We arrived in the bustling city of Puno during the afternoon. After settling into our hostal room, we took a tour of the city. Puno has a large outdoor market with vendors selling literally anything you could imagine. We saw the following items for sale: chickens (live and dead) guinea pigs, various body parts and organs of animals, machinery parts, crafts, clothes, food, sacks of potatoes, and much much more! As we walked through the "animal parts" section we were both overcome by the awful smell and we were shocked to see women handling the raw meat with such a disregard for food safety. We just may have bought that sheep head if the lady selling it were wearing plastic gloves.

On Sunday we took a boat tour to the islands of Uros and Taquile. Uros is a man-made island constructed of layers of reeds that grow in the lake. It is amazing to think that the inhabitants of the small island constructed the island and all of their huts from reeds. As you step on the island the reeds squoosh under your feet and you sink in a few inches. It is like walking on a grassy waterbed. The islanders sell crafts and rent out reed huts to tourists.

Three hours later we were at the island of Taquile. The island is about 5 km in length and has roughly 3,000 inhabitants. To the Southeast you can see Bolivia's snowcapped mountains and deep blue water shimmers under the intensely bright sun. The island has a very mediterranean landscape with a high rocky middle and stone fences protecting the sheep. Wild herbs grow everywhere and the islanders have managed to make use of everything living on the island. When we got off of the boat we were greeted by an islander and he offered to let us sleep at his house with two other tourists from London. As we walked for 40 minutes to his house, he pointed out all of the plants that were growing around us.

The house was at a far end of the island and we stayed in a house seperate from our host. During our stay we were fed like kings, enjoying feasts of freshly caught fish, rice, tomatoes, and huge bowls of tasty soup. We also drank tea made from coca leaves and an herb that grows on the island. We walked down to the beach and waded in the freezing water. The islander we were staying with have a row boat that they use to catch their fish. We went out for a ride and we helped them cast out 2 sets of fishing nets. The 50 meter nets are weighed down by rocks and are left out overnight to catch any schools of fish that swim by. On a good night, you can catch up to 50 fish in the nets.

After all of our fishing chores were complete, we hiked up a steep rock incine to watch the sunset. From a high point on the island we watched the sun dip below the distant horizon. As we walked home the temperature began to drop. Sheep could be heard making their funny bahhhh sound and bright stars began to poke through the tapestry of the sky. Once we were home we were amazed at just how many stars fit in the night sky. We saw what looked like 10 galaxies.

Dinner was fantastic and we were all in good spirits as the islanders offered to dress us up in their traditional clothes for some dancing. They played the mandalin and guitar as we took turns dancing with the kids of the family around a bright fire made with eucalyptus cuttings. The fire smelled great and produced intense bursts of flames. At about 9 pm we were all exhausted and we fell asleep like children on Christmas eve. We were excited at to wake up early the next morning for sunrise.

We woke up at about 6 am the next morning just in time to see the sun rise from the Bolivian landscape. The temperature went from freezing to hot in a matter of minutes. We went down to the boat and paddled out to the fishing nets to see how many we had caught. As we pulled the nets in we saw fish tangled in the tiny squares. The pile of flopping fish in the center of the boat got bigger and bigger. When we were done pulling in the nets we had caught about 50 fish!

Breakfast never tasted so good. After having walked down to the water, hauled in the night's catch of fish and then hiked back to the house, we were happy to put some nourishment in our bellies. We spent most of the morning laying around in the sun, playing with the kids and making mental notes of the amazing scenery. We ate fish for lunch and then made our way back to the boat launch for our 2 pm ride back to Puno. The walk was long and our packs felt heavy all the way back to the boat. To get to the boat we had to end our hike with a descent of 500 stone steps. Our legs jiggled as we settled on the boat. And then we were off for our slow, 3 hours ride back to shore.

Puno, Lake Titicaca remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Now despite what the guide books or tour companies tell you, Machu Picchu is incredibly expensive and complicated to get to. Thankfully we used our student cards and got a discount on our admission tickets (We technically shouldn´t get one bec we´re not under 25 but we worked it). We tried to get the discount for the bus up there but it wouldn´t work. So including everything the travel and admission we paid over 150 bucks!

Regardless of the cost, once you get up there you realize that it is worth it. Machu Picchu is one of the most beautiful, complicated and ingenious places ever designed by man. It is thousands of feet above sea level from the Urubabma River. It would have taken months just to get up there, let alone bring gigantic boulders to build the city. The Incans built it in complete harmony with nature. First of all it is in a mountainous tropical rainforest surrouned by llamas and alpacas grazing. It is so green and at that high altitude the sky is so blue. In the distance is the gorgeous snow-capped mountain called Salkantay.

Just being there is special, we quickly forgot about the fact that we might not have a place to stay for the night or that we were tired and on a strict budget. We felt energized and explored the Lost Incan City for 5 hours. The weather was perfect. We hiked all over, including the cliff-hanging hike to Wayna Picchu, which has a 360 view of the entire valley. What an amazing and rewarding experience.

Our Machu Picchu Adventure remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Click here to learn about Pisac

We continued our trip to the city of Ollantaytamba. This is where the road ends and the only way to continue our trip was by train. In Ollantaytamba there is also an amazing ruin and a town filled with vendors selling coca leaves and porters carrying hundreds of pounds on their backs. We stayed in Ollantaytamba for a few hours until our train departed for Aguas Caliente (Machu Picchu). We hiked the ruins and learned bout how the Incans built elaborate sun and moon temples to help them grow their crops. We watched the sun set and the clouds pass under the tips of the surrounding mountain tops. Our guide Walter pointed out that we should gaze over toward the edge of a steep mountain terrace in the distance (hundreds of feet high) and look for the face of an Incan man carved out of the cliff. He mentioned that every June 21st, the sun shines right through the face and it lights up. The Incans celebrate Inti Raymi every June 21st (equinox), the festival of the sun. We sat there and took in the strange lush desert-like landscape and could totally understand why the Incans lived in this valley. After the sun went down, the temperature changed dramatically. The wind started kicking up and the busy city quieted down. We found a cafe overlooking the Urubamba river and warmed up to some delicious hot chocolate. (The hot chocolate is no joke here, they melt real coco, rice and canela (cinnamon). We then went to an adorable family-run restaurant playing excellent Peruvian music and ate brick oven pizza (very popular in Peru). After dinner we layered up and took the walk down the dark road to the Aguas Calientes train station.

At exactly 8 O'clock the guards opened the gates and everyone pushed their way onto the tracks to board the train. We have learned that in Peru you will be pushed by people who want to get in front of you ... all the time. We climbed into our train car and took our seats. We waited for the train to move. We waited some more. An hour went by. Then two hours. Everyone just wanted the train to move. After 3 hours of sitting in the train yard, we finally moved. Then we stopped. Then we we went back to the train yard. Then we moved forward again. Then the conductor hit the brakes hard. We went backwards again! Finally we moved toward our destination and we fell into a deep sleep.

When we woke up it was 1 in the morning and we were in Aguas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu! We were tired but excited to be in such a special place. The tour guide who arranged our trip told us to expect someone from our hotel to pick us up at the train station. Nobody did. We walked into the town plaza and found our hotel. As we approached the hotel a tired looking lady asked us if we had a reservation. We handed her the envelope that our travel agent told us to give her. Her eyes lit up ... there was money inside the envelope. This is where things went sour. The lady quickly placed our envelope in her office and escorted us across the plaza to another hostal. This hostal was clearly not as nice as the one we were supposed to stay in. She walked us up to a room and told us that someone would be at our room in 10 minutes to give us instructions for the next days tour of Machu Picchu (nobody ever showd up). She left. We were alone in the room and upset that we were dropped off in such poor accomodations. The room was dirty and there were various stains on the walls ... and ceiling? Rich walked around bed and saw a fresh pile of POOP on the floor! It was huge and discusting and could not have come from a human. Outraged, we went back to the original hostal and pounded on the door. We woke up the lady and demanded that we stay in a better room. She said that there were no rooms in the hostal or the rest of the hostals in town for that matter. It was now 2 am and we were supposed to hike Machu Picchu early the next morning. We needed a place to sleep. After some arguing, Rich went into the office and grabbed the envelope full of money and we walked off into the night without a room to sleep in or a clue where we were.

We found a pizza place still open and asked them if they knew of a hostal with rooms. A young man with a long pony tail and an easy going smile offered to walk us around town to look. After an hour of waking up hostal managers, we finally found a hostal where we could speep outside on their balcony. We were just happy to have place to sleep so we agreed. We slept on two couches pushed together and when we woke up the next morning we could finally see where we were. We were in a lush, green valley with towering mountain peaks. Things were looking up.

More to come ...

Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The most amazing ruin we visited is called sacsayhuaman.

Click here for history and photographs of sacsayhuaman

During our hike we were sometimes in the middle of beautiful eucalyptus forests with no other people around. At one point in our hike we came upon 4 llamas grazing under some trees. We watched them pick at the grassy ground and we got close enough to take some great pictures. We also helped an old lady get her baby pigs across the road safely. Rich waved his arms and pushed the little guys across just before a bus screamed by.

The end of our hike was a descent down into the city of Cuzco. Altogether we hiked about 10 miles that day and after a dinner of crepes we fell fast asleep.

Cuzco Ruins remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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With about 5 minutes to go in the first period Cuzco was given a corner kick. A corner kick is exciting because one player gets a free kick from a corner near the goal and all of his teammates line up near the goal with the hope of heading or kicking the ball in. This corner kick happened right in front of our seats. The ball floated toward the goal and all of the players jumped up for their chance to make contact. The ball bounced off of a Cuzco head and shot like a dart into the upper right corner of the goal. The goalie was left laying on the ground and the crowd jumped to their feet to cheer.

To witness a goal in a championship futbol game in South America is unlike any goal, touchdown or basket in a US game. People were not only cheering, they were outright exploding with happiness. At the far end of the stadium, the fans quickly cleared a section of the stands and then a loud explosion could be heard. They had set off what sounded like a quarter stick of dynamite. After the blast a puff of smoke started to rise and then the raging fans filed back into the opening to do a victory dance. Red smoke bombs filled the air and entire rolls of toilet paper were hurled onto the field. When it calmed down we saw riot police covered in toilet paper and confetti.

Halftime started rather abruptly. The players just ran off the field and all of the fans quickly ran for the food vendors and the bathrooms. We figured this would be a good time to get some snacks and water. Michelle decided to make the trip and leave Rich to guard the seats. Halftime at a futbol game is not like halftime at a Knicks game. For starters, there are rules of conduct at a Knicks game. You do not push or trample other people. You also do not use the ladies bathroom if you are a guy. Both of these rules are completely disregarded at a futbol game. Michelle was shoved around and pushed into a frenzy as she tried to make her way to the bathroom. It was as if there was absolutely no regard for personal space. Men and women were all pushing her. She tried to get some food but gave up. In the end she just wanted to safely return to her seat. When she reached the walkway back to our seats the was a row of people 4 deep standing between her and the stairway. They would not let her in. She finally pushed her way through and thankfully sat back down in her seat. We quickly made a group decision that we would be leaving the game early.

The second period was just as exciting and injury filled as the first. Men were left rolling on the field in agony, holding their shins and there were many close shots on goal. Lima scored a goal but had it taken back. Then Cuzco scored a goal and as the crowd raged and set off fireworks, we decided to sneak out of the stadium. We really wanted to avoid the fights, stampedes and confusion at the actual end of the game. Peru does not have a good track record at sporting events. In 1964, in a game in Lima, the worst sports disaster ever happened. 300 people were killed in a stampede.

We walked down a set of stairs toward a metal door being guarded by police. As the police tried to open the door, a crowd of children pushed their way in. We had to run backwords to avoid the rush of the crowd. The police could do nothing, there were just too many people. So we ran back up the steps with the crowd of people. Then we took a right turn and squeazed through some more people and then headed back down another set of stairs. At the next exit there were police on horses and the riot police were out as well. Nobody was getting in past them. We finally tasted freedom! When the dust had settled, we both looked at each other and were just thankful that we had experienced our first South American futbol game and SURVIVED!

Cuzco vs. Lima Part II remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Rich and I decided that we needed to be there to get the full South America experience, so we bought tickets the night before the match, right on the street from a very nice and earnest-looking scalper. He warned us to get there two-three hours ahead of time so that we could score the best seats. We followed his advice and were at the stadium at 11:00 am (the game started at 1:00). Little did we know, there were 45,000 other fans there all dressed in bright red Cuzco colors waiting in all types of lines, running, screaming and trying to get into the stadium any way possible. There was a guy giving away t-shirts and there were ten people swarming him, grabbing his cardboard box and trying to pull it away from him. The police had to rescue the guy and get the people to back off. That was a small introduction into the sheer chaos and melee that is Peruvian football.

When we got into the stadium, it was awesome! The field was enormous and everyone was buying meat on a stick (with a potato of course), people were cheering and the entire stadium was doing the wave. They had a humongous soccer jersey that the fans were sending around the stadium. The fans were setting off red smoke bombs, fireworks and throwing confetti everywhere. You´d think that they had just won a war, but the game didn´t even start yet! Our scalper was actually honest when he told us that we would have excellent seats. We doubted him because our ticket was a two for one so both of us got in for 25 soles (only 8 bucks). Super cheap! Our seats were very close to the goalie and next to some friendly people.

Before the game began, the crowd started to whistle (which we learned means very bad!) when the Lima teams´s fans took their seats next to our section.´ There was riot police all around the Lima fans, fully armed with attack dogs and machine guns. There were even riot police on the field. All of a sudden, the crowd got wild. The Lima teams fans were so high energy and to be honest, freakin nuts to be in the middle of this Cuzco crowd. They brought an entire marching band and did not stop jumping and screaming the entire game. The people around us started hollering at the top of their lungs (tu mama es tu papa), they were throwing anything they could find, and did not stop taunting them the entire game. Rich´s favorite part was when a Cuzco fan sitting next to us lobbed a large plastic bag full of Inca Kola down twenty rows and exploded it on the head of an annoyingly obnoxious Lima fan.

The game didn´t even begin yet....stay tuned for Part II

Cuzco vs. Lima remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Tino and Jesus drove us to the bus station and we drove through downtown Huancayo one last time. It felt like we were leaving home. The bus ride was, well, we don't know. We slept the entire 7 hours. When we woke up, the sun was rising and we were back in hectic, overcast Lima. We took a taxi to the airport. Our driver was nice, but he comfirmed our belief that taxi drivers in Lima are on a death wish. Have you ever driven 60 miles per hour and swerved at the last minute to avoid a large bus and then come to a complete stop inches from the next car? Well, we did that more than once. It was too early for that shit. haha.

The airport felt like a sanctuary from the craziness of the streets. It was so clean and modern. We checked in and got some food at Dunkin Donuts. The coffee was a nice treat, but the egg sandwich was greasy and just plain gross. Sorry Dunkin Donuts but you have no place in Peru. We missed our usual breakfast that Maria made back in Huancayo!

We paid our airport tax (5 dollars US) and headed to the terminal. After a short wait we boarded the LAN Peru jet plane. It was interesting to board the plane because we walked onto the runway and entered the back of the plane instead of the front. The ride was really smooth and only lasted 55 minutes. They fed us a nice sandwich and some mate de coca. Outside the window we saw the Andes mountains poke through the top of the clouds. The rocks were so colorful and dry. Occasionally we could see some snow caps and deep blue lakes. We imagined what it would have been like to have taken a bus from Lima to Cusco through those mountains. It would have taken at least 20 hours! We were happy with 55 minutes of flying.

The landing in Cusco was perfect. The best landing so far on our trip. Inside the airport we were welcomed with an interesting mix of traditional Peruvian musicians and in your face travel agents ... all by the bagage claim area. One thing we quickly realized about Cusco is that there are many tourists here and it is a World apart from Huancayo. It is an absolutely beautiful city full of ancient history and beautiful stonework. The city was built by the Incas in the shape of a Puma, and it was thought of as the naval of the world. The original Incan name of the city was Qosqo, which in Quechua (Incan language) means Vital Center since we are in a valley (altitude 11,000 ft.) surrounded by the Andes mountains. The Incans regarded Qosqo as the center of corporal energy where feelings reside. The Spanish later changed the name to Cusco.

click here to learn more about the history of Cusco. It is really fascinating.

Our hostal is located in the San Blas area of Cusco. This area houses many artist galleries, cafes and plazas. All of the streets are made of cobblestone and are just big enough for one small car to squeeze through. We have really nice hot water in our shower and a tall wood planked ceiling with a sunroof. There is so much character and charm to the hostal. It beats any Holiday Inn in the states!

Tomorrow we plan to walk around and get a feel for the city. There is just so much to see and do that we want to take our time and absorb as much as possible. This area is known as the archeological capital of the World so we plan on visiting many ruins. We also want to learn about the history of the Incas and how ancient Qosqo became the modern city of today.

Ciao Huancayo ... Hola Cusco remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Today a group of students from the Andean school came to the house to receive clothes that were donated by our friends Denise and Zoelle. They were so cute as they walked in. They each gave us a hug and we could tell they were excited at the anticipation of the gifts they were about to receive.

The students that received the clothes were from very poor families and their eyes lit up as we began to hand out their new clothes. They each got 2 items and they were so grateful. It felt really nice to share something with children who are so in need. As they walked down the street toward their homes, they stopped at least 5 times to look at each others new clothes.

Clothes Donation remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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On Tuesday afternoon we went on a 20 mile mountain biking trip with Tino. Considering the difficulty we have had breathing at this altitude, we weren´t sure what to expect. A taxi picked us up at the house and we threw the 3 bikes on top of the car and headed off for a 30 minute ride into the mountains.

During the drive we distanced oursleves from the bustle of Huancayo and it felt like we were going back in time as we saw fewer and fewer houses. There were very few other cars in site and we got the feeling that the people in this part of the landscape are living a more traditional peruvian lifestyle. At one turn we drove past a stream and noticed about 25 women washing their clothes on the warm river rocks. Baby pigs, sheep and dogs wandered the shoulders of the road and people carried baskets of freshly cut crops from their farm plots.

The taxi stopped and we pulled the bikes off the rack, paid our 10 soles to the driver and then we were alone in the silence of the countryside. We walked our bikes to a nearby house and Tino knocked on the door. A chubby lady with an enormous smile greeted us. She was a local artesan and the Peruvian champion of gourd carving. She uses a small carving tool to create incredibly detailed works of art. We were amazed to see entire villages of people perfectly carved into the sides of the dried gourds. Her most famous gourd is about the size of a basketball and it took her nearly 6 months to carve. We bought as many gourds as we could fit in our bags, gave a her a hug and then we were off.

The bike ride was breathtaking. Much of it was downhill, which made it easier on our legs. However, the roads we were travelling on were all dirt and full of huge rocks. We wanted to go fast but we also wanted to avoid crashing. Our arms shook from the constant vibration. We rode past mud and brick houses, children playing and old men and women tending their sheep. Whenever we rode by children they would smile wide and give us a nervous laugh and a wave. Rich is a bit of a circus attraction here. He is one of very few tall blonde hair guys that the people see here. It is possible that he is the first blonde hair person some people have ever seen ... Since we are not in a partcularly touristy area.

We saw a lot of farm plots checkering the hillsides. Farmers either own or rent small squares of farmland and the plots are all connected to form a large checkerboard effect. Almost all farmwork is done by hand her and we saw many workers squatting in the fields tediously trimming their crops. One amazing thing about Peruvian farmers is their ability to irrigate the land. Their are aquaducts along the roads and along side fields. They are all man made and carry a steady flow of water from the mountains, even during the dry season that we are in now.

We rode through 6 towns on our bike ride. When we reached a town we were sometimes treated to a small patch of pavement. We usually road through narrow streets with stone buildings on each side. As we rode down the street we could look to the left or right and quickly peak into small, dark shops. It was a bit like watching a strip of film go by, with many unique frames of life.

About halfway into the ride, the bar that holds Rich´s seat up started to bend under his weight. The bike was becoming unridable. Aside from the embarassment, the situation was difficult to remedy. We were in a very small town that had no taxis to take us back home. We went all over town asking for help and finally Tino remembered a small bike repair shop nearby. What are the odds? We made our way to a house with an open garage. Inside was a display case of bike parts. They had a spare bar that was bigger and better than the original one! We were in luck. We fixed the bike and headed off again.

By this point, our bottoms were sore from the hard seats and pounding of the trail. We decided to stop for lunch. This part of Peru is known for their Trout (Trucha). We had plates of fried trout, head and all. It was delicious.

The last part of the bike ride took us down a long hill and into the town of Conception. We arrived just at sunset as a huge rainstorm was rolling through the distant mountains. The sky was huge and we saw every color of the spectrum pass over us. We snapped some photos and Tino hired a taxi for the ride back home. The driver ripped up a dirty towel so we could tie the bikes to the roof. We drove home as night fell and arrived at the house dirty and wind burned.

Today was a wonderful day.

Mountain Biking remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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It was about a mile walk to the market and when we finally got to it we were amazed at just how many vendors there were. The market stretches for a few miles along a long street. There are four rows of booths running down the street. I can not even begin to imagine how many vendors were selling their crafts. There were hundreds and hundreds of them.

As we walked through the market we were amazed at the quality of the craftsmanship and the great prices. A handmade, alpaca wool coat only cost about 12 US dollars. We walked through the market for hours until our arms were full of shopping bags. We did not even see all of the market but we just had to get back home before our arms fell off. We may have to throw away most of our possessions so that we can fit everything in our bags.

Huancayo Market remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The only other way to deal with the sickness is to sleep. Many of the volunteers spend their first day in bed. One girl slept for 17 hours straight. Michelle fell ill for the first 2 days and spent much of her time laying in bed sipping tea. This morning she felt much better. Both of us are feeling the effects of the altitude and probably will for our entire trip. Rich has the sensation of ice cold needles all over his legs!

Peruvian Dancing
Last night all of the volunteers went out for a dinner of brick oven pizza and Peruvian wine. Michelle stayed home so she could recuperate from the altitude sickness. There were 2 bands playing traditional Peruvian music and the atmosphere of the place was amazing. Four traditional dancers came out and danced for all of us and then they grabbed Rich¨s hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. He then danced for 3 hours straight! At one point he was on the stage. It was so much fun.

The Orphanage
This morning Michelle felt better and we decided to visit a school. We spent 1 hour with the cutest little kids. One thing we are noticing here is that the students take excellent notes. They also like to show us all of their hard work so we spend a lot of time sitting with them reviewing all of their notes. Today they learned the numbers 1 through 20. It is so much fun to work one on one with them. We clap hands with them as we count off the numbers. As the students left, they gave us big hugs and kisses in the cheek.

After lunch we walked for about 1.5 miles to the orphanage to visit all of the kids there. The orphanage ha a huigh wall all around it and a guard stands at the front gate. He let us in and within about 30 seconds we had 2 tiny little girls hugging our legs. The kids at the orphanage are adorable. Most of the kids are there because they were abandoned and found living on the streets. Some of the kids have also been abused. It was really heart breaking. They were so happy to have us there that a few of them paraded us around and gave us a grand tour of the grounds. They also have a pet lamma that we got to pet. We spent 1 hour playing soccer and hanging out with the kids.

The whole experience was so powerful. It really opened our eyes to how much we have, waste, and take for granted. These kids have nothing but the clothes on their backs. They have suffered so much and have absolutely no family. Who knows what their future will be. It will be hard to sleep tonight knowing that all of those kids will be sleeping in the orphanage without a mother or father to tuck them in.

Upcoming Events
Tomorrow we are going to the weekly Huancayo market to do some shopping. The market happens every sunday and is the biggest in all of Peru. They say that 50,000 people travel to the market each week. Huancayo is known as the home of the best artists in Peru. In fact, the family that runs the orphanage we are volunteering for are master artists. We are living in their house and they have all of their artwork here. They weave traditional blankets, make hats, gloves etc. They actually shear sheeps and dye the wool to make their blankets. They also paint incredible paintings. Tino, the father is known as one of the best artists in all of Peru. His work has won awards all over the world and he is trying to get it exhibited at the MOMA in NYC. We are so lucky to be living with such talented people.

Next week, we are going to be hiking to a very high mountain with a glacier. We will also be volunteering some more at the orphanage and at some area schools.

Altitude Sickness, Peruvian Dancing and the Orphanage remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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As you land in Lima, you fly over the coastal waters and you get a great view of the huge city. When we got to the airport in Lima, we were met by our car driver and then we experienced lima traffic for the first time. Our driver was great but taxi drivers in Lima are notoriously crazy. They like to drive with one hand on the horn as they blindly roll into intersections.

Our driver took us to our hostal, hostal mama ponchinta. The hostal was absolutely beautiful. The architecture was phenomenol, with arched doorways, intriquite tile work, and an open air courtyard. Our room also included a hot shower! We were in paradise. After freshening up, we took a taxi to a nearby mall to purchase our bus tickets for Huancayo. Lima has some very cosmopolitan areas and the mall we went to included many of the same stores that we have in the US. We actually experienced culture shock, having come from tropical Costa Rica to such a big city.

We bought our bus tickets at a booth in the mall and then we had a sandwich and juice. We also had a great cafe con leche. In Peru, the currency is called the Nuevos Soles. 1 US dollar equals about 3.3 Nuevos Soles. We were happy to find out that our cafe was only .8 nuevos soles ... or about 25 cents.

After a long day of travelling, we were happy to just stay in our hostal for the night and watch a movie on the television.

Thursday morning, we woke up early again and took a taxi to the bus station for our 7 hour trip to Huancayo. The buses in Peru are very nice. They are doubledeckers and they serve you hot lunch, refreshments and also play movies. During our trip we watched 3 movies. The trip itself is very difficult. First, it is 7 hours long. Second, the majority of the trip is spent climbing high into the Andes mountains. We reached altitudes of 15,000 feet and Rich felt a little ill from the altitude and windy roads. The views were so dramatic and we saw many lammas and peruvians in traditional clothing along the way.

We finally reached Huancayo at about 2 pm. Tino, the director of the orphanage met us at the bus terminal and gave us huge hugs. We were driven to the house that we would be staying in and saw the city of Huancayo on the way. Huancayo is a large city with about 350,000 residents. The houses are made of brick and although many streets are paved, there are quite a few that are not paved.

We are staying in Tinos house with about 12 other volunteers, Tino´s wife, his sister, his 2 little daughters and his adorable mother. Tino´s mother has already given Rich about 50 hugs and kisses on the cheek. While we are staying here, we are given 3 amazing meals each day and we have many new friends to hang out with. Tino is also an amazing artist. He weaves traditional Peruvian blankets and does beautiful oil paintings.

This morning, we gave our box of donations to Tino and he thanked us many times for all of the great gifts. At 10 am this morning we visted a school and were lucky to visit a kindergaten class and a first grade class full of smiling faces. The children here are so cute you just want to squeeze them! As we entered the classrooms, many of the kids gave us hugs and we shook their tiny hands. Michelle taught the kids how to do the hokey pokey and we sang songs with them. It was a great first day of volunteering. Later today we will be visiting an orphanage to hand out the clothes that we brought. There is so much more to describe about our Peruvian experience so far. It is truly an amazing place.

¡Viva Peru! remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The views on the Nicoya Peninsula are breathtaking. On one side you have steep, cloud covered mountains and on the other side you have the most beautiful beaches. The people who live in this part of the country have truly found paradise. They have fantastic views, all the tropical fruits they could ever want, and endless beaches to swim in.

We reached a brand new bridge that the Taiwanese government built as a gift for the people of Costa Rica. The bridge and surrounding roads were all paved to perfection and our drive through the mangroves was straight and relaxing. After we crossed the bridge, the rain began to fall more rapidly. It quickly felt like we were driving in a car wash. We still had 3 hours of driving to go!

Finally we made it back to San Ramon ... just after the sun had set. We parked the car outside our Tico family´s house and happily went inside for some warm cafe. We stayed up late and told the family about our adventures. Eventually we went to sleep. If you have never slept in a home in Costa Rica, let me explain the design of the rooms. Many Costa Rican homes have tin roofs. This helps to amplify any sound made inside the house. Also, none of the rooms have ceilings! Not even the bathroom. No matter where you are in the house, you hear the tiniest whisper from any room. So, as we lay in bed we all took turns telling jokes and laughing at each other. Don Filimon is hilarious and he had us all laughing uncontrollably. The great thing is that this happens every night when we sleep at the house. The beautiful thing about this Tico family is that they always go to sleep with a smile.

Today we played soccer with the kids. And tonight we are going to watch the Costa Rica vs. US soccer match. This is our last night in Costa Rica ...

¡Que Rico! remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Last Day of School remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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To Vaccinate or not to Vaccinate remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Getting Ready for the Big Trip remains copyright of the author rnc99, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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