Cory Ploessl´s Excellent Adventures: The past couple of weeks in Peru

I have to play a little catchup as I am new to this game. These first two entries are my first two mass e-mails and should catch you up a bit. I am a picture kinda guy as most of you know so I have also included some photos of the past few weeks.

Hello all,
As most of you know I will be traveling throughout Latin America this semester with some of my friends. The trip will cover Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Puerto Escondido-Mexico, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. I got into Peru on the 15th of January after our first flight was canceled the day before due to the Midwestern wrath of God we all call winter time. My friends and I spent the night huddled up close to one another in Terminal 5... no this is not a swanky Chicago club or 5 star resort but rather a dirty corner of O'Hare international airport at the foot of a McDonalds and a Pizzeria Uno. Needless to say we had to put paradise on hold for a couple of hours--22 hours to be exact. Eventually after 3 days of travel and countless hours in not only O'Hare but also George Bush international airport in Houston (I know what your thinking but I fought the temptation to buy the bull-hide ass-less chaps in Texas) we Made it to Lima, Peru. Lima is the Capital city, and much like most capitol cities in Latin America this means that the majority of the people and wealth are concentrated there. The stark difference between rich and poor is evident around every corner but the same can be said in most cities in the U.S. I suppose. Parts of the city were charming but we got out of there just about as quickly as possible and took a 14 hour night bus to Arequipa--a smaller, quieter more Colonial town at the foot of a couple of volcanoes. So that is where I am now. In a couple of days we will be taking a 3 day trek of Canyon Colcan the second deepest canyon in the world (twice as deep as the Grand Canyon) I am in good health (everything I am eating is coming back out at a comfortable rate and consistancy), however I had some bed-mates the other night and I woke up with some weird red spots on my body... no... no it´s not nearly as sexy as it sounds--I got bed-bug bites (yeah they´re real!) and the itch like the dickens at times, let me tell you. Oh but it is all the life of a traveler. I´m not sure what adventures await me --or bedmates for that matter ;)--but I will try and keep you all updated nonetheless.

I love you,
I love you.
cory

¡Hola a todos!
¡Hace mucho que no les escrito! (much has happened since I last wrote you all) The ladies and I have now called Cusco home for a little over a week now. It is a beautiful colonial city who wears its Incan heritage like a proud parent of a meaningful tattoo. In fact some of the original Incan stone walls have become the foundation for the colonial churches and buildings that sit atop of them. These walls are solid stone and made with such precision that they don't even need mortar to outlast the tests of time, earthquakes, and humanity´s influence as well. In the churches you can see the essence of Pachu Mamma (Incan mother earth), snakes, condors, and pumas (other Incan Deities) in the same paintings and sculptures as Christ. It makes one wonder what this place would look like if the Spaniards had not come in their roaring ships, with their roaring guns, so long ago.... oh wait I went to Macchu Pichu... so I guess I know what it was like! It is thought that Macchu Pichu was like a royal city tucked away in the Andes as a sort of refuge from Spanish Colonialism. The ancient city was never completed as the Incas who inhabited it fled in fear that their secret hide-out had been made. The Incan peoples fled to a last stronghold in the 1530s where they and much of their cultural influence in the area were destroyed by Spanish conquistadors and European disease. Ironically Macchu Pichu wasn´t ¨discovered¨ until 1911 when a European explorer was brought to the holy place by a local boy. From the stonework, to the astronomical observation tools, to the religious iconography this is truly one of the new wonders of the world and I cannot believe my life has graced me with the fortune to actually visit it. Our treck started at 5 in the morning as we climbed up one mountain in the pouring rain. It seemed as soon as we reached the top the clouds hastily split from the ruins as if they had no right obscuring such a sight in the first place. The day proceeded to get nicer and nicer and I even climbed another couple thousand foot mountain just for funsies. All in all it was a great trip as we all joked sipping Pisco Sours (a Peruvian cocktail made of red grape brandy, liqure, egg whites, and bitters) under a palm tree that it was our vacation from our vacation. As I said we´re back in Cusco now, back to being bundled up in our lama wool sweaters, back to the daily grind of sight seeing, cold showers (when we´re up to it), and all the beautiful culture that surrounds us every day here in Peru. I have truly been blessed... for much of this good fortune I have all of you to thank. My friends and family--I am forever grateful.

Love,
cory