I’ll never forget my first time in Peru. My roommate from college and I had been traveling for over a month in Ecuador and decided to splurge on an overnight bus with plush, reclining semi-cama seats. I fell into a deep sleep as we made our way down the coastline from the more humid and tropical climate of Ecuador to the low-lying desert outside of Lima on the way to visiting Machu Picchu. I awoke to an outer world landscape; morning light seeping through ocean mist and casting a gentle glow over the sand dunes. I knew that I would love this country. We made our way to the southern Andean highlands and I felt as if I had stepped into the pages of National Geographic.