Pictures from Musho

Teaching English in the Musho plaza
The view of Huascaran from just outside Lib and Benj`s place
The health post in Tumpa, where I worked for 3 weeks
Just making sure the tent had all it`s pieces before heading out on our trek!
3 little cuties, who were part of L & B`s write-a-book class that I helped out at on Sat mornings...

Again, from Huaraz (tho not for long...)

Hola todos,

Bueno, otra vez estoy en Huaraz. And, again I am in Huaraz! But not for long...I am just en route to Lima, and from there, back down to Cusco again for a short spell. I have been having a great time in Northern Peru and wanted to fill you all in (albeit without photos for now, as I haven't yet transfered my pics from my camera) on my adventures and (near) future plans.

I have been living with Lib and Benj in their cute and cozy blue room in Musho (don't try to find it on a map - too small, even for Google Earth). For 3 weeks, I worked in the health post in a town called Tumpa, just up the road from Musho. As their doctor wasn't there during that time, I stepped in and saw patients in his absence. It was a great experience, and I feel truly lucky to have experienced both urban and rural medicine in Peru.

Last week, amidst a bit of an intestinal bug that included a fever for yours-truly, the three of us took off into the blanca (cordillera blanca mountains) for a 4-day trek. What a great experience! We had snow every day, even awoke to over a foot one morning, and the most beautiful scenery I have seen in the Andes thus far. We hiked up Quebrada Quilcayhuanca (a canyon), the up over a 5000 + meter pass, then down the Quebrada Cajup (another canyon) and back to the lodge where we started. We hiked 45 km in 4 days. What a trip (photos to come soon...)!

After thawing out and relaxing in Musho for this past weekend, we had some Peace Corps friends come up and head out on another hike yesterday, this time for just one day. Although it was a bit rainy, the company was great and it felt great to stretch our legs yet again.

Now all three of us have packed up and descended to Huaraz, where we await our evening bus to Lima. From there, L and B head to Ica to help out with some earthquake relief (they had a bit earthquake in August, 2007), and I hop on another bus down to Cusco to say hello to some good pals for a few weeks (and do a bit more hiking in the Southern Peruvian Andes). I will then meet back up with L & B in Arequipa to do some more hiking/exploring in the deepest canyon in the world (supposedly 2x deeper than the Grand Canyon!!).

I hope this finds each of you happy and healthy. I appreciate all of the communication from you all - keep the emails coming!! I will be in better communication while in Cusco, and will definitely be putting some pics on the blog to give you a better idea of my adventures this past month.

Besitos from the Andes,

Laurita

Quick hello

Hi from beautiful Huaraz!

I have returned from my quick trek North to catch up with family and friends/be in A and B's wedding, and have landed (for now) in Musho, Peru, the small town where Lib and Benj are doing their Peace Corps service. I will stay here for Feb (I think) and then most likely, will be heading south to do some more exploring of other countries in SA. I just wanted to put up a little update so that all of you know that I have landed happy and refreshed after my time at home. I am excited to be living in the campo, learning daily, and enjoying the wonderful company of great friends. Internet is not easy to access up here, so communications will be fewer.

Hopefully all of you are well!

Besitos from the Cordillera Blanca,

Laurita

Alicia and Bruno's wedding!

Rehearsal dinner.
The happy couple!
Josh, Alex, and I...trying to have fun:)

La Paz and Copacabana, Bolivia

La Paz is quite a busy, packed city. We had fun exploring many of the crooks and crannies!
The view from our hotel room in Copacabana, looking out over Lake Titicaca.
Copacabana from a hike we did above the town.

Machu Picchu

This was an amazing day, with the clouds lifting just as we got to the top of Wayna Picchu, which is the tall peak on the left that I am looking at in the first picture. A breathtaking day...

Heading to MN (briefly)

Hola!

I would love to give an update on my recent adventures and travels...right now, I am in Lima awaiting a flight this evening to the states. It is really tough to believe that tomorrow morning I will not only be state-side, but it will be COLD (meanwhile, I am sitting in shorts and flip-flops in the Lima heat), AND I will get to see so many important people in my life. Primarily, I am returning to help my dear friends, Alicia and Bruno, celebrate their wedding. Of course, the added perk is that 3 out of 4 family members will also be in MN (and at the wedding!) while I'm there. And some great friends will also be journeying to see me during my brief stint in the Northern Hemisphere - just 8 days to aprovechar!

I haven't stopped exploring Peru...I went to Machu Picchu last Th (kind of a last-minute thing = my day there was free through my Spanish school) with Seppe, which was quite a site to see. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed at how busy it clearly has become (Seppe, having been there in 2004, can confirm my observations), but a beautiful site to see, nonetheless. I suppose everyone wants to see one the 7 New Wonders of the World! We hiked Wayna Picchu (sp?), enjoyed the view, and relaxed. Friday we took an overnight bus to La Paz, which doubled as a trip to renew our Peruvian visas (all you have to do is cross a border...pretty handy). We spent the weekend enjoying La Paz, then Copacabana and Lake Titikaka. Upon return, I had just 1 day in Cusco to wrap things up before beginning my trek north. (Pictures to come pronto...promise!)

Now I have (surreally) said my good-byes to Cusco...a hard thing to do, as it has really felt like a home for the past 4 months. I have learned a lot from my time there and feel sad to be moving on. But I am looking forward to some much-needed family and friend time in MN, and a little perspective on what the next leg of this year will look like. I will keep you all posted as my plans develop.

If any of you want to be in contact with me, now is your chance! My US cell phone won't work while I'm home, but feel free to call my parent's number to get ahold of me = area code 651 then 6470362. I hope you are all well and, as always, I want to thank you for staying updated on my adventures.

Besos,

Laurita