Rocking that *International* Paradise

3:30am came not so bright, but plenty early.  Sadly, there was no daybreak tea served in our tents on the last day, it was all business.  We had 20 minutes to get dressed and pack up, and then breakfast was served.  It was sort of weird feeling—both to use a flashlight to go to the dining tent, as well as turning over our sleeping bags and mats to the porters, since we wouldn’t need them for the night and wouldn’t be carrying them that day.  By 4:30am, we had finished eating, and we were on our way, flashlights in hand and packs on.  We walked a whole five minutes…and then we stopped.  We were the fifth group in line for the trail to Machu Picchu, and we sat and waited at the entrance for an hour until it opened at 5:30am.  Promptly at 5:30, they began allowing people through.  We showed our passports and trail tickets, and began the still dark walk along the mountain side to get to the Sun Gate—what would be our first glimpse of the ancient city.  Contrary to previous

It was with some trepidation that our group embarked on the trail on Day 3.  None of us slept well on Night 2, despite being tired down to our bones.  The ground was hard, we slept on a hill, and the night was cold.  To top it off, despite being told that Day 3 would be “Unforgettable,” and probably our favorite day on the trail, we knew the day started with a 500 meter climb to our 2 nd pass, and ended with 3000 steps down.  Curse the Incas and their beloved stairs.  The first climb of the day, everyone in our group (except our marathon runner, Katie, who finished the last leg of Day 2’s climb (the part I finished in about 80 minutes) in 46 minutes) was moving considerably slower and stopping more often.  It was rather nice to have a larger group of us hiking together.  Another bonus was that G-Money was finally feeling better and was able to carry her own pack again.  It took us perhaps three hours  to reach the top of the second pass, with one  20-30min stop along the way

On Day 2, G-Money woke up still not feeling well.  When we reached camp for the first night, she got pretty sick.  Day 2, she felt shaky and still a little nauseous.   Definitely not a good start to our most arduous day of hiking.  But what else do you do, but start up the trail?  Day 2 was the day of Dead Woman’s Pass, a 1200 meter climb to the highest point on our trek.  (The pass, by the way, is named for the rock formation at the top—though I am sure more than one trekker would believe it has claimed the life of at least a woman or two).  Right out from the campsite, we started climbing uphill.  The pass as seen from the other side.  The woman is lying on her back, her face pointing to the right.  She has a large forehead, nose, then her chest and belly follow.   After a solid hour or trekking up the hill, we came to our first resting point, and waited for everyone in our group to catch up.  I was by no means the fastest person in our group (one of the slowest, as

On the first day of our trek, our team was picked up from each of our hotels between 5 and 6am, and then we drove to the town of Ollantaytambo.   We stopped for 40 minutes to pick up last minute essentials (water, walking poles, snacks, etc) and to allow for those who wanted to to eat breakfast.   Then it was back to the bus, to drive another hour and a half to Kilometer 82, where the trek began.   The last few miles of the road were one lane wide, and several times our bus had to stop and back up to a point where an oncoming vehicle could pass us, or vice versa.   It was quite the interesting ride.   Once at Kilometer 82, our sleeping bags and mats were passed out, and we figured out how to tie them onto our packs in a comfortable manner, then set off. Our guide, Saul (or more often called by his trail nickname, Cocaman), gave us a few pointers before heading out. 1)       Don’t get in the way of the porters.  They have to get to camp before us to set up the

The next few blog entries will be devoted to the 8 days I spent in Peru this summer; there’s no way I could fit it into one post.  (Well, I could, but no one would read it, because it would be 20 pages long.)  Ever since I read about the Incas in History 101, my freshman year of college, I’ve wanted to go to Peru and see the ruins, as well as visit Machu Picchu.  This summer, my friend G-Money and I decided to make the dream a reality.  We booked a 4 day/3 night trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, got our plane tickets, and went.  To say the trip was good is a severe understatement.  From the minute I stepped off the plane in Cusco, I was reminded why I love Latin American culture, and why I wanted to teach internationally in the first place.   And then there’s the fact that Cusco is a beautiful city, and on the trek I not only pushed myself physically, but was also surrounded by breathtaking views in every direction at each moment.  The experience is not one I’ll ever fo

In less than 3 weeks, I’ll be back in PR! Yikes!  Where’s the time gone?! Short version of what I’ve done this summer: I have: -worked at Wettstein’s -attended 2 weddings, and one funeral -taken a mini-roadtrip to Illinois -spent a day in Wisconsin Dells -showed Kelsey around La Crosse -had many great nights with old friends, and made some new ones -eaten at a lot of restaurants -seen people I didn’t think I’d get the chance to see -indulged in ice cream -gone running to burn off the ice cream -hiked up the bluffs -read 3 books (so far) -ENJOYED IT!  Longer (more detailed) version of my summer: The past 5 weeks at home have been great.  My first 2 ½ weeks were super busy.  I began my summer working at Wettstein’s again.  I’m so grateful that they were willing to take me on for such a short period of time and that they found work for me to do.  It was a great way to stay busy, see old friends again, and of course make a bit of spending cash.  Duri