Helluva trip

       It seems like just yesterday I signed up to come to Peru. Looking back on it I had no idea how much fun it was really going to be. I only knew two (Julie and Miles) of the nine students going before we left but, I quickly made friends with everyone. Even, Little Simon gave me a run down of Thomas the Train & Co. before we boarded the plane. Its easy to say this was an experience of a life time and I cannot thank Dr. Brown, my parents, and grandfather enough for allowing me the opportunity to take this trip.

       I am going to do a brief recap of some of my five favorite things that we have done:
5) Exploring the different restaurants in Jesus Maria: The first two weeks of our trip we had a great time eating at all the different places close to our hostel. The pizzeria and their staff was always a go-to place if all else failed. The Don Corleone and the dessert pizza could make any day better. The Taco Stand was also a hit. I wont name any names but, one member of our group ate there six times in a row. A tip when eating a taco there is not to pull all the plastic wrapper down at first. Sorry for the blurry picture but this is our students with part of our favorite wait staff at the pizzeria.

   
4) The trip to and from Machu Picchu: The sight seeing between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes was like nothing I had ever seen before. The mountains in that region are just massive. The train ride back was really nice also and almost as eventful as the way there. On the Perurail train that we road on there was a little dance/model show. Here is a picture of the three actors in the show.

3) San Cristobal: The day we went to San Cristobal was eventful and I wont go into full detail since it was one of my previous blogs. The sights that I saw while I was on the way there were somewhat life changing. One thing I left out of my last blog was the background I put on my laptop after I signed up for the trip. Here it is and just know the real thing is not quite as nice looking.

  (http://www.flickriver.com/photos/crystyna/3282603655/)

2) The people on the trip: I was lucky to have such a great group of people to join me on this adventure. There was hardly ever a cross word between anyone and on a four week trip that very impressive. Matt and Joey have become to good friends of mine. I would have never seen half the things I did without those two and I truly appreciate it. The are the three amigos in the Inca Great Cave on the backside of Huayna Picchu.

1) Machu Picchu: The whole trip I kept telling myself that this was going to make everything worth it. I was right. If you have ever been to the Augusta National before it reminded me of that. The site was enormous and so well kept. Everyone seemed to know it was once a sacred place and treated it likewise. I also enjoyed climbing both Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain.