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After a long trip--midnight flight from Lima to Miami and 2 more flights before arriving in Omaha, then down to Kansas City to visit my grandparents--I am in Des Moines. Next stop Chicago and Iowa City.
Dear Iowa City, I missed you dearly and I cannot wait to eat some delicious vegan desserts, wander the aisles of the co-op, and see a bluegrass show at the Englert. :)
Other than that, I am busy appreciating the lush toilet paper here and the fact that I can put it in the toilet, hot showers, potable water, and my snobby indungence: soy lattes. And I am SO happy I made it back in time for the glorious fall--the smell of leaves, the crisp air, and the warm display of color all around...I am positively giddy whenever I step outside. My mom actually got mad at me for doing too many handstands/cartwheels in the parking lot of a mexican restaurant the other day :)
I must say though, I miss the cheek kisses, the availability of anything and everything on the streets whenever I want it, especially fresh squeezed juice and warm drinks, and the good walks.
Well, that's it for now kids...until my next grand adventure (which could be very soon since I am still jobless for the time being). Thanks for your lovin.
Hugs and kisses, Rachel

PERU en resumen

I can´t believe I´m leaving Peru...
It´s my last day here after 3 months of backpacking, bus hopping, parasite dodging, conversation fumbling and so much eye opening... I don´t know how to feel about my return, but I do know I´ll be happy to give everyone an enormous hug and kiss, throw some toilet paper down the toilet, drink from the tap, and dance some good salsa with my much missed friends in IC.

To wrap it up, I have some notes on Peru and tips for your trip which I encourage you to take :)

The people here are fabulous. I had numerous people offer to take me into their home for a meal or a stay. I had strangers walk me to bus stations, help me find hostels, and give me advice of all sorts. I found too that opening myself up to these opportunities is the very best way to experience the culture.

Peru is incredibly diverse in culture, landscape, food, and well, everything...even 3 months was not enough time to see my fill of the coast, the jungle, and the mountains... someone told me there are 50-some different climates in Peru, and there are 4,600 types of potatoes!

Bring toilet paper with you (or let go of the idea of a pristine bum) and learn how to squat.

Peruvian germs are different than American germs...in fact, forget germ theory because no one else lives by it, so you´ll probably be just fine eating food that has been sitting out/fallen on the ground/has bugs on it... but on that note, take a good supply of probiotic pills and grapefruit seed extract with you to ward off the intestial ickies.

Bodily discomfort is not relavent. Let go of the desire to react to feeling cold, sweaty, dirty, crampy or otherwise unpleasant...it will only hinder your enjoyment of Peru.

If you have an allergy--they do NOT get it. You have to be very clear and very firm. And forget being vegetarian...welcome to South America, it´s part of the culture, eat your meat.

Bring a headlamp and earplugs.

Travel by bus...it can actually be quite elegant and you can learn all sorts of Spanish by watching the interesting assortment of movies they show.

NEVER forget that the concept of pedestrians having the right of way absolutely does not exist here...get ready to be on the look out and dart!

Peruvians have all sorts of ideas on safety...I´m not sure I agree with them all, but some include: don´t sit in the first row of the bus, don´t sit near the entrance of a restaurant, lock your doors (car and room) at all times, let the man walk on the street side of the sidewalk, and wipe off your silverware on a napkin before using.

Release expectation of time and schedule and enjoy life around you as it naturally unfolds.

I have mastered the scary electric showerhead...what you need to do if you want a hot shower is first flip the switch outside the shower up, then turn the knob only slightly--you´ll have absolutely no water pressure, and you might get shocked a few times, but it´ll be warm!

When plunging down a rocky hill to your apparent death on a horse, remember that the horse doesn´t want to die either and they have probably done this a time or two before. Just close your eyes and trust. (that goes with a lot of things actually)

Never call anyone back using a number they called you from unless you know it´s their number. People often use people´s phones on the street who ¨rent¨ them for a single call...I did this once in Lima, thinking it was my friend´s phone, and ended up having a virtual stalker.

Bueno...that´s it I guess! If you do go to Peru, let me know...I happen to be the queen of street food (so named me my friend Jon) and I know a thing or two about getting around by bus.

Thank you so much for being a part of my adventures with me. I´ll update again when I am back, but then I plan to end this blog thing, as I´ve always thought blogs were a little pretentious... :)

So much love, can´t wait to see you all.
XOXOXO, Rachel

last days...

I´m still hanging out in Cusco, loving not moving all the time (though I´ve changed hostels 4 times). I have decided to come home, but for an undetermined period of time...
Cusco has been so lovely. Tomorrow I am taking an acrobatic/partner yoga workshop. I´ve been feasting on delicious vegetarian food. The other day I went to the Sacred Valley (hour or so by bus) and hiked around, but there´s plenty of good walking to be done within Cusco too, and plenty of ruins to discover....umm like the giant white as can be Jesus statue at the top of the city, which has lights beaming off of it at night. Also you can just walk around the city and see Incan stone work and Spanish churches built over old Incan temples.
Yesterday I helped garden at a shelter for girls who had been sexually abused by their family and as a result had a child, and were not only kicked out of their homes, but school too. Apparently sexually abusing a child was legal only 8 years ago here. So at this incredible shelter, about 10 girls live with their childen, and make handicrafts to sell in upscale hotels in the US. It sounds a little odd, but it´s a wonderful community and a really incredible opportunity for these girls who otherwise would have had no where else to turn. There are at least one million other cool organizations and projects going on in Cusco....oh how I´d love to stay and be a part of it... Another example is a museum I visited today which displayed art from kids from the Andes who have basically no contact with the outside world. They had never even seen ¨art¨ before. And this org came in to teach them about art and self expression. It was incredible the things they came up with, not having any sort of influence from other art forms or media.

SO...just 2 more days here, then I take a 23 hour bus ride to Lima (this time in style with ¨beds¨). Then just one day in Lima before I begin my 3 flight and several road trips journey back to my parents home in Des Moines...estimated EDA: October 27ish (after immediately going to visit my grandparents in Kansas City upon arrival)...dates for Chicago and Iowa City yet to be determined.

Love you all. Can´t wait to see your faces.
Rachel

cusco continued

Day 1 Machu Picchu Trek: We got dumped at the top of a mountain in the rain to mountain bike down a bumpy road...nay a collection of mud and rocks wrapping around a mountain, which occasionally lead us to the side of the cliff because a rock slide had just occurred and the pile of rocks ahead was insurmountable. Also there were plenty of other piles of rocks from the day before´s strike, wherein villagers had blocked roads (thus moving the trip back a day because all roads out of Cusco were blocked...oh Peru). We road for about 4 hours on our crappy bikes--mine with only one semi-functioning set of brakes (the front brakes). By the time we reached our destination I was soaking, caked in mud--including my contact lenses, and shaken up more than a pisco sour (ah ha. ha.). We stayed in a hospedaje that night, which thank god, had a shower (albeit freezing).
Day 2 and 3: Trekking through the highland jungle that surrounds Machu Picchu. Beautiful. The last few hours to Aguas Calientes (the city closes to the MP) was all on railroad tracks, which I enjoyed. As we approached we could see MP from below. During these two days I became the most mosquito bitten I have ever been in my entire life...in fact in 5 minutes, I probably recieved more bites than in my entire Amazon adventures (the scars of which were almost healed!) These little blood suckers are experts too. They go straight for the veins, and I am not kidding, I have bruises from them sucking so hard and breaking all the little blood vessels in my legs. I have to say though that I am grateful for my two other treks up north that totally kicked my butt, because I was basically running through my trek. Everyone else was whining as I rejoiced in the luxury of having real (well..Peru real) beds and occasional showers, and was actually kind of annoyed with the hourly breaks.
Day 4: Machu Picchu and hike to Huayna Picchu. I really don´t know what to say about them other than, duh they were incredible...
Then we soaked our tired bones in the thermal springs at Aguas Calientes. Then a train and a bus ride back to Cusco.

In my two days since being back I have had a massage, taken a yoga class, and decided I really need another couple months here...... !!!

So much love. Missing you all,
Rachel

Cusco

Cusco is a fabulous place to be after 10+ weeks of traveling...it's a tourists paradise with boiling hot showers, abundant good restaurants, tons of travel agencies should you want to do anything at all (as oppossed to wandering aimlessly like I have in many towns), super cheap massages and other bodily treats, and English speakers galore...my backpackers hostel in particular is over-run with Irish. I feel like my body is heaving a sigh of relief here...oh my goodness, I can actually have a full conversation and express myself, heck, even use slang! Though after only 3 days, it's almost boring being around English all the time. I'm happy to have people to venture out with here--though I have to say, it's hard not to get sucked into the nightlife here. It's crazy--both because it's completely unlike the lifestyle I've been leading and/or seeing in Peru, and also because it's just crazy...these backpackers go out until 5am, then sleep all day and hang around the hostel, and I have to wonder what exactly they are seeing and experiencing in their travels...but never mind that. I did have one late night out with them to get a taste of Cusco by night, which is full of all sorts of different clubs and music--reggae/funk, pop, hip-hop, house music, electronic, and of course some latin (though a surprising lack of good salsa yet again to my disdain).
My days so far have been spent wandering the lovely stone streets, gazing up at the churchs, and browsing the vast array of handicrafts including hand-woven bags, blankets, clothing and more; silver; paintings; jewelry; painted gourds; etc etc. Another favorite past-time is sitting in the market and drinking hot chocolate made with real cacao and fresh whole milk with chunks of cream in it...funny since the thought of drinking a glass of milk in the US is enough to make me gag, but here it's a whole different story when you see it delivered by bicycle, still warm from the cow. Mmmmmm
Today I was really excited with my plan to attend my first yoga class in months, but ended up spending almost 3 hours chatting away about life and travels with two other travelers in a cafe. Such is life here; there's no use in planning anything. Tomorrow however, I will head off finally to Machu Picchu via a 4 day trek, which will include some biking, some hiking, and some hot spring soaking.
My life is so blessed.

Only 2 more weeks +/- !!
Besitos, Rachel

local

Just an update on my location...I took a 23 hour bus ride from Chachapoyas to Lima on Sunday night. The highlight of my one day there was a salsa aerobics class and doing some laundry. Then on Tuesday night I took a 10 hour bus ride to Ayacucho. I hung out for a couple days with my friend Oscar. The town is beautiful and peaceful, with 30+ Baroque and colonial churches and Wari ruins from the years 400-1000AD. Yesterday morning I took another 23 hour bus ride to Cusco...the hardest segment by far of my travel thus far--talk about dirty and bumpy and standing for several hours because there weren't enough seats...
But here I am, fatigued but happy in Cusco. I'm staying in a great backpackers hostel, and after a few hours rest, I'm ready to get out and see this city that I have heard so much raving about! Soon to come, Machu Picchu!
R