Where I'll Be: Peru

Cheers, WIB faithful--it's Eddie the Lowly Intern reporting, and I'm manning the office at a pretty surreal period right now. I just got back from visiting family and friends for the holiday weekend, and needless to say I'm exhausted from going to barbecues and setting things on fire. And now, for today and Tuesday, all of my attention is pretty much focused toward my 10-day trek to Peru which starts this Wednesday. Yes, Peru. Still trying to figure out how it makes sense. You know, why not?

Not that this was some knee-jerk quarter-life crisis decision (completely). My girlfriend and I had our sights set on this kind of trip for many moons, but we're at that weird stage of adulthood where dream trips like this can actually become reality--if you're willing to go broke, of course--and it won't feel real until the first time I shamefully mispronounce the l's in "pollo" at the local eatery.

Peru has hosted countless empires and ethnic groups over the years that have contributed to a wholly patchwork population, weaving in both old and modern traditions to make one all its own. Peru could ably represent a mini-collection of all the ecosystems on Earth--jagged mountain ranges with snow, wildlife-rich rainforests, arid deserts and pristine beaches. With so much to see, it ain't easy focusing on the burdens of real life. Thankfully, Where I've Been is supportive of my self-indulgence, and I'm going to give a pre-trip de-briefing of the coming adventure. It'll be good for a laugh when I return and confirm I didn't know what I was talking about.

Days 1 & 2: Lima

Lima is the capital and main hub for Peru. It also has a bean named after it that I avoided like the plague as a child.

That, in two shameful sentences, constitutes the wealth of knowledge I've retained on Lima in all my years of existence.

I'm not particularly proud of this. But I'd be lying if I said it were my all-time anticipated go-to city--I haven't gotten the chance to extensively study the town and my father isn't Rick Steves. The benefit I take from this is that I don't have unhealthily high expectations to color my experience, so I can only leave impressed, right?

We're going to stop in at a hostel called Pay Pirux, which is right by the airport, and spend a portion of a day checking out the cityscape. It's noted to harbor a historic city center, and that will be the ultimate destination in our quick jaunt through town.

Days 3, 4, 5 - Huaraz

Huaraz is roughly 400 km north of Lima and an eight-hour bus ride, where we're going up both horizontally and vertically. It's a smaller town in high altitudes, characterized by its spot amidst the Andes mountains and Cordillera Blanca agricultural region. It's a stop along the Inca Trail, which features a wealth of ancient architecture and ruins, and the views offered during Huaraz treks are said to be breathtaking. I'm also looking forward to the evening festivities, as July is host to some of Peru's national celebrations.

Days 6, 7, 8, 9 - Huacachina

I'd never heard of sandboarding and I'd never heard of Huacachina, but virtually all friends and books I've consulted seem to think the small town of 115 represents some form of heaven on earth. Just outside Ica, Huacachina is a literal oasis, a tiny city erected around a lake that once hosted vacationing aristocrats but now is more fit for hippies and thrill-seekers. Sandboarding is the big draw, which is pretty much what it sounds like (snowboarding on sand), a sport developed on the city's massive enveloping dunes. My awkward disposition sets me up for failure on that front, so I'm looking forward to an extreme dune buggy ride. Someone on Wikitravel claims a fellow by the name of "Chupon" is the finest buggy-master in the town, and naturally I'm intrigued to find out what the lifestyle of a dune buggy master entails. And despite the supposedly inflated tourist-special prices of the town, I'm fixin' to pretend I'm worldly and sip some Peruvian wine produced by some of the local bodegas. It's what the ghosts of the aristocracy would want me to do (they probably wouldn't, actually, which is more incentive to sip).

Per usual, I'll be spreading the glory of WIB wherever and whenever possible along the way. I'll be reporting back with pictures, video, stories and miscellany I gathered from the trip, and I'm sure there will be much to take away from the mistakes I make. In the meantime, be sure to follow @whereivebeen on Twitter for all the latest from the HQ.

Eddie, Intern
Where I've Been