I'm Back Baby

Back as of the 15th, actually!  That's right, I am finally back in Lima after 10 days of traveling throughout Cusco, Machu Picchu, Puno, Lago Titicaca, and various villages/pueblos I don't remember the names of.  I am going to have a really hard time remembering this one...the trip was a blur of different hotels/buses/and archeological sites.  I'm just going to go through my pictures and write my post based on them, I suppose...

We left on the 7th, I believe...and flew from Lima to Cusco.  Our flight was really early in the morning, like 6 AM...so most of us didn't even end up sleeping at all that night, because most of us had to leave at about 3 AM in order to get to the airport.  That included me (well, I slept for an hour and a half).  So all of us were pretty dead by the time we got to Cusco.  Unfortunately, we wasted no time resting upon arrival, and immediately started touring Cusco.  The photo below is Emilie and I at some place in Cusco that must have been significant hahaha I don't really know (I was a brain dead zombie)

Below is a photo of Tami and I at some archeological site/look out over Cusco.

And below is a photo of several students sliding down some natural slide/grooves in the stone thing at previously mentioned archeological site.

And then at one point (maybe the next day, I don't know) we went to a 'zoo' type thing.  It wasn't really a zoo though, I don't know how to explain...

And below is a picture of how some yarn is colored.

And we stopped at many, many look out points (I'm actually blanking, is that what they're called in English? In spanish it's 'mirador') Below are the students from Australia posing at one of the countless look out points.

Below is one of the archeological sites we visited.  I don't even remember which one this is but it's next up in my photos, so whatever hahaha.

I had to climb up this and was not pleased:

Taken from the top: 

Next up in my photos, Machu Picchu! It was the highlight of the trip.  I think we took a train from Cusco to Machu Picchu Pueblo (a tiny spot underneath Machu Picchu where you take a bus up to Machu Picchu)

Then we had to get up at about 4 AM to board a bus to go up to Machu Picchu.  We probably ended up at Machu Picchu at around 6 or 7 AM I think... and then we had to climb a little bit before seeing the 'famous view' of Machu Picchu.  At first it was completely cloudy, but once it got a little bit later, the sun came out and we had great views of Machu Picchu.

Climbing up!

Very cloudy in the early morning, eventually cleared up

And finally made it to the right spot to get the 'famous view' of Machu Picchu!

Hard to tell because of the clouds (I have better photos with the sun, don't worry)

I really like this picture.  Me and Machu Picchu!

A bit hidden in the clouds

The Famous Belgian Five

One of my best friends Emilie and I

Several decided to 'plank' on Machu Picchu.  For those who don't know what 'planking' is, it's pretty simple; you just lie down like a plank, straight, stiff, and motionless, wherever you want.  It's a fad that passed a while ago hahaha.

Planking on Machu Picchu

Below is Emilie, me, and Connor from Florida:

And me and Laura (Laura is from my multidistrict, North Star Youth Exchange, so we knew eachother before coming to Peru. She's from Minneapolis)

Clearing up a bit

Once the sun came out, it got fairly hot out.  I wore a baseball cap to keep my face from burning but unfortunately forgot about my poor ears....they ended up peeling :s

And instead of going on a 2 hour, treacherous hike with the majority of the other exchange students, Romy from Germany and I decided to casually walk around some more and take more pictures.

And we came upon a spot with many alpacas, and took photos with them:

It's always a joy

pretty cool shot

After leaving Machu Picchu, we took a bus back down to the Machu Picchu Pueblo, and from there returned to Cusco and had a free day the next day.  We walked around and bought stuff in the artisan markets and had a much needed day of relaxation. 

Later, we visited another archeological site, I believe it was called Moray...

Two of our French girls, Charlene and Nouma

That day we were given a presentation of dying wool and were given lunch there as well. 

Dying wool

Our lunch consisted of the following:

Quinoa soup.  Decent.

Choclo (corn).  It was kind of dry, didn't like it that much.

And the main plate... I don't know what most of it was haha.  I think the whiter meat was chicken, and the dark meat on the right I think they said was Cuy (guinea pig) which is kind of a Peruvian delicacy.  It was ok...there wasn't much meat on it, just a bunch of skinny guinea pig ribs, ick

And we enjoyed taking photos with an adorable little Peruvian girl that was there, Inez (is that how it's spelled in Spanish? I'm not sure)

Inez and Marcel from Belgium

Playing with Inez

And then we visited a church but couldn't take photos inside.

And next in my photos appears to be Puno!  I don't remember what we did here...well, eventually we boarded some boats on Lake Titicaca haha.

Victor and I.  Victor is from Belgium, he is one of the other exchange students in my school and my rotary club here.  He is quite the character haha

And we stopped at an island or two on Lake Titicaca.  Here's a view of Lake Titicaca from one of said islands.

One night, we stayed with families in their homes on an island in Lake Titicaca.  It was an interesting experience.  I and 5 other girls stayed with a family.  The 'house' was very small and....'rustic'.  I unfortunately do not have photos of the house and I'm not sure how to explain...the kitchen had a dirt floor, a fire in the corner (for cooking and for warmth) and a table with 6 chairs for us to sit at when we ate.  The bathroom had a toilet that did not have the ability to flush, and several buckets (apparently you were supposed to pour water into the toilet from the bucket in order to 'flush').  There was no sink, shower, or bath (I wonder about hygiene there...not sure). Our dinner consisted of Quinoa soup (again), a plate of potatoes with a piece of fried cheese, and to drink we could make 'tea' with hot water and some leaves that I guess are good for altitude sickness but I don't remember what they were called (not coca).

It was a very difficult meal for me, due to my dislike of potatoes haha :(

Literally just little potatoes, I don't even know if they were cooked.  The cheese was good though.

That night after dinner, we gathered in a...well, a large room in a building on the island, and everyone was dressed up in the traditional island clothing and was dancing.

Us getting ready and into our outfits

Emilie and I

Marcel from Belgium and Irene from Taiwan, dancing

The next day we left that island, and went to the Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca.  The islands are made of reeds, stacked and layered, and there are boats and houses made of the same reeds.  And they eat the reeds as well. 

Julius from Germany and Marcel from Belgium, eating some reeds

And some dressed up in the island garb:  Marcel, Julius, and Laura

A house on the island

We gave some toys and gifts to the kids that lived on the island (we did the same for the families we stayed with on the previous island) and then we had lunch on another floating island.  It was, again, a difficult meal:

Lake Titicaca fish, tons of bones and tasted like seaweed/gross lake water haha

And then we returned to Puno, I think spent the night there, then the next day went back to Cusco and flew back to Lima.  So I returned to Lima on the 15th (a Friday I think), recuperated over the weekend, and was back at school by Monday.

And this week they are having exams at my school, so we exchange students have some down time during the day to just sit out in the court yard and relax, when we don't have normal classes.

So that is the story of my second Rotary trip, and my visit to one of the 7 world wonders, Machu Picchu!  For those that don't know, Machu Picchu is actually pronounced "Mah-choo Peek-choo".  That first 'c' in Picchu is hard, making it 'peek-choo' but I had only ever heard it pronounced 'mah-choo pee-choo'.  Just thought I'd throw that in there haha.

Things coming up for me:

• Going shopping for prom dresses with some friends on Thursday.  Hopefully I find one.
• Going to get pizza and go to the movie theater on Sunday to see the Hunger Games, Catching Fire
• School will be over for me in early December
• Prom will follow shortly after the end of school 

 Should be awesome! :)

Bye!
-Ginger