Could not leave for the train back from Machu Picchu without seeing who won the Germay/Ghana game. So I bought an ice cream and watched it with Marvilla here, who was tending her mom's store and eating some friend chicken and rice. She wanted…
As you know, on this journey of mine we are highlighting everyday people who make a difference. They are out there; we just don't hear about them ... like Nicholas, in Las Minitas, Nicaragua. Through The Friends Project [www.thefriendsproject.…
Took an overnight bus 11 hours to Arequipa after watching the nailbiter US vs. Portugal game (crazy final thirty seconds!) ... I actually slept most the trip. Look who I found smoking a cigar! At one point it felt like we were careening down for…
I am exploring the Andes of Peru with two friends who helped form Enlace Project, the grassroots organization that has been the vein for our grassroots effort - The Friends Project [www.thefriendsproject.org] in El SAuce … they did all the organizati…
Elevation kicked my butt for three days and that trek to the Inca site via the pass at 14,800 feet was the hardest thing I've done. Got up at 4 am to make sunrise at Machu Picchu on solstice. So sore I could hardly get up and down stairs. We…
The world wonder of the Incan (Quechuan) civilization of Machu Picchu is perched atop a cliff 7,700 feet high. The bus that takes you there is driven by dudes who do this switchback journey, every day, all day. They make a run for it and the back…
For those of you who know me well enough, you know it's an impossibilty but it happened: I did not pee for 7.5 hours while I was exploring Machu Picchu. I did not want to walk to the gate, get out, and ruin the vibe. A miracle! (I also came…
We woke up at 4 a.m. to make it to Machu Picchu, the sacred Quechua (Inca) city on the winter solstice, before the sun rose. We hiked up above the city and looked down on the temples as the sun crept steadily up over the mountains. As it crested,…
I'm smart enough to know I could not walk up to the Jesus statue while my brain is pounding out of my head like a bass drum. I spent two hours in the Plaza de Armas, people watching next to a woman with traditional dress... then I fell asleep…
