Gucci Sushi

As the designated dad of the trip, I felt it was my duty to see off all my lovely kids and my beautiful wife as they all left in waves spanning from last night to this morning. As a result, I've been exhausted all day. Showering was a struggle. Packing was a struggle. Eating breakfast was a struggle. The biggest thing I was looking forward to by far today was our plans of eating at an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant that only cost 60 soles (~20 dollars). Eliott had caught a glimpse of it on our way to the nice buffet that we ate at for lunch yesterday (Quinn blogged about it below), and he and I were super excited about saying how ridiculously cheap it was.

We get to the restaurant, after checking the Trip Advisor reviews thoroughly as we learned after our Orisha's Cafe experience, and it looks incredibly promising. The barra libre (all-you-can-eat) menu had plenty of options; I don't think we even tried them all to be honest. Each roll is 28 soles, but the buffet per person is 60 soles, and between Adam, Profe, and myself, we cleaned up 10 rolls. So instead of paying 280 soles, we paid just 180, and left with our hearts and bellies content.

After lunch, we strolled around Larcomar, the beach side outdoor mall, again and drank some juice and ate dessert. All in all, it was a great way to spend our last day in Lima. 

Have a great summer, kids!

Love,

Dad

Becoming dinner for the local fauna

So, we've finally come full circle. My final blog post. In one of my first posts of the trip, I spoke about many of the different foods I've had the opportunity to try since coming to Peru - anticuchos, alpaca, choclo, the works. Until two days ago, I felt like the top of the Peruvian food chain, confident in my culinary prowess and excited to try new dishes. Little did I know how wrong I was. It seems that in the south of Peru, the hunter became the hunted.

I don't know how it happened. I have a foggy idea of when - my ankles indicate it must have been during rafting, my legs and hands during the ATVs - but it should never have occurred in the first place. I put on bug spray - a lot of bug spray. Deet was my vampire's garlic, my werewolf's silver bullet, but this time it failed me. So here I am, leaving Peru after a wonderful, month long journey. I leave with many gifts - bottles of Inca Cola, alpaca woven clothing, trinkets and crafts, and 33 of the itchiest bug bites I've ever had. These bites don't seem like they're from mosquitoes, at least no type of mosquito I've ever seen. They look kind of like mosquito bites, except for the strenge, needle point scab in the center. Something bit me. A were-squito? A Chupacabra? I did some investigating, and the best thing I could come up with was this:

The humble sand fly - Public Enemy Number 1

That's a sand fly, and my investigations on Google Image show that that little creature is perhaps the most likely source of my now perpetual itchiness. Luckily, I'm not alone in this fight. I have an ally, a friend, a kngith in shining armor. It's name is Andantol. It's like Peruvian Benadryl. It works though, which is all that maters, and as long as I keep slathering it on my insect bites, I win the fight against the itch. It's a tough life, the life of prey. But, all I can do is grab my andantol, head to Jorge Chavez airport, and head back to the United States, thankful for ALL of the things that Peru has given me over the past month.

After all, I may have been eaten alive, but I suspect it's a lot worse for the guinea pigs.

Discovering My Inner Road Warrior

Shortly after arriving in Lima, I felt like a kid seeing the big city for the first time. Weeks in Cusco and weekends in the not-so-bustling towns of Chincheros y Pisac had desensitized me to the realities of modern life. I felt like an adventurer, an Indiana Jones type character, a pioneer trailblazing through the Andean wilderness, the air thin around me and the Southern Cross looming overhead. Lima brought me back to reality, but just as quickly as I had been thrust back into the First World, we took another trip, this time to the southern part of the country. And this time, while we might not have been as rural, the journey felt a lot more rugged. 

Looking at the sprawling sand dunes and rugged coastline of southern Peru, I felt like I had walked out of a Maymester and into an action movie. Riding on dune buggies across sand dunes that reminded me of my old Windows XP background made me feel like I had gone onto the set of Mad Max. Here's some comparison:

Me, hanging out on some sand dunes

Wind, a classic computer background

Sandboarding and dune buggying across the desert was one of the greatest parts of this trip. It had the thrill of a rollercoaster, the adventure of a new place, and (as you can see) great views for pictures. Combined with whitewater rafting and ATVing made the whole journey seem like some kind of quest straight out of an adventure movie. Although I haven't seen it, I feel like the comparison to Mad Max: Fury Road probably isn't that far off. 

Mad Max hanging out with his dune buggies

Jeff Greenberg hanging out with his dune buggies

Movie comparisons aside, doing these extreme activities in the south of Peru really did make me feel like I was in the wilderness, far from any real civilization. With sand as far as the eye can see, a raging river and no towns in sight, and dirt paths to take my ATV on, I went to a state of mind far from my daily life back in the United States. 

I became Jeffrey Greenberg, the Road Warrior, 

Americans trying pass in a Peruvian buffet

Yesterday we got the opportunity to eat at a really nice buffet called Brujas de Cachiche. I'm not sure any of us really knew what to expect but when I think of buffet restaurants I usually think of restaurants CiCi's Pizza or Golden Corral, restaurants that I only know about because of loud TV commercials and have no real desire to go to. Profe assured us, however, that this was one of the best in Peru. Our first clue that this was no Country Buffet was when profe told us all to dress up a little bit. In Cusco, restaurant "dresscodes" were very relaxed and it was not uncommon to see people eating in relatively nice restaurants looking like they were just off the trail. Lima is a little different and the first night at San Antonio I did feel a bit underdressed, but the need to dress up for Brujas de Cachiche was a good sign. We got there and they immediately showed us to our nice table, complete with two sets of forks and knives for each person.

Brujas de Cachiche

Freshly blended juices in Peru are very common and very delicious. At the buffet our juice options were peach, orange, and passion fruit. One indicator of our "American-ness" might have been when several of us ordered mixes of juices like orange/passion fruit. The look on the waiter's face made it pretty clear that mixing juices was not exactly common the same way we would order an Arnold Palmer or anything like it back home. After ordering our drinks, we wandered through the restaurant to the beginning of the buffet line, passing tables of sophisticated looking Peruvians. This was the first point in time where I realized we stuck out a bit. Being a large group we are generally pretty loud, but this time our presence definitely could not go unnoticed as we snaked a line through people's tables while all asking "PROFE WHAT IS THIS?" and "ESTA COMIDA TIENE LECHE?". Our next mistake came when a lot of us (myself included) decided to try to do the whole buffet in one swoop. In one hand I had my appetizer plate, which consisted of various forms of potato dishes, ceviche, and vegetables. In the other hand I had a plate filled with different rice dishes, chicken and other meats, beans, and tamales. I didn't notice until after that most of the other tables got their appetizer plate first. Then once everyone at the table was finished, they all went up to get their main course. It is possible that the Peruvians didn't notice our small mistakes, but it is also quite possible that we perpetuated certain American stereotypes as we barreled past them while double fisting full plates of food. Dessert was a large sample of different classic Peruvian desserts and freshly cut fruit. Some of the desserts we got to try included alfajores, suspiro a la limeña (a classic dessert from Lima that tastes similar to dulce de leche), flan, tres leches cake, a slightly redeeming version of the "robitussin pudding" we ate at Casa Elena, and last but not least apple pie (which in the words of Jeff lacked a "little bit of patriotism").

Suspiro a la limeña

All in all, Brujas de Cachiche was a fantastic choice for lunch and worlds apart from any classic American buffet restaurant I've ever heard of. We may have stuck out like sore thumbs a bit as Americans but we had good food with good company and that is all you can really ask for!

The great city of Lima

After two weeks in Cusco, I almost forgot what it was like to be in a big city. I was really excited to go to Lima, but my expectations were certainly tempered due to what I had already seen of Peru. Not to say I didn’t love Cusco, but it was definitely a completely different story than LA or Nashville.

Needless to say, Lima immediately blew my mind. Right upon arriving, Steve, Austin and I went straight to Larcomar to meet up with the rest of the group. It was then that I realized what differentiated Lima from the rest of Peru. Larcomar is an incredible outdoor mall with a variety of high end restaurants, stores, and shops. Even I, being from LA, have not seen anything like it. The views of the ocean are unparalleled and the food at the Mangos buffet was absolutely delicious, especially for the price.

Right across the street, the JW Marriott is one of the nicer hotels I’ve seen in a while, and the group and I had a great time gambling in the casino there. I could not have chosen a better way to lose over a hundred dollars in just a couple of minutes. Regardless, Lima definitely shattered my expectations. Great weather, great food, beautiful views, and certainly some pretty women. I hope to make it back in the near future.

Eating My Way Through Peru

I’ll start off by stating that Andean cheese is grosso! Okay, that's the main purpose of this blog...

Peruvian food overall is very distinct in flavors and textures. My mistake was assuming it’d be like Mexican food. While there were some great dishes, like Lomo Saltado, there were far more dishes that I did not like. The soup appetizers at Casa Elena were almost always a hit with everyone, but to me it was either not salty enough or very grainy. Sometimes too much like an aquarium. The worse was definitely the desserts! From grainy chocolate pudding flan, to Robitussin jello, to even canned fruit cocktail, desserts at lunch were all a struggle. Ask Soy Steve.

One of the major differences between Cusco and Lima was definitely the food. For example, the biggest difference had to be the cooking time. In Cusco, food had to be cooked way longer due to the high altitude and many of the common dishes required a pressure cooker. Elena, our cooking instructor, said that when making chicken, it must be cooked for an hour and a half. As someone who cooks on a regular basis, that would drive me insane. When we learned how to make Lomo Saltado it took us hours, not including the prep time the instructors spent prior to the class. In Lima, the same dish takes 15 to 20 minutes, according to Elena. This was experienced at restaurants during dinner. In the highlands, it took our food at least 45 minutes to be served after ordering while in Lima it took a third of that time.

Foods and drinks to try while in Peru:

• Pisco 
• Pollo a la Brasa
• Lomo Saltado
• Alpaca and Cuy
• Jugo Natural
• Chicha Morada at Kushka...fe
• Ceviche
• Chifa
• Choclo
• Cua Cua and Sublimes
• Whole shrimp at Lunahuana
• Tejas 
• Bembos and Big Max

Let me tell you a little about Lima...

It's amazing. I'm a big fan of Lima but it was definitely a culture shock. After over two weeks in Cusco, coming to a city like Lima was completely surprising. I was finally used to the cobblestone streets, the street vendors shoving different items in our ways, the view of the mountains stretching for miles, the smell of sewage (and other gross things) on our way to class, the voices of many desperate spa owners constantly repeating "masaje?" and once we got to Lima, that was all gone. Everything seemed to move quicker and one thing that will always stay in my mind is that when I looked up at the sky, it was completely white. This time of the year, Lima is usually overcast and the clouds are stuck over the city, so it's completely weird to not see a blue sky - however, the drive from the airport to our hotel showed that Lima is a beautiful city.

There are advertisements everywhere - huge billboards and ads on bus stops. Palm trees line the streets and two paved lanes of road somehow accommodate three lanes of traffic. There is always some car honking and on the sidewalks you'll see people from all backgrounds walking around and enjoying the 70 degree weather in the middle of the winter.

The mall we went to was absolutely amazing and it felt like I was back in the US. I saw stores like Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Steve Madden, and more and we ate at a restaurant called Mangos (pictured below):

Having lunch/dinner with a view of the Pacific Ocean was pretty sweet. 


Perhaps my favorite part of the first couple of days in Lima was the run that Adam and I went on. We ran through Miraflores, the area of Lima that we stayed in. The sky was actually blue that morning and the views of the ocean were amazing. What was marvelous was how nice it was from a citizen's standpoint. There were outdoor gym-type workout areas, artistic statues, mini dog parks, a small lighthouse, and everywhere I looked I would see people walking, skateboarding, running, or biking. It reminded me of a mini game in Wii Fit that I used to play, where I would hold the Wii remote and run in place while I watched my avatar run through a picturesque scene very similar to what I saw in Lima. It was so nice that for a brief moment I thought that I was in a video game or in a movie. 

Lima in the first few days was amazing and a great change from Cusco. There is so much to explore and so much to do and it's hard to believe that I'm still in South America. 

The F.A.M.I.L.Y (Funny A** Massive Idiotic Loving Youngsters)

One of the funniest things 

That this trip has portrayed

Is the creativity of students 

And their weird habits and games

So on one fateful night 

In some kid’s hotel room

A family dynamic was created

And it would include…….

The man who teaches would be the granddad

With his wisdom in Spanish and Beard of Gold

Is united with his TA who does not speak english

through an interracial marriage proposal.

The groom being from Korea and slick black hair 

With a distant sister from Canada too

Asks for the hand of a Mexican beauty queen

Who is very fond of the fanny pack fashion scoop

Yet this Mexican has two brothers

Whom are two very different characters

One loves books governors

And the other just tries to look better

Now here is the part 

Where it gets tricky

Because the bride and groom 

Get a little busy

And end up with 

not just one or two 

But 9 interesting

Koreaxican minis.

The oldest is a Middle eastern photographer 

whom all his siblings adore

He has the wisdom of a sea lion and eyes of a tiger

Yet I am not sure what he uses those attributes for :/

The second to come is an amazing girl

Whose name does not rhyme with cat

And she has grown attached to her book loving Uncle 

And you can guess her personality from that.

A couple of years later another koreaxican is born

Who loves the color pink

Such the trendsetter she is, and minds her own bizz

But loves to make fun of…. me -_-

(Then you have this situation of the groom 

Spending too much time with an uncle

Who convinces him to go on a business trip

Which in reality consisted of a brothel.)

The groom returns to his Mexican queen

With a present at his side

But this was not just an ordinary gift

It was just kind of a very tall child.

And after him 

For they tried again with very very little luck

Because what they came up with

Was a cool child who hung with the crazy uncle too much.

After much yelling and a make-up session

Something crazy came to be

A son was born who loved skateboards

And doing illegal things

So at last they grew tired 

And decided to stop

But the Mexican queen 

Decided to adopt

She adopted a child 

And he was disappointed to see

That every new sibling that he now had

Did not make higher than a 3.3

Alas after years of managing kids 

5 born, 1 bastard and 1 adopt

The couple decided that

It would be best to even this odd number up.

So what did they do 

Well you could guess

And to their surprise

They succeeded 

But they did not just have one child coming

There was a pair that they had to meet

For one was a timid shy ole fellow

And the other was the bubbly me ;)

Walkibility of Cusco and Fancy Footwork

Cusco was a very walkable place. Within 2 days, most of us felt we knew how to navigate through the city around our hotel. Our hotel was in a great location; it was close to Plaza de Armas, where we ate most of our meals, it was close to the college where we held class, and in a safe neighborhood. For future students, make sure you bring “walking” shoes, “going out” shoes, hiking shoes, and shower shoes. You will need more than just Nikes for when you go out to Wild Rover or to a fancy dinner.

Paloma's Footwear Packing List:

1. Brown Cowboy Boots - Used in a versatile manner for many situations
2. Black Nike Free 5.0 - Used for every day walking and hiking
3. Pink Nike Solarsoft Flip Flops - Used for showering and various water activities
4. Navy Blue TOMS - Used for class and other short walks
5. Leopard Print House Slippers - Used in hotels for walking

When you walk through Cusco, be prepared for vendors attacking you with “good deals”. From old ladies with baby llamas in their arms, to middle-aged men selling knock-off sunglasses, to little kids selling keychains, the vendors are everywhere. At first it was overwhelming, but be strong. Look forward and keep walking. DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT. That’s how they get you.

 

When walking anywhere, make sure you don’t go anywhere alone. While we are in a safe-ish neighborhood, foreign countries are still pretty sketchy. Also, the map you are given in Casa Elena the first day is very helpful to learn the city. Part of the learning is finding your way around the city. I think that you learn a lot about the culture by just walking through Cusco and observing everyday life. In short, your feet are very important on this trip.

Cooking and Salsa

Learning about Incan mythology and visiting historical ruins has given me a larger perspective of architecture and religious beliefs during that time period. However, some of my most memorable experiences while in Cuzco have been the additional classes offered as a part of our program such as cooking, chocolate making and most importantly salsa dancing. The hospitality at Casa-Elena was incredible but having the family there teach us how to make some of their traditional dishes such as stuffed potatoes, lomo saltado y chichi morada further assimilated our group into Peruvian culture and dining. I like to consider myself a semi-expert of how to cook rice but I had never seen it cooked dry in a pan with a touch of vegetable oil followed by a small cup of water. Regardless of the differences, it was savory and rich. Unlike my vast knowledge of rice cooking, I had little to no dancing experience but the allure of a new city and encouraging presence of Daniel’s ridiculously smooth moon walk convinced me to give salsa lessons a try. At first my moves were rigid and robotic but after enough repetition, I began to loosen up from my waddling penguin dance. I was so hooked to Salsa that I came back whenever lessons were offered and got to learn basic steps and even more advanced twists, turns and shuffles. Coming in at different times during the week allowed us to experience different salsa flavors such as Puerto-rican or Cuban, dance with different instructors and try different levels of beginner or intermediate. Over the course of the week, I probably learned 20 or more new moves and there is a new found confidence that comes with knowing that when music is playing and a circle of people forms around me that I have some fundamental footwork to fall back on after erratically flailing my arms around and bopping up and down. Salsa and dancing in general is fun, not because it makes one look suave, but because it one of the body’s most basic forms of expression. After all, “El que no baila Salsa no sabe hacer el Amor.” 

Fly like paper get "Hi I like planes"

On our flight from Cusco to Lima, I was assigned the aisle seat 8C, and no one in our group had the other seats on my side of the row, so naturally, I was slightly worried that I'd get paired with one or more of the following types of people:

• Large and in charge (although this was less of a worry since as Andrew has found out, Peruvians are generally pretty small)
• Paranoid of planes (Delilah ended up sitting next to this woman who glared at her for not paying 100% attention to the safety spiel given before all flights)
• Loud and annoying bugger of a child (I think we've all dealt with this once in our lives)
• Smelly
• Small bladdered (being the aisle man in a row with a frequent bathroom goer is akin to being the hero the plane deserves, but not the one it needs)
• Someone who wants to be friends with anyone and everyone in their life
• A missionary 

I was lucky enough to be sat with this cute little nugger named Valentino.

My boy Valentino checking his process during bulking season

Valentino fit under none of the above criteria thank goodness, and he was just such a sweetheart! He let me play with his suction Furby toys and he even gave me a pineapple candy to eat before the flight started. He quickly passed out though, much like myself.

Me

As we came in closer to Lima, Valentino woke up and we chatted some more. He was super enthusiastic about everything until I asked him if he liked school. It took a little coaxing from his mom for him to finally say that he liked school, and even then he sounded reluctant. Classic. As we left the airport after getting our baggage, he came up to me, gave me a high five and ran back to his mom so they could get on their way. I was able to get his mom's email address to email her the pictures I took with him. I hope that down the road he doesn't look back and get weirded out by seeing pictures of his young self with a big Korean boy, because I'll definitely remember him as the perfect flight-mate.

ATV Offroad Fury

                We get on our bikes, all in a single file line, rev our engines, and we’re off.  Hold up, my bike doesn’t work.  I try to hit the accelerator and nothing happens.  Uh oh, I’m going to get left in the dust (hehe), I think.  Not to fear.  Our trusty guide Nando lets me take his bike, which is decked out in full camo so it looks like I’m not even riding on anything but in fact gliding on air.  And I’m off!  I floor my accelerator and catch up to the group.  Good thing I did, because I turn the corner and find that they are stopped in traffic.  After inching forward for about 25 minutes, with a number of bike malfunctions on the way, we find out that we are behind a funeral procession, with about 100 Andean men, women and children marching with a casket and trumpets.

We eventually turn off the main road and onto a dirt path.  I’m ready to speed off, but the guide is holding us and a reasonable speed :(.  Who needs safety when you are offroad fury-ing?  We go along this path for a while until we encounter Linus’ rival gang – the goat squad.  They outnumber us by a wide margin – about 50 to 20.  We are nervous, finally facing down after sparks almost flew in Cuzco, but they get distracted by a field of grass off to the side.  Really, I think they just knew they feared us rough riders, but regardless we went our separate ways and we were off again.  We go along on this path for a while longer, passing small houses in this mountain village before reaching the end of the road and turning around. 

Ten minutes pass on the return leg, and then disaster strikes.  My bike, along with Paloma’s, stalls on the way up a small hill.  We eventually push our bikes up, and get back on to continue our ride.  I hop on and hit the gas.  And I don’t move.  I try again.  Nothing.  An old local man starts yelling at me – “La cadena! La cadena ‘migo!”  I look down.  S***, my chain is off.  At this point, Paloma has gone to catch up with the rest of the group.  I am by myself with no one in sight but this old guy and my bike.  One of the guides is behind me somewhere helping out another biker, but I have no idea when she will reach me.  I reach down to put on the chain, and my hands immediately turn black with grease.  I cannot get it on.  I am starting to worry at this point.  Is my moment of offroad fury over?  However, I refuse to give up.  I continue to attempt to put the chain on, over and over again, getting grease everywhere and almost burning my hand on the engine multiple times.  As the guide finally pulls up behind me, I hook the chain on.  I am back in business and ready to rage.  I hop back on my bike, give a badass nod to Jeff (who had the other broken bike), and we floor it.  Complete fury! 

Yet once again the gods of the offroad fury send me a challenge.  Ahead, I see group of about 12 cows coming straight for me.  I was paralyzed.  Never before had the infamous cow crew confronted me before, and I wanted nothing to do with them.  I stood my group and let them pass, and thankfully, they showed me mercy.  Finally, I am free.  I hit the accelerator and speed ahead.  No one can stop me now.  I dash across the dirt road, dust in my face, wind tearing at my clothes.  This is the most liberated I have felt since I finished finals.  I see the group up ahead and finally slow down.  What a moment of fury.  What a ride of wonder.  ATV Offroad Fury: Peru.

Me on my bike

Me in a moment of offroad fury

Lima Vice

After a small midweek trip to the southern coast of Peru, we've finally returned and settled in to the city of Lima. We're staying in the neighborhood of Miraflores, a beautiful, modern district with large buildings and oceanfront views. And, while everyone else continues to marvel at the new vistas we've experienced during our time in the city, I can't help but thinking "home." What readers of this blog probably don't know is that, originally, I hail from sunny South Florida, close to the city of Miami. Miami, much like Lima, is a beachside, modern, and cosmopolitan city, and when I looked outside the windows of our van when we first arrived in Peru's capital, my first impression was "Miami, on an overcast day, in the 1980s."

Miami, 1980

Miraflores, Present Day

While I don't have first hand experience with the Miami of the past, I have watched a lot of Miami Vice in my day, I guess for historical reasons. The architecture is very similar throughout much of Miraflores as one approaches the beach. Miami Beach, in the 1980s, was vibrant and international, but was famous for the pastel colors and modernist architectural buildings that exist throughout Miraflores today. The similarities didn't stop at the skyline though. As we walked along Lima's coastline, our group went to a beachside strip mall that looked like it could be straight out of  modern-day West Palm Beach or Boca Raton. On the streets of Miraflores, royal poinciana trees, a large tree with a thin, flat canopy, dot the curbs and sidewalks, along with palms and other evergreens. I might as well be looking at the trees in my backyard. Even the air, which was dry, thin, and arid in Cusco, has been humid and warm here in Lima, and reminds me of my natural habitat.

Seaside mall at Miraflores

Seaside Mall at Delray Beach, Florida

This comparison between Lima and South Florida has allowed me to reconsider and view Peru in a different light than I did originally. While in many neighborhoods and many aspects, the two countries are extremely different, a point proved obvious to me when we visited mountain villages such as Chincheros and Aguas Calientes, in Lima and in many areas of the southern coast, one might not live so differently than they would in the US. Globalization has even given Lima many of the same businesses, shops, and ways of thinking that exist in the United States. It has also worked the othe rway around. When I walk through Miraflores, I'm in one of the greatest Latin American cities in the world. Miami has become a truly Latin American and Caribbean city as well. All they need now is to have a TV show in Lima like they had in Miami. 

They can call it Lima Vice. 

Sand Dunes are STELLAR #insider

Today the crew went to extreme lengths when we saw sand. When I got on the bus, I kind of feel asleep after watching Adjustment Bureau (which is a great movie and I seriously recommend it) and awoke to see an oasis…………….. yes, an oasis. I knew we were sand-boarding, but this spectacular sight still was one that shocked me. The water was dirty for sure but the water plus its surroundings made up for the water’s ugly greenish color. Honestly, if you have not seen an oasis you have not lived life…. literally. After I was done marveling at the oasis, the crew and I ate an exquisite lunch consisting of fresh vegetables, fresh potatoes and fresh fish. I, of course, was quite delighted by this and was even prouder to have had the opportunity to participate in the delightful tasting of heaven in the form of ice-cream. Ahhhhh… I can still taste it.

After letting the food digest, the crew hopped in a sand buggy and headed toward waves of sand. The driver I had had was awesome and took us on the ride of our lives… I don’t know much about the other group’s driver #losers. When we got to a good sand-boarding spot, I decided that I was going to go ahead and do it without thinking. So I did. And it was so fun, but the walk back up the hill was brutal. This climb up sand made me think about the Incans and how much they had to endure to build the empire that they had. I know it is sort of irrelevant, but it kind of resonates on the mind a bit. Their example shows that perseverance is the key to success :). But anyways guys….. it has been a long day and this trip still isn’t over so….. WISH ME LUCK!!!