Trip update

Greetings from La Paz, Bolivia! Well, we successfully made it through Peru. After spending a few days in Cusco, checking out some of the local ruins, markets, and yummy food, we made the trek to the infamous Machu Picchu. To try and save money, we took the "back" way instead of taking the outrageously priced train directly from Cusco. This day long journey entailed taking several tiny vans along perilous twists and turns on dirt roads through part of the Andes (I, Kaitlyn, almost got sick several times and we both spent the majority of the day clinging to our seats praying we would not go over the edge), several stops at tiny towns in the middle of nowhere, seriously, and then a two and a half hour walk along train tracks to the town of Aguas Calientes. From here we spent the night and the next morning Alex climbed up the mountain to Machu Picchu and I (thankfully) took the bus as my legs were like jello.

We arrived before the park opened (Alex was number 30 in line and I was number 295) and immediately joined a small group to take a tour. Nothing can really prepare you for your first view of Machu Picchu. It was literally breathtaking. Not to mention that we were literally on top of the world as we were surrounded by the beautiful Andes mountains. The tour was very enlightening as it helped us understand the significance of what we were actually seeing. The Incas were truly ingenious, and we spent most of the day ooohing and ahhhing. After the tour, Alex made the trek up Wayna Picchu to get another look at the Inca city. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the site and avoiding the large tour groups from all over the world. However, we were lucky as this was the low season and there weren't nearly as many tourists as there could have been (around 4000 per day!). The next day, I made my way back to Cusco partially by train and partially by bus (my stomach could not handle another trip on those roads) while Alex risked his life once more and traveled back the way we came.

We left Cusco on an overnight bus to go to Copacabana, Bolivia on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Little did we know that only US citizens need to pay for a visa to enter the country and that it costs 135 big ones per person! This is the same it costs a Bolivian to enter the US, so I guess that's politics. After frantically running around to secure the visa we were able to enter the country. Needless to say, there are not many American tourists here. We spent a day and a night exploring Copacabana and then took a boat to the tiny island of Isla del Sol (Sun Island) where the Incas believed the sun was born. The island was incredibly beautiful but freezing at night. After two days exploring and enjoying the island we made our way back to Copacabana for one more night and then set out for La Paz.

Currently we planning to stay in the capital for a few days and then make our way to Sucre, Potosi, Uyuni, Tupiza, and then crossing over into Salta, Argentina. We have 25 more days of trekking left and will be sure to update in a few days! See you all soon :)