Viva El Peru

Last year I had the opportunity to travel anywhere I wanted...I worked hard all summer and knew that I was going to take off with my camera a get another stamp in the passport. My best friend who is in West Hollywood mentioned to me that she was thinking about Macchu Piccu and doing the trek up to the Lost Incan City. It sounded intriguing so I did my research and decided to meet her in Peru & join her on this trip. So sure enough after two days of traveling I ended up in Cusco early in the morning on November 11th. My dear friend Nick from Maui joined me & when we arrived we fell in love with Peru immediately. It is such a warm and colorful culture. They keep things simple & have carried on their traditions for ages. I admired the old Incan style foundations layered with the newer Spanish layers from the time when they entered South America long ago. The cobblestone streets had different patterns & the tiny cafes were a great break from the cold air. We had to acclimate to 13,000 ft in order to sign up for the Macchu Piccu trek. We committed to the five day journey and decided on the Salkantay Trail which was the back entrance to Macchu Piccu. It had more to offer in climate changes and scenery & we heard it was less traveled. I was awe struck for the entire hike just loving tiny little grass huts amongst the huge mountain tops of the Andes Mountains. It was such a build up as we went through cloud rain forests & jungle to make it to Macchu Piccu. As we approached we heard all of the legends of how the Incan royalty would make their way on these vast journeys through all kinds of weather and terrain in order to be protected. The night before we made it up to Macchu Piccu, Nick & I enjoyed the quaint train town of Aguas Calientes. We could hardly go to sleep knowing that the following morning we would see with our own eyes the city that was never touched by the Spanish invasion & is now considered a Natural Wonder of the World. We hiked up to it before sunrise & my first feeling was how sacred and huge Macchu Piccu was. The city held a population of over 5,000 of the highest honored Incans of their day.I walked through temples, touched ancient stone walls, & learned how the old culture lived by the sun, moon, & stars.

As I left I was changed and had a new respect & love for Peru. The next week I had planned on giving back by volunteering so I was given the opportunity to teach English in children. Nick & I had two classes where we going to actually give an English lesson.We decided to make colorful construction paper pictures of English words we wanted to teach. We went out into the community and were met with such warmth & love from the locals.The kids loved the fact that we handed out lollipops in return for their attention. It was amazing to have received such thanks for something that seemed so simple. Peru will always be in my heart. I hope you get a chance to see it for yourself.. It is truly an amazing place...

Much Aloha,
Desiree