The Whirlwind Finale
During my time at SKIP, I planned in eager anticipation what was to be a legendary ten day “whirlwind finale” that would take me to as many new places in as short a time as possible, from the door of the SKIP house right back to my home back in Melbourne. Not everything planned happened as a result of a couple of things, but it was nevertheless a great finish to a great trip, and I spent a bit of time doing what I had not done before, which was just chilling out. After farewelling the SKIP gang in a hurry, I took a luxury overnight bus (not wanting to take risks with dodgy buses again after the theft in Ecuador – plus a luxury bus in Peru for nine hours is just AUD$28) to the mountain city of Huaraz, which is renowned as a backpackers’ and trekkers’ mecca. It’s easy to see why just standing anywhere in the city. The place has the most spectacular snow-capped mountain range, the Cordillera Blanca, standing to one side of the otherwise modest city. From the rooftop of my hotel I coul...