Brazil, and Machu Picchu!

So again, I have been slacking with blogging. the only excuse I have is that I have been having an amazing time and haven't had a moment or enough downtime to write. Also the longer that I wait, the more it becomes homework. This entry should be pretty short, I just want to catch people up, who are still reading, if there are any left haha.

I just arrived to Quito, Ecuador and a lot has happened since my last post. my last post left me off in Lencois, so I guess I will quickly recap my adventures since then. after an amazing backpacking and outdoor adventure in Lencois, I took two buses and a ferry to a small island off the coast of bahia, brazil call Morro de Sao Paulo. It was spectacular for its beauty and the 10 steps between my hostel and the beach. I only spent three days there because it was more of a romantic getaway and I was alone soooo yea. There was not much of a backpackers scene, and I just laid on the beach, snorkeled, and worked on my tan. I got antsy and decided it was time to move on. from there, I took a 6 hour bus to a little piece of heaven named Itacaré. It is a little tiny surfing town south of Salvador. I met Three friends on the bus, a Swiss couple, and a Brit who was also traveling alone.

I decided to stay at a hostel called Banana hostel, because it had great ratings, and I had heard from people in Lencois, that it was a great place to be. It was. It was owned and run by a British couple, and they were extremely nice and welcoming. And as for the staff, they were also awesome, they became immediate friends. I loved this place because they were all like a little smiley and had no meanness in them. It was a very chill and relaxing place but with adventures as well. All the guests were awesome too. So basically for 5 or 6 days, I went to the beach, met other backpackers, surfed, and snorkeled. It has been one of my favorite places thus far. I did not want to leave and could have stayed for a month but I had already made plans and had a deadline to get to Rio. It was sad to leave and I know I'll get back there some day, but my friend max was meeting me, and I had already stayed too long. I decided to take a plane because I mixed up my friends arrival date, and had to get there fast.

Rio was a whole nother animal. It was hectic, beautifully unique, unlike any other city I've seen in my life. the people were very nice, good looking, and it was great to see a familiar face. I think I may have said this before, but my goal for brazil, after leaving wintry Buenos Aires was to spend time on the beach, and thats exactly what max and I did. we went to beaches and ate good Brazilian food, we got to see a lot of the city staying in four different neighborhoods: ipanema, Lapa, copacabana, and leblon. We got to see big Jesus and was there for the sunset which was incredibly breathtaking. The culture here had a crazy fire of activism and life that i have not seen any other place. Every body works out, every body is beautiful, the food was good, and people stayed up all night. I wish I had more time there as well, because I had been thinking about moving there, but all we did were touristy things so I don't think I got a good enough feel for the city, but I loved it. I know that if I had more time I could have fit in well with the rio culture. But maybe I'll give it another shot in the future.

I was also able to pick up a decent amount of Portuguese, which I didn't really think was sufficient but I had waiters and cabbies telling me it was good. I used my knowledge of Spanish and with a little help from a Spanish to Portuguese book, was able to get by just fine. its a very fun and unique language and think I could've picked up a lot more if I had more time. And that was my month in brazil. I really wish I had written sooner, so I could recall everything from these places, and share more culture and history but at the moment I have machu picchu and Peru fresh in my mind and want to get there.

I flew out of Rio, and had a nice 9 hour layover in Buenos Aires where I was able to meet up with Luli and grab lunch and spend some time with her. it had been a month and we really were missing each other. it was one of the best worse days, because it was a tease. I also hadn't slept because my flight was extremely early, but I arrived excited as hell and she was there to greet me. I have never really done the long distance relationship, but I can't explain in words how happy I was to see her. We couldn't stop hugging, smiling and kissing and just had the greatest day and really took advantage of that time together. It was a nice an unexpected circumstance, and although short, was amazing to see her. From that day I have to wait another month, where we will meet and travel around Colombia together, which I am extremely excited about. we're meeting in Cartagena in August and it can't come soon enough. But before that I still had/have a lot in between. Later that day she dropped me off at the airport and I almost missed my flight because we couldn't say our goodbyes, but when finally the lady said you have to go in now or you'll miss your flight, it was a quick and abrupt goodbye. I landed in Lima, later in the night, and checked into a hotel where I we to wait for my LITTLE SIS to arrive

I arrived into Lima on her birthday, and I had been gathering little gifts from different places I had been, and continued present shopping the day of her arrival, and set up a nice little birthday pile on her bed. I also got to meet and have

lunch with a girl my mom met last year on her trip to machu picchu, and we had a nice lunch and took a picture for my mom. After that, i had to get to the airport. When I picked shannon up at the airport it was great, I had bought A giant "bienvenidos" balloon and was there to greet her as she exited customs. It was a splendid reunion.

we flew to cusco the next morning, and I had already set up a hostel and our inca trail trek. (all of these events happened so fast it felt like one day blended together). We arrived to cusco in late afternoon and had just enough time to buy our train tickets returning from machu picchu to cusco, and to meet our trek guides. She and I were super excited about this trek, which consisted of downhill mountain biking for 5 hours the first day, followed by a 2 hour rafting trip to our destination. From there, we stayed in a little hostel in the middle of nowhere. there next day was our longer day, 9 hours of hiking, to finish our walking in a natural hot spring park, which was an unbelievable way to end the day. we then took a 20 minute ride in a bus to our next town. the following day we all went on the highest zip line, canopy tour in south America. the highest one being 500 meters above the ground, and the fastest line got us up to 60 kph. It was awesome. From there we walked another flat 5 hours. All along the way of this trek we were taking our time, and learning about what they farm. we learned about the coffee farming process, the cocoa leaves process, and from ha cocaine (lol), banana, mandarins,lemons, mangos, papayas, limes, potatoes, passion fruit, and these very tedious processes, very educational. we also learned about the incas and their downfall and destruction by the spaniards. I got to play with a monkey which has been my dream since I was a kid. I climbed a banana tree and got a whole bundle of fresh ripe bananas for our trek group and we all enjoyed some of the freshest best tasting bananas ever (and I don't even really like bananas).

The trek group was amazing. the two guides were super cool in their early twenties. we had three couples, one American couple, an Irish couple, and a new zealander and German girl, two german girls, and four Mexicans. To sum it up, we had a lot of active, clean fun, and we all had a great chemistry and made it special together through all of our openness. my sister and I also haven't spent this much time together in as long as I can remember so It was a great bonding experience. the final day was amazing, difficult, magical, spiritual, and already a favorite memory.

We arrived to Aguas calientes, after the day of zip lining and walking, following the rail line. It was O M G so touristy, but its just one of those places that everyone has to, wants to, must go before they die. Everyone was beat that night and we had to get up at 345 so we parted early. we woke up at that time and started hiking in our group with only water, lunch and cameras. After a 1.5 hour hike straight up steep steps, Shanny and I were literally the 10 or 15 people in the entire park, and we're there for the most magnificent sunrise I have ever seen. We then toured around for four or so hours, taking hundreds of pictures, and just in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. it was truly magical. Even thought we hadn't eaten much, we're running low on water, we're extremely tired after walking around in the sun up at 4000 meters, Shanny and I found it necessary to hike up machu picchu mountain, a gruesome 2400 steep, broken, and old stairs. We were dead after the hour and half but at the top it was well worth it, and I can't explain how good it felt to be up there looking over this insanely unique and ancient wonder. After that we were sooooooo spent. We left extremely satisfied and a sense of calmness came over the whole group, we had also become a little family...our guide calling us the baby alpacas, for our fiery spirit and entertaining nature. Later that day we had a lovely last supper, and parted ways. we had a layover in Lima las night, and arrived to Quito this afternoon where we'll hang out for the next three aus waiting patiently for GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, another once in a lifetime opportunity.

But all is well here, my Spanish is really maturing, because I don't have my friends in buenos aires to assist me. I can't explain how good it feels to have finally learned another language. I know a lot of people do, but I hadn't...and if you don't throw yourself In an unknown and learn a language from a culture that interests you, it's an amazing experience and a great way to get to know another culture. Shanny and I are getting along great, things have gone very smoothly and I am just really soaking up this time with my baby sis.

COMING UP: Galapagos, sister departs, I have about 6 days to et to an outdoorsy town called baños, then my mom and mark come, where they are treating me to a weeks stay in an Eco lodge deep in the amazon forest. After the, another week to do I don't know what, then meet Luli in Colombia for almost two weeks, and after will be volunteering at a children's non-profit in a impoverished area of coastal Colombia for two weeks to a month. And from there I HAVe nO IDEA, crazy awesome I know... I'm going to try again to be more consistent with entries, but hope you all enjoyed the update!