Day 44- Lima/Eventually Boston

We had to be ready to leave Cuzco by about 7:30 to drive to the airport (thank God I was able to sleep during it) for our 11:50 flight to Lima. As soon as we landed after our short 45-minute flight, I felt the difference in air. It was like we'd been breathing underwater for two weeks and I finally had oxygen again. We all somehow didn't notice the permeating fish smell that had been so strong before... maybe we'd gotten used to it, or maybe we just weren't close enough to the ocean; who knows. We had another hour-long drive to good old Youth Hostel. I dragged my things up the stairs to my 12-bed room and immediately got online to get in touch with my host family. I'd been in contact with Renzo to let him know I'd be in town one last night and to try to arrange something with him. After I got online, I wrote down his number and called him from Monica's cell. He told me to come to his house at 4pm, so I hung up and figured out plans until then (this was at about 2 or 2:30).

I wasn't sure if we'd be eating together or not and didn't want to take any risks, so I walked with Alison, Rachel, Natalie, Amy and a few others in search of Mexican food. There was a really good restaurant that others had been to right by the hostel, but it was closed (we figured this was since it was Sunday, but later that night I discovered it must've just opened up later on in the day). I didn't have too much time to spare on finding another restaurant and eating before going to my host family again, so I bought some food at Wong's with Kim and we walked back to the hostel to eat. After having a nice chat with her and finishing my two empanadas, I hauled a cab to my beloved Calle Martin Napanga. I was really happy to be back in Lima and was so eager to see my family again.

I love Cuzco with its gorgeous scenery, interesting culture, daily parades/dances and more. But it's also very touristy and I was sick with a cold during most of my stay... I was bombarded daily with locals who offered me tourist items ("Lady, massage?" "Machu Picchu information?" "Sunglasses?" Eventually, I knew exactly at what spot people would ask me things and who to expect) and didn't enjoy the nightlife that was overly crowded but desperately lacking Peruvians. I enjoyed my time in both cities and fell in love with Cuzco right away, but my heart belongs in Lima with my family, the people, the nightlife and my experiences I'll always keep so dear to me.

I got to the house and talked with Renzo a bit while we waited for everyone else to come back from the grocery store. When I got into the cab ride to his house, I realized just how tired I was, and I was overcome with the familiar feeling I experienced so often in Lima: I was too busy, too tired, too mentally drained to speak Spanish to the best of my ability. Renzo and I chatted, and while my Spanish had definitely improved, I had trouble understanding some simpler things sometimes (plus he always talks so quickly that I had to adjust to that as well, since the people here tend to speak slowly and clearly). I told him I was tired but wanted to see everybody, and he said I should take a nap til 6:30 and then hang out with the family. I said my hellos to Miriam, Manolo and Alvaro (Ximena was at a friend's house til later on in the evening)... man, did I miss them. I had a chance to catch up with them briefly before going upstairs and napping. (How sweet of them to allow me to rest there when I came to visit) I awoke a few hours later and came downstairs, where they had coffee and bread and snacks ready for me. Manolo and I spoke one-on-one most of the time and it was so great to talk with him again. I was able to communicate much more easily and confidently, plus I just enjoyed his company so much. We had an ongoing joke about eating cats (in the very beginning, he asked me if there was anything I didn't eat, since he noticed some of the people on the trip are vegetarians. I told him, no, I'll eat everything, so he asked me, "Even cat?" The joke took off from there), and when Miriam offered me tea, she said it was cat tea. I told her puma was my favorite kind.

After being in a serious household in Cuzco with barely any sense of freedom or room to breathe, I was once again relaxed.

I truly do love my Lima family and it meant so much to be able to see them again. I couldn't have asked for a better host family... when I was packing up after my 2 weeks in Lima, Manolo told me to pack the bed since it's mine; he said if I ever come back to Lima, that's my home. And I felt at home there since the beginning.

So, after a wonderful conversation with Manolo, Renzo and I went out for a few hours to walk along the beach. He told me there was a place along the playa where people hang out every Sunday by bonfire. We walked the few-minute walk over and saw about 50 people gathered there... in the middle of the bonfire, probably 10 different people were jamming out on bongos and other percussion, which was amazing to experience. We met some local people and some Americans, too. Then we just sat on a bench and chatted for a while.

We went back to the house and I had a bit more time to talk with Ximena and Miriam and Renzo (unfortunately, Manolo wasn't home, but I told them to say goodbye for me). I told them that I have every intention of returning to Peru (possibly with my dad) and will definitely keep in touch. I also told them, "It's not goodbye; it's see you later." And I know I will see them sooner rather than later.

Renzo left to help a fellow architecture student with his thesis project, and I gave everyone hugs and took a cab back to the hostel around 9:30 or 10. 

I got there and went outside by the pool to find a dozen or so of my friends hanging out. Cara passed around her MacBook Pro so that we could all choose some songs to add to our newly-created Peru Playlist. I discovered what great taste everyone had... from Bob Dylan to Adele to Iron & Wine to the Beatles and more, we had a blast hanging out and enjoying our company and music. 

At some point, I was hungry and decided to head out to Wong's to buy some cheap food. On my way there, I saw that the Mexican place was open, so I happily ordered a pork taco to go. I brought it back to my table of friends and ate it there. After a few hours of socializing, I debated whether it was worth it to try to take a nap for a few hours. We had to meet up at 3am to head to the airport for our 7am flight. I fought to stay awake, since I wanted to save all my sleeping for the planes, but by about 1am I decided to hit the sack. I woke up groggily and boarded the bus, experiencing a very strange, uncomfortable feeling that this was all coming to a rapid halt. While we go to America, Scott will actually be traveling to Ecuador with one of his friends who lives there. He said goodbye to us all and it finally hit me that this group of 30 will never be in the same place at the same time again. I won't bother to blog about our 5 1/2 trip to Miami or our 3 hour flight to Boston, but I will say some final remarks on the 45 days I've had here.

I didn't know much at all about Peru before I decided to spend the better part of my summer here, but now I feel like this country's a part of me as much as I'm a part of it. I've been so involved and interested in its culture, history, people, dances, food, politics, everyday lifestyles, thoughts, struggles and more. I've followed an historical presidential election and discovered an aspect of Peru to which I had previously been oblivious: the terrorism that so many of its inhabitants experienced and for which they lived in daily fear. (I've honestly been more concerned and more fascinated with its history, politics and economics than I have with my own country's.)

Peru is an incredibly beautiful country, and what it lacks in economic wealth it has an abundance in scenery/places, artifacts, culture, kind people, caring people, proud people. Yes, Peruvians are proud to be Peruvians, and I understand why. This is a country that has so deeply touched me in many ways and I am proud to have spent my dialogue here, but at the same time, it's sad to know that we live so comfortably in America while the minimum wage here is only 150 dollars a MONTH (I've actually been told it's 250 soles, but it looks like 500 soles might be the official amount. True, everything here is much cheaper, but as tourists we tend to take that for granted and not think about how expensive 10 soles a meal is when you're living off of nothing).

The country has a long way to go, and I know that I will be watching it progress. And, speaking of progression, my experience to Peru has significantly improved my Spanish abilities all-around. I asked Renzo how my Spanish was, and he agreed that it's changed a whole lot, and I'm able to understand and speak much more easily. My whole family commented on it, too. I'd always felt more self-conscious speaking with the children (it took a while for Renzo and I to really start speaking and hanging out) since the parents took charge more, and I didn't feel as comfortable speaking in the first place. But Ximena and I sat at the table and I felt like a different person talking to her. It was then that I realized just how much my Spanish had improved.

I thought back to my first few days and weeks in Peru when I was so eager to learn and, considering my arduous, broken path to learning Spanish, I was speaking and understanding really well. But I had forgotten many basic words or phrases, and had trouble putting simple pieces together when I wasn't 100% sure what someone meant. I second-guessed myself a lot, I thought a lot before and during speaking, I made plenty of careless errors (ok, that much hasn't really changed, but that's a natural part of learning, and I suppose I do make less now), and overall I wasn't as smooth and confident in my speech. But after talking with mi familia peruana (which I realized was probably the best, most thorough practice for me this whole trip), I found myself speaking more quickly and thinking less, feeling drastically more confident in my speech, and more willing to elaborate, articulate, and explain concepts for which I didn't have the vocabulary.  

Oh my God, I've learned so much in these six weeks! 

I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal of being fluent in Spanish, but it will be a whole lot easier for me to continue my studies after this. I'm pretty sure that I will be choosing between spending my last semester (in January, after I co-op this July-December) in Argentina or Spain, and I can't wait to see how much I improve after 4-5 months if this is how I feel after only 6 weeks.

I have had so many incredible experiences here, and while I have benefited from and enjoyed the time to myself (partly because that's my personality and partly because, as I've said, the one-on-one conversations really help me out), the people here have made this trip. Monica's been working since well before we even took off to Miami and has made sure that we experience as much as humanly possible in the short time we have (last year's dialogue only had 5 weeks, so we've done even more than they did). She's guided us through everything and dealt with countless hospitalizations, trouble in Puno, inadequate tour guides, and so much more. She, her mom Sara, Jenny, and Henry have all helped us in ways we haven't seen but have felt. And the people I've met here, from the Peruvians to the 29 other Northeastern students, have made me laugh, dance (trust me, I don't usually dance), smile, and, now that it's over, cry. But I will keep these memories and these people in my hearts forever. I have a stronger love of Spanish, an intense desire to keep learning (despite the countless times here where I've felt jaded/on the verge of just wanting to speak English already), a newfound confidence in my speech and comprehension, a love for Peru and its people, and many photos to keep me feeling like it was all just yesterday.

Y a Perú, me gustaría decir que siempre tendrás un lugar en mi corazón. Nunca puedo olvidarte ni mis experiencias increíbles aquí. Recuerda: no es "adiós;" es "hasta luego." 

Day 43- Cuzco

Today marked the very end of our journey in Cuzco. I woke up too early at first and grabbed the continental breakfast downstairs at 8am. I ended up going back to sleep a bit before finishing up the tiny bit of packing I had left, then it was time to walk to Amauta School to take our final grammar test at 11. The tests were given according to our levels, and while there were a few completely random questions (such as some vocab that we had clearly never learned), overall I felt pretty comfortable with it. After the exam, other people who had wanted to go out to eat lunch had already finished their exams and left; the remaining people wanted to go shopping, so I decided to find a restaurant on my own.

I ended up back at the place where I'd tried alpaca one of my first afternoons in Cuzco. For 9 soles, I got lemonade, yummy vegetable soup and a Mexican omelette with onions, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. 

I didn't do too much for the rest of the day, but took some time to get almost all of my belongings and pack. I also got ready to go out, but didn't dress up too much since I decided to wear what was easiest. 

We had an amazing final dinner here tonight. I was told to meet at the hotel to go out by 7:30 to Hotel Monasterio. I knew it was a fancy restaurant but I guess that didn't hype up my expectations quite enough... when we got there, I was blown away by the elegance and charm of the entire place. It's a five-star hotel built in the 17th century on a refurbished Baroque monastery and is simply breathtaking. I didn't bring my camera with me since I knew we'd go out afterwards, but it had an amazing courtyard and mirror-filled walls inside.  It was no surprise that the food was exquisite as well.

I sat at a table with Vinny, Tyler and Andres. We enjoyed ourselves from the minute the bread came out. There was a fixed menu with several choices for our appetizer, entree and dessert. I ordered some sort of "tabouli" with quinoa, parsley, oranges and more. For my main dish, I got chicken with brie cheese and spinach with quinoa and mushrooms. It was incredible, but when I tried Andres's salmon with mango and banana, I couldn't believe that I was tasting the best salmon of my life. He, Tyler and I decided to split a fantastic bottle of red wine for our meal (Andres picked it out since I'm no expert at all... he did a great job), and while the whole place was expensive (fortunately, we only had to pay for our drinks), the bottle was $39 USD. For about $13 a person on a fantastic night out, it was definitely worth it. We shared tons of laughs and great food, and for dessert I had a baked apple with some sugar that had the consistency of cotton candy (though it was very crunchy and hurt my tongue a bit).

Afterwards, Andres and a few others presented some really touching speeches (ok, Yianni and Klevis's speech was inarticulate, to say the least, but hilarious nonetheless). Diana and Rosana had coordinated with everybody to have us all pitch in for a gift for Monica, so they presented her a beautiful pair of earrings and necklace. 

We all had a longer-than-necessary photo shoot on the grass afterwards, then figured out plans for the rest of the night. Some people wanted to go straight to the discoteca, while others wanted to go salsa dancing. I joined the latter group, but since I don't know how to dance salsa and didn't have a partner, I stood awkwardly until I realized I could walk to Indigo to meet up with others.

Indigo is a bar/restaurant/hookah bar near the Plaza that lots of people have already been to and like. They played great music, had cheap drinks and, most importantly, offered a nice spot to socialize with my friends. One of the highlights for me was watching Scott sing some of the songs from the Dayman episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (how I love that show... and I'm SO glad Cara got all of Scott's shenanigans on video). It. Was. Hilarious. 

So we all stayed there until maybe 1am, and at that point, I really did not want the night to end, but I was tired and knew I should sleep. Most of the people ended up heading to Norton's afterwards... in retrospect, maybe I should've gone with them since they only stayed for 20-30 minutes, but I had a great night either way. Back to the hotel I went, and I slept for a handful of hours before another day of traveling.

Day 40- Cuzco

Today was very special for two big reasons: Inti Raymi (the festival of the sun in Quechua) and my 22nd birthday. Inti Raymi was a religious ceremony celebrated by the Incas in honor of the god Inti. Traditionally celebrated June 21 and now moved to June 24, it marks the winter solstice and a new year in the Andes. Since 1944, actors and military men and women partake in a theatrical representation starting in the plazas and moving to Sacsayhuaman. 

I got up early so we could all leave the hotel and see the opening ceremony at about 9am on Avenida El Sol. This ceremony is meant to wake up the Sun God (though some of my friends joked, "He's already awake!") The whole place was incredibly crowded, since this is the portion of the day that's free to the public. I got a little Cuzco flag (which looks remarkably similar to a gay pride flag, and its rainbow colors represent the different sectors of the Inca Empire, Tawantin Suyo) and some water before it started. Once the ceremony began, I struggled to see anything at all. Fortunately, standing on my tippy toes and taking some pictures helped put the pieces together, and I was able to see a bit more near the end when people started leaving.

It lasted an hour, tops, and Monica told us that the next ceremony in the Plaza de Armas would be just as crowded and hard to see. Some people headed there before I was done watching the first ceremony, and the rest of the classmates I was with just wanted to hang out in the hotel before heading to Sacsayhuaman. But, it was my birthday and a very big celebration, so I definitely wanted to see everything. Monica, Jenny and Sara wanted to walk to the Plaza, so I went with them. It was much easier to see since the place was level. I got myself a good place to stand, then Monica told me everyone else was leaving since they were too short to see much. I waited by myself for a show that I thought would start at 11 but fortunately started at 10:20 or so. The Inca God (he's a famous actor here, but that doesn't mean anything to us) appeared and the show was conducted in Quechua. 

We all met up at the plaza at 11:50 to get ready to take our bus to Sacsayhuaman. We ended up waiting a bit longer than expected but made it there in time regardless. Apparently, anyone can see this event, but there are limited seats that offer great views. We were really lucky to all get one, and at $110, it's no wonder they're so coveted. Fortunately, that cost included a script of the ceremony in Spanish, English and Quechua as well as a CD. I was able to follow along as we saw an amazing spectacle with a great view in a historical ruin.

First, the royal entourage and nobility enters, followed by the Inca and Qoya (king and queen). The Inca asks for them to offer the gods sacred coca leaves and chica for protection and a good year. Followed is a rite of the sacred fire, since the cold is coming and the Incas pray for warmth. Finally, they offer the Sun God, Inti, a sacrificial llama. Apparently, this part was actually conducted with a real llama up until a few years ago, but now it's been banned for animal cruelty complaints. The whole ceremony was elaborate, colorful and intriguing, with many dances and more. It felt so amazing to think that this is a replica of what the Incas actually did every year during Winter Solstice; it felt even better knowing that all this was taking place on my birthday.

Afterwards, we had the option of either walking the 30 or 40 minutes back to town or taking the bus. I was hungry and carrying my heavy purse and made the grave error of taking the bus; since it was so crowded, we didn't get back to the hotel til about 5pm. 

At that point, we were all really hungry, so I went out with Alison, Kaitlyn and a few others who wanted to eat right away (of course, the walkers had already showered and eaten well before us). They all wanted to go back to a pizza place where we'd had amazing pasta and pizza. I preferred to go somewhere cheaper, but since everybody wanted to go there, I figured I should enjoy myself and spend 20 soles (7 bucks) on some amazing spaghetti. Kaitlyn also spotted me a glass of sangria since I only had 20 soles with me (and a bit more back at the hotel). Andrew was with us, too, and while we were waiting for our food, he walked out to buy some water. He came back 20 minutes later with Andy, who, like Andrew, was an RA at Northeastern. Andy decided to backpack through Peru on his own for over a month, and it was insane to think about our small worlds colliding. We left with him and told him to come to the hotel so he could join us for our festivities later. As we walked out, we ran into Amy, Kris and a few others, and some of them actually knew Andy, too! They were all looking for food, so Andy joined them and decided to meet up with us later.

I went back afterwards to rest and get ready for the night. I went downstairs at 7 or 8 and again heard people talking in Andres and Tomas's room. I decided to hang out with them, Tyler, Alison and Vinny until we made further plans. I had read about a small place called 7 Angelitos, where they play live music every night and was interested in checking it out. I told the group, and Tyler told me he'd been there before and loved it. We all figured we should go to Norton's first, since things wouldn't start picking up til later in the night. In the meantime, we listened to music and hung out in the hotel room, until we went upstairs to meet up with Yianni, Brielle, Dana, Andres, Cara and others (including Andy) in a larger room. Yianni passed around some champagne to everyone and they all sang Happy Birthday to me. 

I'd told myself that since I've always had laidback birthdays, I wanted to do something crazy this year, but in the end I just wanted to go back to Norton's. I really enjoyed it the night before, and decided that good company was all I truly wanted. I played darts with Cara, Tyler and Andres and drank some Cusqueña. It was definitely relaxed and really fun.

Afterwards, we decided to try to meet up with the rest of the group, who had gone out for a crazy night at the discotecas. We couldn't find them at Mama Africa's where we thought they were, and I wasn't really in the mood for that anyway. I wouldn't have minded staying at Norton's or trying out 7 Angelitos, but since my group was ready to head back and I couldn't find everyone else, I took a cab back with Cara, Andres and Tyler and ended my festivities at 1am. It was a bit earlier than I had planned but an amazing birthday nonetheless.

Day 39- Cuzco

So after a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad bus ride, we arrived back at our hotel in Cuzco at about 10am. I thought we'd have breakfast included, but since we got there just as they stopped serving, I had to rely on my snack provisions. I shared a room with Jenny and tried to get settled a bit since we were finally going to be in the same town for a few days in a row. Once I'd unpacked, I used the internet at the hotel (which was extremely unreliable), then headed out to call my dad at about 1pm. I got caught up with him a bit, then went shopping at the smaller artisanal mall. I remembered liking their selection of photo albums better, so I finally got my big present to myself for 43 soles (about 15 bucks). I got a handful of cheap bracelets for myself as well. 
I left the mall in search of lunch and saw the masses of people gathered on the streets for Corpus Christi. The celebration, meaning "Body of Christ," honors the transubstantiation of wine and bread into Christ. The main celebration of this holiday takes place in Cuzco, where fifteen saints and virgins, organized in several processions, arrive from different places to the Cathedral to greet the body of Christ.
So, due to the crazy herds of people that made it almost impossible to find a comfortable place to eat, I walked around a bit until I found tons of food booths by Plaza San Francisco. There, tons of different locals were serving a dish called chiriuchu. I saw guinea pigs, chicken and more being served on heaping plates for 18 soles. I figured it was definitely worth trying, so I picked a booth and got my food. The place was packed, so I sat next to a Peruvian family and talked a bit with them about what I was eating and my travels in Peru. Chiriuchu is a traditional meal served at this time and is always eaten cold. It consists of a piece of corn bread, roasted guinea pig, chicken, pork, sausage, water weeds, fish roe, a slice of cheese, pepper slices, and cancha (traditional roasted corn... we've had this in Peru a lot, and while it's tasty, it's so dry that I can barely eat one without feeling the need to chug a glass of water. I hadn't bought a drink yet so I couldn't eat it). It was my first time trying guinea pig; there was barely any meat on the portion I was served, mostly just the insides, and it was somewhat green and salty and just not what I had envisioned. I couldn't eat more than one bite without wanting to gag... as far as the rest of it, the chicken had no flavor, the pork and sausage was really tasty, the cheese was typical Peruvian cheese, I thought the peppers were sweet and made a terrible mistake of taking a big bite of one, I surprisingly liked the fish roe, and the corn bread was delicious. Either way, I'm glad that I tried the dish because when in Peru, do as the Peruvians do.
Walking back to the hotel, I saw people on the streets selling cotton candy, ice cream, chica morada, and even a Barney selling Barney-shaped bubble wands. I bought a candy-coated apple and three types of incense (vanilla, cinnamon and lavender). Right by the hotel, I found a big slice of chocolate cake for 2 soles and bought that as well. I was finally able to take a much-needed nap, which was especially necessary since it's Kaitlyn's birthday and I'll be turning 22 at midnight. 
Once I woke up around 7pm and got ready for the night, I walked downstairs in search of my friends. I heard some of them talking in one of the rooms on the first floor and walked in to find Andres, Tomas, Vinny and others hanging out with some whiskey and tunes. I joined them and the crowd expanded in time. Kaitlyn eventually joined us and we, of course, wished her a happy birthday. She and a handful of others left to go out to dinner followed by a discoteca. At that point, I decided to go out with Andres, Tomas, Syeda, Leslie and a few others... none of us were really in the mood for the discoteca (especially since they're too crowded and just not as fun as the ones in Lima), so we headed to Norton's Pub. Some of my classmates had been to the place before and liked it; it was a really relaxing place to have a beer and play some darts or pool. I'd never really played darts before and, while I wanted to play, I ended up waiting my turn until my chance was over. Still, I was in good company and enjoyed the laidback atmosphere of the place. By midnight, a few people had left to join the others at the discoteca. Andres bought me a shot of tequila, and we all took one once I officially turned 22 (I never drink tequila usually, but something about Peru has kind of changed that).
Eventually, we decided to join the rest of the group at Inca Team. As soon as Andres and Tomas walked in the door, they decided to head home. The place was packed beyond packed. I decided to go in since it was officially my birthday and I wanted to celebrate with everybody... I bought another shot and tried to dance with my friends, but it was just ridiculously crowded inside. I could barely even move my arms up. I ended up taking a cab back a little after 1:30 and went to sleep for another big, big day.

Day 37- Chivay/Arequipa

Today, one of the hotel workers knocked on everybody’s door to wake us up at 5am, as he’d promised. I rolled out of bed a little past 5:30 when breakfast was served. It didn’t take me long at all to get ready, and I also packed my backpack. I was a bit disappointed to see that our hotel meal was only bread and jam and juice. Kaitlin asked one of the cooks if we could also have eggs. We learned that for 2 soles, we could get some, but unfortunately we had to leave at 6 and had no time to order anything.

Alas, we got in our two respective buses and headed out to the famous Colca Canyon. I was under the impression that the canyon was in our same town, but we had to drive another 2 hours or so to get there. Our tour guide talked to us for a half an hour, then finally let us rest (I was exhausted).

When we got to the canyon at 8, we were told we could stay til 9, when the condors might start waking up and flying. I’ll admit that, at first, I was unimpressed. The canyon was huge but, to us, just looked like many of the cliffy mountains we’d seen. I walked around a bit and took some pictures.

When we saw the other half of our group from the other bus, it was almost 9am. At that point, I saw my first Andean condor. With an average wingspan of 10.5 feet, I knew they’re the world’s biggest birds, but once one was flying above me, I finally understood how huge they really are. Soon enough, tons of condors started circling above; sometimes there were two, but at one point, there were up to probably twelve, if not more. At that point, I thought, Okay, it’s worth it now. 

When the masses started flying away, one condor landed on a nearby cliff. We all took pictures of it and anxiously waited for it to fly. Thirty minutes later, I snapped a video of the condor taking off. 

pointing to the condor... haha

One more interesting note about the canyon is the huge bees that fly everywhere. I’ve never seen such large stingers; they look like hummingbirds.

We were told that they don’t sting, but that didn’t stop some of us from being scared (and while I usually don’t mind bees, I wasn’t a big fan of this type).

It was time to leave after that (we were allotted some extra time since we saw so many condors. Apparently it’s very rare to even see one, so we got very, very lucky).

We got in the bus to drive the five hours to Arequipa but stopped maybe two hours in to buy some snacks. I barely had any money on me but managed to buy a bag of Doritos and a drink. I needed to find an ATM but spent my last 50 cents to snag these pictures:

Ilana took them for me and told me I was a badass for posing with this guy. I guess I’ll have to take her word for it.

So, after a little break on the road and one rest stop an hour and a half before we hit town, we were finally back in Arequipa. We rented out a hotel room near the main plaza for everybody to store their suitcases. Since we didn’t have a chance to eat a full meal, I was pretty hungry and walked with Kris, Rachel and Alison to get some food. We decided to spend about a half an hour in an internet café since we’d been unable to get internet anywhere the past few days. Later, we walked around and found a good restaurant. Kris ordered a hamburger and fries, while the rest of us ordered a personal pizza and a glass of wine for 13 soles. Normally, when restaurants offer a pizza/drink deal, you can only choose from one or two types of pizza, but here we had a much larger selection. I got the Pizza Italiana, with ham, mushrooms and tomatoes, and a glass of red wine. We were all really surprised with the quality of the food; it was some of the best, if not the best, pizza I’d had on the trip. Oh, and I couldn’t find an ATM in time but paid with my Visa and got cash from everyone else. It was enough money to buy me some snacks afterwards for our long busride back to Cuzco.

We met up at the hotel at 5pm. Since we were told to be there at 6, we wanted to get there before everyone else so we’d have time to change into comfy clothes. However, we didn’t end up leaving until 7 (our bus wasn’t even until 8:30 anyway) because Cara and Kim had been feeling really sick and decided to buy a plane ticket to Cuzco the next day instead. Monica had to make sure that everything was set for them… the hotel for the night and the flight the next day. Her mom will be flying with Cara and Kim for safety measures.

I hung out at the hotel until it was time to leave and listened to how others had spent their afternoon. Some people found a Spongebob Squarepants themed restaurant, the Krusty Krab, and ordered krabby patties. Others just walked around the gorgeous city and found some fabulous food and antique stores. I wish I’d taken some pictures and had more time to explore. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, but without all the tourism. It has a very European/Spanish feel to it and is simply gorgeous. We all left wanting to stay longer.

So, we took prepaid cabs to the bus station and headed to Cuzco. It was hands down the worst bus experience of my life. While a flight to Cuzco is only about 45 minutes or so, it takes 11 hours to drive because the roads are really, really bad. They became so uncomfortable at one point that some of my classmates got scared and wondered if we were even taking the right route. I tried to sleep, but it was so bumpy and uncomfortable that it was impossible to rest for the longest time. Late in the night, the bus broke down since something happened with one of the tires. We sat still for an hour, not knowing exactly what was going on or when we’d be on our way. Once we started moving again (I believe around 1:30), I was finally able to get some rest. However, I woke up early and only fell back asleep just before we arrived at the station in Cuzco. Turns out some people slept better than I did, but we all had a miserable time and were glad to be done with the trip.