We also visited a museum created from a re-purposed submarine.
Last weekend, we took a trip to Lunahuana, another location that we did not visit last semester. With a new tour guide, we set off to the countryside at 5 in the morning. Luckily, we spent most of the morning travelling, which meant I got to sleep. Our first stop that morning was the riverside to go whitewater rafting. Despite the very real risk of falling off the raft, I would definitely do it again. Afterwards, we took a tour of a winery and tasted different types of pisco. It was interesting to learn the typical methods of making pisco. Afterwards, we were on the road again for a long time. By the afternoon, we were in Laraos, a rural district far outside of the city. The town itself is around 3,500 meters (11,600 feet) above sea level which is about 300 more meters above sea level than Cuzco. The first thing we did after lunch was take a walk along the mountain path, our local guide explained to us the rituals of the water festival that took place earlier this month. It is a ceremony that involves cleaning the river and bringing offerings like flowers and fruits to ensure that the water continues to flow the following year. Unfortunately, the entire weekend I suffered from headaches, a common side effect of altitude sickness. Seeing as I did not get altitude sickness in Cuzco last semester, I can only attribute it to the fact that we had no time to adjust to the altitude before we began hiking. In Cuzco last semester we had an entire day to sit around and drink coca tea.
That night, we stayed in a hotel in Laraos and made a campfire out back. Nina was smart enough to bring ingredients for s'mores, so we toasted marshmallows while our local guide told us spooky stories about strange happenings in the area. It was so nice to really see the stars again. Though I have grown accustomed to life in Lima, I am clearly not made for permanent city life since I always miss the fresh air and the stars we get in the country.
The next day we left Laraos behind to travel to another town, Vilca. We stopped a few times along the way to see a few sights, but soon found ourselves on the hike again, headed to a scenic view of the waterfalls surrounding the area. They reminded me a bit of the waterfalls I saw in Spain several years ago, but far more green and somehow even more complex in structure.
After that, we spent the rest of the day travelling back to Lima. It was a shame that we had to leave the countryside behind again, but as we drove to a lower altitude my pounding headache finally faded.
In terms of what I have been doing with the rest of my weekends, the answer is: not much. My days are mostly absorbed with endless amounts of homework. However, this Saturday I did take a break and visit the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo during the Night of Museums event in Barranco. It was an event that gave free entry to all art museums in the area. It was fun to explore Barranco with some friends since I hadn't had an excuse to explore that area much.
