Dream"girls"

Tonight will live in my memory forever. Let me paint you a picture. My friend Dennis and I had a kickball game. Our uniforms are white with red ring t-shirts and shortie shorts in red. I think the shorts come to at least 4 inches above my knee. In addition, I wear a red headband. We lost our game, but that isn’t where the night ended.

It was decided that after our game we would go across the street to the Kit Kat club where they have $5 martinis. This night isn’t about the drinks we had, only two, rather the moment that we created. After our drinks out on the patio I had to use the bathroom like no one’s business. As we walked past the main door to Kit Kat Dennis said, “Just use their bathroom.” We entered the bar and there was a drag queen, all 6 feet plus of her, including her weave (she was a big girl), singing “Dreamgirls.” The queen was walking toward the back of the bar and something came over both Dennis and me. It was like a record scratched, everyone looked our way and in unison we started doing the Dreamgirl arm and hand movements as we moved our hips to the beat. The crowd in the bar, of about 50 people, moved their attention from the pink sequined drag queen to the two guys in 70’s style uniforms.

For reference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paf_-yQCeMs

Literally, we were standing in the doorway and the music was playing what I thought was toward the end of the song. With each movement of an arm to the right, then to the left, including a snap of the fingers along the way, I realized that this was only the beginning. Dennis and I met each other’s movements at the same time and then turned our backs to each other as if we were Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson in the movie. At this point the crowd was mesmerized and I couldn’t believe what was happening. Later Dennis said, “You know they all think we practiced. What they don’t realize is that we’ve seen the movie a hundred times.”

I only intended to use the restroom and all of a sudden I was putting on a show. Please, if you have seen the movie, picture this scene and in it, rather than the girls in blue sequined gowns, picture my friend Dennis and me in our kickball uniforms. At the height of the bridge, Dennis decided to use the space of the bar to go out for a Tyra catwalk, shaking his ba-donk-a-donk the entire way. His Tyra walk was better than any walk Tyra has done in her life. It was this moment that I realized our adrenaline was pumping. My arms started moving in the classic upward “V” of the Dreamgirls. Dennis was about 30 feet away from me and we mirrored each other’s movements.

As the song came to an end and Dennis and I hit our final pose, the crowd, seriously, jumped to their feet. I would say that about 2/3, if not more, of the bar was standing, applauding and screaming. Honestly, it was like a dream. I can’t believe that this just happened. As we were accepting the adulation of the crowd, the waiter came pushing us out the door, with a smile and laughing, saying, “Get out of here. SHE PISSED!” We looked back and the queen, all 6 feet plus including broad shoulders, in pink sequins, was glaring at us, headed in our direction. Both of us knew she could kick our asses, so we bolted. Dennis and I left T-heeing and laughing all the way out and down the street. It was incredible.

Now I love to perform, anyone who knows me knows that, but this was one of those moments that could NEVER have been orchestrated, it just happened. I’m still on some sort of high and probably won’t sleep all night. It’s the best feeling I have had in, I can’t remember how long. Natural highs are the way to go. WOW! If I really had a weave I’d toss it around in the air right now, just like Beyonce!

I bid adieu from Peru

I´m less than an hour away from leaving for the airport. I have 19 hours of travel ahead of me, if everything goes as planned. Remember the 36 hours it took to get here? I do!

Peru has been an interesting trip. One with highs and lows, where the highs were much higher than the lows. I´m just going to get this out of the way, I´ve traveled a lot internationally and this has by far been the most difficult trip to plan. I never gained a sense of comfort because the planning was a bit difficult. Some people I spoke to along the way had to go through a tour agent because planning for Peru is difficult on your own. When traveling alone I need to feel a sense of trust and here I never got completely comfortable. Thailand was a much different place as far as a sense of welcome and trust. I don´t want to discourage any of you from traveling here, because it is a beautiful country with beautiful people. Just call me before you plan because I have a lot of things that can help you out.

By far the highest high for me was Machu Picchu. As I said in a previous blog, it is indescribeable. Words cannot express the beauty, majesty, mystery of the place. It is a marvel that will stay with me always. The Amazon was pretty cool too. I must say, spending time in the jungle with the bugs and animals was pretty darn cool. By the end, it was time to leave, but the experience was well worth the hassle of planning it. Another high point was Ollyantatambo and the mountain biking excursion. I may not be the most athletic one in the family, but I sure do have an adventurous side. The mountin biking hit the spot for me. Even falling off my bike was cool. Plus, Ollyantatambo was a really cool little town. The ruins that side just steps from town square speak volumes of the history of that town. Finally, Cuzco was a great city, for 4 days. The 5th night and additional day here were a bit much for me(with all the beggers, street sellers, etc.) but I loved it here. It is a great city nestled in the Andes. Walking the narrow streets, sitting on the steps leading up to the cathedral, watching people endlessly, eating great food(minus the guinea pig which made me a bit sick in hindsight) are all things that make traveling fulfilling for me. Traveling fills my spirit.

To end, I must mention the people. They are of course my favorite part of traveling. I thrive off meeting people, talking to people, sharing experiences with people, whether they know it or not. It could be a guy on the park bench next to me who I am sharing an experience with. We don´t know each other, but we are there together, taking in the scene, together. It´s quite an amazing experience. Then there is the guy on the bench who speaks to you in Spanish and although you tell him you don´t speak the language he continues to talk. You get about every 10th word he says and frankly have no idea what he is talking about, but you have just experienced something.

Then there are the people you meet along the way who you do share a common bond with. The family from Portland(Bill, Holly, Chris, and Drew), the couple from Colorado(Joe and Pat), the hostel owner in O-Town(KB), the guy from England who was on the plane with me(Matt), Erin, the girl I met at MP from Connecticut, and the couple from England who were in the Amazon with me(Adam and Nicola) all of these people have shared in my travel experience and made my time enjoyable. Although I try not to meet too many Americans along the way, those that I met this time were supurb.

Finally, it goes without saying, the children I have come across have will forever stay in my mind. Some of them I have pictures of, but most I simply have saved in my memory. I wonder what will happen to the little 3 year old who patiently sat next to me on the town steps waiting for his mother. Will he have the chance to get an education or will he end up selling post cards on the street. Speaking of, what happens to those children who are left selling paitings, finger puppets, post cards, and hats on the street when they should be in school? Where do they end up? Through all of my experiences I take one thing with me. Seeing the faces of smiling, laughing children around the world is the most fulfilling part of travel because laughter has no language barrier and is the most beautiful language of all. My spirit is full.

I bid adieu from Peru. Here´s hoping for seemless travel as I head home. Thank you for reading my blog and experiencing this trip with me. Certainly check my blog periodically. I tend to have crazy adventures in my American life too.

Adios!

Matt

7/9/08
Since writing that last post, I'm home. After a change of airlines and only 3.5 hours later than planned, I'm home. I didn't feel anything of the earthquake that some of you have commented on.

The little guy does not taste like chicken

I found a guinea pig today! It was a rather rewarding hour I had today. First, I headed up a street that I hadn´t before and ran into a lady knitting winter hats. I´ve seen this many times here. They usually offer me their goods and I say, ¨No gracias.¨ This time however, I stopped because there was a striking green hat on the top of her stack. I picked it up and she said, ¨quintente(or however you say/spell 15).¨ I said, ¨No, doce (12).¨ The hat had pink and purple in it, but I was willing to have that in order to have the beautiful green. As I was standing there she took out this wire brush and started stroking the hat. It makes it more fluffy, but I quite prefurred the untouched hat. As I looked down I saw the hat she was working on was the same green yarn, but had blue and black on it. I asked her how long it would take to finish, in my best broken Spanish. She told me 10-15 minutes, so I took a seat next to her and waited. Her hands moved really fast. While she was working, I noticed the other hat had white trim, so I asked if she could do that to mine. When she finished, I asked her not to brush it and gave her 20 soles due to her making the hat to my specifications. It´s still a hand knit hat for $6.



I continued up this small street and only a few yards later I found a restaurant with a chalkboard outside, ¨Guinea Pig¨. I went in, ordered the thing, and waited. About 20 minutes later it came out, the whole thing, split in half.
The skin was like really, really think rubber. I tried to cut it with the provided butter knife, but it didn´t work. The waiter saw my struggle and motioned to me to pick it up and naw with my teeth. So I did. I would never touch dark turkey meat at Thanksgiving with a ten foot pole, but here in Peru I´ll eat guinea pig. It does NOT taste like chicken. I actually can´t tell you what it tastes like. I didn´t much care for the taste and after finding as much meat as my stomach could handle, I was done.














I´m glad I had the experience but won´t need to eat guinea pig again. In this photo you can see my new hat.

Well I´m supposed to be on my way home tomorrow. I have a flight to Lima at 4:30 p.m. When I stopped back at my hostal, the night guard, who speaks less English than I speak Spanish tells me that is a taxi protest tomorrow and that I´ll have to walk to the airport. Of course my stress level hit near breaking point. I went out and tried to find someone who spoke English. I found one guy who told me that if I get up at 5 a.m. I can find one. That would mean I would be at this small airport for nearly 12 hours before my 19 hour travel itinerary. Then I found another guy and his mother. He spoke better English and his mother said the protest is on Wednesday. So, please, lets hope he is correct, or I may have to walk to the airport and there are no maps that I have found yet. I´m planning on offering someone 20 soles(it is usually 5 to the airport) to drive me if possible. My thinking is someone will take me. Let´s hope so, right? I hope to be home in the States on Wednesday morning. Keep your fingers crossed.

Along the way Part 2

I leave Peru in just over 24 hours. I´m kinda excited to get back to the US. Afterall, it is summer, the best time to be in Chicago. Plus, the rrhea (as in the runs) has started to hit. It´s not horrible, just a little loose. Sorry for too much information. Amanda knows I´m the king of TMI! She hears it all, often more than she probably wishes to hear, haha.

I have a few more observations to share before my trip wrap-up tomorrow. Here is my Along the way segment, part deux.

-watching blonde female traveler´s reactions to cat calls in the plaza, by local boys, is classic.
-common practice is to order your entire meal, including dessert, all at once.
-I think Cusco is the nose picker capital of the world, or at least I´m crowning it so. Foreigners and locals alike pick their nose constantly, with no shame or attempt to hide it-gross!
-shop owners continue to talk to me in Spanish when it is clear I have no idea what they are saying.
-one can be asked for a massage upwards of 100 times a day. Massages are huge here.
-Amazon mosquito bites are fierce and not in a good Christian, ¨fierce, hot tranny mess,¨kinda way.
-Breast feeding, boob fully out with no hooter hider, is common in the main plaza. J-does this count as the naked women you were referring to? They´re not so hot, so probably not.
-every meal on vacation should be followed up with dessert. I left the place last night without paying-oops. I went back to correct my error.
-it´s 70 degrees here by day and 30 by night. I sleep in more clothes than I wear during the day.
-Looking for a reason to come to Peru? Pablo Picaso has risen from the dead. ¨Remember me? Pablo Picaso? Want to buy a picture?¨-the guy selling paintings in the plaza.

To answer Jason´s question, no, I have not seen any beautiful naked women just around in the Amazon, or here in Cusco. However, the other day their was a troop of women in the main plaza, in much less than a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader would wear, dancing around shaking what their mama gave them. So maybe in a way J, your idea of South America is correct. I´ll at least let you keep thinking that way. I´d hate to ruin your image.

George, George, George of the jungle

I made it to the jungle and back, in one piece. As my friend AJ said, "you and a million bugs" and that was the truth. We were picked up at the airport and made our way to the river. After a short 30 minute ride, we were at the Tambo Jungle Lodge. These were very modest, thatched roof huts. I was happy to see the mosquito net when I opened my room's door. I have always wanted to sleep under one and now I had the chance. Don´t ask why as I´m not sure about the facination. This post is long, but it is 4 days worth of adventure.





The Amazon at sunrise.














The Amazon at sunset.











It gets dark in Peru around 5:30. With our slight, small framed, machete wielding guide, Ronbolt, we set out for our night hike at about 4 p.m. The beginning of the jungle reminded me of a part of Schrear Park(behind my parent´s house in Portage). There was a part we used to call Dagobah. We quickly got into some dense forest. At first saw many different types of trees. Ronbolt told us how they were used medicinally. It was great, at one point he said, "What is this called?" pointing to his knuckle. I said, "Knuckle." He then told us that a particular tree we were looking at was used to help with arthritis and it was funny because the branches had little knots, like knuckles. After he told us and I told him the word in English he turned around to start walking and I heard him repeat several times, "knuckle, knuckle, knuckle" as if to committ to memory. Another tree we saw was the walking tree. It´s roots are not in the ground and therefore it can ¨walk". There was the killing tree that is actually a vine that uses an existing tree as a base, constricts it, killing it, and then growing into it´s own tree. Finally, the gringo tree turns red in the sun light, ¨like gringos on a beach¨as my guide Ronbolt told me with a laugh and smile.

It quickly became dark and we turned our flash lights on. All of a sudden small, exotic flowers became "eh" as we were more focused on the bugs, beattles, spiders, taranchulas, ants and more. Our guide was ahead a bit and Jason, a guy on our tour, saw a bunch of ants. We all quickly went to the area and they were red ants and there were so many they covered our shoes within 5 seconds. I of course am trying to take my camera out to take a photo. Ronbolt gets to us and says, "git, git, git...those are very aggressive fire ants. Git!" So we run away but they were all over my feet and pants. I was able to get rid of them before they bit me. As we continued I heard, "Oh my." It was Jason and his lady friend. Apparently 6 seconds after I passed a tree, a huge spider swooped down. Jason said it just missed landing on my head-YIKES!






The one that just missed my head.







We made our way back to the lodge where we were able to see stars. I don't see many stars in Chicago. The sky was full and I was actually able to see the Milky Way.

The next morning we rose at 5:30 for Sandoval Lake. We saw many birds and were able to swim in the lake with piranas, snakes, caimen(small gators), etc. Of course I didn't stay in long enough to make friends with these creatures, but they were there I'm sure. We just used the rope swing to swing into the water, then quickly got out. It was a ton of fun! On this part of the trip we were able to canoe down a small canal and it was exactly what I pictured when I thought of the Amazon. We saw caimen, turtles, and birds.









I´m trying to upload a video and everything is in Spanish which makes it extra difficult. But here it is, me rope swinging into the Amazon.




After we returned I was able to go to Monkey Island. First Ronbolt says, with a smile, "Get a stick" I didn't realize until later that he was serious, sort of. At first they didn't appear, but Ronbolt was able to find them. I was so close I could hear them eating the bananas we put out. It became a bit frightening when Ronbolt said, "Its time to leave. They are going to get aggressive." There were 5 monkeies. We had our sticks ready to hit them back if they attacked us. They did not. On our way back to the lodge we scouted for caimen. This was a lot like shining for deer in MI. Yes, I've been once with my cousins Tammy, Josh and Sarah when I was probably 16 or so. Rather than a car, a dirt road, a spotlight, and deer, we had a boat, a river, a spotlight and caimen. Their red eyes shone in our lights so we could find them. The biggest one we saw on the bank was probably 6-7 feet long. Pretty cool I must say.

Our second morning was a wake up at 4:30 a.m. to go to a clay lick to see parrots. I was a bit skeptical and I was right. We rode for an hour or more and when we got there, there was nothing. A few minutes later a couple of parrots arrived. No more than 30 of the more than 100 birds around made it to the like. Soon we were off.

There is a couple in my group who constantly makeout. It's way gross and bugs! He is from Texas. She is from Peru. I have two theories that have come to mind over the 3 days I have had to watch them makeout every 30 to 60 seconds.

1. They met online and he is here to take her back to the U.S.

2. They met at a discotheque and he has paid her off for the remainder of his stay. He'll take her back to the U.S. and change her life. One day she'll go to the high end clothing stores and they will not help her because there is nothing there for her. The next day she'll go back with bags full of clothes and say, "Big mistake. Big. Huge. Well I have to go shopping now." I think I'm onto something here.

The next day we headed to the canopy, 45 meters above the jungle floor. I got a ton of mosquito bites which lead to me having had a great jungle experience, but ready to leave. My hands are infested with bites. We visited a "native" family(a put on show for the tourists I'm sure) and I got to drink from sugar cane. Tastes like sweet water if you are wondering.


The canopy walk and Ronbolt our machete wielding guide.










The last thing I want to write about here is a revelation I came to last night. Nicola and Adam are a couple how were with me for the jungle tour. They are from England and were quite delightful. We had many conversations over the days. They just graduated from university and are traveling before they begin working. In conversation it came up that they were both 20, going on 21. It didn't hit me until last night when I thought, "I'm 11 years older than these kids but I don't feel it at all." It's kinda crazy.

As I itch my hands I guess I'm going to go. The Amazon jungle was great and I'm really glad I did this excursion. The bug bites suck and I'm ready to be in the city without the million bugs. : )

Along the way

I don´t have a lot to report today, but I am paying for an hour of time on the computer so I thought I would use it. I left Ollyantatambo yesterday and arrived in Cuzco. I think I was ready to get out of the little villages. Although they were charming and fun, I´m a city boy at heart. Cuzco, in Chicago standards, is small, but from where I´m coming from, it is large. They have many plazas and people everywhere.

I got to my hostal, checked in, and set out. I stumbled upon a panderia(bakery). Lo and behold, it´s in my guidebook as one of the best. I got a cafe con leche and a few sweet treats. As I was sitting down I heard, ¨Matt?¨ It was Holly and Drew from my mountain bike trip. They had just dropped the father, Bill, and son, Chris, off at the airport. They sat with me for a bit and we chatted about our days since mountain biking. Holly also fell and bruised some ribs, so I made out no worse for wear after my fall. I did find a mysterious bruise on my arm today however.

After the treats, I set out on the town, got lost in the streets and had a blast. The altitude doesn´t seem to be bothering me too bad. I was a little dizzy yesterday with a mild, mild headache, but today I feel fine. I found a travel agent and was able to book my trip to the jungle. I leave tomorrow. I´m sorta leery as they are picking me up at my hostal at 9:30 and that is when the boarding time is for my flight. Now Cuzco´s airport is small, only two baggage areas, but I´m still a tad frightened I´ll miss my flight. If I´ve learned one thing planning this Peru trip and being here it is, don´t count your chickens until they hatch. The trip itself is cheap, I do have to room with another person, but that´s fine. The plane tickets here are sky high. LAN Peru airlines I´m not a fan. They like to screw over foreigners with ticket prices. But, I´m guessing I won´t make it back to the Amazon again, so it´s worth it.

Later in the day I was buying post cards(don´t get excited, you probably won´t get one if you are capable of checking this blog-which you are!)for my grandparents, Mrs. Greene(my 4th grade teacher) and parents. I hear, ¨Matt?¨again. Now it is the school group I met on the train the day before. I chatted with the teacher and her daughter and they invited me to live music that they were going to see at night. After more shopping and just sort of walking around, taking pictures of doorways and windows(so many cool ones here) I headed back to my room. I´ve been without a television for a week now. I honestly didn´t mind at all, but now that I have one I had to turn it on. Will and Grace in Spanish is still funny!

I met the teachers and teens up at 9 and headed to a discoteque. The live music didn´t work out. It is so funny to watch 15 and 16 year olds dance. It totally made me think of a dance in the fall of freshman year, after a football game. I was with Mike Jones and Chris Johnson and we had just met Breah McPherson and she was with Missy Eister(most of you will not know any of those people). Anyway, I remember Breah teaching me to dance. She said, ¨Just loosen your knees and shoulders.¨ Now thinking back on it and the fact that I can cut a rug now, it is funny. But these teen boys were the same way. They girls were dragging them to the floor and making them dance.

Anyway, this is much longer than I intended. My point in this blog was to relay some of the things I´ve learned along the way. Much like learning in Thailand that you do not put the toilet paper in the toilet, it goes in the basket next to you, here are some other things I have learned while in Peru.

-Tang is still popular
-Llamas roam the street even in the city
-After one flush of the toilet it runs and runs and runs
-¨Old people¨ can use walking sticks at Machu Picchu
-People love a good town square
-Motzerella sticks are called Finger Cheese
-The Inca Nation flag is a rainbow : )
-Knowing Spanish would be a good thing here
-Most people are genuine and helpful
-Some people are not helpful at all
-Women carry babies, crops, even lambs on their back
-¨Right Now¨by Van Halen is in the Top 20 on VH1
-Peruvian toilet paper has puppies on it
-Need a reason to come to Peru? ¨Together Forever¨by Rick Astley on the radio!!

Dream come true

It´s kinda cheesy, I´ll admit, but I lived a dream today. For 20 plus years I have wanted to be at Machu Picchu. We all say we have a ¨dream job¨or a ¨dream date¨ and I too sometimes have those thoughts. But honestly today was a dream come true. I´m not sure that I have ever realized a dream. If I thought long and hard maybe I could come up with something. Although Thailand was a place I wanted to visit for many years, Machu Picchu was a place that I could visualize in my head. It lived up to every expectation and then some. I may have even shed a tear or two in realization that I was actually standing before MP and said, ¨Wow... Wow, I´m here.¨

I got up at 4 this morning after restless sleep. I think I was too excited, plus the beds I have been sleeping in for 10 to 30 dollars a night aren´t the best. I headed to the bus station where I met some guys from Toranto and NY. We were both kinda mystified that it wasn´t more crowed. I was the first in line, not intentionally. We chatted a bit, got on the bus, and made the 20 ride to the top. Imagine a kid almost wetting his pants with excitement and you have me. We got there and much like I was told, it was covered with clouds. Within 10 minutes dawn was upon us and the clouds began to break. It was a good hour before sunrise and I got some great photos. I met more Americans, the same guys and then this girl Erin from Connecticut. She was super nice and had a great camera so we did some fun poses. If she sends them to me, it will be my Christmas card. However, this is what I saw when I first arrived.

The amazing part is to think what it took to create such a magnificent place. I´ve been to the ¨Disney¨castle outside of Munich which was majestic, but Machu Picchu takes the cake on majesty 10 times over. The way it is settled between these huge mountains and cliffs is something you will never be able to understand until you come here yourself. Then you get into the creation of the place, BY HAND! It´s simply incredible. Words cannot express MP, only experiencing it can.



I toured around for 6 plus hours. I was supposed to have the great guide my friends Kari and AJ had last year, but he had to cancel. I didn´t set anything else up, rather, I bought a self-guided tour book and read almost every word on the 90 page tour, hense 6 hours. Along the way I was people I had met along my journey in addition to some girls from Chicago. We chatted for a bit and then it was time for me to leave. One thing I found funny was the description of rules for MP. On the sign it said something that would NOT fly in the US, ¨No food, No littering, Walking sticks can only be used by old people.¨ I laughed out loud! On the train back to Ollyantatambo I sat with 3 high school students. There are a ton of HS groups here. These kids were from Princeton, NJ. Only I would stay with them on an hour and a half train ride rather than finding a seat elsewhere.


One of the joys of solo travel-self-portraits!












I made it back to KB hotel and crashed. I could have slept all night, but I made myself get up and I´m glad I did. There was a festival in town today, which I missed. But, they are still in the streets now celebrating much like we do in Chicago. There is street food and beer. I walked around this little square, for a good hour. I saw kids playing with tops and yo-yos, ¨car race¨with empty plastic soda bottles and tag...isn´t it funny that when your friend pushes you down and you get hurt, the best cure for the tears is to hit your friend and ¨hurt¨them too? I saw people standing around talking and drinking beer from the beer tent. Yes, there is a beer tent, but they sell 40s and give you a plastic cup. It´s great to see the old generation of women on their milk crates drinking 40s in their traditional clothing. Then there is the newer generation wearing clothes like you and I would wear. Spiderman even shows up to festivals in Peru.


This little girl came up to me, ¨Hola¨. I so wish I knew Spanish better. I said, ¨Como esta?¨ She answered with ¨Bien.¨ Then I watched the kids play for longer. Finally, about 4 came over and sat next to me. We sorta had a converstion, as best we could. We definitely got each other´s names, where I was from, where I was staying, how old I am, what time I am going to bed tonight, where I am going tomorrow, how long i´m in Peru, and why I came to Peru. I thought that was pretty cool. Gisella, Julissa, Ronald, and oh what was the little ones name....Jacqueline, that´s it. I´m just one of the lucky ones who takes the opportunity to experience different people of this world. We may not know each other´s language well, but we make do, and we enjoy each other. They also enjoyed my camera!

Gisella sorta cut my head off. It´s as if Aunt Karen was taking the photo. Shout out AK!












So all in all, I would say this is one of the top days of my life. That is a bold statement, but I stand by it. Who could ask for more than to realize a dream and to experience the kids of a culture unknown to me, at certain depth, all in one day? I´m the lucky one!

I spit at you

Today was a culinary type day for me. Everywhere I travel I like to take a cooking class and I always want to try the local food. I was able to do that today along with meeting some cool people.

As I was sitting at the train station for my trip to Machu Picchu, KB, the guy who owns the hostal I´ve been staying in passes me along with Pat and Joe, the couple from Colorado I met yesterday. They were on a mission I could tell, but I had no idea for what. KB said, ¨Grab your bag and come along.¨ Come to findout we were headed to a granite bench created by the Incas. The Rio Urdubamaba river is low right now(low season) sitting a good 6 to 8 feet lower than it does in say January. Many of the rocks and boulders would never be see certain times a year, including this bench. Again, it is a work of art. It seems that this bench would have been used by a king with two women on either side of him. There were cutouts that appeared to be for feet. The cutout in the middle was a bit lower than the other two. The bench was so smooth and complete-quite amazing.

I met a couple of British girls on the train ride up to Aguas Calientes. They had been trekking in the mountains for 3 days. We had a nice conversation and then got to AC which is a very small town. If I need to go to the bathroom it is just as easy to go back to my room as find one somewhere. It´s also the site of my getting into some good culture, with food.

Ever hear of an alpaca? I ate one today? How about llamas? Ate that too. Trout? Yep, raw! My day of food began in a little restaurant with the alpaca. These are in the llama family and they make winter hats, scarves and mittens out of their wool. Apparently, they also he these guys. It was like a steak, but a really tough steak. Isn´t it funny that I won´t touch venison back in the States, but here in Peru I´ll eat alpaca?

http://thoughtdistillery.com/gallery/d/639-3/alpaca.jpg

In addition to that, I took a cooking class. It was just me and three chefs, Oscar, Manuel, Julio (me and Julio down by the school yard-everyone sing with me). They were all cool guys. Oscar and Manuel both spoke better English, so Julio just told Manuel what to say to me. The meal started with ceveche(sp?). It is a traditional Peruvian appetizer type thing. During a war with Chile, I think Oscar said in the 1400´s, the Peruvian men would come home and as a celebration the women would make ceveche. It was basically a potato cake, but like mashed potatoes mixed with pureed yellow Peruvian chilis(key ingrediant in most Peruvian cooking), formed into a patty. Then there was a mixture of raw trout(or another fish of your liking but trout is huge in this part of Peru due to the Rio Urdubamba), onion, garlic, and lots of lime juice. That is placed on top of the potato, then another potato cake is put on top. To top it off is a mayonase make of pureed black olives, oil, and garlic. It was really good. THe mayonase was somewhat overpowering but good.

The next thing we made was quinua soup. Quinoa is a rice type grain that I discovered only two years ago thanks to Oprah´s Bob Green(as if she owns him but you know what I mean....ok, she does own him). The soup was delicioso! Finally we make a llama stir fry. YUM! It wasn´t as tough as the alpaca, which I enjoyed, and again was a lot like steak. It was really neat to have these three guys and me cooking and answering my questions, etc.

Well, I´m off to bed. I have a 4 a.m. wake-up call for Machu Picchu. I´m a little leary about the trip due to the clouds that were atop the mountains as we pulled in to AC. I´m telling you what, if there are clouds tomorrow.....maybe Oprah can move them for me. Kidding, you all know I love her.

Cheers!

A little herb never hurt!

Wow-today was an amazing day. The phrase, ¨simply amazing¨ must have run through my mind a hundred times. I took an extreme mountain biking excursion through the guy who owns the hostel I´m staying at. He´s from the States but moved here 5 years ago. I met a family from Portland and a couple from Colorado. One thing I knew would happen here that didn´t in Asia is that I am running into many Americans. It´s not all bad, as I´m meeting nice people(many educators), but I loved not running into any while in Thailand. Anywho, the kids of this family were 13 and 16 and great. We stuck together for most of the tour as the parents held back a bit. However, I give their mom credit because I KNOW Sheila wouldn´t have been caught dead doing this. It reminds me of our family rafting excursion where the phrase ¨Shut up and row¨ became commonplace.

The trip began at the Moray an Inca research center of sorts. Their work is of perfection. The fact that they could create something so vast and near perfect is quite astounding. They did it by hand!

Within the first few minutes I took a headed after my tire got caught in a crevace. Besides a skinned knee, I was fine and back down the trail. These sites reminded me a bit of Glacier in Montana but the difference is that the mountains are covered with pastures and crops and little towns in the valleys. There were steep parts and easier parts. The most challenging were the steep switchbacks, and there were many. I kept my back break close to constantly on as I jerked my handlebars to the left and immediately to the right. I should mention that some of these turns were on about 4 feet of trail with mountain on one side of me and cliff on the other side. Don´t worry Mom, I made it down safely. My tourmates were kind enough to take pictures to prove I´m alive. It took us about 4 hours or more to make it down the mountain. At the end of our journey we made it to the salt mines. Families own pools, like owning a plot of land. They mine the salt for your table. If you have Peruvian Pink Salt, I saw it being mined today. One of the most interesting things I learned today is that in the valley that houses Ollyantaytambo, where I´m staying, was one of the only, if not only, places that the Inca defeated the Spanish.

Finally today, we saw many children. Excuse me while I pontificate for a moment. I always love seeing the children of the world. These kids don´t know what Nintendo Wii is or have iPods or cell phones. But what I notice is how happy they are or seem. They don´t know what they are missing. I love Guitar Hero too, don´t worry, but these kids don´t know that. I prefer to beleive that they are happy with what they have. We saw two boys running along with us. Their feet were black with dirt, jutting out of their leather sandles. One boy had a wire and a wheel. His older companion, Arnesto as we found out, kept trying to kick the wheel off the wire. I must mention that this was on the steep switchbacks. The little boy never once lost control of his wheel as the two of them laughed and giggled the entire way.

What I love about seeing the children is that it makes me not feel sorry for them. That´s not to say there are not children in this world that do have it rough and I do feel sorry for, but the children I encounter are happy. They don´t know what they don´t have and I sometimes think that is better. But I do wonder what they think as the foreign tourists come into their lives. Do they wish they had the bikes that we were on? Do we make their lives better by bringing much needed money to them? Or, are we taking away their innosence? I choose to believe the former. At least I hope so.

The herb I refer to in the title of course is coco. It is illegal to bring back to the States, but´I´m sure if I could get some back, it would do wonders. It looks much like a small bay leaf and they put it directly in hot water for tea. I´m guessing, if it is illegal in the States, we could figure out another use. : ) I´m just saying.... I have been drinking the tea three times a day as it is supposed to help with altitude sickness. At least that is what they say.

Tonight I had burritos for dinner. They were much like a fejita with everything coming in a separate bowl. The tortillas were much like a Swedish pancack. I am also loving that soups like pumpkin and squash are so huge here. I´m taking a cooking class tomorrow, so I hope to learn the tricks!

I´m about 24 hours away from Machu Picchu. I´m trying not to look at all the posters, post cards, books, etc. with the famous site on them. Although I have seen those pictures many, many times, I want the image to be fresh in my mind. I remember when my brother did a report on MP, I was in 3rd or 4th grade perhaps. Since then I have wanted to visit. I´ve been waiting over 20 years for Sunday and it is almost here!!

Please leave comments. It keeps me connected to all of you. I see it is quite hot in Chicago these days. It is really cold here in the morning, around 40 and at night around 40. During the day it is about 65 or 70 degrees. Lovely!

After 36 hours, I´m here in Peru!

First let me begin with, Peru is awesome, getting here was not! I left my condo at 3 pm on the 24th and finally made it to my first hostal at 4:40 on the 25th. The trip is long in general, but the two hour delay in Miami, the weather in Cuzco, and the LAN airline employees made it worse.

Long story short, many of us missed our connection in Lima and then American put on on later flights to Cuzco the only problem is that LAN airlines wouldn´t honor those seats and refused to let us on the plane. I learned that there is a bit of a feud with American and LAN although they are ¨One World¨partners. After the delay in Miami and the tired state I was in, a lesser man would have crumbled.....ok, I almost crumbled at the LAN counter because they were so unhelpful. Anyway, out of it all good came. I met two wonderful people.

Andi, a grandmother who recently lost her husband, and her grandson Drew were in the same situation as me. After a bit of tea and trying to figure things out, i felt better. Andi is a world traveler and although she did nothing that I wouldn´t have done, it was nice to have another person to hang with. After 3 trips between American and LAN´s counters, we were all booked on the 12:30 flight to Cuzco. I didn´t have it so bad though. Andi and Drew had been trying to get to Peru for 3 days but due to airline issues they were majorly delayed. Drew, I thought was about 11, is actually going on 13. For a kid who had little sleep in 3 days he was doing pretty good. I think his grandmother was about ready to kill him, so having me enter the situation was good. Take the most ADHD boy you have, multiply it by 10, add in lack of sleep and you have Drew. He was a great kid though, I could tell.

On my way to Cuzco I met a guy I recognized from Miami. He is a Master´s student from London doing research here in Cuzco. He too had been trying to get from the States to Peru for 3 days. so my over 24 hours was nothing. He has some friends coming to Cuzco on the 4th,the same day I arrive there so we are going to hang out. as he was writing his email down for me he said, ¨Í¨m Matt.¨ I smiled and said the same thing.

Last night i got to Pisac. This place gets pick dark at :30 and the village shuts down. I grabbed some dinner and headed to my room. I had the most wonderful shower of my life. Not because of the intense pressure or the impressive shower, but because needed it so bad. Although I take showers often, some of you boggle your eyes at me when I say I don´t like to shower. Well last night I did. I settled into bed, wrote in my journal and slept from 9pm until 9 am today.

So far today I have eaten my weight in empanadas-yum! I´ve seen live guinea pigs but have not seen a cooked one yet. I´m going to eat one though! There is a huge market here, so I´m going to spend some time there until I head to Ollaytatambo later this afternoon.

Adios!

p.s. as with emails, I reserve the right to misspell words plus with this keyboard, it is inevitable.

At it once again

Three years ago I traveled to Taiwan and Thailand for 3.5 weeks. Most people I know thought I was nuts, but the experience was fun, enlightening, and life-changing. Now I'm at it again, only this time I'm headed to Peru. Please join me on my adventure by checking my blog for updates, which I hope include photos.