From the Caribbean coast of Colombia, I made my way home back to Bogotá for a couple of days before making the long trek to Perú, a neighboring country in South America. My Perú trip started with a deep dive into the Amazonian jungle from the town of Iquitos. The flora and fauna were simply breathtaking: trees with thorns, monkeys climbing above us, armadillos below and pink dolphins swimming by. From there, I went to the floating islands of Lake Titikaka, and got to meet and understand a very different culture. A week or so later, I hiked the famous ruin of Machu Picchu with two of my best friends from college! We had a wonderful time making our way through the ancient village. After they took off to return back to the U.S., I continued hiking and made my way to Kuélap, another incredible ancient city that reminded me of the round circular stone architecture at Ciudad Perdida. I also visited Laguna 69 (Lake 69, one of 400 lakes in Huascarán National Park) where I saw the bluest water in the Cordilleras mountains that I'll ever see. Finally, I came to Trujillo, another Peruvian city famous for the ancient cities that were discovered in the mud and sandhills nearby!
Thankfully, I was able to rest and get back into the swing of things upon returning to Bogotá. One of my family friends had me over for Shabbat dinner, which was the first real home cooked meal I had had in a while! It was also nice getting back to work at La Universidad Nacional, catching up with old friends and professors, as well as visiting new schools. But the adventures continue--just last week I was checking out the region of Boyacá and its famous páramo!
