July 25: Sometimes Things Don't Go According to the Plan

Good evening from Cusco! Believe it or not, I am still in Cusco. Though the original plan was to travel all week with Lauren via bus, a few things have happened that have made it clear that bus is not the best way to travel right now. That being said, the past week has been filled with incredible moments (and some not-so-incredible moments).

Friday night came too quickly, as did having to say goodbye to my Cuscanean family, new friends, teachers, and co-workers. It was a bittersweet day, complete with many tears and photos. It is amazing how close relationships can form over a relatively short amount of time. No words can explain how grateful I am to have gotten to know so many amazing people over the past few weeks. All the staff at the clinic have been so supportive and friendly towards me, and I have loved my experience there and learned a lot. In fact, one of my hopes was to be able to poke someone with a needle (either an injection or blood test, etc.), and it just so happened that Friday, we went to a preschool to test the children for anemia (a prominent issue here), so I was able, on my last day, to a poke a few kids. ;-)

with Rosa

From left: Milagros, me, Lexi, Martha, Delia and Pamela

After the clinic, we spent some time in San Blas, the really classy area of town, before heading to Maximo for my last Spanish class. There, I said goodbye to Rosa, who has become not only an amazing teacher and tutor, but a friend and an excellent source of advice.

Then, we concluded our final evening in the town with ice cream and a last trip to San Cristobal church for the amazing city view before I headed home to finish packing, shower, eat and say goodbye. Of course, I had to say goodbye in the same condition as when I arrived...with no water. Haha, so no shower. But it didn't matter how dirty I was, we still hugged and cried as we said goodbye. I have loved every minute with the Morales family--the number of nights spent laughing, dancing, and eating in the kitchen, the number of celebrations, songs, cakes-for-breakfast, and love we have shared can not be documented by mere photos.

Also, a shout out to Lexi for truly being such an amazing friend, practically sister over the past 6 weeks. I don't know what I would have done without her keeping my company, listening to me, sharing my enthusiasm for musicals and medicine, providing sanity in the midst of craziness, tolerating the surprises and difficulties of our travels, and more.

And then, the adventure began. Lauren and I met at the bus station to board a Peru Hop bus to Puno, near Lake Titicaca. The trip started as expected, with an 8-hour, overnight bus ride. We arrived after some poor-quality sleep, ate breakfast, and awaited our ride for our 2-day tour of the islands in Lake Titicaca.

During this tour, we stopped by the famous floating islands where we enjoyed a reed-boat tour before traveling by boat for 3 hours to Amantani Island, where we spent the night with Kacy and her mom, Sylvia, (pictured) along with 3 other tourists. During the afternoon, we hiked up to Pachamama Temple to watch a beautiful sunset and see the view of both Peru and Bolivia. Then we went home for dinner before getting dressed up for the dance. Sunday, we woke up and visited Taquile Island, also beautiful, before taking the boat back to Puno. At 9:30pm (after my first shower in almost four days), we got picked up by the Peru Hop bus which would take us back to Cusco for our 5am arrival (change #1--we were supposed to travel to Huacachina, but an earthquake and landslide had blocked the road to Huacachina, so we had to change our route to go back through Cusco).

I'm going to skip the details of change #2. Basically, due to strikes and having some kind of digestive illness, the next 20 hours, spent walking and sitting on a bus, passed by miserably, and we finally arrived to Cusco at 4pm, 3 hours before we were supposed to take our next bus, and 11 hours after we were supposed to arrive. Due to the travel difficulties and illnesses, we decided to forget taking buses, and book a flight to Lima. Thus, tomorrow morning, we will fly to Lima, where we will spend a day before heading back to the US.

So, as a kind of unexpected gift, we have been able to spend another full day in Cusco, enjoying this amazing city and all it has to offer. Between walking around, shopping, eating great food, and playing cards--because it's always a good time for a game of Battle Solitaire--Lauren and I have thoroughly enjoyed our not-the-plan travels.

So all is good. We have put that bus ride behind us and are enjoying the last of our adventures in Peru.