Stuff....

              Waking up at 7:00am we started packing. Today we leave this hotel and go to Mindo. Mindo is very green and wild, it's not quite a rain forest, but it's close. Before we left, we met this nice couple with two kids, one of them was my age! We played until it was time to go, seriously, right as I make a friend we have to go! I'm really missing my friends back home, ( sigh. ) Anyway we left, for Mindo.

                 When we arrived and our new hotel, it was awesome! It has swinging beds, hammocks everywhere, trampoline and a swing set, backed up to a really powerful river, lots of lightning bugs, wild fruit, cool hummingbirds, cute little town, and....ah. You get it, it's cool. And I haven't even told you about the room yet, it's gorgeous! It has a nice balcony with a hammock, a kitchen, and a queen bed for Mom and Dad, and a bunk for us. We're on the second floor of our own separate apartment, honestly, I personally think it's better than the fancy hotel we stayed at. Wow, that seems like forever ago! 

                      We walked around the square and went to the chocolate factory. This time, instead of making the chocolate, we taste tested it. We saw the cocoa tree and where they ferment it and dry it. They produce one ton of chocolate per month! When he was talking, he accidentally slapped me in the face, so I got an extra piece of chocolate. No, I did not cry! Maybe. I ate so much chocolate, I'm going to be as plump as a blueberry by the time we get back. Ah, I'm hilarious. Wait, you did not just hear me complimenting myself. No. We then went to go get tickets for tomorrow. We wanted to see the waterfalls, river tubing, and go zip lining! The say don't go zip lining if you're afraid of heights. Oops, well, here's another adventure!

                           Oh, and I forgot to tell you about getting to Mindo. Well, I mean, we only did one thing. We went to middle earth. Heh, funny. Yup, we went to go see Frodo! Just kidding. But we did go to Middle earth though. We got to have one leg on one side of the earth, and the other leg on the other side. Unfortunately the real one was somewhere else, we went to the cheaper one. Rip off.

                               We ate dinner at a nice, but quiet restaurant on the northern side of town. Tara and Dad had pizza, and mom and I split noodles. Mom of course couldn't eat the noodles, but she ate the chicken in there. Whenever Mom and I eat a piece of pizza, I take the bottom since I can't have cheese, and Mom takes the top, since she can't have gluten. Funny how that works huh? 

                                  At our hotel we swang on the beds and played pool till we decided to jump on the trampoline. A peice of fruit fell from the tree and I jumped on it. It was so dark you could see all the fireflies! And it just so happens that Tara was talking about bloody hands before the fruit fell. So I screamed really loud when it fell, I thought it was a hand! It's not my fault! We stayed out there till 8:00pm, then headed inside for shower and blogging. We have a really busy day tomorrow, so it's probably about time I should get to bed. Bye!

This is me enjoying life!

 

                                   

Last Day In Otavlo

                 Getting up at 8:45, we ate breakfast, then took a cab down to town. Today we are going to learn how they make popular things shown at the markets. The first thing was, tapestries. They showed how they mix different plants to make different colors. Then she did an example of how she makes them, it was really cool! Next was wood carvings. We walked around and saw many wood carvings. Tara got a wooden cross with the word Jesus carved into it. Oh, and I forget to mention that we went to a waterfall before all this. We hiked up to this secerate cave and explored the tunnels around it. 

                   The next town is the last one. This town is famous for its leather. Mom bought a black leather purse there too. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Cow Fat. Cow Fat? Yup, you heard me. I had a salad with tomatoes, vinegar, onions, and grilled bread. Tara got some meat and a salad. Dad got grilled chicken and salad. And Mom, well, you know, she ate my tomatoes.

                    We got back to our hotel and took a break. Then we went to dinner. For dinner we had Toco Bello again. When we got back to our hotel, we played with puppy. ( Awesome name we gave her, right? ) We also found out they grew avacodo and some type of fruit too. We got to try the fruit. It had the shape of pomegranate, but the taste of mango. Strange. It finally got dark and we went inside to shower, watch a movie, and go to sleep.

 This is puppy. She's biting my shoe in the picture below.

  

Biggest Market In South America!

                   We woke up at 7:30, again, and found ourselves eating breakfast, and taking a ride to the animal market. It was horrible!!! ( If you are sensitive with animal abuse, please stop here and continue on the next paragraph. Thank you. ) There were pigs squealing with fright as the evil owners pinched there skin to show how much flavor it had. To show how long the guinea pigs were, they'd hold them up by the throats! They also held all the alive chickens by their feet. And with all the pigs and cows, they dragged them as if they were only a sack of potatoes. It was so sad! They also had fluffy  yellow chicks in dark crates too. Mom and Dad probably have a totally different perspective. 

                   Ok, that was depressing. Next we went to the market, the biggest one in South America. I bought a flute, a cross, a glass globe, and a picture of a hummingbird. We ate lunch at Toco Bello. Yes, Toco Bello! The guy who first created Toco Bell created that, in fact he works there today. He is very nice, we got to meet him. All together for lunch we got quesadillas, tacos, beans, salad, chips, salsa, and guacamole. Then we took a taxi back to our hotel. There's a very secluded part of it, a garden. We call it the secerate garden! There's a water fountain in the middle and huge trees growing limes on the outside. Today a picked one and I ate it at dinner tonight. We had soup, chicken, vegetables, and rice. It was good! I should probably get into the shower now, bye!

These are some of the things I got!

 

 

 

 

An Amazing Hike! Not.

                Well, it all started at 7:30, and of course, with the uasual words. " I don't want to get up! " And with the popular groan afterwards. Unfortunately, we were forced to get up. Once we were up, it wasn't as bad. We went down to eat a breakfast of bread, butter, jam, juice, hot cocoa, tea, coffee, and eggs. Then we played with the puppy that lives in the hotel. It's so cute! Sorry Bitzy. It goes around nibbling you're ankles or untying shoe laces. It's about half the size of Bitzy. She is a white poodle with an unusual fast pace. Sometimes we play tag she runs around and bites us. It's painful, but fun. It's also hard to excape. She's running so fast, she can catch up even when I'm running all-out. 

                    Ok, let's get on with our day. Not that there's much to get on with. Let me just break it to you, our day went down the dumpster. Literally. I mean, we went on a hike! Actually it was only a three hour hike, but still! Honestly, for me, hiking Machu Picchu was easier. The hike we took was really steep, like really steep! And hot. So let's just skip through this, I am sure you wouldn't like to hear me complaining.

                     We got done, and took a bus back to our city that we're staying at currently. We found lunch and got guacamole! Finally! I love guacamole. Mrs. Teresa, I would like to congratulate you on worlds number 1 best guacamole! We didn't really do anything else besides, eating a late lunch/dinner, going back to our hotel, and sleeping! This is Tara eating noodles! Down below.

 

Hi Peeps!

           Waking up st 9:30, we got up and took a shower. At 11:30, we ate a lunch of subway. Then we hopped in a expensive taxi to Otabalo. It was about a two hour drive, and in the meantime I listened to a movie. Finally we arrived at our hotel. It's a decently sized room. It has three twin sized beds, and one queen. The bathroom is ok, but it's definitely not as good as the last one. Huh, that reminds me, I was really going crazy last night. Let's get off that subject. So, once there, we walked around in the town for quite some time. I bought a mini guitar that came in a mini case. It's so cute! It looks very real actually, besides its size. But it doesn't work, of course.  

             We ate dinner at this fast food place. Mom got french fries. I got chicken nuggets. Tara got a hamburger. And my dad ate somewhere else, he said 

It didn't taste the best though. We walked around and found a crepe shop, so we got one there. Then we went back up to the hotel, showered, brushed, and went to bed. So overall we didn't do much today. Yup! Bye!!!

  This is Tara!

 This is our view!

Awesome Hotel!

            Since we got in at 4:00 this morning, I didn't get to tell you about our hotel. It's super cool! It has a gym, and a jacuzzi! Sometimes it makes me feel out of place. There's butler doods take you're bags up and get you drinks. Everyone's always dressed up, while were in our sweaty dirty cloths from yesterday. Plus, there's a snack bar filled with fancy breads and drinks. I want to get something but they are watching me. If I go just an inch closer, they ask if I'd like something. And, I do, but it's just not normal having them do everything for you. I you want to open a door, they open it for you! I mean I love the attention, but sometimes I feel like eating everything in the snack bar, and I can't do that if they watch me! Sorry, I just poured all of my feeling out. It feels good to just let it go! The only people that I can do that to is Mom, Dad, and annoying Tara. And honestly, I really just want to be home when that happens. So I can talk to my favorite tree, he always seems to understand.

             Oh, I have a fun topic, the bathroom! Wait, that sounded strange. Well, it's true! The bathroom is amazing! I took an hour power shower today! 

( As we call It. ) It was nice. The shower head goes straight down from the ceiling, making it easier for people like me. I'm not sure why it's easier, it just is. It also has really soft toilet paper, ok, TMI Riley! Wait did I just talk to myself....? I'm mentally challenged! 

               Ok, as you can see, this is getting slightly bad. Riley is going crazy! You know, I'm going to go calm her down, when she's better I'll send her back to blog. Oh, by the way, I'm Riley's friend Bob. Bye!

              Hey, I'm back! Sorry, I was going a bit crazy back there. I am weird. Ok, deep breath. In, out, in, out. Let's rewind a little bit. Rrrreeeeeeeeeee. Ok, then I ate the bowl of oatmeal. Oops, too far, that's from four years ago. Forward! We ride at dawn! Oh no! I'm going crazy again! Everyone evacuate!!! Deep breaths. That was close, I almost exploded. Um, I think I spelled that wrong. Maybe. Ok, this has gone too far! We must blog!!! This is very weird, I think I ate too much chocolate. Yay, chocolate!!! Has anyone noticed that I've blogged this much, but I haven't even blogged about today yet? Aha! Maybe I'll just give a short summary about today instead!

               Here we ho! I mean, here we go! Deep breath. We woke up and at 10:00am and walked around town and saw churches and we didn't have breakfast so we ate lunch at subway and walked around more and saw more churches and ate a dinner of noodles and went home to blog and read and go to sleep! Phew! That was long! Maybe it's about time I should be heading toward sleep. Remember, eat the grass, it's healthy!

 Look! The bathroom!

  

A long night.

              Waking up and and eating breakfast, we took a taxi to our first destination, Chincheros. There we walked around the terraces, visited the church, and looked at the shops. Then we got back into the taxi to go to Moray Salt Mines. It was really cool! Salt lakes, and streams, and just plain old piles of salt filled the bottom of the mountain. Some say it's gross, but I went around eating handfuls of salt at a time. They even had little flakes of salt, that felt as delicate a a snowflake. People were there harvesting the salt to sell. The markets upon the mountain's edge sold a lot of salt included things. Like bath salt, and salts mixed with spices such as garlic and rosemary.

                 After that we went to Maras. There was nothing much to see there, we just wanted to take a short break. But, hold up! Maybe it was important, because that's the place we got popsicles and popcorn. Once again, we're so healthy. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we got popcorn, and popcorn seeds at Moray too. We were just a popcorn family today. 

                  Our last stop was, well, it didn't really have a name. But they're circular terraces used by the Inkas. The Inkas used it to predict what climate was best to plant different types of crops. Scientists still marvel at this lonely but unforgettable method. Mom and Tara were too lazy to walk all the way around, but dad and I did. We went back to our hotel, got our bags, and took another taxi to the airport. Now we're sitting, waiting for our plane, to Ecuador. Tonight will be awful. Our plane leaves at 10:00pm, and gets to our place at 3:15am. So excited! Not. To make it worse, we have to take one a hour taxi to our hotel. You're so lucky. I bet everybody is sleeping right now while I am awake. Well once you read this you'll be awake, but, you know. 

( Sigh. ) Life.

           These are the salt mines! ;)

  

        

Chocolate factory!!!

        Waking up at 8:15, we ate breakfast and walked to.....dun,dun,dun. THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!! Unfortunately, we didn't get to do it yet, we just had to schedule it. So afterwards we walked around and ate food. Wait, that sounds bad. Well it's true. We ate KFC, and McDonald's. Ok, that sounds worse. You know, I've officially decided to skip the details and get to the good part. It will just be better that way. You don't want to know the details. Well you could if you really want to, but it's just best to get on. It's not bad or anything, is it? No, right? Wait, you don't know. Do you? Are you a stalker? ( Gasp. ) You're a stalker! Ok, let's move on.

         So we got to the chocolate factory and met our guide. He was really funny! He led us to this long room which smelled like chocolate. There was a stove and a long table, where we stood next to. Then we put on our aprons and started the first step to making chocolate, picking out cocoa beans. Well, we technically didn't pick them, but they were in a basket, and we were told to pick the 18 of the biggest ones.

         Once we got them we took turns roasting them in a clay pot. Taking off the shells, we placed the beans in small bowls and crushed them with a rock. You have to crush them into a fine powder. It was hard work, and everyone in the class was having problems. But I managed to get 1st place out of everyone. Granted, there was only 7 people in our group including us. But as my prize I got a chocolate lollipop thing.

          Then we made some hot chocolate by adding some honey and chili powder. Then chocolate milk by adding milk, and sugar. We spent our cocoa doing this, because making chocolate takes about a day, and we didn't want to do that. Here comes the good part. They gave us some ingredients like M&Ms, sprinkles, quinoa, Oreos, nuts, salt, and more. They had us mix and crush the combinations of our choosing, to create the mix that will go inside our chocolate. Then we got bowls of milk and dark chocolate, and molds. We put a layer of chocolate on the bottom, then our mix, and another layer on top. It was a messy but tasty process. It took me a long time because I'd eat a spoonful, and fill my mold with a spoonful. So on, so on. 

           They took our molds and told us to come back in 50 minutes. So we went to our hostel, brushed our teeth, and now we're at Starbucks. We haven't got our molds yet, but I can't wait to taste them when their done!

            

        

 

A long day of shopping

         We woke up at about 7:00am and ate breakfast. ( The same breakfast we had yesterday. ) Then we got on the bus to Pisac. We started off by hiking to see some more Inka ruins. Which isn't quite exciting, just simply stating. After hiking, we took a taxi back down to the square. Oh, and I also forgot to mention we took the taxi up too. Maybe I was over exaggerating about hiking, but it was definitely a walk. 

       The shopping was great! I normally don't say this, but in my defense, in different countries the shopping can be very interesting. They sold flutes, hats, blankets, necklaces, keys that don't unlock anything, and plenty of other things. I just got mini clay charms that I thought were cute. 

          We ate a lunch of pasta. It was really good! The we went shopping some more, and took the bus back. We didn't do very much today, but that's okay. Hey, that rhymed! I like burritos. Sorry, that was random. I am weird. Bye!!!

   

 

Horses!

         We woke up at 8:00, which I personally think that I should have a better sleep-in than that, and ate breakfast. The same breakfast we had yesterday. This morning we're going to go horseback riding, so I am super excited! We got in a really small taxi and all four of us had to sit it the back. I think it's illegal. Anyway, we got to the farm and we each picked out our horse. Mom got a white one, Tara got a black/brown one, Dad got an orange/brown one, and I got a brown one. I named him Horse. ( lovely name, right? ) 

         We started by riding through a meadow with a big stream, then up a rocky hill, stopping at the top for a rest. ( For the horses, of course. ) We walked around and saw some Inka ruins, did you know the rocks they had to lift for their houses weighed 361 tons?! Ok, away from the boring stuff. We got back to our horses and fed them apples and bananas. Horse was hungry, he ate three apples and one banana, peel and all. I don't actually know if horse is a boy or a girl. I'm just calling him a boy because he seems like one, if he's a girl i hope I didn't affend her. Horse also toots a lot, Dad keeps saying he ate beans.

         Once back on our horses, we rode down a really steep rocky road. I felt like any moment Horse would slip and we would fall down down down. Dads horse did stumble a little, but we were good. When we were at the stoping point, we said goodbye and walked down the hill. This part is just about hiking so I'll zoom through this. Zrooooooooooooom!!! Ok, the good part, the massage! Well, actually there's nothing much to say about this except that it felt good. Afterwards we ate a lunch of gyros, yum! Now we're sitting in Starbucks, again. Blogging, reading, and.......you know what I already talked about this in my last blog. And, once again, tonight all the plans we have is dinner, and bed. Ahhh bed, I can't wait. 

Sorry i don't have any pictures, we had some hassles today. :)

A Day In The Town

     We got up at 8:30, finally, a good sleep in. Breakfast was of cereal, milk, juices, fruit, bread, jam, potatoes, and eggs. Then, the best part, we got leg massages! It felt really good. They led us in this dark room, with nice beds, and yellow blankets. We laid down and they put good smelling lotion on us. I almost fell asleep when they put the music on. Ok, well you get it, it was great.

      Walking around in the town we found a horrible lunch of Chinese. I love Chinese, but it just didn't taste good at all! The building was practically falling apart it was so old! A wooden plank fell from the roof, and was inches from hitting my head. Plus, the food tasted like fish guts. Eww! We walked around more after that, and got Cherri kinda thing dipped in sugar. Tara also got an ice cream cone. During our long and interesting shopping hours, I bought: two llama statues, a journal, two American girl sized drinks, ( don't judge, I watch out for these kinda things, ) a sweatshirt, and a fruit drink. 

           Now we're in Starbucks blogging, reading, and looking at pictures. Starbucks, we're so adventurous. Tara was the only one who got something here though. Tonight all we have on our list is dinner, and going to bed. Later! Oh, and guess what. Tomorrow we're going horseback riding. Yay!!!

    

 This is my awesome self. :)

Um, Hi!!!

        This morning we woke around 5:30. Luckily today we don't have to hike very much today, just tour through Machu Picchu. We got into a super long line for the bus! Our tour guide said it's normally about two hundred people long, but today it was almost a thousand. Or a least it felt like it. After an hour we finally got onto the bus, which took half and hour to Machu Picchu. 

        Once there, we hiked around the old stone houses and learned about their lifestyle. Then we headed back on the bus. I was taking a nap, and dad forgot about me, and almost left me on the bus! I feel like a loner now....

There is now much to say a bout today, excepted that after the bus we ate lunch. Then. Took a train back to Cusco and arrived there at 8:00 pm. Then went to sleep, ahhhhh. Bye!!!

 

 

Manchu picchu

      We started our day today at 3:30am. With a breakfast of fruit and juice, we drove in a car for one hour till we arrived at the train station. Then we took a train to Ollantaytambo which took an hour and a half. Oh, by the way, i didn't blog yesterday because all we did was sit on a bus for six hours. So, yeah. Anyway, once we arrived there, we hiked to Machu Picchu for 8 hours. No joke. And, yes, and am so very tired.

       Our trail was steep and tiring, but, yes, I do admit it was a breathtaking sight. We went through a jungle, so it was very humid, green, and lush. Everywhere you went you could see a new flower, or plant. The mountains were super high!

       We got to Muchue Picchu, finally. We're going to look around it tomarro because it was getting dark. Taking a bus down the mountain, we got to our hotel. Then we showered and ate a very filling dinner. VERY FILLING!!! Our first course was avacodo and papaya . ( I had never ending avacodo, I never thought you could have too much! ) Then I had I huge piece of salmon with garlic and lemon. Finally I had a homade apple pie with ice cream and a cherry. Oh, and I also had like five peices of their homade bread. Yum! Well, that's about all, see you later!!! Don't tell anyone, but I really had to go. I peed in the antient Inka ruins. Yikes!

    

 

Islands! I come up with the most ridiculous titles........

         We arrived last night on our island to spend the night. It was beautiful!!! Everything was so luscious and green. Cattle grazed on the hill, and the donkeys were very noisy. Anyway, to get to our hotel we have to climb a hill, which was very hard to get up because of the altitude. So I'm wheezing and puffing up the hill, and you wouldn't believe what happened. I looked to my right, and a grandma carrying a a sack of potatoes passes me! She wasn't huffing or puffing or.........anything! ( Sigh. ) I feel out of shape.

          With a lot of wheezing, huffing, and complaints, we reached the top. ( Which had a nice view of the lake. ) We settled in a big room with four twin sized beds. ( But it was so cold dad and I  slept together, and so did mom and Tara. ) The blankets were super heavy! It took two of us to lift one up, no joke! Once you got into bed, you couldn't move anything! For lunch we had potatoes, and potatoe soup. ( Potatoes are famous there, the people we were staying with were poor, so that's almost all they can afford. ) Dinner was potatoe soup, rice, and vegetables. Then we went for a long hike to see the sunset. After that, here's where the fun comes in. We dressed up in their culture's clothes and got together in a big room with other people. The night was filled with the songs of a flute, and the joys of dancing through and through. Sorry, that was a little too poetic.

           We got up this morning to the sounds of birds. We got dressed and welcomed ourselves to a hardy breakfast of quinoa pancakes. Sounds gross right? Actually it's really good, and healthy! Afterwards we got on the boat to visit another island. This one wasn't very interesting. All we did was hike. BORING!!! So then we got back on the boat, and we're now heading back to reality. Oops! That sounded harsh. Tonight all we have planed is walking around, showering, and going to bed. Adios! ( Yikes! Getting used to Spanish already! ) Bye!!!

 

Reed town, floating islands!

         Today we woke up. ( Of course. ) then we ate a breakfast of bread, ham, cheese, and some fruit drink. At 8:50 we piled onto a boat to see the floating islands. They were so cool!!! They made them out of reeds from the lake around them. That lake is actually the highest navigable lake in the world! They eat fish, reeds, and plenty of greens for a living. It was like going back in time. Seeing them living in of shacks made out of weeds, using clay ovens to cook their few meals. The strange thing was, they all had TV's!

              We went to visit the first one,where we learned about how to make an island, and what they do for a living.Then they let us walk around and visit some of their homes. Most of the husbands were off fishing and cutting reeds, ( Which they have to put new reeds every 10 days to keep the island steady. ) Most islands last up to 45 years before it sinks of too much reeds. The lady's wore colorful tops with bright skirts. Men wore brown shirts and pants with decorative yarn. Anyway, their houses were very small. The whole house was probably half the size of Tara's bed! I bought a cool flute, ( but I'm still struggling trying to actually use it. ) We also took a quick boat ride on a boat made of reeds. Right now we're on our way to another island, where we will eat lunch. Then to another were we will spend the night. Miss you all so much!!!

 

Lama Town!!!

          Last night we arrived in Lima, unpacked our bags, and went straight to sleep. When we woke up this morning, we went downstairs for a breakfast of sandwiches, tea, juice, and carmal. ( Carmel? ) Strange, right? I'm not sure why they had that, but I ate a bowl of it. Yikes! Let's just hope it doesn't come back out on the plane. Anyway, look at our tarriffic window view. Did you see it? Lovely right! After we ate breakfast we packed our bags and got ready for another plane ride. This time to Puno. Puno is a nice town filled with shops, it's also known for its lamas.

             We settled in to our hotel and then walked around. I bought a statue of a lama, and a lama journal. Then we ate a lunch of chicken soup, noodles, and a crepe. ( Wrong country to be eating crepes though. ) We wandered around some more until like five. Deciding not to eat dinner, we headed back to our cozy beds. See you later!!!

 

We're on our way!!!

 

 

           Ok, this is me eating a chicken nugget, on the plane.  You know, let's rewind a bit and see how this this all started.......... ( snoring in the background. ) Great, you guessed it, sleeping!!! Anyway, my mom came into my room to wake me up  and I shot up like a spring. Time for vacation! Ok, maybe I wasn't quit like that.

             Mom came into my room qto wake me up, and I stuck to my bed like glue. See, it was close, kinda. So, then we went to the airport, got on our plane, and ate chicken nuggets. That's where I was at the beginning. Tonight we're going to Miami, and we will spend the night in Lima.

Miss you all!!!

          Riley