Yes, STILL in Lima.

Well, perhaps needless to say, Andrea and I have plunged into a mad love affair with this city, hence my extended absense from the wonderful world of internet blogging. It´s really very itimidating trying to update after such an extended absense; tendencies to ramble are at peak levels currently. So, you know, bear with me.

Lima runs from the coastline along the Pacific Ocean into the foothills of the Andes. It´s smattered with remenants of neoclassical, baroque, and colonial architecture, antiquated cathedrals with catacombs, and the most glorious plazas I´ve ever encountered. They also have the cows on parade (Houstonians should remember this). Bodegas offer the richest assortments of fresh fruit juices (safe and sanitary... not like the street vendors), empanadas, camotes fritas (sweet potato fries), and ´menus´para almorzar (the cheap way to eat like a king for lunch... soup or salad plus a main plate for just 5 soles, which is less than $2). Avocados are as big as your face here, too. No joke.

And, yes, I have tried the cuy... as in guinea pig... and it is incredible. Texture of duck with the flavor of turky, quite surprising really. It even came with a little paw attached though I did request that the head be left off. You pass enough of those on the street everyday that its not such an "experience" anymore, its just annoying because it takes up space on your plate. I´m not concerned about my omnivore ways- I already plucked, skinned, and fried my own chicken on the Neverland farm (beak and claws included).

I´m working on putting up the newest photos and video I have from this city as well as our trip to Cusco and the infamous Machu Picchu. Unfortunately my camera has broken and I cannot take anymore photos as of right now until I either find someone to fix it or buy a new camera... kind of a bummer.

Oh yeah. Machu Picchu. :)
The running joke in Cusco is that the Spanish invasion took this land from the power of "Inca" to "Incapas"... which means the incapable. Really, in comparrison with any remanent of the Incan civilization, everything else here pales in comparrison.
Another interesting tidbit I found out is that the ruins of the Incan Empire at Machu Picchu are sinking due to excessive human traffic on the mountain (consider, approximately 5,000 people are let into the reserve every day). Apparently it´s already increased to nearly a centimeter a month (but, hey, it´s a tall mountain right?). Needless to say, the Peruvian government is preparing to close off the reserve in order to restore and restabilize the ruins.

Our trek started off with a day of mountain biking through the backroads between Cusco and Santa Maria. The group began above cloud level and wound down until we were submerged in subtropical heat and humidity... not to mention swarms of nasty, evil sandflies (remember that one picture of my legs from the farm... ick). The following days we hiked for approximately 7 hours each day, working our way through the small pueblos between Cusco and Aguas Calientes which is the tourist trap city situated at the foot of Machu Picchu. The first day of hiking from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa as well as the last day at the actual site of Machu Picchu makes you realize that probably the reason the Spaniards erradicated the Incas once they found them was becuase they were so pissed off at how impossible the paths are to trek... Andrea and I nearly died. Then you stop and think about how the Incan messangers ran these paths everyday and realize that the joke "from Inca to incapas" isn´t so funny anymore now that you´re a qualifier in the latter of the categories...
The first hiking day was all jungle and mountain... which really means narrow and steap. The second day flattened out a bit and we got to follow the train tracks. The third day was Machu Picchu itself.

I´m actually running late though to wake up Andrea and go to a museum so, for now, I´ll leave this to be continued (eep! sorry!)

Miss you all. I send my love.