My Central & South American Dream

Today was our full day tour to Pisaq (a town with a well known market) and Ollyantambo (an ancient inca town.) The Pisaq market is a large beautiful market with vendors selling their handicrafts that they (supposedly) make them self. It's said that they sell to the souvenir shops in Lima and Cusco, so here they have the best prices. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but of course, that never happens. The only thing I really wanted were some alpaca socks. Going through the market we mostly looked at Alpaca products such as scarfs, socks, shawls etc. and jewelry because Peru is known for its gold and silver. After the market we went to a restaurant for lunch, then headed to Ollyantambo. On our way, we saw terracing and cuy - which is roasted guinea pig on a stick (no thank you.) The ruins at Ollyantambo were a great introduction to the Inca lifestyle. The materials, architecture, and engineering used for building. Plus the layout of the area with terraces for gardening, ope...

3/2/2017 Today was the day for rest. After arriving in Cusco late last night and going to Machu Picchu for two days in a row, we desperately needed a day to relax. We slept in until 9am - because breakfast ended at 10. Then had a leisurely morning around the hotel. This afternoon we took a taxi up to Sascyhuaman, only to find that the entrance ticket included three other historical sites as well and was s/70 per person (about  $23.) To me, I had seen enough old rocks and it wasn't worth the cost, especially when we would have spent only about an hour there and it was raining. From there we took a taxi back down into Cusco to the Machu Picchu museum. We probably spent about two hours there. It was great to see all the artifacts from the site and original photos from Hiram Bingham after having been to Machu Picchu. By late afternoon we were hungry and grabbed a sandwhich to spit at a local cafe. We then spent the rest of the day relaxing more at the hotel and getting ready for our e...

3/1/ 2017 Yesterday had cleared up to be beautiful with blue skies and sunny by the afternoon. However, the weather report for today showed it being cooler with clouds and rain all day. Having heard of how beautiful the sunrises are at Machu Picchu, I set an alarm for 4:45am to check the weather in the hopes and possibility of clear skies. The first bus to Machu Picchu leaves at 5:30am which is just in time for the sunrise. So I got up at 4:45, went down to the front desk, and through broken Spanish asked about the weather. The man at the desk said that it was very cloudy out and would not be a good day for the sunrise. However, I went outside, and could see stars. I went back to the room and tried to convince dad to get up and go, but it was 5:10 by now and would be too late to catch the first bus anyways. Instead we got up around 6 and left at 7 to head back up to Machu Picchu. This morning was gorgeous. I definitely over dressed, even though I was only wearing pants and a t shirt...

Today was an early morning starting at 530 to get ready for our flight to Cusco. We got ready, packed, and ate breakfast. Our shuttle picked us up to bring us to the airport. We were under the impression that we were staying in Cusco, but the travel lady informed us that we are actually staying in the sacred Valley. Good thing we asked! Once we arrived in Cusco, another tour van met us to bring us to our hotel in The Sacred Valley. The Peruvian country side is absolutely stunning. It was beautiful with rich greens hills and mountains against a white backdrop of white clouds with a bright blue sky peaking through. We saw alpacas, donkeys, sheep, cows, dogs, chickens, and roosters along the way. Once we arrived at our hotel in The Sacred Valley, it was also beautiful. Coming towards the end of rainy season is perfect because all of the trees are green, the fields are full of crops, and the flowers are in full bloom. The hotel itself is an old monastery that is surrounded by the Andes. ...

When I woke up this morning at 7 to get ready to meet my dad at 7:30 at the hotel, I was surprised to see him walking up the stairs to the hostel. I had just woken up; I didn't even have my contacts in yet. He was worried because I hadn't shown up the the hotel to meet him, but they had said I was there the day before. I said "yeah, it's only 7:10, I'm getting ready to head over. Did you arrive early?" He looked at me perplexed and said "no, it's 8:10." I said "no, I set my alarm for 7, it's definitely 7:10." That's when I realized I never switched my phone into the eastern time zone after flying from central America. Oops! I had been living an hour behind for a whole day now. Clearly, I hadn't needed the time before now. He waited for me while I finished getting ready and packed my bags. We went back to the hotel for me to leave my luggage, then went out for breakfast. We went to a delicious little cafe that was recommende...

This morning I was wide awake by 530 thanks to the noisy street and bright sun. I tried going back to sleep a bit, but it was useless. By 630 I was up and getting ready for the day. The hostel provided breakfast which were crepes with jam and what I thought was peanut butter, but was actually a butterscotch pudding. By 730 I was at the hotel waiting for my dad. While I waited, I wanted to find out if we could check in early. Upon doing so, the man informed me that we were not to check in until the following day. I said what do you mean? I'm meeting him here today. He said no, tomorrow the 25 we have you arriving. I said okay, let me check the itinerary. He was right, I am meeting my dad tomorrow, Friday February 25th; not Thursday February 24th. I even knew this when I purchased my flight to Lima. But somehow, I got it stuck in my head that it was the next day. So now what do I do? With a day in Lima all to myself? Back to the hostel I went to figure out just what I wanted to do. ...

Today is the day I flew to Peru!!! It will be my 14th country, my 3rd continent, and my first time in the southern hemisphere. I got up at 3:30am to catch my 4am airport shuttle. Upon arriving at the airport in Guatemala city, the airport was much smaller than I expected. The whole international terminal was probably smaller than Alaska Air's section of SeaTac. I went through security then immigration no problem. (Except I hated giving up my water bottle since I can't fill it up I'll have to buy new ones the whole trip which I hate.) Afterwards I was at my gate by about 6:30am. Now I had two hours to kill before boarding which I passed with a movir I had downloaded on Netflix to watch. One thing I noticed while waiting is that I was freeeeezzziiinnngggg!! It was the first time I had been in air conditioning since I arrived in Belize. No hostel, restaurant, or other facility has had it (beside from maybe 1 or 2 of those van rides?) Boarding time came and went, and then depa...