PERU

advise stay the night on one of the islands on lake titicaca.

near pisco there is a reserve called reserve national de paracas. The boat tour is amazing and cheep. You will see tons of seals and different birds and get to spend the day on the ocean.

5km from ica there is a town called huacachina were you are surrounded by huge sand dunes. ask the taxi to drop you off at the hotel with the pool and spoil yourself lounging around and doing nothing for a day (hey its only 3 bucks a night).

don't hire a guide unless you have to.

Canon del colca: its a beautiful bumpy journey there. The condors are amazing to watch playing in the wind. go early in the morning (you can take one of the early buses from cobacabana to arequipa and ask to be let of at cruz del condor. The bus back to arequipa stops for 2 hours in chivey. There are hot springs in chivey that will make you feel very rich and spoiled, its very good for aching bodies that you will have after hiking down (and more importantly back up) the canyon.

cusco, Peru:

don't buy the tourist card. It's a rip-off. several other vegetarians told me that there was a whole block of cheep vegetarian restaurants I just never saw it, so just ask around.

La Paz, Bolivia:

Must do: valle de la luna (near la paz)at night (for a full moon??).

ruaranabaki. Tour.

Salar de uyuni tour

la paz hotel alojamiento el solario 20b, kitchen, hot showers corner of murillo st and santa cruz st#776 phone 367963

cherry-gay

bar quich-gay bar

coca museum calle de las brujas no. 906 (calle linares esq. sagarnaga) 7b entrence

recommended movies

1. missing-jack lemmon, about the american citizens killed in the cue in chile

2. carlas song-nicuragua

3. men with guns-mexico

4. daughter of the puma-ken load-about guatamala

5. el norte-u.s.

what to bring

1. *vegan sun block- albabotanica good vegan sunblock-avalonnaturalproducts.com

2. small flashlight

3. towel-its worth it to have a nice towel. i once tried the fast drying camping one, it smelled so bad after a few showers that i had to throw it away. its nice to have one that covers you so you can get from the communal showers to your room.

4. a journal without lines is recommended so not only can you write about your adventures but you can also drew pictures. even if you don't draw, sometimes the scenery is so deferent and amazing that it inspires even the "non artist"

5. good rain proof shoes-new value has vegan shoes. or try veganstore.com

6. pens and pencils

7. *digital camera-yes, all film is still made of gelatin. the smaller the camera the better, its best to carry it with you in a small purse under your sweater.

8. *picture of loved ones-they are not that heavy and can make you feel so much better on lonely days.

9. open toed flip flops-for gross showers and running to the bathroom in the middle of the night

10. *some of your favorite recipes from home so if you do find a hotel with a kitchen you can make something besides spaghetti.

11. small calendar that has the full moons-its always nice to spend the full moon somewhere beautiful.

12. clock or watch with alarm

13. *cloth pads or the keeper

14. toothbrush and container , *vegan toothpaste (toms of main)

15. dental floss, soap, shampoo, nail clippers

16. dr. broners (can use as soap, shampoo, to wash clothes, and you can even brush your teeth with it).

17. *spanish english dictionary

18. knife (letherman, Swiss army, or pliers plus)

19. day pack-something big enough that if you want to ditch your big pack and go traveling you can fit enough in the day pack to last a few days.

20. address book

21. bra for bumpy busses

22. swimsuit

23. spoon fork cup bowl

24. bring clothes that you like and that are comfortable as they are what you will be wearing for much of your trip. Its always nice to have a few dress up clothes.

25. sleeping bag (read about the weather of were your going before hand and decide if its necessary).

26. nutritional yeast

27. Tea tree oil (for cleaning cuts), Lavender

28. pot and stove (if you want to go to smaller villages)

you can get everything besides the * items in the big city's. it's usually cheaper to buy things there.

little things to remember:

practice spanish. poems and children's books are good practice also watching movies in spanish. flashcards are boring but essential. i recommend going to language school for a minimum of a week or two. you can travel with no spanish but you will see so much more with the basics

get air miles

set up an email chat thing and make sure your friends have you id and you have there's so you can set up a chat on the road.

Call visa and make sure they know where you will be for the amount of time you will be gone