I went to Peru for 10 days and never came back

Article originally published on the We3pin website: https://www.we3pin.com/single-post/2018/06/12/Fui-passar-10-dias-no-Peru-e-nunca-mais-voltei

The year was 2016, and I had just celebrated six months as a graduate. I felt frustrated in my work, even though I knew it was good, and I wanted an adventure that would take me away from my reality. Aside from some family vacations, I had never left Brazil and felt I had seen very little of the world so far. Peru started to change my life long before I even boarded on that plane, and even though I stayed there just a few days, I lived and discovered so much that I certainly return to Rio a different girl from the one who left.

Firstly, Peru has a unique energy and, if you don't believe in this kind of thing, just wait until you get there. When I decided to go, in 2016, I was inspired by several friends who had already visited the country and returned totally in love with the place, saying it was one of the best experiences ever! I understood perfectly well what they meant as soon as I landed.

Lima, the capital, is pretty cute, but that's not where you'll find the real Peru. My first true experience was in Paracas, where Bruna (my partner in this adventure) and I spent a whole day and lost our minds with the breathtaking landscapes. There, looking at the oasis of Huacachinna from above, or watching the meeting of the sea and the desert at the national park, I began to understand why that country is always on the favorites list of its visitors. Even the smell is unique: a mix of spices, plants, and local animals that you can breathe in any part of the country - and bear in mind we went from Lima to Puno, at the border with Bolivia.

Things started to get really special in Cusco when on the very first day my friend and I were already completely in love with every corner. There are no words to explain it, but trying to translate it in a very modest way, I would say the city vibrates in a different form. The streets are full of a mixture of typical and unmistakable Peruvians, with traditional clothes and their llamas, but also many travelers, from all ages, carrying their backpacks and holding maps. The first stop on the trail to Machu Picchu, Cusco is the destination of thousands of people every year, and with its narrow streets and pretty squares, it is the perfect environment to learn more not only about the country itself but also about the rest of the world.

During the ten days we spent in Cusco I met more interesting people than in the five years before, in each new guided tour, new trip to the hostel bar, new walk around the city, we met someone new and had long conversations about the most varied themes. The coolest thing is that everyone there seems to be looking for something they don't quite know what it is, but they are sure will be on their journey. The people in Cusco inspired me and made me see how I wanted to change the path I was following as well. It was at our hostel that we found out about the exchange of work for accommodation, and it was right on the connection back to Lima that Bruna and I called Gabi and decided to travel within a year.

Nothing happens by chance, I needed to go to Peru to get to know this other universe that, until then, I thought only existed for very rich or very crazy people. After that trip I couldn't stop thinking about the people I had met, traveling the world, and discovering so much. I realized that it was worth a lot more to me than the eight hours I spent in the office every day and that with some help and planning, I could fly too.

Maybe this text is just a bunch of memories and feelings I wanted to put together, but what I actually mean is: go! I've never been so close to being the woman I wanted to be, and a lot of it I owe to that five seconds of insane courage when I clicked “buy” for the Rio - Lima ticket.