Laura Ens

After spending 5 days in the Amazon Basin which included the city of Iquitos and the Heliconia Jungle Lodge on the Amazon River all I can say is AMAZING! This experience was probably one of my highlights of my Peru trip! However, we did not get off to the greatest of starts when we found out that our airline had changed our flight times which meant we would not be arriving till late afternoon in Iquitos (which in reality turned into evening) - which meant we could not get to the Lodge that day. Fortunately our agency was very understanding and gave us accomodation and meals for that night and next morning - quite a luxury I must add! As a side note for those of you thinking of heading to Peru - I would seriously ... read more

Happy Easter to All! I am going to have to make this entry very quick as I don´t have much time. It has been a VERY busy past week as I left Cusco for Lake Titicaca and Arequipa. Kristina and I have done two long bus rides now between cities and are beginning to learn the ins and outs of the bus travelling system here - which is used by tourists and locals alike in Peru. Unlike back home where you don´t really have many options for bus travel, in Peru, there are tens of bus companies all lining up and calling out for your business as you enter the station. Who to travel with? We have learned.... 1) Never take a local bus - even though the buses look like grey hound tourist buses they ... read more

These past three days have been a whirlwind of activity once we left Lima for Cusco. Things were going well as we boarded the plane on time and were heading out to the runway. Then all of a sudden we started to turn back to the airport in the plane and heard squealing with the breaks. All I could think of, ¨this is what I get for booking a flight with a discount airline that is one third the cost of the more reputable airline...¨ Well, needless to say, we were only stopped for about half an hour while they fixed what they needed to and we were on our way to Cusco! Cusco is a city in the Andean Mountain range and is well over 3000m in elevation. Before one goes to Cusco, you are ... read more

YEAH! The day has finally arrived that I am flying out to Peru! I will be backpacking for approximately one month all around the country with Kristina Harder. Everything has been packed and I am raring to go. For those of you that know me well, it is amazing how I was able to pack everything into one travel pack and purse. I am NOT a light packer. We are flying into Lima, Peru and will arrive around midnight today. Here is an approximate itinerary or at least some places we plan to visit: Lima Cusco Hiking Inca Trail to Macchu Pichu Lake Titicaca Arequipa and Colca Canyon Nazca Lines Amazon Basin (Iquitos on the Amazon River) After returning from Ghana, less than a month a go, reality really hasn't set in as I have been ... read more

Right now I am sitting at an internet cafe on my second last day in Ghana. I fly out tomorrow evening. I am using the fastest internet I have in all of my time spent here!!! Once again I will reiterate how fast all this time has flown by. FIve months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. All the projects have been completed and final reports are almost finished. All that is left is a meeting tomorrow before I leave for calgary and my week of debriefing. I am quite excited to come home and start the whole re-entry process! I have to say, we have jumple a little ahead of ourselves and have somewhat already started that process in Ghana - reacclimatizing to Western culture. These past five days, I have definitely not ... read more