Peru

It has been a while and for that i am sorry. I just got back from a 11 day trip to Peru with Cedric. It was a wonderful trip and allowed me to have some much needed time off and to get out of the city for a bit. We flew into Peru on Monday the 13th and ended our vacation arriving back into Santiago on the 24th. We flew into Cuzco and stayed there for the first couple of days. We were able to stay at a friends house Tasi. Tasi is a fellow volunteer with Good Pastor and is stationed in Peru to do work with orphans. So Ced and i arrived and spent the first day just checking out the sites of the city and also trying to get a little accustomed to the altitude. For those of you who don't know Cuzco is a city located in the south of Peru. It is a city high up in the mountains located at 3,300 ft or around 10,800 feet. It was fun to visit friends and also to see the city. Because of its proximity to Machu Picchu Cuzco is a haven for tourism. This was interesting to experience because you could see that the city basically was fueled by the tourism trade.
There are tons of people trying to sell there wares on the street or trying to convince you eat at their overpriced restaurant. After being in Cuzco for a couple of days Ced and i decided to head off to Machu Picchu to see the Incan ruins. The process to get there was a trip unto itself. To go to Machu Picchu we first took a hour and a half taxi ride to Ollantaytambo. This taxi cost us a total of 3 dollars a piece. Yet, the taxi driver was either currently inebriated or still suffering the effects from the night before. Needless to say that made the ride rather exciting, nothing like having sing or clap in the back of the taxi to keep the driver from falling asleep and sending us to a fiery death in the valley below. Upon arriving in Ollataytambo we learned that there were no trains leaving for Machu Picchu that day so we had to get one for the next morning at 6. (To go to Machu Picchu you need to take a train which is rather expensive) So Ced and i had time to travel around the city and see the ruins there. It was a nice little place very calm and relaxing.
The next day Ced and I set off early to go Machu Picchu, after arriving in Aguas Calients (the little city below Machu Picchu) we took a bus up to Machu Picchu. We ended up arriving there around 9 in the morning. Had a wonderful hike up. It was phenomenal to see the Incan ruins. It was truly inspiring to see how the rocks all fit and also just to see the wonderful scenery. So that was a little bit of the first part of my trip. Hope you are well.