mountain and jungle trekking, riots, and the white city

Weeks two and three in Peru have been a bittersweet combination of fun, exhausting, exhilirating, mindblowing and a little bit frustrating. The fun/exhilarating/mindblowing/exhausting part first - our trek. We did an amazing 5 day and 4 night trek and camping excursion through the andes mountains and the amazon jungle. We started in Cusco, worked our way through the mountains to Apacheta Pass at 4580 meters (15,026 feet!) above sea level - where we saw the beautiful Salkantay Mountain - then wound down through the valleys until we reached the amazon jungle. It was breathtaking-literally- breathing was damn near impossible up there. On the fourth day, we climbed LLactapata peak in the sweltering heat (a complete shift from the near freezing temperatures of the first few days), then went straight down to reach the town of Aguas Calientes, where we stayed before continuing on to Machu Picchu. The trek was incredible. We saw so much of Peru´s untouched landscape, as well as getting a glimpse into the lives of the farmers and locals who live in those mountains and valleys. There´s nothing like camping in a foreign country, either.

After the trek, we finally saw the wonderous Machu Picchu. "Wonderous" is quite possibly the understatement of the century, but a better description is beyond me at the moment. Definitely worth seeing in one´s lifetime.

Our plans following Machu Picchu are where the frustration comes in. Ongoing riots in Puno (where lake Titicaca is located) have caused some serious uproar and civil unrest over the last two months. Things got ugly at the end of May, but subsided, so we thought we´d be ok to visit. However, the riots escalated while we were on our trek and we weren´t aware of the situation until we arrived to the airport to go to Puno. Turns out the airport was closed. Lovely. After a few minutes of my tantrums (what airlines don´t notify you that an airport is closed and your flight is cancelled? Foreign ones.) and Dave´s usual calmness, we decided to just head straight to Arequipa. We had planned to come here after Puno, now we just ended up with a little more time in "The White City." We´ve loved it so far and are enjoying every minute of our urban and gastronomical adventures. I must say, Peruvian Chinese food, or Chifa, gives the ole´ US takeout a run for its money.

Just a few days left...then back to reality. Better eat as much autherntic ceviche and chifa as we can.

Cheers,
SK