Lluvia en Peru

When it rains it pours... especially in Peru. While I am going to get all my bitterness out at first, don´t stop reading there because I promise, it gets better! So, I got my purse stolen. Despite the warnings in every chapter of the book and every person we talked to, it happened to me. It was at the bus station in Puno, Peru after an overnight bus ride from Arequipa. Around 5am at some point between packing my things up- and admittedly being stupid while doing so by putting my purse in another bag that was not zipped- and waking from my nap at the hotel, my purse was taken. I have a feeling it was in the bus station when there were all these ¨touts¨ surrounding us trying to sell us tours. But who knows. My passport, iphone, camera (heart breaks here) and the money I had just taken out of the ATM were all in there. I definitely should have paid more attention to this bag, agreed, and the other 10 days 13 hours and 55 minutes I did. But that is all it takes. So, to make matters worse we got to spend the rest of the day- well at least 4 hours of it- in the Puno Tourist Police station. This was not a much better experience. First, these people don´t speak english, who would think that the tourist police should speak english? Second, it took 3 trips back there, dealing with laughs and spanish sh!t talking that we couldn´t understand, and begging to get copies of what they were making me sign. This is the fun of traveling. But.... it has not been all bad, we have had some amazing times! Some highlights: - Hiking Colca Canyon near Arequipa. It was a strenuous 2 days starting at 3am the first day and a 4 hr bus ride, then 20km of hiking steep ups and downs for the next 12 hours with beautiful scenery. The canyon is twice as deep as the grand canyon. I had pictures, but well ya know... Kelsey still has some! - Stomping Grapes during a Pisco Tour. Pisco is kind of the local drink and is between wine and liquor. We got to dance like they do during the festivals while stomping grapes to make for the wine. And don´t worry we washed our feet... after stomping:) - Seeing Lake Titicaca- the highest lake in the world. We took a boat tour to these floating islands and got to see how they made these crazy manmade communities out of grass and mud basically. - Arriving in Cuzco. We got to unpack our bags after 10 days and meet our host mom- she is soooo adorable, and a great cook! We got to do some laundry. We started our Spanish classes, which we both are loving. We also started our volunteer program working in a daycare center with kids. I will just leave it by saying they are crazy, and it is crazy. I haven´t really seen anything like it. More to come later! We are having a great time, despite the obvious setbacks, and we still have 2 months to go! And more good news- my passport is on the way, and my mom is amazing and a new debit card and a new camera are on the way! Because anyone who knows me knows I just can´t take being cameraless, or even sharing with Kelsey. I am related to Lois! And Kelsey´s pictures will be coming soon as well. Lots of love from Peru!