The Mysterious Nazca Lines and Other Fun Things

Long before the Incas conquered the southern desert of Peru, there were other ancient cultures digging in the sand. No one knew much about them until airplanes were invented and suddenly people saw giant figures of plants and animals drawn in the rocky sand. These figures were of such precise geometric measurement that to this day some people believe they must have been drawn by aliens. This is a tree (it's upside down).
So I took a bus from Lima to Nazca with Ruben and his father to see what the big deal was. The best way to see the lines is by airplane, but hiring a private plane was out of our price range so we were happy to use the lookout tower.
Although they were mysterious and interesting to see, I'm not sure they were worth an 8-hour bus ride each way. On the way back we passed through the town of Ica, where there are giant sand dunes right in the middle of the city. I wanted to grab a board and slide down one, but we didn't have time to stop.
We stopped back in Lima just long enough to go to church, which happened to be right around the corner from our hotel.
Then we took a bus down the coast to the best beach near Lima. Peru isn't known for its beaches, so I was actually impressed by how nice it was - especially at sunset.
Then we went back to Lima so Ruben could have his interview with the U.S. embassy to try to get a visa to study at the BYU language center. He was happy to report that he passed his interview and will start studying in April - which means he will be in Utah even before I get there!

Ruben wanted his father to experience a 3D movie at a nice movie theater in Lima, but since the only 3D movie playing was a horror film I decided to eat some non-Peruvian food at Chili's. Yay for green salads!
A couple of days after getting back to Cusco the day finally arrived that I had been waiting for. Clay and Trista arrived! I let them sleep a couple hours but then we were off to the clinic to get Yellow Fever shots (since we'll be going to the Amazon later on) and then we took a city tour.
It was fun seeing the sites even though I had seen them 4 years ago when I was here. However, as the evening wore on I could feel myself getting sick. That night I was the sickest I had ever been. I felt like a bad tour guide for Clay and Trista, but it was nice not being alone and having someone to go out and buy Gatorade for me. It must have been food poisoning of some kind because the next morning (after purging my body of everything) I felt well enough to do the tour to the Sacred Valley. It was beautiful and green and the flowers were out. This picture reminded me of "Giggling Ferns" with Trista in Olympic National Park. (see earlier post)
We saw the Inca fortress of Pisac high on the mountain. Notice the terraces for growing food. That's why they still call it the "Sacred Valley" because it was the source of a lot of the food for the empire.
At the end of the tour we stopped at a village known for their hand woven textiles. It was fun to see how they make the dye and how they weave the wool into beautiful blankets and clothing.
I didn't buy anything but Clay and Trista bought some knit hats for their trek on the Inca Trail.
On Tuesday I'll take the train up to Aguas Calientes and meet them early Wednesday morning to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu together. Then we're off to see more places in Peru!

Same Same but Different - Life in Cusco

It was in this classroom four years ago that I first considered becoming an English teacher. Now, somehow, I'm back teaching at the same school. I applied to other schools when I arrived but after not hearing back from any of them I wandered over to Speak Easy language institute and ran into my old boss, Daniel. As it turned out he was looking for a teacher to help substitute some classes. So I told him I would be glad to help out.

Some of the classes I am now teaching are at Elin Orphanage. This is just after I finished teaching the boys class - they are rowdy but eager to learn.
My favorite part of class is when the students finish an assignment and they all push their notebooks into my face and say "Carita Feliz!!" Which means they want me to put a smiley face on their paper. Some boys request two and three smiley faces, sometimes they want a star, but when ten minutes passes and I am still drawing smiley faces I have to say enough is enough. :-)

The girls class is a little more calm, but there are more students so it can also get noisy. I only taught them for a week, though.
This is my last week with the kids and it's a mixture of sadness and relief. It's been fun but I'm ready to do some traveling and see more than just the city. When I was here before I was so proud of Cusco for not having any fast food chains. Apparently progression can't be stopped because there is now a McDonald's in Cusco. I was so disappointed that I went to eat there one night. It wasn't very good, and I found a hair in my sundae. Why did I go then? Sometimes I have to remind myself why I don't like something, I guess.
A couple weeks ago I just felt like I had to get out of the city so my friend Ruben and I took his nephew, Anderson to some hot springs in the Sacred Valley. He fell asleep in the bus so I took a picture.
When I saw the picture it reminded me of the last time I went to the Sacred Valley. He fell asleep in the bus then, too. This time at age three. Some things never change.
The hot springs were fun - I was definitely the only white person there and got stared at as I got in the water. It was fun to see Anderson gain more confidence in the water - he went from death grip in the beginning to jumping into my arms by the end.
It was nice to get out of the city and see some nature again.
The sunlight on the mountains in the afternoon was amazing.

It would have been better if I hadn't thought I was going to die (taxi driver who was driving too fast, cliffs, mountain passes, etc.) But we made it safely. Every now and then I see some cool views in Cusco, too. I liked this cobblestone street in the San Blas area. These colonial arched doorways looked cute, too.

I'm getting ready for Clay and Trista to come in March. On Sunday we got to talk by Skype and they even brought me to Clay's birthday/Sunday night dinner at Jed and Lisa's so I got to see my nieces and nephews. Obviously they had fun with the camera, too.
Clay and Trista won't be able to bring their dog, Bangkok on the trip, but don't worry, I found a dog that looks just like him wandering around on the streets. I wouldn't recommend letting him lick you, though.
Until next time!