Lima and Departure

We spent the last 4 nights in Lima, Peru enjoying seafood, the ocean and many museums! EJ and I went to quite a few great little contemporary art galleries in Barranco and Miraflores. We visited the downtown historical center where we visited the Lima Museum of Art and the San Francisco monastery. The MATE and Casa de Posada were great musuems too. We also saw the main plaza and the changing of the guards ceremony which was quite extravagant. One day we ate lunch in an old train that had its original decorations and antique furniture still in it.

We spent a full day shopping in the market and buying many things! I got a charango for myself at a great little music store and an alpaca blanket.

Another highlight of our visit to Lima was Parque Kennedy-- which was still full of cats just like when I was there the first time.

Last night EJ and I said goodbye-- as we were on separate flights, and unfortunately my flight ended up being quite delayed. But after a long flight,  I finally made it to Dallas! 

They're playing Christmas music which is weird. 

Charango!

We've been doing quite a bit of shopping here in Lima and I decided to get a charango-- an instrument very similar to the ukulele that originated in the Andes!  It's beautiful and I'm very excited to learn how to play it.

Paracas and Pisco

We spent a few great days in the beautiful and funky beach town of Paracas! It was nice to relax a bit and enjoy the ocean-- and seafood! We visited the Islas Ballestas which are considered the Peruvian Galapogos islands as they are home to penguins, sea lions and many unique species of birds. Unfortunately we didn't have the greatest weather but the islands were very cool! We also visited the Paracas National Reserve where we saw more flamingos,  a beach with bright red sand and many spectacular ocean views!

After two nights in Paracas we spent one night in Pisco at a hostal with a swimming pool. Other than the pool, Pisco was very unexciting.

Now we are in Lima enjoying our last few days in Peru! 

Wineries and Dunes

I meant for this to be posted days ago, but the internet was not good enough. Anyways here it is!

We had an awesome day in the desert city of Ica! We went on a Wine and Pisco tour that took us to two different wineries just outside the city. One used to be a monastery and had beautiful historical buildings. Another was family owned (and very old) and once every year they use the traditional equipment and methods to create some special batches of wine and pisco-- this includes inviting people to come crush grapes with their feet. We got to have a few samples at each place-- a few wines and some very strong pure pisco. We also had a typical Peruvian dish called "arroz con pato" at one of the wineries. Overall, it was interesting to learn about the methods and get a feel for the industry in Peru, as pisco is the national drink. After the tour our driver stopped by the Plaza de Armas in Ica and showed us a famous cathedral that was unfortunately destroyed by the 2007 earthquake-- only pieces remain.

At around 4PM we went on our second tour of the day-- dune buggying and sandboarding!  It was insane! Riding in the dune buggy was like a bumpy crazy (and sandy) roller coaster. Our driver went very fast and really liked zooming down the slopes. This was fun but also scary because it felt like we were going to fly out of the buggy or worse-- tip over and roll down the dune. We got to the top of one dune and this is where we sandboarded, it was quite the experience-- much like snow boarding (but slower and less painful). We got to go down several different slopes and it was so much fun! Our group also got to watch the sunset over the dunes, which was very unique and beautiful. 

Chile Photos

The Latest!

When our tour finished we were dropped off in San Pedro De Atacama, in Chile... we passed the border with no problems at all! We spent the day in San Pedro, which was small and very touristy. We had delicious fresh juice, went to an archeological museum and enjoyed some shopping.

At 8PM we got on a night bus to Arica, Chile-- about an 8 hour trip. We got in at 5:30AM and thankfully the hostal let us in so we went straight to bed. The night bus was miserable and we were very tired. In the afternoon we went to the main center of town, walked by the ocean, and enjoyed a Sunday market. The architecture was colonial and amazing. Later in the afternoon we grabbed our bathing suits and borrowed boogie boards from the hostal and went to the beach. It was absolutely beautiful and very refreshing! Arica was a great city. We definitely noticed the difference from Peru and Bolivia.

The next morning we explored Arica a little more and then headed to the border of Peru (again no issues) and made it to Tacna around 3PM where we waited for our night bus to Nasca. We had a first class bus this time and it was much easier to sleep.

In Nasca we went on an awesome tour to 2 different lookouts to see the Nasca lines and also the Cahuachi pyramids. We also went to a small pottery museum where we learned about the methods the Nasca people used thousand of years ago (that they still use today)! Seeing the lines was amazing and the pyramids were very unique and interesting. There are only 3 pyramids that are uncovered, and there are 24 kilometers of land filled with pyramids that are still covered by sand. Overall, the Nasca city wasn't very exciting, but the history was incredible! What a great day! :)

We departed for Ica early this morning! 

Highlights of the Tour

Our 3 day tour to the Salt Flats and Atacama desert was phenomenal! We had an amazing adventure and saw so many interesting sites. Our guide was great and we also had some pretty cool people in our group. 

Here are the highlights:
- The train cemetery-- seeing and climbing on old rusted trains from the 1940s that were used to transport silver
- The salt factory where we learnt all about the way the salt is processed
- The salt flats themselves which are the largest in the world stretching over 10,000 square kilometers-- we took a lot of silly photos and drove to the very middle of them! The feeling was surreal as we were in the middle of nowhere and for miles and miles all you could see was white flatness.
- The fish island (on the salt flats), that is home to hundreds of giant cacti, humming birds and rabbit like rodents. We hiked to the top and could see a 360° view of the flats.
- Sleeping in a hostal made of salt bricks and in a bed made of salt.
- Lagoons-- we went to several lagoons over the three days, and each one was unique. They are home to 3 species of wild flamingos which were spectacular to see. One lagoon turns red during the day because of the large amounts of plankton being stirred up because of the wind. Another turns green because it contains 70% arsenic. Overall the lagoons were very neat, and beautiful!
- Seeing vicunas and andean foxes
- We saw many volcanoes along the way, some active and some dormant which were quite cool!
- Driving through the desert was amazing, very rustic and a new experience to be in the middle of absolute nowhere. 
- On the second night we stayed at a tiny hostal that was right by some hot springs, so after dinner we walked to them and sat in the relaxing warmth while enjoying the stars (which were stunning).
- Going into the crater of a semi-active volcano and seeing the geysers and steam jets-- possibly the weirdest and most unique part of the trip.

Salt Flats Tour

Sucre

We had a slightly panicked journey to the airport in La Paz-- we couldn't find a taxi anywhere and thought we'd miss our flight. But, nonetheless we arrived in Sucre around 12:30 after our flight was delayed about 30 minutes.

First we checked in at our hostal, and then we began our exploration of the city. We had a delicious lunch at a vegetarian restaurant and then hiked up to "La Recoleta" which gave us a fantastic view of the whole city. Then we went to a costume museum which displayed intricate Victorian outfits in a colonial house-- it was very interesting. Next we walked down a few unique streets, enjoyed the main plaza and had ice cream! We also visited "La Casa de Libertad" which was a museum with a variety of displays from contemporary art to swords to flags. We also explored a massive market that had anything you could possibly want. Sucre is a beautiful city and we wish we could have stayed longer!

This morning we got on a bus to Uyuni, unfortunately it left late. About 3 hours into the ride, we were further delayed because the driver got lost for about 2 hours (which was very frustrating). So we arrived in Uyuni around 7:30 pm after about 9 hours on the bus.

Tomorrow we begin our 3 day salt flats tour, there probably won't be internet so I will post again when we arrive in Chile!

La Paz!

Lake Titicaca and a Cactus

Off to Bolivia

On Friday after the rest of the family left, Erica and I hung around Puno until it was time to catch our bus to Copacabana (city right near the border in Bolivia). We crossed the border with no issues at all,  it was quite easy! We enjoyed the evening in Copacabana and a beautiful sunset over Lake Titicaca.

On Saturday we took a boat to the Island of the Sun, about two hours away. We started on the north side of the island and hiked about 10km to the south side. It was absolutely stunning.  There were Inkan ruins along the way and the views were incredible. (See photo)

On Sunday we caught a 10 am bus to La Paz, the biggest city in Bolivia! We wandered around for a few hours after we arrived and had an early night. 

Today we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Museum and church, Calle Jaen, a few markets and the Ethnographic and Folklore Museum. A few museums we wanted to see were closed because it's a Monday, so that was a bit disappointing. It as great to wander the streets and do some shopping though. For dinner we went to a delicious Indian restaurant.

Tomorrow we fly to Sucre! 

Adventures With the Fam- Week 2

After our Machu Picchu adventure we left Cusco early the next morning and went on the "4m Express" bus to Yanque (near the Colca Canyon-- which is deeper than the Grand Canyon). The bus was about 9 hours long and we only stopped a few times to make use of "Inka toilets". The last 4 hours of the trip was on gravel road which was bumpy and not very fun--but, driving straight through the Andes mountains was phenomenal. We arrived in Yanque and had a relaxing evening!

The next day we hired a taxi to drive us to the Colca Canyon National Park and the Condor Lookout. We went for a beautiful hike along the canyon and saw 3 condors at the look out. The valley was spectacular with terraces dating back to before the Inkan empire. On the way back we made a few stops in small villages and went to a cool cathedral,  drank cactus juice and enjoyed the views. We spent the afternoon in Chavay and relaxed in the hammocks at our hotel in the evening!

The next morning we went horseback riding through the valley-- it was so much fun. My horse was named Francesco! In the afternoon we caught our 5 hour bus to Arequipa. We spent the next day in Arequipa visiting many museums and cathedrals.  A highlight was the Santa Catalina Monastery,  stunning architecture and amazing history. We also saw the famous "Juanita" frozen Inkan mummy-- one of the most well preserved in the world. 

Next we headed to Puno, on the famous Lake Titicaca! We enjoyed a tour to the Uros floating islands and Taquile. The boat rides were fun and the lake was absolutely massive-- so beautiful. We enjoyed our last evening together as a family with a delicious pizza dinner! 

Adventures With the Fam- Week 1

So the last two weeks have been spent with my whole family-- we have travelled all over southern Peru fairly quickly to see the major sites! It's been pretty busy and hectic but also really fun!

The first few days were spent in the Sacred Valley (near cusco) visiting the Inkan and Pre-Inkan ruins in Pisaq,  Ollyantaytambo, Moras and Moray. Our hotel was right on the Urabamba river with an amazing view of the mountains! Some highlights were the Pisaq market and the Salt Mines (possibly the strangest place I've ever been)-- also travelling in between sites was beautiful, especially when we hired a driver for an afternoon who took us on a wild but amazing alternate "short cut" route to the ruins.

Then we headed to Cusco (my home base), where I acted as a tour guide for my family-- we went to the major museums,  el malino, the Pachachuteq statue, my favorite restaurants, the San Pedro market, Saqsayhuaman and Christo Blanco. Early in the morning on November 4th we departed for the Inka trail tour to Machu Picchu. After a train ride and a bus ride we arrived at the start of our 15 km trek on the inka trail. Wow-- what a hike! The trail consisted primarily of stairs and up hill slopes, but we made it to Winu Wayna (ruins along the way) for our lunch break and managed to survive! The whole hike was absolutely gorgeous-- right in the jungle and near the river-- great views! We made it to the Sun Gate around 3 pm and could clearly see Machu Picchu in the distance. After our arrival we hiked down to Aguas Calientes, had dinner and went to bed!  The next day we had a tour around the Machu Picchu ruins and unfortunately I was very sick (food poisoning) so I went back to the hotel early. In the evening we left Aguas Calientes and went on a 3 hour train back to Cusco.

That was our first week as a family!

(See photos below)

In the Mighty Jungle

After arriving in Puerto Maldonado, I took a two hour boat ride down the Madre de Dios river to the Inka Terra Reserve-- right in the heart of the amazon.

Here are some highlights/experiences from my week:
-On the first night I slept in a rustic tree house with a few others and Noe (the head biologist of the site)-- there was a major storm in the middle of the night and the tree swayed and it was kind of scary but amazing
-Night trekking to see nocturnal creatures
-Observing tarantula nests
-Working really hard to plant palm trees
-Canoeing through a jungle lagoon and seeing a caiman
-Walking on a boardwalk through the wetlands to see snakes
-Eating fruit straight from the trees (mangoes, star fruit, passion fruit, grapefruit)
-It was extremely hot and humid, I was drenched in sweat 99% of the time
-The canopy walks built especially to view birds above the trees
-Cruising down the Madre de Dios river in small boats (one night we went at sunset and it was gorgeous)
-Piranha fishing (didn't catch any unfortunately)
-Hiking through the jungle for hours
-Playing jungle volleyball with all the biologists
-Getting up at 5am to see birds
-The stars were phenomenal at night
-The music of the jungle (it was never quiet-- beautiful sounds)

It was a pretty amazing week! I loved the jungle and I'm so thankful I got to visit it despite my hospital adventure. The nature was stunning and I saw so many animals. (Photos to come)

Hello again!

It has been awhile since I have posted and that is partially because I've been busy but also because I haven't had steady internet!  A post about the jungle will be coming soon. My family has arrived and we are currently enjoying lunch in Surcani :) more to come!

The Jungle

I got internet at the inka terra lodge (45 minutes away from my site)..
The only comment I have thus far is that I was wrong about having an encounter with a massive bug in Puerto Maldonado.  I was so 100% wrong. I thought what I saw was massive. My opinion has now changed. 

Puerto Maldonado

So last night I embarked on my journey into the amazon (11 hour bus ride) and I have arrived safely in Puerto Maldonado "The Gateway to the Jungle" and I am now waiting for my boat trip down the Madre de Dios. I have already had my first encounter with an absolutely massive bug and I have also seen some very unique birds. Wow! This is going to be an amazing week. There is no internet once I am out of Puerto Maldonado so I'll make a post when I'm back in Cusco!

Here are two photos of where I am right now.

Peruvian Cats

Home Sweet Home!!

The last few days have been quite fun-- I'm still very tired and getting the occasional headache, but Dad and I still managed to see a few sites in Lima. We walked around Parque Kennedy-- a park with beautiful flowers and so many cats that just meander. It was tough to not touch them! We also have wandered around some nice stores as well as the Larcomar mall which was very American.

We went on an afternoon bus tour (very good for me as walking a lot just exhausts me right now) that took us through downtown Lima and showed us many unique historical buildings and parks. It also included a tour of the San Francisco monastery-- it was very interesting... especially the catacombs-- so many bones!

We went to a huge market and bought some Peruvian goods.
The seafood is incredible in Lima and we enjoyed some absolutely delicious meals-- ceviche is dad's new favorite! 

Last night I returned to Cusco-- finally! It was great to get back and my buddies greeted me at the airport! It felt like I was coming home, Gabriella made a special chicken dinner and was so happy to see me :) A group of us went out for non-alcoholic beverages and it was exciting to visit with all my friends again-- and tell them of my hospital adventures!

Machu Picchu Photos!

Machu Picchu

Day 1

Lil, John and I left Cusco at 6am to begin a long and bumpy car ride with our group to get to the starting point for our mountain biking. The countryside was absolutely phenomenal and even though I'm not a morning person I forced myself to stay awake to see the views. On our way up the mountain we ran into a fairly serious landslide which forced us to start biking sooner than we had expected-- The entire road was blocked by a giant mass of rock but we expertly manuevered it on the bikes. Unfortunately the weather was awful (very cold and wet) when we began our descent into the jungle but after freezing our butts off for over an hour the humidity and heat of the jungle warmed us up (almost like a hot tub). After 4 hours of windy mountain road biking we came to our end destination-- a small jungle village where we picked up some beers and snacks for the road, got back on the bus and drove to Santa Maria for lunch. Lunch was a delicious Peruvian classic--lomo saltado-- it was nice to get some warm food after a very damp morning. The next adventure on the agenda-- white water rafting-- another cold and wet one! Having never been rafting before, I wasn't sure what to expect. We went on level 4 rapids and I fell out of the raft (on purpose) -- it was exhilarating and the jungle river was gorgeous. After finishing this excursion we had to change quickly and get in a cramped taxi to Santa Teresa that took us on a hair pin turn, roller coaster mountain road that was terrifying. Thank goodness it was dark! We had alpaca steaks for dinner along with refreshing pisco sours! What a feast!

Day 2

Another very early start but this time with chocolate banana pancakes-- yum! We headed out to the ziplining place and started our zipping which included 6 lines and a suspension bridge. The scenery was incredible-- mountains, the jungle and a beautiful river valley. A few of the ziplines were a bit scary because of the height! We stopped for lunch in a small town and then began our 12km trek to Aguas Callientes. The hike was through the jungle and along a river-- we saw many waterfalls, orchids, and different birds. Upon arrival in Aguas Callientes all of us napped and rested at our hostel until dinner-- no hot showers unfortunately. After dinner we went straight to bed because at 3:30am the hike to Machu Picchu began!

Day 3

- 2,000 stairs at 4am to Machu Picchu

- 3,000 stairs at 11am to Machu Picchu Mountain lookout

Crazy climbing, this was the most challenging hike of my life! Steep and narrow stairs that went straight up-- had our calves and thighs burning after a few hours.

Machu Picchu-- what a wonder-- it was phenomenal! Indescribable! We had a lovely tour with our guide (Ronny), learned about the site and explored-- it was gigantic!

Medical Update

As Arnold would say, "it's not a tumor"-- or menigitis-- or tuberculosis. It's a miracle! Unfortunately my condition was much worse before any improvements-- After a week of not eating, many needles (13 to be exact), multiple cat scans, MRI's, migraines, pain killers, exessive vomitting and two lumbar punctures-- I'm pretty exhausted but happy to be out of the hospital and continuing to recover (here in Lima) with my Dad-- they let me keep the scans as a souvenir (see photo). It was a pretty rough experience BUT my neurologist told me today that I'm doing better than him and my Dad-- haha!

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. I recieved so many emails and notes that were very encouraging and really helped me (and my family) get through this unexpected "adventure".

I will now go back to my usual blogging! :)

(Happy Thanksgiving-- I'll be missing the turkey dinner this weekend)

Everything is OK!

As many of you know,  I've been in the hospital here in Peru. I'm getting much better already but they're still figuring out what is wrong.  Thanks for the thoughts and prayers :) I'll post about my machu picchu adventure soon! 

The Group

Updates!

- On Wednesday we piled 30 children and 5 adults into one small car, it was hilarious.  The kids laughed and sang songs-- really enjoyed being clumped into a trunk. It was a special field trip to visit another school,  where we watched a Spanish movie and  played soccer for a few hours.  On the way back we had to drive up a huge hill and the car was so loaded we just slid backwards down the hill, it was terrifying because to the left of us was an unrailed cliff. A few of us got out of the car and walked because it was never going to make it up with everyone in the vehicle. We made it back safe and sound-- no worries.  :)

- I got to teach a short English lesson-- the kids learned 1,2, and 3 in English and it was really cute to hear them try to pronounce the numbers.

- Yamperio, (a little rascal) head butted me because I stopped him from throwing yogurt at Melany. This kid is hilarious in the worst way. He'll be eating a crayon or garbage and he'll give you a look that says "I dare you. I dare you to tell me not to eat this".

- Living with 4 guys for a week has been....interesting! I'm glad that Lil is coming back tonight.

- I'm heading to Machu Picchu on Sunday for 3 days with a few buddies-- the trip includes mountain biking, zip lining and river rafting (in the jungle), so I'm super excited for some cool adventures! 

- Spanish class is going well and I am really learning a lot!

- I've been doing a lot of walking around Cusco and seeing different parts-- so many beautiful things to see. Yesterday we climbed a statue and it was a gorgeous view of the city! 

The School

Another Weekend

I am finally mostly recovered from my brief illness (which was just a bad cold!). Friday was a great day at the school and the kids were happy to see me again. One little boy,  Joseph, we nicknamed "little abuelo" (abuelo means grandfather) because he comes to school everyday with a colorful sweater vest, a white long sleeve shirt, and trousers with a belt. He walks around giggling and holding his belly (it's really hilarious) and pulls tissues out of his pockets when other kids are crying. He is the biggest sweetheart-- photos to come.

Friday we had a movie night and also went to a free salsa class at Mama Africa! That was really great, although salsa is hard work!

Saturday we went adventuring around town and for a hike! For lunch we went to one of Gabriella's political meetings which was interesting.

Yesterday there was a major thunder storm(first time since I've been here) and we went to cross keys to watch American football. American football is not exciting. 

Christo Blanco