Why can you spend 2 months in Peru, and I can only spend 9 days?

Here´s what I´ve discovered about backpackers in Peru:

1) Unless they´re from the US, they tend to stay here for anywhere from 1-6 months. And its not just limited to Peru, they´re traveling all over South America. How do they do this? Well, from what I gather, they quit their jobs, max out their credit cards, and hope on a plane.

2) There are a ton of Israeli travelers here. When Thom and I finally sat down with one of them at our hostel in Huacachina, its because once they finish their mandatory military service, lots of them come to Peru. Which is good for us, I guess, because most of them speak english.

3) They smoke a ton of weed. I guess I already knew this from South Africa, but still....they like to play crappy songs on their guitars, smoke weed, and booze it up. They also usually have dreds or at least have an unshaven look about them. Oh yeah, and they´re usually barefoot.

What does this all have to do with my next travel post? Well, just about everything! Day 2 in Ariquipa led Thom and I to whitewater rafting. But, let me mention - you cannot find an underwater camera anywhere in Ariquipa. And, the worst part of it is, if they do have one, they won´t sell it to you. We went to probably 10 shops looking for an underwater camera, and the only one that had it wouldn´t sell it to us. Why? I DON´T KNOW!!!!!

Anyways, we get picked up early and pile into a hippie van, and swing around town to pick up other assorted adventurers. The first stop nets 2 Israeli girls who surprisingly don´t speak any english. The next stop gets us 2 british girls, one of which is celebrating her birthday. And our final stop gets us 4 Americans, although we only talk to 2 of them. They were actually the funniest of the bunch, talking about drinking every night, taking Xanax to help him deal with a tooth ache, and mexican wresting. A short ride later, we end up in this beautiful canyon where the rapids are. Like all rafting guide, these guys all are tanned, have long hair, and like to tell jokes about not knowing how to raft and that this is their first time out. You´d think they´d tell you different rafting jokes in Peru, but you´d be wrong. Before we´re totally ready, Thom and I decide that its the best time to take a piss. Well, we´ve all been in horrible bathrooms, but this one took the cake. I almost wish I had a camera to document it. First off, there´s dried shit all over the floor. Second, there are flies everywhere, and there is just the strongest smell of feces and death all around. Needless to say, that was the fastest piss EVER.

So we get strapped into our gear and reject the use of a wetsuit. Why? Well, in our momentary stupidity, we´re told that the water is 9 decrees celsius. We figure, what, that´s like 55 degress fahrenheit, right? Ahhh...no Mr. Science, that´s a whopping 48 degress. Yeah, that was some cold water. We end up in a boat with the 2 brit girls and the 2 girls from Israel that don´t speak english. The rafting itself wasn´t all that hard, mainly II and IIIs with one IV build in for good measure. Funny thing was, the first 3 that we hit, we nearly capsize and lose the 2 brits downstream. Thom and I were able to grab the 2 Israelis and got them back in, but the other 2 brits were lost down stream. Being the good guides that they were, they tossed them the rope bag and actually saved them from body riding the rapids. After that, the rest of the day wasn´t much to write home about. We did a small cliff dive (maybe 20 ft), which is when I realized exactly how cold the water was. Other than that, we floated in without incident and headed back to the hostel.

Next, you kids get to hear about our climb up El Misti and the hardest thing I´ve ever done. Get excited!!