Two Ears One Mouth

Let's play the honest game for just a second. I'm tired of writing this recap. At first I thought it would be a great way for me to be able to share my experiences in Peru with the whole wide world but as I've been writing and thinking about writing I've realized that there aren't enough words to actually capture what it was like. Just like I keep saying the pictures don't do the views justice, neither do my poorly worded musings. I would also like to write about eating and marathoning more because things are starting to get interesting in the world of the monster. That said, here is the grand finale. Grab a drink and a comfy seat because you're in for a long one my friends. After sitting in a pool of tepid water with 20 of my closest Peruvian friends and a pretty baller faux Bachelorette Party I took a very hot shower and headed to bed. The next morning we were back on the train to Ollantaytambo to get the rest of our luggage before taking the bus back to...

Another ridiculously early wake up call to board the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. The trains are a cross between an Amtrak and a subway so they're comfortable but designed more as commuter trains and don't hold much luggage. We were allowed to leave our bags at the hotel in Ollantaytambo and all brought a backpack only with us for the overnight and Machu Picchu. It took some creative packing but we made it work with basically some extra socks and underwear, a jacket, bug spray and like 20 water bottles. The train ride was freezing but absolutely beautiful. I put on some chill music and glued myself to the window for the hour-ish ride. Once again, no picture could really do the view justice. We got off the train in Aguas Calientes which is a really cute little town! We walked *all uphill* to the hotel and dropped off our stuff before heading out to the bus to Machu Picchu. After bathing in bug spray and lathering up on sunscreen we were ready to go. The b...

Please blame the Marathon Monster for the delay between posts. My life is work, run, eat, sleep not necessarily in that order... We had a 4 a.m. wake up call to get to Cusco. We met in the lobby at 4:30 then headed to the airport where we faced another round of extensive security checks including leaving our shoes on and carrying outside liquids onto the flight. This was also the first time I figured out how to use my calling card so I was able to leave The Colonel a little message before we hopped the flight. I'd been keeping up with my family via Facebook messages when I had wifi but this was the first opportunity I had to call...he didn't answer. The flight to Cusco wasn't too bad and the coolest part was that the mountains were literally higher than the clouds! I always knew I was fond of mountains but it wasn't until I was literally in the Andes that I realized my true love for them. My dream is to now live somewhere with a mountain view. The Andes a...

Day two in Lima was also our last day in Lima. Still cloudy but no rain really and for that we were grateful. We did a lot more walking and saw all kinds of cool sites like Huaca Pucllana which are clay and adobe (maybe?) remains of pre-Inca/Lima culture. Apparently the story goes that over time the structures broke down and crumbled over themselves creating a big mound that for years people thought was just a mountain. The city of Lima built up around it until one day someone decided to start digging and discovered this city. Cool stuff huh? As a faux anthropologist I definitely enjoyed checking the site out and was also reminded that I'm not an archaeologist who could sit in holes and actually dig this stuff out! After a fun day climbing around the archaeological site and visiting a museum with a really sobering exhibit regarding the Peruvian revolution (which I'm bummed was entirely in Spanish) we headed back to the hotel to get changed for the Magic Water Park! W...