{Scroll straight down for pictures}
So when we went on the Inca trail we hiked for 4 days.  Day 1 was the ‘easy’ day where we hiked 7.5 miles with relatively little elevation gain. 

                   km
82(2600M) hike 5km(3.1mi/2hrs) to Llactapata

                   7
km(4.34mi/2.5 hrs) to Wayllabamba (3000M/9843feet)

Day 2 was supposed to be the worst day with the most elevation gain (hiking past a few mountain peaks)

                   
(2) 3km (1.5-2 hrs) to the first pass WarmiWanusca (4200M/13780ft)

                   
(3) 3-km (1.5-2 hrs) to Pacamayo (3600M/11811ft)

Sneak peak of the path we would be taking on Day 3 viewed while descending to the valley for camp on Day 2.  The picture doesn’t really give justice to how high the climb looked.  But it was quite daunting.

Day 3 wasn’t supposed to be as bad as Day 2, but I don’t know about that–it was pretty damn tiring!  It was longer (9.3 miles as opposed to 7.5 miles) and we had to go down over 2000 steps! Meh! 

(1)  
Pacamayo(3600M)  1 hr
to Runkruacay ruins(3800M)

(2)  
1hr to 2^nd pass Abra de Runkuracay(3950M/12955ft)

(3)  
 1 hr staircase to
Sayacmarca (3600M)

(4)  
 1.75 hrs through
Concha Marca & Inka tunnel to 3^rd pass (3650M)

(5)  
 Phuyupagamarka( ruins
with 6 Inka baths)

(6)  
 7 km (4.34mi/3 hrs)
Staircas + Inka tunnel to WinayWayna(2700M)

I paid to take a shower that night (hot shower too! In the middle of the woods, too) that way I wouldn’t look as grungy for Day 4 (thought we would take a lot of pictures since we were going to be at Machu Picchu; but since my face was splotchy from crying and I was feeling ill, there are few pictures of me.  Oops!).

Day 4 was only 6 km to Machu Picchu but we left early in the AM to beat the ‘lazy tourists’ & to try to catch the sunrise. 

Most of my flower pictures are from Day 3 since that day we entered a more tropical environment.

Day 2 Flowers

Day 3 Flowers (not in order of appearance)

Eh! More for another day (sensory and finger overload!). & many thanks to my cousin who accompanied me in my slooooow pace.  Heh. (You know, a mixture of being out of shape and admiring the views!).   We all used pictures as an excuse to take breaks.  Looks like I took a lot of breaks, eh?

Today I decided to say goodbye to my ex- for the time being.  I am afraid that it might be a big mistake on my behalf since we were best friends prior to breaking up.  It is hard losing a best friend, but we’ve been on really shaky ground since then anyways.  But this made sense to me because when I share pieces of myself with others I make myself more vulnerable to them.  And by stopping communication with him, I will eventually reach a point where we can just be friends, and that’s it.  For a long time I thought that being friends would be good enough for me, and that it was all I needed from him.

And that’s true, just a truth that has to wait.  I still care immensely for him, so this time away will be hard.  But our friendship will have to wait because I need that space to heal.  I need to stay open to the friends of mine that are here for me, and try my best to still believe that there is a greater love out there for me. And the day I am better I will seek to continue our friendship, if both of us find it worth it when that day comes.

So my heart is pretty heavy today.  But I think it is the right choice.

Well, I had pretty much not thought about him for days while in Peru–what a get away!  But while we were hiking the Inca trail by the fourth day, I thought of him.  It was really strange how my thoughts reached him actually.  I was angry at my brother because of something silly he had done, and thought to myself that I needed to just learn to move on and not be so angry at him.  It wasn’t a big deal.  Then the thoughts of moving on brought me to think of how I hadn’t even seriously done much moving on from Jason.  All I had done was accept the fact that he both lit up my face and brought me to tears. 

So here I am hiking the Inca trail with ugly tears clouding my vision.  I felt quite miserable.  Fortunately, most people were in a rush, because we had started hiking sometime around 6 AM in hopes of reaching Machu Picchu by sunrise.  The tour guides noticed my crying and thought that I was crying because I was so moved by seeing Machu Picchu for the first time.  My parents thought I was crying out of frustration.  So pretty much no one new why I was crying, except my sister who actually asked.  So at that point I decided that I could move on best by cutting him off, just for a bit, and because I have to.

Here are pictures; I’m absent from many because my face was probably splotchy from crying (ah, how embarrassing.  I am like the prideful flower from The Little Prince–embarrassed about my weaknesses -_-):

Oh, important notice!

Do not drink alcohol in high altitudes/if you’re doing any climbing! (I’m so dumb )

I wanted an icy drink, so I grabbed one that was passionfruit flavored (after arriving at Machu Picchu we took a bunch of pictures, grabbed a drink, and then returned to take a tour).  It had Pisco in it, and I thought that surely it was just there for flavoring, so there probably wouldn’t be much alcohol in it.  I almost blacked out at Machu Picchu.  (shameful!)  It’s kind of funny since I almost never drink.  And that day I started drinking at 8 AM.  (Who does that?)

Pre-Pisco

Mom with her pack when we first arrived in the area; large packs like ours were banned, so we had to put ours away.

(~7AM)

Post Pisco (maybe 10 or 11 AM)

(Michelle, Michael, Dad, Mitch)

It was funny that we spent 4 days hiking to Machu Picchu but spent so little time there (my family probably left around 11:30?) (as a collective group; generally speaking–our group was of 16 hikers + 21 porters + 2 guides).  I think by day 4 everyone was tired, the sun was strong, and we had already seen a lot of ruins by then (mostly tired).  It was quite lovely though, though more lovely when the sun was rising still (fewer ‘lazy tourists’ a.k.a. the ones with perfume looking at us with disdain for our dirty hiking garb ).

More stories and commentary later.  Whoo! 

I am really excited about my classes this semester!  I have:

• Latin I (which I am taking for fun!)
• Organic Chem I (which sounds like it might be manageable; if I get over an 81% then I’ll have an A!)
• Physiology!!
• Some class about Australia
• Labs (boo! ) for the two science courses

I used to think I’d like labs because they are hands on, as opposed to
classes where everything is more abstract/theoretical.  But labs here
are such a pain in the ass because of the reports we have to write
afterward.  So tedious.  Not to mention the writers of the lab manuals
are often vague & unclear.  (complain complain)

(Brother + pizza)

Pizza in Peru was pretty good.  The cheese there is a lot fresher than it is here in the States.  I feel like our cheese here often tastes over processed and kind of artificial/rubbery (at pizza places anyways).  But cheese is cheese, and is generally fantastic. 

The pizza in Peru for the most part seemed to be baked over the wooden plates in ovens too.  A lot of restaurants would even have the oven right in view!  Food there as a whole seemed pretty fresh and made from scratch–not pre-prepared & just heated like food here is.  Hence, a lot of times it took forever for food to come out.

&

Ruins near Pisac; family walking–as a general rule I am slow and walk last .  Yay, action shot.  It was our first stop at some ruins+terraces.  However, it started raining on us on our way back, and the rain was FREEZING.  Only Mom was smart enough to bring her rain jacket on that excursion, so everyone else was soaked by the time we returned to our van.  Our van driver was named Nacho.  Teehee.  He was really nice, but spoke very little English, so it was pretty much up to me and my sister to communicate with him. 

One thing I found interesting about Peru, versus other countries I’ve visited that have a lot of tourists, was that many of the people even in high-tourists areas didn’t speak English.  I think that is good, because it really is more respectful for a visitor to try to understand the customs and ways of the host.  & it is their responsibilty since they are the ones traveling anyways.  It is kind of pompous to expect others to know another language for ones own convenience.  But it was also fun trying to make use of the Spanish I learned in high school.  Sadly because of the time that has elapsed since HS, I’ve forgotten a lot of my Spanish (though I suspect my Spanish is stronger than my Chinese, in writing and reading anyways, though listening comprehension I think Chinese still wins).

Ruins @ Ollantaytambo; we lived at Ollantaytambo first because it had a slightly lower elevation than Cusco (help us adjust to the high altitude).  It was also nice because Ollantaytambo was slightly less touristy than Cusco.  Sure, it had a lot of vendors, but it was more in the countryside.  Our first night there, there was no electricity.  At first, Dad thought that the people were just that thrifty with power, or something.  But then we noticed on our way in that someone had hit a powerline, hence the lack of electricity.  That left the town extremely dark, expect a few candles glowing from windows and rooms. 

But the night sky, it was so brilliant!  I had never seen so many stars in the sky before, not even when we went camping in Yosemite & were literally stuck in the wilderness.  The beauty of the night sky was almost enough to make me want to forget the US and just stay there forever. 

However, electricity was back the next day (though I can’t complain because then there was less risk of tripping everywhere in the dark!).

It was nice in Ollantaytambo.  I got to watch mobs of school children in tidy uniforms (young men were even wearing ties!) file on towards class.  My mom liked watching them buy candies before class (even ones that were tardy ).  So cute!

Flowers floating @ hostal in Cusco

---

More later; I’ve been feeling unwell lately, so I’ve been drinking and resting a lot!  I might try to get ahead with my school work.

Psh! !

I am back from Peru with pictures and maybe a few stories.  However, I am off back to college tomorrow (sigh, already ; moving in & dropping sis off at airport), so I have to go pack for now!

Here’s a glimpse for the time being!

(Near Pisac)

Ollantaytambo

Moray

Tomorrow I will be embarking on an adventure to Peru!
There, I will be hiking with my family to see the Incan ruins & a few other things.
I should have internet connection every once in a while there, so perhaps I can post pictures (depending on internet speed, and whether or not there are card readers, etc.).

I packed the First Aid kit, which contains

• Band-aids® of various sizes
• Neosporin®
• Q-tips®, cotton balls, cotton pads
• Vinyl & latex gloves
• Sewing kit (needles, small scissors, thread, etc.)
• Tweezers
• Things for blisters
• Alcohol preps
• Pillssss (Ibuprofen, Claritin, Immodium, Peptobismol)
• Insect bite relief stuff

I’m not really sure what else to pack.  I can’t fit much more in that box, but I have packed additionally small vats of Vaseline (chapped lips, face, etc.!), baby powder (apparently deodorant is discouraged since it attracts mosquitoes), aloe vera gel (high altitude = greater UV exposure), insect repellent wipes.  Any ideas?

Temple of Poseidon (Sounion)

Birds on the temple

Alas, here are my pictures from Greece, finally revealed.  I can’t say that I took all the photos that are posted–many obviously the ones I am in weren’t taken by me, and some of the artsy ones might just be Michelle’s or Michael’s. I don’t really remember, so here goes!

Family picture! Michael’s shadow is still part of it…This is atop the Acropolis.

Here is a view of Athens, again, from the Acropolis.

The Erechthion, which is not far from the Parthenon…

The Erechthion from another angle. Me, Michelle, Mom

The Parthenon–heavy restoration..

Look at Athens…

The arch/window like structure is right next to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (a theatre, which is occasionally used today!)

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The Theatre of Dionysus (open air theatre)

The same theatre…here we are sitting on history! But some areas were fenced off, others were open to everyone like this area. :3!

From a lower point of the Acropolis

We arrived yesterday, maybe around 3:00 p.m. in Greece.  We had travelled for hours (way too long!).  At the airport, we were picked up and taken to visit the Temple of Poseidon.  The Temple was gorgeous–it amazes me to see the columns still standing even today.

Today, we visited the Epigraphical Museum and the National Archaeological Museum.  Both were very impressive.  I just don’t understand how the art created in the ancient days (B.C.) could have survived to today–I wonder how much was made then, and what people will find 1000 years from now…If people do, indeed, survive that long. 

We also visited the Acropolis (which included a huge ampitheater, the Parthenon, and such).

I will post pictures when I get home, I promise!! =)

(I have a more detailed account on my blogger, so if you want to read that [-chokes-, doubts anyone would], ask me! =)