Greetings from Ollantaytambo!!!

Thanks for all the sweet words, it was nice to read this morning. I journeyed from Lima yesterday... and it was a bit tough. My Spanish is decent, but in conversation, lacks a bit. I made it, but I had a few "heartattack" moments shall we say? LOL No worries, nothing of the safety sort, just craziness that always seems to happen in my life! hahaha

Well, Lima was simply amazing - the buildings are all so beautiful, the craftmanship and the Spanish style homes and buildings. It was great seeing the city and my friend, Orlando was such a gracious host. I seen so much of the city in one day, my head was spinning. Looks like I won´t be able to upload until maybe tomorrow, or Friday pics however, as internet has been pretty sporadic. Though amazingly I do have cell service here, but it costs me like $2.50 a min!!! So those calls have been reserved for my mom and dad.... Sorry Rhe! ;) I am in a lil internet cafe right now to check mail and obviously jot down some stuff before going to explore some ruins just out of the city.

I am in a town called Ollantaytambo, and it is considered a living city. The town still has all of it´s old world charm, small cobblestone streets and small building... all overshadowed by the beauty of the Andes. As I came in on the bus yesterday- which btw- my taxi driver put me on a locals only bus and part of my heartattack moment yesterday!! - to see countryside and then the mountains come into full view with their snow caps was not only breathtaking, it was moving. Seriously, it brought me to tears thinking of my grandfather and how he would have loved to known that I made it to my destination. I cannot explain how humbling it is to be before these grand features of this country... it truly makes you appreciate life and our Creator.

I have a new found appreciation for the difference b-w my culture and the Latin culture when it comes to personal space!!! I rode on the bus yesterday w- small children and farmers and women in traditional Peruvian dress and w- most of them right on top of me. lol Literally the bus packs in so tight, you feel and smell hehe everyone... the music blasts, the windows are open and the crowd on the bus ebbs and flows together and the crazy driver curves around corners so quickly you think you might just topple the rest of the way over. The children were the most fun to watch... as the bus would approach a stop in the country, the school children would come flying toward the bus laughing and smiling. I think some of my fondest memories of this beautiful country have come from observing people and especially the children... they are so happy and have this wide eye wonder look to them. Its beautiful.

So once I finally figured out that my last stop would not be in Ollantaytambo, but in Urambamba... the heartattack came a bit. I thought to myself, what I have gotten myself into!?? lol Then in all the confusion of realizing I was on a bus w- all locals and hardly anyone spoke Spanish... there is another lang. spoken here, primarily of rural areas... I couldn´t find my change purse w- my money!!! I almost started to cry, and as the bus unloaded I was the last one saying, no, no, no, no, no, no...!! The driver looked to his friend, ¿Ella loca?? I just kept saying necessito un momento, un momento! ahahahhaha I did find my money, I stashed it in another pocket of my back'pack, but waooooooooo! ahahha So I made a mental note to always put it in the same spot going forward!! ahahhah I found a combi (shared taxi) and myself and a young guy from Spain shared it on the way up to Olly.

I checked into my hostal and to my surprise the owner gave me an amazing room that sits up top of the B n B... the views, are amazing and I have a panoramic window. Needless to say, I star gazed while drifting off to sleep. :) The food is so incredibly good here and so friggin cheap, it´s nuts. I met a few people last night, two girls from Greece who had just come up from the Amazon by way of Ecuador and two guys, one from the US and the other from Toronto, they are doing the Inca Trail. We went to a small spot in town and hung out, sharing our journeys and digging the lil spot the two cousins had found before stopping into my hostal for dinner. So much fun- they had a wooden firemans pole that we all kept going down! ahhaha One of the girls tried to go upside down... lol... yah, we´re def having fun!! You´ll see all the pics soon.... it´s hard to describe, but it was like landing in someone´s really cool attic w- tons of stuff to look at and mess w-!! hahaha

Anyway, this is practically a book... is anyone still there??? ahahahahha love you guys and I´ll catch up w- you again soon! I leave tomorrow by train to Aguas Calientes.. a town at the base of Machu Picchu and known for their hot springs! :) Cannot wait to soak my body!! :) Then I´ll take another bus to Machu Picchu at 5:30 am to see the sunrise. Think of me when you wake... I´ll be sending good vibes your way. :) Till next time!

BESOS!
Shalen