Full Circle

Since arriving back to Minnesota my blog radar has been turned off. Have I lost you?

Well, I am only back to bid farewell. I started this blog to document my adventures in micro fiance and explore Peru with new eyes. However, now that I am back in MN, I am doing none of the above. My blog started with my leaving Minnesota and now ends with my return. I have reunited with family and dear friends in these past weeks. I have rested (on beds of snow!) and have started to explore this new world that Hugo and I are discovering together in the Cities. Looking for jobs and summer art fairs just isn't as exciting as changing lives and witnessing women take small steps to move themselves out of poverty through artisan classes or literacy classes.

My reunion and homecoming has been wonderful and tasty. Our adventures now are on a different road. I hope to return here someday to share more with you. But, for now, the future is calling.

Thank you for visiting me here and sharing in my stories and struggles and joys.
My best, and do stay in touch.
Saludos, Nora

Sacred Valley, last stop

We have made it back to Minnesota and Peru already feels so far away. Close in heart and memory, but distance in physical distance. And, it is a whole other world here in the land of ice and snow. I just wanted to share with all you readers the last stop of our travels, after Machu Picchu, was roaming around the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley is filled with little towns, generous and friendly people, and incan ruins scattered throughout the mountains and alongside rivers. We spent last week hotel hopping and walking through the mountain passes to discover what was around the corner. Our favorite stops were a native town outside of Pisac, where we were invited into houses with handmade tejidos and played soccer with some kiddos on the dirt, cold streets. Then we stayed in Chincero (a place full of energy and colorful dress) and walked down a mountain pass on an old Incan trail that often doesn't get visitors.

I would highly recommend roaming around the Sacred Valley on your next trip to Peru. There is beauty and magic around every mountain pass and river curve.

This weekend we are celebrating with family and next week the transition into U.S. life really begins. Come back next week, as I wrap up the 3 year Peruvian adventure blog.

Machu Picchu!!

Finally, 3 years later! Machu Picchu!

It was well worth the wait and absolutely amazing. 100 times better than the postcards you see. Hugo and I got in the early 5:30am line to try our luck at one of the 400 passes into Huayno Picchu (the famous mountain in the background of all the M.P. photos). We were numbers 370 and 371. We climbed the steep mountain to get a 30 second glimpse (in between the cloud cover) of M.P. from above. Spectacular!

There is an energy and beauty about Machu Picchu that you just can´t express with words. Magical, Spiritual, Uplifting. After our all morning hike up and down and up and down Huayno Picchu we wondered around M.P. until our hunger just couldn´t take it anymore. We out stayed the crowds and spent a good part of our afternoon just sitting and enjoying the magic of the ruins from up above. And, we took a bunch of photos, of course. You choose which one wins....

Amazonas Selva

Pictures from the selva, amazonas jungle. We didn´t see a whole lot of animals in the wild, mosquitos were the most prevelant animal that we saw. And Hugo has the proof. All over his body.

There were beautiful butterflys, birds and monkeys everwhere. In the neighboring town we got to play with sloths, as a family has rescued three baby sloths that had lost their mother. That was definitely a highlight.

We are flying out today and very happy to leave the heat. Tomorrow we are flying to Cusco to start the 2nd part of our travel-venture. Machu Picchu....finally!

The regular stuff: Dr. visit and a zoo trip

Just a quick little blog, before Hugo and I head out to our jungle accomodations tomorrow. So many tour agencies here in Iquitos, you feel like the travel jungle agencies are fishing for fresh blood when you walk down the river boardwalk. We decided to spend 3 days in a simple thatched roof wooden lodge to get the know the jungle up close. There will be a post next week, don´t worry.

These past couple of days we have been doing what you normally do on a vacation. Besides exploring the town of Iquitos and eating lots of really cold ice cream we have been doing some just plain regular stuff. I went to the doctor´s office (see chair above) to get my ears cleaned. Then, the following day we went to the jungle zoo. Saw butterflys, monkeys and really big snakes.

River Trip to Iquitos

We survived the river trip. Yurimagus to Iquitos. The famous three story boat that takes 3 days. With Hugo we pitched our hammocks on the 3rd floor, above the cows and mountains of plantains that were traveling below us. We were squeezed (I mean this boat was more than filled to capacity with hammock dwellers) into an open air room, two sides that had walls, and two sides that had plastic curtains that went down at night. Our trip consisted of hanging out in our hammocks, making new friends with our neighbors and watching the jungle pass us by. The boat stopped periodically to pick up passengers and more plantains, and when the people missed the boat, little wooden canoes would bring passengers to the boat and they would board as if the middle of the river was their boarding spot. As we stopped in little jungle towns to pick up passengers and cargo, kids and women would get on the boat to offer fruits and sodas. Hugo and I had a delicious coconut half way through the trip; it was the last thing we ate before we both got a little sick in the stomach.

Our boat route hugged the pacaya.samiria nature reserve. We did not see much wildlife, but the sunset on the river was spectacular.

The trip was unforgettable. Uncomfortable. Hot. Beautiful. Fun. If you had never tried sleeping in a hammock, I wouldn´t recommend it. It is hard to do in extreme heat. We are happy to have a bed in Iquitos tonight.

The 2nd Family Moon

The trip before the trip (to Minnesota) has started. Hugo and I are on our 2nd Family Moon this year (not to be confused with the January Family Moon) We have been traveling with his family in and around Chachapoyas. It is absolutely beautiful here. A touch of jungle, but still a little chilly. Today we are heading to Tarapoto, which is real jungle. We say good bye to our 3 day Family Moon. We still have all of January to travel, so there is much to see.

We have done some cool things to end 2010. We visited the 3rd largest waterfall in the world and the hike to visit it kicked our butt. We visited ancient pre-Incan sculptures placed high up in a mountain that make you ponder the world before ours. For New Years Eve we witnessed the ¨burn the old year doll¨contest here in Chachapoyas.

Happy New Year to all. Happiness and Peace to all in 2011!