All I can say is...wow!

---

Where to begin... So my mom and sister arrived a week ago, and its been quite the week! First of all, nothing is worse than standing in an airport, waiting to see people walk out of the customs door, and 2 hours later, they still haven't. I am not sure why, but it took them 2 hours to get off the plane and go through customs. So, by the end of that, I was sooooo relieved that they made it to Lima! We all went from super excited to absolute horror when about 20 minutes after arriving at our hotel, my mom realized she forgot her purse on the floor of the taxi. Slightly a rookie move, because her purse had ALL her cash that she intended on spending for the trip, her new camera, passport, and airplane tickets. Terrible!! I dont think any of us slept very well that night. But thankfully, there is a God, and the hotel knew the taxi driver, and he returned the purse in the morning, with nothing missing! Shocking! Jaimee now carries moms passport in her money belt.
Cant say I have been so lucky though 😞. When I flew from Arequipa to Cusco, I checked my backpack at the airport and when i arrived in Cusco, part of my bag was missing. LAME! I have a big bag where a smaller backpack zips onto it. Anyway, the loser that stole it, just zipped off the small part. Thankfully, I didn't lose too much. But it still is a bad feeling when your stuff gets stolen, especially when it was sweet stuff from Argentina. grrr

Its hard to let those thoughts linger when you are in such a magnificent place though! The first place we went was Arequipa and took a 3 to 4 hour bus ride to a small town further up in the mountains. That is where I saw the Colca Canyon. The canyon I was at was over 1 km deep and had birds that are the size of a cow! Well, not sure exactly, but because I am afraid of birds, these suckers would be my biggest nightmare if they ever landed near me. Thankfully, they were just flying around in this canyon. Really beautiful place! I didnt ever understand altitude lingo before. Like above or below sea level...really what was that all about?! Let me tell you, it is no joke when people say the altitude is a factor! At one point we were about 5,000 meters above sea level (yes, meters, NOT feet). I felt like I was on drugs or something! Could be the fact that I had chewed Coca leaves (the locals do that to help with feeling groggy), or the fact that I had no blood in my head. The coca leaves are grown in the jungle, and the tea is really popular here, and if you chew on the leaves, it makes your tongue totally numb and your body feel better. Anyway, just walking up a slight incline made me out of breath. I dont recommend going there if you are a smoker or have trouble breathing. All the kids in that village were SO short as well. I think the lack of oxygen makes them short. Super cute little kids that came up to my knee cap! haha the tour guide today called me a giant. Super duper! I cant help that all the people are shorter than me! oooohhh and a big day....i got to pet my first alpaca!!!

Now Im in Cusco, and have seen more ruins and unbelievable sites than I ever thought possible. Cusco is just a magical place. I really can't even describe how neat it is here. Yesterday, I went to the Sacred Valley. I dont think i could ever get tired of learning about the Incas. They were an amazing people, and its really unfortunate the Spanish came and basically killed them all. Anyway, there is some really sweet alpaca mittens and stuff to buy here. I wish I could just fill up a suitcase!

Its really sad here in cusco though, because of the flooding. Ok, before I came, I was just irritated that the train to Machu Pitchu was flooded or closed, but I had no idea that the excess rains affected the entire valley. Whole towns and entire crops are just wiped out. Hundreds of people are just living in tents, and they lost their homes about 2 months ago. And it gets Super Cold here at night! We gave a little old lady some bread today, and she just started sobbing. Makes me want to cry as I write this. And the sick part is, all the money is being put back to fixing the roads that the tourists take, for example to see machu pitchu. While some stupid train is being fixed, no houses are being rebuilt. Cant really judge though, because Im one of those tourists using those roads.
Although the road to the sacred valley is full of rocks and mud slides still. In a lot of sections, it is just single lane because of big rocks in the way. At one point, I noticed there was random rocks on one side of the road with a red ribbon strewn about. The really sketchy thing is, it is right beside the river and that section of road had NOTHING under the pavement, just air. The river had risen, and eaten away all the dirt, and there was just the pavement left. So, if a car drove on that section of the highway, it would have collapsed the road. Their remedy...just throw some big rocks on that section, so people swerve and avoid it. I will be very grateful when I make it back home safe and sound 😊 Actually, im sure ill be fine. Ive got at least 2 guardian angels with me!
The vendors are quite desperate to sell their goods, because there is hardly any tourists here right now. I couldn't help but laugh, because Jaimee and I were just walking and a couple people were trying to sell us stuff. Before we knew it, there was about 8 people surrounding us, trying to give us the best deal. They were draping us in stuff. I think at one point, I had two poncho things on my arm, a scarf wrapped around my neck, and another one in my hand. All ridiculously cheap and really nice. The same thing was happening to Jaimee and we couldn't even get away, so we just looked at each other and started laughing. We both laughed so much we were crying. Quite the site...two people draped in bright alpaca scarves, crying in the market!! hahaha maybe you had to be there, but it was quite crazy. I ended up buying some socks, which I totally dont need, but I couldnt help it.
I have had a wonderful time with my family here! I am so grateful that I got to experience this with them. One of the hardest parts of traveling alone is not sharing it with anyone. Well, sure, I do share it with the people I meet down here, but I think going home may be the hardest part. I am looking forward to being comfortable again, but I've still got a couple more weeks!!

---