Author: dshimell

26 miles on the inca trail and I finally got a shower!

That’s not actually the most exciting things that’s happened these past few days. Granted, the shower was very nice, but the inca trail was incredible. It was definitely one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had in my life, and I’m so happy I got to do it, even though I was congested a little bit.

The first day was incredibly tiring. We woke up at 3:30 in the morning and then finally got to kilometer 82 (the start of the inca trail) at around 7 or 8 and had breakfast. We hiked all day, had an amazing lunch because some of our chasquis who held everything but our day bags (we like to call the porters chasquis after the Incan messengers because it’s nicer) were cooks and made incredible food. Just to give you a sense of what we are, we even had trout the first day at lunch. At the end of the first day we had to hike two hours of stairs to our camp which was one of the hardest parts of the trail. Then we got to our camp and set up our sleeping bags because the amazing chasquis had already set up the entire campsite for us, and then we had tea and dinner.

The next day we didn’t have to get up early, just at 6 am (we passed out after dinner at 9 pm so we got a good amount of sleep) then we got ready ate breakfast and then started another one and a half hour hike up to the top of dead woman’s pass at 4,200 so meters, which is around 14,000 feet high. That was probably the most tiring part of the hike for me but it was definitely worth it because the view was incredible. Honestly every view was incredible that wasn’t covered by clouds. Later that day and the next day we had a lot of problems with clouds so we couldn’t see all the views but it was okay since it was still incredible.

The third day was a lot less difficult. We had some views and we had some clouds, but in the end it was still amazing.

Honestly there’s so much that can be said about these past few days on the Inca trail I don’t think I can get it all down in one post. I will say that Machu Picchu is rightfully called the seventh wonder of the world – an absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous city. It was pretty frustrating though because it was really cloudy so we couldn’t see the sunrise over Machu Picchu, and then when the clouds finally cleared my camera started messing up but I eventually fixed it.

All in all, the inca trail was a pretty fantastic way to end the Peru trip. I can’t wait to get home and have my own home back, but I will miss definitely miss Peru a lot. Shoutout to Dina, Alec and I’s host mom. Also shoutout to Saul and Elio, our two amazing tour guides on the inca trail.

After a very long and busy weekend, we are back to the beginning of a brand new week. Looking forward, a couple of us are still going to try to play soccer tonight with the San Blas Spanish school. Tomorrow (Tuesday) there is a very big festival of the sun that is celebrated all over Cusco. Over this long weekend we went on a couple of tours. On Saturday we went horseback riding for a long time and visited different historical sites, I.e Saqsaywaman and other different popular tourist sites. All though the horseback riding was fun, I did get the mean horse who kicked 2 other horses and would not listen to my commands. On Sunday, we fed llamas and alpacas and drove to about 6 places yesterday and visited many more inka archaeological sights and had a great buffet for lunch. I felt a little sick this morning and I have a headache but overall I am fine and this trip is fantastic!

The weekend was awesome! Sadly Mrs Perez is sick and couldn’t come with us on Saturday or Sunday so Mrs Socorro took us herself.

Saturday we went on a hike and visited Incan ruins near Cusco, traveling via horseback. The horses I rode weren’t incredibly well behaved however, so I ended up needing to be led by one of the guides, but it was still incredibly fun. The views were incredible! Our main tour guide Saul also taught us a lot about the Incan culture and history while showing us the many ruins we saw.

On Sunday we took a long bus ride to the sacred valley of the incas. We first got to pet and feed llamas and alpacas, and then went to go see breathtaking views and beautiful Incan ruins that were much farther from cusco than those we saw on Saturday. It was a tiring morning, but we went to a restaurant and had a delicious buffet for lunch which was fantastic (as Nate said to me it felt like one of those nice hotel restaurant places people go to on Survivor when they win a game). One of the most amazing things of the day for me was all the views we had of glaciers on top of the tallest mountains. I felt like I could’ve looked at those glaciers all day long. Those glaciers are still sacred for the Andean people of the highlands, just as they were for the Incan culture. I took so many photos on my camera, I can’t wait to see how they turn out when I get to upload them on my computer at home.

One more school week and then we get to go to the inca trail!

#WhenInCusco – My new motto after being here for 7 days. This trip, so far, has been an amazing experience and I am just ecstatic to have been blessed with this opportunity to come here. #ShoutoutDougandKaren. Everything here is wonderful, since I last wrote we have started school and the clinic. For the first 3 days at the clinic I was working in the kitchen which mostly involved sorting good/bad fruits and vegetables. The other day I went to the mercado artesenal and it was very, very cool. They had many different varieties of clothing, bracelets, shot glasses etc. On the 19th we went out during school to experience the Corpus Christi festival in the plaza. It was an awesome sight to see and all the people were carrying the floats with a different saint on each one. On this coming Monday, Nate, Elias and I were going to sign up to go play soccer with the some Peruvian locals. Last night we learned how to salsa dance and even though I may not be a master “salsaer” it was very fun. This weekend we are supposed to go horseback riding and going on a bus tour to see the sacred valley. I have been having a lot of coca tea, I am not sure exactly why it helps with altitude, but it is also illegal to bring back to the United States. 

As always, Peru is fantastic. I haven’t had that many problems with the altitude except when doing anything physically exhausting. The altitude makes everything physical seem twice as tiring.

The first couple days of service and school were fun and interesting. First off, our taxis were late and we showed up to service an hour late. Then, we were sent in groups to different areas to help. I went to the kitchen, where Alec, Saoirse, Jerome and I sorted food. Then when we had school I was paired with Krishna and we began learning subjunctive clauses in depth. The school has some fantastic views of the mountains around Peru too!

I’m writing from Alec’s blog because suddenly the username “hlafferty” has become invalid. Aside from the minor technical difficulties, missed cabs, and airport fiascos, Peru thus far has been a dream. Saoirse and I are living with an angel of a woman named Doris. Doris’s knowledge of the English language is lacking, with the exception of seemingly random words such as, “pumpkin” and “Quaker”. The total immersion in Spanish, which at first seemed daunting, has turned out to be more than blessing; Saoirse and I manage to chat our way through complex dinner conversations with topics surrounding religion, feminism, medical culture and all of the above. Classes and work in the orphanage began yesterday, but before the scheduled activity we had time on our hands to explore Cusco on our own. Whether intentionally or not, Saoirse and I spent the first day learning how to say “no” to adorable street vendors and that just because a woman runs across the street, with a tiny lamb in her outstretched arms, doesn’t not mean you should accept it…you could be out twenty soles. One could say that we used the first day of exploration as a day of learning, and things went nowhere but up from there. On the morning of the second day Nate, Elias, Alec, Adam, Saoirse, and I trekked up an unimaginable length of stairs to a breathtaking view. The mountains that rise, surrounding Cusco, never cease to amaze me. Saoirse and I stop at nearly every step to frame mental pictures of the breathtaking vistas. Every morning when we wake up, the dribble of cold water (in the form of a shower) seems not to matter because Saoirse and I find ourselves having conversations fully in Spanish that we never believed possible. I feel so lucky to be here and can’t wait to see what these next days of exploration have in store. For now adios!
-Hanna

After our very eventful day of flying and missing flights, we finally arrived in Cusco. We met our families, and me and Alec went with our host mother, Dina, to her house via taxi. Dina is an incredible person who’s very nice. She hosts people all the time, in fact there are currently two college students living in our house as well who gave us some pointers about the area, but they’re leaving tomorrow.
Today, after Alec and I woke up, showered, and ate breakfast, we went out and met up with Elias and Nate (we were able to because we have wifi in our house). Then we hiked up to the outskirts of the city – an exhausting experience because of the thin air – but we had a breathtaking view of the entire area. I would post pictures, but they’re on my camera and I haven’t been able to upload them yet.
After that, we hiked back down and went to the Plaza de Armas – the main plaza of the city. There’s a festival going on that lasts a week, and I think it’s called the intiraymi, a celebration asking for the return of the sun, as it occurs throughout the longest days of the year. We walked around there for awhile and I bought an alpaca fur jacket for 57 sol’s – the currency of Peru. This is a little more than 20 US dollars, and it was 100% worth it. Eventually we met up with the rest of the group and walked around a little more until we got to Mrs. Perez and Socorro’s hotel. Cusco is an awesome city, and I’m so glad I did this trip. Just walking around and looking at the area is awesome.

After a long day of travel and a missed flight, we finally made it! Adam Trask and I met our mother, Dina, she took us back to our house and it was great. She welcomed us with Mate de Coca (tea with coca leaves to help with altitude adjustment) and a nice potato/chicken/rice/carrot lunch. I then slept from about 2-7 and then we woke up and Dina gave us a nice tour of the neighborhood at night, we saw some dancing in the street and a bunch of locals having a great time. We then went back home and ate more potato/chicken/rice/carrot for dinner and then went straight to sleep. Adam and I then woke up early ate pan with butter and jelly for breakfast and then met up with Elias and Nate and we walked to the top of the hills, which involved a lot stairs and breaks in between. I also met a few stray dogs on the way that were adorable and very friendly. Nate, Adam, Elias and I then walked around in the city and found a nice cafe to eat at for lunch, although we did not get traditional food (i.e we ordered cheeseburgers) it was very enjoyable. We then walked down to Plaza de Armas and watch a festival/parade that was going on throughout the morning. It has been a blast so far and I am looking forward to the up and upcoming days.

I would like to wish Doug Shimell a happy father’s days

#ShoutouttoStevenFolwell happy birthday