The beachfront in Chile, Colca Canyon and the beautiful white stone city.. Arequipa!

After our interesting adventure at the Bolivian border it was really nice to actually come to a more modern city Calama, Chile.  It's funny all you do is drive a few hours through the desert and you come to the complete opposite of the city you were originally in.  While Uyuni temperatures were below freezing and a hostal costed you no more than a few American dollars, Calama was warm and welcoming and a bus trip costed you more than five nights in a Bolivian hostal.  Still we welcomed the change.  From Calama we boarded an extravagent bus to Iquique.  We heard from our Chilean friends Egardo and Pedro that this coastal city was the place to be.

We got to Iquique at about 4am, not the best place to be at that time especially when you don't have a hostal booked.  We ended up going to a run down hostal where all we wanted was a hot shower and a clean bed.  It looked nice enough from the outside and we were promised hot water.  I was so tired, I failed to actually check the tap which turned out to be a huge mistake.  NO hot water to speak of.  We were annoyed and really just wanted a decent place to stay for a change so we left the hostal at around 5:30am and found a random taxi with not one but two people in the car.  This was something that the Lonely Planet guide said to stay away from, but we were desperate to get a place to stay so we hopped in, and I told Mark to be prepared for the worst.  We ended up visiting between 5 and 6 hostals before we could find something with vacancy.  Finally we found a great place about fifteen minutes walk from the shore, it was clean - minus the cockroaches in the bathroom which fled when you turned the lights on so really who cared right??

The next day after a nice, well deserved sleep we went for a walk that took us all around town.  We walked through the local neighbourhood and found our way to the beach.  While at the shipyard, we came upon a dozen wild sealions that came right up on the dock to sunbathe.  How amazing!  We stood there awhile admiring them from only a few feet away, snapping pictures all the while.  I've never been so close to these animals, and it was an unexpected surprise.  Our beachfront walk was great, relaxing, and needed.  We ended up grabbing dinner at a local restaurant, and had one of the best fresh seafood meals we have had in South America.

After Iquique we spend just a few hours in Arica, a small city in northern Chile before heading back to Tacna, Peru.  Yet another border crossing.. YIKES.  We ended up paying a taxi a few soles and we were packed into a Ford Taurus with three locals plus the driver and driven across the border.  It was sketchy, but much faster than a bus, and much cheaper.  From Tacna we ended up bording another bus to Arequipa as fast as we could.  At that time, we were running out of time, and we really wanted to do the Colca Canyon trek just outside of Arequipa.

AREQUIPA!!  This city is glorious!  It is surrounded by three volcanoes, all inactive.  Many of the buildings are made of the volcanic rock, which is white in colour.  This is why the city is actually known as the "white city".  It actually reminded me a lot of Cusco, but WAY more modernized.  The main square was breath taking.  It housed one of the largest churches in South America.  The church spanned the entire length of the plaza, and was made of the white stone.  At night, the plaza de Armas was even more beautiful.  This was the place to be, always packed with a mix of pigeons, merchants, locals and a tourists.  Again we found ourselves getting into the city in the wee hours of the morning, so we paid a taxi driver to drive us around looking for hostals.  We've lucked out with taxi drivers thus far, always getting the ones that want to help us as much as possible, and not steal our things.  We ended up at Hostal Verona.  A cheap place with luke warm water, no toilet paper, a barely there lock on the door and friendly staff.  It was a block from the plaza and it was our new home.  We spent two days in Arequipa before heading out to the Colca Canyon, which I will get to.  We visited the markets, antique stores, museums, restaurants and more.  The museum santuary, which held "Juanita, the ice princess" was well worth the 15 soles admission.  We received an english guide, a twenty minute video of the findings of the three child sacrifices and lots of artifacts, finishing with the actual body of "Juanita", a 12 or 13 year old girl who was brought up a mountain, poisoned, and killed by a blow to the head as a sacrifice to the gods by ancient Inca people.  In later times, due to avalanches her body rolled down the mountain and was discovered unknowingly.  This history was amazing, and our guide was well educated in most of the findings and could answer all of our questions.

THE COLCA CANYON.  Well, let me just say I was in no way, shape or form ready for this trek.  I figured it would be fairly leisurely with fifteen minute breaks every couple of hours.  NOPE.  We started out on flat ground for the first ten minutes, but from then on in it was tedious, back breaking terrain.  Mark and I decided to bring about 50 pounds of gear with us, and I just about died.  We walked 15 km the first day.... THE FIRST DAY.  Don't get me wrong, the scenery was beautiful, with mountains on every side of you - we were literally in a canyon.  Actually the Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world.  Deeper than the Grand Canyon.  Pretty amazing to say at least I've trekked it up and down.  Three quarters of the way in, my muscles were ceasing up and I was almost in tears from the pain.  I was carrying a giant backpack which I had to give to Mark every now and again because it was digging into my shoulders and the weight of it was making my knees buckle.  We were so bogged down by weight that we couldn't even keep up with the rest of the group, who were wearing daypacks if not less.  DAMN IT.  We ended up at the oasis - greatly needed. This place was amazing.  It was a small patch of green, lush land in the middle of the canyon.  Our room was made of palm leaves and bamboo, and was only lit by candle light.  We got to take a cold shower here and use a bathroom - in the dark, or by the light of Mark's ipod.  We crashed down on the bed, and we both groaned for a good 15 minutes before peeling ourselves up and getting some grub.  

The next day, we had another four hours of walking... ALL UPHILL.  Not only that, but we started at 5am with no breakfast until we reached the top.  I thought I might die.  The good thing was that we rented a mule to carry our bigger backpack, so we just had one to carry and Mark offered to carry it.  Ten minutes in, my calves were burning and all the pain from the day before was creeping up on me.  I was supposed to be enjoying this but it was just torture to know that I had four hours of this to go.  Over half way through I saw my mule coming up the mountain with my backpack.... hmmmmmmm.  That's it, I hopped on a mule and rode the last hour up.  I just couldn't cut it.  Mark was left behind to trek by his lonesome, but part of me believes that he was happy not to hear me moan and groan and be miserable for another hour.  Although, the mule was probably worse than walking, especially mine who liked to hover so close to the edge I thought he wanted to end his life and mine.  Finally, we finished... I couldn't have been happier.  Oh wait, our guide says we have to walk another half an hour to get to breakfast.  So we aren't finished???? AAAHHHHHH!  

The good thing was that on the way back to the city Arequipa we stopped off to eat fresh fruit, and to take a dip in some hot springs which was really soothing on the muscles and I really needed to get the grit, sweat and mule hair off of my  body and clothes.  All in all, this trek was better when it was done and over with, but quite the experience especially when I looked back at the pictures. 

Our reward for Colca Canyon was Mancora, which was an 8 hour bus to Lima and then a 17 hour bus north from Lima.  We ended up staying the night in Lima before heading out again.  Lima is a huge city, and not somewhere I would want to spend too much time.  But then again, I'm more of a small city/town person, I don't so much like the bigger cities.

Finally we arrived in Mancora, just south of the Ecuadorian border.  The weather here ranges from 25 - 35 degrees celsius from morning to night.  It is truly a beach town.  Lazy surfers are everywhere, markets selling hand made crafts are on a strip in the town, you can hear the ocean from wherever you are, the people are friendly, happy and are worry free.  We REALLY needed this, and it is making a fantastic end to our trip.  We found a great little resort with 8 rooms total.  It has a little pool, about 5 little hideaway places to relax and is right on the ocean.  We were about to take money out to pay for our little getaway when... OH MY GOD.  We realized that we left our travel safe in the hotel room in Lima.  That means our passports, visa's, debit cards, plane tickets, health insurance.. EVERYTHING that matters was not with us.  Actually it was more than 1200 km's away from us.  After our brief panic attack, we called the hotel and the gentleman there said he had found our bag strapped to the bed.  We are planning on heading back to Lima for our flight on the 1st, so we are to apparently pick up our belongings on the morning we fly out.... but for now, we can't do anything about the situation.  We are fortunate to have one debit card with us which is keeping us afloat and we are living it up while we can worry free.  There's really no point in stressing out now, only when we get to Lima in a few days....

WISH US LUCK.   

   

La Paz, Uyuni... and our run in with Bolivian authority!

The last time we spoke I was in La Paz and what a city it was.  La Paz is HUGE.  It is actually the second largest city in Bolivia, and also the capital.  Overlooking La Paz are the triple towering peaks of a large Bolivian mountain called Lllimani.  La Paz is actually the world's highest capital city.  AMAZING. 

We stayed in La Paz for 3 days total in a hotel called Hotel Brisas.  It was exactly what we needed after a long journey from Copacobana.  What I did notice about Bolivia was that the people weren't as friendly as in Peru.  We always managed, but didn't get a lot of help from the locals.  In one incident, a lady selling oranges decided she didn't want to sell to tourists and flat our denied us.  I picked up a bag to start putting oranges in it, and she grabbed the bag and just kept saying "no".  We were a little put off and confused but went on our way.  One GREAT thing in La Paz was the food.  It was fantastic, and you could pretty much get anything you wanted in this city.  We ate great for the full three days we were here. 

One the second day, we decided to visit the infamous "witches market".  Now I'm sure you're all wondering why they call it the witches market.  Well, not only do they sell an array of alpaca sweaters, scarves, jewelery, all the average tourist merchandise but they also sell black market items such as llama teeth, bones of endangered animals, hooves etc.  This market specializes in medicinal healing herbs, spices as well.  One thing we did see alot of but unfortunately couldn't take pictures of was all the llama fetuses.  In most if not all shanty stores you found dried out llama fetuses, or new born llama's hanging.  Apparently this was something the locals buy when they are building their homes.  They are supposed to build the fetus into their walls encouraging good luck and protection of the home.  It was interesting to say the least, and something you have to respect and try to understand.

We left La Paz and headed towards Uyuni, where we were going to take a day tour to the incredible salt flats.  Uyuni is primarily geared towards tourists, and acts as a gateway for those heading into the salt flats.  This town was cold, dark and very unfriendly.  Luckily at the bus station in La Paz we made friends with a great Chilean guy named Egardo.  He owned a tour company in Chile, and gave us a ton of advice.  Our hostal in Uyuni was something you would expect to find in a horror movie.  There were stains on the walls, it was freezing cold in the room.  I'm talking about 0 degrees.  We couldn't even get a double bed, we had to squeeze into a twin, which I was kind of glad for only because it was that cold.  The bathroom had no running water, just a huge plastic bucket where people washed their hands after going to the bathroom.  We knew that as much as we wanted to be in Bolivia we wanted to get far far away from this town as fast as possible so we booked the day trip the morning we arrived.  The salt flat tour costed us 16 US dollars and it was by far worth it.  

We started at an abandoned train station, which was actually pretty cool.  The backdrop was desert like with moutains in the distance.  Apparently after talking with our driver (who looked like he should have been in a south american boy band at some point in his life) I figured out that after newer, more modern trains were built they actually just abandoned this old train yard, not disposing of the ruins.

We then took a long drive out to the beginning of the slat flats.  It was amazing just driving up to it, let alone being right smack dab in the middle of it.  Also known as the "salar de Uyuni", these flats are the largest in the world scaling more than 10,000 square km.  The salt was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes.  AMAZING RIGHT?  It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average altitude variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar.  Now that is what I call flat.  The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. It contains 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves, which has yet to be extracted. 

Honestly speaking my pictures do NO justice to what we saw.  This sea of salt, it was just mind blowing.  In between were mountain peaks, which were apparently the peaks of volcanoes during prehistoric times.  We stopped at local market area where tourists could buy little memorabilia of the salt flats.  Everything there was made of salt, the buildings, the ash trays, the chairs.. it was spectacular.  We were given some time to check out the salt piles which the locals make up.  They actually gather the salt into piles and sell it.  Not sure if they export it, but there is definitely enough to go around.

The next stop was Incahuasi Island, also known as "fish island", because it's in the shape of a fish from a bird's eye.  This island was located in the middle of the salt flats.  It was covered in large cacti and was made mainly of rocks.  You could climb to the top and get an amazing view of the sea around you.  You could even see that there was a bit of a beach area where the salt formed what looked like the tide.  How incredible.  You had to wear your sunglasses here, because the whiteness was just too much on the eyes. 

Mark and I took our time, checking out the island and walking everywhere, snapping pics and just playing!  We took some pretty cool pictures out on the salt flats and just had such a blast.  Our next stop was the volcano.  Again in the middle of this sea of salt was a huge volcano which could be climbed, if we had the time.  It was quite the sight.  Of course, this was an inactive volcano, but just seeing it was quite breath taking.

Our last stop on our tour was what they call "the eyes of the flats".  A small watering hole in the middle of the flats where the sulpher bubbled up and created a pond of bubbling water.  It was less than spectacular but pretty cool. 

WOW.. the salt flats were worth the trip to Uyuni, the cold hostal room and the long 11 hour journey from La Paz.

When we left Uyuni we were relieved but only because of the hostal situation.  We really enjoyed the salt flats and the tour, and would definitely recommend it to anyone traveling throughout Bolivia.  We arrived at the border crossing at about 8am after a long journey from Uyuni through the desert.  When it came time to show our immigration cards, the gentleman at the border took one look at our passports and said very sternly "NO".  Then he told us to stand to the side.  The look on my face must have been priceless.  What could possibly be wrong.  After the long line had finally ended he said to us that we didn't have a Bolivia stamp on our passport.  It turns out, when we crossed the border from Peru to Bolivia, the two men working on the bus helped us get through immigration/policia on the Peru side of the border, but Mark and I were unaware that we had to go through another immigration/policia station located just a few feet from that on the Bolivian side.  We were naive and we didn't know any better.  We just expected that the guys on the bus would have told us if we needed to do anything else.  Silly silly us.  Since we didn't have a stamp from Bolivia the guard told us we were going to be DEPORTED back to Canada.  Proving that we were in South America, he did give us another option - pay 50 US dollars or 300 Bolivianos each and they would back date our passports and let us through.  The problem was that we didn't have quite that much on us and there was not ATM in sight.  We would have to travel back to cold and bitter Uyuni.... NO WAY.  We had previously made friends with a Canadian girl and her Chilean boyfriend and they offered us the money just to get through the border.  When I was about to hand over the 100 US dollars, all of a sudden the man looked at us and said "no, I will take only 300 Bolivianos total for both of you".  The change of mind startled me as I tried to hide the 100 dollar bill in my hand.  It was like an angel was watching over us and had changed his mind.  Our Chilean friend, said this never happens.  That when these guys say a price they NEVER change their mind.  But something changed his mind.  So yeah, we were out roughly the equivalent of 30 US dollars, 30 not 100.  I was so relieved, and baffled.  What changed his mind in the matter of two minutes?  Why did he take it easy on us at the last minute.  Instead of asking questions, I boarded the bus and got the heck out of Bolivia, no questions asked.  This was the scariest situation I've been in to date and I'm so glad we got out of it alive..

On to CHILE!!!

Morray, Machu Picchu, Copacabana & more!

 
                                                                                   So we have been on the go now for officially over a week since I left the volunteer house.  First was Morray, which is located about two hours outside of Cusco.  There were about eleven of us (people from the volunteer house) that went.  We hired a van and were on our way on mostly dirt roads.  I wasn't expecting the view we had, but it was glorious.  

Morray was a place where the Inca's tested agriculture.  It was a sort of laboratory where they could test different crops to see what the best conditions were to grow.  It is a series of circles, lowering one by one into a circular centre.  We decided to take a couple of bottles of wine and some food and have a picnic right in the centre.  It was pretty amazing, and for really cheap too!  The total cost per person was under 10 US dollars.  Can't really go wrong can you!

Our next stop was Machu Picchu and friends I can't tell you how amazing this place really is.  We traveled through the night, from a bus to wait in a line for a van.  From the van, to wait in a line for a train.  From the train to another van, and then finally the hostel in a little sleepy town called Aguas Calientes.  We went right to bed, because our alarm was set for 3:45am.  We waited in line to catch one of the first buses up to Machu Picchu.  There are a ton of tourists, which you would think would ruin the experience, but it really didn't.  

The Mercedes Benz buses took us up the mountain, driving in an S pattern all the way up.  The view was amazing, clouds surrounding Andean mountains.  When we got to the top there was another line.  We managed to get our ticket to climb Waynapicchu.. YES!  There are only 400 people per day allowed to climb and two times, 7am and 10am.  After waiting in yet another line, we were allowed to climb Waynapicchu.  It was out of a movie.. namely Indiana Jones.  The path was all stone steps, leading directly up the mountain.  It was hard, and strenuous but only lasted for about an hour.  When we got to the top, we watched the clouds all around us start to part and we got a glimpse of the ruins.  Apparently high priests and priestesses lived on this mountain.  Their houses were still in tact and you could go into them.  

Our guided tour started at 10:30am so we had to bust down the mountain as fast as we could and find our guide.  This tour, I thought was going to be boring but proved to be really interesting. Our guide knew all sorts of facts, stories, legends about this amazing, mysterious place.  In fact Machu Picchu isn't actually the name of the ruins, it's the name of the adjacent mountain.  No one actually knows the name of the ruins, that's why they are considered such a mystery.  He walked us through every building, rock, pebble and stone and told us what the meaning of everything was.  If you turn a picture of the ruins sideways you actually see a picture of an Inca man's face and if you hold it upright you can see a condor (a large bird of Peru, which has certain spiritual meaning).  There was everything from school houses, to guest houses, to main quarters which held royalty and had the only private bathroom.  There were plaza's and places to grow crops.  The water to this day still filters in from the mountains and is so clean you can still drink it.  Llamas grazed the open fields and they were so friendly and made the atmosphere that much better.  Apparently this was a complete functioning culture with no currency involved.  Instead they traded what they had with each other.  If one village grew mais (corn) and the other village specialized in spiritual ceremonies, they would trade.  How amazing!  We could learn a thing or two.  
 
I took a ton of pictures, but honestly speaking my pictures do no justice to what we saw.  This place is a true masterpiece.  Just to touch the stones, you felt this presence or energy that was unlike anything I've ever experienced.  I dreamt of this place two years ago.  I dreamt of going to Machu Picchu and watching the sun rise and there I was standing at the top of it all, taking deep breaths, trying not to let my knees wobble to much.  I MADE IT!  It was such an overwhelming feeling to be there.  I felt so fortunate that my dream actually came true.

We left Cusco on Friday night to come to Copacobana with a good friend I met at the volunteer house.  Copacobana is a small town off the coast of Lake Titicaca on the Bolivian side.  That's right friends, I am in Bolivia.  Copacobana was a really friendly village and really cheap.  We stayed in a hostel for a couple of US dollars a night.  We took a day tour to the islands, Isla del Sol.  This place is where the sun was apparently born.  It had great views, and was 2 US dollars to get there and back.  We made friends with a native to the Isla del Sol, he must of been 80 plus years old and lived on the top of the mountain on the island.  It was really relaxing to be in Copacobana, definitely worth hitting up for no more than a day or two.  

We caught a bus this morning to La Paz, one of the main cities in Bolivia.  We decided to go all out and spend a whopping 30 US on a hotel.  It's pretty expensive here, which we didn't plan for.  The city is dirty, scary and not top on my list of the places we have been to date.  The bus operator told us to watch our "mochillas" (backpacks) very carefully.  It's not somewhere you would want to be alone or at night.  We picked a fancier hotel.  Get this, our hotel room has it's own bathroom!!!!!! AND AND, TOILET PAPER!  WOW.  We also have wifi in our rooms (hence the long blog post) and cable tv where Mark currently watches Silence of the Lambs with sub titles.  We are resting here for the next couple of days before we head to the salt flats in Uyuni.  

Should be interesting!
I'll keep you all posted.     

A sad goodbye and a warm hello!

Mark has finally arrived and we have been planning the next leg of our journey, which meant that on Friday I had to say goodbye to the kids at Madre Teresa. I took Mark along with me to meet them. They welcomed him with open arms and lots of hugs. They each competed for his attention, and he didn’t hesitate to give each of them just that.. attention! I’m not so sure if they understood that it was literally my last day being there, but they all said in unison “ciao”. It was Jesus that really caught my attention before I walked out. He looked at me with those big brown eyes, and said “ciao”. It was almost as if he was also saying thank you. I felt as if I should be the one saying thank you. Thank you Jesus, for making the past five weeks probably the most meaningful and sentimental time of my life.

We have tried a few different restaurants in two days, and I must say the local dish “pollo de brasa” has to be one of my favourites so far. We went to a Peruvian restaurant just off of the avenida el sol, known for it’s roasted chicken. For 11 soles, equivalent to about 4 US dollars, we received as much salad as you can eat, a quarter of a chicken and papas fritas. I’m not sure how the Peruvians manage to do it, but they make the most mouth watering roasted chicken. Cooked perfectly, with extra large portions. Definitely worth trying.

We walked the streets and found ourselves in a part of town that tourists don’t visit. This was actually a bit of a relief considering June is Cusco’s busiest tourist season. This street was bustling with people, food markets, little electronic shops, music blaring, buses honking.. wow! Mark said it reminded him of India minus the garbage.

While eating at the restaurant, we managed to pre-plan the next month of our travels. We are heading east to Bolivia, La Paz. There are salt flats there that stretch for miles and are apparently mind blowing. It’s a three day trip and really cheap. From there we are going to head back to Peru and travel along the coast north towards Lima, hitting Arequipa and the Colca Canyon as well as Nasca to see the Nasca Lines by airplane. We will also sandboard in Ica and drink wine at the local and well known wineries. From there we are planning on taking a flight from Lima to Ecuador to spend a few days there and end up on the beaches of Mancora, a northern coastal town of Peru, then at last back to Lima for our flight back to reality.

Stay tuned people….

Cuy Cuy Cuy!

Our cook is named Edgar.  He is very funny, cool, calm and collected.  He offered to take us out for "Cuy".  For those of you who do not know what cuy is, I will tell you once and once only... GUINEA PIG.  I was so tempted to say "hell no", but my motto after all is that I'm only in South America once.  So I sucked up my gut wrenching feeling and followed Edgar out the door.

He took us to a local restaurant in the main plaza de armas.  It was more fancy than most cuzquenian restaurants, so I felt a bit at ease knowing at least my stomach wouldn't punish me after I ate.  I tried to figure out what would taste best with my guinea pig.. wine - no, spirits - no, I know Cusquenia - a local beer.. YES!  I ordered two, thinking it might help with the taste.  My friends followed.  

Finally it came out, and it was ... really unappetizing.  The comments heard from our table as the lovely waitress placed the full cuy, head and all down in front of us were: "i can't do it", "does somebody want my piece", "is that it's teeth", "no, fluffy!!".  Then the tables next to us asked if they could take their picture with our meal.  Is this really happening??  So after the waitress finally brought the dish from the other tables to the back to cut it all up I was somewhat relieved, knowing that I wouldn't have to see my meal in one full piece anymore.  She brought it back to the table with the head cut off and made into a piece on it's own.  I made dibs on the piece without the head attached and proceeded to wait for everyone else to take their piece.

I was about to peel the skin back and dig into the meat when Edgar said, "no no, you must eat the skin too".. of course, the skin too.  The crispy, thick, slimy skin.  I ate it, skin, meat and all.

What did it taste like?  Well it tasted like you would imagine a guinea pig would taste like.  It was slimy and flakey and there wasn't much meat.  It wasn't something I would try again, but I'm glad I sucked it up and gave it a whirl.  

                                When in Cusco, you must try cuy!

White water raftiing on Urubamba River!

I will keep this post short and sweet.  My amazing roomie was kind enough to offer me her laptop whenever it was free to blog, email etc. so I am fortunate enough to be blogging more than I thought.  I decided to take on what seemed to be the inconceivable to a 5 foot 1 and a half, non athletic, un-coordinated Canadian girl, and I decided to go white water rafting this afternoon.  My apologies, not just white water rafting... level 4 white water rafting.  I really had no idea what I was getting myself into but hey I'm only in South America once, and I promised myself I wouldn't pass up on any opportunity.  

I actually had what I will call a bit of a "stomach ache" from staying out too late the night before, so I missed part of the training as I decided I would be better off laying on the grass to ease my pain.  Bad idea, as I later found out I really did need to pay attention.  This trip costed 115 soles or the equivalent to 40 US dollars.  We were taken on a two hour bus ride outside of Cusco, into the glorious Andean mountains.  This was the backdrop to our rafting adventure.  We were split into groups of six and given an instructor.  Manuele was our peruvian guide and he was stellar!  We had to wear wetsuits and helmets with life jackets as well.  I have to say, I was surprised actually at how organized this particular event was, as generally speaking, the Peruvians lack organization.  The Urubamba River actually channels into the Amazon river.  It gives Machu Picchu it's lush green coloured forests as well (just a little tidbit of information).

This adventure was amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling into Cusco or Peru.  We rafted for approximately two and half hours straight.  It's tremendously hard on the body, but so so so worth it.  We were tossed about, left, right and centre.  We were thrashed into giant boulders.  We chanted while we rafted... "we will rock you".  We took a break half way and went for a dip in the ice cold river.  It was actually surprisingly refreshing.  The guides were well trained.  We had about ten guys with us, very fun loving, free-spirited, cool, calm and almost "surfer" like guys.  There were three of them in kayaks just in case anyone fell out.. which almost happened on more than one occasion.

In the end we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, had a blast, a great workout and we were even served a three course lunch on the riverside.  Definitely something worth doing a second time.  Only time will tell.... till next time people!

My kids at Madre Teresa!

This week has been all about the kids.  I'm starting to realize how truly precious they are.  They teach me something new each and every day.  I've finally gotten the chance to share time with each and everyone of them.  The three amigas Jasmine, Alehandra and Elena are trouble with a capital T.  They are pretty much joint at the hip and are individually very kinds, gentle and innocent but when put together they could rule the world I swear.  They are beautiful and will grow up to woo all the Peruvian boys out of their money, time and efforts.  GO GIRLS!  

Next on the list is Yong, probably one of the youngest boys, I would say 3 years old.  He is by far the cutest, but again a trouble maker.  His nose is continually runny and when you ask him not to do something, he looks at you, smiles... then goes against what you say and runs away laughing hysterically.  What can I do but giggle. 

Jesus (pronounced Hesus) is the most talkative and most inquisitive boy of the group.  He swears Spiderman exists and he talks with a mumble most of the time, except when he's playing with his flying ship made of broken lego pieces.  He is the worst at finishing his breakfast and lunch and I usually have to pretend that his rice and beans are either an airplane, horse or duck.  

Angelina (pronounced Anhelina) is the cutest girl of the group.  She wears her hair in pigtails everyday, loves taking photos and is the class gymnist.  She also likes to twirl around and dance in the middle of the room.  She greets me each and every morning with a huge hug at the front gate and a big old "Buenos Dias!".  

Brian is bad... oh so very bad.  He actually growls but when he gets hurt I'm the first one he goes to for a hug and a kiss.  He also doesn't like to finish his lunch so he hugs me a lot and asks me to feed him.  He asks about my nose ring, and my necklace, and how to spell my name.  Pretty much anything that will get him out of eating his lunch.  I love him to pieces.  

There are also the two that don't talk... at all.  Not a peep, except to cry.  Their names are Viviana and Hemena.  They are the cutest mutes I've laid my eyes on, and they eat all their meals.  They usually like to play by themselves, and are happy doing it.

All these kids, they are so beautiful inside and out.  Their parents can't afford to feed them nutritional meals so they come to us.  They teach me spanish, they pull my heart strings every time they say my name.. "Friya".  I love them more and more every day.  It makes me realize how hard it will be to leave them in a week and a half.  

Priya.... more to come  

Como se dice.. AMAZING!?!

So here I am entering my second week in Peru and I have to admit, life just doesn´t get much better than this.  My first week at my placement was interesting to say the least.  Things are not very organized here, so the organizations expect the volunteers to take things into their own hands, which is something I have to admit, I´m not very used to.  It was a challenge at first, considering there were three volunteers to plus twenty kids under 5.  As time goes on, I learn their names, ages and interests.  They teach me more spanish then I learn in my class.  They greet you every morning with a big ¨HOLA¨ and a warm hug.  They don´t forget your face, and they appreciate you being there each and every morning.  The kids that I´m working with are mal-nutritioned.  Some are street vendors, some came from hospitals, and others have nowhere to go during the days, while their families work.  It is more rewarding then I ever imagined.  Some days I run into these same kids trying to sell things on the street in the main plaza.  At first I was sad for them, but now I know that this is just the way of life.  Most if not all people here are happy.. truly happy.  So my pity is no longer pity, it´s turned into respect and admiration.

As for my weekend.. well we visited Lake Titicaca (don´t laugh).  After an eight hour bus ride, we entered Puno - which I must say was nicer to read about then to see.  Our hostal was good for two things, hot water and safety from the outside streets.  We ended up visiting a local Bolivian fiesta, where they sold all things miniature.  We ate at a local gringo restaurant, rode a rickety old ferris wheel and headed back to the hostal.  During that time, a policeman warned us that we would absolutely be mugged, so to take extra care.  We made it out alive and had a great first night.

The next morning, bright and early we headed onto the boat to our first stop Uros, also known as ¨the floating islands¨.  Our guide Anhil was incredibly funny, boisterous and full of charisma.  These islands, as we learned, are made fully of reeds that grow in the lake.  There are over 80 islands housing about 4000 people.  Each island is home to one family, including aunts, uncles, grandmothers/fathers etc.  They also have a president for each island.  We learned that almost everything on the island is made from the reeds.  It was simplicity at it´s best.  It was incredible.

After another 3 hours on the boat, passing the most breathtaking views of each island we came to Amantani.  This is not a man made island, and on it was a quaint little village.  We were separated and escorted by our island mother to our homes for the night.  These homes were make shift, no electricity and only the bare necessities were available.  It came as a relief surprisingly.  Our mother´s name was Alicia, and her daughter was Ruby.  There was a family of about 7 that lived in the same house that we stayed in.  The toilets were the worst part, and something I´m not sure I could get used to, but everything else... WOW.  We hiked to the top of the mountain that the island was on to see the sunset.  It was about a two hour hike up and we were rewarded with one of the most amazing sunsets I´ve ever laid my eyes on.  I actually got a bit emotional just taking it all it.  How fortunate am I to be where I am?  I am surrounded by beautiful people and beautiful places.  *SIGH*

We hiked back down to our family homes.  From there we had a very simple dinner by candle light.  We were about to nap, when our house mom came into our room and laid down three traditional women´s outfits.  She helped us put them on, and we headed down for a fiesta in the main plaza with the rest of our group.  We danced, and sang all night long with our dresses on.  What an experience.  Afterwards the six of us, found a random empty lot and gazed at the stars.  The stars... the milky way, Jupiter, Venus, Mars.. they were all there, dancing right in front on my eyes.  It almost looked like I could reach out and grab one.  You couldn´t even see a blank spot in the sky.  What a night!

The next day we visited yet another island, Isla de Taquile (not Tequila).  It´s funny how different two island cultures can be, considering they are so close together.  On this island we hiked to the top and had lunch.  We learned that single people wore different coloured hats then married people.  Here on this island, men did most of the knitting and the women bore the children.  Actually, if a woman was interested in man, she would pour water into his hat.  If the water stayed for a minute or two, then he was a good catch.  If the water poured right out, then this man was incapable of sewing/knitting and was no good.... NEXT!  If only life were so easy.  

We ended up back in Puno after another three hour boat ride.  The six of us ate a great and long lasting dinner and still had a few hours left before we had to get onto the night bus.  We ended up heading to a hole in wall bar, where we realized.. yes karaoke!  From Bette Midler to Gun´s and Roses with a few spanish songs in between we sang and drank a few cervesa´s.  It made for a great end to a fantastic weekend.  

Who know´s what´s next for me... only time will tell. 

On top of the world in Cusco

I landed in Cusco after travelling for over 24 hours at 7:15am yesterday morning.  The flight was extraordinary.  Flying through the Andes, seeing snow capped mountains, the sun was rising on the mountains as far as the eye could see.  By far the most amazing plane ride I´ve ever experienced.  I was helped by a new friend I made in Lima airport Silvano, a gentleman from France who was planning on spending 8 months in South America.  We parted ways and I was officially on my own in Cusco. 

I wandered outside and was met by Miguel, holding a sign saying ¨Priya B¨- of course they couldn´t spell my last name, or it wouldn´t fit on the sign.  After about a twenty minute van ride we arrived at Maximo Nivel - the volunteer office/spanish school that would be my home base.  I met a guy named Yorn (sp?) from Germany who was in the same volunteer house as me.  We were taxied to our home.  We were smack dab in the middle of a traditional Cusco community.  Our home is amazing and very welcoming.  Nellie is our ¨mom¨ i guess you could say, she looks  after the house and cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner for us.  There are about 11 people in the house.  Each of the four levels holds 2-3 bedrooms and a bathroom.  There is a patio on the roof as well.  Each window overlooks the most breathtaking view of both the city and the mountains.  I couldn´t ask for more. 

My roommates took us to breakfast after I got settled into my room, too excited to realize that I hadn´t slept or showered in more than 24 hours.  We went to a quaint little cafe with a balcony overlooking the Plaza del Armas which sits in front of a cathedral, a large water fountain and plenty of shops.  The coffee is amazing here, and the food quite the same.  Since it was Sunday, there was a parade that was going on, with traditional costumes, and songs, and militia marching around the plaza.  We stayed, enjoyed conversation with my new friends, wonderful scenery and Peruvian music.  I was finally refreshed!  

After lunch we went home, no not to change and shower but to go on a hike.  This hike lasted 4 hours!  We went up to one of the ruins in Cusco known as Saqsaywamam which is a complex of Inca ruins. It was an outpost consisting of three outer walls (15m, 10m, & 7m) with three watch towers on top. It was a military post and a religious place with a temple and ceremonial plaza between the post & temple. Large stones were used to construct the outpost (360 t) with unique jointing methods in the walls. The site was destroyed by the Spanish and used as a quarry for pre cut stones for new construction in Cusco until 1930.  What made the ruins even more amazing was the view.  A view like I´ve never seen and will never be able to fully explain.  Some compare it to Machu Picchu but I haven´t yet experienced that view.  From there we walked over to the statue of Christo Blanco.  A large white statue of Jesus, many are found in South America, including the well known one in Brazil.  On the way we saw local kids playing soccer, eating lunch and singing.  Some of the kids were sliding down these stone made walls, resembling slides... looked like a lot of fun. It was amazing. 

After we got home, I finally had a moment to shower, in the cold.. no wait ice cold showers.. and take a moment to relax.  My roommates and I watched some tv, and I called it an early night.  I was utterly exhausted but was still smiling.  I´m so glad I came here, it is much more than I ever imagined.

Stay tuned.....

My first blog post!

Hey everyone...
So bare with me, as this is my first blog post EVER.  This will be a way for me to document some of my amazing adventure, as well as be able to share it all with everyone I love and care about.


To date it looks like I am well on my way to being fully prepared for this trip.  Lately my nerves have gotten the best of me but I'm back on track and my list of things to do/get is getting smaller by the day, and so is my wallet!

The first month of my travels will be concentrated in Cusco.  Cusco is a city in southeastern Peru and has an altitude of about 11,000 feet.  I'm planning on drinking lots of cocoa tea (supposedly it gets rid of altitude sickness).  Cusco is infamous among travelers because of many reasons, one being that it is the historical capital of Peru.  It also lays close to the Andes mountains and is a train ride away from  Machu Picchu.  If you haven't heard of Machu Picchu then lay your eyes on this:

Machu Picchu also known as "the lost city of the Incas" is probably the most familiar icon of the Inca world.










I'm going to be volunteering with an organization called IVHQ.  They specialize in providing affordable volunteer opportunities for people globally.  I've done a ton of research and they have the best prices and great reviews.. if any of you are interested!  So, for the first two weeks I will be working in an orphanage and the second two weeks I will be helping with construction/renovation of a community centre.  

The second month there is pretty well unplanned at the moment.  I figured I would just meet up with some fellow travelers and go where my heart desires.  I would however like to visit the Amazon in Iquitos and stay in a jungle lodge for a few days - although let's be real I can't handle mosquitos in my backyard, so how on earth will I handle prehistoric size insects, biting fish, and snakes the size of my garden hose..... (shivers)!

Anyways, I'm pretty excited and I really hope all of you enjoy taking this journey with me!  Thanks for all your support and I look forward to seeing you at my going away shindig on April 24th.