Hola Peru y Hasta Luego Bolivia!

As our time in the southern hemisphere comes to an end, we spent our last day in Bolivia at a park with our host family, ate fresh ceviche made from fish caught in Lake Titicaca, and attended a cultural dance and music parade in the streets of La Paz. We head to the airport tomorrow morning at 4:30 a.m. and although I miss my life in CA, I'm sad to be leaving a country that has made us feel at home and intrigued at the same time.

Last week we boarded a bus to Cuzco, Peru and spent a couple days walking around the city. Although a bit touristy, Cuzco is a beautiful city full of history and delicious food (my favorites were hot spiced wine and real chocolate caliente!) The city is especially charming at night when the old buildings are illuminated by street lamps and you can hear Andean panpipe music streaming out of all the restaurants. Cuzco's architecture illustrates the conquering of South American cultures by the Spanish; most of the buildings are Spanish-built on top of old Inca foundations. Although the Spanish churches are gorgeous, it also made me a little sad to think about how one culture literally demolished another.

We hiked around the Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley) exploring Inca ruins for two days; all the ruins were very impressive in their own right, some almost rivalling Machu Picchu! Since we werent able to secure reservations to backpack the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu, we took the train. This was my first real train ride-- although bumpy and noisy, I met an adventurous family from France who were wonderful and interesting to talk to during the journey. We arrived in Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu that night and almost couldnt find a hostel to stay in! Everywhere was full! However, we were able to find one on the outskirts of the village. At 4:30 a.m. the next day we awoke early to beat the crowd to the ruins although it was still dark when we got there, I somehow ended up being the first person into Machu Picchu that day! We watched the sunrise come beaming into the ruins--it was impossible to capture the radiance on my camera. Once the crowds of tourists started to arrive, we headed for a hike up to the top of Huyana Picchu, the peak that stands behind the ruins, to view Machu Picchu from a different vantage point. Much of the hike was up very steep Inca steps that led us by cliffs and through ruins, luckily, I'm not afraid of heights. The view was amazing here; it was as if we were perched at the edge of the world! After looking around Machu Picchu for most of the day, we returned to Aguas Calientes and headed up to the hot springs which give the village its name. The hot water was a welcome treat to our sore legs after hiking so much the last few days.

After Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes, we returned to Cuzco and went rafting in the Urubamba River through the Andes. This was Bryan's first time white water rafting and we had a blast!! The water was extremely cold, but we were laughing and smiling ear-to-ear the whole time--great memory. With no time to waste, we boarded a 10-hour night bus (which was FREEZING all night, there was even ice on the inside of the windows!) the same day to head back to Bolivia; destination: the center of creation according to the Incas, Isla del Sol in Lake Titicaca. We took a boat from Copacabana to get to Isla del Sol, crossing the lake, which is even more beautiful close-up. I thought the view from the surrounding mountains was nice, but up-close the water is a brilliant sapphire blue contrasting with the surrounding golden mountains and altiplano, it wasn't hard to see why the Incas believed this place to be so sacred. We found a hostel with the best view and only paid 50 bolivianos (about US$6) for the room, and thought that in the US the room would easily go for hundreds just for the view. After hiking around the island and exploring more ruins, we returned to La Paz via boat and bus.

The last few days we've mostly been spending with our host family, walking around La Paz, talking with people, shopping in the markets, and planning one last adrenaline rush: mountain biking the most dangerous road in the world. Every Bolivian tried to talk us out of it saying it was loco, but we had heard from some Dutch travellers that it was an amazing experience. Thursday we went with a group called Barro Biking to La Cumbre, in the Andes at about 15,000 ft. ele., where we headed down the mountain through glacial-topped, craggy peaks for about 20 km. to a 3-meter wide, bumpy, steep, dirt road with huge cliff drop-offs where big trucks and buses compete with one another (and bikers). I can say that this bike ride was the scariest thing I've ever done-- my life was in my own hands controlling the steep descent of my bike while avoiding the trucks and trying not to skid out. After 62 km., we finished in the humid tropical forests Coroico at 1,200 m. very dirty with blistered palms and thankfulness that we survived! Heres a link to a better description of this experience: http://www.gravitybolivia.com/view?page=27 as I can't put into words just how incredible this was.

Were all packed now and I should at least get a few hours of sleep before the long day of plane rides in the morning. Now onto our next adventure, explaining to customs why we have 100+ pounds of rocks in our bags...