THAT was not a waste of water

When about to shower, my mother often has the habit of declaring that she is filthy enough that the shower will NOT be a waste of water.  Let me tell you, the shower I just took was not a waste of water!  Underneath 2 days of gross brought on by hiking in the sun and various levels of Peruvian public restrooms and about 4 layers of DEET and sunscreen, I seem to have re-found my own skin.  Actually, my shower this evening was insane.  The water pressure was akin to a power wash.

So now I am clean and tired.  So tired, in fact, that I have not read Claire's blog post, so I have no way of knowing if I'm being redundant!

Machu Pichu was amazing, and I bet I saw more before 10 this morning than you saw all day!  We were taking Machu Pichu at a beautifully leisurely pace.  Enjoying each site, watching the mist roll off the (breathtaking, jungle) mountains and the sun wash over the ruins piece by piece.  The mountains make me think of the movie Up!  It was so breathtaking that pictures actually do it no justice.

Anyway, nice, leisurely touristy-ness (by the way, there was a line for the bus at 5:30 this morning!), when suddenly Raul declares that we will now hike to the sungate, and let me tell you- it was a HIKE!  Well worth the amazing views, but perhaps I wouldn't have worn jeans if I had known what we were in for!

Now, a couple of random points:

1. Food- the last few days have seen few meals (as previously mentioned, Raul doesn't really believe in eating), but delicious meals!  Today's main meal was lunch around 2, which we ate at a lovely, fancy pants restaurant called "The Tree House".  We were mind-bogglingly hungry after our hike, but let me tell you, the Quinoa and Lamb risotto I had would have been amazing even if I hadn't been hungry! It contained lovely veggies, two kinds of Quinoa (red and black) and it was served over a black-bean puree....yum!  The food here in general is fresh and full of veggies and very reasonably priced.  Tonight we got into the hotel late after a long train ride, and tired has won out over hungry, and we have decided we don't need dinner (though we had some lovely warming tea when we arrived, as it is quite cold).

2. Restrooms- the level of variety on public restrooms here is amazing!  We have not seen any super gross ones, but they have definitely ranged from no toilet seat and no toilet paper to very-clean-American-style.  And the thing is, you never can tell.  The fanciness of the venue does not predict the quality of the bathroom.

3. Travel- we have taken planes, trains, cars, and buses, and let me begin by saying that I am SO glad we don't need to drive!  The roads are mostly too narrow for two cars to pass and very windy.  On the bus to Machu Pichu (the only way up other than walking), the buses pull over to pass each other, and it is terrifying!  Luckily, we've had all very good drivers who handle the roads here valiantly (and the cars have seatbelts, which is more than most Moroccan cars).

Well, tomorrow we fly to the jungle, and you will not hear from us for 4ish days, as our Jungle Lodge has power only a few hours a day and certainly no internet.  I am super excited for the Jungle, and for the slightly more vacation-y style of that part of our journey (regular meals, anyone?).  We promise to prepare blog posts and take lots of pictures for our return to Cuzco!

Buenos Noches,
Emily