Peru

Camping at night was very cold but every camping spot was gorgeous. We were always surrounded by mountains, a lush green valley and a roaring, ice-cold, glacial river. We hiked so high that we could drink the water in the rivers because it came straight out of the glacial lakes and tasted more refreshing than any bottled water I have had. We also saw many herds of horses and could never quite figure out if they were wild or not. I shared a tent with the three English girls and it was tight but kept us a bit warmer. After three nights of sleeping on the hard ground, we were desperate for a nice soft bed and a hot shower, which we had immediately on return. Unfortunately, some of us had cold showers because of a power outage that put the electric showers out of commission. We celebrated by having dinner at a great Thai restaurant in town and were treated grandly by the owner and chef of the restaurant, Narasura.

The only worrying thing about this area and most of Peru is that it is prone to devastating earthquakes. In Lonely Planet, I keep reading this small town was demolished in '1970 by an earthquake; this town was leveled in 1996…etc. The worst natural disaster in South America happened outside of Huaraz in a town called Yungay. An earthquake killed 70,000 people. A tragedy, of course, but it is the earth's power that has created these magical mountains and continues to shape and contort the landscape.

Just relaxed yesterday and actually found a cafe that had movies in English. We were the only ones in there so we were able to choose from the four page list. We watched The Green Mile and I loved it!! I have not seen a movie in so long and sobbed at the ending. My friends went back today to watch American Beauty and then we are heading back to Joe's Place for another round of volleyball. By the way, Joe told me today that we were the worst gringo players he has ever seen, so I guess we need some practice. Maybe Jill, my friend and volleyball coach extraordinaire, can come over and give us a few pointers!! We are heading to Lima for one night and then to Ica an oasis town close to the coast that has the highest sand dunes in the world. We can rent sandboards and go sandboarding for the day, which is supposed to be a blast. My friend, Loren arrives in a little over a week and I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!! A friend from home and one of my best mates! Yesterday was Halloween and many children here were dressed up and trick or treating. I had no idea. Tomorrow is All Souls Day and is supposed to also be a big fiesta. I missed trick or treating with my nieces and nephews and of course eating all their chocolate while they are running to the next house. Not that I have been denying myself any chocolate. Supposedly, your body craves sugar at high altitudes, and not to deny myself anything I have been eating at least a hocolate bar a day. They have a bar here called Sublime which is so good it is ridiculous…hahaha. But really, I have been eating a ton and the hiking has not seemed to help. Speaking of eating, I am starving and want to catch the end of Arnerican Beauty with my mates. I want a Paita Rellena, which is huge avocado stuffed with beets, potatoes, and other veggies, and is absolutely delicious!!

November 6

(I think although I do know that it is Monday…yah. I called my sister and thought it was Thursday when it was actually Wednesday. I had no idea. She thought that was hilarious and said she wanted my life!) Just took me an hour to read all my emails…thanks everyone!

In an oasis town called Huacachina, about 8 hours south of Lima, on the coast. Obviously, since I am in an oasis town I am in a desert…all of the coast of Peru is desert. The Andes run down the middle of the country and then there is rainforest on the other side. Three distinctly different types of geography and climate in a relatively small area. A person could actually visit all three biospheres in one monster bus trip. Huacachina is TINY -just a small lagoon, like Belmont Lake where I grew up, surrounded by huge sand dunes. Late in the afternoon, everyone, gringos and locals, heads to the top of the various sand dunes and goes sandboarding, which is like snowboarding, and as you can imagine, quite a bit more difficult than it looks. We tried a small dune first and had some laughs attempting to get down. The only problem is that when you fall, you fall hard, and get covered in every crevice with sand. I had the brilliant idea to sit on tile sand board and that was much easier and MUCH faster, like tobagganing on sand. Of course, then our little sand dune was much too small so we tramped up to one that was quite a bit higher and more vertical. We watched the sun go down over the other sand dunes and relaxed. We needed to catch our breath and relax because it is very difficult to climb up the sand dunes and it only takes about three seconds to get down. They need some sort of sand lift or something. Imagine having to climb up the mountain every time after skiing! Since we only had four sandboards and six people, the bravest decided to go down the very vertical slope. Alice, Nick and I were the only ones. I went first and picked up a ton of speed quickly but managed to brake with my feet which sent a shower of sand over me. Alice did not see my technique, came barreling down, went over a bump, did a 360 with her neck on the sand, and came crashing down. I really thought she broke something but luckily she was ok, It gave us all quite a scare and it gave her a huge mouthful of sand!! A bit dangerous - but lots of fun.

Tomorrow we are going to Nazca to see the huge geoglyphs carved into the ground. They are only visible from a plane and the ride takes about 45 minutes. A very small plane I might add - only 3 people. There are many theories about the figures and no one really knows their significance except that they were carved by the Nazca indians, who are pre-Incan, and are therefore very old. There are about 12 figures: a monkey, a spider, a man…etc. Then on to Arequipa, which has colca Canyon, claiming to be the deepest canyon in the world, and then Machu Picchu…lots to see in Peru and not enough time even though i have been here for two months!

Have to run some errands in town now like going to the bank because I took money out of the ATM, 1,000 sales, and it all comes out in hundreds. Well, let me tell you, having a hundred sole bill is like having a thousand dollar bill in America. No one, and I mean no one has change anywhere. Even a fifty soles, which is about 15 dollars, is large to get change. It is as if you as the consumer are expected to have the exact change when you want to purchase something otherwise you have to wait while the merchant runs around the various shops trying to find change for you. You also have to suffer the glares of the people behind you who are trying to buy something from the same merchant.

Oh, and another bus debacle - our bus got a flat tire on the way here, but we only had to wait for about half an hour during which time we got to watch the sunset in the desert. Not too bad!! Again, they did not have any spares or tools and we had to wait for another bus to come by to pick us up. Bus breakdowns seem to be the norm not the exception here and I have gotten used to it.

Tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S. I only hope I can find out who wins tomorrow night, but that is most unlikely. There are no English newspapers here, not even the International Tribune or Herald or USA Today which are ubiquitous in foreign countries. But I am sure this is a bit more important than the World Series, which I had to come to the internet place to find out who won. Go Gore!!