Final preparations

Hey folks,

this is the blog on my journey to Peru. I took a Spanish name for it which means (for those of you not having the slightest knowledge of the language): The German in Peru.

As this is the first post of mine I found it appropriate to start it out with a little quote:

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
(St. Augustine)

Although I have been travelling for all my life and therefore read a few more pages of that book there's always a new chapter ahead with just an unexpected turning point when discovering the world.

And right now, to serve the metaphore, I am stuck in the prologue of my own journey: Preparations.
As I am not only going to Austria for a little hiking trip in the Alps I had to arrange a few things before launching off to the Inka Land. First mild shock was: When travelling to Peru you have to make sure your passport is valid for at least six months, which mine is but only by one week! Well, I am happy for not undergoing the excruciating and nerve-racking quest of applying for a new passport which always arrives one week later than it should.

Of course, during my little excursion in the Andes there are a lot of dangers, diseases and other possibilities to fall ill and you should never dare to forget the altitude sickness creeping up your brains while strolling around the antique and amazing monuments of Machu Picchu (2,500 metres) or Cusco (3,500 metres). Consequently, to keep these threats at bay, I had some immunisations and contracted a travel insurance.

But, I still hadn't done anything about my luggage, so I had to consider which of my clothes to take along. As it can get pretty damn cold in those Peruvian montañas theres was a definite need of a warm pair of socks and a pullover and, as for as it goes for hiking, a good pair of shoes. And, since the temperatures rise high on the coast, I couldn't stay of short of my Bermuda shorts (what a dim-witted repitition!). So, I think the scheme is clear.

There are a lot more errands to make, as you know, but it would definitely go beyond the scope of this blog to describe them all. In the end there will still be the unsolvable task of cramming all my stuff into my tiny trekking-rucksack.

Well, to make a long story short, here's the epilogue: There will never be enough space for all the belongings you might need for a journey and you will never prepared for the things ahead. But hey, that's what travelling about: Expect the unexpected and multiply it with a yet another factor that is the holiness of departing into an unknown world.

Enough of my philosphcal outpouring. I close this book for now. Check in next week when I will be back writing you from Peru's capital, Lima

Cya!