Peru recap, part 1

I'm back, bitches!

(Yeah, I don't know, I've just wanted to say that all day.)

And what else can I say? It was fabulous. Uh-mazing. Trip of a lifetime. So, where to begin?

I knew I was needlessly worrying on Friday night, but I couldn't help it. Fortunately, Nicole had offered to drive me to the airport, so it was a big comfort to have her over and share some beers in the few hours leading up to my flight. And of course, everything I had worried about was for naught. The flight was on time (the airport wasn't exactly packed at midnight), I easily made the connection, slept soundly through both flights, and Copa Airlines was a dream! We were served hot meals - with actual silverware - and weren't charged for pillows, blankets, or extra luggage. It was really the best airline experience I've had in a while.

I arrived in Lima, on time, at 3 PM on Saturday. My bag was first out of the gate, I sailed through customs, and successfully bargained with the cab driver. I arrived at the hotel a short time later, met up with Heather, and swapped pleasantly-surprised exclamations at how nice the hotel was. She had booked us in the Radisson, which, in the US, I believe, is a fairly mid/low-budget hotel. Here, it was definitely low in cost, but I swear, it offered a 4-5 star experience. Our room was more like a suite - with a large lounge area plus fantastic bathroom/shower, there was free Internet on new computers in the business center, a full (huge) breakfast was included everyday, and we also got a S30 (Soles) per diem to use towards free drinks, water, or whatever we wanted at the hotel bar. Um, hello!

Heather and I on the first night, exhausted, but enjoying free bevvies!

First off, one of the best things about Peru is that you actually get a lot for your dollar. One American dollar is worth about 3 Soles, and food and drinks are priced shockingly low. So a S30 (approx $10) per day stipend bought us both at least one round of drinks or a few waters at the hotel. Even when we went out at night, we were thrilled to discover we were paying only about $15 each for an entree and a few glasses of wine. Heather hilariously commented, "It's like we're making money by being here!"

While we're talking about money, I should also note that I've known Heather since college, however I apparently never knew she was a secret math nerd. She happily took charge of figuring out each bill, while I took care of the language portion of the trip. Coffee Break Spanish plus five years in high school/college allowed me to recall enough basic Spanish to get by. Of course, it also helped that nearly everyone spoke a little English.

That calculator came everywhere.

Since food and drink were so cheap, it goes without saying that we consumed our fair share of both the trip. The only time I left my house today was to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies from the market, as I am officially off alcohol and sugar and anything majorly processed for the forseeable future. (Or, at least until Wednesday). Yes, we got a lot of exercise, but not enough to keep me from feeling like the Incredible Bloated Blob. National Elastic Waistband Week has promptly been put into effect.

Overall, not everything was perfect, but it was, without a doubt, the trip of a lifetime. I'll post a more detailed itinerary and stories later this week, but in the meantime, you can view a handful of my fairly-well-captioned photos here. (This is actually only about half the pictures. I am nothing if not a good editor.)

Mas pronto!