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My friendly neighborhood parasite

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

Gina. Arequipa, Peru.

I have a parasite (or hopefully, had). I´m not sure what kind, but the doctor I saw was pretty convinced that since I´d been sick for almost three weeks and didn´t have a fever or any other sign of infection that a creature of some kind was the culprit (I went to Hampi on Choquechaca which is the same street as the yummy Jack´s Cafe and as South American Explorers´Club. It was 60 soles for the exam and the doctor was very nice and spoke perfect English–and supposedly also French).

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Pretty as a Postcard. Machu Picchu trek day 4.

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

Gina. Arequipa, Peru.

The last day of the trek started out very early. 4 a.m. I have a newfound respect for my Uncle Ron for waking up at 4 a.m. every day to go to work. Steve and I were both grumpy when we got up. It was strangely hot in our tent the night before and we weren´t sure what types of bugs/animals were outside, so we didn´t want to open up the flaps. We got little sleep because of the heat and, for me, because my legs hurt so badly that it was impossible to get comfortable (and our tent was on a decline, so I kept slipping to the bottom!).

After a hasty breakfast we got cleaned up and went as a group to wait a half hour for the final checkpoint to open at 5:30. I guess there`s some desire to be the first ones through the checkpoint or the first ones to the Sun Gate, but I would have preferred to sit in the clubhouse for that last half hour rather than standing in the dark with all the other hikers.

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Down, I thought we were buds. Machu Picchu trek day 3

Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Gina. Cusco, Peru.  The first day of the trek was by far the easiest. The second day hell on earth. The third day was really very nice. I was so exhausted from day 2 that I slept like a rock that ... [Continue reading this entry]

What doesn´t kill me pisses me off. Machu Picchu trek day 2

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Gina. Cusco, Peru. Day 2 of the Machu Picchu trek... What can I say about you? You suck. I went into this trek knowing full well that the second day was the hardest. You climb over a mountain, there are stone steps, etc, ... [Continue reading this entry]

An end to sedentary life, Machu Picchu trek day 1

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Gina. Cusco, Peru. We survived! I´m tired and in a good deal of pain, but I made it, and I plan to do very little physical activity for the next few days at least! I think it´ll be easiest to write ... [Continue reading this entry]

Impending Doom

Friday, June 20th, 2008
Okay, I´m being melodramatic. Tomorrow morning, not so bright but definitely early, we start off on our 4 days of hiking the Inca Trail. We´ve packed up the stuff we´ll need for the trek and stored the stuff we won´t ... [Continue reading this entry]

Touristy things

Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Gina. Cusco, Peru. We finally got a room with a kitchen! Yay! It´s a tiny shared kitchen, but it´s clean and it works. It´s so nice to eat our own food. Even simple things like scrambled eggs or spaghetti. One thing ... [Continue reading this entry]

Incan Ruins and Silliness

Saturday, June 14th, 2008
Gina. Ollytatambo, Peru We went outside today! Yay! I´m posting photos right now of the Incan ruins around Ollytatambo, flowers, and the silliness we got into along an Incan wall. It´s really amazing how accurately they cut the rocks for some ... [Continue reading this entry]

Cusco and the Sacred Valley

Friday, June 13th, 2008
Gina. Ollytatambo, Peru  We´re such sad, sick little Americans. I´m feeling much better. The 15 bus ride from Ica to Cusco almost did me in, though. It´s not just 15 hours on a bus... it´s 15 hours on a bus with ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Incan Revenge

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Gina. Ica, Peru  So, I´m taking a little poetic license on my title here, since the phrase is usually Matazuma´s Revenge. But we´re in Peru, not Mexico, and this seemed like a more appropriate way to go. But the point is, I ... [Continue reading this entry]