Hola amigos! We suck at journaling apparently. So, upon our arrival in La Paz, Bolivia we were fortunate to be offered jobs as bartenders in our hostels bar, which we of course accepted, couldn´t pass up free room and beer (i mean board!!) We spent 2 weeks soaking in the culture of Bolivia, spending our days wandering through the market streets, and our nights serving yummy microbrews to fellow backpackers, truly a memorable stay in La Paz. La Paz is a crazy city, tons of withered old ladies with hundreds of babies selling the most random crap in the streets... believe us, if you need safety pins or llama fetuses, you´ve come to the right place!! Although it was sad, we had to leave La Paz eventually... our departure coincided with the hostels 2 year anniversary party, so we had a great last night... soaking in ¨beer spas¨... aka bathtubs full of beer, and drunk people, quite a great idea, not sure why these dont exist in the USA. The next morning we were off to PERU...
Our first stop in Peru is the cute city of Cusco, where we overdosed on fresh Carrot juice from cute little ladies in the streets... literally a blender and a bunch of fresh produce, so yummy. From Cusco we took the train to Aguas Calientes, the portal to Machu Picchu. We went on a CRAZY hike outside of Aguas Calientes, up a mountain near Machu Picchu called Putukusi. The hike started like any other, but about 15 minutes into our hike the trail ended, and we found ourselves standing before rickety wooden ladders, nailed to the cliffside, so up we went!! While most of the climb was vertical, parts were MORE than vertical... like, we were hanging upside down, praying to the Incan gods that we didnt slip!! Going up was totally worth it, upon reaching the top we had an INDESCRIBABLE view of Machu Picchu, and the surrounding mountains. It was going back down that was the problem! It started to rain once we reached the top, which felt good on our sweaty bodies, but was not good for our death defying descent down slippery wooden rungs... lets just say... I was scared!! Jackie was totally not scared, crazy woman, I on the other hand was convinced that we were both about to plummet to our deaths... LUCKILY we made it down in one, well two pieces... We had just enough energy left to check out the thermal hot springs just outside of town.
The next morning we woke up at 4 45 to catch the first bus to Machu Picchu. Within instants of waking up there was a knock on the door, which Jackie opened, to find a very confused looking Peruvian girl, standing outside the door like a zombie, in her pinstripe underwear... umm... can we help you?? The girl pushed her way into the room, and proceeded to climb into Jackies bed, pull the blankets up over her, insisting that this was her bed, her room... We spent a good 10 minutes trying to figure out this piece of work, until we eventually got her out, with the help of the hostels owner... Im not sure if she was drunk, drugged, sleepwalking... or just crazy, all I know is that this was one confused lady!!
After that little bit of excitement we made it to the ruins. Just as spectacular as everyone describes, those Incans were crazy, let me tell you. We hike Wyanapichu, a mountain near the ruins, from which you can get a great view of the ruins from above... really beautiful. We had an intoxicating nap in the sunshine amidst the ruins, and had a great time tackling the HUNDREDS of Incan staircases... great butt workout!!
After our great stay in Aguas Calientes we headed to Lima... which is surprisingly nice. We got our first glance of the Pacific in a longtime!! Its nice to not be at altitude anymore, we can breath!! Weve enjoyed being in a city again, lots of cute cafes and shops lining the streets. Cant wait to check out the nightlife!! Tomorrow were headed to Huaraz, a city in the mountains, from where we plan to do some hiking, and soak up some nature. Hope all is well at home... we miss you all, and love hearing from you! CHAU
