We took off in the first group this morning with Paula, Sierra, Monique, Nan, Doug, Stephanie and Gina. Its nice to be walking with Stephanie as it has been a few days since we’ve walked together. After the first break Nan and Doug drop back to go at a more gradual pace. At the second break they catch up with us and Nan is really having some bad pain in her...

Last night we had a big dinner and I ate way too much for someone who is starting to have stomach trouble. I will need to watch it today. It was beautiful this morning with the sun coming up as we headed over to Barranco Wall. Yesterday August told us that it is nicknamed the Breakfast Wall because a lot of people “lose their breakfast” climbing the wall....

We were up early – 5am – ready to get going so we went ahead and dressed and packed up. John climbed out the the temp to use the bathroom and saw Jeff outside getting photos. It was almost a full moon and the sky was full of stars. Jeff was taking advantage of the beautiful night to get some good photos of the mountain and the camp. He took one looking up...

I woke up after 6 hours of sleep thinking it was 6 in the morning but it was really 4 am. Note to self – do not put on Dr Watson’s salve and got to bed in a -20 degree sleeping bag unless you want to be the next nights stew! My legs and back were on fire from the heat of the bag and the muscle salve. It was kind of like being in a crock pot. I got up and...

I was a little sluggish when the alarm went off at 6:15 from getting to bed so late. We finished packing, had breakfast with Monique and Sierra and brought the bags down for loading. More hurry up and wait – patience again – while we stood around waiting for the group interviews. This is a good lesson for me but I don’t like it despite the fact that...

The journey begins in earnest today. John and I are in Washington, DC at my friend Carla’s house. Our plan was to have breakfast this morning with my cousin before flying out in the afternoon. For some reason we’ve had in our heads that we are flying at 4 this afternoon. Fortunately John tries to go ahead and get boarding passes, which Ethiopian Air does...

I am in Peru with Global Volunteers, an organization based in the US that covers programs in about 25 countries. Our volunteer group is #66 for Peru and we are a small group. Kelly and I are from Colorado and Pauline is from Chicago. Kelly was with us for a week and Pauline and I are two weeks. Edith is our team leader. She is the most amazing person. She’s...

  The is one of the local potters in Nazca. He is making pottery designs that are exactly the same as his Nazca ancestors. He does not change the patterns or add anything new. He keeps the tradition alive. The clay is a mixture of clay and sand – about 60% clay and 40% sand. The sand makes the pottery more porous so that it will retain the color better. In...

The Nazca people have built more than 40 underground water canals to carry the water from the Andes to the valley.. Even if it never rains in Nazca water descends underground from the Andean Cordillera towards the sea. The aqueducts are 3 to 6 meters deep. These photos are of the breathing holes that were built down in to the aqueducts. They were used as clean outs....

On Saturday afternoon, after driving for six hours down the cost and over some of the mountains to get to Nazca, we took a plane ride to see the Nazca Lines. It was difficult to take quality pictures out the window of the airplane. These photos are of the monkey and the hummingbird. The monkey has nine fingers and his tail resembles the design of the aqueducts in...