Back in Peru!

I am excited to announce that I made it safely back to Iquitos on Tuesday!

It was strange in many ways to travel this time, since it is the first time I have flown since Covid. I guess the main thing I noticed during my 24hrs of travel was that every step forward made it seem more real. When I left in December of 2019, I knew I wouldn't be back as quickly as I had been in previous years. But I really thought that would only mean about 6 months in the US. I even had a ticket already to come back for June, July, and August of 2020 before everything got shut down. When everything did actually shut down in March, no one knew exactly how long things would be that way. As the '15 days to slow the spread' turned into months, the realization that my return to Peru would be longer than I expected came.

When I started planning for this trip I think there was part of me that kept saying, "Don't get too excited. Anything could happen to prevent this trip just like the last one." So, when I actually checked in with Delta on Monday afternoon it seemed very surreal. Once I actually got through security, I began to really grasp that I was actually going! I think the point where it truly registered was after I got to JFK airport and was at my gate awaiting my flight to Lima. I kind of gradually realized that there was a deep joy filling me as I sat around the Peruvians returning home. Listening to Spanish being spoken on every side of me after such a long time of only English was like music to my ears.

From that moment on, the excitement continued to grow. Arriving in Lima was both amazingly familiar, and strangely new with all of the new Covid procedures. But arriving in Iquitos and seeing Jenn and Lily waiting for me outside while I was waiting for my luggage was probably my favorite. I would say that was the moment that everything finally seemed real about the trip. It truly felt like arriving home after a long time away.