The Last Full Day

Hi everyone - Brendan here.
We have come to out last full day in Peru! While it is rather sad that we will be leaving tomorrow, we are glad to be heading home soon to see everyone we miss so much. Cusco has been an amazing experience. Since we arrived from Chiclayo on Monday, we have spent our time fending off altitude sickness (some of us responded better than others) and trying to do as much as we can with the time we have left. A group of us who were feeling up to it went on Tuesday with Nathan, our contact here, to visit an orphanage run by his organization called Pura Vida. We spent the afternoon with some wonderful young children who we have been carrying donations for since we arrived. They were wonderfully grateful, and we were just as pleased to be able to spend time with them.
Yesterday was our crowning adventure, breaking from our non-touristy approach to this trip - we went to see the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. And what an amazing experience that was! They are every bit as picturesque as pictures paint them out to be, and even more besides. It is an incredible feeling to walk down the narrow cobblestone streets built centuries before, and to see the mountain city that no European settlers ever found. The day itself was rather long, as we left the hotel at 7 in the morning and were not back until 3am today. We had to take two busses, a train, and another bus to get there, and the same on the way back. It was well worth the exhaustion though - we can cross it off the list of things to do in our lives! It really was remarkable.
Unfortunately the group has already started to break up, as Gary had to leave us early this morning to be back at school for his convocation. It is bizarre not to have everyone at meals after all this time, but we wish Gary the very best! We miss you already, my friend.
The story of the day is that Cusco is essentially in lockdown because of rioting protesters in the streets. Don´t be alarmed, we aren´t in danger - the citizens of Cusco realize that their city is a HUGE tourist draw, so they accomplish political change by holding protests rather often. Thus, no taxis or busses are running during the day today and tomorrow. They hope that by decreasing the tourist revenue, the local government will give them what they want. It is actually rather exciting to watch! Because of the lack of public transit, we wil have to leave the hotel early tomorrow morning to get to Cusco airport. Then comes 24 hours of transit time until we arrive home Saturday!
We hope that everyone is well at home, and that you are as excited to see us as we are to see you.

Hola everyone!
It´s Erika, writing from our hotel in Chiclayo where we will be leaving from in less than twelve hours for the incredible city of Cuzco. Despite a few mosquito bites and some bruises from the extremely bumpy truck ride through the mountains we are all healthy, happy and none the worse for wear. The past few days have been full of some emotional and physical challenges as we lived in the relatively poor village of Tallapampa, so we were all glad of the break that today offered. (We had nothing planned and were able to spend the day hanging out in Chiclayo). The highlight of today for a few of us was partaking in the Peruvian delicacy of "cuy" at a local restaurant. For those who want to know, "cuy" or "guinea pig" in English is very difficult to eat and was far too expensive for the amount of meat we got but it was definitely a worthwhile experience! Tonight we also visited the Chiclayo market which is known for its witch doctors and fortune tellers. However, by the time we had arrived those booths had already been closed- so that will be an experience which will have to wait for our next trip to Peru.
Tomorrow morning we have a 9:00 flight to Cuzco, complete with 4 hour layover in Lima so we should arrive sometime in the afternoon. At approximately 12,000 feet above sea level we are all anticipating encountering at least some symptoms of altitude sickness (ie. dizziness, headache, nausea, increased heart rate etc.). However, we are all ready to support each other and are eager for this final leg of our trip.
Until we write again, stay well and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We are having an incredible time and can´t wait to tell you all about it when we get back home.
Hasta Luego! :)
Erika

Hello everyone. It´s Brian here giving an update on our aventures in Peru. I am happy to say that we are all well and no major isues have presented themselves to us thus far. We left Lima bright and early Wednesday morning and arrived in Chiclayo where we checked into our hotel rooms for the night. Shortly after, we went to meet with a number of Cafe Feminino representatives for a presentation outlining their struggles and what they were doing to overcome them. Thursday morning we left the hotel and headed toward the mountains to meet with the coffee farmers of Tallampapa. This involved a truck ride that was like no other I had experienced! Sitting in the bed of a Toyota Hilux pickup truck for hours of steep mountain climbs on increasingly narrow paths with massive drops was a nerve-racking, yet amazing, experience. We spent two nights in the mountains and they were absolutely incredible (I´ll let your loved ones fill you in on the experience in a week). Yesterday morning, the group returned to Chiclayo and we travelled to three beaches on the coast. It was interesting to be sleeping deep in the mountains the previuous evening and swimming in the ocean only a few hours later.

Okay, that´s all for now, I´m certain some of the others are itching to get a post in to share their experiences so I´ll let them tell you more. Bye for now :)

Brian Mills