Ria is a backpacker making her way through South America. Her blog is quite descriptive with a lot of photos from Mendoza to Rio and all sorts of other hot spots in South America. She writes about arriving in Huaraz: right off the bus she’s bombarded by taxi drivers and tour operators (sigh).

In Huaraz she met a Canadian family who has been spending months in Peru, homeschooling their kids. (I like it when families travel like that, providing a real educational experience for their children).

I enjoyed Huaraz so very much, despite the somewhat rocky start. THis quiet Peruvian mountain town was one of the first places where I didn’t feel like a blue-eyed circus attraction since the beginning of my trip. It seemed to be quite typical Andean people who were both respectful and genuinely caring - with excpetions as always. But in general, the combination of this tranquil atmosphere combined with the fantastic view made it a favourite for me so far in this country. In addition, the trek was amazing and I can only imagine how many spectacular views a 2 or 3 or 4 day trek would bring. Finally, the Canadian family I met were just so genuinely kind and well travelled and just all around great people - the kids were extremely positive and well behaved and the parents were well balanced and warm. It was great to see that yes, you can have a family and travel - the kids were 6 and 7 - and that having a family doens’t mean one is limited to the daily adventures within the house or 2 week ’safe´vacations.