peru, the aftermath

praise God that i am recovered from the evilness peru gave me this week! i am slowly re-introducing food back into my system. hopefully, i can eat meat by the 4th of july bbq. :P maybe i will be adventurous and fulfill my 2 week craving for a burrito. hm, hold that thought.

many of you are prolly wondering...
what did i do in peru?
(you can check out pictures here.)
-the first day i was in peru, linda and i strolled around miraflores, lima. miraflores is the safest suburb of Lima and is at the seaside. i was advised to stay away from central lima by a native on the plane to peru.
-visited the city of cusco, which is at really high elevation at 3400 m, 11,150 ft. it’s a bustling city that’s 1.5 hour plane ride southeast of lima.
-hiked and camped through the back country of peru's sacred valley.


me at the 1st pass: waynaqasa @ elev. of 4380 meters.
i can't believe i made it up there.
the next part of the hike was to go pass the lakes picture behind me and through the mts. shudder.

-visited Machu Picchu


su, linda, & i finally at machu picchu in the early morning for sunrise!

-went horseback riding for the first time.
-visited Puerto Maldonado, the Amazon Jungle that’s 30 min. plane ride east of Cusco.


our humble abode in the jungle lodge complete w/ mosquito nets!

-got terribly sick multiple times (common among all of us on the tour)
-met cool ppls from around the world: Ireland, Australia, Canada, & even MN!
---
i made it thru my crazy peru trip. i never thought i’d have such an adventure. i learned a lot about myself. one major part is that i can't push myself too much out of my comfort zone. ie. the hiking and camping part was a major character test. i think it stemmed from the cold temps i wasn't prepared for at night. the cold made me gag and not want to eat. now that i think of it, i could've had hypothermia. luckily the second night i had a hot water bottle for a few hours (i wish our guide told us the idea the 1st night). i thought i was prepared for this trip but it turns out i was not at all. i can't believe i did so much and accomplished the hiking/camping portion. we hiked 8 miles the 1st day, 18 the 2nd, and 7 the 3rd. grand total of 33 miles! the highest elevation we were at was 4380 meters. the highest campsite was at 4230 meters. no wonder why i was freezing AND there was tons of frost on the ground the next morning! the night sky was awesome too. clear skies and bright stars.

many have asked me if i would go on this trip if i knew what it was really going to be like. the truth is, i think i would even if there was no way to protect myself from my stomach problems and altitude sickness. there are a lot of "if onlys": if i knew to bring a winter jacket and rent an air mattress i'd totally do it again! i saw so many things i would never imagine myself seeing EVER. it makes me really grateful that God provided me this opportunity to experience this adventure and how spoiled i am in life. it's amazing how the quechans (the last indigenous ppls of peru) can live such a simple life: planting potatoes, herding alpacas/llamas/sheep, and still wear their traditional dress in the year 2005. the jungle lodge was awesome too. it was a relaxing retreat with no electricity. we played a lot of fun card games, lounged in hammocks, and ate great food by candlelight. every morning, i'd wake up to this loud howling, thinking it was the wind but actually the howler monkeys. funny how it was soothing to hear bickering birds in the morning and lay in my mosquito net/tent bed. linda, su and the rest of the tour gang were great traveling companions. i'd go back to peru but avoid lima. it's a major pollution bubble full of crazy drivers. i played human frogger and became quite good at dodging cars. :P the sun also never goes through the pollution haze. peru is sure full of rich treasures (learning about the culture was neat-o. the incans were very civilized and innovative.) and is super inexpensive there. :)

i could go on but i'll spare you! so, that's all folks!

bleh

no more 3rd world countries for me. my stomach hates me 4ever now.

i'm back!

i'm finally home and 90% healthy. hopefully, i'll be 100% by the end of this week. this peru trip has certainly been an adventure. it was the ultimate experience of all my experiences (if that makes sense). i did so much, things i thought i'd never do, and things i never want to experience ever again. i'm probably going to start sounding like a broken record by the time i talk to everyone. i'll have a much better version online and photos (400 to edit) soon!

i miss eating real food...

adios amigos!

i'm off to peru tomorrow! i'm half excited and half not. my friend from school is not coming along due to losing his passport in the middle of nowhere in alaska (the story goes on...). he's leaving me stranded in peru by myself for the last nite and day. it'll be a test for me to be independent in a country unknown to me. i better practice those spanish terms in the back of the travel book. wish me luck! please pray for my safety, health (no rolled ankles!), and being alone for the last portion. hope ya'll have a good 2 weeks without me! don't do anything fun. like having an eating outing w/o me! :P i'll miss ya'll!

perfect hiking day

today i went hiking at the montara mountain trail, located 7 miles south of pacifica. the trailhead is across from montara state beach. it was a perfect day to go hiking. a tad bit windy but can't complain! i went with my MN/chicago buddy karen (who's visiting) and berkeley jenny. at first, we were confused by the 6 ft. tall weeds but foraged on. we discovered the hike went up a steep hill. i went ahead and luckily the gals followed. heh heh. good job! :P unfortunately, that was the end of our hike. anyone want to complete the rest of the 5 miles with me? :) you can view our hiking adventure here.


a view from "the hill"

afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a burritto from the popular la taqueria located on 25th and mission. you can read my review on the eating club blog.

here are also photos from crystal's farewell. god bless, da jie!

jem!

not this jem, old skool 80's doll and cartoon.


THIS jem, new and upcoming singer.

i heard a jem song on OTH (my FAVE show). i never could find it or had no idea what the name was. i finally got her cd this past week and found the SONG!. it's called they with the catchy tune of "i'm sorry so sorry". maria and joy can tell you how i drove them crazy w/ it. they had no idea what i was singing. well, prolly b/c i only knew that one part. :P i have turned them into "jem" listeners and so shall YOU. jem is categorized as "pop" but i think not. she has interesting mixes in her songs. you just have to listen to her. don't listen to her lyrics too closely. they're a little lacking in substance. i've been searching for different music to listen to, ranging from morcheeba to vienna tang. i think the search stops at jem, for now.

unmotivated

i'm supposed to be working on my creative work project/thesis this week. i've been pushing it off till today/tomorrow, next week. have i done anything yet? um...

i've been having major finger/wrist pain this week. i think it stems off my dr.mario marathon from monday. i guess i'll have to contain my excitement for dr.mario and restrict my continous play time. altho, the last time i played was like 2 months ago. i swear i'll be getting the 3 A's sooner than i think (old ppls syndromes. heh heh.). on that note, i'll be old(er) in exactly a month. oh, yay. :P

i want it!

this summery weather has made me crave my fave hawaiian drink: the lava flow (blended pineapple, coconut erupting with strawberies and light rum). it sure is the yummiest drink EVER. when i was in kauai i would always get it at my fave restaurant, keoki's. it was always made just right and not too strong. i like it, i like it A LOT! sigh, the things i miss in kauai. i have yet to find a restaurant here that has the lava flow.


can u believe someone actually painted the drink? drool...