Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca!!!

So I just got back from Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca and it was a fantastic week. Kelsey, Jessie, and I flew out Saturday Morning to Cusco, Peru. We spent Saturday and Sunday in Cusco, adjusting to the altitude and shopping. You have no idea how many souvenirs we purchased. We ran into Russ, another student, and went to dinner with him both nights. On Monday morning, we woke up really early (before 6 am) to head for a train to Aguas Calientes. We saw part of the Inca Trail on the train ride and were so glad we chose to take a train instead of the 4-day hike. Aguas Calientes was a pretty boring town, just a stopping point for Machu Picchu visitors. We went to the hot springs, which were quite disgusting and smelled gross. All of the restaurants begged for us to stop there, all of which offered all-day happy hours, 4 for 1. We got bored half way through the day so decided to walk down the road along the river to see where it would take us.....Randomly we see Russ and another Pepperdine student, Brian. They had already been up to Machu Picchu, so we got advice from them and then Brian almost missed his train back. We went to bed early to get up before dawn for the second day in a row to take a bus up to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu was amazing. When we got there, the clouds were still covering most of the ruins, but the view of the Andes was amazing. We got to walk along part of the Inca Trail and saw many llamas. There is one mountain next to Machu Picchu called WaynaPicchu and only 400 people are allowed to climb it per day. We decided that was a must and head up at 8:30 ish in the morning. The hike was straight up and took about an hour. We were dying and didn't know how we would get down. I took a picture of the path and later I looked at it and couldn't decide what I was trying to take a picture of. We were practically rock climbing. Once at the top, we stayed there for several hours, reading and eating lunch (haha...a really early lunch). We spent the rest of the day wandering around the site and sitting and reading in the beautiful Andes. That night we took the train back to Cusco.

Wednesday, we headed in a bus to Puno and Lake Titicaca. The bus ride was uneventful. We got off several times to see various sites, but all were pretty boring. Once we got to Lake Titicaca, we were so glad to be staying in a hotel. For the past 4 days we had been staying in hostels and packing and repacking almost every day. It was nice to have our own room and bathroom. It was also so nice to not have to worry about having to pack everything up. Puno was also a pretty boring town, but the lake was beautiful. Lake Titicaca is the highest lake in the world. It was cold, but very sunny. Thursday we just relaxed and wandered around Puno. Friday, we went on a boat to Uros Islands and some other island. Uros islands were made of over 40 man-made floating islands. It was soooo cool. Everything was made out of reeds... the ground, the houses, the kitchen, the boats, everything. The next island we stopped at was actually an island. We walked around the island and had lunch there.

Saturday, we returned to BA!!! Overall, I really liked Peru. The people were nice and the country was surprisingly clean. The food was horrible and hot chocolate was disgusting. Peru has beautiful landscapes and the best souvenirs. I like Peru, but i was so excited to return to BA. I only have two weeks left here. That is both a sad and happy thing. I am so excited to go home, but I am going to be sad to leave this group of people and sad to leave Argentina.


Here are pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050311&l=6e7df&id=8505998
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050312&l=76c46&id=8505998