Why Peru?

For a few short minutes we considered a more traditional honeymoon to a relaxed and isolated beach in Hawaii, but we quickly ruled that out for fear that our dual type-A personalities would drive us to drink. In our time together, we have been lucky enough to take many trips, much to the chagrin of our PhD advisors. We have taken the "Jessie tour" of the Northeast, driven from the mountains of Colorado through the deserts of Utah to the Pacific Coast Highway, and trekked around Japan and Taiwan.

However, we have always wanted to see Peru, a country of amazing geographic and biological diversity, including the noble capybara . We're well equipped for the trip: Jessie has mastered the language (albeit 9 years ago!) and Pete has watched every Indiana Jones, National Treasure, and Tomb Raider movie multiple times.

We've booked a preliminary itinerary, but would welcome any suggestions. Our trip begins in Lima, Peru where Jessie will shield her eyes in terror as Pete will feast upon deep fried guinea pigs and go paragliding off the cliffs of Miraflores. From there we'll head to Arequipa and head off to hike down one of the deepest canyons in the world. Next, it's off to Puno and Lake Titicaca, where we'll see Islas Flotantes, an island made entirely of reeds. After that, it's back North for Cuzco to hike to the Sacred Valley and the ancient Macchu Picchu. Finally, we'll fly to Puerto Maldonado and take a brief journey into the heart of darkness - capybaras beware!