Sententia

With the halfway mark just gone by this weekend I feel good about what we've done so far. This past weekend I got some sort of stomache flu which thankfully only lasted one day. I have no idea what the cause was, I hadn´t eaten anything the rest of the group hadn't had and they were fine. Now I'm back to full health which is still remarkable because at least one person in the group has had serious congestion or a cough pretty much since we arrived.

We've only got the remainder of this week and the next week to work at the school, then they have their winter break! We didn't know how soon that date was until we got here. I wish we could have come sooner. Luckily however, the time won't be wasted. All 6 of us are similarly strapped for cash, but we've decided to go for glory and head to Peru to see Machu Picchu. One the way back we'll stop in Iquique (northern Chile) to relax at the beaches for a day.

However, getting up there is amazingly difficult. Luckily we met a guy from North Carolina who's been here for almost a year and already went to Machu Picchu. First we take a 5 hour flight from Santiago to Lima, then a 19 hour $56 bus to Cuzco (takes so long because you're going through the Andes). Spend one night there, then take a 4 hour bus, 1 hour van, 2-3 hour walk, spend another night in a hostel in Aguas Calientes, and then finally wake up at 4 AM to walk to the gates of Machu Picchu which open at 6:30 in the morning. This is a slightly cheaper route than the $70 train that is the 'only way' to Machu Picchu from Cuzco.

Apparently the Peruvian Government protects their world wonder very well and uses it to get as much cash as possible. It literally has a gate with turnstyles. Marcus said it's kind of horribly like a ballpark, complete with expensive hot dogs and burgers. The only good thing is theres a 50% student discount for tyhe entrance fee, which is usually $44.

More photos to come, right now I'm just at a internet cafe waiting for the rest of the group to meet me at lunch. The other day there was an 14 year anniversary celebration at the School, so a story and photos are on the way.