Trek to Machu Picchu: Day 1

I didn't intend to not have Internet during my 4 day/3 night trek to Machu Picchu, but that's what happened, so I was unable to provide any updates. To make up for it, I've decided to write and show you all everything that happened during my day by day activities.

As background information, me and a few people from my residence booked an adventure package to Machu Picchu with Conde travel (near the plaza De armas in cusco). Conde travel was recommended to me by one of the lady's I work with, Angela.The package included biking, zip lining, trekking, and going to hot springs all the way from cusco to machu picchu. :)

Day 1:

The tour guide is late! He told us to meet him at 6.10am but he came at about 7am. I guess I should be used to Peru time by now, but nope. After the scenic 2 hour drive to the snow-capped mountains, the guides took out the bikes where we got to ride for 2 hours through the cold weather to a warm and humid climate.  Words cannot describe how much I missed the summer humid air. It made me think I should try to volunteer in a warmer part of Peru. Hmph, unfortunately I love my project too much for me to want to leave them. >:\. I guess I'll just have to deal.

After biking down the mountains we hiked through the jungle and up a much smaller mountain. Our final stop was a hostel in the middle of a random mountain (nowhere). The trek was super tiresome due to how steep the mountain was. So far so good though, Conde Travel.

PICTURE TIME!!!

We started biking in cold and snowy weather.

Me and two of the girls from my residence.

Driving through the country side.

Urubamba, Peru

Beautiful view from one of our pit stops. The weather was getting warmer. :3

I uploaded and wrote this blog from my phone. I have a ton of other pictures from my camera. Stay tuned. :)

Visitors, Lost Card, and Machu Picchu...?

Yay, two posts in one day, thanks to Pantastico, a cute cafe in San Blas with wifi and a quick connection speed!

It's Saturday. The day is actually quite warm and sunny. Too bad I feel like crap with my allergies going haywire (at least I hope to God it's allergies and not something else), and my head pounding from a night of pisco tasting with my friend and former colleague and her boyfriend at el Museo de Pisco.

It was quite interesting how, in DC me and my friends and colleagues would go to nice restaurants and bars but, since coming to Peru, I've adapted to the college style of cheap, but great, eats and cheap drinks. Seeing Simmy again and going to the Museo de Pisco (which I thought was an actual museum at first and was not dressed appropriately as it was a fancy restaurant/bar/live music and dancing place), brought back memories of DC and opened my eyes to a new side of Cusco. While the Museo de Pisco was exquisite,  I have to admit that it just made me feel like I was back in DC at a nice restaurant.

At the restaurant we met an awesome Moldovan guy name Sergio who spoke Russian. Guess who got the hook up at a fancy and expensive restaurant in Cusco because of her Russian skills - THIS GIRL!!! :D After the Pisco tasting, Sergio used my remaining unfinished pisco drinks to make me a totally new drink from scratch. That ish was strong as heck, but really good. I hope I took a pic of it as it really got our "salsa" skills going.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Machu Picchu. I keep taking awesome videos, but my Mac is being a poo and not letting me upload them from my Samsung Galaxy S4. I have a few more methods of uploading them though before I give up. The first problem is getting the videos on my computer. The second is finding a quick internet speed to upload them in less than 5 hours. hahaha. I'll manage though.

Today, although I did learn and experience a lot, I think I'll skip my lessons learned and experiences gained.

If there's something you'd like to me write about, ask the people of Cusco, or try while I"m here in Peru, just let me know so I can cover it. :)


OH!!! So I lost my debit card! Yup, that happened. I don't really think I lost it though, if you know what I mean. My account balance is accurate, as of now, and I did email my credit union to let them know, so I hope everything will be alright.  Oh well.

Until next time...

PICTURE TIME!

The drink with the circle of ice is the one Sergio made for me. :) It was citrusy and super delicious. Oh, did I mention that I had already tried 4 different Piscos and had a Pisco sour before he gave it to me? :D

Me and friends. :)

 This is the view from the store I work at in San Blas.

This was in the workbook of my boss's daughter. It says: "Tell me, Toreador, will my bull die?" No, little girl, your bull is not going to die." First thoughts: that guy is a liar!!!

Passion for the Coca

Finding reliable internet is becoming a hassle! >:0

So much has happened in the past two days but when everything keeps happening it's hard to remember what was important previously.

Volunteering at the Coca Museum I have learned so much about the coca leaf. From its mythical origins, its ideal place of growth, and how to use it medicinally, to how to make cocaine. Today I was able to work more directly with my bosses and learn how deep their passion is for showing the world the benefits of the positive use of the coca leaf.

My boss's name is Nancy. Her husband's name is Francisco. Nancy was an accountant. Francisco was a professor. In the Peruvian, or Incan culture as a whole, coca is heavily used for medicinal purposes. The other day Francisco told me, when you say "coca" in Peru, Peruvians will think of medicine or tea. When you say "coca" to someone who is from overseas, they will think of cocaine. Coca, and more specifically the coca leaf, has helped the Incans with vitality, energy, and health for thousands of years. It is said that it was essential for the approximately 20,000 men who built Machu Picchu to chew coca leaves in order to build the city in its approximate 10 year construction. The coca leaf alleviates altitude sickness and can be used as an anesthetic. These are only a handful of beneficial effects that come from the coca leaf, but many people will still only think of cocaine when the word "coca" is mentioned.

Francisco and his wife, Nancy, noticed that while everyone in the Andes knows and uses coca for its beneficial effects, there wasn't a place for tourists and other people to learn of the many uses of coca. This is why they opened the Coca Museum. Their only goal is to educate people about coca, to hopefully one day spread its use around the world to help alleviate the many ailments that can be cured or prevented using the leaf. With this being said, "We need to somehow find a way to maintain our store in San Blas in order to keep the Coca Museum open. Everyone needs to know how beneficial coca is, and how it can help them. I don't care about money. I have everything I need. I just want to help the world," Francisco said to me. Nancy and Francisco believe with a passion that coca can help cure many illnesses in the world, including osteoporosis and arthritis.

I have to admit, had I read his words anywhere else, and not heard them for myself I think I would have found it a little corny and over ambitious. But his words had such devotion and passion that every part of me wanted to do what ever possible to help make his and his wife's dream a reality.
The sole purpose for their store in San Blas is to help fund the Coca Museum - nothing more.

I just thought I'd share their story, as I was deeply moved by their passion

Lessons learned and experiences gained:
1. Unfortunately, I think I have again become a workaholic. I have more drive than ever to help Nancy and her family. Their passion and drive truly fuels me to want to do whatever I can to help them. Nancy has repeatedly told me to take a walk and visit places. She says I'm working too hard to be a volunteer. Luckily I don't feel as stressed as I felt at my previous job. I think that's mainly because, although I liked learning a lot about the world at my previous job, here I can see the immediate benefits of what I'm doing, and immediately use my creativity to help people.

2. After my first day volunteering at the Coca museum and feeling high from all of the coca I had consumed, I began pacing myself with coca.  Yesterday someone told me that 80% of people that come to Cusco for long periods of time get parasites (James, if you're reading this I thought of you and the parasites in Senegal). Today my boss, Nancy, told me that coca helps to rid your body of parasites. Soooooo I've kinda starting consuming more coca tea and products. :/

3. Everyday while I'm headed to work, the same people ask if I want a massage, pictures, or something else. I have memorized their faces but apparently they haven't memorized mine? Dissapointing!

4. Although there are many people here with dreadlocks, there's a guy here that sits outside of the McDonalds with his friends most days and yells at me, "Hey Prima (cousin)," or "Hola Rastafori!" I try to ignore him most days, but it's hard when I live past the McDonalds. :/

PICTURE TIME! :D
These are the people I work with at the Museo de Coca. :D

A girl in my residence lost a game of Jenga and had to buy guinea pigs for the staff member she lost against. Poor things will be eaten. :(

Everyone in Cusco is preparing for the Peruvian Independence Day. I guess it doesn't matter that their independence day is many days away, almost everyday there are people on the plaza marching or playing instruments.

This is just a small part of the huge hill I have to climb to get to San Blas, where the other Coca store is.

This is Chico. Chico stays outside of our door and just meows. Sometimes it literally sounds like he's howling and saying "nooooooo." One day I should post an audio of him meowing, since he does it EVERY night.

If there's something you want me to ask the people of Cusco, or to find out for you while I am here, just ask. I wouldn't mind making a video or doing a blog with information from the local people of Cusco. :)

I learned a new skill! :D

This definitely should have been the blog titled "Coca Coca Everywhere!"

I lost count of how many coca toffee candies I ate today but I know it was over 10. The lady I work closely with, Angelica, keeps insisting that I try the candies and coca products to encourage the customers. In addition to the coca candies I chewed on coca leaves, drank coca tea, and had a coca candy bar. I swear I felt some type of high after leaving work! I hope there aren't any drug tests in my near future. :/

Lessons learned and experiences gained today:

1. Today I learned how to make cocaine! For some odd reason, although the Museo de Coca wants to diffuse the negative thoughts behind the coca leaf, they have 3 exhibits on how to make it. The exhibits include a step-by-step guide, a picture diagram, and pictures of what the cocaine looks like at each stage of production. How nice of them...?

I made sure the pictures were small enough so no one could read it. The paper on the left of the first picture is the step-by-step guide. The first picture depicts what the cocaine looks like in each stage, and the last picture shows the labor behind the steps of making the drug. I wonder if my blog will get flagged for this. :/

2. Chloe, my roomy,  and I got Peruvian Chinese food. We searched the city for a Chinese food restaurant worthy of our money. We first stopped at a dark Chinese food restaurant where the menu consisted of Peruvian specialties like loma soltado and fried rice (which I guess is the "Chinese" part of the restaurant). After having multiple problems there, we left and found another Chinese food restaurant which was actually ran by a Chinese man and had excellent food! :D I didn't take any pictures of the restaurant or food because it was in a sketchy part of town and I didn't want to take out any of my electronics. 

3. I heard that coca is good for altitude sickness. Well, I think I can vouch for that because today after being so "coked" out on coca products I didn't feel as out of breath as usual. :D Yay coca!

4. I should have known that I didn't need to show up on time for work today. My boss showed up about 25 minutes late. I waited in the cold. 
(I have videos but ill post them when the internet connection is better)

5. I'm still not used to the weather. It's freezing cold in the morning all the way up to 11am and then heats up to what seems around 80 degrees in the afternoon, only for the sun to set around early 5pm and get really cold again. -_-

6. ALL of the English descriptions of the exhibits at the Museo de Coca are grammatically incorrect. I've decided that the first task I should tackle at the museum is to translate the descriptions. I definitely have my work cut out for me. :/

7. The Karaoke place near the Coca  museum keeps reappearing in creepier and creepier spots. 

I was so excited to visit this karaoke place right near the museum...

until it moved here overnight...(btw, this is a zoomed in picture that doesn't show the creepiness of the alleyway that leads to that stairwell)

PICTURE TIME!! 

....oh, actually I didn't take that many leisure pics today. I did take video though and will upload when I get a faster internet speed. 

Coca Coca everywhere!

Today was my orientation at the place I will be volunteering. Before I came to Peru I was told I would be helping women with their business development goals within the textile industry. Yesterday I was informed that I would instead be working with a woman and her family on their coca museum business. The woman and her family hope to put to rest the negativity behind the coca leaf and promote education behind the medicinal effects of the coca leaf through their museums and various programs. After taking a quick tour of the museum, I realize I have my work cut out for me. That doesn't mean I'm not super excited to start though. :)

Lessons learned and experiences gained today:

1. You can make beer using coca leaves, but you get drunk MUCH quicker in Cusco due to the high altitude. Pace yo' self (Jade, that was for you)!

2. Altitude sickness doesn't go away just after one day.

3. Just because you see another gringo doesn't mean they speak english. I really should have learned this lesson back in the hostels of Morocco.

4. McFlurries in Cusco come with hot fudge and oreos! Also, make sure the chicken McBites are cooked all the way - mine weren't. By the way, I know someone is probably saying, "why did she eat McDonalds while in Peru?" I have this thing where whenever I travel somewhere I try an American chain restaurant for comparison. Considering this McDonalds sells buckets of chicken (actual chicken pieces and not nuggets), I think it was worth the experience. :) Not that I tried the bucket of chicken though.

5. Mannequins here are super scary. Why do the guy mannequins wear makeup and have such bright eyes?!

6. There's an otaku festival on the 26th!

7. Sex is heavily ingrained in the Incan culture. Sex and having a good sex life seems to be very important.

8. There's a shop here called Topitop which has awesome clothes. :) I'm not a huge shopper but I was finally able to buy a coat - a nice one at that! No more frozen tooshie for me.



9. San Pedro market has literally everything!

 Cuy (Guinea Pigs)! :D

 I love how you can see the view of the mountains in between the stalls

Tomorrow is my first day at the Museo de Coca.  Wish me luck!

Picture Time!

I can't stop taking pictures of the view from where I live. 

 This is the view from my bedroom

Museo de Coca!

...yup...

 Seems like every country I visit I find my name :)

Bienvenido a Peru! (Day 1)

I've been to Morocco, Spain, England, France, Iceland and Wales. What is it about Peru that makes things just feel...different?

After stepping outside of the Cusco airport and looking at the gorgeous and vast mountains while shivering from the cold, I couldn't help but somehow feel like I made a mistake. Yeah me, Jasmine, thought I made a traveling mistake! 

Whether it was because I felt like I was missing out on the warmth of a country where my friends were out having fun at festivals that I'd kill to go to, or because of it being my first time traveling without a companion, things just felt odd. Even still, I know things are just what I make of them and will only get better when I decide.

In summary, today I learned and experienced quite a few things:

1. I made a new friend, Chloe, who is from Ohio and shares a room with me and is a sophomore in undergrad. Having stayed with a host family and lived in Peru for about a month already, she showed me around the Plaza del Armas along with where her previous host family lived. Apparently there were some problems with her host family so she had to come back to the Amauta main residence. 

2. My hair gel exploded all over my clothes because of the pressure of being so high up in the mountains. I'll now need to find a laundry place so I can have clothes to wear. :/ 

3. I realized my tablet charger doesn't work with the local outlets. Super frustrating. I've gotten super creative at finding ways of charging my tablet without using the outlets though. I'm proud of myself. :)

4. This should probably be the first thing on this list but, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO FLUSH YOUR USED TOILET PAPER. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO THROW IT IN THE TRASH. You may think that's weird but you're only reading about this. Try doing this and living in a room with two other people that share the same bathroom. Not cool, man! Not cool!

5. There's Chinese food just about everywhere. Jackpot!

6. Altitude sickness sucks! Everything I do, whether it's packing my day bag to changing my clothes takes me out of breath and has me gasping for air like I just ran a marathon. 

7. Whether the people here are just being super nice and pretending they understand me or something else, apparently my Spanish skills haven't disappeared much at all. I've had some lovely conversations today and already learned a few new phrases and words. Yay me!

8. Every internet page you go to while in Peru will be in Spanish. I guess it's a good thing that I'm so devoted to becoming fluent. 

All in all, today was pretty decent. I made sure to follow the rules set out for me by my Peruvian friend, Maricarmen (more on that later). Tomorrow I will visit the place where I will be volunteering. Wish me luck. :D

PICTURE TIME!

Views from the Amauta residence (where I'm staying)

Plaza de Armas