So I muddled my way across the border, my first unseriuos seeming one (reminds me of South East Asia and Africa; two shacks on the side of a road). Changed the remainder of my Soles into Bolivianos and made my way to Copacabana, of course not the beach in Rio, but something a little bit pleasant. I forced myself through the city for an hour or so before finding myself at a nice cheap hotel. I made a few friends from the ride over and we all made our way to Isla del Sol together the next morning. Now, in Copacabana and on Isla del Sol there was no ATM which means I was left to see how long $50 could last me, and apparently the answer was four days. Which is fairly impressive considering the ... read more

Inti Raymi meant lots more parades. I was in the parade. It also meant lots of people drinking (and I mean lots). I danced and drank. Now I am exhausted! But what a celebration! Now I am exhausted.... read more

So the bus ride from Arequipa was longer and less comfortable than I could have hoped for, but I did get to see a lot of mountains and llamas; so many llamas that I would say I now consider them a little bit boring. I arrived in Cuzco pretty late and basically went straight to bed. I must have gotten some of this famous altitude sickness because I felt a little out of breath even when I was just walking casually. It has worn off now. This city is much older than anywhere else I have been in South America (or at least it seems to be), a lot of the old churches here are actually built on top of Inca temples, and a lot of the churches and other buildings date back to the 16th ... read more

So I made it through Tacna and back onto the more well traveled road. This isn't exactly a tourist center but there are a few other tourists around, i think it is a stop people make when they are spending significant time in Peru. It is nice to wear a t-shirt and sandals and not to be sleeping on a bus. I am back into the territory where it is cheaper to stay the night at a hotel than it is to go to a hostel, so I am stay at an ok little hotel with a writing desk and my own washroom. I went to the Santa Catalina Monastery and also read my first little bit about Peru. There are lots of options in this country it seems, we will see if I manage to ... read more

So I should be doing homework, and that means it is perfect time for... doing something else that I wouldn't normally do! Update my blog when nothing has really happened. So I have been going to school and that means I wake up really early, go to school, study for 4 hours, get confused and tired, return home siesta after eating lunch, wake up and study... My class is interesting, there are 5 other people and the contrasts are interesting. I know by far the least amount of vocabulary. And I have the second worst "gringo" accent (there is a guy from Kentucky who sounds so brutal...), but I destroy people in conjugating verbs and verb tenses. So that makes me feel good. I am also definitely the funniest and play with my sentences the most. ... read more