Machu Picchu!!

Last weekend I went to Machu Picchu and it was absolutely gorgeous! Apparently this past weekend was one of the last weekends with good weather before the rainy season starts. There are several hikes in the area, so we started by exploring the ruins and then hiking to the sun gate and the Incan bridge. The sun gate is an hour and a half hike that only took us a half an hour and goes to the top of a mountain nearby. It is also the place where people who have been hiking on the Incan trail for 4 days see Machu Picchu for the first time, so there was lots of celebrating to be had there. I’ll try to post some pictures if I can.

When we took a lunch break, we decided to break the rules and eat on one of the terraces near the llamas (yes, there are llamas everywhere). Kate, one of the girls I was with, was very popular with a particular llama, mainly because of the banana she was eating. Since the llama was on the terrace below and definitely could not jump that high, she started taunting him with the banana. Turns out, llamas are smarter than you think, as he walked over to the lower part of the wall, jumped up, and headed straight for Kate. He didn’t leave, even with the luring of orange peels, for the entire time we were there.

Moral of the story: NEVER taunt a llama.

We headed back Sunday morning and I started feeling a little sick so I’ve just been taking it easy. I am SO glad I bought a ridiculous amount of pharmaceuticals (thanks, Mom!) because going to the pharmacy and asking for certain medications is really the last thing I want to do when I’m not feeling my best.

Today I have my first meeting with Awamaki and the health team. The health team meeting is at a bar (ironic) so I’m excited to see what’s in store. Miss you and love you all mucho!