November has arrived and it is time to get down to business. Which is why I'm sitting here writing a blog post. As far as procrastination goes, I'd say this is fairly productive. Regardless, I've been doing some pretty fabulous traveling during the last two weeks of October in preparation for my November homework hibernation. The highlights of my trips are as follows...

Ica

• We hit up a bodega (wine and pisco brewery), did some tasting, and bought our weight in alcohol. We're legal here after all!
• I visited a museum with a large collection of mummies, deformed heads, and various other non-appetizing images, after which...
• My roommate Katie found a worm in her food. Yum. The waitress simply said, "Oh don't worry. It's from the lettuce," and picked it off the plate.

Huacachina

• The only activity we took place in during this excursion was sandboarding, which was more than enough. It breaks down like this: hop on dune buggy, race over gigantic mountains of sand, grab a snowboard, and ride it down standing up or lying down. It was awesome, and I even stood up once or twice!

Paracas

• This touristy town is really just a gateway to other activities, but we did meet a friendly artesano and his loyal Peruvian hairless dog.
• The Islas Ballestas are a 30 minute boat ride from town and are packed with every type of marine wildlife: birds, sea lions, penguins, everything.

Arequipa

• The White City had all the brilliant sun and gorgeous architecture Lima is missing. The locals were friendly, the number of catcalls was significantly lower, and the food was something else.
• The first day here we spent wandering and seeing the beautiful colonial homes, churches, and monasteries.
• At Museo Santuario, I had the chance to see the frozen remains of Juanita, an Incan human sacrifice on the top of a mountain near Arequipa.

Colca Canyon

• So much fun. We had a great, but exhausting trek down the canyon to an oasis. Everything was included in a surprisingly low price and we made some American friends that were put in the group as us.