Oportunidades: July/August Vacations

The past few months of service have involved a few vacations. I promise work is getting done as well:-) A few friends have visited; we received a few free days of vacation, and I still had vacation days to use before the end of my first two years of service.

As PCVs, we received the 2-5 of July as vacation days. I went up to Yauyos with a fellow PCVs Kate and Teigan for a couple days. We were able to see most of the Yauyinos’ sites. The sites of Yauyos are absolutely breathtaking (as is walking uphill). It was the perfect vacation: nothing about Yauyos reminded me of work on the coast and I was out of cell phone land. Plus, I was able to spend the time with my wonderful boyfriend Mark (who is an environment volunteer in Yauyos) and some great friends.

At the end of the month, I celebrated Fiestas Patrias (Peruvian Independence Day) with Mark in Lima for a few days. We tried to branch out of our normal routine in Lima. We usually just stay in one small area of Lima. This time we made it to an art museum and Chinatown.

On the 1st of August, two of my best friends from college, Erik and Linnea, arrived in Perú. After they voyaged to Machu Picchu, we all (Erik, Linnea, Mark and I) voyaged to Huancayo (the capital city for the Yauyinos). There we met up with Jared, another Ole, and we spent some time in Huancayo and then went on a beautiful hike through Tomas, Jared’s district, and camped overnight. Afterward, Erik, Linnea and Jared came down to the coast and checked out the Islas Ballestas, also known as the Poor Man’s Galapagos, went sandboarding and went to my site.

We had an absolute blast together! Being with Erik and Linnea made me feel more assured about friendships when I get back home, but it also highlighted how different of stages everyone’s lives are in right now. But I guess that’s how it goes…I was very happy that Mark could meet some more of my college friends, even if he did get tired of all the Olaf stories:-)