Peru in a Week? July, 2007

My name is Sarah and I am 25-years old.  I have been having something of a mid-twenties crisis in the last year and was just itching to do something a little crazy this summer.  When I found out that my best friend - who, consequently, is also my employer - would be going on vacation in July, I started a mad search to find somewhere - anywhere far, far away - that I could go to get away from it all.

At first I searched Europe.  I went backpacking in Western Europe (the U.K., Free Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Belgium) in 2002 and it seemed like a safe choice.  I wanted to head a little further east, because I had enjoyed East Berlin so much, but mid-summer flights to Europe  seemed out of my budget.

So, I was searching cheap airplane tickets, and I found a special to Lima, Peru.  I didn't know a lot about Peru.  In fact, the only thing I could recall about the country off-hand was that there was rainforest there - and Maoist rebels - and it was supposed to be really dangerous.  I decided to keep searching.

But something about Peru kept drawing me back in.  I started to do some research about the country.  The first thing that struck me was the wild diversity of the landscape.  From the coast, to the desert, to the heights of the Andes Mountains - Peru was something really special.  Not to mention the amazing historical sites, Machu Picchu, Nasca, etc. - so many that you can't really list them all.

I have never been to South America.  For that matter, I've never travelled further south in the Americas than Eastern Kentucky.  I speak absolutely no Spanish whatsoever.  I am on a deep budget; I am a single female; I am not in mountain hiking shape; I am very shy and not the sort that picks up travel buddies easily.

I have - in short - a lot to be nervous about.

But I'm very excited, too.  It's fun to stretch yourself a little and get totally out of your comfort zone.  I intend this little trip journal to provide future travellers with some of the useful information about traveling in Peru that I will discover while I'm there.