Peru Advntures no>1

Here begins the logging of my journey within South America...

When i arrived into Lima airport myself and a Japanese man navigated our way to a taxi. The Taxi driver spoke only spanish, myself only English and the Japanese only Japansese. It was fun trying to communicate, decide on a cost and destination. A good reminder of the importance of language and the interesting ventures that await me.
I spent the first night in Lima at a hostel called Red Psycho Lama. I drank Chillcanos and sat on the roof terrace watching the city lights and feeling sparks of excitment and magick. Also got to know a nice young Irish couple...

From Lima I took two buses heading to an Eco Yoga Park. This was North of Lima (1.5 hours bus ride). It is a Krishna community, a place many people come to visit to gain insight into the lifestyle and look at the Biodynamic Farming, incredible sculptures, pictures and ´trulys´(Indian structures built out of sand and water, in long dome shapes designed to protect against earth quake energies). There i ate alot of vegetarian food, did alot of weeding, spent long afternoons lying on the beach and dipping toes in cool water. I met wonderful people and processed some of the emotions that were coming up for me alone in this new environment. There was alot of space to simply ´be´, so i had lots of reflective time. At points more than i wanted! But all really good experience. Seems like a long while ago now actually...

From Eco Truly i took a bus, with a few lovely woman, to Lima. There was no space in the back so we got to ride in the front with the driver, which was great fun. He gave us free local buiscuits and we looked out of the window at the epic ocean and sand mountains while breeze flushed our faces. Once in Lima I stayed alone in a hostel, with a dorm all to myself (so i took libery of the double bed!) Two french guys kindly made me lunch, and i had a nice chat with the hostel owner (we communicated mainly through body language due to language barriers! We did a very good job of it i think!)

The following day I met up with a friend who lives in Lima, Mabel. She gave me a tour around Magdelena. The following day she gave me the City centre tour, which was a little exhausting in the heat but really good fun and i got to see some incredible buildings. We ate out at a little vegetarian place linked to "Eco Truly" (little coincendence). That night she and her partner took me out on the town and i got pretty drunk on very little, and spent the night learning random spanish phrases and laughing. It was nice to ´go out´, having some fun was very nourishing.

At 3am this morning i arrived back into Cusco, after enduring a 4 day Inka Jungle Trek. It was so amazing, im still in shock.
On the first day we had a two hour bike ride down hill, amongst the epic mountains. It started to rain, fingers became kumb and rain in the eyes made it hard to see. A bunch of people got back onto the bus that was riding behind us... but i committed to the end. At one point we had to stop as there had been a land slide. A number of rocks from the cliff side to our right had fallen down, and continued to do so. I watched big rocks descend and contemplated how quickly one would die upon collision. Once the rocks seemed to stop falling, we made a run for it, riding over the rubble and hoping we wouldn't be hit! Risky! So un-English lol. Shortly after this encounter we came across a number of waterfalls which ran arcoss the road. We had to ride through them. One man had an accident doing this, spraining his arm and hurting his leg badly. He got picked up by a bus and rested. The first aid skills didnt seem that great though, i must say. It was all very very adventures, very very REAL!
The Next day the serious trekking began. I struggled abit with the altitude, and had what i feel would be accurately described as a short asthmatic fit. I chewed the coca leaves and continued up up up, body challenged but determined. The views were magnificent. We walked past banana and mango trees, alongside sacred rivers, past old ruins overgrown with vines and wildlife... we painted our faces in a local indigenous plant that, when rubbed with water, turns a deep red color. We formed our own modern Inka tribe! hehe. We followed a dirt track path at our own pace rather than staying close in a ´group´. Myself and a Chilean guy arrived at a cross roads we wondered WTF to do. The guide was well ahead of us. There were some people far behind us, but we choose to follow the road to the right... after a while we realized it was not feeling ´right´so we turned back on ourselves and bumped into some fellow lost trekkers. Together we decided on a direction (a little dirt path leading down into the jungle). An Argentinian guy kept stopping to ´communicate with the jungle´ for advice about where we should go (rather tongue and cheek), but miraculously we made it. Relief. We had even started to plan what to do if we were truly lost and the sun went down...it felt like the start of a Amazonian horror movie ! Once reunited with the rest of the group, we chilled out on hammocks and stopped for lunch deep in the heart of the jungle...with Italian food!? After food I had a strong apple bong and pipe (always up for intense experience am I), and began walking again. The day was epic. So much movement, climbing, walking, talking. I felt really social¡ble and did alot of mingling which felt really good. That night i even went out to a ´disco´in a dusty old town, had a foul cocktail and did some dancing to Enlish hip hop, and the occasional latin song thrown in for good measure!?? I really enjoyed watching 3 South AMerican dudes (on the trek with me) dance and ´play´....they were very mad and very cool, i really think they would make a successful circus act. They very funny, very confident, very free in there bodies. Made me smile alot.

The next day involved more adventure, more trekking, more more MORE. Each moment offered something new, exciting, i cant possibly describe it all. At the end of the day we stayed in a village below MachuPichu, and went to some thermal hot springs. Honestly i preferred the cold shower than bathing in a tub full of sweaty people lol, so I didnt stay for long. The view was great though.
We had a gorgeous meal in the evening: stuffed avocado. YUM. Fresh grilled trout from the river. This was a welcome change to the perpetual white bread and pasta we seemed to be living of previously (though there was a really nice sweetcorn soup on the first day...)
The night was long as we had to wait for our tour guide to come back with tickets for us to access Machupichu. Some recent policy change meant he needed to collect our passports and sort something out...which left us waiting up late, getting slightly apprehensive in the knowledge that we had to get up at 3 am the following morning to engage in a RAT RACE!!!

THE RAT RACE:
So heres the drill. I didnt know this before the trek began:
We all had tickets to Machupicchu, that was in the bag. However, there was also a possibility to climb the highest mountain, Waynapicchu, which promised perfect views of machupicchu and its own magickal experience. In order to go here, we needed to be in one of the first 400 people at the gate. At the bottom of the mountain there is a gate and bridge which opens at 5:00am. We had to walk there early in the morning, then que up in order to start the climb to machupicchu gate, where (if within first 400 people) we would gain a stamp allowing us entrance to Waynapicchu. The climb up the mountain involved around 2000 steps, when still half asleep, in the dark, on narrow cliff hugging stone stair cases shrouded in trees and wildlife. Oh My God. Doing this was SO intense. The pressure of climbing all those stairs within a certain time frame, the competitive feel in the air, the awesome sight of growing mountains as we climbed higher and higher, the slither of moon soothing my burning lungs and dizzy head. The occasional trickle of srping water giving my face a sweet treat, easing the heat. When i reached the top i was ecstatic, dripping in sweat,rosey face and happy heart. I was within the first 50 people to the gate, and climbed the stairs / mountain in 30 minutes (my guide said it would take up to 1.5 hours!) WOW! WOW! WOW!

Machupicchu was breath taking. The mountains had such a sacred presence. They commanded a meditative state of awareness, a deep respect, a love for the land. The ruins were awesome. I snucked away from the guide and wondered alone for a while, finding silent places to absorb the enery of this sacred pace.

Waynapicchu was another intense upward climb, with many rocks and narrow stair cases. My feet were actually in agony by this point. I had been ´growing´a few blisters for the last three days, one of which was huge, on my heel, and which popped and rubbed raw, making walking pretty difficult. The veins up to my anckle began to protrude and throb; scary. SO i decided to climb this mountain bare foot....SOY INKA i said to the passer-bys giving me funny looks. It felt much better than with shoes, and it was wodnerful to feel the earth under my soles. And, yes, tough at points. But the walk gave me so much energy, monkey energy. I felt so vital. At the top, big flying ants hovered around and views washed away the cobwebs in my mind. It was all utterly magick.

Now, back in Cusco. I am totally exhausted. I keep getting virtigo and other waves of intense sensation. Tomorrow I am meeting a local shaman to take some herbs.... today i think i will just relax. My body and mind are so tired, full of experience, of wanderings and flashbacks, absorbing what has just happened... and contemplating my plans for the future. I don't really have any! Heading North this week, towards Ecadour and Columbia. People keep asking me what im doing specifically, but i'm enjoying having no plans, living in the moment. I'm learning alot.

I miss people in England, I appreciate so much. Im excited about sharing with you all again.

Endless love to you all,