A weekday outing with new friend Niti to Kaimana Beach, a lovely, quiet little stretch of beach just a bit further down from bustling Waikiki Beach.

Waikiki sunset.

Morning hike up Diamond Head — very touristy, but a nice, easy hike to do before my afternoon shift at the smoothie shop.

What I wouldn’t do to have a home on that shore…

View from the top.

Dinner at Spices, a highly recommended Southeast Asian restaurant.

Burmese noodle entree.

A Friday visit to Sandy Beach Park, an awesome, awesome beach with crazy powerful waves that are prime for body surfing. Even Obama does it! We (wisely) decided not to go fully in. Instead, I laid out and played with some dogs while Eaman played soccer.

The Kapiolani Community College farmers market, held every Saturday. Our day consisted of: super delicious pizza (homemade pesto, hand-stretched mozzarella and local tomatoes), Vietnamese iced coffee and cinnamon rolls with a backpack full of asparagus, pineapples and exotic fruits to bike home with.

I can’t remember what this was, but it was fried and apparently, very popular.

We’re now in Buenos Aires, enjoying the comforts of a big, cosmopolitan city and our very own apartment (details on that in the next post). But we would be remiss to move on from Peru without a little reflection.

I think Peru will always hold a special place in our wanderlust hearts because it was the first stop on this big, crazy adventure. We didn’t know much about the country beyond Machu Picchu, but we’ve learned so much.

The people are some of the warmest, most generous you’ll find. And the country itself is huge and varied with so much to do–whether it’s hitting the beach, going for a hike, soaking in hot springs, trekking through the jungle or tasting food in the rising gastronomic capital of Lima. (We sadly missed a major food festial by one week!!)

A friend in Buenos Aires told us that we did good by starting in
Peru because you expect and almost crave a big culture shock at the beginning of this kind of trip. Starting in Buenos Aires would’ve felt like going from one New York to the next. Peru was indeed a culture shock, but in the best way possible. No skyscrapers, no herds of people in a rush, no taking things for granted.

Peru was a quick lesson in appreciating the small things in life (i.e. hot water, electricity and something to eat after a long day hiking), not to mention natural beauty at its finest.

We didn’t get to share all the pictures we would’ve liked to with each post, so here, the stuff you didn’t see:

Yarn at a market in Cusco:

Dinner with new friends at organic restaurant Greens in Cusco:

Hiking in the ancient Inca town of Pisaq:

Amazing vegetarian lunch at Govinda in Lima. I haven’t seen tofu in a while

Abuela warming up empanadas in Pisaq:

Inca Kola, apparently made of lemongrass but tastes like bubblegum. The novelty wore off quickly:

Cusco by night:

Hike to Ollyantaytambo, another ancient Inca town:

We randomly saw a performance by The National Ballet of Georgia in Cusco…and it was awesome:

The nicest clothes we had (that also worked with the cold weather) to wear to the ballet:

There were always tiny puppies and kittens at the small basic hostels we stayed at during our treks:

Break during our jungle trek:

Riding on an abandoned Peru Rail train in the jungle:

Making good on a major craving in Arequipa:

Next up, a tour of our Buenos Aires digs!

We landed in Cusco last Friday and have accomplished the following thus far:

1. Walked the local neighborhoods
2. Sampled local cuisine at the San Pedro market
3. Visited the Pisaq market and climbed to the mountain top there
4. Contracted gastrointestinal infections
5. Contracted salmonella poisoning (Eaman)
6. Spent a night at the Cusco clinic (both)
7. Missed our four-day trek to Macchu Pichu

Let us explain…

Everyone–friends, guidebooks and all–warned us that Cusco was nothing but a tourist trap. Once we began to explore, we thought they couldn’t be more wrong. It’s a vibrant, bustling mountain city with enough hometown charm to prove any Lonely Planet wrong. The locals are warm, the babies are beyond squeezable, and the food at the market? Out of this world! I mean, rice, eggs and beans–all delicious–for $1. Hello!

With our friends Brandee (left) and Natalie (center):

Trying to hold it together:

Pisaq market:

We did our best to fight it, but with our Macchu Pichu trek looming in two days, we didn’t want to risk anything. And so we called a doctor (through a clinic our hostel works with), who came to our hostel within 45 minutes. After examining us both, he determined we both had GI infections. Unfortunately, Eaman’s had caught up with him a little sooner than mine had.

The antibiotics were supposed to be enough, and for me, they were. But for Eaman, not so much. The next day his body was totally rejecting the meds a.k.a. he was vomiting. That meant he needed the meds through an IV. And that, my friends, was how we got to our first hospital abroad within a week of traveling. It looks like we may have gotten ill from the traditional Peruvian drink known as the Pisco Sour, which uses raw egg whites for its foam. I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but EVERY tourist drinks them. I guess it was luck of the draw. Or perhaps it was the unpasteurized cheese from the San Pedro market, which WE DIDN’T KNOW was unpasteurized. Ugh, no more sampling.

Here’s Eaman at the clinic. In my defense, he told me to take this picture:

The stay at the clinic obviously meant Eaman was out of the Macchu Pichu trek. According to the doctor, I was actually well enough to go, but I wasn’t about to leave Eaman alone. To be honest, my stomach wasn’t feeling 100% anyway. It was oddly fun to be cooped up in the room with our friends, HBO and Cinemax. Don’t judge; we felt like crap.

We got out yesterday and these past few days have been such a blur. A part of us just wants to get the hell out of Cusco. It’s left a sour taste in our mouths, and that’s not just because our antibiotic has a tendency to leave us with a none-too-delectable metal flavor on our tongues. We feel defeated that this happened so early. And I hate to say it, I had a moment–during extreme gastrointestinal pain–when I just wanted to be back in the U.S. I just wanted a friggin’ bowl of Cheerios.

But we’re trying to stay positive. Our insurance was wonderful and will hopefully reimburse our whole Macchu Picchu trek. So instead of doing a taxing four-day hike, we are leaving this coming Monday for the Inca jungle trail, which includes hiking, mountain biking and ziplining. (We’re assuming we’ll be back to normal by then. Fingers crossed.)

I believe that everything happens for a reason, and there was some reason we weren’t supposed to go the classic route. Plus, we have a whole year for adventure. Such is the beauty of long-term travel.

For now, our goal is to just grt better. And now that I’m absolutely frightened to eat anything unfamiliar, we’ve sadly been eaing pizza and McDonald’s 24/7. Sigh. I feel like such a sell-out. But it does give me peace of mind that Mickey D’s was the first meal that I could successfully eat since getting sick. Chicken sandwich, French fries and Sprite FTW!

We just didn’t think we’d have to learn that lesson so soon!

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