Being in Cusco has been a whirlwind of emotions, excitement and pain. After I wrote the last blog entry and Meghan and Seeno returned I was asked to work for the hostel as bartender. I thought that was really cool and accepted immediately. Working the bar at night was great! Unfortunately I wasn´t able to go out in Cusco because I had to work but it was worth it because I didn´t have to pay for my room or food and got drinks at 40%. Anyway, for almost 3 days we went to the markets during the day and hung out at the hostels bar at night. Yoel and Jamie were coming on the 26th and we didnt want to see anything and have to see it all again. The
markets I have to say, were truly so much fun. I picture Meghan when I think of the market looking for shampoos, wooden spoons and lotions. It was the cutest thing! She bought a traditional skirt and all I did was snap pictures of people when they weren´t looking. Finally, the morning of the 26th came by and soon enough, Yoel and Jamie were at the hostel. As soon as they changed into something more comfortable, we all went to the Cusco train station to buy our tickets for Machu Picchu. After we bought what we needed, we all went to have lunch at this restaurant that we loved. We had been there one of the days we were on our market sprees and
decided to go back at some point. The waiter was one of the best waiters I´ve ever had. Seriously we were all super impressed with the service. After lunch, all six of us (Yoel, Jamie, Allison, Seeno, Meghan and I) walked through a neighborhood called San Blas that has amazingly preserved walls from the time of the Incan Empire all with Pumas in rock formations and evil kids in traditional clothing. We were going to take pictures with some little girls and mind you, they charge for pictures, and I gave them 10 soles (about 3 dollars) and told the oldest girl to split it with the rest of the kids. She snatched the money from my hands and yelled ¨All mine¨and
ran off into the distance. I was shocked but also could not stop laughing at this little canniving bitch. The children in Peru do not deserve to be helped. The are the sneakiest and meanest little brats. I´ll have to analize later on what the reasons for this behavior are. Well, on our little adventure we run into Larissa (not her real name) and Pancho (his real name) Larissa is a very ugly and purple lady and Pancho is her very still and quiet Llama. We took pictures and continued on our way. We eventually reached this small square where Yoel and Jamie decided to get fake Pancho sweaters because it was getting cold. The lady said she would go make
them and that we should come back in 30 minutes. To kill time, we found this place called el mirador which we could see all of Cusco from above. It was really beautiful. We had some beers there and took tons of pictures. Yoel also bought these rock band guys I don´t know how many rounds of beer because it was so cheap. We started heading back after a bit, Yoel and Jamie got their Pancho sweaters, we all stopped at a bakery and then at the Irish Pub. I had to go back to the hostel to work and they stayed at the Pub for a bit. Later that night was by far the best night at the bar. We were all drinking and having a blast. The music was on point and Meghan even did the ¨Call On Me¨ dance without the leotards. That is something I will never forget. Another highlight was when Carlos (one of the employees at the hostel) threw a glass up in the air to be fancy with cocktails and threw it up in the air a bit too hard and smashed it against the ceiling. We had to kind of run for cover so that the glass wouldn´t fall on us. Anyway, it was an excellent night. That night we went to bed
laughing so much that we even got Ingrid (our roommate) laughing and excited with dance offs and drunk farting. Thank you Seeno for the entertainment. The next morning, we all woke up at 6A.M. to head for Machu Picchu. Getting to M.P. is a pain in the ass by the way. We had to take a taxi for an hour and a half to Ollaytantambo so that from there we could take the train for an hour and 40 minutes to Aguas Calientes and then take a bus for about 20 minutes up to the city of Machu Picchu. It is expensive to get there too.. The taxi was about 3 dollars per person, the train was 53, the bus was 12 round trip and the entrance to the park was 40. You do the math.. Although visiting Machu Picchu is and will be one of the most beautiful things I will ever see, It is way overpriced. Once inside and setting your eyes on that well known mountain that overlooks the ¨lost incan city¨you become lost in time and become one with your senses. There were moments where I would touch the walls as I walked through the small alleys and doorways just to feel where I was and perhaps who was there before me. It was truly spectacular.
Seeno, Meghan, Jamie and Yoel decided to climb the Huayna Picchu (the famous mountain you see in pictures) but I had begun to feel sick. The pictures speak for themselves with Machu Picchu because I think words can´t describe what you see and feel there. Once on our way back down and on the train, I passed out. I began to feel even worse and a cough had become more evident. That night, I couldn´t work and I had a fever so high I needed a wet t-shirt on my face. My joints, my bones, my muscles EVERYTHING hurt. I apparently had the flu but it didn´t feel like the flu. Then the cough became so strong, it prevented me from breathing sometimes and
made me nauseous a lot of the times until I simply could not get up from bed. Jackie from the hostel made me some tea that would make me feel better but it really didn´t help. Yoel, Jamie, Meghan and Seeno continued to go out as they should have but I could not get up for the life of me. The day everyone left was the worst night of all. The diarrhea and vomiting had added themselves to my list of problems. For almost 10 full days I didn´t eat or drink any liquids because I would simply vomit everything. I tried to eat but nothing would stay inside.. I realized from what I was told by the people at the hostel that it was bad and that I looked really bad. Well, that tenth day of death when I had no energy left and going to the
bathroom was an oddysey, I got my ass up from bed and took myself to get rid of this thing that was killing me. It was seriously, the last bit of energy left in my body. I was given 3 different antibiotics, a syrup for my cough and a rehydrating liquid with electrolytes. I was diagnosed with food poisoning, flu and heat stroke all at once. When the hell does that happen? It really ended up being a parasite called giardasis and a type of cholera. Death was in me. I was and still am completely dehydrated and writing this blog entry has completely killed my hands! I feel like my fingers are going to fall off. Anyway, I am feeling better today and I could at least leave my bed and sit in front of the computer and tell you about the last week. Better late than never. Wish me a speedy recovery and hopefully I´ll be as good as ever by the time I write the next entry. I have lost 20 pounds in 10 days.
Well, I'm back.. Obviously I won't be updating this as often as I wish I would because I'm back home and quite busy. On the other hand, I would like to continue to update this blog for the readers with what I'm doing and where I'm at in life. I will always have pictures posted here and I there will be trips at some point. Since I got back and got better from the cholera I got in Peru (yes that's what it was!), I have been searching for jobs (hopefully I will get one I really want with a great company) and CONSTANTLY partying with my friends. I'm really happy to be back in Puerto Rico, however, reconnecting takes a bit of time and effort. I've also been working with my 
mom every now and then visiting schools in the interior of the island and been to many family gatherings. I had almost forgotten how much people get together with their families here. It's an every other day thing and I think it's great. Latin America made me realize and remember all of those things I had forgotten about while living away from everyone. Family, love and friendship are worth more than anything in life. Careers, money, and all that bullshit disappears and changes with time. It's great to be loaded (if you are) but it truly doesn't get you anywhere when you turn to yourself and become 
introspective. Your family, your experiences, your friends and your surroundings mold who you are. All of you who know me, know that I believe that travel is the best education. Now that I'm here, I'm going to take advantage of the next best thing: family and friends. Hopefully, when there's some great new update, I'll let you all know. For now, enjoy the pictures I've been able to snap here at home. Puerto Rico has taken on a completely new perspective.
