Bueno!

This is Puma, the biggest, kindest dog I've ever met!

I've been back in Budapest since Saturday morning. The jet-lag isn't as bad as when we first got here in November. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely exhausted, but instead of having my internal clock turn upside down with my nights and days backwards, this time around I sleep both night and day.

I'm not really sure where to begin with my trip to Peru. If I were to start at the very, very beginning, I'd talk about the flights over there. That in itself was an adventure. On the way over I had to fly from Budapest to London, London to New York, New York to Miami, Miami to Lima and finally Lima to Cuzco. So after about 24 hours of travel I got there and it was New Year's Eve. No rest for the weary! We celebrated in usual style, well maybe usual Peruvian style. It's going to be difficult to get into all the details of every day, so I'll spare myself and you the specifics. The highlights include Cuzco itself, a very beautiful city and countryside. We flew in and out of Cuzco and this is where our guide lived. There were 6 of us in his group, one of which is one of my closest friends from childhood, Nathalie. The other four in the group are friends/acquaintances with Nathalie and each other.

So after spending New Years in Cuzco, we drove to Ollantayambo and went to a sweat lodge that evening. The following day we drove to Tinajani to camp for the night. I think of all the places we traveled in the 10 days we were there, this was my favorite. This place has something magical about it. The next day we had plans to go to Bolivia to see an ancient, powerful alter from pre-Incan times, but when we got to the border of Bolivia and Peru we found out that starting December 1, 2007, Americans are charged a fee of $100 for a visa to enter Bolivia. So thanks to politics and the relationship (or lack there of) between our president and Bolivia's, Americans (and only Americans) are charged a fee to get into their country. Needless to say, $100 is a little much to spend to go to Bolivia for one night. We went straight to plan B and stopped to check out a temple dedicated to fertility. One might wonder what a temple dedicated to fertility might look like... well, I can tell you the one we saw had stone penises everywhere! hehe

The next day we went for a boat ride on Lake Titikaka to Islas de los Urus. On Lake Titikaka there are some man made islands that about 10 families live on together. The unique thing about these islands is that they are made out of wreaths. The people there depend on these wreaths (growing abundantly from the lake itself) for land, shelter, food and heat.

Next, at one point in our drive to Chivay, we were about 16,500 feet above sea level. For most of our trip we were at least 10-12,000 feet above sea level and to help cope with altitude sickness, we would either drink coca tea or chew on dried coca leaves. The coca leaf helps dilate air passages to allow more oxygen to enter the lungs; it seems to be very much apart of Peruvian life. Anyway the next eventful thing I can remember doing is visiting Canon del Qolka, a very beautiful canyon that's home to the condor. We woke up early for our 2 hour drive along a steep, narrow, bumpy dirt road to get to the canyon. The beauty of the canyon was worth the drive and we were able to see several condors gracefully making their way through the canyon. What a sight!

We drove to Arequipa after that where we were to take an airplane back to Cuzco the following morning. We all woke up at about 4 am to make our 7:00 flight. Our driver dropped us off at the airport and drove off to start his 8 hour drive back to Cuzco. We got in line to check in only to find out that all flights were canceled for the day. Not only that, but all flights from the last 4 days had been canceled. There was talk that it was due to fog and remodeling of the airport itself. Thank goodness our driver wasn't out of cell phone range. Our guide got a hold of him and asked him to turn around, pick us up and take us with him back to Cuzco. So there we were, January 9th, starting our journey home. We drove the 8 hours back to Cuzco, had a great final dinner together and parted ways early the next day.

I'd like to say the adventure came to a close the next day and that my flight back to Budapest was uneventful... but I'd be lying! We got to the airport in time for a 7 am departure from Cuzco to Lima. That flight was fine, but the flight from Lima to Miami was delayed by two hours, making it too short of a layover for me to get on the Miami to New York flight. So there in Lima, without my consent and without telling me, they change my itinerary. They said the layover was too short, but I soon found out that the flight was over booked, so to cover their own ass they bump me from it. I got to Miami, ran through the airport to check in with my New York flight that I still had 45 minutes to catch (that supposedly I wouldn't make), and the woman behind the counter says that I'm not on that flight, I'm on a flight that takes off 2 hours later. So for the next 2 hours, I run back and forth from one end of the Miami airport to the other to figure out my new itinerary. The people in Lima decided that it would be better if I changed to a whole new airline AND that I'd like to spend the night at the JFK airport! They're so thoughtful! My flight into New York arrived at about 1 am Friday morning and my flight to Budapest didn't leave New York until about 6:30 pm that next evening. WHEW! Even though Budapest isn't really "home", it's great to be home! I was so happy to see Andy, Kien and Maya again.

I posted all the pictures from the trip here.


... but here are a few of them to see for now...