Back in the States…

A few months later... I’ve finally found some time to recap what happened after I left Ecuador! Nothing like suspense. After leaving Cuenca, we traveled South into Lima, Peru and then on to Cusco. Cusco and I quickly developed a rocky relationship. Our group hadn’t even left the airport and I was already sick. We spent the first two days visiting a bunch of ancient Incan ruins. One evening, our group had just gotten off a tourist bus when all of a sudden, this long-haired hippy dude was asking me in Spanish where the bathroom was. Low and behold, it was MATT! WOAH! We’d planned on meeting later that week at Machu Picchu, but he has super powers, and found me ahead of time. Yeah, it was pretty cool. Only not so much like the movies, because I didn't recognize him at first. Dreadful, I know. Ever on stranger danger alert, my friends were actually prepared to pull me away. Unfortunately, not too long after that, I had an intense 24-hr battle with Altitude Sickness. So while everyone else toured Cusco ruins, I slowly died on the bus. Yeah, I was pretty miserable. This other tourist actually pointed at me, asked “Altitude sickness?” and quickly gave me some sweets that are intended to cure you. When the guidebook suggests taking time to acclimate yourself to the altitude, you really should. Thankfully, I recovered on the train ride to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu was the most surreal experience of my life; I still can’t believe I was really there. Thank goodness for pictures because there just aren’t words to explain how amazing and magical it truly is. I’m afraid I would spoil it if I even tried. We arrived super early in the morning to be one of the initial 200 that get to climb up Wyna picchu (the big mountain in the classic Machu Picchu photo). That was a workout in and of itself; but once you get to the top, you are rewarded with a truly breathtaking view, especially as the morning light breaks through the fog. I definitely recommend it.

The next morning, I said adios to my group. It was definitely tough to say goodbye to the people I’d shared such a unique experience with, especially knowing our paths would probably never cross again. But Matt and I wanted to continue traveling, so we hopped a bus and headed for the Peruvian/Bolivian border where I got to utilize my Spanish to get us into the country (for some reason we’d forgotten to pack booze for bargaining power). We actually had to pay for a VISA. That’s what we get for being Unitedstatesians (new word, you should try it out).

Our next stop was Copacabana, Bolivia. Cool place. Laid back. Lots of hippies. One day, while hiking out to the tip of a peninsula, we passed a cave that housed Mother Mary shrine and met many local kids who kept asking for “dulces” (candy). We then got a boat ride from a local across a bit of Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) to the Isla de Sol (Sun Island). The sun was setting, casting beautiful light all over the Bolivian Mountains, and it was just gorgeous. We’d ambitiously rented camping equipment in Cusco and thought we should give it a go on the Isla de Sol. While setting up camp, two men showed up and wanted us to pay for our space (this is South America, there were no designated campsites). I knew it wasn’t too uncommon to have to pay, but I was worried people were going to hit us up all night, claiming we owed them for our tent space. I’ve experienced the worry that comes with wondering what animals are roaming around your tent, but I’ve never lost sleep before wondering what men were outside. Needless to say, that was the only night we camped. Isla de Sol was beautiful when the sun was actually out (apparently it looks a bit like the Mediterranean) but after hiking across the island, we took off as soon as we could the next morning.

Watch out! We arrived in La Paz, Bolivia around 9 pm, well after the sun had set. Literally, the second we got off the bus a police man asked to see my papers while asking me a bunch of questions. I was like, “What the heck is going on?” Meanwhile, Matt was motioning for me to keep moving. I was soo confused. It was a policeman! How could I walk away from him? Then Matt explained about how he’d read about fake policeman and how they try to scam you by convincing you that you need to go to the “police office.” Then they try to escort you in a “taxi” and take your money. Yikes! I’m glad Matt had done his homework. Who knows how far it would have gone before I’d realized I was getting scammed. La Paz was incredibly crowded and disgusting. Sunday night must have been garbage night because the streets were littered with trash, including used toilet paper everywhere.

We took an overnight bus to Uyuni, the starting point for tours of the salt flats in southern Bolivia. Matt and I were the only tourists on the bus, and that definitely makes you keep a closer watch on your belongings. The folks across the aisle from us had smuggled their dog in under some blankets, so that was entertaining. I couldn’t help but wonder about its bladder control though. Glad we weren’t sitting behind them… At six in the morning, with the bus windows officially frosted over and no sun to be found, the driver dropped us off in Uyuni, where there was no where to go. Poor timing, I know. Scheduling is not included amongst the South American bus system’s many high points. Hours later, we found ourselves on a jeep tour with two couples from Holland. We spent the next three days driving over the Salt Flats and exploring the desert, geysers, and hot springs. The Salt Flats experience was much like visiting the ocean. Only instead of observing blue waves as far as the eye can see, you saw white salt. Crazy, I know! At times I forgot I was on salt and wondered when the jeep was going to fall through the ice. Cool, most definitely. Other highlights included listening to the same awful tape for three days straight, chasing Vicuña (like llamas), seeing pink flamingos, having a flat tire at 5:30 in the morning (once again, before the sun rose, FREEZING Death), and running out of gas when we were 30 minutes away from returning to Uyuni. Got to love tours in Bolivia. Don’t bother complaining, that’s life. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to tip for how smooth things went. HA! Really though.

Life was pretty uneventful on the way home. However, there was that one time when the bus stopped and all the locals got off while the tourists stayed on. We had heard this would happen and that we needed to find a little boat that would take us across the lake while the bus went across on its own ferry. Only the locals were super quick to the boat, and took off before we could jump inside. Sitting in the next boat, we watched as our bus crossed the lake while we remained beached. Oh dear. The boat man said we couldn’t take off until the boat was full of people, and that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Once again, I was super worried, convinced that that was the last time I would see the bus, and that Matt’s luggage would be gone forever. Somehow, thankfully, we scooted our way across the lake and found the bus before it left us behind. Whew! After successfully crossing the border back into Peru, we continued to Cusco and took a flight to Lima.

The next day, I was back in Dundee, Iowa. To quote Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.” Four months later, South America slips into my mind every once in awhile. I didn’t experience much for culture shock. The cost of living was a bit of slap in the face. But I had camp to buffer that transition for me.

I’d love to return some day. Hopefully my Spanish will improve so I can converse with my host family and we can laugh about all of the things I didn’t understand before. I am still so grateful for this experience. I experienced wonder unlike that which I’d ever experienced before. But more importantly, my eyes have been opened to recognizing wonder in my daily life. Thanks again for all of your kind words, encouragement, and prayers! They met (and continue) to mean so much to me.