Peru by Annie Perkins

A person standing in front of a mountain

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Every year the Chile program takes a weeklong trip to Pero to explore Cusco, Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, y Lima. When we stepped off the plane and took the bus to our hotel, the altitude really affected us. We all felt nauseous, had headaches, and just didn’t feel normal. We arrived in Cusco first and spent 2 days there exploring the city and adjusting to the altitude. There is a tea that they have in Cusco called “té de coco” which helps to settle your stomach when you’re adjusting to the altitude. Our program directors and Chilean friends told us the best way to adjust to the altitude was to rest. We all took naps later that day and felt so much better, and then after eating lunch we felt almost normal again. Later that day we went to a local market with extremely cheap stuff that I got for my family. Blankets, hats, coffee mugs, and everything else under the sun was available at these markets and we spent around 4 hours shopping. Then we did a museum tour the next day and had the afternoon to rest or do whatever we wanted. We ended up resting again because we were jetlagged from our redeye flight. Then the next day we took a van to Ollantaytambo where we stayed in a very cool hotel for the night and we took a tour of the city and climbed some ruins. Then we took a train to a town called Aguas Calientes where Machu Picchu is. The train had a beautiful view through some mountains and along a river and when we arrived in Aguas Calientes, we went to our hotel. Later that day we went on a tour of the city and had lunch, then we went to more markets that had a ton of cool Machu Picchu things to buy. The next day we climbed Machu Picchu which has been the highlight of my study abroad experience. We went up in a bus and then climbed for about 30 minutes to the top and then our guide took us through the ruins. It was so unforgettable. Then after Aguas Calientes, we went back to Cusco for one night and then the day after we flew to Lima which is the capital of Peru. Lima was very interesting, and very different than Santiago and Cusco. It was very gloomy, but we loved the hotel and all the food we ate while in Lima. While there, we went to the Museum of Gold which was incredible, and then the next day was a free day where some of us studied for a midterm we had for one of our online Spanish classes, and some went to markets and explored the city. It was the most incredible trip of my life and I am so grateful for the trip.

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