Peru is a very historical country in South America. Peru’s capital is Lima and there are 25 regions in Peru. However, Lima is the only province not part of any of the 25 regions. Peru has a rich history, such as the Incans who were the natives in Peru. Some might have heard of one of their lost villages: Machu Pichu in Cusco.

When I was recently in Peru visiting family, I found some of the food to be delicious, but some food was terrible and completely gross. Some of the good food was chowfa, which is a mix between Chinese and other cultures because Peruvian food is a mix of European, Asian, African and Incan. An example of some of the gross food is cow heart. They also eat guinea pigs. The poor guinea pigs — what did they ever do?

I went to Peru because my mom was born in Peru and my aunt, uncle and cousins live there. To get to Peru I had to go to Sault Ste. Marie (the Canadian side) and then I had to fly to Toronto to fly to Peru. It was cheaper to do it that way. When we arrived in Peru it was 6 in the morning. Peru is in the same time zone as Michigan so I didn’t have to get used to the time. I woke up in the morning around 9 a.m. So, I only got three hours of sleep.

Then I saw my cousins that I hadn’t met before — so it was awkward. But while in Peru I went to a place called The Club. There they had three beaches and it was great. When I was in Peru I went to The Club four times; my first time at the club I would jump into waves that could pick me up off the sand and push me back to the shore. There was even one wave that was so big that it crashed and flipped me over! On my third visit there, I played squash. We also went to a water park for my cousin’s birthday. I forgot to put more sunscreen on so I got second-degree sunburn. In Peru they do not have an Ozone layer in their atmosphere, so you have to reapply sun block every 30 minutes so you don’t get sunburned.

We went shopping for souvenirs so often that I spent more than 100 soles, which are the Peruvian dollars and one dollar is worth $3.25, but instead of the dollar sign they use a S because they are soles.

The highlights of my trip were playing squash for the very first time. I also got to walk in the Peruvian catacombs. Another highlight was walking and sitting in the convent where St. Rose prayed and is buried along with St. Martin de Porres and Saint John Macias. St. Martin De Porres was an alter server and cured people when he died. He was buried in his chapel and his coffin is black and fancy and people can touch it to pray to him. I went to see his grave and when I left I felt much better. My trip to Peru was amazing and if you get the chance you should go.

Editor’s note: Michael Mankee, 12, enjoys writing for the school newspaper, figuring out math problems in his head and playing Minecraft.