Mistura!

...More like heaven. Yesterday I went to Mistura with some amigos..and lets just say it was really overwhelming but really amazing. It was in Parque de la Exposicion, which is just a giant park downtown Lima, the way they have it set up is so the entire park is surrounded by restaurant booths and then there are these giant tents selling cooking stuff, food I think, doing demonstrations and I don't know what because I didn't have enough time to go into any of them. Anyway we went around getting a bunch of plates and then taste testing from everybody elses . There was a lot of ceviche, but I don't eat seafood so no, but here are some things I did try- an amazing risoto, lomo saltado lasagna, anticuchos (cow heart.....yah), milkshake de lucuma, tacu tacu ( a dish from the jungle that was super good) and then we got pisco sours that were apparently the best in town. The only reason I tried the cow heart was because, well when in Rome, and also it was apparently the best of the best...the line took us at least an hour so yah had to be good.

I want to go back and eat more...so good!

Also it was kind of strange, we got special privileges; because we are tourists we got to sit in this little gated off section. Whereas before when we were with everyone else we were just sitting on the grass because there weren't enough tables. It was odd and I didn't really like it..but the Peruvian we were with said it was just because they want us to say good things about their cuisine and the experience so more tourists will come. yo no se.

 Meghan in front of the entrance

 causa's con causa! -potato stacked with chicken and avocado in the center

My camera was dead so sadly those are the only pics I have..but I will steal some from other people later and post em!

Also we have had three days of sun in a row! Which is kind of a big deal...and yesterday at mistura it was actually uncomfortably hot outside..can't wait for more of that kind of weather! I went to a BBQ last night with our peruvian friend Indy at her friends house. Went on an errand with Indy to her aunts house in the middle of the BBQ and met some of her family which was fun. It was nice to be at someone's house and hangout with other peruvians...makin' friends! Alsooo we ended the night by falling into the pool..which some people were not too happy about..oops.

Cusco!

Well just returned from my trip to Cusco this morning; love that city!

Thursday morning we arrived, acclimatized, and conquered! After a nap in the morning we explored Cusco checking out some Incan walls and a great little store near the rock with twelve angels. Then Ella and I went out to dinner with Melvin and Marion (our site directors) to a little hole in the wall pizza place that was really good. Friday morning we awoke early and began our tour of the Valle Sagrado (sacred valley). We stopped at a site above Cusco, a llama/alpaca petting zoo, some ruins by Pisac, a chicharia(where they make chica-a drink from fermented corn) and some more ruins in Ollaytambo. After all of this exhaustion we boarded a train and headed to Aguas Calientes for the night.

Saturday we woke up in Aguas Calientes and got on a bus and headed up to Machu Picchu. The ride was incredible, through rainforest covered mountains. Machu Picchu was incredible mostly because of the location and the extensiveness of the ruins. Though it is extremely touristy with about 3,000 tourists EVERY DAY! After our tour most of us headed off to hike up Wayna Picchu(young peak), the mountain you see in the typical image of Machu Picchu. It is about 45 minutes of zig-zag stairs straight up, I definitely was not expecting to find a little village at the very tip top though. There were some amazing views down on Machu Picchu from there. Next time I go I will definitely be taking the Incan Trail, I can only imagine how awesome it would be to walk through the sun gate as the sun is rising and see Machu Picchu.

After that we returned to Aguas Calientes and boarded our 4 hour long train to Cusco. Ella and I got to sit together and it was a hilarious ride for the most part. We returned to Cusco where I met up with my cousin Cara and we went out and had some amazing Argentinian wine. After we met up with everyone at a hostel party then continued on til 4am to two different dancing spots. And now I am back, missing the sun already!

 Incan walls in Cusco

 dressing up

 dinner

 above cusco

 bigggg incan walls

 scary

 oh jaaa, wingspan like a condor! (also that is Wayna Picchu in the background, went to the very top of it!)

 some duck like things, we miss you U of O!

 at the top of Wayna Picchu, the city of Machu Picchu is behind me

Cusquenas on the train ride back, had to celebrate a 100 yrs of Machu Picchu