Jet Set Go!

Machu Picchu

taralynntravel365 — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 14:00:00 GMT

The 4 day, 30 mile, 14,000 trek begins. It is an incredible experience that you are never fully prepared for. All the reviews I read said you should be in good physical condition. I run 5 miles a day and this was a challenge beyond what I expected. The first day of hiking is only 6 hours and not too steep. The second day is 8 hours of climbing up and up and up. It never ends. I am ready to collapse on this rock with the cold rain blowing on me. I don't care that I am laying in wet, mushy, grass and rocks. This is how exhausted I am. The weather is undpredictable. Dripping in sweat one minute and freezing wet the next. I have had to stop and change gear on the side of the mountain so many times I lost count. The views are amazing. I love every minute of it. I love the challenge, the beauty, the feeling,and the people. The villagers in the mountain live so simple in these tiny huts. Each time we pass through a village I take in the armas of their cooking and the sweet sound of pan pipes and flutes. I am envious of the porters carrying the gear and racing through the mountain like warriors. By the time we reach our campsite these porters have fresh hot meals prepared that they serve us in our tents. Every morning they wake us up with coca tea. "Buenas dias senorita" with such genuine smiles. I can see they love their job and it makes it that much more enjoyable. I went with wayki trek and I highly reccomend. They go above and beyond. On one evening Freddie the tour guide some how sensed my distress from the pain in my ankles. He came to my tent with some muscle rub and even put it on me. I thought to myself in the many lists I reviewed of what to pack there is no mention of antiinflammatory cream. My advice is to bring it becuase all of your muscles will be aching and you need the recovery to keep trekking. Day 3 is the longest but not as steap and a good mix of up and down. The Incas made the path to MP to follow the shape of the mountain for religious reasons. It was part of the pilgrimage. MP means tallest peak and it is located in the center of the Andes. The energy I feel from this sacred siteis extremly intense. When I finally arrived on the 4th day I was overcome with emotions of joy and peace. It is ethereal. The beauty sucks me in. It is such a wonder how the Incas built with such precision. I don't want to leave. I soak in my last momnets of the mountain magic and proceed to catch the bus back down to the town of Auguas Calientes. I regret that I did not book a hotel here. Me and my friend had to race to the springs only to enjoy for 20 minutes before racing back to catch the train for another 4 hour ride to the town of Poroy. I leave feeling a new sense of peace and a deeper connection to the universe. This is a life changing experience!

Photos: Machu Picchu

taralynntravel365 — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 13:19:00 GMT

Traffic

taralynntravel365 — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 17:23:00 GMT

Driving these crazy streets of Lima is never dull. The traffic is terrrible. Not a second goes by without hearing horns blaring. Crossing the street is a whole other story. We have been in traffic now for 40 minutes and I am so thirsty and hungry. This is not a problem. A woman comes over to the car window with a variety of snacks and another woman comes to the othr window with some cold drinks. I am so delighted! I have some snacks to hold me till dinner and now theres is even a women juggling down the street through traffic with a man playing the flute. Rush hour back in the states will never be the same. I will miss this.

A day in the city of Lima

taralynntravel365 — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 16:40:00 GMT

I crane my neck this way then that looking at a women selling candy on the street with her baby, in front of a stand with a man cooking ceviche,next to a dog lying in the road forcing traffic to swerve around (this is common), in front of a group of people eating fresh juicy pineaple, ignoring the man shouting in Spanish to his amore 5 floors up. An old woman dressed in bright clothing stops me, grabs and holds my hands..speaks to me in a secret lanquage and pats the top of my head. We part silently. A young man in the park finds me eating a peruvian burger under a tree and offers to buy me an emoliente....a hot drink of fresh fruits. We share travel stories and he later refersto me as ´´MY LITLE CRAZY PINK TRAVELOR´´. We then take a drive down the cliff lined Pacific coast up to a mountain where I dance with a woman dressed in a purple emproidered costume. Later I arrive back to the flat that is crowded with people from Germany,Belgium,Norway,Holland, and France.They are all cooking together. I join in shredding chicken to make ´¨Aji de galllina´¨ which is a Delicious peruvian creamy chicken dish with rice and egg. Around 1am my friend Asul shouts Salsa de Salsa´. We hop in a taxi. Next thing I know I am twirled this way,dipped that way and laughing at the giant grin that seems to be plastered to this Peruvian mans face. By the time we leave the club I feel like I have known everyone forever.

Photos: Miraflores Lima

taralynntravel365 — Fri, 28 Nov 2014 13:44:00 GMT

Pre Departure Thoughts

taralynntravel365 — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 13:17:00 GMT

My travel bug is a thirst for knowlege. My intuition tells me I belong somewhere else. My soul aches for a unique type of freedom where each moment brings something unexpected. I sometimes get lost in a moment. I feel something amazing.. Some type of universal pull. My flesh tingles. My soul ignites unforseen pleasures. I feel it. I am inspired to follow this. This mysterious feeling is real,..familiar,..exciting. It has been a distant dream for so long. Now it is real. The reality sets in. Fear hovers me. I will not see home for a long time. I understand now. The epiphany hits me. The fear in a dream becomes transparent as the reality is created. Fear never entered me before, but now 3 days before departure I work to push it away. I let the ache conquer the fear! "I have a chameleon soul with no moral compass..no fixed personality and an inner indesiciveness as wide and as wavering as the ocean"( Lana Del Rey)