Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city that were found up in the Andes mountains near Cusco. The city is in pretty good shape because when the Spanish conquered the Incans, they never found this abandoned city. In 1911, Hiram Bingham discovered the city and since then it has become a major tourist attraction. It has gotten so bad that they have placed a limit on how many people can visit the ruins (2,500 per day).

There are two main ways to get to Machu Picchu. You can take a train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Then you can take a 30 min bus ride up there or you can walk 8km.

Or you can take the Incan Trail. There is a 2 day and a 4 day trail and you must go with a touring agency. There is a 500 person limit for the Incan Trail. It looks like, the current cost for the 4 day hike (45 km) is around $400 and the entrance to Machu Picchu is about $90. There are other less popular trails that can get you to Machu Picchu as well.

I have wanted to go to Machu Picchu ever since I heard that it existed! It won't be one of the first things that I do because you have to be very careful with the altitude when you get to Cusco but I'm really looking forward to it! I want to hike the Incan Trail but I'm also nervous about that. I'm not much of a hiker so I don't know if I can really handle several days of hiking and then sleeping in tents. But I'm going to try and I'm trying to start hiking more often now to get used to it.

Llama vs. Alpaca

So when you google images of Peru you will find at least one picture with a llama... or is it an alpaca? (Even one of my Peru Travel Books has one of these creatures on the cover.) I've seen both of these terms used and both animals look very similar if you don't know what you're looking at.

So one day while I was hard at work (i.e. on pinterest) I came across this helpful chart that actually explained the difference between llamas and alpacas. Since it seemed relevant (and funny) I decided to share it one my blog so that everyone will once and for all know the difference between these guys!

The quote to go along with the chart: "And to put it simply: Alpacas are pleasant looking and Llamas look like they’re constantly judging you."

Enjoy!

By the way, I'm going to try to write a post a week about something I think is interesting about Peru or about something I'm working on to get to Peru. They will probably show up on Friday or Monday each week (unless I forget, which is definitely a possibility).

The Pisco Sour

I've been reading up on Peru and I've come across several interesting things that I want to share.The first is Peru's national drink: the Pisco Sour. I've never tried one before but it will definitely be the first drink I have while in the country!

Pisco is a grape brandy and when combined with lime juice, simple syrup/sugar, egg whites, and Angostura bitters, it becomes a Pisco Sour.

Of course there are a lot of variations on the drink so the list above might not always hold true but I think those are the basic ingredients.

Chile also claims the Pisco Sour as their national drink and who am I to argue? Maybe I'll have some time to swing by Chile and sample their Pisco Sour and compare them.

I pulled this Pisco Sour recipe from my copy of Frommer's Peru:

2 oz. pisco

1 oz. lime juice

1/4 oz. simple syrup

1/2 egg white

1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into glass; garnish with bitter on the creamy top.

Enjoy!

Study and Classes

Ok, so class and my study have officially begun! Yesterday was the first day of my study and it went pretty well. We didn't finish everything that I wanted to but I don't think it's a big deal. I know before I began that I would have a lot of stuff to do every day and that I probably wouldn't get to everything. The very first thing that I did yesterday in the class though was upset the connection between the laptop and the promethean board... I toggled the wrong cord apparently. Awesome. It worked out though because I didn't really need the promethean board until later and Mrs. Austin  worked on fixing it while I went on with my lesson. I had been worried that first day that the hadnouts had been too hard because they took a long time finishing them  but today, they got them done quicker and they were much better too! So that's good. Today though, we still didn't get to everything. These first two days are supposed to be model days so I'm not so worried about the stuff we didn't get to but tomrorrow is when we're really starting the literature circles so I really hope to finish everything tomorrow! My first class for this semester was last night and it wasn't so bad. It was mostly talking about the section of the thesis that we did over January. Apparently they weren't that great... Also, today I'm working at Mighty Joes Pizza. Usually I just work Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings but now I think I've added Tuesday evenings to the mix. I also think that I am now working Saturday morning instead of at night. I feel like I never have any free moments! Tomorrow night is the first day of my other class which is Reading in the Content Areas but I think it's going to have data information (statistics) as well as child/classroom diversity stuff thrown in too. I hope that I like this class. I love learning about reading so it's looking good. It all depends on how much we talk about statistics... I hate statistics. Last night me and Matt went to Jin Express. We hadn't been there in ages because we're trying not to eat out so that we can save money. It was SO GOOD. I want some more just thinking about it. I'm going to try and steal a picture from Emma's facebook of her Jin Express meal. She was the one who got me to go.

Doesn't that look amazing? She posted that picture last night and I just decided right then and there that we had to go. I'm going to miss this place so much when I leave LaGrange.

Something else that kept me busy was this past weekend! I had a wedding to go to. (Every year, my mom has a Shorter Christmas party. My mom went to Shorter College and so her friends and their spouses and children meet up every year to have this party. The wedding was for the daughter of one of my mom's Shorter friends.) I worked at Mighty Joe's Saturday afternoon (9:30-2:30) and then we left directly after that to go to the wedding in Commerce. The wedding was at 5 and it was a 2h and 23 min drive according to MapQuest. We made it about 5 minutes before the wedding started. It was a nice wedding and reception. There were a lot of people there though! I honestly don't think I know that many people. I would have to invite all of my professors and teachers plus all of my acquaintances to my wedding to fill up all those seats! They had some yummy appetizers that were served and a good dinner. They even had a "late night snack" which was a whole bunch of Chickfila nuggets! They also had some good red wine. I had a good time but I was really tired. Working at Mighty Joe's really wears me out. I hadn't really noticed because I usually get off at 10:30 and just go straight to bed. It was hard to get through the rest of the day after working there. Then on Sunday, since we stayed in Lawrenceville after the wedding, we went out to lunch with my mom because it had been her birthday on Feb. 1st! So we went out to celebrate that since I had stay in LaGrange that night. Her and my dad had gone to Macaroni Grill to celebrate on her actual birthday. We had considered rushing back down to LaGrange to make t to the college's play "A Night with Tennessee Williams" (it was the last show) but both of us were tired of rushing around everywhere so we relaxed and then headed back down to LaGrange around 2 and then Matt watched the Superbowl while I finished getting ready for my study. I keep looking at that Jin picture and I want it again so bad.... I'm so hungry right now!