Who You're With

Recently my friends and I have been emailing each other about our trip to Peru. Thanks to my travel buddies, I know what the weather will be like (70s in the day, a chilly 30 at night). I know the distances we're hiking each day (the hardest stretch will be climbing something called Dead Woman's Pass. This does not bode well). They've advised that I not wait to pack the same day as the flight. They've recommended me getting cash from my bank directly from the teller and not through the ATM.

Thanks to my friends, I was able to get my vaccines done in time (Screw you, typhoid!). Because of them, I know what type of pants to bring on the hike. I now know that thermal underwear might be a good idea. And cotton t-shirts might not be. My friends are thorough, prepared, and if it weren't for them, I'd be stuck in the Andes by myself with nobody around me but alpaca herders and their flocks. Or herds. Or whatever they're called in groups.

I'm very grateful for my friends. I'm the type of traveler that will cover the basics (wear a money belt, don't flash your bling all the time, etc.), but I totally goof up on the little things. Like what to wear. Or that I shouldn't drink the water right out of the tap (I'm kidding here, really).  I kinda like the idea of just showing up somewhere, armed with little more than a passport, a camera, and my wits, and seeing what happens. And that might be OK, if I were traveling to say...Santa Barbara. Peru? Maybe not.

That's why traveling is just as much who you're with as it is where you're going. I know my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to hitting the road, so I gravitate to people who complement those things. And by spending time with them, you find yourself growing in areas where you thought you were inadequate. And it goes both ways. We learn a little bit from each other as we take in God's majestic creation.

And it starts in one week.

Oh my.