Home, Sweet Home: Cusco, Peru

After our awesome adventure in the rainforest, eating termites, catching piranhas, and jumping rope with the local monkeys, we finally landed at our temporary home in Peru (for the next 4 weeks). Only two weeks left for Tracy :( Although we miss the excitement of being dirty, crazed backpackers, we are now enjoying daily showers and hanging out with our wonderful Peruvian families. Our new routine consists of Spanish classes from 9 to 1, a typical Peruvian lunch with our families (along with more Spanish practice), and that same meal for dinner. In our down time we explore the amazing city of Cusco. We have been very lucky to land in modern Peruvian homes equipped with tvs and internet access (but no web cam for Tracy and Ann). At least we have Skype (our new best friend)! Yesterday was the famous, most important celebration of the year, Inti Raymi, the Inca celebration of the Sun, complete with parades, costumes, dancing, and riots (the equivalent of Mardi Gras-Peruvian style). Pictures and hopefully videos to come.

Things we brought and things that would have been useful in the Amazon

Things we brought that could have stayed at home:
1) Winter coats
2) Rain pants (The guide was bent over laughing at the idea of rain pants)
3) Croc sandals (Ann marketed crocs as a full-fledged hiking shoe)
4) Hiking socks (Not too important without the boots)
5) Books (Reading by candlelight can be tricky)
6) Malaria pills (They made our fingers tingly and we didn't really think that we needed them.)
7) Mosquito repellant (The only person that got bit was Mary).
8) Our comfy clothes (No time for relaxing...all hiking all the time)
9) The computer (No internet signals in the rainforest...Note: it was done for security reasons)
10)Dirty clothes (We didn't really want to wear them, but there wasn't much of a choice).

Things we should have brought:
1) Flashlight (Low tree stumps can really trip you up in the pitch black jungle)
2) Hiking Boots (Our guide told us not to bring them...great idea Fino!)
3) Tank tops (The rainforest gets pretty warm)
4) Yellow Fever Shots (The last outbreak was 10 years ago so Mary and Ann rolled the dice.)
5) Binoculars (The birds don't just come up to you and sit on your shoulder)
6) Chocolate (Dessert was apples in water)
7) An alarm clock (In the jungle you get up at 4 to see everything...seriously!)
8) A bird book (They all look the same after awhile)
9) Our boyfriends (It was a really romantic place and Ann told Lloyd that she wished that she was Matt)
10)Bug repellant clothing (Nice idea from our Floridian friends).

Amazon Adventures Sidenote

We had a great weekend in the Amazon and have been working hard to give you guys a show...a slideshow! Check out the slideshow AND by clicking on the pictures at the top right you can make it bigger AND see our headings:)

Also: For many of you who have been having technical difficulties in the posting department, we have fixed a little glitch in the posting system. You no longer need to be a registered user or have any affiliation to leave a comment, so now there are really no excuses.

Kelly: You are getting closer in correctly leaving a comment and we appreciate your effort but we are confident that Adam didn't have anything to do with that comment. Good luck in your future blogging pursuits!

Dressed up for the dance with our family.

Reed Islands

World´s Highest Lake

So, we´re a few days behind on updating due to poor internet accessibility. However, we do have some fun stories to share about our trip to the world´s highest altitude lake, Lake Titicaca...and we just love saying the name! Our day started with a a three hour boat ride in the hot sun. Our first stop was to the famous floating reed islands where literally everything is made from reeds...houses, boats, crafts,...the ground. The reeds are even eaten by the native people and are thought to cure sicknesses. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket! Now, you ask, how does it feel to walk on a reed island?...Drink about 3 shots of tequila and that will pretty provide a similar experience! The native islanders were super nice and inviting. They even dressed us up in their extremely festive gear...photos to come ( technical difficulties). Our next stop was on the island of Amantani. This island is about three hours off the coast and has 9 ancient communities that still follow the traditional customs. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend the day and night with a family (along with an amazing hike to see the sun set and moon rise almost simultaneously). Although no electricity or running water seemed uninviting, we roughed it and had an amazing time. Our first experience with the family was viewing their native dress which consists of piles of skirts, tight belts, and a hair scarves that resemble that of a nun. Meal time was another adventure, which consisted of potato soup, potato chucks and some other roots that resembled potatoes. Even more interesting was the way the families ate their meals. The mother was always crouched on the dirt ground cooking and cleaning while her family ate comfortabley at the table ( Women´s lib hasn´t taken flight yet here!) Later on, we again were dressed in their clothing and were brought to a community dance. A picture is worth a thousand words, so we won´t say much more about that...We will send pictures as soon as we can! Overall, a great cultural experience!

I hope this works!

Hi Ladies~

Hello!...this is the third time I am trying to post a message so I hope it works! (and its in the right place) I don't want to be on the list of "not a real friend" because I don't have a post yet ;)

Looks like you are have a great time and A LOT of adventures! This blog is so great to see what you guys are doing down there. I love the pictures too! Sorry about all the big hair....I feel ya! Glad to see every one still likes each other too. Traveling with lots of girls can be pretty tricky
but sounds like you guys are doing a good job.

Keep the posts coming and if this one actually goes through I'll write some more.
Oh yeah STLG (as my mom would say).....especially keep an eye on Tracy (she tends to wander..hehe)

Love Kelly

Ten Things We´ve Learned this Week

10. We know who are good friends are...the ones posting on our blog !! ;) Please refer to Beth´s post for proper blog formatting.
9. Lamas and Alpacas may look almost the same, but to Peruvians there is a HUGE difference...Alpacas taste good :( ( Ann and Sarah wanna take an alpaca home)
8. While we are told to drink lots of water to help with altitude sickness...we did not keep in mind the conditions of the restrooms we would be encountering ( hole in the ground...see below pic). Drink wisely!
7. Cacti are very edible and make great mixers for alcholic beverages!
6. Two bottles of wine, five entrees, appetizer and dessert at the Ritz in Peru = $60 total...not so bad when your sick of Peruvian food!
5. Full body swimsuits exist... ( what we learned at the hot springs).
4. Native shamans still recommend rubbing a guinea pìg over your body until it dies. You then must disect it to see where the bad/black area is and this will then tell you what organ is ill. Anyone want to try and let us know if it works??
3. If you`re in a hurry to the alter, don´t marry a Peruvian. All couples must be engaged for 2 years to see if it will be successful before they marry.
2. Although the Spanairds were not always very nice when they invaded the indigenous people of Peru, they did have some really good ideas and great architecture. ( Check out Arequipa..pics to come).
1. It is possible for four girls ( living in close quarters, no alone time, different traveling styles... and tummy troubles) to still like each other after ten days of traveling Peru... but we´ll update that in a month!

-By the way, the boy in the picture is our new friend Bradley from Austin, TX- Not bad scenery for a few days ;)

Cruisin' In Colca Canyon

Hey Everyone! We had the most amazing trip to Colca Canyon over the last two days, which is similar (but still not quite as cool) as the Grand Canyon. We saw tons of alpacas (they are the cutest!) and other animals in the mountains and valleys. We did lots of hiking, hanging out in hammocks, and tasting of traditional Peruvian food. Last night we went swimming in natural hotsprings, some indoors and some outdoors. It was beautiful swimming outside looking at the mountains and drinking cocoa sours (drinks made with cactus). It doesn't get better than that! We went to a market today where the locals sell all their wares. Donkeys were a common form of transportation assistance in carrying the family's purchases back to their house and our bus had to make frequent stops for cows and donkeys in the middle of the road. After a stunning four hour bus trip through the mountains we are back in Arequipa in our fancy hotel. Tomorrow we are off to Puno to Lake Titicaca (the highest lake in the world), which should be amazing! We are staying at a hotel when we get into town but the next night we are staying with two families, whose homes are on the reeds on the lake. Internet probably won't be available so we might have to talk to you the following day (Friday) from Cusco. Hope everyone is enjoying summer :)

Flying High...Never again Nazca lines

Disclaimer: The pictures taken were before all our bodies started to turn against us! The turbulence, pressure, dips, and dives was more than 3 out of the 4 of us could handle.

Ann, Mary, and Sarah have the upmost respect for Tracy! The others were glad to be back on the ground.

A special note:

My deapest apologies to my tripmates.

---Sarah

Riding along in my automobile

At least the lap part fit. Thanks ladies for letting me ride shotgun! Our private taxi showed up to take us to Nazca...a three hour trip! Peruvian travel is interesting...there is only one lane going through the tunnels and anything goes. Yellow dotted lines are suggestions and the horn is used regularly as a COURTESY just to let people know you are there.

Playing in the sandbox...big kid style.

Look Closely...there's a dolphin!

Las Islas Ballestas

UPdate

Wow, what an amazing couple of days. We don´t have much time to tell you everything but here is a top ten list of the most memorable moments-
10. All the wonderful restuants that cater to Americans.
9. The Hostel we stayed in last night for $5, maybe not the best accomidations.
8. Getting over all digestive ailments.
7. Not getting shat on by the thousands of birds at the Islands de Ballestas.
6. Surviving a 2 hour ride in the dark in a 1968 Bel Air, Yeah!
5. Riding in 4x4´s through the desert and diving down sand dunes (then sandboarding straight down the hills)
4. Recovering from blowing chunks or almost blowing chunks in a 6 seater plane over the Nasca lines.
3. The beautiful views on the desert and the coast.
2. Our own Jesus Christos (acutally Jesus Durrand) who hooked us up with an amazing people who have taken us from place to place and guided us throughout Peru.
1. Realizing that we should not pose as ¨backpackers¨ because we are higher maintenance (then we thought)!

Miss you all,
More to come!

A note from the authors...

Hi Jacob and Shannon. Love from Lima! To all of our family and dear friends: Thanks for following our travels and wishing us the best. We miss you and have LOVED receiving your comments. To all of those we have yet to hear from: Your comments have somehow been lost in e-space, so please re-send them!

Pachacamac- Day 3 After a well needed day of "rest/recovery", we decided to venture out to an Incan ruin site ( Pachacamac), a shared spiritual site where the Incan's worshiped and sacrificed to the gods. It is located 30 km outside of Lima. We summited the Templo del Sol (the highest pyramid) and after catching our breath got to see a spectacular view of the ocean. Now, the ruins were interesting and all, but more interesting, or should I say adrenaline-producing, would be the bus ride to get to the site. Thousands of buses can be found on the streets of Lima- most are private buses owned and operated by locan "Limans". Therefore, they feel it is a race to get the most amount of people on and off their buses in the least amount of time. After asking a police officer where to get the bus to Pachacamac, he kindly escorted us three gringas to the bus and proceeded to tell us to hide all of our valuable items (we already knew that of course). The bus ride, like the taxi, was intense... the driver waits for the last second to hit the brakes and then floors the accelerator before anyone has even gotten close to taking their seat. After adjusting to the bumpy ride, we had the chance to look out the window and see the real part of Lima- the poverty. Tiny ranches, some without roofs or doors, lined the hills outside the city. As far as we could tell, there wasn't any running water or electricity...culture-shock. It was an eye-opening bus ride in more ways than one. We made it back safely to our modern little suburb of Miraflores and enjoyed every second of it!

Where in South America are the Girls?

Next stop: Islas Ballestas, Pisco, Paracas National Park...

Note: Some of the rock formations no longer exist because of the earthquake that happened last year that devastated the area. We will send pictures of how it looks today.

Editor's Correction

We didn't really hitchhike, we were just making sure you all were paying attention!

100% Humidity (Holy Hair!)

Taxi ride........................ 1 Dollar.

Nice bottle of wine.........10 Dollars.

Two course dinner.........8 Dollars.

Hair product...................3 Dollars.

The humidity in Peru....Priceless.

Peruvian Pooches...Beagle, Maltese?