PacificChallenge08

Lima marked our last few days in South America. We arrived in Lima on our last bus ride of the trip...what a relief! After extreme taxi rides which caused much grief for our group, we finally made it to our hostel and settled in. Scott (Escott if you will) was available immediately to help us feel comfortable and welcome in his cozy hostel home. We were introduced to Dia, the "cutest" dog on the planet and informed of Flee, the illtempered, fanged monkey living in the attic. To say the least our hostel was quite interesting. Being the starving travellers that we were our immediate thought was to find food! We all separated and found delicious treats to eat which included arabian falafels and gelato at our new favorite shop called Dolve Vai. Our first day ... read more

Well we were in Cusco for 3 days before Machu Picchu and for one day after, but theu were days well spent. On the first day most of the group did a scavenger hunt that was set up for us by Jen and Steph to help us get to know the city better, which consisted of an amazing rap video by one group. That night we got to have Peruvian Chinese food which is similar to that back at home but not the same, and then got ready to go to a discoteca. Preparing to the discoteca started to get crazy after a game of zip, zip, boing got out of control and the night ended with Mike getting lost and having a night to remember. The second day everyone went on a hike to ruins ... read more

The last 40 days went by so quickly. It´s hard to imagine us all awkwardly eating breakfast for the first time on the roof of our hostel in BsAs. Over the last month and a half we became a family and might have gotten a little too comfortable with each other ... sharing poop stories is a dinner time staple I will miss. This trip was all about expecting the unexpected. I never thought in 6 weeks I would feed an impoverished village, go anaconda hunting, bungee jump, climb a mountain and surf with a world champion. And although those experiences changed my life, it is the little things I will remember most about our time together. Like Sean bringing a huge jeep suitcase. Laura being a card shark. Dana calling herself a D Bag on ... read more

cheap ass thrill suspended nearly 400 feet, overlooking a valley between two mountains. you reach the top and the instructor tells you he doesn´t care to jump anymore, ''it´s boring for me now''. whilst your knees are shaking. you walk the plank, '' 3... 2... 1... salta!'', and if you don't jump, you´re pushed. bittersweet symphony singing sweetly in your falling ears... emo hair slicked back by the wind. heart thumping wildly 20$ per second cheap ass thrill ... read more

well this was a def. adventure. krriicky.. our guide super sonja lead us their along with some narly jungle guides that were awesome. there was crocs and large toads bigger than your head, and other extreme animals. we swam with river dolphins and their were crocs chomping at our ankles. we had camped out right on the riverbed and ate some babaro food. plus enjoying a nice campfire and playing random games...seeing is believing and we saw...if u know what i mean. it was an eye opening experience and we all wanted to stay. o and you recieve these cool necklaces that i am currently wearing still from the jungle guides. ... read more

HOLA! Well, our one day in Chile was in San Pedro. It´s a little town on the border of Bolivia in the Atacama desert. The hostal had 3 level bunk beds, which made up for the freezing cold showers. We didn´t have much time there so most of us just wandered around, eating and getting souveniours, or caught up on homework. But the next day was exciting, we traveled through the desert across the Bolivian border (where Sean almost threw up on some Bolivians) and met our guide for the next week and a half, Sonia! ... read more

Hello Everyone! We just got back from Machu Picchu yesterday after a very intensive 5 day hike and its safe to say that we are all exhausted and sore but did have an amazing time! We started our 5 day trek on wednesday by getting up super early and taking a bus ride to the first town before we started walking. Our guide Jose took us on what was called the Salkantay Trek. The first day was pretty easy with some uphill and downhill walking before lunch and after lunch just following the road until we reached our first campsite. The first campsite was at the bottom of a glacier mountain which was beautiful but obviously cold. We slept in tents and our wonderful cooks made us a great dinner. The second day was the hardest ... read more

hey!!!! pues, soy una idiota con este ¨blog thing¨ and i´m trying to keep limited time at the locutorio. here´s my summary on la paz- can you help me post it por fa? Hola a todos! Our excursion to La Paz was fairly short-lived, it kinda seemed like a plausible halfway point to reach the jungle and Copacobana, but the small segment we saw of the city was captivating. We stayed like kings in a lavish hotel, ---seemingly lavish to both Bolivian and U.S. standards, and our little Sonya ´Patita´ gave us a small tour of her home city. The things I´ll remember the most from those two days- 1. Sonya´s heartbreak when talking about the discrimination and hardships the indigenous people face, and the depletion of plants and animals around Bolivia. I couldn´t follow a ... read more

Buenos Aires was our first stop on an amazing adventure. We arrived the morning of the 15th of May and were greeted with beautiful sunny weather. After a rather nail biting van ride and our first experience in Argentinian traffic, we were greeted by Jen at our lovely hostel in the heart of the city. Buenos Aires is very European influenced city, which is noticable in the architecture and the food to name a few. The first day was spent exploring the city and practicing Spanish. On our first night, we had a traditional Asado meal, complete with a meat plate that included intestines...not everyones first choice! At the hostel, we had our fist taste of Mate, a traditional tea type drink that has a traditional way of being drank and shared among people. After visiting ... read more

Are you ready!?! Today I was walking outside half day dreaming and half thinking about South America. I called Jenny extremely excited to get everything underway. Tonight is another workout night to make sure I'm ready for our *extreme* adventure. I hope everyone is as excited as I am. Until next time, enjoy the weather and make the most of the rest of the semester.... read more