Paracas – Peru

We set off for the small town of Paracas, located about 3 hours southeast of Lima. For this journey, we used a bus for a few Euros, which even had nicely adjustable and padded seats. Perfect!

As we departed, Max placed his newly purchased black sunglasses in the side compartment. There was a couple sitting next to us. A woman with slightly curly, reddish hair, wearing glasses, and aged between 40 and 50. Beside her, a slightly younger, slender man with a colorful cap.

Upon our arrival in Paracas, we queued at the luggage counter to collect our backpacks. Suddenly, Max realized he had left his sunglasses on the bus. The couple behind us seemed very nervous, but at first, we didn't think much of it. The search was futile. When I asked the couple if they had seen the sunglasses, the woman nervously waved her hands and avoided any eye contact. However, the man showed me his grayish glasses that he was wearing and insisted that I take a closer look at them. Something definitely seemed off, but unfortunately, we couldn't search them. So, we left it at that and collected our backpacks. Shortly after, the woman came back to us and, with her slight French accent, said, "The sunglasses were in the side compartment, right?". We agreed. However, that seemed to be just a passing comment from her. But it made us even more suspicious. At least it was only "the sunglasses".

Eventually, we moved on, this time without the sunglasses. 

The next day, we had a beautiful sunny weather for a boat tour to the Islas Ballestas.  We had never seen so many birds gathered in one place in our lives! The large rock protruding from the water was completely covered with these beautiful creatures! In between, we could also spot a few penguins and sea lions. It was an incredible day and definitely a MUST SEE!

After the tour, we took a leisurely walk along the harbor at sunset.  

Paracas was a really beautiful place and definitely worth a visit!

ICA

Originally, we only went to ICA to take the desert tour from there. But now, our stay will probably be remembered for a bit longer. Our hotel had a huge lounge with a pool table, a TV room, a kitchen, and a ping pong table. The room was surrounded by windows with a great view of the city. We often sat there to work. One or two windows were open, and at some point, a pigeon flew in. It tried for a long time to get out, repeatedly pecking at the window with its beak. Alright! We were sure: this pigeon needed help! We tried to carry it out with a broomstick. At first, it seemed very promising, but towards the end, not so much. The pigeon got scared and flew directly to the opposite side. There, it crashed with full force into the window and then fell to the ground. Oh god. It lay motionless. Is it still alive? Is it maybe unconscious? No idea??? Google to the rescue. We followed the instructions and placed it hopefully in the shade, checking on it from time to time. After 2 hours without any movement, it gradually dawned on us that we probably weren't the best rescuers for pigeons. 

Huacachina – Desert Tour

In Huacachina, we went on a dune buggy tour with sandboarding. Pure action! The driver of our jeep pressed hard on the gas pedal. We sat right in front and raced up and down extremely steep dunes. I felt like we were about to tip over or slip on the sand the whole time. Max was more relaxed about it. Sometimes the driver would drive right up to the edge and brake abruptly. Heart attack! At the top of a huge sand dune, we grabbed the sandboards. When I looked down, I was sure that I would definitely not survive sliding down the dune with the board and decided it would be better not to do it (...and I never have a fear of heights!!!). A few other group members shared the same sentiment. It didn't take long before Max was ready for the descent. He was the very first one to slide down the huge dune. When he safely reached the bottom, he shouted encouraging phrases like, "Not so bad" and "It's so much fun!". Eventually, I gathered all my courage (it probably doesn't look as dramatic in the pictures and videos, but once you're up there!...) and went down. And it was really FUN! I think that's the most impressive thing about traveling. You do things you never thought you'd do or overcome fears that eventually lead to an unforgettable experience! And of course, having such a great travel partner as I do, nothing can really go wrong. After sliding down almost every dune many times, we finally watched one of the most beautiful sunsets in the middle of the desert landscape. Infinite beauty.

Next stop: Cusco

Good to know:

Here, too, we realized that you should at least master the basic words in Spanish. Not many people in South America speak English.

Luckily, we've been learning Spanish for more than half a year now and can communicate very well. However, I have to admit that Max is a bit ahead of me, but I'm following closely :D!

A few hackson how we learned a new language (and what we would have liked to know right away):

1. Most people use Duolingo or Babbel, but I have to say that these apps didn't really motivate us. Both of us useMemriseAn app that remembers your progress in learning and quizzes you again after a certain time. Plus, you see short video clips in which the locals speak the words with their own accent.
2. There's also a brilliant app called ItalkiThere, you can book an online tutor for as little as $5 an hour (it's easier to find a teacher on the platform who teaches you a new language in English). Additionally, you can categorize your goals (just speaking, learning grammar...). We personally use it just to have conversations!
3. Additionally, I can recommend the app Tandem . It's a platform where you can communicate with people from all over the world. The model is designed so that you teach them your language and they teach you theirs. Some just want to speak in their native language, which is even better for us. Plus, you also have the opportunity to call people there, which is great practice for learning a new language as quickly as possible, and it's free. The app is free,even though it doesn't seem like it at first (only premium members pay, and that's not really necessary)!

We speak in the other language as much as possible. Read texts, watch YouTube videos or movies with subtitles, listen to stories or foreign radio, and create fun images from the most