Our cruise, to put it mildly, was simply amazing.  After spending the last month struggling with on again/off again hot water (5 days straight of which we had no hot water), missing simple things like being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet, brush our teeth with water from the faucet and having clean napkins at meal time... you can imagine it didn't take a whole lot to impress us.  But the contrast was so prevalent that we literally spent the entire week in a state of appreciation.  We had great meals, made new friends and got to visit some cool sites.  We enjoyed some great waterfalls in Jamaica, a scenic horse ride along the beaches and through the jungle of Santa Marta, Colombia, and had relaxing massages on the beaches of Cartagena.  Check out some of the pics below:

Some of the most interesting experiences we've had here, have been with some Andean Shamans.  The school where we take our Spanish lessons was going to be blessed by the holiest of holies here in Peru, and the people who own the school (we had gotten to know them pretty well) asked us to attend.  There were about 8 shamans and they were chanting prayers, waving feathers, and playing instruments around a fire.  They even gave us these colorful leafs, asked us to make a wish, and then put them into the fire.  It was all very interesting, until the full-blown camp fire inside a very small room started to tun into quite a blaze.  You would think at this point, the shamans would "break character" and say something like "hey, this isn't the way it's supposed to work," or grab a fire extinguisher or something, but nope.  They just carried on like it was no biggie.  Well,  we eventually left when we could no longer see or breathe (In case you were wondering, there is NO such thing as smoke detectors here). I will say, up until the point where the smoke took over the ceremony, it was pretty cool and very interesting. Something we never witnessed firsthand before.  Here's a link to a little snippet from the evening on Matt's profile page

We also had a coca tea leaf reading.  What is this you ask?  Ever see the FRIENDS episode where Phoebe reads tea leafs?  Well yea, kinda like that, but more--uh--professional.  Coca leafs are a big thing here in Peru.  (In Bolivia as well)  First off coca leafs help aid the symptoms of altitude sickness. You steep the leaves in tea and they have a calming effect.  Coca leafs play a significant role in the Andean culture.  Apparently the coca leaf is where cocaine is derived from, but let me tell you that we have had many a cup of coca tea since we've been here, but we've never felt "high" from it.  However we would never be able to take back coca leafs to the States.  We would be stopped dead in our tracks at customs.  Anyways, in the Andean culture, the coca leafs are believed to be one of the purest elements of Mother Earth.  (The Andeans call Mother Earth "Pacha Mama" and have a very strong beliefs about being one with "her").  So anyways, back to the coca leaf reading... it was kind of similar to having a tarot card reading, but then again --it was unlike anything we had experienced before. The shaman, in his bright colored hat and robe, was blowing on coca leaves and then flipping them across the floor, talking rapidly in his native Quechua, while an interpreter explained everything to us.  We were pretty weirded out at first, (wouldn't you be if you had a funny little man throwing leaves at you and proclaiming your future?!)  but, as he continued on, some things he said definitely hit a chord with both of us. We'll now have to see if anything he said comes true!  Could be a very interesting year ahead ;)

 In addition to our shamanic experiences, we decided to make the most of the powerful energy here in Cusco (which is also known as the "naval of the world") with a yoga retreat to the Sacred Valley.  The setting was unbelievably beautiful, with the Rio Urumbamba quietly babbling below us and the steep beautiful mountains surrounding us.  Neither of us had done too much yoga before, and it definitely wasn't easy (especially for Matt), but it was a really enjoyable and enlightening experience.

 

We have also gotten a few massages here (couldn't resist!)  For $7 a person we have gotten full body massages that last for over an hour..it also includes reflexology and reiki!  You really can't beat it for the price, and we're definitely a suckas for massages! 

Outside of our spiritual quests here in Peru, we've had some really delicious meals--which for the most part cost less than 30 soles ( or $10) for the two of us ( and we're talking full course meals with soup, entree, drinks, alcohol, dessert etc...Oh how I miss the gym!).  However we had one amazing meal this week where we splurged (around 100 soles/ $35).  This is a pic of our dessert although it doesn't do it justice.  It was a "sticky, warm fig cake with a butterscotch sauce and praline ice cream...oy freakin' delicious vey!)

We have been taking Spanish lessons almost every day for the last two weeks. (Hence the fiery shaman ceremony) We had a really amazing teacher, Norma who we just adored. She and her husband Rik recently opened a Spanish school (Mundo Antiguo) here in our neighborhood of San Blas.  Their guidance, suggestions, and teachings really helped us on journey here in Cusco, and we can't thank them enough!  Our Spanish on the other hand, still isn't great, but we've definitely improved and are able to use the little that we do know combined with a whole lot of hand gestures to communicate fairly well.

It's hard to believe we've been traveling for almost a month now.  And today was the end of our first milestone--we completed our volunteer experience at INTI. INTI is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children in need. We've been working with the same kids for the last two weeks and have really grown close to them.  We are definitely going to miss them.  As part of a project we did with the organization, we created a 5-minute video compiling a bunch of the photos that we and other volunteers took while there.  You can check it out on 365 Days of Goodness!

Well, I think that about raps it up for now.  For more of our pics make sure to check out our facebook pages.

 We're really enjoying our adventures here in Cusco and we're excited to venture onto new beginnings this week when we head into Sacred Valley and journey up Machu Picchu. (so excited for that!)  I'm sure we'll have some great pics and some good stories to share, so stay tuned...