Machu Picchu!

I'm a little behind on my blogging....but that is because I'M STILL IN PERU! I extended my plane ticket and will be here until August 1....yes :-) Anyway, to catch you all up...the other weekend Jonny and I took a trip to Machu Picchu and it was absolutely amazing.

In order to get to Machu Picchu you either have to take a 2-4 day trek, or you can take an hour and a half train ride - we definitely took the train. We arrived at the base of MP on Saturday night and then woke up at 5am the next day so that we could get there and watch the sun rise over the ruins. The minute that we walked into Machu Picchu, I was struck into silence by beauty, complexness and amazing energy that surrounds the ruins. I feel like I have been to a lot of different ruins before, but Machu Picchu is unlike any other. Not only are the ruins amazing, but the mountains that surround MP are absolutely breath taking and add so much to the entire experience.....

Jonny and I at about 6:30 am at the Machu Picchu....

The llamas.....

Sunrise....

Oh hey!

We hiked to the top of Waynu Picchu and I felt like we were at the top of the world....

Then we hiked down to this Incan cave...and the hike had some pretty intense ladders...

We got to the cave which was full of ruins and was amazing....

Then we hiked back up to the top of Machu Picchu and took what Jonny calls "The money shot picture"

After the full day of hiking and climbing and adventuring, we were totally exhausted. We got back on our train and completely passed out until we arrived back in Urubamba. Being here was absolutely amazing and is probably up there with one of the top 5 days of my life thus far. For any of you who haven't made it here before, you should definitely put it on your bucket list...it's worth it.

Thoughts on returning home...

So every time that I go abroad, I always get in country and then never want to leave. I've become really good at extending my plane tickets, and this time in Peru is no different. I love it and want to stay. I am having so much fun here. Now that I am out of Lima and living in Urubamba, I am loving it. I love that there is no TV or Internet at the house, I love that I wake up in the mornings and walk outside to beautiful mountains in the backyard, I love the dirt roads and how tranquilo this part of Peru is. It fits with me, this small town, relaxed feel. And up until two days ago, I was completely set on coming home to the United States on July 11 - which is when my plane ticket is. But now that the 11th is just around the corner, I am getting nervous because I don't feel like I have enough time left. I have all of these amazing towns and ruins in the Sacred Valley to experience. I need more time with Jonny. And I'm loving my job here - going out on projects, working with the Peruvian/American staff, having group dinners, making friends with staff, etc. I want more of that and I am not quite ready to leave. But then the thing is, I love summer in Minnesota and I haven't been home in a really long time. I know that my parents really want me to come home, and that my cousins and friends are excited to see me. And there is a part of me that feels like I need to be there, to be centered, to be with my family, to just be home. Currently I am feeling pulled in both directions and I don't know which one I will chose. I haven't even spoken to Jonny about this yet, as he has been in San Francisco all week for work (gross right? The Jefes (bosses) sent him to San Fran in the middle of our lovecation! What??!!) Anyway, it's been fine and I have actually enjoyed having some quite time to myself. I've played guitar, made new friends, had quiet breakfasts and snuggled lots with Ollie, that sweet dog of his. However, I can't wait for him to come back to me tomorrow, as we head to Machu Picchu tomorrow night so that we can get up early and watch the sunrise over the ruins....yup....should be amazing :-) I'll post pictures....

Anyway, at this point I have no idea when I'll be home. My thought is that almost everyone who is reading this in MN is pulling for July 11th, and there is a good chance that I'll still be home then....but there is also this other part of me that just wants to extend that ticket one more time....Vamos a ver... Here are some pics...

Me and Jonny in Lima.

We went to this super cool bar, that had these awesome bottles....

Back in Urubamba. The red door is the entrance to our office. Look at those mountains! Can you see why I am in love with working here? Hello!

Out on a project with some of our volunteers. Every year we have an annual river clean-up day, and this year we ended up picking up 40 bags of trash - most of which were plastic bags. Don't use plastic bags folks - they are killing our environment! Get reusable bags!!

My love letter to Belize

Well Belize, you did it again and stole my heart once more. There is something about your country that resonates with me – that fills my soul and makes me happy.

This was my third time being back, and I really feel like I got a good grasp on what this country has to offer and was able to dig in deeper to all of the guts and glory that lies within Belize. And when it comes down to it, there is some pretty dark stuff going on here, but to me, all of the light and goodness of this country outshines the dark and makes me love so many aspects of it.

So where do I start with my love letter to Belize? Well, I guess I will start with what I love most. I love the people. I love how friendly and welcoming they are and how they greet you with their eyes and make eye contact while talking to you. I love the fact that when I walk down the streets in the evening that everyone greets me with “Good Night”, and I especially love that my response is “Good Night” back to them. I love how Belizeans answer the phone with “Tell me” and how they say “Rrriiiiggghhhttt Nnnooowwww” in their long, drawn-out Belizean accents. I love that it is a melting pot of people, with the Mayans, the Rastas, the Creole, The Garifuna and even all those crazy old ex-pats. I love the different languages that are sometimes all mixed into one, and I love that I can hear reggaeton, Spanish music and Michael Jackson all blasting from different houses on the same street. I absolutely love that all of the grocery stores are referred to as “The Chinese”, and I love how no one is politically correct in this country. I love that I don’t have to wear shoes and that my feet are constantly dirty, and I love how I can sit barefoot on the windowsill of a bar, drinking my Belikin, while talking to an old friend and feeling completely happy and content. I love that I have gotten addicted to coconut water and how drinking it is a daily part of my life here. And I love those thick, white flour tortillas that you can’t get anywhere else except for Belize. I love that I can swim in pristine, beautiful waterfalls and have no one else around, and I love how I can sit alone on top of a Mayan ruin and overlook Belize and Guatemala at the same time and feel the spirit flow in…. I love the beauty and intensity of the jungle (though I hate the damn bugs that come with being in paradise), and the way that life just seems so good and sparkly when I am out in nature here. And finally, I love how comfortable that I feel here. How I feel like I am at home. How people tell me that I “walk strong” when I walk down the streets - for that is the ultimate compliment - as it shows that I feel at home, that I am comfortable, that I know what is going on and that please, don’t mess with me, cause I am no longer your average, white tourist.

There are so many more things that I love about Belize – but this love letter has to end sometime. So to Belize – thank you for everything that your country has to offer. And to my friends in Belize – thank you for sharing your goodness and love with me and for opening my heart once again to all of the sweetness here. I can’t wait to come back and see you all again. Bless.

So this is life....

I just posted about how our trip was beautiful, and amazing and flawless. And it was – until we got home. We arrived home late Monday night, when I got a phone call asking Jonny to call the States, because one of his good friends had died. When he called home he found out that one of his best friends from high school had died in a car accident over the weekend. Hearing that news was so sad and was so hard for him. So that night, as we were reflecting about life, we both decided to write a little bit – and here is what I came up with – it’s nothing special, but I thought that I would share it with you.
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Life is precious. The joy if it, the love it brings, the integrity that comes with being alive and sharing that life with others. Being able to appreciate others physical time on this planet is so important. To take those moments where you feel truly alive and cherish them. We forget how lucky we are and what a blessing this life is. I thank God that I am still here appreciating each moment, learning, loving and at some point finally completing. This past weekend I really lived my life and I was able to share in it with a wonderful person. I am so grateful that I was able to share my experience with him – because without Jonny there it would have been less sparkly, because the joy would have been more inward and because of that – less magical. Life is about so many things, but to me the relationships that we have in our life and how we share our expressions with others is key. In this moment, I am appreciating my life, but even more so appreciating all of those that I share it with who make my life worth living. May God bless my world and may light be sent to all of the beautiful souls out there. I am so grateful for all who have made my life and will continue to make my life grand.

Lago de Atitlan

The day after the volcano excursion, J and I went to Lake Atitlan, which is a beautiful lake that is surrounded by volcanoes. This day was much more chilled out, which was nice as the two days before it were jammed packed with excitement. At Lake Atitlan we took a boat around the lake and stopped at different villages, shopped around, went to markets and really just relaxed. It was super nice and a great way to end our trip.

One note about our trip – it was by far the best spontaneous vacation that I have ever been on in my entire life. We went without a guidebook, not knowing where we were going – let alone staying. We had never been to any of these places before and in a sense it could have been kind of risky to set off on this adventure with a complete lack of information. However, the entire trip went flawlessly and the Universe provided for us in so many ways. We were always taken care of and everything was so easy and it all just fell into place. Everyday we were amazed at our good luck and how beautifully our unplanned day had gone. We both agreed that it couldn’t have gone any better – part of that was because we were with each other, but the other part was just that it all fell into place and because of that we experienced some amazing things in those 5 days of our trip. I wouldn’t recommend traveling like this often, as I am sure that it always doesn’t work out this well, but in this instance, the spontaneity of it was great….

Living the dream....

About two years ago, I heard that there was a place in Guatemala where you could climb a volcano and roast marshmallows over lava. As soon as I heard about it, this activity of roasting marshmallows over lava went to the top of my bucket list. Jonny and I daydreamed about going there together – not really thinking that it would happen – but then when he came back to Belize, we decided to go on vacation together, and we changed plans to go to Guatemala, we realized that our dream was about to come true and we got so excited.

We left for the volcano around 2:00 en la tarde and started hiking around 3:30. It was a long hike up, but totally worth it. As we got closer to the lava and the volcano, we could start feeling the heat underneath our feet and see the steam coming out of different areas in the ground. When we finally got to the area where we could make our lava-roasted smores, it was hot and intense. We had carried sticks up from the trail (as obviously there are no trees on an active volcano) and put our mallows on the sticks and placed them right over the lava. They started on fire instantly and we let them burn for a few moments, before we blew them out and put them with graham crackers and chocolate. And that was by far the best damn smores that I have ever eaten in my entire life – hands down. Nothing will ever compare with that ever again. Being up there on the volcano was so much fun and by far one of the best days of my life. I was livin’ the dream folks, and it felt good.

After we got our fill of lava, marshmallows and melted shoes, we started the hike back down. During this time, it turned dark and as we looked up at the peak of the volcano, it started to erupt and we were able to watch hot magma (think Austin Powers here with the word magma) blast out of the volcano. They said that it only erupts about once a month and so we were really lucky to be able to witness it. Seeing that was also another dream of mine that was fulfilled (I kind of have an obsession with lava – it’s so cool!) and was a great end to a perfect day.

P.S. My favorite quote of the day was "Did I just hear someone say 'holy shit - there's lava??!!" hahahahaha

Semana Santa - Guatemala Style...

So last weekend, Jonny and I were supposed to go to Honduras, but we literally changed plans last minute and decided to go to Guatemala instead. We were supposed to take a boat to Honduras, but last minute decided to take a boat to Guatemala and then take a bus to Honduras, and then once we were on the boat we decided to scratch Honduras completely and just go to Guatemala - and we are so glad that we did as it ended up being one of the best vacations of our lives.

When we were on the boat, we met this guy who was driving to Guatemala City and he offered us a ride, so we jumped on it and drove to Guat City with him. I've never been to Guatemala City before (or hitched a ride with someone I have never met in another country) and everything that I have heard about it is that it is so dangerous and that you just want to get in and get out. However, on the boat ride we also met this girl who was going to Guatemala City and then down to Antigua and she said that she was staying in a really safe part of the City, so we went with her and stayed in the same hostel and it was great - super nice and felt pretty safe.

The next morning we woke up at the butt-crack of dawn we went down to Antigua for Semana Santa. Antigua is famous throughout Central America for it's Easter celebrations and rightfully so as it was one of the most amazing Easter celebrations that I have ever witnessed. They cover the streets in these elaborately designed flower carpets and then they have these massive processionals where they walk through the flower carpets, and then they just make new flower designs throughout the day - it is so beautiful and a phenomenal cultural experience.

During the processionals, everyone is either dressed in purple, black or another color. The people in the processionals carry these massive, extremely heavy floats on their shoulders that sometimes weigh up to two tons and they carry them for hours to represent the pain and struggles that Jesus went through. One thing that I loved about this (among many) is that the men all carried a float, and then the women all carried one just as big and as heavy. A lot of times in Central American countries, women do not have as much importance as the men do and therefore wouldn’t participate in something like this – however in every single procession, the women were right there alongside the men – working just as hard and carrying almost as much weight – and I loved that.

I don’t think that my words or pictures can do this experience justice, as it is something that one has to experience in person. With that, I highly encourage all of you to someday make the trip to Antigua, Guatemala for Easter as it will by far be one of the most profound Easter celebrations of your life – it was for me anyway.