Packing Tips & Wrap-Up Comments

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Something I had trouble dealing with was packing, and I really appreciated reading other people's packing lists. So, I thought I'd try and share the same information.

**Things I was glad I brought:
1. Packing cubes!
http://www.ebags.com/ebags/packing_cubes_3pc_set/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=13032

These were awesome for keeping these organized and compact, definitely worth the money when you're backpacking.

2. I didn't buy this, my brother kindly gave it to me, but the Gorilla Pod!
http://www.amazon.com/Joby-GP1-A1EN-Gorillapod-Flexible-Tripod/dp/B000EVSLRO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/176-9793051-7643230?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1232846166&sr=8-1

3. Plastic ziploc & grocery sacks. Tyler questioned me, but we used them a lot to put souvenirs in, to keep wet clothes in, etc.

This allowed us to take pictures of ourselves without relying on strangers, and it was nice and small to carry around.

***For the 3 week trip, this is what I packed
We shared toiletries and used this much of things:
2 travel size toothpastes
2 travel size contact solutions
4 travel size sunblock lotions
5 travel size shampoo/conditioners

I packed four long sleeve shirts, one cloth zip-up, one rain/wind jacket, one t-shirt, two pairs of pants, and one pair of shorts. I really enjoyed my "quick dry" items from Target, it was well worth the money, they were easier to clean and stayed better smelling.
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Wrap Up Comments.

We highly, highly recommend Fertur Travel, an agency in Peru. They corresponded with us over email frequently; booking our in country flights, some tours, and even helped us set up a ride to the airport in Lima. The English conversations on the phone were tough, but emailing in English worked out great. Everything they helped us organize was great, and we have nothing but good things to say about them. The tickets were less than half of what we could have booked through the airlines' sites and off Expedia.com etc.

We thought it was worth the money to join the South American Explorers club. They helped us plan our trip before we got there, and going to their club houses in Lima and Cusco was nice to ask questions and buy books, etc. We didn't utilize the discounts very often, but definitely worth it when we were making decisions, as well as the security of knowing we had someone to call if we ran into trouble.

There are two types of bottled water; Con gas means carbonated, Sin gas means non carbonated. We're not sure why this isn't mentioned in guide books, since it's not something obvious to a traveler, but we saw many people buy the wrong kind (ourselves included) and promptly throw it away.

Peru is awesome! Lots of people asked us why we were going, but I don't know why! We got to see such diverse animals, plants, and climates along with some of the most amazing ruins in the world. Travel was really cheap as well, staying in decent private rooms for less than $20 a night and eating clean, good, safe meals for less than $10 for both us most of the time. We already want to go back and see other things like the Colca Canyon and other areas of the rainforest.

Please feel free to email or comment with any questions and we'd be happy to give our opinions. I hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and we'd be happy to accept donations for our next international journey 😉

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