Day Twenty-Three

"Oh boy 4 am!" is definitely not what I said as my alarm went off this morning. I set it early so that I could have enough time to do some quick abs and shower, but unfortunately, I could not gather the strength to leave the warmth of my bed. Begrudgingly, I did eventually get up, shower, gather my stuff and order an uber on time to meet up with the rest of the group at the usual spot on Ricardo Palma. Thankfully, the bus ride was four hours and I have been trained to sleep on buses, so I had no problem picking up where I left off two hours prior.
Eventually, we reached Luanahuana. We changed into our bathing suits (well some did) and put on our bug spray (to no avail), and headed for the river. That's right, your girl went white water rafting for the first time. Luckily enough, I was the extra person in the boat so I did not have to paddle. However, the GoPro did get nice footage of me practicing my coxswain skills. Northeastern rowing here I come! Just skidding,  I got distracted too easily and my raft ended up dangling off a rock and beached quite a few times, also to anyone who ever said that we do not get wet (Monica) lies. Although I left with wet shorts, I would go back and do it all again in a heartbeat.
As if that was not enough adventure for one day, we headed a bit away from the river where we saw ATVs lining both sides of the street. That's right, another first checked off the curet list; we each got to ride our own ATV through the Peruvian mountains. It was very dusty, but another incredible experience. There is nothing like speeding my the trees lining the cliffs as the mountains tower over you on both sides: simply unforgettable. When the ATVs were all parked and our hunger began settling in, we all sat down to a lovely lunch of our favorite: chicken, rice and potatoes. However, this time there were options of six different types of chicken. Personally, I chose vino pollo, which was basically chicken in wine sauce. It was delicious, but don't worry dad, I had nothing on your marsala.
When dinner was finished, we headed to La Plaza Mayor de Luanahuana where we visited this quaint archaic church. It was actually in impressive shape, nestled between mountains, for being built in the 16th century and enduring several earthquakes. We boarded the bus once again and headed to another favorite: the vineyards. This wine and pisco are known for their healing properties (Peruvians here live to be 120 years old), and I would have purchased some but they were just too sweet for my taste. Another great surprise was the one month old puppy whose owner came in to buy some of the famous wine. Of course, he reminded me of my own pup back home, but it's only two weeks until I get to see him again. Finally, we made our last stop at the honey farm where we sampled all types of honey (and even some pollen), and I did have to buy some because it was just delicious. However, the tasting came at a cost as now my legs are covered in mosquito bites despite the gross amount of repellent I put on.
After four and a half hours in the bus back, I finally arrived back to Miraflores where I ate dinner and slept as soon as I home. All in all, it was a fun day, but I was so ready to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Buenas noches!