Closing Time

Recent weather: 80s and sunny. This weather forecast is even easier to predict than San Diego's.
Recent reads: Nahum-Matthew, "A House in Fez" by Suzanna Clark, "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, "A Quiet Light: A Novel About St. Thomas Aquinas" by Louis de Wohl

Wrapping up my time here in paradise. Looking back on the last month in Mancora, I will miss:

1) Surfing...The best thing about my extended stay in Mancora has been the opportunity to surf just about every day and even twice a day when possible (on my days off or when I work the evening shift at the hostel bar). Besides getting exercise and being outside, one thing that I love about learning to surf is that I can honestly say that every time I get out of the water, I learned something new. Although, I mostly learn the hard way what not to do.  It's learning nonetheless.

Chica Mancora beach

 It's a well known fact that I am not a strong swimmer (or a swimmer at all, frankly) in a pool, let alone in the open water so after a few humiliating defeats versus Mother Nature, I have a certain level of fear every time I get into the water. But as with long-distance running, I think that a healthy dose of fear is the best form of motivation. And I have learned to combat this fear by facing it head on, literally. For example, when I am paddling out and it looks like an oncoming way is going to crash right on me, sometimes the best strategy is not to close my eyes and shrink into the fetal position on the board, but actually to face the wave head on and paddle as hard as I can directly into it and I'll go right over it nice and easy. Or after I have wiped out and another wave is coming, I want to grab the nearest flotation device, my board, and hold on for dear life, but actually the best technique is to ditch the board ahead of me towards the beach (so it doesn't hit me on the head again) and dive under just as the wave is about to break.

Los profesores de surf y sus estudiantes favoritas :) 

But after a month of surfing almost daily, I still feel like I haven't learned as quickly as I would like. (I still consider myself a beginner beginner.) And then I realize that that is something else surfing teaches surfistas: patience. Patience in learning. Patience in waiting for waves, especially that elusive "una mas" wave before getting out of the water.

2) Seafood...Peru's national dish, ceviche, raw fish served with onions and citrus juices, has been particularly amazing in Mancora. You can easily pay an arm and a leg at a classy seafood restaurant for a good plate of ceviche, but right here on the beach in Mancora, just about every restaurant or kitchen does ceviche well and for very inexpensive.

Ceviche starter with onions, red peppers, grilled corn nuts and sweet potato.

Tortilla con langostinos (shrimp omelette)--with rice and potatoes, of course!

3) Kokopelli...I will definitely miss working at the hostel! I take pride in my daily "cartel" (drawing on the hostel blackboard) and the music playlist during my shift. Last song of the night is always "Closing Time," by Semisonic, of course! But my fellow volunteers, the original all-Argentinian family, is what made my time here. We shared lots of meals, drinks, and laughs together! There were afternoons when I didn't want to go surfing, but my fellow volunteer who was also learning would encourage me. But they are each moving on one by one so it's time for me to move on as well. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end! (You knew that was coming.)

Las chica de Kokopelli

Home, sweet, home!

Today you are here.

Next stop: Huaraz, Peru, for a week before my Peruvian visa is up.

My San Diego Summer

Recent weather: low 80s, sunny every day, heaven
Recent reads: Daniel-Micah, "Red Zone" by Mike Lupica, "Ports of Call" by Sally Fairchild, "Twelve Years a Slave" by Soloman Thorthop--a sports novel, chicklit, and a fluffy beach read.

At last. I have finally arrived in the ultimate Peruvian beach town: Mancora. While I was freezing (slight exaggeration) in Lima and Cusco, everyone was posting about summer in San Diego and Wisconsin. Now it's time for my San Diego summer!

Day 1: Buy a swimsuit top. Check. Somehow I had lost my swimsuit top along my way which is strange because at one point in time, it was in my regular bra rotation.

Day 2: Go surfing. Check. Surf schools are ubiquitous along the beach so this was an easy one. And with small waves that went on for days, my spirits were high after day 1. But day 3 of surfing was not so easy. It was one of those days where I was never in the right spot at the right time. And with huge waves that broke quickly like a brick wall instead of rolling on and on, well, let's just say that I more than struggled just to keep my head above water, literally. After I would ride the wave and wipe out, gracefully of course, I would come up for air just as another wave would crash over my head, wrap me up feet first and spin me about like a wash machine before spitting me out again even further from where I wanted to be. Repeat. But after a day of rest and a mental pep talk, I was back in the water. At the very least, it's great to be outside, in the water, and getting a heck of a workout!

Day 3: Get a job. Check. This was surprisingly easy considering that in Peru, nothing happens quickly. But after a couple of stops by local bars and hostels, I found a gig working at a hostel bar in exchange for free accommodation. Working with my all-Argentinian family of fellow travelers has been good language practice and I am also now an expert pisco sour maker! Egg white, lime juice, pisco, sugar, ice and shake! I hope I can find pisco at BevMo and keep the pisco sours going when I get home!

And shake!

 But even after everything seemed to align with what I had wanted--sun, surf, and the chance to stay here for a bit--I still didn't feel relaxed. There was definitely a low point when I was lying on the beach, the perfect level of physical exhaustion after a surf sesh, with the sun about to set on an amazing day, here in this Peruvian paradise and I couldn't just be content in that moment. And then I felt guilty for not being happy. I have since come around from that mild meltdown and am back on the positive train. Still happy to be here. Still excited to see and do all that I can. Still learning about myself and my own personal recipe for happiness. And shake.

I seriously cannot complain about this.

# 16 Machu Picchu

Recent weather: 80s, sunny, with light rain off and on
Recent reads: Lamentations, Ezekial, "The Bolivia-Chile-Peru Dispute in the Atacama Desert" by Ronald Bruce St. John

It's been a goal of mine of visit Machu Picchu, number 16 on my list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30, in fact. But it was really the whole 4 day jungle trek to Machu Picchu that set the stage for an unforgettable experience. And I have the mosquito bites to prove it!

With just a backpack of my essentials, day 1 started with biking down from 13,000+ feet above sea level along a winding mountainside road. The scenery was beautiful, with crisp green vegetation and awe-inspiring mountain tops almost within reach. I will say that normally clouds just depress me, often dark and grim, blocking out the sun, but these jungle clouds were ominous and epic, striking in their own way.

That afternoon we white-water rafted in Santa Maria. I'm pretty sure our guide found the 7 of us girls completely useless in navigating our raft but regardless, we had a great time!

Day 2 was our big trekking day. We marched through the jungle canopies, up and down stunning cliffs and valleys, and a couple of hours along the original Inka Trail before following the Urubamba River to Santa Teresa. In Santa Teresa we soaked our aching bodies in the hot springs. Normally, I shy away from cesspools of foreign bacteria but after 9 hours of hiking, even I managed to enjoy the thermal baths. That evening we feasted on alpaca and had our fair share of Peruvian tequila before boosting the local economy by visiting the only night club in Santa Teresa.

Yes, there's a large hole in the bridge right behind me.

Inka Trail

Day 3 started with a set of 5 ziplines that cruised over the river and jungle. That afternoon we hiked along the railroad tracks from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu. The last 30 minutes of our trek was marked by a torrential downpour. And this is the dry season! After a couple of physically intense days marching through the jungle, I couldn't wait for a hot shower in Aguas Calientes. Ironically, my hostel had no water whatsoever. That's South America for you.

Finally, the big day finally arrived! By 4:30AM I was already on my way to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes in the dark, bundled up in whatever clothes I had that were still dry. After the most intense stairmaster session of my life with over an hour of vertical stone steps up the mountain, I had shed a few layers and finally reached the official entrance to Machu Picchu! Since I've seen so many photos of people at Machu Picchu, I didn't know what to expect when I was actually there myself but it did not disappoint. Machu Picchu has a way of making you feel like you are king (or queen) of the world while at the same time reminding you of just how impossibly big the world is. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Path to the Inka Bridge

The entrance to Machu Picchu

On my way down

By 11AM I was on my way down the mountain, one stone step at a time, the sun shining on my back (and hopefully on my still sopping wet shoes). Once down the mountain, I backtracked along the traintracks to Hidroelectrica where my minibus back to Cusco was waiting. After a few hours in the bus, several unnecessary stops later, and just when group morale was at an all-time low, a miraculous rainbow formed in the sky, reminding us just how amazing this experience was!

Now to northern Peru to soak up the sun!