunset view from atop a sand dune in Huacachina!

The Huacachina Oasis – so neat!

Probably one of the weirdest things to ever happen to me… and I paid a dollar for it.

Surfing on the Dune Buggy! This ride was terrifyingly fun… with stops to sandboard down some of the steepest dunes). SO FUN!

Probably one of the weirdest things to ever happen to me… and I paid a dollar for it.

Up REALLY high on route to the Colca Canyon…. couldn´t get out of the mini-bus without losing my breath!

JUMP for Colca Canyon! The canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon!

Amazing Condors – with over 3m of wingspan, they are massive!!! We were lucky to see a couple of them.

JUMP for Colca Canyon! The canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon!

Nothing like stopping for lunch to eat inside a convenience store. We celebrated this fact by purchasing a bottle of wine to share! Cheers!

We made it to Cuzco after a gruelling night bus (I can never sleep on those!) and enjoyed the city tour the next day. It brought us to this lovely lookout.

Cuzco is so happy we made it, they had fireworks!

THE PERU HOP GANG! What wonderful people!

And so we celebrated our completion of PeruHop with lots of drinks (which sadly sent me to bed early). It´s been fun travelling along the next couple legs of my trip and bumping into some of my fellow hoppers! I love it!

The next leg of my trip was all about discovering Cuzco and then FINALLY hiking teh Inca Trail to Machu Picchu after years of seeing it at the top of my bucket list. It did not disappoint! But that is a whole other entry for another time when the internet cooperates!

: )

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