Greg's Ecuadorian Adventure

In my time in Lima, I crammed as much as I could within a few short days. Honestly, I was feeling kind of exhausted already in my trip. Between just finishing the school year, going back to Milwaukee immediately after, and then beginning this trip right after returning to South America... I hadn't had proper time to relax and recover. But, I was on a high after my time in Lima and seeing as many sights as possible. I also felt like I hadn't made the effort to get to meet other people while in Lima because I was constantly on the go. A goal I had for Arequipa was to begin branching out and meet other backpackers in my hostel. Plaza de Armas I honestly don't know why I chose Arequipa in the first place beside looking at a map and trying to figure out the logical way to wind up in Cusco while still being able to visit southern Perú. After "blindly" selecting Arequipa as my second destination, I soon found through my research that this was a great selection. It...

I struggled with figuring out how to begin this series of posts, seeing as my ideas and plans of travel changed as my summer progressed. I had ideas of how I wanted to structure these posts... by city, or by country, or on my observations and frustrations in a singular post. The ending is not surprising for those of you following me on the FacePage. The reason for this ending is also not a surprise to those of whom I maintained contact with as I moved further south. This trip would bring me to some rather interesting places, allow me to reconnect with myself, and learn more about the continent I have chosen as my home. I accomplished each of these by any measure, but not in the same sense that I originally thought. Enter the cliché:  TRAVELING CAN AND WILL CHANGE YOU.  It has changed me most definitely, and now I just need to do something with that change to continue moving forward. I feel like I am finally ready to begin writing and reflecting on this trip now. Street A...