Journey Home

Well, I've made it home. With the exception of travel that I will be doing for work this year, I think I'm going to tie a bow and put my world travels away for a bit. This year I have been to 19 different countries, and three different states in the U.S.. It has been an incredible year of growth and adventure. I white water rafted in Slovenia and Zambia; saw incredible wildlife in Tanzania, Namibia and Peru; hiked sand dunes, mountains, and ancient trails; scuba dived in Thailand and Zanzibar; clubbed in Bali and South Africa; sat on the shores of beautiful lakes in Slovenia, Croatia and Malawi; sky dove in Austin, and bungee jumped in Zimbabwe; and met people from all over the world. I saw unbelievable ancient architecture, and was amazed by new contraction of buildings and parks in Singapore. I learned how to say "cheers" in many languages, but also shared worries and doubts with people from all walks of life. Most of all, I have felt the bond of humanity, and the faith of our ability to bring about a bright and promising future. 

Getting home from this past trip in Peru was an adventure in itself. We traveled for a full 28 hours before reaching our home in Austin. Although this doesn't really near my record, it still was a draining experience. 

Our first leg of the journey was by boat from the Amazon Research Center to the Main Lodge on the Tahuayo River. Because we were going down stream, it only took us about an hour and a half to reach the main lodge. When we got there we had some free time before lunch, but because we didn't have a room there anymore and my clean clothing was limited, I opted to just hang around and read instead of venturing out into the jungle one last time. After lunch we took off on our second leg of the journey - a four hour boat ride from the Main Lodge back to Iquitos down the Tahuayo River and the Amazon River. The boat that we loaded up with all of our suitcases and gear was the same one we had traveled back from the research center in, but they swapped out the plain seat cushions for chairs that had backs on them, which made for a little more comfortable journey. However, the boat was not covered, unlike the one that we came up to the lodge in after our arrival in Iquitos. 

The first part of the boat ride went rather well, but the sun was glaring and I quickly noticed that I was becoming sunburned. I had to take one of my long sleeved shirts that I had packed for the airport out of my backpack to wear in order to give myself some protection from the sun, despite the heat. Soon after I donned it though, it started raining. I took it back off in order to preserve it as a dry shirt, and Llyako pulled out a massive tarp that we had to arrange over our luggage to keep it dry. The rain wasn't very heavy, so we we fine leaving our heads out from under the tarp and just using it to cover our bodies. 

After about 20 minutes or so of the light rain we hit a dry spot and were able to remove the cover. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. We could see in the distance a wall of black. We knew we were doomed. After about 10 more minutes we hit the fringe of it, and everyone had to duck underneath the tarp, except for our brave driver. We were in the middle of a full blown storm on the Amazon. I could see trees on the shore bending 90 degrees under the wind, and the water was white capping. The rain felt like bullets on my skin through the tarp, and I could feel puddles of water building in my lap as the water ran down the tarp. Luckily, I stayed dry, and my backpack was at my side and out of the storm, protecting my phone, camera and laptop. 

At one point something really hard hit my arm through the tarp. I didn't know what it was, and the rain was too strong to check. We stayed underneath the tarp for about 2 hours as the storm continued to rage. Afterwards, we were able to let our heads out from underneath the tarp to get some fresh air, but it was still raining lightly, and we had to keep the tarp over our belongings. The funniest thing, however, was finding 2 fish that had jumped into our boat during the storm. After seeing one right in front of my feet in the front of the boat I realized what had hit me in the arm during the storm! 

The whole thing was just really epic. I would repeat the experience if I could - even though it was a little difficult staying under the tarp for so long. After we arrived in Iquitos and got off the boat our travel was like any other return trip. We flew from Iquitos to Lima, had a bit of a layover then flew from Lima to Houston, and finally Houston to Austin. The flights weren't exceptional in anyway, and unlike our travel down to Peru, everything ran fairly smoothly. 

I'm thrilled to be home. A hot shower and air conditioning seems like such a luxury now. It's also wonderful to see my parents and animals. While I think I'll be settled at least for a bit in the States, I never really know when my next adventure abroad will begin. I have a couple of places on my list, and a number of items on my bucket list. The real question now is how long it will take before I get restless again. 

The Amazon Research Center

9/10/14

Our time at the research center has been good, but I'm really starting to feel the effects of the jungle - namely in terms of bug bites and heat exhaustion.

Our first afternoon here was pleasant. We arrived in time for lunch, which was a good meal because of all the people staying out here yesterday. After lunch we took the boat out down the river a little ways before docking it on the shore to embark on a hike. The purpose of the hike was to find monkeys, the hoazin bird and macows. Along the way we saw a capuchin monkey, a great whip snake, and the hoazin bird. The hike itself, however, was very strenuous. It took us over several "treacherous crossings," as one of the other traveler liked to call them. These crossings entailed either knee deep mud or a foot of water, so the easiest way to pass was through to balance on top of a log that was laid across the trouble zone. The more difficult stretches were 20-40 feet long and required continuous balancing over three or more of these logs.

We also were hiking at a very brisk pace, and it was all I could do to keep up with Witt enough to not loose sight of him ahead. The hike ended with us arriving at a lake where the hoazin bird lived before we turned back to return to the river and the boat. The hoazin was an interesting bird. Our guide explained to us that it was alive during prehistoric times! It also has two stomachs, like a cow.

On our return journey it started pouring down rain, so we truly got to experience the whole rain in the rainforest thing. It was pretty intense, and the rain was pelting down on us. My rain jacket was great to have on, but I was still nervous about the safety of my camera. Luckily we made it out alive, although completely drenched, and my camera survived.

When we got back to the lodge we had enough time to shower before dinner. It was a lot of the guests' last night, so the dinner was a feast that ended with a cake! I went to bed immediately after the meal, and slept all the way until breakfast at 8 - almost 12 hours worth of sleep.

Today has been a bit slower paced. After breakfast we went into the jungle behind the lodge for a hike, but there weren't many animals out and the humidity was excruciating after the rain yesterday. Witt didn't have any long pants left because of the drenching we got yesterday, so he did the hike in shorts and ended up paying the price for it - the Mosquitos devoured him. I was ok in terms of bites, but the humidity was tough for me. Llyako made me a head reef that was made out of green leaves and some vines that he had woven in order to absorb some of the humidity, and it worked! I looked a bit silly, but since there was nothing but monkeys in the jungle to see me I rocked the head gear all the way back to the lodge.

We had a small lunch then took some downtime for reading before heading out on the boat for some fishing. We didn't have any live bait, so we used lurers instead and the fish were not biting. Then it started to rain so we ended our expedition a little early. Around the bend the rain stopped so we hunted a bit for sloths, with no avail, and I attempted some canooing after getting off the boat, but decided my technique needed a little work before I would be comfortable going out on my own in the Amazon.

We leave tomorrow to return home, and it is going to be quite the travel day. We have 2 hours back to the main lodge by boat, then 4 hours to Iquitos, 30 minutes to the airport, 2 hours to Lima, about 6 hours of layover, 7 hours to Houston, then a layover and short flight before we return to Austin. It'll be a long day, but I'm thrilled to be coming home. 

Amazon Adventures - Continued

The rest of the first full day

After lunch we had a bit more free time before we headed off to the local village around 3 p.m. At the village we met with the shaman, and he explained (with the help of interpreters) the process through which he became a shaman, the difference between black and white shamans (he was a white one), and showed us his medicines before leaving us each with a blessing that will last 6 months.

His father was a shaman, so he learned the arts originally from him, then continued his studies under his wife's grandfather after his father had passed away. The process of becoming a shaman is intense and strenuous. It requires studies, but also a full 6 months of isolation in the jungle with a teacher to learn the ways of the plants. During this time, the student can only eat what his instructor tells him to, and the two of them will also undergo several periods of influence under ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic that creates a gateway with the spiritual world. The drug strains the body, and induces vomiting and diarrhea, but it is also said to cure all illnesses one may have had before taking it and leaves him or her with a fresh body. Our guide also said that it helps people to find their purpose and to unleash their hidden talents. The shaman takes the concoction every time he has a new patient in order to gain insight into the diagnosis and the treatment, if a treatment is possible. The trip will also show him which plants to use as medicines.

The medicines that he showed us were really cool. They were all bottled in old water bottles or wine bottles, and many of the roots or plants were kept in sugar can rum to keep them fresh. With each plant our translators told us what they would cure, and the list included cold, diabetes, ovarian cancer, birth control, fertility and more. It was quite impressive.

The blessings were really special as well. The shaman blessed Vicky, our friend, with the spirit of the wind. He then blessed me with the spirit of the plant, and Witt with the strength of the black anaconda. The plant has medicinal powers, but it is also flexible, sympathetic, and patient. The anaconda has great strength and determination.

After visiting the shaman we did a tour of the village and watched as the locals played soccer and volleyball. There skill level was really high - I was impressed! The town is laid out so that all of the buildings surround the soccer field, which I thought was pretty awesome. We also saw a typical oven, garden, and home layout.

By the time we returned to the lodge it was almost time for dinner. The sun had set and the moon was high in the sky and almost full. Our day had been rather full, so we opted out of the evening activity and called it an early night.

We woke up the next morning for a 6:30 breakfast, but I got up extra early to wash some of my clothes, as I had packed dangerously few short sleeved items. After breakfast we got onto the boat and went out for our first fishing excursion! I caught a catfish early on, then ran out of luck. The others in the boat caught some small red and white piranhas and some little trout.

After our first bout of fishing we returned to the lodge for some free time before lunch. In the afternoon, we headed off into the jungle again to scout the pygmy marmoset monkey, which is the world's smallest monkey. It took us a while to find one, but when we finally did it was very much worth it - it was tiny! Witt joked that the squirrels on the UT campus are bigger than this monkey. We learned about their living style, their diet, and their polygamous mating from our guide Llyako. On our way back to the lodge we saw a momma and baby owl monkey, and a fertile lance, one of the most venomous snakes in the world. After my black mamba encounter in Africa I'm starting to gain a collection of encounters with the world's most frightening creatures.

We were pretty sweaty when we for back to the lodge, so we went back out on the river to try our hands again at fishing. The wind from the moving boat is the perfect antidote to the jungle sauna. My fishing luck was awful, and I didn't catch a single thing. Witt was a bit better off, but most of his catches were baby piranhas that had to be thrown back because they weren't big enough to eat.

Dinner last night was fantastic. There were about 20 guest at the lodge, so we all had a ton of different dishes to choose from. It was great. After dinner I decided to go on the night hike, and ventured into the jungle with some other travelers and a new guide. We saw tree frogs, spiders, giant ants, and a HUGE Amazon Bull Frog. It was an entertaining trip, and I enjoyed the goosebumps I had from tromping along the wet forest floor in the dark.

This morning we woke up extra early for a 6 am fishing trip, and our luck turned! I caught a barracuda and two piranhas, and Witt caught lots of piranhas as well. At the end of the trip we had 8 fish that were big enough to cook for lunch.

We had breakfast with everyone else at 8, then packed our bags for the next stage of our journey. As I type this out we are currently taking a boat 2 more hours up the Tahuanyo  River to the research center, where we will spend 2 nights. Because of the humidity my washing from yesterday morning didn't dry, which put me in a bit of a fowl mood. I'm also starting to get a little frustrated with the bugs and smells, so the time is ripe for change. This truly is a once in a lifetime experience, in that I don't think I'll ever make the journey back, but I am so pleased to have the adventure now. 

Into the Amazon

We made it to the Amazon! After taking our flight from Cusco to Lima and another from Lima to Iquitos we were picked up by a new guide at the tiny little airport in the jungle and taken by car 20 minutes to a travel office on the river. When we arrived, a woman gave us a sack lunch and ushered us to the back, where we got our first glimpse of the Amazon. It is gigantic! Our luggage was transported onto the boat and we all clamored in afterwards. There were 2 other travelers who arrived with us, so the four of us plus the four members of the staff disembarked together from Iquitos on a journey that would take 4 hours going upstream on the Amazon.

The river was beautiful, and at all points it was as wide as a typical lake in Texas. There were a couple of bends of the river that reminded me of spots on Lake Travis near our old lake house where I would train all summer long for wakeboarding. The only thing that is not particularly beautiful is the color of the water. The water of the Amazon is a murky brown from all of the mud, clay and silt that the water picks up as it flows down the Andes Mountains and into the tributary.

The boat ride was long, and since I had woken up at 4:45 that morning I drifted off to sleep many times along the way. Finally, around 4 in the afternoon we arrived at our lodge after having left the main body of the Amazon for the Tahuanyo River an hour back. The lodge is a pretty cool place. It is built on stilts because of the potential of the river to flood, so it has the feel of a giant tree house. Most of the rooms in the complex share a bathroom, and there are common rooms like a hammock room and reading room for any of the guest to enjoy throughout the day. It is extremely hot and humid in the jungle, but because of the remote nature of the lodge there isn’t enough electricity from the solar panels for fans, and certainly not enough for A/C. Instead all of the rooms are screened to prevent bugs and mosquitos from entering, but they’re open enough to catch the natural breeze.

It took me a while to adjust to the humidity, but after I became comfortable with a nice constant glistening of sweat I have been really enjoying myself. The sounds out here are unbelievably rich and full. We can hear a number of different birds, toads, and monkeys at all times during the day. At night the sound of insects and bullfrogs fill the air so strongly that I had to sleep with earplugs in order to drift off and not be distracted from all of the sounds. Some of the other challenges of being out here include not being able to flush toilet paper, only getting to charge electronics between 1 and 3 p.m. or 6 and 8 p.m., the high density of mosquitos, cold showers, and once again – the heat. It counts twice because it’s so tough to deal with. A perfect packing list for this trip would include a pair of chacos or similar sandals, several pairs of light weight high socks, binocculars, bug repellent pants, dry fit shirts or PFGs, a wide brimmed sun hat, a water sanitation UV light, a rain jacket, and LOTS OF BUG SPRAY. Make up won’t stay on in this heat, and your hair won’t stay dry in the humidity, so there’s no point to bring any of those products with you. While I have most of those things with me, I’m missing a few and there’s no way to purchase replacements out in the middle of nowhere. We can get by, but it would be more comfortable otherwise. Anyways, the adventures here are more than worth a little discomfort. They’re once in a lifetime opportunities.

Last night before nodding off to sleep we had a fun nighttime boat ride up the river to a lake in search of Caymans and toads, and before that a really great home cooked dinner with all of the other travelers staying here. Although a big group of people took off for the research center this morning, I greatly enjoyed their company last night and their enthusiasm for the jungle. The lot of them were from California and were all retired, and their stories of travel, family, and excursions passed time pleasantly.

This morning we were able to sleep in until 7:40 and woke up just in time for the 8 a.m. breakfast with everyone else. At 9 we were given a pair of rubber boats and were fitted for harnesses to prepare for our zip-lining adventure. We hiked through a km of the rainforest to get to the platform, but because we walked a very windy path our distance traveled seemed to be much longer. The walk was extremely entertaining for me. Because we were trouncing through the rain forest most of the path was wet and muddy, which meant that our boots squelched and sunk through all of the mud as we fought our way through to the platform. I had a blast.

When we arrived at the platform there was another surprise in store for us. Almost every zipline I have ever done has a set of stairs or pegs on a tree that you climb up in order to get to the starting platform. This one, however, had no such thing. Instead, there were two options. The first was what most people chose – you could clip your harness into a set of ropes and sit back while the staff hoisted you up by pulling on the ropes through a lever system. The second is the way the staff reached the top – climbing. Climbing didn’t entail climbing up the actual tree, but instead using a rope, a foot harness, and two hand grips to slowly advance up the rope to the top. The hand grips were locked in such a way that they would only move up the rope, but not down, so that every time you pushed it upwards it would stay there and you were a little closer to the destination.

The guide went up first, then let Witt have a try. The issue with choosing this path was the fact that once you start you can’t get back down, so you have to be able to find the strength to make it to the top. Witt started off slower than the guide (which is to be completely expected), but after a while he caught the rhythm of it and progressed upwards pretty steadily with some very heavy breathing and grunting. The climb was roughly equivalent to climbing 15 ropes in gym class at the same time, with the added difficulty that the hand grips sometimes were stuck on the rope and didn’t move as freely as our hands do while climbing.

After Witt made it to the top in pretty good time it was my turn. I had a pretty rough start, as I could hardly even get the grips to move along the rope at all. After a couple of failed attempts, however, I was able to adjust my technique to start the journey upwards. The climb was a total of 48 meters, and it was gruelingly difficult. My right arm, the one that had to thrust the first hand grip up the rope, was extremely sore and my breathing was ragged by the time I made it close to the top. The final few pushes were excruciating, and I pretty much just tumbled over the ropes onto the platform when I had finally made it. Witt was lying down still catching his breath from his climb when I arrived.

I regained my strength and breath pretty quickly, and had a blast ziplining down the three stretches of cable before repelling back down to the jungle floor. Our hike back to the lodge was equally fun as the one to the zipline, and the mud was just as squishy. Once back at the lodge we washed our rubber boots in the river and enjoyed some free time before lunch.

Machu Picchu!!!!

As I write this Witt and I are sitting in the airport bleary eyed and tired (a 4:45 a.m. wake-up generally has this effect) waiting for our flight out to Iquitos, the next destination in our journey. As excited as I am to begin our adventure down into the Amazon rainforest, I want to be able to adequately reflect on the incredible experiences of the past two days.

My last post detailed our introduction to the Incan society through the Cusco city tour and our trip out to the Sacred Valley. Those trips were the perfect primer for our expedition to Machu Picchu. We left Cusco on the morning train to Machu Picchu full of knowledge about rituals, Incan beliefs, architecture and astronomy. Our train departed at 7:45 a.m., and we were seated on one side of a table across from a kind gentleman from Japan who is working in Lima. He gave us his business card as way of introduction, and during the train ride showed us his handy handheld electronic language dictionary that he uses to translate from Japanese to Spanish and English. It was quite an impressive device, but I was more impressed by his mobility between so many different languages even without much mastery of them.

The train had other perks as well. It was very nicely decorated and it was pretty comfortable. The staff served us tea or juices and home baked goodies. My sugar cookie was incredible. It was a good thing that the train was so comfortable, however, because even though we were only traveling 57 miles to get to the site from Cusco, it took three hours and thirty minutes of travel to arrive.

When we finally got off the train in the small town built around the tourist attraction we had a guide waiting for us. He walked us to our hotel where we dropped off our baggage (we only brought our backpacks with us since we were only there for a night and left our suitcases in Cusco). We had time for a quick lunch before meeting back with our guide at 1 p.m. to head up to the site. The tourist agency actually was rather efficient. They sent someone to escort us from the hotel to the bus station, put us on the bus, then had another guide waiting for us on top of the mountain when we arrived. Because the town is located in the valley and Machu Picchu is on top of the mountain, the bus that took us up was a surprisingly long trip. It had to travel along different switchbacks up the mountain and couldn’t drive more than 25 miles an hour because of the steep paths, the sharpness of the curves, and the ever-present chance that it could run into a bus coming back down the mountain head on since the road was not quite wide enough for two vehicles. After a couple of close calls with other buses, we made it to the top. When we had arrived in the train station that morning it was raining, but by the time we made it to the site it was a beautiful, warm and sunny day. Our guide was named Lou, and he took us all throughout the old Incan city. He explained to us that Machu Picchu was not the most important Incan city, and that the nobility and scholars that had lived there were not as high ranking as those who had lived in Cusco, which was the center of the empire. He also explained that the importance of the site derives from the fact that it was never discovered by the Spanish, so it was well preserved and better showed how the Incans had lived.

Some of the buildings in Machu Picchu were similar to those we had seen in the Sacred Valley – made with such exact architecture that you had to marvel at how it was even possible to build without modern tools. Others looked like your typical European ruin – homes that were made of stone, but without the same size of stones or the tightness of the locks between them.

During our tour we learned about grain storage, the construction of two-story buildings, the temples and sacrifices, the agriculture (my personal favorite part of the society), and astronomy. I was very taken by the quality of work that seemed to surround Incan lifestyle. Their terraces for farming were built in a way that allowed water poured on the first terrace to filter down all the way to the bottom of the terrace set. They used clay, gravel, sand and soil in succession to make the terraces, and they would import the sand from hundreds of kilometers away to ensure the best quality. It fascinates me.

After a couple of hours with Lou we decided to take the bus back down the mountain. Our hotel had included dinner and a drink at the bar, so we tried a pisco sour (the most famous local cocktail) and chatted with some travelers who we had ran into a couple of times before on our tour. Dinner was pretty good as well, and we finished it early enough to go out in the town. There weren’t a ton of people around, but we managed to join up with a group of American travellers who had just completed the Incan trail and we all headed into a bar that had a live band. We must of set a trend, because although we were the first people to enter, the bar was packed by the end of the night. We played Jenga, met some girls from Chile who joined us at our table, and danced salsa. The only lady in the band looked really familiar, and after talking with the other travelers we realized that we had all seen her do some sort of yoga by the river that morning. I had the chance to talk to her some during the night, and she agreed to teach us some of it the next morning!

We had settled on 8:30 a.m., so Witt and I got up early enough to have breakfast and be ready for her arrival. Unfortunately rain accompanied the first morning light, and it didn’t let up. Instead of cancel our plans, however, we decided to give the Tensegrity a try under a tree by the river. Tensegrity was an ancient practice that was dreamt up by its founders thousands of years ago in Mexico, and was brought to the public’s attention in the 1980s by a man named Carlos Castaneda. It included different breathing exercises and rhythmic movements. Lauren, the singer we had met from the night before, taught us 3 or 4 different routines. Unfortunately I can only remember the last one (because we did it 9 times in a row), but it was pretty cool to experience all of the different ones.

We wrapped up around 10, and Witt and I quickly checkout out of the hotel and headed to the bus station to go back up to Machu Picchu for a second time. The rain still hadn’t really let up, but it wasn’t too much worse than a drizzle. When we got to the top of the mountain the site was completely different than it had been before. Clouds were everywhere – we were literally in them! It largely obscured our vision of the city, but it gave the experience a very exotic feeling. We spent our time on top of the mountain hiking out to the sun gate – the official entrance of Machu Picchu off of the Incan trail. The hike was pretty long – 45-50 minutes at my best guest. Along the way we found a huge rock overhang that offered some protection from the mist and rain and a dry spot to sit. It had attracted other travelers as well and we met a troupe from New Zealand and a guy from France while resting and enjoying the dryness. After 10 or 15 minutes we headed back out on the trail and passed some structure that had a huge altar stone on it then hiked even further to get to the gate. The gate itself was cool but nothing spectacular. The view, however, was out of this world. It was a great reward for the long uphill hike. We made it back down pretty quickly (albeit with a couple of slips and falls on the wet rocks), and caught a bus down with just enough time to grab lunch before heading back to the train station to return to Cusco. The train was extra long on the way back, and after about 4 hours we finally arrived back to Cusco. Freddy, our tour director, was there waiting for us when we stepped off the train. He drove us back to the hotel, and we were settled by 10 p.m. and quickly fell asleep after such an active day. This morning started early and appears to be a travel day, but we’ll see what excitement the afternoon will hold in the Amazon!  

Peru - The Land of the Incas

My newest adventure has been traveling down south to Peru with my older brother for a trip of a lifetime. Our itinerary includes time in the Andes highlands, a two-day excursion to Macchu Picchu, and a trip into the Amazon rainforest where we get to fish for pirañas and visit a village shaman.

Currently we are approaching our third night in the country, and we JUST were reunited with our luggage about an hour ago. Our journey here was all but easy, yet we kept (pretty) good attitudes and made it to our destination in one piece.

The troubles began while we were still in Austin. We arrived at the airport plenty early, and made it through check-in and security in under 10 minutes, which is a personal record of mine. Our plane arrived about 10 minutes late, so we were 10 minutes late to board, but we were still fine to take off on time. Once the plane was fully loaded, however, the pilot's voice came over the speaker and announced  that our plane had been over fueled and had too much fuel in it to be able to safely land in Houston, where we were to make our connection to Lima. He said that he hoped it wouldn't be more than a 15 minute delay, but 15 minutes later he announced that there were no trucks available in the airport to use to de-fuel the plane, and that they would have to call one over. Long story short, we didn't take off for Houston until an hour after we were supposed to leave, which was about the time we had on our original tickets in Houston to make the transfer.

When we arrived in Houston we definitely missed our connection, so we visited Customer Service for United and they re-routed us onto a plane that went to San Salvador in El Salvador. The flight was so much more annoying than our scheduled one, in that it didn't include dinner, movies or drinks when our other did. In addition to the downgrade on travel, we also only had 20 minutes between when our plane landed in San Salvador to when our next plane departed for Lima, which added a lot of stress to the process. However, miraculously we made it onto both flights in time and arrived in Lima at 1:46 in the morning, only about 3 and a half hours after our planned arrival. Unfortunately, although we arrived our bags did not. The whole thing was complicated by the fact that we had another flight to Cusco at 9:45 the next morning, so it would be a challenge for our bags to follow us to our destination.

After sorting it out with the airline, we arrived at the airport hotel at 2:15 a.m., for four and a half hours of sleep before heading back to the airport to sort out tickets. My flights were transferred from a previously booked ticket, but unfortunately the transfer was never completed before we left, so it took us about an hour and a half to settle the transfer with a bit of an up charge before we could advance forward to our next flight - with 10 minutes to spare! The last extremely comical thing in our series of unfortunate events to occur was the fact that the ticket desk put my brother and I on SEPARATE flights to Cusco, and Witt realized he had a different flight number just 20 minutes before his flight departed, so he was able to hop on to the plane during the last call for boarding. I got on mine at the same time, and we both arrived in Cusco within 10 minutes of each other. After all of that travel craziness, things have been running much more smoothly. Hallelujah.

We arrived at our hotel at about 10:30 a.m., and our escort to the hotel laid out the plan for us for the next couple of days. Our first tour was to begin at 1:15, so I took some time to shop at a market for a sweater to wear during the day. Since we're in the Andes in the Peruvian winter, I wasn't going to be able to cut it with my T-shirt I left Austin in. The market was absolutely wonderful. Witt took a nap, so I went out on my own and found a great little spot just up the street from our hotel. There were many stalls full of beautiful craftwork. I found a sweater that looked like the right fit and purchased it (speaking spanish) from a very kind old man. He tempted me into a scarf as well - and both will be great additions to my wardrobe even back home.

Our tour yesterday was awesome. We went on the "Cusco City Tour" with our guide, Miheil (my spelling is certainly off, but its a spanish version of Michael). The tour took us to Basilica Catedral, Qorikancha, Tamnomachay, Q'engo, and Saqsayhuaman. The Cathedral contained a lot of the history of the area after the Spanish invasion, and the other sites were all Incan towns or sites. Qorikancha was a bit of a hybrid of the two, as it was once an Incan temple but was converted to a church when the Dominican Friars came to Peru. Everywhere was breathtaking, and it was incredible to witness such a different type of ancient history than what I've seen in other parts of the world. It may be the only one where I am convinced that they were smarter than we are now.

Basilica Catedral

Qorikancha

Examples of Incan stone building - They built without cement or iron rods!

Otherwise known as "Sexy Woman" - an Incan site where coming of age festivals were held.

Witt and I in front of a 125 ton rock at Saqsaywaman

A view of Cusco from the highlands

Obligatory

Tambomachay

Pukapukara

Learning about the difference between real Alpaca goods and synthetics 

We got back to the hotel around 7 p.m. last night, and after a quick dinner we were asleep by 8 after such a packed day on so little sleep. We woke up this morning at 7 and had a great breakfast at the hotel that included the blackest coffee Witt had ever had (I'm still debating whether its true for me too), house hot chocolate, and tons of incredible fruits. At 8 we were picked up for our day tour that took us outside of Cusco and to the Sacred Valley, a massive old Incan town built by the 10th emperor. Our site seeing included Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chinchero. In addition to visiting the old Incan ruins, we also were given lessons on the silver craft of the locals and how they make their wool and alpaca clothing. The silver lesson was really cool, and we saw all of the raw materials they used to make their beautiful pieces of work. Most of their stone came from different types of shells from the coast, but they also had stones that were found in the region or from Brazil. The wool spinning lesson was at the end of the day. The lady first demonstrated to us how they washed the wool using a natural root soap. Next, she showed us how they dyed it with natural dyes created from flowers, corn, lime, and white stuff found on cactuses. Finally, she showed us how they spun the wool and exhibited some of the final products, detailing the symbolism of the patterns. We shopped for a bit after, and Witt picked up a very nice sweater. We made it home pretty early, so we headed up the street from our hotel to find food for dinner, and ended up at a completely empty pizza place. It was awesome. The price was good, the pizza was delicious, and the restaurant was playing Letters to Juliet on the TV in spanish, and since it's one of my all-time favorite chick flicks the waitress and I bonded over our love of the movie.

The Sacred Valley

Pisac

Ollantaytambo

All of the different natural dyes 

Learning about the wool craft 

Tomorrow we depart for Machu Picchu, and I couldn't be more excited. We finally have our luggage so I can wear hiking boots and warm clothes. All is good in the world.

P.S. Witt recommended giving a shout out to "Johnny Cash," the street artists outside of our hotel who is also probably the most persistent sales man we've ever met. Every single time we have left the hotel entrance he has been outside to greet us and show us his works. It's impressive.