Update for Adam and Jason

Adam and Jason have not been able to update the blog lately because the internet connections in Peru were not fast enough to upload pictures. So...they asked me to give everyone a quick update; unfortunately it ended up being a very long update.

I met up with the guys in Lima on Oct. 26th. There was not a lot to do there, so I went paragliding (strapped a parachute and a 115 lb. Peruvian to my back and jumped off a cliff) then we hopped on a 22 hr. bus to Cuzco. Upon arrival in Cuzco, we booked a one day tour of the Sacred Valley and a five day trek to Machu Picchu. Strikes near Machu Picchu pushed our trek back one day (which gave Jason and I time to recover from some bad street food) but after that everything was great.

The beginning of the hike was very demanding and mountainous, or what our guide referred to as "Inka flat". The first night was crazy cold, but the second day we reached the highest point of our journey at just over 15,000 ft. and then began a rapid decent to the jungle and warmer temperatures. On the third day one of the other guys from our group was complaining about his knees bothering him, so our cook went into the jungle, found a plant and vigorously rubbed it into our buddy's knees. This caused his knees to turn red and blister, but it worked amazingly well, and kept everyone in the group from having any sore joints for the remainder of the trek.

That third night we went swimming in some beautiful hot springs, which was just what our aching muscles and body odor ordered. In reality we may not have smelled any better after the hot springs, but at least we smelled different. After the hot springs, we returned to camp for dinner where we were intertained by a spider monkey running around on our table stealing food and sugar. The monkey found a kindred spirit at our table, and spent almost all of his down time between sugar raids nestelled in Jason's long monkey-like arms.

The fourth day of the hike was mostly uneventful, but that night we made our plans for Machu Picchu and parted with our guide. We got out of bed at 2:30 am EST on the fifth morning, strapped on our head lamps, and began the final leg of our journey to Machu Picchu. We reached the gates of Machu Picchu sometime around 5:15 am and waited for them to finally open at 6:00. Once inside the gate, Jason, Adam, and I sprinted toward higher ground to take some amazing pictures before any other tourists could get in our way. Due to the elevation, this turned out to be a very short sprint and probably cost us more time than it saved. We did eventually reach a good, unobstructed vantage point just in time to take a single picture before Machu Picchu was completely engulfed by fog.

As the day went on, the sun burnt through the fog and we were able to take some great pictures. After a two-hour tour around Machu Picchu we made the very steep climb up Huayna Picchu, and the even steeper decent down the back to the Temple of the Moon and the Grand Cave. We got back to Cuzco that night at about 11:00 pm, after a very long, very demanding, and endlessly rewarding day.

Our next stop was at a small desert oasis called Huacachina. In Huacachina we booked a dune buggy / sandboarding tour. The sandboarding was a blast, and the buggy ride with our driver, "El Diablo", was scarier and way more fun than any roller coaster. Jason had a pretty good wipeout while sandboarding and when we parted ways (Nov. 10) he was still trying to get the sand out of his ears.

Then next morning jumped on a bus headed toward Pisco, but got off part way to check out the Nazca lines. We could have seen many of the spectacular drawings on the desert floor from an airplane for $65.00 each, but we decided to save money and go the the observation point for $0.30. The observation point turned out to be a forty foot tower next to the highway with a view of two of the less impressive drawings. But, it still counts!

After the Nazca lines we flagged down another bus and made it the rest of the way to Pisco. While in Pisco, we went on a morning tour of Islas Bellestras aka: "the Poor Man's Galapagos" and saw a break dance battle in the Plaza de Armas.

From Pisco, I returned to Lima to fly home and Jason and Adam began their journey to Bolivia.

I could post a hundred more pictures and tell many more stories, but I will save the rest for Jason and Adam to tell when they return.

Nick