A short while ago I decided I wanted to start traveling more and the result was a hastily planned trip to Peru. How hastily? Well I decided to take a trip, where to go, and bought a plane ticket all within three days. Then about 2 weeks later I packed up my trusty backpack to fly to Peru. Needless to say I didn’t have much planned out beforehand, which is exactly my kind of trip. Before I left I only had a few set plans.
First, I was going to bring a Paddington Bear. Who is Paddington? Well he’s a bear who left Peru for England. Why was I bringing one? Because upon hearing I was going to Peru, a co-worker’s young son replied “That’s where Paddington’s from.” So obviously I had to take him along with me on my adventure. Not to get too far ahead of myself, but Paddington and I had a great time. Everywhere I went, people recognized him. He was probably the single best conversation starter I’ve ever had on a trip. People who barely spoke any English came up to me and said “Paddington!” I then proceeded to speak terrible, terrible Spanish back to them to explain what Paddington was doing sitting at a table with a random American in Lima. Should you ever head to Peru, I highly recommend bringing Paddington. You’ll meet more people through him than you will through your meet up app on your phone. Continue reading “Land of the Incas: Prologue”
Standing on little round top and looking across the battlefield is a heavy experience, until it’s ruined by one of the 50 other people that will be standing there with you. You’ll hear comments from wanna be historians like “I dont get why everyone is so caught up about Gettysburg, there were more important battles.” Even if that’s true, shut up. You’re ruining the few moments I have to stand here and look out over a landscape where 160,000 soldiers fought. There are a lot of tours groups that come through as well. These are led by the National Park Service. You can tell they are official, because they have the funny hats and grey uniforms. I think the most awkward people on the hill have to be the “reenactors.” These are people dressed similar to how Civil War soldiers were dressed back in the day. They stand under the shade and talk in the first person about how they defeated “waves of troops while defending this hill.” To be honest it makes you feel like they are doing a disservice to the people who gave their lives here and while they sound like they know what they’re talking about, I’m not a historian. So who knows. After visiting the hill, I grabbed lunch in town and jumped back into the car for the long drive home. 
The only time I’ve been to New Hampshire was filled with rain. It rained and rained and rained. Not at all fun to hike or camp in, but I tried anywhere. Originally I planned on hiking up Mt. Washington, but due to the rain I didnt think it was worth the effort. So instead I hiked along some creeks that were transformed into small rivers thanks to the rain. I found a small town named Bartlett, NH which I enjoyed very much. The town wasnt big and didnt really have anything that made it special, but the name alone was enough to give me joy. 
Bivy Life 