Peru te Amo

Cusco is such an amazing city, and the people I am with make it even better. I´ve only been here for about a week but it feels like its been so much longer. Everyone has bonded immediately.

Morray is a sacred group of ruins. From above it kind of looks like a group of stone crop circles. We hiked to the bottom and sprawled out in the grass in the shape of NCSU. One of the boys named Johnathon is a photographer for the Technician and he got a great picture of it. Afterwards we gathered in a circle and began chanting and dancing.

I did the worm in the middle of a sacred ruin!

A guide with a group of hippies with him came up to us and asked us if we spoke Spanish. All of us were really excited and thought he was going to maybe tell us something about the ruins. In Spanish he told us that this was a sacred place to some people and basically we were being very rude. After we climbed out of the bottom we noticed the guide and the hippies passing the peace pipe or doing some other kind of hippie bullshit. My study abroad group was kicked out of Morray by a bunch of hippies. I guess I can check getting kicked out of a sacred Incan ruin off my bucket list.

We also visted the salt mines where they still harvest salt to this day. Afterwards we saw how these Peruvian women created dye for the alpaca wool that they use to make tapestries, clothes, etc. It was amazing the kind of manipulation you can do to something like tree bark or flowers to get the different colors.

(Mom and JC I bought you presents at that place so get excited!)

Yesterday we rode horses and it was so exciting because I haven´t ridden in so long. I miss my horses.

I talked to one of the boys who worked at the stable and practiced my Spanish which was exciting. I really do enjoy speaking Spanish with these people although I have gotten really frustrated with myself. I feel like under stress I forget some of the basic Spanish I should know, but hopefully I´ll get over it before Lima.

Now for the exciting part. Cusco has amazing night life! Tuesday after getting back from the Valle Segrado a bunch of us went out to this bar called Mama Africa. Can I just say how much fun it is to actually be able to buy drinks at a bar. I can´t wait until I´m 21. We danced the night away three consecutive nights at bars called Mama Africa, Inca Team, and Mythology and I´ve barely gotten any sleep but it´s so worth it. I´ve met people from Brazil, Switzerland, Israel, and so many other places just from going out to the bars.

I love the people I´m here with. I already feel so close to all of them and it´s so amazing! Today we visited the Tipon which was frightening because the bus had to drive up the edge of a mountain to get to it. Lets just say I freaked a bit but I´m still alive so that´s all that matters.

Tomorrow we´re going to hike the Incan trail to Machu Picchu so wish me luck because I might die! The altitude here is killer. Walking up steps or an incline makes me out of breath, and in the next four days I have to walk up and down 3,000 steps. Wish me luck and Pray for me. It´s going to be an amazing experience.

I love and miss all of you guys! Be watching out for my next post some time after I get back from Machu Picchu!