Lessons Learned


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South America » Peru » La Libertad » Trujillo
May 30th 2007
Published: May 30th 2007
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Well, last night I rearranged my whole trip. I went to the Lan offices here in the square and changed my flight from Chiclayo to Lima on Friday, to be from Trujillo to Lima this afternoon. Alli and I agreed that she would recover better in Lima, and there were many restaurants, nightlife, shopping, museums and other things to do there. We managed to get back into a smaller room at Second Home in Barranco.

So last night, I want to say I did go for a walk around Trujillo and the center is very pretty. And furthermore, it seems prosperous and carefree, happy to be itself. I felt like an outsider, walking alone and seeing no other gringos, but I also felt invisible, free to observe. The main shopping street is Jr. Francisco Pizzaro and it leads from the Plaza Mayor to the Plaza Del Recreo. There are many little cafes, heladerias (ice cream shops), shops, and even a few casinos. I went to a supermarket to pick up some snacks to bring back to the room, and we spent the evening watching movies on cable.

Overall, I think I have learned that we always make our vacations too long. The flights seem so long and we want to see everything. But it would seem that I only have the stamina for a week or so. I suppose it would have been different from A. wasn´t sick, just like I might have enjoyed Bangkok and Hong Kong more (in 2003), if I hadn´t gotten sick there.

Next year, I think we will take short trips, week and a half at most and get more destinations into the year. I need to recognize that I´m no longer (or perhaps ever was) a backpacker. I like to stay in nice hotels from time to time, to eat great food. I do like the physical challenges of outdoors activities, true, but that is roughing it in a different sense completely. I don´t enjoy long bus rides from place to place, not that we did any on this trip but many would advise bussing it from Lima through Nasca, Arequipa, Puno and then Cusco. I enjoyed how we did it with short flights. I enjoyed the first week immensely. I also learned that travelling with friends is more valuable than anything else. Originally we had to make a choice, I remember, between a pricey excursion into the remote jungle for 6 days, or 2 days in a luxury lodge with our friends. So glad we chose our friends rather than anything else .. even if we did not see a lot in the jungle, every day we spent with them was absolutely precious. It´s also nice to have a few people, in case one person doesn´t want to do something, or if one person is sick, the others can hang out together. We all did that in some part of the trip (actually I did not bag out on anything but I would have if I had been sick). Yeah, I think I have learned something from this vacation '- a week and a half is perfect for a trip, travelling with friends is the best, and also oh yeah ... if a place has no tourists, there just might be a reason.

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