El tiempo se volio!

I cannot believe today is my last day in Lima. The past four weeks started out rough, but flew by in the end. My feelings about Lima are mixed, but in general I am thankful for my time here and the friends I made during my stay. I feel like my Spanish has improved drastically, but there will always be so much more to learn.

Last weekend I had a great time in Trujillo with Isabel. She is a lot of fun and very relaxed so the weekend passed smoothly. We spent Friday night on the bus and arrived early Saturday morning. During the day we visited various ruins near the town. It was incredible and unfathomable to see and touch ruins created over 3000 years ago...3000!!? How is it possible?? I've seen buildings built in 1976 that are barely standing and this structure is from 1200BC?? WHAT?! Mind blowing. Sunday we went to the nearby beach town of Huanchaco. There they still fish in these crazy straw boats that resemble surfboards. I tried to find someone to take me out in one, but no luck. Spent the afternoon braving the cold ocean waters and enjoying some delish cebiche. YUM.

Was crazy sick this week and hopefully the funk has passed. Started feeling ill Wednesday, went to bed Wednesday afternoon and woke up Thursday evening. YIKES. Something like 30 hours of sleep in two days. I think I had some kind of stomach bacteria and I will spare you the details. Yuck.

Tomorrow I leave for Cuzco! Originally my incredible friend Cori was going to join me for this part of the journey, but she ended up going to South Africa instead :) After that I attempted to wrangle a few other friends into coming south, but without any luck. Finally I conceded that this would be an incredible experience and I was ready to go alone. THEN (DUN DUN DUN)...the other day (Wednesday) I found the email address of a friend a met two years ago on a Quetzal Trekkers trip in Guatemala. We hadn't spoken in two years, so I sent quick email to say hi, how are you, etc. Imagine how shocked I was when I received a response that she was on her way to LIMA!!! This world is loco. Kya arrived last night, bought a ticket to Cuzco today, and we're off tomorrow. I am so excited. She is prepared with all kinds of gear and I see a great adventure in our future. It's so random because she is a former Quetzal Trekkers guide and my incredible (but hard to contact) sister Kimmo is a guide there now! Also so random because we hadn't talked in so long, but feels like no time at all. CRAZY.

This internet cafe business is super sketchy so I must say chau (weird, but that is how it's spelled here). Cannot believe I return to the states in only 16 days. This trip has been an incredible adventure and I'm so thankful for my experiences. I'm also so excited to return home to my friends and family soon! Until then...suerte!