Scariest moment -- biking the World's Most Dangerous Road. I take it back. Driving back up the road was worse. Going down, I didn't have time to see the cliffs.
Biggest relief -- wondering if I would have to back out of the Inka Trail but waking up the next morning feeling weak, but better (and 5 lbs lighter!)
Best thing I ate -- Saltenas in Bolivia and Tacu Tacu in Peru.
Nastiest thing I ate -- it wasn't the guinea pig and llama. It was actually a fish soup I had my second night in Peru which made me violently ill.
Best find at the market -- a gift for my brother. 25 cents and I bought him a plastic yellow volvo to hang from his car, Valentina (yes, he named it!) that I got in Copacabana during the car blessings.
Grossest thing I saw -- a man drinking his own pee. Literally, peeing into his hand and then drinking it.
Most challenging thing I did -- there were a million! Probably hiking up to Dead Woman's Pass on the Inka Trail.
Books that I read --
--I finished "The Time Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (good story, easy read but apparently the movie is getting bad reviews. Too bad, really),
--"The Other Side of the Story" by Mirian Keyes (super easy, super fun and super thick. The perfect holiday book that you can leave behind and not feel bad about it) ,
--"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (a novel written in letters about the German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII. Great story) ,
--"Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer (if you haven't heard of this, you must live under a rock! It's a teenager book and a fun story. Not sure I'll committ to the other two books, though)
--I started "The Space Between Us" by Thrity Umrigar (so far, so very good! Story of an Indian woman and her servant. Sort of like a A Fine Balance - which is one of my favourite books of all time)
Most relaxing day -- hot springs in Chivay after hiking up the Colca Canyon.
Friendliest local -- the lady in the market who warned us that men will spit on you to distract you and then slash your bag open. She warned us to be careful with our money. (Of course, she only spoke Spanish - which we didn't understand - but gestures communicate well!) Also, the lady in the sandwich shop in Arequipa who remembered that we liked Avacado spread on our buns.
Biggest rip off -- Paying 90 soles to get to Arequipa on one bus line. When they only had six passengers, we were put onto another line, that cost only 60 soles. But, we were wise to their game and demanded our money back!
Most frustrating moment -- struggling with the language. Eventually we could say what we needed and had some basic words. Our numbers, our colours, hot, cold, water with gas, water without gas, toilet, orange, apple, the bill, delicious, stop here please!, thank you, and (for all the people hounding us to buy things) no, thank you!
What I missed the most -- hair conditioner, good toilets
What I miss most now that I'm home -- new challenges every day and Orange Fanta.
Best thing I brought with me -- hand sanitizer and toilet paper, without question. One thing I could never figure out was that all washrooms had a toilet paper roll holder but never any toilet paper.
Would I recommend that you all go -- without a doubt!
I've spoken with people since who have been reading this blog. I didn't realize it (I thought it was our parents checking in to make sure we were okay). I'm flattered and a bit shy now but thanks for reading! The adventures are going to continue as my suitcase heads off to Rwanda tomorrow.
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