3o.1o.2o17 • Lima

lo siento mucho !! i´m sorry i didn´t wright earlier but we had some difficulties with the laptop. so let me tell you about the last few weeks .. just a shor story .. i swear !! as you have maybe already seen on Instagram we´ve been to the `Galapagos Islands´. we spend eight days on two of those beautiful islands in the middle of the Pacific ocean. we went to the `Tortuga Bay´ – a magnificant white beach on `Santa Cruz´ – the main island and watched the famous `Iguanas´ – those creepy black creatures which are actually really cute animals. another must see on `Santa Cruz´ is the `Charles-Darwin Foundation Center´ which is known for it´s big commitment for the conservation of the flora and fauna of Galapagos. the second island we explored is called `San Cristobal´ and the main population consists of sea lions – they are everywhere. you chilling on the beach – sea lions lie next to you. but they are very funny !! we also made it to the highlands of ‚San Cristobal‘ by bike – which was really heavy but worth it. when we got back to `Guayaquil´ – a big city in the south of Ecuador where we used to spend all day in our fav café called `Juan Valdez´ – the coffee there is really good and by the way the chocolate muffins too – we planned our route for the next country – Peru !! we got there on the 22nd of october and fell instantly in love with the small village at the seaside – `Máncora´. it’s a perfect place to relax and also to learn surfing or kite surfing !! it’s amazing – we tried it and i was a lot of fun. even if we aren’t surf pros now i would do it again at any time !! the weather was perfect and we also had a wonderful day celebrating my boyfriends 21st birthday there – a great place to be. the last few days we spend travelling down to the south part of Peru. we passed `Trujillo´ and went further to ‚Lima‘ – and here i am – finally !! `Lima´ is a wonderful capital with its grand parcs, old ruines, museums and restaurants – i love it !!

o9.11.2o17 • Machu Picchu

OmG .. the last days were absolutely amazing !! we did the `Inka Jungle Trek´ for four days in the nationalparc of `Machu Picchu´ near `Cusco´ – a beautiful old city in the middle of the high Andes by the way. we came to `Cusco´ about three days before our tour started to get used to the hight because we flew from 0 hm to about 3350 hm .. quite a little difference. so we got some time to acclimatize ourselves and to spot the city and to spend almost one hour every day in `Starbucks´ which is located directly at the `Plaza de Armas´ – the main square in `Cusco´. so on 5th of november at about 5 am in the morning we finally started our trek !! we took a small bus to `Ollantaytambo´ where we had our breakfast and moved on about 1 1/2 hours more to arrive at the highest point of our tour – `Abra Malaga´. from there we took the bikes and drove downhill while watching the breathtaking nature and the view over the sacred valley. it was fuckin‘ cold but worth it !! the next day would be the hardest one .. 7 hours of hiking on the `Inka Trail´. we went through jungle, highlands and mountains and got to see a lot of plants and trees like oranges, avocados, coca leaves, cacao, bananas, pineapples and much more .. it was amazing !! unbelievable the natives grow their crops in about 2500 hm and have to climb up there every day. so at about 2 pm we had to take a siesta in order to get any further today. hammocks are lifesavers !! before reaching our place to stay for the next night we had to walk on for about three hours, we crossed a river on a flying cablecar and enjoyed the evening in the hot springs of `Santa Teresa´ – this was exactly what we needed after this stressful day. the third day was fun only: we did ziplining in the Machu Picchu valley !! this was exciting !! afterwards we had to walk about three hours along the rails of the `Inka Rail´ to get to `Aguas Calientes´ – the city right underneath of the famous `Machu Picchu´. we spent our evening drinking the traditional `Pisco Sour´ cocktail even if we knew we had to stand up at 3:30 am the next morning. so so clever. so the next morning was really hard but we finally got up all the stairs to the entrance of `Machu Picchu´ but we really got rewarded by the unreal and fantastic view all over the Inka city and fantastic sunny weather !! we also climbed up the `Huayna Picchu´ – the imposing mountain right behind the ruines of `Machu Picchu´ .. this was another highlight, too. back to `Cusco´ at about 11 pm that day we were more than tired but all i can say: `Machu Picchu´ is one of the most amazing places in the world !! so today on my finally 18th birthday i actually have to calm down a bit but anyway i already went shopping and with some coffee everything is possible again, right ?

15.11.2o17 • Arequipa

one beautiful city chasing another. after we nominated `Cusco´ as our fav place to stay so far we fell in love with our next stop named `Arequipa´. flowers, palms and wonderful old architecture everywhere !! just a short summery how we pass our days around here: breakfast with excellent peruvian coffee in the `Huaururu´ bar near the historic center of `Arequipa´ followed by an exotic walkaround through the charming quarter `Ayahuana´ where you can enjoy amazing view all over the city. another highlight of `Arequipa´ is its local mountain `El Misti´ which is about 5.822 hm high and one of the most popular marks of Peru. after our mundane siesta we hang around in one of the thousand sweet cafés and play chess while drinking ice coffee. by the way strolling through the small alleys of `Arequipa´ is an activity for a whole day !! and the best of all: almost every restaurant has happy hour and two cocktails for one .. so you HAVE to try all different types of the `Pisco Sour´ cocktail which is really the best cocktail around here (especially with maracuja). and the best dinner we had so far was at the local burger bar `Burger Chulls´ .. well you might think `it´s just a burger´ BUT it was amazing .. it´s worth visiting Peru just to eat this burger .. trust me !! so as you can see we enjoy our layover in `Arequipa´ to the fullest. let me assure you a timeout after finishing school is the best you can do ever !!