Conquering Machu Picchu

The main reason there were so many gringos in Cuzco is of course the famous Inka temple of Machu Picchu. There are two ways to get there, the 4-day grueling trek or the beautiful 3-hour train ride. However, regardless of whether you get there smelly and exhausted or refreshed just having had quinoa salad Machu Picchu makes one hell of an impression. You're left wondering: how the hell did they build this damn thing here in the mountains??

Who Would've Thought I'd be Teaching in Spanish?

Sam and I just spent a week and a half in Cusco, Peru, during which we went to Machu Picchu and actually went on two pretty strenuous hikes (more about that later), took a Chocolate-making class, Sam took more Spanish classes, and I volunteered at an afterschool program (where, yes, I taught in Spanish) and took a traditional weaving class. It was an incredible time, and probably my favorite part of the trip.

Bev and Sam's Wild Ride, or How We Survived Our Trip to the Jungle (Just Barely)

Sam and I just spent the last week volunteering at Villa Carmen, a nature reserve/biological station situated in Manu National Park in Peru, in the Amazonian region of the country. Now, spending a week in jungle sounds pretty adventurous, but little did we know that the biggest adventure would be our trip to and from the reserve.

Just a glimpse of what the ride was like.

9 Days, 3 Countries, 6 Cities

In the past 9 days Sam and I have moved around so much it's hard to remember where we were when and what day it is today. I actually had to look at the calendar to see where we have been since our last post, but to sum it up we've been in six cities in three different countries; taken three 6-hour or more busrides, 1 plane ride, a colectivo (a shared cab), and more cab rides than I can remember; and seen two professional futbol teams. Whew!

That's me climbing into a concrete casket that used to make white wine.