Kieran Proctor | Digital Nomad | Slow Traveler | Travel Author | Travel Blogger | Expat Living in Peru

Last updated: May 2026 | Based on ongoing fieldwork across Peru

For years, my world was defined by complex systems and high-stakes problem-solving. As a senior professional within the Australian Public Service, I was the person sent in when a program was broken and needed fixing. I spent my days as a contractor assigned to difficult projects, tasked with analyzing failures and identifying truth in environments where details weren’t just important—they were mandatory.

I don’t review places after a 48-hour stay. I audit them using the same risk and compliance standards I applied to national security policy.

I carried that same obsession with detail through my academic career at the Australian National University—rated in the World Top 10—where I specialized in fields like National Security, Sociology, Diplomacy, and Strategic Studies. I hold the unique distinction of being the only person to have ever completed all four of the university’s top Master’s programs. I completed these studies while working full-time, collecting awards and accolades for excellence in my field. And you can view my LinkedIn here and my TripAdvisor account here.

Verified Experience in Peru

• Time living in Peru: Full-time resident since early 2024.
• Years traveling Peru: 15+ years of repeated, long-term visits.
• Lodges personally audited: 12+ sites across the Amazon and Cusco.
• Regions covered: Lima, Cusco, Tambopata, and the Madre de Dios basin.
• Routes driven: Multiple return crossings of the 30C Interoceanic Highway.
• Media Feature: Featured on NBC/NECN Boston discussing international travel risks.

A Transition Driven by Truth

Eventually, I realized that while I was highly awarded for fixing government programs, the work lacked the personal fulfillment I had once imagined. My connection to Peru isn’t a recent whim or a post-pandemic pivot. I first crossed South America overland in 2007, traveling by bus from Buenos Aires all the way to Colombia.

I fell in love with the rugged geography and the raw honesty of the landscape during that first trip. For over a decade, I kept returning for stays of three months or more, but in early 2024, I decided to stop being a visitor. I landed in Lima with a singular intent: to put down roots.

Putting Down Roots in Peru

Today, I am a full-time resident and property owner in Pueblo Libre—Lima’s second most historic district, where I manage a portfolio of Airbnbs. When I’m not in the city, I am deep in the Amazon basin. I spend a large chunk of every year in the jungle, and I am currently scouting property near Tambopata to build my own eco-lodge.

This is a project that combines my professional background in risk and compliance with my passion for the Peruvian landscape. I started ‘In Lovely Blue’ because I saw a travel industry that reminded me of the broken government programs I used to audit. Many travel guides are based on short stays or second-hand information, making it impossible to evaluate long-term quality or safety.

Applying Compliance Standards to Travel

To me, that isn’t just bad advice—it’s a systemic failure. I apply the same vetting standards to travel providers in Peru that I once applied to national security policy. My goal is to ensure you aren’t relying on recycled junk advice, but on a vetted logistics chain.

This starts with rigorous, on-the-ground verification. I personally stay in and evaluate every lodge I recommend and take the tours myself, assessing them against a consistent professional standard. I work exclusively with vetted travel partners and professional tour guides I’ve worked with or evaluated across multiple expeditions since 2007—systematically filtering out unreliable operators so my clients deal only with proven experts.

A Network Built on Decades of Trust

My network in Peru is built on decades of trust. Many of the local tour operators and guides I recommend are experts I have known and tracked since my first journey across the continent. Furthermore, my advice is fueled by my own personal passions, such as sport fishing in the remote waterways of the Amazon rainforest.

This keeps me returning to the most isolated parts of the country to find what truly works. In my previous life, people trusted my judgment because of the credentials I held and the awards I received for excellence in the Australian Public Service. Today, I ask for that same trust as a resident with skin in the game.

The Resident Advantage

I’ve traded a career in the Australian capital for a life of exploration, but the auditor in me hasn’t changed. Whether you are looking for world-class sport fishing or a seamless transition from the Andes to the Amazon, you’re relying on a decade of vetting experience and a life lived on the ground.

Where Am I Now?

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