La Última Gran Aventura Peruana de Whitney

I feel like I can finally stop and breathe again! These last three weeks have been absolutely CRAZY! First we traveled to Ica, then Iquitos, and the grand finale (drumroll) ............ Machu Picchu! I seriously can't believe that I have been traveling, literally, at least 12 out of the last 21 days. I am exhausted and extremely behind on online class homework, but I am excited to share my pictures and my stories!

As if we all weren't exhausted enough when we returned from Iquitos on Monday, we crammed in homework, studying for tests, and doing laundry so we could pack up again and head for Cusco at 3am Thursday morning. We knew that we would get a small nap in before activities started later that day, so we weren't too worried about the altitude sickness or exhaustion. But, I had no idea how high the elevation was in this historical town. There were some places we went to that had an altitude of over 13,000 feet, including our hotel! Lets just say this, walking up two flights of stairs to get to my room was the only physical activity I was up for on our first day in Cusco. It was a very hard adjustment, even after taking medicine. Even on the last night in Cusco, I rolled over in bed during the middle of the night and thought I was going to pass out...it took my breath away.

After a much needed nap and bowl of chicken noodle soup, we headed out to visit some very historical sights around Cusco. We visited Qorikancha--a convent near our hotel, Basílica Cathedral, Saqsayhuamán--Incan ruins pronounced somewhat like "sexy woman", Tambomachay, Pukapukara, and many other places and names that you have no idea what I'm talking about. Needless to say, after finding a nice cafe with American food and taking a nice hot shower, we were all ready for bed. (Which was a good thing because our journey to Machu Picchu began at 6am the next morning!

Bright and early, we loaded our mini bus to get to the bus station. Once at the bus station, we loaded a larger bus with a few other passengers and took an hour and a half ride to the train station. Once we were at the train station, we boarded our train and took a two hour ride to a little area called "Aguas Calientes". After this, we boarded our final bus and waited 30 more minutes before we finally got to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World! If you were doing the math and calculating bathroom breaks, train stops, and other issues, you would see that it took us from 6am to  about 11:30am to finally get to our destination! I don't really have much to say about this trip other than...wow. The pictures I took are beautiful, but they will never do it justice. The view was by far the best few in the whole country! The long travels, homesickness, and exhaustion were all worth it. After spending the afternoon there and the rest of the evening to get back home, we were all ready to get some shut eye and prepare for Saturday's events.

On Saturday we got to wake up a little bit later and we headed to an animal refugee area about 20 minutes from where we were staying in Cusco. This place was so cool! We were able to see many different llamas, alpacas, birds, condors, and even a puma! All of these animals were rescued and are being nursed back to health in hopes of being returned to the wild. Later during the day, we visited other ancient ruins and had many kodak moments. Now I can also say I've visited the Sacred Valley! After getting back around 6pm, we all decided to rest for a while before going out to eat and finding a cool bar to hang out at. It was a very relaxing night, and we were all happy to go back to the cafe with the American food and eat some comfort food.  Unfortunately, later that night we found out that we had to check out of our hotel the next morning at 9:30am. So, we headed home and tried to get some sleep before leaving early the next morning to do some shopping.

After a few hours of shopping the next morning, it was time to head to the airport and get ready to fly back home. Of course our flight was delayed for over an hour. (We have not had ONE flight from Peruvian Airlines leave or arrive on time. I've flown 6 times with this airline. So Peruvian Airlines is not recommended for any of you travelers out there.) We finally got home later that night and I was so happy to be somewhere where I could walk up a flight of stairs and not get winded. My family was waiting for me to get home with supper and I had a good time talking with them about my trip and showing them pictures.

So what happens now? I am getting ready to finish my last few weeks left at UPC. It is so bittersweet. I am more than excited to go home and see my family and friends, but I am going to miss the liveliness and sense of adventure in the atmosphere of Perú. I'm sad to say that this is my last blog post that will have details about a big trip, but I am happy to be "home" and spending time in the good ole' city of Lima. So thankful for this opportunity and the amount of love and support I have gotten from everyone back home. I'm counting down the days until I go home as well as counting my blessings.