My Adventures and Travels

Q'eswachaka bridge. Q'eswachaka bridge. Q'eswachaka bridge. No matter how many times I read it and say it, I can{t remember it! Maybe after I see it, and walk on it, it will stick? I went down to the travel agency this morning to pay and the woman there showed me pictures and gave me a bit of a history lesson. I guess the bridge was originally built in the 15th century, and it is rebuilt every year. Luckily, it is rebuilt every June so it should be in good shape. Still looks a little terrifying (and I thought parasailing was relaxing). It is at 11,811 feet, which I think is the highest I{ve been here, but it's hard to tell when things are in meters. We are also going to the famous 4 lakes of cusco and natural cave of carañahui, according to my fact sheet, so it should be a great day trip! http://www.aboutcusco.com/cusco/tours_peru/tours_cusco/bridge_qeswachaca.asp http://www.dosmanosperu.com/dosmanos/tours/cusco/english/bridge_of_qeswachaka.php Here are a few links with...

It is beginning to seem that a day in Cuzco just wouldn´t be complete without a trip to more ruins. Today, I revisited Sacsayhuaman, site of Inti Raymi, without 5,000 people there for the ceremony. It was great. There were a few tourists, but it is such a big site that you have plenty of space, and quiet. I found myself wondering what would have happened to this area, and in fact this entire group of people, if the Spanish, Francisco Pizarra especially, had made a small change in direction or decision that had not brought them to the area. (Yes, mom, I am reading the Inca book you gave me. And taking my vitamins.) In some ways many of the ruins here remind me of those at Mesa Verde...amazing areas that are difficult to get to, more finely built than what our advanced machinery creates today, empty. I mean, seriously, look at how big the stones behind me are! Historical note: Cusco and nearby Sacsayhuaman were built in the shape of the sacred puma. In the picture behind me, you can see...

I asked my roommate, who has been here for awhile, where to go for an afternoon trip that is left on my Boleto Turisto. She said, hands down, I need to go to Pisac. It was good advice. Yesterday after classes, a few classmates and I EVENTUALLY found the bus to Pisac. This was challenging and required asking many people for directions, but we did it. Anyway, the locals liked hearing us mispronounce Puputi, the street we were looking for. It was about an hour bus ride, 32 km (you know how they are about the metric system in the rest of the world). Anyway, we came around a corner and the view was jaw-dropping beautiful. We were the only gringos on the bus, taking pictures out the window. This part of Peru is known as the Sacred Valley. We got off the bus in Pisac, at the bottom of the valley, where the Urubamba River flows through. To get to the ruins of Pisac, we had to walk through the markets, which were pretty incredible. Then we got to the entrance of the park which was...vertical! ...

Today{s headline in the newspaper? Bill Gates and Cameron Diaz were at Inti Raymi....oh my, is it becoming trendy? It is definitely a tourist event but there were actually more locals there than tourists. So yesterday was the big day, Inti Raymi, festival of the sun, Incan festival held in the 1500´s to wish for a good harvest and for the sun to come back. I must say, it was quite a production! A few downsides: others would say the major hike up, but I think it was good training. I should probably do the same one, every day with a big pack on my back! We left at 10 to get seats but it didn´t start until 2 so there was a lot of sitting on a very steep hill, which eventually got a bit uncomfortable. The ceremony was interesting and fun to watch but all of the speaking was in Quechua, which of course I do not understand. According to above mentioned newspaper, there were audio problems anyway. I think photos will describe this event more accurately than words can, though I will admit I am...

First, a quick update from last night. I tried alpaca in a restaurant. It was okay but kind of dry. Could have used some gravy. Today, Sadie and I met early in the morning, but first, I started my day with breakfast (bread, marmalade, cheese, and coffee) and met a Bolivian girl who I got to practice my Spanish with, since she knew no English! ¨Next, I got a tourist ticket and we went to Temple of the Sun, also known as Qorikancha. Lots of the spellings of ruins and such are in Quechua, which is the indiginous language spoken here, and apparently it has lots of Q´s in it! Anyway, it was originally an Incan temple but when the Spaniards came, they took all the gold and melted it down, and turned it into a church, but some of the original Inca masonry still exists. It was pretty interesting. We had plans to go to several museums this morning as well, but most things are closed for the holiday. The parade started lining up on the main street around 10am. It´s now after 6 and STILL going. I...

Not too much to report, really. The town is still a party: music, dancing, tonight there are also fireworks and a free concert of popular peruvian music. One of my highlights yesterday was a hot shower! I also wandered around Cusco, sightseeing, and actually found a little cafe with no tourists, and a menu only in Spanish. It was a bit of a relief-this festival is the biggest event of the year, with tourists from all over the world here. After class, the school offered a free class on local music and we learned about sikus, and even got to play them! It is hard to describe, but 2 sets of pipes bound together that you blow into, and local to the region. It was actually pretty fun to learn and I think they sell sikus in town! After that I went out for dinner.My new dining experience was chicha morada-purple beer made from corn! It was actually quite delicious-apparently the stuff from yellow corn isn{t as good. I wasn{t adventurous enough to order the quy, or guinea pig, which is quite c...

Well, there is. A huge party, in fact! I have heard conflicting stories about the reason...which is why I need to replace my Lonely Planet book. Anyway, this weekend is the biggest festival of the year in Cuzco (and, I suspect, Peru), called Inti Raymi.It is for the winter solstice, when the Incas begged the sun (Inti) to come back. After living here for just a few days, I can see why! Apparently you are all roasting in CO but it is quite chilly here, as I may have mentioned already. The other reason I have heard for this week´s partying is that it is some anniversary of Cuzco´s becoming a city. Who knows. So, every day this week there is a massive parade through Cuzco with groups of costumed schoolchildren dancing, which ends in the main plaza, where there is music and more dancing. This starts at about 8am and goes past midnight. I finally made it down to the plaza today-I wanted to go yesterday but was having a major case of lethargy-I blame the altitude. It is hard to describe, but...

This is the view of ¨downtown¨ Cusco I get walking down the narrow cobblestone street to the Plaza de Armas. Phew, I have made it to my first destination! After 4 takeoffs and landings in 24 hours, my ears are a little off, and I was huffing and puffing after walking up a hill-you try it at 10500 feet-otherwise things are good! Oh, but it{s winter here, and the keys don{t actually type what is printed on them, so try to excuse the punctuation! Today was a lot like the first day of school as a kid-you hope you can find the classrooms, what if the other kids don{t like you, and you can{t get your locker open¿ But you go home at the end of the day and tell your mom what a great day it was. I had my last flight for awhile, from Lima to Cusco, after a traditional breakfast of bread and cheese, and instant coffee. I am also 0 for 3 on flights being on time but it was nothing like the 3 hour delays yesterday! I was picked up in Cusco by Victor fromt he school, and enjoyed the ride through to...

I have 4 minutes until the shuttle back to the airport arrives. Quick update though-I survived my trip to Lima! Although I was diverted to San Antonio on the way to Houston and every single flight out of houston was delayed by several hours or cancelled. The baby on my flight finally fell asleep half way through the 2nd on flight movie so I could rest! I landed in Lima around 12:30 a.m. but was able to find my ride to the hotel and got here a little after 1...and now I´m up and back to the airport! Will update from Cusco, adios!

Yesterday I did my last hike before I leave, to the Royal Arch in Chataqua park in Boulder. Short, but steep. I am feeling nervous about my Inca trail hike in Peru, mainly because I haven't been hiking with a heavy pack! I'm cheating with the picture...I didn't bring my camera, but did the same hike with my mom last year! So my mom and Lucy (the dog) weren't really there this time. Today was Toni's poker invitational, so I was hoping to leave with some extra travelling money, but that was not to be. I've been running around all over the place taking care of last minute things, but I'm just about ready to go! About 28 hours from now I'll be in Lima! Hopefully will be able to find a computer on Monday to update...

...I will be on a different continent! It is hard to believe, after so much planning and anticipation, but I leave for Peru on Sunday! While there, I will be taking Spanish classes in Cusco. I have also planned my trip around Inti Raymi, the Incan Festival of the Sun, which occurs on June 24, their winter solstice. This is one of the biggest festivals in all of Peru so it should really be something! After my 2 weeks in Cusco, I will set off to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu! This will be a 4-day hike, and I'll spend 2 additional nights in the town of Aguas Calientes, the nearest town, to make sure I can really see it all, instead of just a one-afternoon tour! Then it will be a train back to Cusco, flight back to Lima, and bus ride to the Reserva Nacional de Paracas-the "Poor Man's Galapagos." This park is on the coast and boasts seals, flamingos, and even penguins! After that, I come home! Machu Picchu is something I have always wanted to see, so this should be...

Today was by far my hardest hike yet. I hiked Bear Peak, which is part of Boulder's Flatirons. My book listed it as strenuous, which it certainly was! To compensate, it also had awesome views in all directions. Not only could I see Boulder, but the Indian Peaks to the west, and Mount Meeker tand another flatiron mountain to the north. The first few miles of the hike were pretty mellow, through NCAR's informative walk, then down through a forest where I crossed over the same stream many times. It was nice and cool-a break from the heat in Boulder! Warning: whenever you go down early in a hike, that means you will have to go back up later. This is not good! Anyway I stayed in the forest with the creek and many wildflowers for awhile. Then started up toward a ridge-this was a lot hotter with more sunlight, and steeper. It was really cool when I got high enough to see not just Boulder, but over the other side of the ridge to the mountains to the west, too. However, seeing actual B...

Last Monday I went for a hike in a park called Mt. Galbraith, right outside of Golden. The views were phenomenal! As you hike up you get views of Golden and even downtown Denver! Then you hike around the whole mountain, with views of Lookout Mountain and then even some of snow-covered Mount Evans (I think) to th e west! Although it wasn't terribly long or steep (which I need for my Inca Trail training), it was beautiful. Above is a view of Golden, North and South Table Mountain, and if you enlarge, you might see downtown near the middle beyond the mesa on the right. Below, the snow-covered mountains to the west, and a HUGE butterfly I saw! To give you an idea, I took the picture from about 8-10 feet away and zoomed in on it. I am lucky to live in Colorado; this hike was only about a 20 minute drive from where I live!

School ended a week ago. My last week was so crazy, I wasn't sure how to mentally move into a summer mode, after so much worrying about my students. So I decided....do some hiking and therapeutic work in my "garden"-aka flower pots on my deck! So here are a few pics from those activities. The hike pictures are from Lookout Mountain in Golden. The flower is Linnea Borealis, my namesake. :)