Goodbye Cuzco, Hello Vancouver

On my last two days in Cuzco I didn't do too much because I had just returned from Arequipa and most of the other volunteers were away in Machu Picchu. I spent Sunday packing up my things and then made one last visit to the Maximo offices to say goodbye to the staff. Once I returned to the house Gaby and Priscila were making dinner. At first I asked if I could watch and then when Priscila started to make dessert I asked if I could help. It seems that even in Peru I can't stay away from the kitchen! We made a Pisco Sour mousse and afterward I showed them my food blog, which can be found here, and pictures of my food on Facebook. They were both impressed and said they wished I could cook it for them.

In the evening Gaby invited me to accompany her to a crepes party at a cafe in San Blas Plaza called Pantastico. The cafe is owned by a couple with the man originating from Switzerland and the woman a local Peruvian. Gaby's boyfriend Henry works there as a baker and his specialty is oreo cheesecake. During the evening I was able to learn more about Gaby such as the fact that she's from Trujillo, a city in the north of Peru, and that she has been working as a cook at our volunteer house La Florida for five months now. Prior to getting the job she went to culinary school for two years. I also found out that she is the same age as me and has a sister who is one year younger than my brother. I had a great time at the crepes party and I think it was the perfect way to spend my last night in Cuzco, doing something I really enjoy. The crepes were made for us, though I got to flip some myself, and there were a variety of both sweet and savory fillings.

The next morning I woke up with a good feeling, ready to go home. Once I finished packing my suitcase I used Ariella's computer to upload the last of my pictures from my trip to Facebook. Unfortunately I had to use the "basic uploader" which could only handle five pictures at a time. Combined with the slow Peruvian internet it took me an hour and a half to upload fifty pictures; when I finally finished I felt a sense of relief. My last little "hoorah" in Cuzco involved going to El Molino with Merisa. It's a market that sells literally everything from DVDs, shoes, clothes, cameras, TVs...you name it, they have it. We also went souvenir shopping and I found it so much fun to bargain and haggle the prices, especially when it wasn't even for me. We ended up getting some great deals and were able to cross a lot of things off her list. When we returned to the house I ate lunch with the others, said my goodbyes, and then hailed a taxi for the airport.

At the airport I was pleased to see Melissa and Dustin on the same flight as me from Cuzco to Lima. Then in Lima I ran into Sheila whom I had met the night before at the crepes party. Apparently I must look like a very dangerous person to both the Peruvian and United States officials because I was "randomly" selected three times to have my bags thoroughly searched through. Once in Lima when I arrived, the second time prior to boarding my flight to San Francisco, and the last time while passing through US customs in San Francisco. It was annoying because each time I had to repack my bag and, being the organized person that I am, I had everything packed within bags in my luggage. Each time they ruffled through a bag I had to put everything back into it and then into my suitcase. Fortunately, I was quick about it and got used to the process after having to repeat it three times.

In the Lima airport I had a very long layover of eight hours but luckily I was able to spend it with Melissa, Dustin, and Sheila because they too had to wait until past midnight for their flights. I am so glad that I had all of them to keep me company because I don't know what I would have done for so long by myself in the airport. I was also lucky to have an empty seat next to me on the flight from Lima to San Francisco and was able to sleep most of the way.

Looking back over my trip I think that I spent the perfect amount of time in Peru. I was able to see everything that I wanted and at the same time I rarely found myself without something to do. I'm actually very proud of myself for writing in my journal each and everyday, even when I was too tired or the day hadn't been too exciting in my opinion. I think that knowing I had people back home reading about my adventures really motivated me to chronicle my trip and all of my experiences. Thank you to everyone who read my blog; I genuinely hoped it helped shed a new light on a different part of the world and inspired others to think about trying something new and outside their comfort zone.