We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy! ~ Joseph Campbell
A bit over a week ago, Saturday the 5th, Andy arrived in Peru! I was so excited to see him and planned to surprise him at the airport in Lima. Unfortunately, my romantic gesture completely failed as Andy somehow managed to slip out of the airport without me seeing him! Luckily, I made it back to Parque Kennedy and, right as I was about to have a breakdown-- having lost my non-Spanish speaking boyfriend in a foreign country with no reliable way of contacting him-- I heard him call my name! Such a relief!
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| Andy and I in front of Parque Kennedy where we met that night (this was taken on Andy's last day in Peru though!) |
The rest of the week went a bit more smoothly. Sunday we made our way down to the center of Lima, visiting the Plaza de San Martín, the Plaza de Armas, and the Church and Monastery of San Francisco. At the main cathedral of the Plaza de Armas, there was a huge celebration for the canonization of a new saint so we got to enjoy carpets made of flowers, crowds of nuns and priests, and religious floats for a bit! After that, we walked over to the church where we got a tour of the building, the monastery, and the catacombs! In the evening, we met up with a few of my study abroad friends for dinner and browsed a small market in Parque Kennedy.
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| Lima Cathedral where a parade/celebration was taking place. |
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| Flower carpets in front of the presidential palace. |
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| Iglesia de San Francisco where we toured the church, monastery, and catacombs. |
On Monday, I brought Andy to Villa El Salvador with me to spend the morning volunteering with Building Dignity. The ride in the moto taxi might have been Andy's favorite part! They are certainly not like anything in the U.S.-- riding in the back of a teensy taxi built on top of some kind of dirt bike over an unpaved road on a sand dune is a unique Peruvian experience! We helped out at Building Dignity and grabbed lunch in Villa El Salvador before heading back to Miraflores for Andy and class at La Católica for me!
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| Walking through Villa El Salvador. |
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| One of the motos that you can ride up the dirt roads to get to the volunteer site. |
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| Fresh juice at lunch! |
Tuesday meant a trip to Pachacamac-- Incan ruins located about an hour south of Lima. The ruins certainly couldn't compare to Machu Picchu, but they were pretty impressive, especially thanks to their location on cliffs overlooking the ocean! Later in the day, we tried to take advantage of the Magical Fountains that I visited earlier in the semester only to discover that the park wasn't open on Tuesdays. Instead, we headed to the movie theater since Tuesdays are half-price movie nights and laughed at the very non-Peruvian "American Pie" movie!
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| Andy and I in front of a temple at Pachacamac. |
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| Some of the ruins in front of the urban sprawl of Lima. |
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| Andy and I at Parque de Amor. |
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| The Miraflores lighthouse. |
Andy decided that he wanted to see the university so on Wednesday he came along for my classes at PUCP. I felt a bit bad that he had to sit through a class all in Spanish but he survived and got to meet the rest of my IFSA-Butler friends! In the evening, we visited my host family so that they could officially meet Andy. We sat, chatted, and snacked for a couple of hours before my Aunt Frida was kind enough to give us a lift to the bus station where we boarded a late bus to Huaraz!
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| Huaraz was just stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful! |
We got into Huaraz at 6 a.m. the next morning and found our hostel, Alpes Huaraz. After hanging out on their couch for a couple of hours, we ate breakfast and headed out on a tour to Chavin de Huantar. We stopped by a beautiful mountain lake and the view during the whole three hour drive was simply breath-taking! The Cordillera Blanca to one side, the Cordillera Negra to the other-- I couldn't get over how spectacular it was! Chavin de Huantar consists of ruins built by the Chavin culture beginning nearly 5,000 years ago-- it's just a bit younger than Caral! We toured the ruins and went to the local museum displaying Chavin artifacts before heading back to Huaraz to eat dinner and arrange the next day's adventures.
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| SO BEAUTIFUL! |
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| Laguna Querococha on the way to Chavin de Huantar. |
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| Andy and I at the lake. |
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| Our tour group for Chavin de Huantar from Chile, Peru, the U.S., France, and Spain! |
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| Stone heads at Chavin de Huantar. |
Friday morning we woke up early and met our bus at 6 a.m. We were able to sleep for the first hour or so of the bus ride, but soon hit a dirt road leading up into the mountains and were bounced around far too much to think about getting any more rest! We stopped at the beautiful Llaganuco lake and, 2 hours after beginning the journey up the dirt road, arrived at the start of the Laguna 69 trail. The hike was about 3 hours long uphill and, unfortunately, I was feeling a bit sick from the altitude. I wasn't even sure I was feeling up to finishing the hike-- especially after I was pretty sure the lake was right over the next hill, but, when we climbed over it, it was only a little cow pond and we could see that the lake was still a long uphill hike away! The beautiful view helped spur me on though and eventually we arrived at Laguna 69! It was incredibly beautiful-- turquoise water surrounded by snowy mountain peaks-- and, after resting there a bit, snacking, and chatting with some other hikers, I was feeling a lot better!
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| Llaganuco. |
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| Andy and I at Llaganuco pre-hike. |
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| The hike to Laguna 69 was b-e-a-utiful with waterfalls, flowers, and stunning mountain views! |
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| Snowy mountain tops up close and personal. |
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| Laguna 69. |
We were about ready to head back down the mountain when Andy asked one of the other hikers if she would take a last picture of us by the laguna. I handed my camera to the girl and, when I turned around, there was Andy down on one knee, holding a ring, and asking me to marry him! I was so surprised and happy! He couldn't have picked a more beautiful place to propose. After more than four years together-- across countries and continents-- I couldn't imagine finding anybody I'd rather spend the rest of my life with.
After a lot of hugging, laughing, and enjoying the clapping and congratulations of our fellow hikers, we made the two hour trek back to our bus and returned to Huaraz where we got a well-deserved dinner and were asleep by 8 p.m.! The next day, we slept in, wandered through the local markets, and then went horseback riding in the mountains near Yungar. The view was, of course, amazing and Andy had never ridden a horse before (or been out of the country or been to the mountains as it turns out!) That night we ate dinner and then took the 10 o'clock bus back to Lima.
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| A last view of the beautiful Laguna 69. |
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| Climbing into the mountains on horseback. |
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| A view of Huascaran, the highest peak in Peru. |
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| Andy and I. |
Sunday, our last day together, we spent being homeless... at least for a few hours that is. Our bus arrived much earlier than I had expected-- around 4:45 a.m.-- and I hadn't thought to make any hostel reservations and knew it was too early to return to my host family's home and wake all of them! Instead, Andy and I hung out in Parque Kennedy waiting and waiting for McDonald's to open so we could get some breakfast (Lima doesn't like to get out of bed too early!) When Mickey D's finally did open its doors half an hour late we discovered that they were only serving hamburgers-- such a disappointment! Luckily, after a trip to Starbucks and a nap in a park, our day improved and we ended up wandering in the local markets and down to the beach, spending some time with my host family, and enjoying some delicious waffles before we had to say goodbye! As soon as I sent Andy off, I had to head to a coffee shop and start studying for my Monday midterm! Definitely a bit of a reality check!
I'm so happy that Andy was able to visit and I was able to show him some of the things I have learned to love in my time in Peru (including the Inca Kola I made him try!) And I am so, so blessed to have such a romantic and caring guy to spend the rest of my life with, as well as the most supportive family and friends in the whole world! So, despite the pile of homework sitting before me, I can't be too upset! I am just way too overwhelmingly full of joy right now!
