Peruvian Adventures: Ancient Ruins, Amazing Places, Awesome Experiences

Ok. I'll admit it - I've been a slacker. I've been in Peru for almost 3 weeks and have no blog to show for it... In my defense though, we've been super busy traveling and exploring and going from place to place. You know, the rough stuff. Anyway, the wait is over!!! I know you're dying to know what I've been up to :) You might want to grab a snack or a cup of coffee (or 2) - this is going to be a long one. Enjoy!

The last days in Buenos Aires were bittersweet - we were sad that we were leaving a place that we were finally used to and comfortable with, but excited to be going to a brand new one! We took our last final (I got an A in my Traditions & Cultures class), went out for the last few times, packed our things and got ready for Peru! The day we left for Peru, we had to meet at 5:30am - that's in the morning people! A group of us, therefore, decided it would be a brilliant idea to stay up and out all night long and go home in time to grab our things and head to the bus. ...Ok, so maybe it wasn't so brilliant - but it was fun! We made it to the bus on time - and I think I was sleeping on the bus by 5:31.
We arrived in Lima and were greeted by the directors of the ISA program here. Maria Elena and Lucia welcomed us with big smiles, warm hugs, and a cool, made-in-peru bag for each of us! (mine is red). Afterward, we were off to meet our families! Let me just tell you, I LOVE my family here! I live with Jessi from my program, too. They are probably some of the nicest people on earth:
Nancy = stay-at-home mom, amazing cook, avid gardener
Carlos Miguel = dad (with a broken leg - he's on crutches, so we had a little heart-to-heart about all of that), comedian - his jokes are hilarious, animal lover - he literally won't kill a fly
Ketty = youngest daughter (25), graphic designer for Clear Channel, unbelievable artist...in her free time
Caroline = middle daughter (30), sweet as can be, happy all the time
They have another daugher too - Karla - but she is married and lives in a different country. I forget which one right now...
Rocky = bulldog, 10 yrs old, sooooooooooo cute and so mellow
So far, the people in Peru are so hospitable, no matter where you go. And every single one of them can cook! ...ok maybe not every single one, but close. The food here is incredible!
The first night we were in Lima, Ketty and her boyfriend, Alfredo, took Jessi and I to a pisco bar to try our first pisco sour (the drink of Peru). Pisco is an alcohol made from grapes, and a pisco sour is made from pisco, lemon juice, sugar and egg whites. They're delicious!
We had about 3 days in Lima where we were kept busy with orientations, intercambios and tours and then that following Tuesday, at 4am - we were on our way to Cusco for the week.

We arrived in Cusco at about 7:30 that morning and met Edi (Edilberto) - our guide for the week and the director of ISA in Cusco. This guy knows everything about anything when it comes to information about the Incas, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and all the places in between. He speaks 6 languages, lives in Urubamba, and has walked the Inca Trail over 230 times! (fyi - it takes about 4 days each time to walk the trail) We pretty much determined that he's Superman by the end of our trip.
The first thing we did when we arrived was buy some coca. Yes, that's what cocaine is made out of, but here it's actually legal! ...but it's not a drug - yet. The coca leaves actually are said to help with altitude sickness, which many people get when visiting Cusco because it's at a high altitude (11,600 ft)! The leaves come in all sorts of ways - tea, candy, plain - you can just chew on them. I drank my body weight in the tea because it was so good, and the caramelos were delicious too.
The first day, we visited the town of Pisaq and wandered around the ancient ruins, which are just incredible. It's amazing to see first-hand the structure of the land and the buildings and the meticulous thought that was put in to each and every detail. At one point during our trip, we made a stop and got to play with llamas and alpacas!! Afterward, Edi took us all to his home in Urubamba for an authentic Peruvian lunch. With fresh trout, chicken, green & lima beans, tomato, rice and 2 different kinds of soup, it was absolutely delicious! With full tummies, our next stop was the town of Ollantaytambo. It's another small town full of culture! That night, I even saw a monkey on a dogs back! A MONKEY!

Day 2 of our trip started at 5am (notice a trend here...). We took a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, and then from there a bus to........MACHU PICCHU! Machu Picchu is unlike anything I've ever seen. One of the Wonders of the World, not only are the ancient ruins incredible, but also the mountain ranges surrounding it. Machu Picchu, meaning Old Peak, is actually a mountain. The hillsides and valley below is where the ancient ruins of the Incan city are located. The Incans absolutely worshiped the land. They constructed areas for worshiping the sun, moon, water and mountians. Their architecture is incredibly detailed, from constructing a perfect compass to shaping the rocks strategically to help cushion the buildings during an earthquake. The landscape surrouding the valley gives the area a sense of tranquility and ethereality. The other 2 famous mountains that are often seen in pictures of Machu Picchu are Wyanapicchu and Huchuypicchu. I hiked up to the top of Wyanapicchu, and after doing so came to the conclusion that the Incans were studs (or at least had GIANT legs). This mountian "trail" was pretty much straight up and narrow - I don't think I've ever climbed so many stairs in my entire life. The view at the top was worth every bit of it though.
We also went to the Puerta del Sol (The Gateway of the Sun) at Machu Picchu. This area was actually on the mountain of Machu Picchu and required a little less physical effort than Wyanapicchu, but was still a trek. It offers the view from the opposite direction - complete with Huchypicchu and Wyanapicchu in the background. It's no wonder the Incas chose this area, full of mysticism and beauty to be the center of their civilization.
History Time!
Machu Picchu sits about 8000 feet above sea level and was built by the Incas starting in the 1460s AD, but was abandoned when the Spanish conquered the Incan Empire about 100 years later. It was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham and soon became known worldwide. The Incas never wrote anything down (which I'm guessing pissed off alot of historians) and so the history of the people has to be interpreted through artifacts, construction, ruins and mummies.
The buildings are created out of a technique that the Incas mastered, called ashlar: stones are cut, polished and molded to fit perfectly together without mortar. It's said that not even a blade of grass can fit between them! Also, this area is accustomed to earthquakes, so the Incas had to make sure that the stones could shift during them, preventing the buildings from collapsing. The history of Machu Picchu (and simply of the Incas) is fascinating! (I even bought a book about them...on Amazon. That's how much of a nerd I am.) If you have a chance, check out some of the info about them -- http://www.crystalinks.com/machu.html.
Day 3 of our trip started a little later - at 8am. We traveled back to Ollantaytambo and visited some of the ancient ruins there. I also got to see a wild tarantula! I think it was just a baby though...but it was still big! After that, we traveled back to Pisaq where we visited their giant market. There is everything you could ever possibly want hand-made from the wool of alpacas, as well as other crafts and artistic works. Being in an area with all of these incredible landscapes and things to purchase, it's difficult to remember that this is a developing area where the people have little to nothing. They bargain to sell the things that they have made and created, just so they can feed their children and themselves for one more day. Thinking about this, it's difficult to hear tourists trying to get the venders to lower their price "just one more sol," which would be about the equivalent of 33 cents in American money. I think it's important for people to understand these issues. I also know it can be difficult, because being the tourist, you are an easy target to be taken advantage of. For me, going to the market was definitely a humbling, but enjoyable experience. And yes, I did buy gifts. :)
Another plus of the market was that I got to try choclo. Choclo is this GINORMOUS steamed corn that they have here. It comes with a piece of cheese and you eat it just like that. It's delicious!
Day 4 was a free day for us - yay for sleep! We wandered around Cusco and got to know the city a bit. We also visited some of the museums, churches, and other historic sites, including El Templo de Saqsayhuaman, El Qoricancha, and La Catedral del Cusco.
Day 5 was our last day in Cusco. We enjoyed as much of it as we could and headed back to Lima.

That following week, we started classes. We're going to the University of the Pacific - and yes, I think we're the only Americans there...However, we don't have classes with Peruvian students - which is a bummer. I'm currently taking 2 classes but will be starting a 3rd (starting tomorrow actually). I'm taking Peruvian Art & Culture, and History of Latin America in 18th & 19th Centuries. The other class that I'll be starting is another intensive spanish reading and writing course. So far, the classes are interesting and the professors are entertaining.

Our first week of classes was a short one, however, due to Semana Santa (Holy Week). We had Thursday and Friday off so we did what any good student studying abroad would do: WE WENT TO THE BEACH! We spent 2 days in a beach town called Punto del Silencio. The sandy beaches, ocean waves, and beautiful sunsets were just the things we needed after a grueling first couple of weeks...haha. We spent one day at the beach in Punto del Silencio and the other a few miles away in Punto Hermosa. It was wonderful :)

So far, I can't say enough about Peru (after reading all of this you're probably thinking 'oh yes, you can'). But really, this country is beautiful, the people are so wonderful, and the food is incredible - my stomach took a week or so to agree with my mouth, but I think they're on the same page now. They have an abundance of fruit here - papaya, mango, a million different kinds of bananas (I even had one that tasted like apple!), passionfruit (my new favorite), lucuma - a native fruit to Peru which I don't really care for, tuna - fruit from a cactus, granadina, melons of all shapes and sizes, and so many more. There's definitely more American influence with the restaurants here - they have Papa Johns (pronounced Papa Yons - 'js' are silent in spanish), Dunkin Donuts, Dominoes, Hooters, Chilis, and the usual fast-food places.
The drivers here are, dare I say it, even more crazy than the ones in Argentina. It's true! And the taxi drivers scare the poop out of me. Oftentimes, they won't know the city very well and will have to have you give them directions on how to get where you want to go - difficult if you're new to the area...AND you have to bargain the price with them before you go anywhere!

There are so many other things to tell, but you're probably on your 6th cup of coffee by this point. If you made it this far, CONGRATULATIONS! Thanks for sticking it out. The following blogs should be much, much shorter...unless I don't write them for another month :)
*Phew* that was a doozy.
Happy late Easter!

LOVE!LOVE!LOVE!