Oliver comes to town!

For the past two weeks I was so so lucky to have Oliver with me to share my life in Peru - it was great! A quick synopsis of our visit together:

I picked Oli up in Lima, where we hung out in the "park of love", which was built as a counterforce to all the monuments to war. The benches are all covered with snippets of love poems and names of well-known literary and real-life couples

We then spent a week in Huancayo, where I worked and he checked out the local sites, such as the Parque de la Identidad (below). We made a bunch of yummy Mexican food one day and took it to share with my co-workers. Delicious!

We wanted to go to Cusco and Machu Picchu and thought it would be a great idea to take a bus from Huancayo all the way there. Although it looks like a short trip as the crow flies, the route goes over the andes on curvy, unpaved roads and we were really glad for the beautiful scenery and not-so-frequent breaks on our....32 hour trip (!):

We stopped off in Ayacucho for a day, where we visited the capital of the Wari empire (a pre-inca culture). Although the site is 16 square km, only a very small area has been excavated, but we were able to see what was likely a ceremonial centre:

Ayacucho is a really beautiful city, but not highly touristed (it was the centre of the Shining Path movement in the 1980s, but is safe now). And then we were off to Cusco and Machu Picchu!

We lived the full-blown tourist life in Cusco, buying wool hats and llama sweaters and eating over-priced food -we loved it:

We'll have to wait until July for our next adventures together - I know they'll be wonderful.

Mi casa y vida

For those of you who are wondering what my life is like in Huancayo, here's an idea: (Careful! it's so exciting that you might want to hang on to your seats!)

My house and street:

The two rooms in my house - thanks for doing the dishes Oli!

The views from my roof/backdoor/laundry area

Our focus groups are based on understanding the relationship between vegetable production and social and environmental factors. Here I am asking about the source and quality of the agricultural inputs used in one of the communities:

One of the perks of my job is that it includes things like being invited to eat freshly harvested corn and potatoes with fresh cheese!

There you have it!

Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail!

I just got back from an amazing week in southern Peru hiking the Inca trail with Gabby on our way to Machu Picchu. The whole trip was not entirely what we expected, partially because we both ended up getting sick right before we left, and partially because it was far more stunning than we ever could have imagined! We decided to go the very touristy route and take the 4-day Inca Trail hike from Ollantaytambo (outside of Cusco) to Machu Picchu. 500 people (200 tourists and 300 porters and guides) a day start off on the 43-km hike and although at times it feels like you're in the middle of a log-jam, for the most part the trail is scenic and peaceful and a offers a wonderful possibility to view - and meander through - andean scenery. If you look closely, you'll see a little line of people trekking along the bottom

The trail itself is manageable, although not an easy hike in the woods. We climbed over four mountains, and at our highest point crossed a 4,200 metre pass before descending to sleep at 3,600 metres (it got to -2 that night)

First you go up...and then hike right back down

It was so fun to go with Gabbs, and I'm sure we were helpful at entertaining our fellow tour group members with our incessant giggles, snotty faces, card playing and photo ops at every turn. I miss you already Gabbs!

A few reasons why I am infinitely cooler than Gabby, as exemplified in these photos:
1. Rain pants from 1987
2. Tilley hat
3. Florescent orange water bottle holder
4. Bright purple poncho strapped to my back
5. Thumbs up.
You'll note that Gabby looks like she could be modelling for a Peruvian alpaca wool outdoor adventure company - who looks that good after hiking up 4,200 metres?

Anyways, after passing through some beautiful Incan archaeological sites and agricultural terraces,

we arrived at our final destination - Machu Picchu!

It was really cloudy and foggy when we got there, so you'll have to trust that we really are standing in front of the famous Machu Picchu postcard scene. For those of you who aren't so sure, I'm adding another photo of after the sun burned off some of the mist and you can actually see the mountains in the background

Machu Picchu itself is definitely over-touristed (apparently 1,500 people go a day, although UNESCO has declared 500 to be the maximum sustainable number), but it's easy to see why it is such a sought-after site. It is strikingly beautiful, and quite big, and surrounded on all sides by imposing green mountains. It was more than amazing to arrive there after four days of hiking through the andes, and so inspiring to have a place be so much more than I had imagined.