The Journey, Not the Destination

"It's really the journey that matters, not the destination." This quote sums up the adventure that was the trip we took to Machupicchu.  Adventures tend to stretch you in ways you never knew you could be.  There is always a point in said adventure that each party involved manages a freak-out or two, and our true colors really do come out. Both Jen and I had our own little freak outs during our trip to Machupicchu.

It was definitely a Planes, Trains, and Automobiles kind of trip.  Which, by the way, is a movie I would recommend to anyone who asks.  First, Jen came down to Santa Cruz and I spent a few days showing her my stomping ground.  Then we flew together to La Paz--our flight was delayed three hours so we almost missed our bus to Cusco that we thought was scheduled for 8:30pm.  When we finally got to La Paz, we made it in time for our bus, but come to find out, the bus tickets we bought were for 8:30am.  OOPS (enter Jen's freakout).  SO we ended up staying the night in La Paz after purchasing tickets for the next day, and the night bus we had hoped to be on became a day bus.

NOW for my freakout.  We got on the bus to Cusco the next morning and we managed to drift in and out of consciousness.  One time we were asked to get out of the bus and walk through a town with our passports.  As a first-time traveler I assumed this was the border.  I was wrong.  A couple hours later, I was woken up by unclear Spanish and everyone was getting off the bus.  I didn't see anyone else take their passports, so I assumed it was just a rest stop or something because the Bolivian man next to me said we were walking through an Abasto.  Before I continue, heed to my advice: ALWAYS take your passport with you while travelling.  I foolishly left mine on the bus, and as we walked through the marvelously muddy market I saw that we were approaching the border of Peru.  That is when I broke out in the closest to a mud-run I would ever find myself in.  When I reached the bus, the driver screamed at me with a whole bunch of Spanish superlatives while I tracked my muddy footprints onto the bus and grabbed my passport.  Meanwhile, the driver continued to scream at me, so I screamed back "Lo siento! OK!!?"  I know, not my finest moment.

And continuing the freakout: When we finally got through Bolivian customs, we had to cross an overly crowded bridge and I was simply confused, lost, and unsure of which way was right, wrong, up or down.  We walked back and forth across that bridge three or four times when we finally just guessed that we had to go into Peru and stand in line at customs there.  My freakout ended when we finally saw some other people from our bus in line.

We finally got to Cusco, and all of our problems ended aside from the train tickets to Machupicchu we had already purchased for that afternoon and consequentially we missed.  My new friends, the Strongs, WGM missionaries, let us stay with them.  The Strongs also drove us to the train station and below are some photos of stops we made along the way.  By the end, we made it to Machupicchu, and I'm so thankful and blessed to have had the experience of a lifetime.  

Though both of us freaked out, I was even more blessed to have gone with such a chill and low maintenance friend that I have in Jen.  She made things so much more fun, and out unforgettable experiences we littered with deep heart-to-heart conversations (as well as hilarious ones) that were truly a blessing to me.

Machupicchu pictures will make an appearance later, when I am able to sort through over 700 photos that Jen and I took.

In the taxi in La Paz right before we found out that we got the wrong tickets.

FINALLY on the bus to Cusco!

On the way to Ollantaytambo, the train station...this church took my breath away

At a wildlife refuge, we saw a bunch of beautiful animals

Peru is known for their condors, and we got to see them upclose and personal!

We stopped at a llama and alpaca reserve too, and I got to feed a llama!! :)

They are the most fascinatingly ugly and beautiful birds ever.

We learned how the Peruvian women dye and weave Peruvian alpaca textiles.

All of these colors were made from rocks, trees, plants, and berries.  It was fascinating. 

on the road to Pisac, a town between Cusco and Ollantaytambo.

A Carnaval custom.  The leader of the festival artificially plant this tree in  the sqaure and place gifts in it.  The town dances around it and take turns chopping at it with machetes.  The couple that chops the tree down is in charge of the festival the following year.

The Peruvian textiles were so colorful and beautiful!

We stopped in Urubambo to visit this place.  Seminario pottery, a world-famous potter that  just  took my breath away and convinced me to spend far too much money on coasters, a mug and salt and pepper shakers.

FINALLY in Ollantaytambo (I challenge you to pronounce that correctly on the first try) and getting on the train! 

STAY TUNED for pictures from Machupicchu!!

Until next time..

Rachel