Peru.

Back to the USA! Safe and sound! There is so much spinning through  my head right now, I don't even know where to begin! First off, let me just say that going to Peru was such a blessing! It was NO coincidence that we were there on Thanksgiving and although we missed our families, we were grateful that we were there. If I were to write in detail about our whole trip, it would take days... so I've decided to just give the updates and highlights!

Trust me, it's better this way:)

 

So we flew from SFO --> LA --> Lima --> Cusco. We almost missed our flight from LA --> Lima and so we were sprinting through the airport. Apparently Peru is a common destination for a lot of people because we were sprinting in a crowd of 20 other people going to Lima. We felt like we were in The Amazing Race! And if we really were in The Amazing Race, we would've come in 2nd to last... so I guess that's not going to be happening any time soon!

 

We finally got to Cusco and instantly my heart was overwhelmed! Maybe it was because I was tired or hungry or had just been on a plane forever... but I didn't talk for like the first 2 hours of being there, just because I was so overwhelmed by everything! I've really never seen poverty before and so to see the children walking the streets and just sitting in dirt made my heart sink! These kids were supposed to be in school, but they weren't. They were just sitting there waiting for food or money.

 

 

I traded this kid some dried mangoes for a picture! He was just sitting on the side of the street rubbing candy wrappers on soccer balls.. we just wanted to pick him up and hug him! Such a sweet face!

 

This is a photo of our hotel! The Ninos Hotel. It's an amazing project that I will forever be promoting (without them knowing)! This Dutch woman came to Cusco many years ago, and like me was deeply moved by the homeless children. So she stayed there in Cusco, found an apartment and took in 3 homeless boys. Since then the operation has grown to become 2 hotels that have housed over 600 kids. There is a part of the hotel where guests stay in (100% of the profits goes to the kids well being) and a part where the kids stay in. It's such a great program and the whole story it totally touching! I was like bawling reading it! If you go to Cusco, PLEASE stay here! You won't regret it!

 

We found lots of llamas (go figure:P). Here we are at a llama fair! haha

 

After a couple days in civilized Cusco, we went INTO the jungle (the Amazon jungle). It took us 12 hours to get there. We journeyed through the Andes mountains and on dirt roads and even across rivers. It was an adventure!

 

These are our "high class" living arrangements in the jungle. No electricity, no hot water, bugs bigger than your face. After 2 nights I was whimpering in bed, waiting to go home.

 

 

 

So everyday in the jungle we would wake up at 5am and go hiking around. Our guides said that that's bet the best time to see birds (we quickly became avid birders) and animals! So we would drag ourselves out of bed and go adventuring! There was one particular day that was hard on AJ. He was hiking and jumped onto a log and ripped his pants (right in the crotch) and throughout the day the rip just kept getting bigger and bigger... poor guy! Then he was jumping from a log and got a thorn in the thumb. Then he bonked his head on a log. Then he was trekking through the river when his rain boot sunk down into the mud and all the water went in. He wanted me to make sure that I got in all those things! haha The poor fella had an especially hard day adventuring!

 

 

After 4 days in the jungle, we pretty much ran back to Cusco! Not only did we run, but we ran back sick! Peruvian food is not for me. I was sick for the last 2 days of our trip and didn't eat or drink anything besides Coca-Cola.

 

The day before we left we did Macchu Picchu! It was amazing! The only bummer was this: we were in transition between hotels so we had to carry all of our stuff with us. Our backpacks probably weighed 50lbs. So hiking Macchu Picchu AND Wayna Picchu.. was honestly: death. I went into the day with no food in my stomach and knowing that the Wayna hike was going to be intense. But I never expected what it really was. Here was a 20 something couple, hiking a mountain, at 15,000ft, getting passed up by old folks! I felt so bad for AJ! He kept having to wait for his sick wife to get it together. It was disastrous! Not only that, but once we got to the top we thought "this is it?!?!"

 

 

This is at the top and even healthy AJ said that this hike is not worth it! It takes 2 hours and it costs extra. If you love hiking, then this is your thing. But AJ and I kept looking around for the elevator. So by the end of Saturday, we honestly just wanted to go home. We couldn't even look at or smell any more Peruvian food and we just wanted our own bed.

 

To end, here is my favorite girl! We drove past and saw her out in a field with her grandma taking care of the sheep and we decided to pull over and give her our candy bars. I yelled out the window "hola, nina! Un dulce para ti!" (A sweet for you!) and she came running with the biggest smile on her face. She was so grateful and it was something that I will NEVER forget. We talked about how grateful these kids were and the lives they living and we were instantly humbled. Then we realized that it was Thanksgiving and it made it all the more special! We spent the rest of our trip walking the streets and giving candy and fruit to the "ninos". We later bought little bracelets that we both wear to remind us of how fortunate we are and how grateful we should be for every little thing - just like the ninos:)