Lauren Tabbron shares her favourite things to do in Manchester
Jess Astbury regales tales of festivities in warmer climates.
In July 2009 I experienced a month to remember as part of my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Fifteen of my year at school, including myself, two of my teachers and Justin, who joined us from a company called Wilderness Expertise, all met on 12th July. There was a sense of anticipation as well as excitement amongst the group as we boarded our fourteen hour flight to Lima, the capital of Peru.
Arriving in Lima, tired from travelling, we had a well earned rest at our first hostel, called the Hitchhikers B&B Backpackers Hostel. The hostel more than adequate accommodation, with showers and kitchen area and was located in a sophisticated area called Miraflores. Lima itself was oddly foggy with the high levels of pollution and was not as vibrant as the other cities we visited along our travels. However, I would recommend visiting the Love Park, known as El Parque del Amor. Our next destination after Lima was a village in the north called Huaraz. Here we were to complete our community project but we first stayed at the Llanganuco Lodge. At the time we were staying the owner, Charlie, was building an extra lodge with fantastic rooms and spectacular views of the Peruvian mountain landscape. We then camped at the school where we were building the foundations for a toilet block. Huaraz was a busy place with a buzzing food market full of a variety of fruits and cheeses. The part of Huaraz I remember the most though was the magnificent star studded skies at night due to the limited light pollution and on several occasions we were lucky enough to spot shooting stars.
We then trekked for four days on the Santa Cruz trek and experienced a variety of weathers ranging from the boiling midday sun to the almost freezing temperatures at night. On the trek we saw beautiful scenery and were fortunate to have a guide with us to ensure we stayed on the right track and donkeys to carry our back packs, thus allowing us to enjoy the trek to its fullest.
The next part of our trip unfortunately involved having to endure a twenty four hour bus journey. Travelling on long bus journeys however did allow us to visit more places in Peru such as Casma, Trujillo and Tarapoto. During this period we were able to try the Peruvian delicacy of guinea pig, which although it does not look particularly appealing, does taste similar to chicken. When arriving in a place called Yurimaguas we had the exciting task of choosing our hammocks to sleep in while travelling along the Amazon on a boat. We soon became accustomed to the Peruvian relaxed way of life and realised that leaving at ten ‘sin falta’ (without fail) actually meant leaving at midday. Arriving in a port called Nauta we departed from the boat to the jungle city, Iquitos. The jungle city, Iquitos, is a fun and vivacious city. Here we caught a boat to the lodges where we would be staying for our jungle tour. Our tour guide round the rainforest was employed through the hostel we were staying in Inquitos, called the Hobo Hideout, which was central and had tree house rooms. The rainforest tour included some unforgettable moments such as meeting Amazonian villagers and going piranha fishing. At the end of the trip we had the great privilege of spending our last day visiting a wildlife reserve where we had opportunities to hold a sloth and a boa constrictor.
Back home we had time to reflect on our amazing, unforgettable trip. Travel is an education and certainly this was a life changing experience for me and one trip I would definitely recommend to anyone. Peru is a great place for discovering a completely new culture and is particularly good for students as hostels and activities are relatively cheap.
You must log in to submit a comment.
