I feel that I have been incredibly lucky in who is assigned the seat next to mine on buses and trains. When I was waiting in line to take the train to Aguas Calientes, the city at the base of Machu Picchu, there were a bunch of rowdy English guys and I was hoping I wouldn't be placed next to one of them. It turned out that another Peruvian girl sat by me. The whole train was filled with gringos and I got to sit next to a native. What luck. So we chatted, and she wanted to know what hostel I was staying at in Aguas Calientes. I told her I didn't have a reservation and she looked surprised. She said they would all be full, but she had a friend who owned a hotel and she could get me in (wow, how VIP). So when we got to town, we went to the hotel and ended up getting a double room together and we got a big discount since she knew the owner.

The day we were in Aguas Calientes (07-07-07) just happened to be the day they announced the new 7 wonders of the world. I don't know how much press this has gotten in the US, but ever since I've been here in Peru, there have been stickers and signs everywhere that say "vote for Machu Picchu." Some cities even had computers set up in the plaza where you could vote online. So this night, after Machu Picchu was announced a winner, there was a HUGE party in the plaza. There were balloons, free beer, musical acts, and lots of shouting "¡Viva Machu Picchu!" It was quite exciting to be there at that time. All of Peru is proud of their famous "wonder."

I really don't know what to say about Machu Picchu itself except that it was amazing. I think what makes is most incredible is where it is located--high atop a mountain that is sometimes covered in clouds. That is why it was discovered only 96 years ago. I got up at 5 am to take the first bus to the top, because it's supposedly really cool to see the sun come up over the mountains. I don't really think it was worth it because it stayed super cloudy until about 10 am. It even rained a bit! (I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it's right by the rainforest.) One of the first things I did when I got to the top was climb Wayna Picchu, the large peak you always see in the back of pictures of the ruins. They only let 400 people do it each day and I was number 67. It was a tough climb up and after I got back down, I was exhausted. But I still managed to wander around the ruins for a few hours and I took a side hike to an old Incan bridge. They don't let people walk across it anymore because a tourist fell to their death a couple years ago. Whoops. You've probably all seen pictures of Machu Picchu before, so I'll only show you a few that I took.

The switchbacks leading up to the site

Here it is!

Gorgeous views

The architecture isn't crooked; it's just how I set up my camera

The dangerous Inca bridge

Right now I'm in Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru. So far, I love it. What I did NOT love was the 14-hour bus ride to get here. First of all, it took about two hours to get out of Cusco because of the strike. (I don't know if it's been in the news at all in the US, but pretty much all of Peru is striking right now. It started with the teachers who didn't want to be forced to take a competency exam, and now it's miners, farmers, and health workers who are fighting for better wages and benefits.) There were rocks all over the highway leading out of the city, so we had to stop a lot to clean them up. There were police (with big rifles!) on the road helping to clean, and also to control the masses of people who were marching and chanting along the road. It was crazy. I got to sit next to a Peruvian on this bus trip as well, which was nice because we talked a bit, although she had trouble understanding my Spanish. I don't blame her; she was old. :)

I don't know if I'll be able to leave the city when I want to because this strike will continue indefinitely, but at least I'm in a place that I don't mind being stuck in!