So a couple weeks ago I went to Peru’s most famous tourist attraction. And it’s the most well-known attraction for very good reason. Machu Picchu and the mountains there in general were just amazing and breath taking. In order to get to Machu Picchu, first we flew to Cusco from Lima. Then we took a two hour bus ride followed by a two hour train ride and then we were at the bottom of the mountains that Machu Picchu is nestled into. From there, we took a second bus for only a half an hour and this was maybe my favorite part. I know it sounds crazy how could a bus ride be better than seeing the ruins? Well, first off, I fell in love with mountains during this drive. Now, I've fallen in love with mountains before but this was different. This was the kind of love that I will never forget about. As we were zig zagging upward on a tiny road and I was staring out the window studying the endless green mountains with their peaks engulfed by fluffy white clouds, it all just hit me.
Everything that I have been doing for the past three months. Every place that I have traveled to, all of the beautiful things that I’ve seen, all of the friendships that I’ve found and all of the memories that I have made. I have come such a long way and I couldn’t be more proud of myself and the group of young women that I came here with. A group of people, the majority of whom, I didn’t even know until we started this together. I never thought that I could accomplish and grow this much in this amount of time. Time which has flown by so quickly.
After I thought of all this I had another thought. My mind went to all of the people that will never see this and never experience what I have experienced. That made me kind of sad but also determined because I don't want this to be it. I don't want to go back to Kearney and finish my schooling and then settle down in my career and never travel or do things like this again. I want to bungee jump and para glide and scuba dive and climb every mountain that I can. I want to go to Spain and Ireland, the Czech, Germany and Australia. I want to come back to Peru some day and do the four day hike up to Machu Picchu.
But I also understand that this is huge. This is a huge trip. Four months out of my life and I know that not everyone can do a trip like this whenever they want. I surely won’t be able to spend four months in a foreign country again until I'm retired and by then I won't have the energy to climb mountains. But that’s OK because you don’t need four months to travel and experience things that will change your life and your perspective of life and your way of thinking. And in this jumble of thoughts I became very determined to never settle, never stay sedentary for too long and to always challenge myself and see new things whether I travel across the world, across the country or across the state. This is something that I never want to compromise on because this is who I am now. I’m just a travel hungry twentysomething who wants to go everywhere and see everything. So that’s why I enjoyed the bus ride up to Machu Picchu more than taking a bunch of pictures with some old ruins behind me. Because it’s about your journey, not your destination 😁. OK that was too cheesy and cliché, I’m gonna stop now.
Thanks for reading and for next time, look forward to the adventures of Martinez in Peru. Bye bye!
