Where to even start...

So needless to say I have been rather busy these past couple of months. With trips here and there along with work starting up again with school, I have found myself busy with little things here and there.

However, I have realized that I need to take the time to update my blog as I do have a lot to say! April was a busy month of school starting again, hikes to Zaruma, Cuneca, and Paccha, a 15km race, as well as the long awaited Machu Picchu trip. All in all, it was a pretty good month.

Towards the start of April I made a couple of little hikes around El Oro and one trip up to Cuenca doing some shopping as well as visiting the Cajas National Park in that area. I started the month with a simple hike around Zaruma to a waterfall area and exploring the city some more. I went with another PCV to visit the PCV that lives in Zaruma and he showed us around the area. The hiking was not very long, but a nice start to a month full of hikes.

After that trip I made a little longer trip with another PCV up to Cuenca Ecuador with the intent of hiking around Cajas National Park for a day as well as having a second day full of shopping in the markets or Cuenca and a couple of towns close by.

The hike around Cajas National Park was incredible. We followed the "pink" hike which went around about five different lakes, through a little forest and of course up and down some mountains. Now besides the fact that the hike is beautiful in itself, you are also up at about 3915 meters, or about 12,845 feet, above sea level. In case you don't know, let me tell you; altitude changes things. Not only does it make the hike harder, but it also makes you feel like you are literally in the clouds.

It was a great hike though which took us about three or four hours in total to make it around the loop. Thankfully as well, the rain put off until we were at the end of the hike and could get the bus back to Cuenca.

The next day we went shopping around two towns outside of Cuenca which are both about an hour away from Cuenca and about 5 minutes from each other. It was nice to go and see these other towns and look around at the shops. The one town is known for their jewelry and even I have to say that there was too much jewelry there to look at! After a while it all started to seem the same and yet you hadn't even visited half of the stores in the town. So needless to say, I spent some money in that town and now have some very nice jewelry to bring back with me to States that I bought at pretty good prices.

All in all, I would have to say it is very hard to go wrong with a trip to Cuenca and the surrounding areas. A great second hike for the month but I much harder one than the first.

Then I got talked into...literally he came to my town and talked me into getting into his car and going on this hike with them...to a hike around Paccha El Oro. At this point, I was pretty sore from all of the hiking I had done over the past couple of weeks as well as preparing for a 15 km race. But I decided last minute to go along with the group to Paccha for a day hike.

However, this day hike turned into something else. We didn't end up starting the hike until around 2pm and the objective was to try to make it to some kind of ruins in the Paccha area. And yet, we never did find ruins. It got to be about 4 or 5pm and we realized that if we didn't turn back soon that it would be dark before we made it back to the car. And of course how could I forget to mention...this hike, is really more like climbing through little streams and mud, or I guess I should say up the mountain side.

With our luck, as we decided to give up on finding the ruins and turn back down the mountain it decided to DOWNPOUR. And I mean buckets here people. To the point where the little streams turned into landslides that we had to walk down and through to get back to the car. After two hours of that...I think it would be fair to say that I was re-thinking my decision to come in the first place!

However, we all made it back to the car safely but completely drenched. Thankful to be back in the dry car we went to stop in at the PCV's house that lives in Paccha to get some dry clothes before heading back...and let me tell you that I look good in men's long-johns and a men's white undershirt!

To add to the fun, the car then would not restart as the electronic key had gotten wet and decided not to start the car. After about 30 minutes of messing around with the key, we finally got the car to start and headed back home to get pizza for dinner. It was quite the adventure that I had never planned to say the least!

Now to the fun part of April which I like to call the hardest thing I have ever done in my life...or at least one of them for sure. We ran a 15 km race in Cuenca Ecuador...this is at 2,560 meters or about 8,399 ft. I live at sea level in the heat of El Oro. So needless to say, I struggled a little with the altitude and never plan on running in altitude EVER again in my life. Been there done that, happy I survived.

All in all, I ran the 15 km in Cuenca at 1:29:41 and was happy to be alive. There were two inclines along the race and I use the world inclines loosely as Cuenca is in the Andes. It was really hard to keep running and breathing and I am happy that I never had to do it again. I guess by the end of it all my lips turned a little blue from the lack of oxygen and the cold weather as it rained on and off during the race. A proud moment for me that I will never repeat again in my life :)

Once we realized that we could run 15 km at 2,560 meters it was time to rest for a week before our trip off to Machu Picchu. Sarah and I traveled by plane from Guayaquil Ecuador to Lima Peru to get a bus from there to Cusco Peru. All in all, it took a good solid two days to travel there as the bus ride took 21 hours.

Then we had one day in Cusco to shop and adjust to the altitude before we started our four day three night hike through the Andes on the INCA trail to Machu Picchu. Cusco was a really nice town with a lot of travelers which was nice for us for a change. It was nice to be able to talk to random people in English and see what brought them to South America.

The hike was absolutely incredible and I don't know how to say it besides that. The INCA trail is really amazing, not an easy thing to do at all, but truly worth every bit of pain. I managed to lose two more toe nails along the trail (for a total of three lost at the moment) and bruise up one of my big toe nails as well as two blisters on the bottom of my shoe - Moral of the story, hiking shoes really are worth it.

But the hike was amazing. The first day was an easy day with some up and down parts and getting to see our first ruins towards the end of the day. The ruins along the trail really are something as there is nothing around them besides the mountains. It was a great weather day as well to start the trail off.

The second day was the hardest day and we knew that it would be. We had the full day to hike up about 1,000 meters or about 3280 feet to the highest point on the trail, called Dead Woman's Pass, at 4215 meters...just about 13,828 feet. Needless to say, it was a long day and very difficult. There were women along the way that sold water and snacks as well. But after Dead Woman's Pass there weren't anymore.

The second day we didn't see any ruins, but it was something just to know that we had made it through the hardest day with our 20lb packs on our backs as well. We were proud of ourselves and ready for the third day.

The third day was the longest distance day of around 17km or walking. It was also the day with the most ruins as we got to see three different ones. I can not even begin to tell you how beautiful all of this was. The ruins are just so high up there hidden in the mountains which in themselves are absolutely amazing. It did start to rain a little which was a bummer in some ways, but then again we felt like we were already up in the clouds so it seemed fitting in some ways too.

The four day was the Machu Picchu day arriving through the Sun Gate. We started about 3:40 in the morning to wait at the gate until it opened at 5am. From there we hiked another two hours to the Sun Gate and got to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu.

After that we walked down to Machu Picchu where we actually had to leave the ruins to drop off our packs and enter again without them. It was really quite the site and I am very thankful that I have had the opportunity to see it. We spent the remainder of day four walking around Machu Picchu until around 2pm where we headed down to Agua Calientes to go to the hot springs...and let me tell you, those were really nice after four days of hiking!

Then we got the train back to Km 82 where a bus picked us up and brought us back into Cusco for the night. The next day we took the 21 hour bus back to Lima and then flew out of Lima the next day to Guayaquil and a bus back to our sites.

It was an amazing trip which I recommend to anyone and everyone. However, it is not easy and they really aren’t joking around when they say you should train some.

So that was my month of April. I have also started back up with working at the schools where I have resorted to teaching English because I simply don't want to fight against it anymore. I am still doing my after school English classes in town as well and the community bank is functioning at the moment.

We also just had our COS conference up in Quito to go over all of the paperwork that we have to do to leave the PC and let me tell you it is just about as much if not more than what we had to do to get in! Got to love the government.

Amazing to think that I have been here for two years and yet incredible to think about how much I have learned as well. I have bought my ticket to return back to the States and will be back in Nashville TN on July 29th 2011.

I am ready to be heading home and yet I know that these memories from the past two years will live in my heart forever and I am very grateful for that.