Gettin' slothly

Five-million-year old sloth fossil found in Peru- read all about it!

Ollantaytambo!

Yesterday Alex and Aiden and I set off to Ollantaytambo, a little town about 40 miles outside of Cusco. Everyone had raved about this little gem of a town- beautiful, peaceful, and historical. It was truly a wonderful little place, however, before we arrived there I was already completely satisfied- the 2 hour drive out there was unbelievably gorgeous! The mountains were massive and snow capped and against the big blue sky and fluffy white clouds, I couldn't imagine many things more stunning. I was definitely in my happy place.

Once we arrived, we had coffee at Hearts Cafe, a delicious and wholesome spot on the plaza which puts its profits towards bettering the lives of people in the surrounding areas. Then we took a little tour of the town (which did not take long, it is tiny!), and then climbed up the ruins. It really is in a valley (affectionately referred to here as the Sacred Valley) so you really feel like you've just been dropped in the middle of the mountains.

For those interested, some history on the ruins: The Ollantaytambo complex was still under construction at the time of the conquest and was never completed. After Incan ruler Manco Inca was defeated by the Spanish at Sacsayhuaman (1536) he retreated to Ollantaytambo. There the Spaniards attacked with a force of 70 cavalry, 30 foot soldiers and a large contingent of natives to capture Manco Inca. The Incans, in a wise battle move, flooded the valley, making it difficult for the horses to maneuver. Once they were stuck in the mud, the Incan forces rained down showers of arrows, spears and rocks upon the Spanish troops. Ollantaytambo then became the only place ever to have resisted attacks from the Spanish! However, their victory was short-lived when the Spanish returned with four times their previous force, and Ollantaytambo fell into the hands of the Spanish. (Thanks andeantravelweb.com for help with that history.)

IS THIS HEAVEN?!

Ollantaytambo: It's so prettyyyyy!

Why hello hammock, yes I will lie in you!

One of the cleaner rivers I've seen in Peru... a nice change.

Peru is full of silly hats.

Most of Ollantaytambo, from above

Ruins

Nicely done

Dear Incans: how did you get those enormous stones there, and how did you make them so flat? Please enlighten me. Love, Elise

You are massive.

Nice stones

A nice place to raise a family

We love Incan ruins!

It's like Mt. Rushmore, but it's an Incan king! See his crown on the top?

Ok this picture did not accurately capture what I wanted it to, but I wanted to put something about the ride home- the sun was going down, and the way the light was changing over the mountains and hitting the clouds was spectacular. Even though I was exhausted, I kept my eyes open and looked out my window the whole ride back. I felt like I was at the best planetarium ever. It was an unforgettable, magnificent day!

Peru hates my sinuses

I have another sinus infection. Wait, correction- I've had one for about 3 weeks, and was finally diagnosed today. Yep, that's what's going on in my world... exhilarating, I know. I'm blaming this infection on the 35° F temperature difference between noon and nighttime. And our house's lack of heat. And a balance of karma considering my quality of life here.

While I'm on the topic, a side note about the ease of getting drugs here: it's unbelievable. You can get anything at the pharmacy without a prescription! Antibiotics, pain killers, antidepressants, sedatives, tranquilizers, cocaine (okay not that really, just wanted to refocus your concentration), the list goes on and on. And they are CHEAP! You would think this would encourage pill addiction and abuse, but according to Dr. Tony, it's not an issue here. Maybe we should learn something in the U.S. from this situation... people kill people for OxyContin where I'm from!

So yeah, get your orders in by the end of July, my service fee is reasonable, I swear.

...and in 'Bad News'

These are the cutest girls ever. How could anyone ever decide that they deserved a good smackaround every so often? Sadly, it is not uncommon for our girls to show up late to class, in tears, and after some gentle probing, shamefully admit to us that their dads just hit them. Domestic violence is a huge problem in Peru, a study by the Peruvian government confirms with findings that on average, nineteen women are killed every month by their spouses. Not beat. KILLED. Wtf? It's no wonder women walk around the city with their heads down and are rarely seen having fun in bars or clubs at night.


AND: Peru has announced that it will ban all homosexuals from the police force for damaging the image of the institution. The law states that any police officer who has sexual relations with someone of the same gender will be indefinitely suspended from the police force.

I have yet to meet a gay Peruvian, and have only met one openly gay traveler here. It's an incredibly homophobic country- to the point where when a band in a bar sings a popular song whose title appears to be (in Spanish) "Faggot", the entire bar starts to chant with them. Weird.

Two Points for Peru

Kobe Bryant is ordered to pay his former Peruvian housekeeper who left because she was treated with disrespectful and assaulting tones by her former employers.

And: Oasis is very impressed with the crowd at their concert in Lima.

I just learned so much about sunscreen

Just in time for summer, the New York Times examines the confusion and myths behind different SPF factors.

P.S. Thanks Mom and Dad for sending me the SPF 55- it is apparently useless.

Well, this should be good

Thanks, Sarah. Really. I can't wait to read this!

To the Best Mommy in the World!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Best Night Everrrr

I got home at 7 am this morning. I can't remember the last time that happened. Anyway, it was a fantastic, wild night not to be forgotten (mostly because we managed to catch most of it on camera). Nick was hosting a party at his bar featuring four different DJs. One was Jaime Cuadra, from Lima, whose music was heavily featured in the last James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Alex and I got quite excited about the prospect of partying with Nick & friends while rocking out to some Peruvian techno.

The crowd was psyched, our friends behind the bar kept us quenched, and when Nick's closed down we headed to Mama Africa, the only place in Cusco open until 7 am for the local night owls. I danced a lot of salsa with DJ Jaime (interesting), acted as translator between a gay Brit who reeeeeally wanted to be more than friends with a straight Limeñan, and celebrated a new found appreciate for Aretha Franklin.

Nick and DJ Jaime himself

In honor of the 007 star

I LOVE TO DANCE

Take a picture weeeee

Yeah that tequila shot in front of us did not last long

I thought I was the bartender (thanks Aidan and Freddy for letting me pretend). Alex did not realize the lens was partially closed... gives it an artsy feel, no?

Amor.

Alex, Aidan and I spent the majority of today in bed, giggling over and over and over at the photos from last night. If you are interested in an additional 50 pictures of us embracing one another, check out Facebook!

I love this girl.

I don't believe she's been properly introduced. This is who I live with, work with, spend pretty much every living moment with: Ms. Alex Behles!

Failed Mission, Beautiful Day

Tony and I set out today to Urcos, a town that he described as having "nothing except a lake and paddleboats". I'm always down for paddleboating on a beautiful day, so we jumped on a bus around noon and an hour letter arrived in the charming town of Urcos.

HELLO LAKE!

The gate to the paddleboats was closed

The paddleboats were not in the water (and SO much cooler than any paddleboat I've ever seen)

Failed mission.

Tony is sad.

So we sat under the straw hut and looked at the lake

And watched children pass by

Then checked out the town

Hustle and bustle of Urcos' main plaza- happening place, I tell you

The journey back- brown= corn stalk, yellow= corn

Peru has a lot of beautiful mountains

Sooo despite the lack of paddleboats, it was a lovely day. We're told the boats will be back in action at the end of the month... riding the Donald Duck paddleboat would be worth the second trip!

Fútbol

A reporter from El Comercio, Peru's biggest national newspaper, was doing a story on Nick and his "club" of Hooligans who regularly go to the games here. Apparently this "club" has lost its following in the last few years, so he needed his friends to stand in while the reporter came and took pictures, interviewed, etc. It's possible Alex and I will become local celebrities. Link to come soon, I hope.

Sooo we met at Nick's this morning at 10 am for an 11 am kickoff. The match was Cienciano (Cusco team) vs. Alianza Atlético, which apparently didn't excite anyone too much, because the stadium was fairly empty. A highlight was the stadium food, which was fairly priced, consisted mostly of meat on a stick, and didn't make me sick.

Compared with the excitement/ intensity I've witnessed over fútbol in Brazil and Argentina, this was kind of pathetic. However, I guess no one in the U.S. gets excited over the Kansas City Royals vs. Seattle Mariners, either. I'm going to keep my eye out for a "big game" and see if that gets Peruvians any more amped up.

We're thinking of bringing the girls here on a field trip in a desperate attempt to demonstrate that soccer works much better when not every girl on the field runs to the ball... we shall see.

Running the length of a soccer field at this altitude is difficult.

"Look like you like eachother!" Thanks Aidan.

Nick's dog, Harriet, who was wearing a Cienciano shirt. First dog in Peru I've pet without being terrified of fleas or other diseases. She's having babies in 3 weeks!

I look awkward. And unenthusiastic. And when getting dressed for the game I realized I own virtually NO red clothing. Fact.

A lovely weekend, indeed. Happy Monday everyone and GO CELTICS!