Hey friends! Welcome to Wanderful Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by and participating in the linkup! Don’t forget to link up a wanderful travel related post below before you go! 😀
Today, I have a few things to announce, as I have a ton of travel plans for the month of July!
But, before I get into all the details, I’d first like to let you know that my travel plans will not affect Wanderful Wednesday. (Except for the fact that I may be a little MIA for a while.) I’ve scheduled plenty of content ahead of time, so you’ll still be able to come on over and link up at Lauren on Location!
I’d also like to apologize ahead of time, as I’m going to have to catch up with all your wanderful posts later. I’ll have very limited access to Internet service where I’m going and I won’t even be traveling with my laptop! (I know, how will I ever survive?) I’m pretty excited to completely disconnect for a while though and really just soak in everything around me. I haven’t traveled this way in a whileeee, so it’s about time I take a wee little break from the social media/blogging world and immerse myself in some good ol’ fashion travel.
So, now that I’ve gotten that bit out of the way, let’s get on to my plans!
I’m so so excited/eager/ready for this month of travel (and also a little overwhelmed). It’s going to be a real whirlwind and a pretty crazy experience! It’s been a long time since I’ve packed up and head out on a lengthy journey. I’ve got some great activities planned and I’ve teamed up with some awesome companies to give you all an inside look!

PERU

July 6^th-18^th

That’s right! As you’re reading this right now, I’m on my way to Peru!!
What’s on the docket? A few days in Cusco, a 5-day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, Virgen del Carmen and Tres Cruces Festival!
Later this afternoon I’ll be arriving to Cusco (after a short connection flight in Lima) and checking into Pariwana Hostel! I’ll be spending three nights and two and a half days exploring the gateway to the Inca empire, while also allowing my body to adjust and acclimatize a bit. Did you know that Cusco is located at 3,400m above sea level?!
On one of my two full days in Cusco I’ll be taking a cooking class with Peruvian Cooking Classes. We’ll be heading to the local San Pedro market bright and early, stocking up on fresh ingredients and then learning how to turn these ingredients into a specialty 3-course Peruvian meal!
During the rest of my time in Cusco, I plan to wander around, pop in and out of local restaurants, cafés and shops and get to know the little city the best I can in a short amount of time.
After two days adjusting to the altitude and acquainting myself with the wonderful city of Cusco, I’ll be packing up again and heading into the mountains on a 5-day Salkantay Trek with Viajes Cusco! After weeks of healthy eating, working out and prepping with weekend hikes around Santiago, I’m super excited to take on this trek! I have to admit I’m a bit nervous though, as I’ve never done an overnight trek before. Still, no matter what happens, hiking for the better part of a week past glaciers and waterfalls, through canyons and mountainous villages will no doubt be one for the books! I’m also excited to announce that I’ll be teaming up with Viajes Cusco to give you all an inside look at the whole darn thing!
You can check out my 5-day Salkantay Trek itinerary here.
And then… MACHU PICCHU!

A photo posted by @traveljunkie_xl on Jun 28, 2016 at 9:21pm PDT

Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I still can’t believe it’s actually happening. On the 13^th of July, my dreams of exploring the magnificent Inca ruins will finally become a reality!
After a full day in Machu Picchu, it’s back to Cusco, where I’ll be spending two relaxing nights recuperating at Intro Hostels. I plan to sleep in, explore some more, regain my strength by eating everything in sight and then I’ll probably sleep even more.
Then on the 15^th of July I’m off again with the crew over at Ayni Peru! We’ll be heading to a little village in the mountains outside of Cusco for their famous festival in honor of the “Virgen del Carmen.” We’ll be camping and waking up before the crack of dawn to hopefully catch the “Three Crosses” (an optical illusion in the sky) during sunrise at a viewpoint overlooking the Amazon basin! This is the first year that Ayni Peru will be making the journey to this event, so I’m incredibly honored that they’ve invited me to come along for the ride!

Then it’s back to Cusco for two more nights at Milhouse Hostel before making the daunting journey back to Santiago.

Buenos Aires

July 20^th-27^th

After one full day in Santiago, to rest a bit, unpack my bag and then pack it once again, I’m off to Buenos Aires!
After all of my intricate travel planning for Peru, I neglected to plan much for my Buenos Aires trip, but I’m actually really happy that it’s working out this way! I’ve never done the whole solo travel, go with the flow, and see where the trip takes me thing, so I’m eager to see what will happen. As of now I’ve booked my first night in a hostel, so I have a set place to go drop my bags, get some info and explore, but after that, I have a few days of free-exploring ahead.
As for ideas: (let’s be serious, I don’t go anywhere without at least thinking of plans) I am hoping to fit in either a day trip or overnight trip to Montevideo, Uruguay, which is easily accessible by ferry from Buenos Aires.  I’m also hoping to hop on a food tour with Parrilla Tours, depending on their availability and schedule.

A photo posted by Buenos Aires City (@buenosairescity) on Mar 30, 2016 at 8:14am PDT

After a few days of solo-sploring, I have some long-lost friends from my time in Madrid coming over to join me in BA!! I haven’t seen them in a longgggg time and I couldn’t be more excited to be seeing and exploring yet another city with this crew! We’ll be spending the better part of a week taking on Buenos Aires together!
And then, after a crazy whirlwind month on the run, the 27th of July I’ll finally be returning to my home base in Santiago, where after just a few hours, I’ll be jumping right back into work!
And yes, I do realize that I used the word (or some form of the word) “excited” about 293,875,230 throughout this post. What can I say … This is all pretty damn EXCITING! 😀
Even though I’ll be MIA from the blog, you can still keep up with my travels! 😀

• Snapchat: LaurenBonheim
• Instagram: @laurenonlocation
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurenonlocation/
• Twitter: @lauronlocation

Updates will be periodic and sporadic, I’m sure, but they’ll be coming nonetheless! 
Do you have any upcoming trips planned? Any advice/suggestions/recommendations for my travels?!

Welcome to Wanderful Wednesdays!
Consider yourself a wanderer?! Well then, this Blog Hop is for you!
Meet your hosts: Lauren of Lauren on Location, Van of Snow in Tromso, Isabel of The Sunny Side of This and Marcella of What a Wonderful World.
Here on Wanderful Wednesday we hope to promote an open and supportive community for like-minded bloggers- expats, travelers and all kinds of wanderers!
The linkup will take place every Wednesday at 8AM GMT.
Wanderful Wednesday Guidelines:

1. Link up a wanderful travel related post below! One per blogger per week please!
2. Spread the LOVE! Blog Hops are all about hopping around & getting to know others within the community! At the very least please try to comment on one other post before you go!
3. Let’s get Social! Really liked a post you read? Don’t be shy! Share your favorites on Social Media! You can use the hashtag: #wanderfulwednesday
4. Don’t forget to grab the button and link back to your wanderful hosts! Help us spread the word and let’s get others involved!

We’ll also be pinning our contributor’s posts to our new Pinterest Board! So, if you want us to share your posts, please make sure to include share buttons and/or a Pinterest image and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to give us permission to repost!
This week on #WanderfulWednesday, I’m highlighting Germany: The Good, The Bad & The Awesome by Lolo over at California Globetrotter! I love how she put a humorous spin on her expat life in Germany to give us a real insider’s look! If you haven’t already, be sure to go check out her post and spread the love!

*Note: I’m traveling this month and will be a bit MIA with limited access to WIFI, but have scheduled content ahead so you can still link up! I’ll try my very best to periodically check in! See you all in August! Have a wanderful month!
Happy Hopping Friends! 😀