This last weekend, Brooke surprised Adam with an early birthday present, which was a night in the rainforest in a hotel called Eco Quechua in Santa Teresa, only 13 km from Machu Picchu.
Lots of fun was had there, as the room had opened widely with no windows during a rainstorm, and it seemed as if they were right in it!
We started the fun evening taking a bus to Urubamba. We were warned by our host mom to get a ticket on this bus to Santa Maria or else we may have to stand for the whole 4 hour journey. We opted to go to Urubamba in this bus and we almost $hi* our pants. This trip included a lot of mountain journeying. We got the seats in the back of the bus because they were 5 soles less, or about 2 dollars. Hilariously wrong move. Each speed bump sent us soaring into the air. We felt the G forces of each turn. We just looked at each other and realized we were in the Universe's hands. And we made it back safely!
We eventually made it safely to Santa Maria and then proceeded to get a taxi to Santa Teresa where this hotel was located.The ride was a dusty, dark one, full of crazy turns. We felt like we were in a video game, Adam crunched in the back seat with two German tourists also enjoying their first time in the area.
After a nice conversation and a few close encounters, we made it safely. "5 soles" said the taxi driver to us to bring us to Eco Quechua, which we would not have found otherwise. We arrived and were welcomed. “You’re Chet’s friends, right?” Chet is our neighbor, tour guide, and friend. He recommended this place to us and, rightly so, Adam proclaimed, “This is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in!”
We really enjoyed our time there. We had only 3 walls with the last opening into the rainforest and to the river below. A thunderstorm came in and we could see it all from our bed without getting wet. Amazing.
We also got to go zip lining, which was something Adam had been asking about for a while. It was so amazing-see below! Adam was really brave and even went hanging upside down from his feet. There should also be a video that we'll post soon of the "superman" zipline, where we went together side by side. Adam appears to be a bit more brave in this video than Brooke. ;)
Hilariously, on the way back from ziplining, we were going to go to the hot springs, but then passed a random festival of dancing on Sunday afternoon with a big band. We decided to join the Peruvians of Santa Teresa in their haphazard dancing to the traditional and unmistakable Huayno music and before we knew it, we were each greeted with Cusqueña beer and a blue powerade. The beer kept coming and we were also gifted granadillas, which have become some of our favorite fruits here. Adam thought it was hilarious that the guys kept coming up to Brooke asking his consent to dance with her, and he enthusiastically agreed to have her swept up every time.
On a different note, we were excited to find a holistic center, or centro holístico, called Inti Khana in Urubamba and we hope to get some treatments done there in the future. They offer everything from bioenergetic therapy to massage.
Soon when they become available, Brooke is getting tickets to Machu Picchu for her mom, dad, and Adam for April 2014. Looking so forward to that time!
Brooke is honored that she will be in an article in a magazine for Northwestern University in December for her work in Bolivia and Peru. Stay tuned for a link to the article soon and enjoy the pictures!
Next post: Adam's birthday party-Peruvian style!
Enjoy! We love your comments so keep them coming!
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| Our room in Eco Quechua |
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| Eco Quechua |
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| Inca berry aguaymanto jam |
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| Adam super excited about the fresh avocado |
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| Adam sitting down to breakfast |
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| Adam as a satisfied customer |
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| Together |
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| View from Eco Quechua |
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| Birds attracted to bananas placed in the tress |
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| Bird watching |
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| Best bathroom view at the zip line place we went, Cola de Mono |
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| Getting ready to zipline |
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| Brooke ziplining! |
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| No hands! |
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| Can you spot the wild pineapple? |
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| Adam in full zipline uniform |
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| Before ziplining |
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| Brooke wayyy out there |
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| Not thrilled? |
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| Hands free! |
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| Adam way out in the canyon |
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| If you look closely, you can see Adam hanging upside down |
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| Hanging out |
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| "Superman" zipline together |
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| Adam enjoying a beer in the plaza |
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| Hot tub heated by hot coals |
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| Can you spot the spiders? |
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| Millipede? |
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| Reluctantly dancing at a random festival in the middle Santa Teresa with a random man |
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| The nurse in Brooke comes out always |
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| Giving the girl the "music" bracelet I have had on my wrist for over a year. |
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| Picture the girl took |
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| A massive chirimoya, one of our favorite fruits here |
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| Brooke's health promoter, Elsa, helping us GPS map |
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| Adam helping to cook at great dinner with Chet, our neighbor |
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| Finally had Starbucks....my name is "Bruke" |
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| Brooke did a sex ed talk in Cusco and as she got into bed, it broke. Uy. |
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| Adam with choclo con queso, one of the local specialties of corn and cheese |
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| Darragh |
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| Entrance to Ollantaytambo |
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| Elsa, Brooke's health promoter, "rompiendo la caña", or breaking stalks from the corn that was growing, and eating them like sugar cane. It was delicious! |
