If only I had some of those zip-off cargo pants, I'd be a real traveler.

So I went to Machu Picchu this past week, and all the fun tourist towns that involves on the way there and back. I can give a more detailed report of my adventure to whoever asks, but here are the bare bones and highlights of my trip...

July 26th I got on the Super VIP bus to Lima with Becca, Jason, Sarah, Julie, and David. It was weird saying goodbye to everyone at the bus station because I was the only one of our group who was returning to Trujillo. The fact that I can't sleep during a movie has been reiterated to me many times lately, despite that I've seen the movies before, they're dubbed in Spanish, and have no subtitles, I still can't sleep while they're playing. We arrived in Lima at about 6:30 a.m. and went from there to the Lima airport. I got excited about Dunkin Donuts but it was premature- when I tried to order an iced cappuccino (which I expected to be the equivalent of a pretty normal coffee), I recieved a super strong coffee coolata. No worries though, I got my Starbucks iced caramel macciato by the end of the trip.

Okay enough about little things, I'll try not to get bogged down in unimportant details. We flew to Cuzco and took taxis to the downtown. There we sat around at the post office for a good 2 hours waiting for David to get money wired to him (his bank turned off his debit card). The picture below is Becca and I in that taxi.
Once David got his money we were off to the Peruvian bus station (as opposed to a tourist one) and hopped on a local bus for an hour and a half ride to our next checkpoint (for about $1). From there we took a comvi (a public van) for another $.35 for another 20 minutes to Ollantantambo (not sure of the spelling on this one). We spent the night here at a pretty nice hostal- though I had a killer migraine and went to bed at 8:30. This was a beautiful village geared toward Machu Picchu travelers and nestled in the middle of a beautiful mountain range. The next morning was stressful because we had to meet a guy at the train station who would give us our tickets and we waited for a good 35 minutes before finding him just in time to get on the train. While we were waiting for the train I noticed that one of the snack vendors was selling Red Bull. If you think about how isolated we were in the Sacred Valley of Peru and how much traveling we had already done to get there, it just seemed so silly to me to find Red Bull there. In any event, we made the train and rode for 2 more hours to Aguas Calientes (yes there are hot springs there). Aguas Calientes is what Becca and I liked to call the Disney Land of Peru. Everything was expensive and geared towards tourists. We got massages. You walk down the street and people are pushing menus in your face left and right. "Free pisco sour!" "12 Sole Menu!" You haggle with waiters in the street to determine prices in the restaurants- it's rather ridiculous. I got some decent lomo saltado that night (my favorite Peruvian dish). A menu (pronounced "men" "new") is a course meal that usually includes a weird saladish thing or a bowl of soup plus your main dish plus a postre (dessert) or drink (usually a pisco sour or lemonade). We had a pretty nasty menu in Cuzco for 10 soles (about $3) but sometimes you get lucky.
On the morning of Sunday, August 29th, we woke up at 4:30 am (but then julie said we could sleep another 20 minutes) and left the hostal at 5:20 to meet our tour guide in the plaza. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu and entered the ruins at about 6:00 am. It was really cloudy so we couldn't see the sun rise. We were actually a bit worried that the day would be cloudy and we wouldn't get to see Machu Picchu at its finest, but the clouds are just part of mountain weather.

Our tour guide told us some theories about Machu Picchu and we walked around the ruins in the rain for a bit. There were very few tourists there yet so we could get a good look at everything and feel the isolation of this mysterious incan city. They think that only about 800- 1000 people lived there at a time and 85% of the bodies they have found were women's. One of the theories is that Machu Picchu was a convent of sorts, with women preforming religious rituals in the various temples. They also think that there was a princess that ruled over Machu Picchu and that she was very tall (most peruvians are very short). There was one building that had two basins in the middle. The "expert" conclusions on these basins range from "they were paint holders in an industrial building" to "they were sacred astrological tools". Becca found this quite amusing. It may be out of character for me not to care about the historical aspects of a place, but what I most enjoyed about Machu Picchu was its beauty and serenity locked away in the mountains.


After our short tour we climbed Waynapicchu (the mountain in all the pictures of Machu Picchu). They only let 400 people climb it a day (which seems like a lot, but a lot of people come to Machu Picchu). Climbing that mountain took most of the morning. It was basically the Stairmaster 5000. The Incas must have been very physically fit. We took some amazing aerial shots of Machu Picchu and hung out with our fellow climbers at the very top for a while.
Back down in the main area of ruins Becca and I had a nice chat about God and going home. I ate two of the best oranges I've ever tasted. We met up with the rest of the group at a very high point in the ruins and took some pictures. In all my pictures it really looks like I'm standing in front of a green screen or a bill board of Machu Picchu. After we took more pictures than necessary (which must be a lot for me) we sat around off the beaten path and sang some hymns and RUF songs. I read some passages from Isaiah that I've been collecting to set to music. It was a nice ending to a lovely morning.

At 3:30ish we left the ruins and went back to Aguas Calientes to get our stuff. I was proud of myself for only packing my school backpack for a week-long adventure through Peru. We took the train back to Ollantantambo and then a van to our hostal. It was about 9 p.m. when we made it to our hostal in Cuzco only to find that they had no record of our reservation.

This was our "Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem with no room in the inn" night. We didn't have to sleep in a cave but we did have to squeeze 4 girls into 2 twin beds. Still it was better than nothing so despite my poor night's sleep, I was glad we had somewhere to sleep in that chilly city.

We ate breakfast at Jack's, a delicious discovery in our part of Cuzco. While the rest of the group went to a few museums and cathedrals, I mostly just wandered in and out of shops. I found some beautiful alpaca long coats but they were $300, so I had to let them go. Still I enjoyed seeing some good fashion after being lost in the sea of stretchy polyester and pocketless pants for two months. I do look forward to seeing my vintage clothes when I get home.


That night (Monday) we went to a cool cafe and listened to some live music by a Portuguese guitarist and his lovely back up singer. We sat in the window over-looking Cuzco all lit up. I'm a big fan of Cuzco, it had a lot of charm. If I'm ever passing through Peru again, Cuzco would definitely be worth the trip.

We flew back into Lima on Tuesday morning. We met the reggeaton group Hector El Father in the airport and that was rather amusing. After dropping our stuff off at the Melia (luxury hotel where Becca and I spent the night), we stepped back into the US for most of the day. We went to a huge mall and I enjoyed looking at the high fashion that was slightly more affordable than usual, but still not affordable (even when my $1 is worth three soles). We ate lunch at the nicest Pizza Hut I've ever seen, and Julie was the only one brave enough to eat her salad (lettuce is very hard to clean so we generally don't eat it here- I'll eat lots of salads from the SU when I get back to make up for my lack of salad all summer). We went back to the Melia and said goodbye to Julie, Jason, David, and Sarah. We stood there waving to them as they drove away and it was really sad to think I may never see them again. Weird; goodbye's are weird after you've just spent so much time together.

Becca and I took showers and layed on our big beds. It was a restful evening. I felt the need to put myself together before walking by the front desk again, since earlier they had asked me when my parents were coming! I put on a clean shirt (Becca's actually) and we went out to look for a cafe. We walked the wrong direction for about 7 blocks and finally turned around and found what we were looking for. The people in San Isidro (the neighborhood we were in) seemed a bit stuck up if you ask me. Things were definitely more expensive there- 12 soles for a small cup of gelato! What will I do when I get home? I was cheap before!

Wednesday was relaxing too. We did a bit more shopping (most of this vacation falls in the shopping category) and then chilled in Parque Kennedy for a while. I had some great lomo saltado at Cafe Cafe and an iced caramel macciato at starbucks. The atmosphere at Starbucks wasn't quite as relaxing as in the states though, because there is a guard who stands at the door and walks around every few minutes. We were pretty worried he was going to kick us out when I finished my drink and we were pretty much homeless since we had checked out of our hotel room that morning and it was too cold to be outside. That is the slowest I've ever drunk such a tasty treat, and it was a real exercise in self control. I was overwhelmed by the big stores and comericalism in Lima- it's a real shock to the system after being in Trujillo for a while. Becca and I both said many times that we're so glad SALI is in Trujillo instead of Lima.

Wednesday night was sad because I had to say goodbye to Becca. Becca if you're reading this, I miss you!! I took the Super VIP bus home to Trujillo and arrived at 6:30 on Thursday morning. I was really happy to be back in Trujillo, though by midday I was really feeling the loss of everyone who had already gone. I'm going to do my best not to feel like leftovers. Chase and I are the only ones from the summer crew who are staying for August. I moved my flight so now we are flying home together on August 26th. I'll probably skip my classes on the 27th to recouperate a bit.

For those who have been praying about my crazy stressed-outness, thanks, and I'm quite happy to report that the last two weeks have been a lot better. Granted, I haven't been teaching, but hopefully this attitude will carry over into next week.


I miss you guys back in CT, and I'm looking forward to coming home and starting up at school in just a few short weeks. I hope to have a car which will be a bit life-changing, and I'm planning to road trip/fly south for a few days to see some very sorely missed individuals. Being 21 when I get home will add an interesting twist to my life too, I expect. In any event, the future is bright, but I'm trying to live in the moment and enjoy each day I have left here in Peru. Trujillo has become quite dear to me, in a way I didn't know a small foreign city could.

One of these days I will post some of my favorite songs that we sing on Sundays down here, but until then, hasta luego!