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.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
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. : )
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. : )
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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!!
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!!
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