Equador, and then into Peru.

We are alive!
It has now been over a month since our last blog, and I can only attribute this to the ease with which we have fallen into a lazy lifestyle, where even sitting on the computer for an hour seems like too much work. We have been having a wonderful time, and I cannot believe we have already been gone for almost 2 months. We are now in Cusco, Peru. Tomorrow we are taking the train to Agua Calientes, and will spend the next day exploring Machu Picchu, probably with 1000 other gringos. In grade 3 I did a "research" project on Peru, which entailed cutting pictures out of National Geographics and gluing them onto a poster. I therefore have all my life considered myself an expert on Peru.....we'll see if Machu Picchu impresses me.
Alright, my plan is to write a brief description of our trip since we last wrote.....we´ll see if I am able to get up to date. We left the jungle in Ecuador and headed again to the highlands. Ecuador´s train system has been almost completely left in disrepair, due mainly to damage from El Niño and lack of funds for repair. There is however a small stretch which leaves from the city of Riobamba and travels along a length of tracks called "El Nariz Del Diablo" (The Devil´s Nose), which has been maintained as a tourist attraction. It is a series of switchbacks down the side of a mountain, and it is a little bit terrifying, especially since we were "enjoying" the views from the roof of the train!!!. Apparently last year there was a fatality, and the authorities decided it was wiser for all passangers to remain inside the train. However, the conductors decided it would be wiser for them to go around the corner from the train station and then charge everyone an extra $1 to illegally climb up top. Honestly though it was no scarier than the many bus rides we´ve been on in the Andes!
We then decided it was time for some relaxation- you know, travelling can be quite exhausting! We headed to the Ecuadorian coast, visiting the modern city of Guayaquil, the small surfing town of Montañita, and the fishing port Puerto Lopez. We spent about a week lying on the beach with gorgeous weather. Except for some unwanted intestinal cleansing it was wonderful week! We then decided it was time to say goodbye to Ecuador and forge onwards.
I was incredibly intimidated by the thought of crossing the border into Peru. Mainly because of my good friend Lonely Planet, which described it as one of the worst border crossings in South America. It also didn´t help that I had read about how there are still landmines in the area, leftover from a war with Peru. Of course everything worked out fine. It was actually one of the coolest border crossings I´ve ever seen. We had to hop off a bus 3km from the border town to get our exit stamp from Ecuador, then flag down another bus on the side of the highway to get a ride to the border town. From the bus station we had to navigate a busy market street (full of sketchy men with briefcases offering to exchange money) in order to cross "the border", aka a small bridge over a small river, and tada! we were in Peru! We then had to take a moto-taxi (the front half of a motorcycle towing a little cart that holds two people) to the Peruvian cutstoms office, naturally located 2km away from the actual border! It was quite the experience.
Since we had relaxed in a small surfing town in Ecuador, we figured we´d better do the same in Peru, you know to accurately compare cultural differences! We spent two nights in Mancora, were we soaked in the overcast sky, and tried our first Pisco Sour, a tradional Peruvian cocktail. It is made with Pisco (made from distilled grapes), lime, and raw egg whites, delicious!!!!. After a horrible 4 hour wait for a bus in a hot shack, and another 5 hour bus ride, we arrived in the city of Chiclayo, where I proceeded to spend two days sick with a cold watching Dr. Phil! Once I recovered we travelled to the city of Trujillo, and visited some ruins of a temple. I am not really a "ruins" kind of gal, but it was pretty amazing to see the huge temple that was only partially excavated, and over 500 years old. The most incredible part was that every hundred years this culutre would fill in the temple with mud bricks and build a new identical one on top of it. In total there were 5 temples, which proved to be quite annoying for excavation, as to see lower temples they would have to destroy the higher temples.
Then..... it was Matthew´s birthday!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!! 27!!!!! What better way to spend a birthday than with an 8 hour bus ride to Lima!!! He survived, and we celebrated by going to a restaurant from the "splurge" section in our Lonely planet, where the waiters serenated him with english and spanish happy birthday, gave him yummy soggy cake, and a mystery shot. I´m sure it was nothing compared to spending the day with his family and friends, but a crackly pay phone and a family on speaker phone had to do. We spent the next day walking around Lima, and even enjoyed some Starbucks coffee, particularily appreciated since Ecuadorians and Peruvains consider instant coffee the norm- gross.
Next stop: Family vacation with my parents! I figured the best way to prevent my parents from trying to discourage me from going on this "dangerous" trip, was to invite them along!!! We have been travelling with them for the past two weeks, and it has been awesome! They have been an invigorating addition to our travels. We have done so much with them in the past two weeks, and I want to make sure I do the experiences justice. I fear that my tired little typing hands would likely gloss over exciting activities, so I will sign off for now. I promise to update again within at least the next two months!!!!! Thank you all for checking out the blog, and hope everything at home is well!!
-Caroline