10 days down, 154 to go...

We cannot believe it has only been 10 days; it feels like we’ve been gone so much longer! We’re ending our last day in Peru and are heading to Argentina tomorrow morning; not, of course, before going to a Peruvian futbol game tonight. Nathan was excited when he found out that they were playing an international game against Liverpool…until he found out that it was Liverpool Uruguay. It should be fun and a bit frightening (read: four very out of place, very blonde foreigners alone with limited Spanish speaking ability) nonetheless.

[update: the futbol game was amazing - super wild and fun with one section of fans who did not stop screaming and jumping up and down and lighting off fireworks the entire night. There were police officers in riot gear lined up all over the stadium ready to throw down if there were any issues, but they seemed a bit more interested in watching the game than controlling the crowd. And Cuzco won! It was a great experience that we're glad we didn't miss.]

Highlights from our trip thus far:

Day One
VERY long flight (or set of flights and long layovers): three separate, very bumpy flights and 18+ hours of travel with very little sleep.

Day Two
Arrive in Cuzco...the flight in was AMAZING as we flew over the Andes and swept down into the Sacred Valley. Because the air is so thin due to the high altitude (10,800 ft), the airplane has to go twice as fast when landing and taking off which made for an exciting, albeit frightening, experience. We were so tired when we arrived. I mean TI-RED; I (SA) fell asleep at lunch, at the train station, sitting up, laying on the table, I fell off the table – I was a mess. Becuase of the super high altitude we all suffered a bit as well – altitude sicknes, dry skin, chapped lips, sinus issues, headaches – it took a bit of adjusting to, for sure. Cuzco is great though; a beautiful old colonial town with beautiful architecture and amazing plazas and parks. People here are kind and helpful, although quite overbearing when trying to get you to buy something from them.

Day Three
Hopped on a local bus for a crazy (like passing other busses uphill on blind corners, crazy) bus ride to Pisaq; a quaint little villiage with a huge outdoor market. It was so colorful with all of the bright colored alpaca clothing and fruit and vegetable stands. We shopped till we dropped and got harrassed by local merchants.

Day Four
We hopped on a tour bus for a nine hour trek (including all of our stops) to Puno and Lake Titicaca. Hugo, our awesome tour guide, took us through towns along the Sacred Valley where we saw a beautiful old church in Andahuaylillas that they call the Sistene Chapel of South America (quite a claim, but a beautiful church nonetheless); we stopped in Raqchi, a site along the old Inka trail with ancient Inka ruins; we ate a fabulous authentic Peruvian lunch in Sicuani where we were serenaded by live traditional Peruvian music; we stopped for pictures and a bathroom break at La Raya, the highest point on our jouney, which divided the Cusco Valley from the arid altiplano; and then Pukara, where we visited a museum with ancient Inkan artifacts.

Coming into Juliaca and Puno was fun and so much different than Cusco. It seemed to be more impoverished, but so much more colorful and busy. People zipped around on their pedicabs and motorcycle cabs (like whole families plus their belongings on one motorcycle cab).

The more we saw of Peru, the more it grew on us; the Sacred Valley is so alluring. There are huge golden hills, much like those in Central California but taller and more dramatic, and every once in a while you get a glimpse of the Andes towering through in the background. There is a beautiful river running through the valley and there are picturesque little towns scattered along it with locals working on their farms, riding bikes, walking along the highway and herding livestock, all dressed in traditional Peruvian clothing. There is livestock everywhere; cows, sheep, llamas, donkeys, horses, and dogs...billions of dogs. In fact, all throughout Peru we have never seen so many stray, mangey dogs. There are dogs on the side of the road, dogs in the dumpsters, dogs on fences (yes, on TOP of fences like cats), dogs stuck in barbed wire, dogs in packs, dog fights, dog crap, dogs everywhere. If you know Nathan at all, you can imagine how much he loved this. :) Aside from the stray dogs, Peru is an absolutely beautiful place.

Day Five
We headed out from our hostel in Puno to a boat tour of some of the islands on Lake Titicaca. The first island was the man-made reed island of Uros. It was actually kind of a strange experience – a bit like Disneyland´s Frontier Land. These people and the islands live for tourism. Tourists arrive in hoards on boats and the "locals" all greeted us with a traditional song and dance in traditional outfits while the tourists hung over the boat railings to snap photos of them. Once on the island they sit around doing "native" tasks, such as crushing grains, cooking food and eating reeds all the while trying to get you to purchase items they've "made". It felt very strange and theatrical. We suspect they do not still actually live on the islands (if they do, they're daily lives are seriously disturbed by tourists), but it was still quite interesting and fun to see; especially since, at one time, people really did live sustainable lives out on these man-made reed islands.

The second island was great. We hiked up one side and down the other and had an amazing lunch of fried trout. YUM. The island was beautiful and colorful and felt like we were in the Mediteranean. Back in Puno we had the best pizza ever at Machu Pizza...cheesy name, fabulous pizza; ham, pineapple and papaya...mmm.

Day Six
Back to Cuzco on a super long double-decker bus ride. There were frequent stops on the side of the road and on blind corners while the bus driver got out and did what, we're not sure (we were promised a non-stop ride). We flew, leaned and teetered around corners while the toilet water sloshed out of the bathroom downstairs and onto the floor - quite a disconcerting sound and smell - but we made it to Cuzco alive and only an hour behind schedule. Not bad as far as Peruvian bus rides go!

Did I mention we loved our hostel in Cuzco? It was fabulous and this was our last night staying in it; we had a room with a loft and a balcony overlooking the hills in Cuzco - beautiful.

Day Seven
We boarded a train to Aguas Calientes to visit Machu Pichu. It was a cramped train ride and we were starving when we got to AC...so hungry that we somehow lost all of our good judgement and were lured into a restaurant called Big Brother Bar where picutres of Tu-Pac, Che and Shannon Doherty were there to entice weary travelers.

We should've known better. Lunch was not great; I had something called pasta that I'm pretty sure had soy sauce in it and smelled a little like cat food and lake water, Kristin spilled her soup all over herself, me, and the people sitting below us on the deck and was charged a "service charge" for cleaning it up, and I'm pretty sure that's where I got the stomach bug that I've had ever since...awesome. It was super funny though and I think we've learned our lesson about letting our guard down when we're hungry.

We definitely made up for it at dinner though. We went to a restaurant owned by a French Peruvian couple and it was unbelievable...one of the best dinners I've ever had. Amazing food, amazing presentation, we were in heaven!

The town itself was nothing special but the mountains around it were captivating. Huge green jungly mountains surrounding the little town...stunning.

Day Eight
Machu Pichu...AMAZING. We got up at 4:30am for an early breakfast and early morning hike to the ruins. We thought that was early enough to start our hike and be one of the first groups up there but as we hiked through the dark toward the trail we realized that people were boarding busses by the hoards to go up to the ruins. Rats! It was still an amazing experience and we were so glad that we hiked the 4km (2 of them straight uphill) rather than taking a bus. It was a heck of a hike, the guidebook described it as "breathtakingly steep" and it certainly was, but it was so rewarding to climb through the jungle while watching the sun come up over the mountains. Seeing the ruins peeking over the mountains when we arived at the top was the best feeling ever...we did it! You cannot explain in pictures or words how magnificent these ruins were. It was much more beautiful than we'd anticipated and we ended up spending close to six hours up there hiking around, exploring and sitting taking in the spectacular views. We ran from alpacas, saw bright green parrots flying around, lots of lizards, and a chinchilla!

Kristin and I realized, after the sun came up, that we were dressed the same...down to our little pink socks!

After our amazing day at MP and our hike back down the mountain, Kristin and I had good girl talk time at the bottom of the trail where we soaked our tired feet in the river while the boys had brother bonding time and Brian got eaten alive by mosquitos - I think he counted 60 bites! Then we hopped on the Vista Dome train for our ride back to Cuzco which was MUCH nicer than the backpacker train we took out to AC. We had a free "light" lunch and had very strange live entertainment where the entertainer picked on Brian and Nathan, and we played cards nearly the entire 3 hour ride to see who would get the first shower when we arrived back at our hostel. It was a super fun end to an amazing day. Oh, and I kicked everyone's butts at gin so I got the first nice, hot shower. :)

Day Nine and Ten
We just finished up our time relaxing in Cuzco. After getting back from all our adventures, I feel like we had a new appreciation for the city. We ate at good restaurants, found a yummy juice bar, visited the local markets (which were amazing), sat in parks and read, and explored a bit more of the city.

Now...off to the game. Go Cienciano!!

Peru Pictures

The policia on watch at the Cuzco futbol game:


Colorful produce and grains at the Cuzco markets:

Glorious Machu Picchu:

Kristin and me in matching outfits:

Alpacas:

We hiked from that river waaayyy down at the bottom:

Sunrise on our hike up to Machu Picchu:

Big Brother Bar in Machu Picchu, big mistake:


Tequile Island (Lake Titicaca):

Uros Islands (Lake Titicaca):

The Sacred Valley:

Women in traditional Peruvian clothing:

Around Cuzco:

Broke??

Well, hopefully not...although we do have this sneaky suspicion that it might end up costing us a little more than we had originally planned. But who cares?? We are seeing the world! 28 countries...plus one if you count our 2 hour layover in Abu Dhabi.

This blog is going to be our way of keeping all of our wonderful friends and family posted on our adventures around the globe. If you subscribe as a follower, you will get email updates anytime we publish a new post. Please feel free to comment on our posts or email us at nathanandsteveyann@gmail.com because as much fun as it will be to be tromping the globe, we will miss everyone dearly and want to hear what's going on in your lives too!

Wish us luck, here we go...