Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu really is all it is cracked up to be. At first, I was thinking that nothing could compare to the Amazon but Machu Picchu is just as amazing. We did the six hour hike to the top of Machu Picchu, but you can also backpack the Inca Trail for four days. One day, hopefully, I will return to Peru and do the Inca Trail.

The hike was beautiful. The bottom of Machu Picchu is at 6,000 ft and is part of the Amazon basin so it was much more tropical and hotter than I was expecting.

My journey to Machu Picchu seems like it came out of a movie. It was hot and beautiful all day. We were sweaty, but it was well worth it. After 6 hours of climbing stairs and hiking up 2,ooo ft, I finally reached the top in awe. Just as I was thinking things could be any better, it started to pour. It was as if Pacha Mama (mother earth in quechua, the language of the Incas) read my mind. After a long day of hiking, fresh crisp drops of rain against my skin was just what I had wished for. There is something spectacular to say about standing in the rain and admiring such a masterpiece as Machu Picchu. In that moment, I felt so small, yet powerful at the same time. I felt small in comparison to the grandness of Machu Picchu and the power of mother nature. I also felt like I was on top of the world and I could do anything. Seeing the hard work and dedication put into building an entire city on top of a secluded mountain really is inspiring.

The rain didn't last long, but long enough for me to realize my fortune. And of course, after every rainfall comes a rainbow.

Machu Picchu was a great way to end my trip in Cuzco. It is the heart of the city and the people here. It explains the general love of the culture and people in this country, and it also concludes everything I have felt this last month.

my time

Since being back from the Amazon, we have had two work days. We built stoves in an Indigenous community. Before, the people of the community were using stoves without chimneys; the walls of the kitchen were black and charred from the smoke. At first, the service seemed miniscule, but after learning that almost 2 million people die a year from breathing inside smoke, I realized how necessary this project actually was. The black smoot released from the previous stoves is also said to be 700 times more harming to the atmosphere, in terms of global warming.

Other than that, I have been dancing the night away at the discotheques. I also went to my host grandma's 92nd birthday last night, which was pretty wild. It was like a family reunion; there were family members flying in from France and Amsterdam. I exchanged e-mails with the relatives that live out of the country and scored a future place to stay when I travel.

I know it seems like every time I write, I just drank a huge glass of endorphins. Of course I love Peru and everything has been so exciting, but I think I am starting to get used to life here a little more. As always, time bring frustration and I guess I should probably write about some of the more unpleasant things I have experienced so that my whole visit in Peru doesn't seem like one big fairy tale (although it is quite close).

I really don't have much to complain about, just weird little nuisances that seem to get under my skin every now and then. Like with every relationship, the longer you know someone the more you start to notice the little things and develop pet peeves. The thing that has been most frustrating for me is not having my own time. I have gotten so accustomed to living by myself that I like to do what I want, when I want. If I don't want to do something, I simply don't... but here it's different. I can't tell my family I don't want to wake up early on my day off to go to a mass I hardly understand, or that for the 40th day in a row I don't want to eat chicken, rice, and potatoes. It would be insulting to my family, so for the most part I have just been going along for the ride with a smile on my face. It hasn't really bothered me until now, as my days left are quickly diminishing. For example, today we went on a two hour car ride just because. Also, we crammed 6 people in the car for those two hours. Not exactly what I want to do with my free time here.

Although my time in Peru is just about coming to an end, I am excited to travel after and have my time back again. Traveling after will be the happily ever after to my fairy tale.

jungle fever

I just came back from the AMAZON FOREST and man do I have jungle fever!! All I can say is, WOW. I have never experienced something so amazing in my life! After so many years of learning about the Amazon in grade school, never in a million years did I actually think I would one day float down the river of the Amazon.

Our trip started off with getting picked up from the airport and then being transferred by boat to our lodge. Every minute of the trip I was amazed. We ate lunch out of banana leaves...of course, right? The lodge was beautiful and open to the forest. We had hammocks to lay on and mosquito nets to cover our beds at night. The first day, we hiked up to a tower that was 120 ft tall to see the most breathtaking view of the entire forest. We took a boat ride and swam in the river. We played soccer with the locals every day after lunch. We visited a shaman and woke up at 4am to see the beautiful sunrise. We fished for piranas, we swung from the vines of the trees, we went on a night walk, we danced meringue, we did everything there was to do and more.

I never thought I would say this, but I am somewhat sad to return to Cuzco. I could definitely be a jungle woman.

the things i love

I am having some trouble keeping up with this blog-- not because I don't enjoy narrating my excursions, but because I find it difficult to capture how amazing Peru really is. It's hard to explain how much fun I am having or to quantify the number of times that I have laughed uncontrollably. Every day is exciting to me, even though nothing spectacular may have happened at all. I love being able to speak spanish, I love being able to buy fresh popcorn in the street for 30 centimos ($0.10!!!), I love being able to hang out in a plaza surrounded by beautiful churches, I love meeting incredibly awesome people, and I love dancing the night away in the discotecas. At the same time, I love knowing that I will return home, I love knowing that my awesome boyfriend is going to meet me in Argentina, I love knowing that I will return to hot showers, I love knowing that I will day party at shell with my baaaaabes, and I love knowing that I will return to bikram yoga. Of course I miss all of the things I have in California, but their effect on me is minimal because I know that I will not be in Peru forever. What I am experiencing is amazing--unfathomable. My worries of family and friends do not bother me because I know that in a month I will return to all of these wonderful things that I love so much. So for the time being, I am trying to experience all the things I love about Peru to the fullest.

Lake Titticacca

My past weekend consisted of an 8 hour bus ride to Lake Titicacca to see the odd floating islands and take a road trip to Puno. Normally, I am not one for road trips, but I feel like anything goes on this trip. My whole life is upside down, but it is something that I inexplicably enjoy. Our weekend getaway to Lake Titicacca made me want to drive across the United States and stop in every state along the way. I want to see and touch everything I possibly can!

My adventure began at 8am Friday morning, when we boarded the buses and embarked for Puno. Like a little girl in middle school, I , of course, scouted out a seat in the back of the bus. I slept for the first half of the trip, in attempt to regain the sleep I skimped out on the night before. For the remaining four hours of the bus ride, the "cool kids" in the back played asshole and drank the traditional Pisco Sour, which is much like Peru's version of tequila. The whole ride was a blast... or at least it was for us. And thanks to a few obnoxious rules, I think the people at the front of the bus may have thought we had teretz.

We finally made it to Puno around 5, ate dinner, had a couple cocktails and called it an early night. In the morning we took a boat to the floating islands, which had to be one of the strangest things I have ever encountered. There is a population of semi-Indigenous people, who live on floating islands which are man made from straw. Their houses are made from straw, their beds are made from straw, their boats are made from straw, everything is made of straw!! The only reason why I classify these people as semi-Indigenous is because I saw that they had a tv in their house. I'm curious as to whether these people are still content with their lives or if they are inevitably stuck on those islands thanks to tourism.

Luckily, we weren't spending the night on the floating islands. We boated for another 3 hours across Lake Titticacca to a more civilized island. Of course, we stopped along the way to jump into the world's highest navigable lake. It was awesomely painful. As soon as I jumped off the boat, I swam as fast as I could to the edge and flopped on deck like a fish out of water. Just how cold the water was, I couldn't tell you because my body went numb, but as some sort of an indicator, it ended up snowing later that night.

We spent our night on the island dancing with the natives and drinking "Macho tea," which is a deliciously spiked tea. We woke up the next morning, only to return back to Cuzco. A short adventure for the long travel time, but the uncanny of it all definitely made it a fun and remarkable trip.