June 6: 14,325 steps in Machu Picchu, Peru

This morning I woke up not feeling very well again. Mainly I was weak and just didn’t have an appetite. My fingers were also tingly, most likely from lack of oxygen over the past few days. I forced some food down at breakfast and drank some coca tea. Coca is a leaf they have here that helps with altitude sickness. They have it in tea and candy form.

We took a bus to the train station. While at the train station we met a group of students from University of Michigan who were staying in Cusco for 4 weeks doing an art program with weaving. The end of their trip was nearing as well.

The train ride was around 3 hours, but it was beautiful. We rode through the valleys of the Andes all the way, going over parts of streams connecting to the Amazon River and by many peaks, including one called Victoria Peak. I sat next to Ally on the train, and we were facing a couple from Brazil. Luckily they spoke English. They were visiting Machu Picchu as well for the first time. They said they had a 14 year old daughter studying at an American school in Brazil and a 6 year old son studying in a Canadian school in Brazil. They told us about Brazil and how the capital city, which used to be Rio, was moved to a different location about 60 years ago. An architect designed an entire new city called Brasilia located more in the middle of the country which is where the capital now resides. It is not as populated as Rio and is used more for political and business reasons.

We arrived in a town called Aguas Calientes, which is located at the base of Machu Picchu in a valley between the mountains. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel (which was extremely nice!) and headed up. We took a bus that followed a windy road up the mountain to take us to the Incan ruins.

The mountain range once we got up there was amazing! There were so many mountains and peaks I couldn’t believe it was real life. The change in land was very dramatic. The shadows, the points, the greenery…all spectacular.

We got a very good view of the entire ruins from the beginning. I couldn’t believe it was real life. Ana walked around with Kristi and I for most of the afternoon. It was not as crowded there as I expected since it was a Saturday and the weather was perfect. In July and August they actually shut down Machu Picchu to visitors because it is colder and the weather isn’t very good for views.

Machu Picchu had a lot of stairs, and they took the energy out of me real quick. I don’t know how the Incans did it everyday. Ana and I had to stop periodically to take breaks. Usually Kristi is the one with the breathing problems, but she was the one encouraging us to keep going!

The rocks (well actually more like boulders) that created this fortress were put together very tightly and precisely. Each stone had an exact place it could fit in the mold. The Incans obviously built it well because we were allowed to walk all over it. Usually places with ruins are blocked off from tourists to actually walk on and touch. We were allowed to sit on the walls, touch the rocks, and climb the stairs just like the Incans did!

There was a tree growing in the middle of the ruins that really made a statement. I’m not sure if the Incans planted it or if it just naturally started growing there, but it is growing right in the middle of a large open grassy space all by itself. It looked like an African tree, and it was really neat to see it thriving in the middle of this memorial.

Something else that was thriving were llamas! Wild llamas were roaming around the ruins, eating the grass and tormenting the tourists. They weren’t afraid of tourists that’s for sure. The llamas are pretty much permanent lawn mowers up there, and they must like it because they were hopping from one terrace to another like it was just a small step.

There were some pretty severe drop offs towards the edges of the city in the sky. We found an awesome little cliff that stuck out over everything in a nice shaded area. The sun gets pretty hot up there since we are a lot closer to it that normal, so shade was lovely to find. We sat up there and stared out over God’s creation, and took some really cool pictures, of course. There was tiny little pellet poop on this cliff, and we were curious what animal it belonged to, because it definitely wasn’t from a llama.

As we were walking away from our secluded lookout point, Kristi spotted something amazing. All she said to me was “I see an animal, but I’m not going to say what it is because I don’t want to get your hopes up if I’m wrong.” Luckily, she wasn’t wrong. On the side of the drop off she saw 2 chinchillas taking a break from their nocturnal slumber! They were much bigger than my pet chinchilla, Vinny, but they were definitely chinchillas. They had the ears and the squirrel looking tail and the fluffy soft fur. They didn’t move much, and had the puffy sleepy eyes that Vinny always has during the day. I was looking over the edge at them and Ana about had a heart attack, so we had to retreat.

I ran into a girl with an AXO shirt on a few minutes later. She was from Virginia Tech. So cool to find a sorority sister at the most random place!

In Machu Picchu the Incans had a large stone called the Energy Rock. And I was in need of some energy. Legend has it if you touch the rock it gives you energy. So naturally I hugged the rock, trying to transfer as much energy from the rock to my body as I could. I don’t think it worked, but it was worth a shot.

A little while later after walking through the ruins, we saw another chinchilla, this time even closer! He had the same sleepy eyes, but didn’t seem afraid of us. We watched him for a while, and he sat there being sleepy. Then he ran up higher in the rocks, just like Vinny, and as quick as Vinny.

Towards the end of our visit, Kristi and I climbed up onto a secluded terrace overlooking the ruins. Kristi sketched and I sat and rested. It got a bit toasty since we were sitting in the sun, but it was an amazing view. We sat there for about an hour, then headed back down to the entrance for the bus. We also got our passport stamped with a Machu Picchu stamp! Pretty cool!

We took the winding road back down on the bus to Aguas Calientes. We browsed through the market and went to dinner. I did not have an appetite, so I forced down some tomato soup and spaghetti. After a refreshing shower in one of those heavenly rain shower heads, I passed out. 

June 5: 3,243 steps in Cusco, Peru

Before I left the states, someone told me to get an altitude sickness pill from the doctor before going to Machu Picchu. You are supposed to take the pill 24 hours before you go to the high elevation. Machu Picchu is 8,000 feet elevation, which is ironically the lowest elevation we will be at for the past week. I didn’t know going to La Paz that we would be at 12,000 feet, so I didn’t take the altitude sickness pill beforehand. And since I haven’t really been sick since we have been at these high altitudes, I haven’t taken the pill yet. But since we are going to Machu Picchu tomorrow and that was why I got the pill originally, I went ahead and took it this morning, since that was 24 hours before we go to Machu Picchu.

This morning when I woke up, I didn’t feel the greatest. I didn’t feel sick or anything, I just felt weak and had no energy, which is most likely a result of the altitude. So after eating a light breakfast Kristi and I stayed in the hotel room this morning to recuperate. We watched The Planet’s Funniest Animals in Spanish, and then found an English channel. We spent the morning watching TV, playing games on our phones, blogging, and taking cat naps. It was very relaxing.

At 12:30pm we decided we felt good enough to go explore the town some more. We went to one of the markets to look at souvenirs and bought a few things. I don’t know why but it wore me out, so we went to a café where I had water and bread. After that I was still pretty tired, so we went back to the hotel to rest some more. We continued watching the English channel and got to watch Two and a Half Men and Friends! I stayed in for the rest of the night to pack and relax. I eventually found Harry Potter in Spanish, which was fun to watch.

I’m hoping I will feel back to normal tomorrow for Machu Picchu. Luckily we are taking a train there, so we don’t have to hike up any mountains to get to it. And we will be at a lower altitude, so hopefully that and the pill will help!  

June 4: 11,751 steps in Cusco, Peru

This morning we left La Paz, Bolivia and flew into Cusco, Peru. The flight was absolutely gorgeous! Probably one of the prettiest flights I have ever been on. Both cities are located in the Andes Mountains, so we could see the mountains during the entire flight. When you fly, apparently the height you fly at is based off of sea level, not the land below you. So we weren’t flying all the high in comparison to the height of the mountain peaks. It was surprising to see how many little towns were up that high in the mountains as we flew.

When we landed in Cusco I already felt better with the altitude. I never felt very bad in La Paz, but I felt pretty much back to normal here. We rode a bus to the hotel, and the hotel is amazing! Definitely the nicest place we have stayed so far. Kristi, Reva, and I are sharing a room, and we each have our own bed. The bathroom is nice and new, with a big shower.

After we got settled at the hotel we all walked around town. Today there was a Corpus Christi celebration going on (Catholic festival) so everyone was at the town square watching the parades of saints. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. It was standing room only! It was very cool to experience though because we were right in the middle of it.

Cusco is definitely more touristy than most cities we have visited. And we obviously look like tourists, so they know to target us with their sales. We were walking down one of the side streets and a little girl dressed in colorful clothing tried to shove a baby alpaca she was holding into my hands for a picture.

As we were walking around I could see that there were many people that were not from here, and I could definitely tell when they were talking because many people spoke fluent English. But this city is cleaner and less dense than some of the previous ones we have visited.

As with most places, there are markets with souvenirs and food. One food Cusco has that I haven’t seen anywhere else is fried guinea pig. I refuse to try it considering I have had many guinea pigs as pets! Ana, Spodek, Kristi, Zach, and I went to a café towards the end of the afternoon to rest and grab something to drink, and I did try something new there-a popular Peruvian drink called Chicha, which is a weird tasting purple/pink juice. I wasn’t a huge fan. I also tried Inca Kola, which is a yellow soda that tastes like a dumb dumb sucker or like the syrup you put on a snow cone. It tasted better than the Chicha!

During our café visit we talked a lot about architecture and how architects can be very useful in helping developing countries, well, develop. Since many of the places in South America that we have visited are in this stage of their growth, it has been eye opening to see. A big problem is the standard of living that the people here are okay with. We may not see it as much in the cities, but in the outskirts and smaller towns, it is a big problem. Living stacked on top of one another without running water or proper shelter is not okay, but these people don’t have any other choice. A lot of times people think of architects as the people who design the big fancy expensive buildings, but we can do so much more than that. Sure we are capable of doing those kinds of buildings, but that doesn’t mean we have to. We have been given a lot of knowledge and resources as architects to help fix the problems in many of these third world and developing countries.

After we got back to the hotel I took a glorious shower with fabulous water pressure. It was the best shower I have had on this trip. It felt even better after realizing how privileged I am to have running hot water, clean clothes, and a nice bed to sleep in at night. 

June 3: 18,055 steps in La Paz, Bolivia

This morning at 3:54am we were all woken up by a group of travelers and a receptionist entering our hostel room. The space all the girls is stating in has a main level and an upstairs. Paige, Kristi, and I are in one room upstairs, Ana is across the hall, and Reva, Judy, and Ally are all downstairs. They came in when Reva was up going to the bathroom and she asked why they were in our room, but they didn’t speak English so they just walked around her and went upstairs. The employee came into our room and flipped on the light, waking all of us up, then turned it off and went back downstairs. Paige got up out of bed and went to get Ana. By now we were all awake from all of the noise and lights. Ana talked to the employee and she said she thought our room was unoccupied, so she was coming to check. Obviously it wasn’t, so she went back out of our area to find somewhere else for these travelers to stay. In the meantime the travelers were all just standing downstairs, so Ana asked them to leave. They told her it was cold out so they didn’t want to go outside. Ana was not having that, and got lippy with them. They weren’t going to be staying in this room, so they should have just gone to wait in the reception area. So eventually the lady came back and Ana talked/yelled at her about busting into our room at 4:00am. Laster in the morning at breakfast the guys told us that the lady also came into their room, turned on the light to see if anyone was in the room and then turned it off and left, which also woke all of them up. We still aren’t quite sure the reasoning behind her decision because there is an unoccupied room full of beds right next to our rooms that has been empty since we got here, so she should have just put them in there. Who knows.

After breakfast Kristi, Judy, Zach, Ana, Spodek, and I went to a café to relax at for a bit. I ordered apple tea, and it was delicious. At noon we met up with the rest of the group and rode cable cars up to the very top of the city. The views were amazing. It was the best way to experience the size of the city and see all of the mountains surrounding it. La Paz has the highest population in the world at its altitude, and the largest airport. We got out of the cable cars at the top and went to a lookout point where we could see the entire city. It was breathtaking (no pun intended).

We walked around the streets a little and came across a cholita with a baby alpaca. It was only 5 months old! We pet it and took pictures with it. Its fur was so soft, I can see why they make clothing out of it around here. During this time I filled up my first memory card on my camera (32 GB). I’m honestly surprised it lasted that long.

We rode the cable car back into the city and I took a really awesome time lapse video of the ride down. We went and ate some lunch and then came back to the hostel to rest. This city, although it is amazing, really takes the energy out of you when you aren’t used to functioning in this high of altitude.

This evening Paul, Ally, Paige, Kristi, and I walked to a large park nearby that has a skywalk. It gave us an amazing view of the city at night! It was neat to walk around and see all of the hustle and bustle of the night life. There were a lot of school kids out in their uniforms still heading to a fair that had rides, there were a couple of soccer games going on, a movie was playing that had a line out the door and down the street, many people were out selling things on the corner. It was very active, and very exhausting. Kristi and I went to the supermarket after to grab dinner (bread and banana). Neither of us had much of an appetite.

Tonight is our last night in Bolivia. We are headed to Cusco, Peru tomorrow morning. Cusco is also at a very high altitude, around 11,000 feet. I think we are all hoping that we feel a little better going down 1,000 feet, but it is still a very high elevation. We are going to Machu Picchu while in Cusco, which I am excited about. But I am very much looking forward to getting back down to normal altitude. 

June 2: 14,222 steps in La Paz, Bolivia

This morning I woke up to discover a couple of the girls had gotten sick overnight. We determined they were having altitude sickness. When we went to breakfast some of the boys were having symptoms too, especially Spodek. We had everything from vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, racing heartrates, dizziness, light headedness, and nausea. Fortunately I only had minor symptoms and was able to do the day’s activities, but some people chose to stay behind.

La Paz is literally in the Andes Mountains, hitting a whopping 12,000 feet above sea level, which explains why so many of us got sick. Some of my classmates described it as a San Francisco, but bigger and with more hills.

We walked around, went to a cathedral, and walked through the market. This is the densest market I have seen yet, with a lot of things tempting me to buy them! Ana said Peru is even better, and to wait to buy our souvenirs there, especially since it is our last stop. I did barter for a painting though, so I was pretty proud of myself for doing that. Many of the shops had dead shriveled up llamas for sale. Apparently they are good luck, but I thought it was kind of disturbing.

This city has a lot of culture to it. The most noticeable thing to me were the cholitas, which are typically older women who still dress in traditional clothing. Big colorful skirts, tall hats, long black braided hair, and a knitted shawl seemed to be the trend. The people in general have a different look to them. They all look more Native American, and are shorter. The little kids are really cute too! They all have round faces and chubby cheeks. Kristi said they remind her a lot of Mongolian babies.

Random side note about my clothing/laundry situation. I did all of my laundry back in Córdoba, which was pretty much the half way point for the trip. So since then I decided I will just not be washing my clothes for the rest of the trip. Washing clothes in the sink/shower is way too much of a hassle and the clothes never dry completely because it is too humid. I will just have to re-wear things and hope for the best! I have been doing a sock and underwear rotation, where I will wear the same pair of socks and underwear for 2 days (don’t judge me) and after I’m done with them I just throw them away. I brought cheap hanes socks and underwear, and I have had them for a while, so I don’t feel bad throwing them out. Plus it makes more room in my bag for souvenirs!

Only 1 week left!

June 1: 13,925 steps in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Today was our last day in Santa Cruz. We started the morning by taking a rainy walk to a less than exciting replica of the Rio Jesus statue. I didn’t wear my rain jacket today, of course, so thankfully Ally shared her umbrella with me. After Jesus, we walked through the market then headed to a café. Kristi and I sat at our own table and ordered café con leche and chocolate cake. We were there for about an hour, and during the time both My Heart Will Go On and Take My Breath Away came on the radio, in Spanish. It was a lovely experience listening to Spanish Celine Dion and looking out the rainy window at the Cathedral de Santa Cruz.

After the rain let up we went out to the town square and spent a solid half hour playing with the massive amount of pigeons. One almost landed on Kristi’s head and she had to go away from the pigeon mob on account of dirtiness.

We went up into the cathedral’s bell tower to see the city from up high for 3 pesos, which is about 50 cents in American money. There were very few tall buildings, and a lot of red shingle roofs.

After that we went for lunch, in the same café as before, only this time we sat with Judy. Judy is Kristi and I’s age, but is a fashion merchandising major working on her masters. She is from China, so we spent the majority of lunch talking to her about life in China and how it is different from the United States. We also have a student from Turkey traveling with us, so it’s been interesting getting to know them and their different customs. Our professor Ana is from South America (Buenos Aires, Argentina specifically), Spodek has travelled a lot as a professor, and Kristi has travelled the world, so our traveling group has all kinds of culture!

After lunch (we started eating a late lunch at 3:00pm) we headed to the airport. I was a little nervous flying from one city in a third world country to another, because I assumed their airlines weren’t as regulated nor their pilots as well trained. But the flight went fine, and they even served drinks and snacks like all airlines do. I am becoming more and more aware of my ignorance to the world, and just how much I am spoiled by the American lifestyle.

Tonight we are in a hostel in La Paz, Bolivia, our last Bolivian city. This city supposedly is well known for its souvenirs, so I’m excited to go shopping for some in the next couple of days! The drive from the airport to the hostel was the coolest yet. This city is literally built into the hillside, but it’s really big so everywhere you look are hills with buildings built into the side of them. And of course since it was at night all we could see were the lights, so it was amazing! Our hostel is also really cool, definitely my favorite place we have stayed so far. All of the girls are in the same “room” if you can call it that. When you walk into the French style double doors, there is a bathroom to the right. A couple steps down are 3 bunk beds, where only 3 of us girls are staying. Upstairs in the loft area are 2 separate “bedrooms” that are enclosed entirely by glass. Kristi, Paige, and I are in one of them, each with our own bed, and Ana is in her own across the way, own bathroom, TV and all. Us girls are sharing 2 showers and 1 toilet, which we have done before, so no biggy. And we all have big fluffy orange down comforters. Such luxury!

Being at a higher altitude, it is important to stay hydrated. So when we got to our hostel Kristi, Paige, and I went on a quest to find some water bottles. We figured we would just find a place easily, but when we went out to find one, everything was closed. This was odd to us because it was only 10:30pm and that is the normal dinner time for people in South America. We asked around and stumbled on a small corner street diner that had big 2 liter water bottles for 1 american dollar. So we loaded up on those. And got some delicious papas fritas (French fries).

My cold is much better today. My ears no longer feel clogged, my head doesn’t feel pressure, and my runny nose is slowing down! I do have a cough, but it’s nothing a little halls cough drops and some tea can’t fix! Ana, aka mother hen, does keep forcing me to wear a scarf and hood though. 

June 1: A Morning Reflection on Social Media

I told myself at the beginning of this trip that I would not use social media the entire time I was there. And for the most part I have kept my promise to myself. There have been a couple times I logged on so I could add a friend or tag myself in a photo or look something or someone up, but I really haven't scrolled through my newsfeed the majority of the trip. 

And I have to say I didn't realize how freeing it was until I scrolled through this morning after waking up early to pass the time. Suddenly the wave of concern for what other people were doing came back, and I didn't like it. Do I really care about what other people are doing this much? And if so, then why do I care so much? I have nothing to prove to any of my social media "friends" and no obligation to show them what I am doing. I would be lying if I said I'm not excited to post pictures when I get home to show people my trip. But am I just excited about the photos or was I excited about people seeing them? 

Unplugging from social media has shown me who I truly am concerned about and who I truly miss. The only people I have thought about and missed while I was away were my family, boyfriend, and close friends. That was it. I didn't think about my old sorority sister who got engaged, or that couple who got married, or those people that traveled with their friends, or my ex boyfriend and what he is doing with his life, or the people who just graduated and are getting jobs. I haven't cared about keeping up with what anyone was doing. The people who I care about most know they can contact me while I am away, and they have been. So I haven't needed Facebook or Instagram to keep up with them. It's not that I am not interested in what people I don't see anymore are doing with their lives, it's just that I am not obligated to know about, or care about it. It was becoming a chore to try to keep up with everything and everyone on the world. 

If I run into them in the future then sure they can tell me all about it. But I would rather hear about it from them instead of a computer screen. I can see wedding photos, engagement pictures, new babies, and travel videos all day long on social media, but that doesn't tell me how the bride cried while she said her vows, or how the guy dropped the ring while he was down on one knee, or how the new baby makes a funny noise when it giggles, or how someone almost got left in a foreign country while traveling with a group. Facebook doesn't tell me these things, people do. I would rather meet your new spouse, or congratulate you on your engagement, or hear your baby giggle, or see you relive the terror of almost being left IN PERSON rather than give it a thumbs up from miles away. 

I understand in this day and age it is pretty unrealistic to see everyone you would like to see all the time because we are all busy people. But we have to make time for people and not Facebook, make time for dinner and not working late, make time for weekend getaways and not weekend house cleaning, make time for talking with people not texting them. The people I love most are the most important thing in my life, and I don't make enough time for them. But I can give social media at least an hour of my day everyday? No. That is not okay. Rather than scrolling through my newsfeed every night before bed, I should be sitting with my family, enjoying their presence. Rather than putting off visiting with those I haven't seen for a month because I have to edit and upload pictures, I should be visiting with them. 

I challenge you, especially if you are from my generation of social media obsessed humans, to try to unplug for 1 week. I understand that it is a little easier for me to do since my wifi access is limited and I am distracted from boredom by traveling. But if you already feel a twinge in your gut from reading that sentence because you don't want to give that up, then you know you need to try it. I was there just a few weeks ago. But when you aren't comparing your life to everyone else's, you come to realize just how great your life is, and how you don't need everyone else's approval to live it.