Cusco-Machu Picchu

I know this is a year over due, but it has been on my to-do list for that long. I want to continue updating this blog with all exciting and thought-provoking times in our lives. However I need to pick up where I left off first. Plus, our last couple of days in Peru are most definately worth documenting. I hope you will all come back and visit our blog for more... well, consitant updates and thoughts. I will try to not let another year go by this time!



Leaving Trujillo and all the kids was a very sad time for us, well, bitersweet really. We were a bit homesick and looking forward to mexican food, real milk, soap in bathrooms, and of course family and friends. We were also excited for a new adventure and seeing a new part of Peru; Machu Picchu, one of the most spectacular places in the country! I first learned about Machu Picchu in a Spanish class in college. When congagating an irregular verb, my professor would always say in a Spanish accent, "Oh, it's Machu Picchu verb." After visiting Machu Picchu, I am now even more confused by what she was trying to imply! Before I jump too far ahead of myself let me begin with leaving Trujillo.



While at the orphange we became very close with Julisa, one of the 'madre' workers. Our first real conversation with her, we asked what was her favorite thing to do. She said she loves to travel. After elaborating on places she has visited, it would be the equivalent of going from Alamosa to Denver, at the most. Without disscussing it first, Adam and I both had the idea to bless Julisa by taking her with us to see Machu Picchu. Although somewhat expensive, we knew this would be an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity for her. Needless to say she cried and screamed when we asked her to accompany us to Cusco.



After an 8 hour bus ride, where I of course was carsick the entire trip, we arrived in Lima. Once at the airport we were told that they over sold the flight and there was no way we where getting on the plane for Cusco. I, of course, had a little 'conversation' with the airline management. Although they did not put us on the plane, they did accomodate us by putting us up in the Sheridon Hotel for the night and provided all meals during our stay. At first I was very disappointed, as we only had five days in Cusco and with the delay we would be cut back to only four days. This turned out to be an amazing blessing I was happy to welcome soon after.



Once we arrived to the Sheridon we immediately felt like royalty. Now, the Sheridon in Lima is an exquisit hotel. One of the most glamorous hotels I have stayed at, and the meals were amazing! We walked straight to our rooms. The reaction on Julisa's face is one I hope to never forget. She was in awe. She fell to the bed, spread out her arms, and shouted, "I feel like a diva!" We continued to explore the hotel and worked our way to the restaurant.



During our dinner, Julisa and I went to the bathroom together; like girls normally do. Ahhhh, finally a nice bathroom, with soap, paper towels, self-flush toilets, and seat guards! Now we're talking- a little taste of home! As we finished up (I know you want to hear all about my bathroom experience, huh?) a little girl, I am guessing from the States, was showing Julisa how to turn on the sink and use the soap dispenser. I then had to show her how to get a paper towel, since it was all automatic. She was amazed; as was I that bathrooms were something I take forgranted and would actually be considered a luxury in many areas of the world. All night she was in awe and repeated over and over that she was a diva. It was really neat to see her excitement. It was eye-opening to realize that I often have the means to stay in a nice hotel when I travel. And yet, this was an incredible experience for Julisa! Nearly as exciting as Cusco itself.

This photo is when we first arrived to the hotel and were exploring. We had quite the photoshoot, but this is one of my favorite photos.

The plane was also fun to experience with Julisa. Her head was plastered to the window the whole flight. Obviously, it was her first time in a plane. During the hour and a half flight she kept repeating in nearly perfect English, "My country is so beautiful!" I think she took close to 50 pictures while in the plane.

Altitude? What is that? Although Adam and I lived at sea-level for three months, we still had what it took to handle altitude. Cusco's elevation is at 10,859 ft, so it is understandible that Julisa had a hard time aclimating after living at sea-level all her life. Of course we still gave her a hard time about it, but Adam took good care of her. here is a photo of Dr. Runyan equipping Julisa with water and meds for altitude sickness. I had to surrender my warm clothing, as she is used to warmer weather being from the costal area of Peru. She froze the whole trip. Living in Colorado and then spending three months south of the equator during thier summer months, Adam and I were happy to cool down in Cusco.

Cusco is such an amazing place. Truly one of the most beautiful and breathtaking cities I have ever seen. There I saw some of the most elegant Catholic churches, brightly colored clothing, incredible artisians, and amazing scenery and landscape. Quite touristy though. There were people from all areas of the world. It turned in to a fun game trying to quess who was from what region. Because we were pointing out people we thought were from our region, we had to explain to Julisa that people from the States come in many sizes, shapes, and ethnicities.




Cusco is a ways from Machu Picchu, so we took a train to Aguas Calientes where we stayed for two nigths. This was such a fun town. There we met people from around the globe and ate great food! We could get a five course meal for about three dollars. Most restaurants would give you a 'regular' menu, but if you asked for the ten sloes (three dollar) menu you could get great food with a four to five course meal for about half the price of the regular menu.

Machu Picchu was discovered in 1911. It is considered the world's finest example of landscape architecture. Machu Picchu means "old mountain" in Quechua, the ancient language of the Incas (although many still speak the language in Ecuador and the Andes of Peru). It was a center of worship and astronomic observatory. The peak you see in the photo is called Hayna Picchu, "young mountain" in Quechua. Many climb the peak to get a good workout and a fantastic view of the forest and ruins.
It was the only Inca establishment to survive the Spanish conquest. It was known as the lost city of the Incas.



Machu Picchu is also known as the cloud forest. It is where the Andes meets the Amazon rain forest, giving it an interesting climate. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been!

Good-bye Trujillo

This week we started our good-byes, something that seems to be much more difficult than I imagined. It is crazy to think of the imact you can have on someone, or they can have on you. The slogan for the Albergue is "Cambia Tu Corazon" (Change Your Heart), and this holds so true to mine. When I got here, I had no clue what I was doing or what I was getting myself into, as twenty-eight little kids came running up to us. When we got out of the van, Sarita looked at me and said, "bebe?", as she held little Jose David out to me. "Ummm... no", was my reponse, something we joked about in Huaraz as we were remenising about our first day at the Albergue.

Two days ago I was in Hugo and Sarita's house when Jose David came running up to me, grinned, and reached his arms up to me. I cryed. I realized how much I am going to miss him doing that, and how much I will miss all the boys in that paticular house.

Arnold is one of the boys in that house that I have become quite attached to. He became very special for me the first day I met him. He was easy on me, as he was very content just sitting next to me, and smiled up at me with same expression as in this photo. We have a great time together when he takles me and when we just sit side by side. This little boy's past is a very ugly and dark one as he was abused, neglected, and uneducated. Now, I have been able to share in the joy of seeing him attend school for the first time and have a loving home with people that care for him. Arnold has changed my heart. He is a very adorable little boy with a huge heart and a hunger to learn and grow. Chito (short for little Jesus, "Jesusito") is also another little boy from the same house that has changed me. I love this little three year old boy. He is adorable and I have spent about everyday with him. I tought him in my preschool class and I watch him in the mornings. We put together "rempacabezas" (puzzles) almost everyday, as it is one of his favorite thing to do. I have grown quite attached to this little one. I call him "Mi Amigo" which makes him happy and giggle. Friday night (our last night at the Albergue) was very hard for me. We were watching Spiderman 2 and having a party, which was our treat to the kids before we leave. When I sat next to Chito while watching the movie he shouted "Mi Amigo" with so much excitement! Then he held my hand and would periodically look up at me and say, "Tia, Hola." After the movie finished I said good night to all the kids for the last time and went upstairs, where Adam then found me trying to fight back tears. I will miss him very much. He is my little buddy here at the Albergue.

This is the last movie/party night before we leave. I am sitting with my boys! Left to right: Samir, Edwin, Rocio, me, Chito, Piero, Jesus, and Arnold.

On Thursday night, our friends from church had a good-bye party for us. Here we played games and they put us on the hot seat, sharing memories and having fun. The whole night was dedicated to us! They are a great bunch of people and we have enjoyed getting to know them all.

Today, Satuday, is our last day at the Albergue. I had planned on packing and cleaning, but the workers and kids had another idea. They knocked on our door at 9am eager to play and party the whole day. We started with relay races and other games. Then, everyone was divided into three groups for an art competition. The groups were divided into people to work with cardboard, sand, and with paper, paint, cotton, and other matterials. After our art projects we met for lunch, where the workers gave us gifts and shared with us how much they appreciate us coming. Here are some pictures I took through out the day.

Dani tackeling Adam after the relay races during our "field day." My team won the competition with this sand horse.

Adam's team project had to make something out of cardboard. They were very creative. They made a dancing elephant, by putting it over Jesus.

It was a very fun day full of activities. We are finished packing, and will be departing for Lima and Cuzco shortly. It was hard and sad to say good-bye to all our new friends. We will miss them very much. This will be our last blog written in Peru. I will write another one in the States, next week, to tell of our trip to Cuzco. See you all shortly!

Last Days in Huaraz

Thursday, our third day, was by far the coolest day for Adam and me. On this day we hiked up to Glacier Pastoruri, and then a little more. First, this area is in a National Park that is temporarily closed. Our guide promised we would get to touch snow, a goal for most of the Peruvians there that live at sea level (Including Hugo and Sarita). As we made it to the park entrance, our guide, along with the people on the tour, pleaded with the gate keeper to give us just a couple of hours. After much bartering and pleading she gave us three hours to get up this mountain and back. As we drove up to the trail head we passed many neat sights. The first of those being hieroglyphics. After that we were shown a crazy looking cactus-like plant that only grows in the Andies in Peru. It is related to the pineapple and is one of the most ancient plants in the world. It lives up to 100 years old, flowers once in its life, then dies after it flowers (although facts differ depending on who you ask). Unfortunately (for us, not the plant) we did not see any with flowers.

Here are the hieroglyphics seen on a steep, smooth, tall rock in the park on our way to Pastoruri. There is a man running, squiggly lines, a serpent-like creature, sun, and other things that are more faded.

Once at the trail head, Adam and I ditched the group and hauled up the mountain. Knowing we only had a limited amount of time, our goal was not to touch snow (we've done that once or twice!), but to climb to Pastoruri, a peak just shy of 18,000ft. Soon into our hike we had pulled quite a ways away from our group. We past the starting point for the snow and kept trekking. I stopped hiking to the sound of our guide hollering and waving his arms, motioning us to come back down. Bummer! When we reached the group at the base of the snow our guide informed us that Pastoruri had many crevasses that can be very dangerous. Thankful, but disappointed we stayed with the group and toured the glacier ice cave just below the peak. Adam reached about 5400m (17,712ft) and I about 5300m before we had to turn back. It is the highest we have ever been on foot, and surprisingly did not feel much different from our 14ers back home. What a neat view!

I cant complain about the natural ice cave either. It was very cool to be able to walk inside the glacier, although the caution sign said not to enter. In the picture below, I am in the entrance of the ice cave. My alpaca sweater was the perfect thing to keep me warm the entire time. I was surprised it was not colder so high up in altitude and in an ice cave. It was a very neat experience. I wish the pictures could do it justice.

Unfortunately, the altitude did bother some people and Hugo and Sarita never made it to play in the snow. However, the snow made its way to Hugo and Sarita. Adam and I packed our alpaca hats full of snow and ran it back down to where they were waiting on the group.

This was thier first time to ever touch or see snow! They were very thankful and had just enough to make a little snowman. They also had a snowball fight and tasted the snow. I told them what we all need to learn with snow... don't eat the yellow stuff. They named thier snowman Jose David, after the little one year old they look after at the albergue.

On Friday, we got a tour of the city, did some last minute shopping, then headed back to the Albergue. This is the view of Huaraz. It is a very beautiful city.

There is always a photo op. in Huaraz. Here there was a woman walking her llama. It was so cool to see, and have, such an authentic experience in Peru! The people don't mind doing the photo op. for an occasional sole or two(the Nuevo Sol is the money used in Peru). Overall, we had some of the best food, and best tours on this trip. We would love to come back in the future and tackle one of the mountains here.

Huaraz Day Two

On the second day of our trip to Huaraz we went to the Chavin de Huantar ruins. It was only 68 miles away from Huaraz, but it took us nearly four hours to get there on a bus. We had to drive on an unpaved and twisting mountain pass about 15,000ft in altitude to get there! Although the trip was long and we spent a lot of time in the bus, the trip was very adventurous. We made frequent stops to checkout the scenery, shop in little towns, and for a landslide. Along the way we had to stop for quite some time while a crew cleared the road from a landslide that happened not long before we got there. While we waited we took photos and enjoyed the view.

This was our first stop along the way. It was at a high alpine mountain lake with a few mountain Peruvians living in the area. They lived in little hut homes made of branches and leaves. Here they raised llamas, goats, and sheep. This is one of the little Peruvian women we saw there.

Lagunas Querococha is the alpine lake where we made our first stop. It rests at about 13,000ft in elevation. I thought Alamosa was high in elevation. Imagine living 1,000ft below one of our 14,000ft peaks! These people are incredible!

Adam and I at the alpine lake on our way to the ruins. It was a great area for photo opportunities. Those are about 18,000ft mountains behind us, actually some of the smaller ones in the area!

Adam and Hugo making the most out of our little delay of the landslide. Almost everyone was out of the bus when it attempted to pass through the landslide area. We all walked past the area, and it is very surprising, Peruvians can drive through anything. They got the bus up and over the mess on a very narrow road with a drop off! They amaze me. It was cleared a lot from when we first got there, but it still was not what I thought would be "safe". I was just glad I was passing on foot.

Chavin de Huantar are 3,000 year-old ruins created by the Chavin culture. It has a U-shaped fortress temple that was constructed over several centuries. This culture lived in this region from about 1200 to 300 before Christ. They are considered the most ancient of the major cultures in Peru, and most sophisticated. It was interesting to know that they did everything in sevens. They measured in sevens, their sculptures were done in sevens, and drawings had something representing the number seven. The Chavin are considered some of the most influential people to have lived in the Andes until the Incan culture that came 2,000 years later. The ruins has many underground galleries and chambers. The amazing part was that some were open to the public. Here in these photos Adam and I are underground inside the ruins. We have seen many ruins, but never been allowed to tour inside. It was very labyrinth-like, with many twists, turns, and compartments. It was much cooler than the warm air outside and smelt like mud. It was very neat! Outside the ruins there were herds of llamas. Llamas, llamas everywhere! It was a very authentic experience.

There was a lot of very interesting sculptures around the ruins. The Chavin culture worshiped the serpent, bird, and feline. These animals can be seen in a lot of the art. This piece was taken out of the center of the ruins, underground, and brought out for the public to view. They have some of the neatest carvings and sculptures I have seen in ancient ruins.

Huaraz Day One

When we first got to Huaraz, we booked our four day adventure tour with a guide for $30 a person, not per day, just per person! We traveled throughout the night on an eight hour bus ride and arrived at six in the morning. Our first day in Huaraz we spent touring through popular local towns and at lagunas lakes up in the mountains. Unfortunately it is the rainy season and the clouds came in and blocked the view of the massive 22,000 foot peak, Huascaran, in this photo. It was incredible. The whole area was absolutely gorgeous. This town is called Yungay, and was permanently marked by tragedy. In 1970 there was an earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) that was followed by a landslide/avalanche, that completely buried the city. The disaster killed 20,000 people in this city, almost the entire city population, and in total killed 70,000 people. The few survivors settled in a nearby area a half a mile away and farther away from the mountain. Now this city is only visited and serves as a large burial ground. It sure was pretty, regardless its tragic history.

This is a really big Jesus! Here you can see Adam at the bottom of the statue, showing how massive it is. This statue rests at the top of a large burial site for the victims of the 1970 disaster, in Yungay. Hugo and Sarita are a couple of our close friends at the Albergue. They are a married couple, that take care of 12 little boys. They have been saving up for two years to come on this trip and invited us to join them. We have had many game nights and movie nights over at their casita. They are a very neat couple. They are always doing special things for us, like cooking us a meal and leaving it at our door while they knock and run. They have taken us to a "Mexican" food restaurant, that was really good, but different, when we missed our food. They have brought us pizza and are always thinking of ways to do something special for us. This trip was a good time for us to repay them for all the wonderful things they have done for us. For us, things are very cheap, so we helped them out financially by buying some meals and their hotel. It was the least we could do for all they do for us. We will miss them very much.

This photo was taken at Lagunas de Llanganuco. It is a brilliant turquoise alpine lake, at about 13,120ft high. It rests at the base of the Cordillera Blanca's highest peaks, like Huandoy (20,976ft) and Chopicalqui (20,841ft). It was very cold and the rain came in, so unfortunately we missed the clear view of all the enormous peaks. It was still very beautiful.

After rowing on the lake, we walked into a sheltered area, where a Peruvian woman was making bread, coca tea, and alpaca hats. She used a pile of heated rocks as her stove and Adam and I warmed up with some coca tea. It was some of the best hot tea I have ever had. Don't worry, it is not processed, so it is not the drug. One thing I had troubles with is everyone uses the same cups. There are only a few cups, so when someone is done with their tea, the lip part gets wiped down (not really cleaned) with water and filled for the next person. But hey, how many times do you get to try coca tea? Here I am at Lagunas enjoying by coca tea and warm alpaca hat. It is recommended in our Frommer's travel guide book to drink coca tea for altitude sickness too. We didn't get altitude sickness, but we tried it anyway. Not bad.

Huaraz y Fiestas!

Wow, it has been an incredible week! There are so many stories and so many pictures. I have 156 pictures that I would love to put on this post. Huaraz was absolutely one of the most beautiful places we have been in our lives! It reminded us a lot of Ouray, Colorado, but with much larger mountains, rich in the Peruvian mountain culture, and an abundance of coca tea and candies. We spent four full days in Huaraz, but Adam and I could have stayed a lot longer to climb some of the enticing peaks of the area. The mountain peaks ranged from 17,000ft to 22,000ft, making our 14ers look like rolling hills. On Sunday before we left for Huaraz, we were invited to a fiesta after church. I think the party was put on by the Peruvian mafia. The home we went to was like an oasis, or a resort. It was a very large, clean, beautiful home with gorgeous landscaping, numerous fruit trees, a DJ, and a large outside bar. Quite impressive! Well, it turns out that the home did not belong to the mafia, but a friend's uncle that was in a popular Peruvian band. Still very cool. Many of our friends were there and let me tell you... these Peruvians know how to party! It was quite an experience. First we had a tour of the property, then enjoyed some beans, rice, and goat for lunch. Well... some of us enjoyed it. After lunch we danced salsa, meringue, and other traditional Peruvian dances. The band later played a few songs for us. It was a very authentic experience, as they were all dressed in traditional clothing, and playing unique instruments.
The band just finished playing at another party, then came home and played a few songs for us. The woman dancing is one of the most elegant dancers we have ever seen. She flowed with the music and looked so soft and elegant while she danced. They were all very talented.
This is a good photo to show some of the clothing and instruments used. (Top) Left to right: Charlie, Elva, Liz, and Adam. Liz is the manager of the Albergue and our hefe, boss. She is also a very good friend and we will miss her very much. Liz is a very special person with a very caring heart for the kids. It has been a blessing to get to know her. She is sweet, funny, and does a great job of balancing friendships and being a manager, which I admire.
(Bottom) Liz and me at the party. Some beautiful plants!

Since I have so many amazing photos of Huaraz and many stories, I plan to post a blog for each day we were there. I will post them all in the next couple days. Hope you enjoy the photos, but just wait for the ones to come! Love you all and we will be back home soon. Saturday is our last day here at the Albergue. Then, off to Cusco and Machu Picchu!

Parties, Pulling Teeth, and Having Fun!

School has started for all the kids, so it has been really quiet around here. There has not been too much going on. This week has been mostly catching up with laundry, reading books, helping out where needed, and applying for jobs. It is not too long until we are back in the States and having to get back into the swing of fast-pace living. Strange, we see ourselves being torn two ways, wanting to be here much longer and excited to return home.

This month has been quite difficult for me at times. Many long term missionaries we have met say the first two months are exciting and new, the third and fourth months are tough because that is when you really start to miss home. Then after the fourth month, things get a lot easier and you accept this is where you will be for a while. All is very true for me right now. We are entering our third month and I am about ready to see my mommy! We are still having a lot of fun, but with the kids off to school, I do not feel like I am needed as much. Now, I have been watching the little boys for one hour in the day (while Adam teaches English to the mothers), then wait until the kids come back from school in the afternoon. Their school schedule is very similar to ours in the States. They go to school about 7am and return around 2pm, Monday through Friday. When they return it is still very quiet around here, because they have a lot of homework. We are hoping we will be able to play at night before they have to go to bed.

Currently we have only a week and a half left at the Albergue. On Monday we will be going to Huaraz a beautiful mountain town (You should look it up online it is very beautiful!) with Hugo and his wife Sarita, a couple of workers at the Albergue. We are very excited for this trip and I can't wait to post some pictures when I return. Unfortunately, when we get back from Huaraz we will spend our last week at the Albergue packing up and saying good-bye. After we say good-bye, we will be on our way to Lima, where I will go straight to Starbucks, as there are many States chains in Lima. I can't wait! In Lima we will catch our plane to Cuzco, where we will then see Machu Picchu. We will spend five days in Cuzco, which is where Emperor's New Grove, the movie, is based (although many Peruvians do not appreciate the film).

Before school started we spent about every night with the kids. We would spend evenings at the boy's houses and play games and watch movies. On Friday we invited all the girls to our apartment to play games and watch movies... bad idea. Adam and I were exhausted after they left and we decided we wouldn't do that again. Boys are so much more well behaved! Mary Lou, I gave the girls your hair ties and they absolutely loved them. They almost ran me over when they saw what I had. They made them all very happy. Thank you.

Playing Jenga with the boys before school starts. Jenga is very popular here, and it was a lot of fun. we really enjoy spending time with the boys in Sarita and Hugo's house. We are closest to them and the boys.

Many of the boys are loosing their teeth now, and Adam pulled Bryan's. Bryan was the only one tough enough to let Adam do it, and was very proud afterwards.


We took some kids to a large park and then to eat at Rocky's, a nice restaurant loved by all the kids. Jesus (top) and Samir (bottom) spent the day at the park climbing trees. Above is Araceli, one of the children that were returned to the Albergue last week. She is adorable and very sweet. She is in good health and very happy to be at the Albergue. She came over for the all girl's party our apartment and was very well behaved and mature for her age. She was very excited about the hair ties Mary Lou (Adam's mom) gave the girls and was very thankful. As for one of her brothers (below, right), Yen is not in very great health. He was the one returned with a bloated belly and parasites. Today he was taken to the doctor and is in much better health than when he first arrived last week. We hope he continues to get strong and well in no time. He is shy and quiet, but very cute. At first he was a little timid of us, but now he shouts, "Tia" when he sees me. We are buddies. I can't wait for these little ones to be adopted into a wonderful caring family.

Little Yen, 2 years old