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Published: January 18th 2007
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Las chicas en Peru
Me with really cute little girls! ¿Que tal amigos?
I just got back to Santiago late Monday night (3 a.m.) after a phenomenal weekend in Peru! We left from Santiago at 5:30 a.m. last Thursday morning (Jan. 11th) to fly to Lima, Peru and then onto Cuzco, Peru. Now, 5:30 a.m. was pretty bad to begin with, but the pain of getting up that early was definitely intensified by the fact that the night before we were up until 2:30 a.m. celebrating Matt¨s 22nd birthday 😊 By the time we all finally arrived in Cuzco, we were so dead from traveling and the previous night´s activities that all we really did that night was walk around the city center, eat, and go to sleep!
The next day, Friday, we took a bus to the top of a mountain where we proceeded to take a 3 hour hike along a very, very narrow travel on the side of the mountain! I loved every moment of it, and the views were fantastic! I never knew how incredibly beautiful Peru is. There are so many mountains with tiny villages tucked away in the valleys. The altitude is a lot different in Peru as well. In fact, they made
us chew coca leaves in the hotel because they were suppose to "open up our lungs." I guess it worked for me because I never felt short of breath (although a good number of people actually did!) Anyway, the climb around the mountain led to ancient Incan ruins. They were still very well preserved, and it was interesting to imagine a whole civilization living in stone houses like that on top of a mountain. That night, we went to a Peruvian dancing show, very interesting as well!
Saturday was dedicated to going to Machu Picchu! Machu Picchu is the most famous of the Incan ruins and is the ony reason that many tourists even come to Peru. However, it is very, very complicated to get there! From Cuzco, we had to take a 2 hour bus ride to a small town called Ollantaytambo. Then, we boarded a train to another town called Aguas Calientes. In Aguas Calientes, we dropped offr our suitcases at a hotel before taking ANOTHER bus up the mountain where Machu Picchu is located. It was only then that we finally made it to the top! Seeing such a beautiful city isolated like that on top
Machu Picchu!
Cool Incan city :) of a mountain was breath taking! We took a tour through the city and then had time to walk around on our own as well. I just kept thinking that I am probably one of the luckiest kids on earth 😊
That night we went out to a few discotecas in Aguas Calientes as a group. There was also a free city concert going on that we listened to for awhile as well. When we came back that night, I had to take a freezing cold shower because apparently the water heater had stopped working....brrrr!
Sunday was a free day in Aguas Calientes. Apparently the town is also known for its hot springs (thus "aguas calientes") so a few of us put on our bathing suits and decided to check it out! Well, the water was a light green color and smelled horrible. There were bugs flying around as well, but, what the heck, I still got in anyway! Hopefully it helped my skin instead of gave me some weird Peruvian disease!! After that, Allie, a girl from Delware, and I decided to go hiking to some waterfalls that the hotel recommended. To get to these waterfalls, you
Hot springs
The hot springs in Aguas Calientes had to walk along the railroad tracks. Well, the tracks were definitely still in use, so every 10 minutes or so we had to jump onto the side to not get run over by the train! Then we saw it: a tunnel, and the only way to the other side was through. We could see the end so we crossed our fingers and ran! (Dad, I definitely would not have run through the tunnel if I didn´t think I could make it in time before a train came!) Luckily, I am still alive today 😊 We were walking along the tracks when we saw a small path leading up a mountain beside us. Not wanting to run through any more tunnels, we decided to take it, thinking maybe it would lead to some pretty views. So we started climbing, and the path merged into a larger path where other people were hiking up. We finally realized that we were hiking up Machu Picchu!! About 20 minutes into the hike, we asked someone how much longer until the top, and he replied that we were close, maybe 10 more minutes. So we started climbing faster (we had a time restraint as
The hike
Me climbing up Machu Picchu we had to be back to the hotel in time to catch the train back to Cuzco!) Now this was no ordinary climb: I´m talking straight up stairs! I was sweating so much and breathing so heavy! Well, 40 minutes later, WE REACHED THE TOP OF MACHU PICCHU!! (the guy was clearly mistaken about only 10 more minutes...) We were both so out of breath but it was worth every second! We took a picture just to prove we did it, then ran down the mountain and back to the hotel (took us another hour or so to get back). I got back within enough time to take a shower, so I asked the guy if I could quickly use one of the rooms. Well, sure, I could use the shower, but there were no towels. A pillowcase had to suffice!!
The train ride back to Cuzco took 4 hours and was very, very boring. The next day (Monday) we took a city tour of Cuzco then a group of us went horseback riding for 2 hours through the Andes mountains!! Talk about another incredible experience, wow! It was kind of scary though when the horse was walking up
Peru!
The view from our hike around the mountain a steep mountain (and even scarier going down because he was walking over rocks!) In fact, one girl actually fell off her horse! I got kicked by another girl´s horse, so I have a nice bruise now on my leg but nothing worse 😊
We left Cuzco that night and got back to Santiago at 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon (yesterday) we took dance lessons where we learned a few native Chilean dances. I´ll have to teach all of you when I return to the US!
Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Puerto Montt in southern Chile, so it´s off on another adventure for me!
Que todo pase bien en los Estados Unidos!
Abrazos,
Laura
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