Sri Lanka - Days 1 and 2

Once we realized that we had a five-day holiday for National Day in the UAE, we started looking for a place to spend the extra time. We looked at many countries, but we decided on Sri Lanka. But of course the last week before a vacation is the longest ever. This last week has been an extremely long and exhausting week as we prepare exams for our students and wrap up our semester. On top of it, we had a PD day that required a lot of planning. Needless to say, I was so excited to get to the end of the day Thursday. After work, I had to get a long run in, so I ran 8K in preparation for my 10K race coming up next Friday. Then, Moh arrived in Dubai (he lives in Abu Dhabi) and we headed to Thanksgiving dinner. We chose a smokehouse for dinner because they offered a set menu that included many good options and of course, all you can eat. The menu included:

Dessert: we had apple crumble with ice cream and butter toffee drizzle. It was delicious.

Starters: festive chicken wings, smoked beef stuffing, smoked stuffed mushrooms, and pulled lamb sliders.

They had a real smoker on the roof and a guy from New York in charge of the meat!

Dinner: apricot duck breast, smoked beef brisket, smoked turkey breast, smoked BBQ rabbit, mac and cheese, braised cabbage, mashed potatoes with gravy and cranberry sauce.

After Thanksgiving dinner, we headed to my apartment to grab our suitcases and ordered the taxi for the airport. We arrived to a very busy airport, but we got checked in, took money from the ATMs, exchanged money, and even had time to stop by the overcrowded lounge. We knew it would be crowded because everyone has the same days off, but we expected it to be a little quieter after midnight. Our flight took off at 2:30, but actually ran about 20 minutes late. Emirates is a nice airline, but I was so tired that I didn’t really enjoy the flight. I can’t sleep on a plane unless I am lying down, so I really struggled, but we arrived in Sri Lanka and breezed through immigration. After immigration, we met our driver, Namal and we started our journey. The first place we stopped was for breakfast, which was disappointing because they only offered about one-fourth of the menu. However, we did get coffee, so we were good to go. We traveled from Colombo to Dambulla to see the Cave Temple. The Cave Temple is impressive with many statues of Buddha and decorated ceilings in the side of a mountain (rock). The ceiling is amazing because it actually is part of the rock structure that was engraved and painted. The worst part of the Cave Temple is the hundreds of steps, but it was worth it in the end. You have to remove your shoes in the temple and it had been raining, so of course, that was enjoyable walking around with muddy, wet feet. We took a different route back to the entrance, so we took a tuk tuk back to the car park.

Flower people used to offer to Buddha

Entrance to Cave Temple 

Greeters to Cave Temple 

The Cave Temple 

Then, we headed to our accommodation deep in the jungle to stay in a tree house. The tree house was just amazing. It was charming with hot water and such a sweet, sweet family.

Day 4 - Peru

Monday, July 22

Today we left the hotel early at 7 a.m. with just our backpacks filled with things we need for the next three days. This was the first day where I have actually felt normal. We will visit Machu Picchu by train, so we had to leave our big suitcases back at the hotel We drove from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. On our way, we made a few stops at three places supported by G Adventures throughout the Sacred Valley. This is the company that I booked the tour with and they have many community projects they support all over the world. This is one of the reasons that I like booking with this company…and they also don’t charge a supplemental fee when traveling alone. The first stop was a women’s weaving factory in Ccaccaccollo where they weave various items from alpaca, llama, and sheep. Our guide told us that when they first started the project, there were only 20 families involved. Now, there are over 60 families and most of them use the profits to pay for education of their children. There is no school in this area above primary (grade 5), so the kids have to be sent far away from their families so you can imagine how expensive that is especially with a big family. We watched how the women clean, dye, and weave the materials into a gorgeous stocking cap, scarf, blankets, etc. It was truly amazing to see how this community is thriving on such a simple concept demonstrating your craft and selling your goods to tourists.

My whole group

provider of the yarn

I

In the second place today (Cuyo Chico), they taught us how to make adobe bricks and things from four different types of clay. In the demonstration I learned that when someone wants to build a house, they invite their friends and they all build his house together (usually over a few months). They do not expect payment, but they do expect to be given food and drink (alcoholic – but not too strong so they work but not become drunk). It takes about 2000 bricks to build a house and the bricks have to dry for about 30 days. The bricks are 30x40 cm and made completely by hand. I could not believe how the guy used his feet today to mix the clay. They will then choose a Godmother and Godfather along with a priest (Catholic) and a natural healer to bless the house. They also affix a cross (which shows their religion) along with two oxen on top of their house. According to the guy today, the family’s oxen is like their children. They treat them very well because they help to provide their livelihood.

After the bricks, we learned about the ceramics that they make. Again, everything is by hand and they have even figured out a way to make beads. They bake the ceramics and paint them using watercolors. They even make their own brushes from old pen tubes and hair from a cat, dog, or sheep. I bought a chess set and a coffee cup. They were really incredible.

The third stop was a restaurant where the food is grown, cooked, and served to tourists in the Parwa community in Sacred Valley. Today’s meal was just amazing. I forgot to take a picture of the menu, but there were appetizers, main courses, and dessert. Everything was served family still with the exception of a few things.

 

Sacred Valley

After the stops, we drove to Ollantaytambo and checked into the hotel. Then, we visited the Inca ruins with huge stone terraces on a hillside. It was absolutely breathtaking and heart pounding at 2,792m above sea level.

 

Then, we had dinner together and retired for the night. Tomorrow will be another early wake up call.

Peru - Days 1-3

Friday, July 19

After three flights, I arrived at the airport in Peru and went through the visa process, which was surprisingly easy. I also exchanged money and hired a taxi, again very clear and easy. On the way to the hotel, the taxi guy gave me lots of tips (all in Spanish) about what to visit and where to eat and drink. Since he was an ex-police officer, he also gave me plenty of warnings about safety especially around idle people. At that moment, I was glad that I was only spending one night in Lima. I arrived at the hotel and checked in, but there was no packet waiting for me. So, I went up to my room to find my roommate for the night, Andrea. There are three of us sharing a room on this trip, so we rotate rooms where one person has a night to herself. Andrea did inform me we had to be ready to leave the hotel at 7. I took a lukewarm shower and fell into bed. But I didn’t sleep peacefully because of all of the street noise.

Sunday, July 20
I woke up early and met our guide at 7. Everyone was already on the van and I was the last one. I guess this group runs on time. We drove to the airport and took a flight from Lima to Cusco. Cusco is at 3,399 and this elevation is no joke. I felt dizzy and in a fog for most of the day. After the flight, we rested for a bit and then headed out to dinner and take a tour around the city. Cusco is a quaint city in the Andes which was once the capital of the Inca Empire. According to the Peruvians, the Spaniards came in and destroyed everything and brought Catholicism. Then, we explored the city, got a few necessities and went back to the hotel. The hotels here are FREEZING! Of course, it is winter here and there is no heat in the hotels. I have never slept with so many blankets.

Inca Museum

The Inca flag is rainbow.

Alpaca steak

The desserts here are amazing.

Eating guinea pig is a thing here.

Plaza de Armas

Sunday, July 21

Today was a hard day for me. The altitude got to me and I struggled on the hike to Rainbow Mountain. It started at 4,326m and climes to 5,200m. I made it all the way up to the summit (about 4,900m), but after so much dizziness, nausea, and nearly freezing to death, I decided to call it a day. Almost everyone in our group made it, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had hiked 8 miles and that was enough for me. But I did get some pictures from the group. Most of us had an intense headache and some had nausea. It was a tough day for all. We should have taken more time to adjust. We had gone from sea level to nearly 5,000m within 24 hours, which is definitely not recommended. I learned a lot that day. I learned to trust my limits and to pay attention to my own body. I feel sad that I didn’t get to see the amazing sites, but I am happy that I listened to body and turned around.

 

These are pics from a friend in the group. 

On the way down from the mountain, we had a small accident. All of a sudden, we head something loud hit the van and glass shattered everywhere on us in the back seat. One of the local guys had thrown a stone, supposedly at a horse, which broke our window. The stone was quite large and thankfully, it didn’t hit anyone. But glass was everywhere. We had to drive with an open window, along with the perpetrator to his uncle’s house so that he could pay for the window. When we stopped for lunch, the guides fixed the window with plastic so we could drive the other two hours home. Thankfully, no one was hurt…well, except for the local guy’s wallet.