Greetings, Its been a while since I have checked in, but I have been doing a bit of moving. I left my temporary home in Ayacucho and headed by bus towards Cusco, Peru.  The bus ride took about a day, partially because people along the way set up a roadblock. The roadblock was set up by local Peruvians in order to make a point about their dislike for the government. The twenty protesters set up boulders in the middle of the road and then marched together holding a flag. By the time the march had begun, more and more busses, carrying people  to Cusco had arrived. It was a little scary for me being my first roadblock situation and all, because I didnt know if it would be violent or peaceful but I didnt see any guns. It was now about 11 am and our bus driver said sometimes these things take a day to sort themselves out. Soon there were hundreds of people who had arrived by bus and were waiting for the roadblock to end. Vendors seized the opportunity by selling slices of watermelon. At an altitude of about 2000 meters  (about 6000 ft) the sun burns harder and the people were getting hot. After the protesters had passed, I decided to take a walk down the mountainous road to see more of the surroundings. As we walked down the cactus lined mountain road, we noticed that roadblocks had been set up below us too. As new busses arrived, passengers hopped out to move the boulders. Soon the pólice arrived and an hour later we were back on the road heading to Cusco. 

      Cusco, like most places I read about in my travel guidebook, is a bigger city than I expected.  It sits in a bowl between high mountains similar to Ayacucho. The surrounding mountains receive more rain and give it a dry but rainy appearance similar to Portland, Oregon. Cusco, I found out had many similarites to Ayacucho.  Water gushing down city streets during rain storms, clay roofed houses, and dogs fornicating in the streets. However, the city sits at about 3000 meters or 6000 ft above sea level so even walking up a hill leaves the heart pumping.

   After a few days in Cusco, I headed to Peru´s biggest attraction and Unesco site, Machu Pichu. After talking with other travellers to find a less expensive way to get there, I made it by bus, taxi, and train to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Pichu. Machu Pichu is an abandoned city that sits 3000 meters above sea level on a mountain top. It is surrounded by high jungle and long views of mountains engulfed in white clouds. Even though there were hundreds of tourists there, the ruins were so vast and meticulously built, the place held onto its magical aura.

Now I am in Ollantaytambo, a mountainous town that is surrounded by corn fields and plan to help a farmer tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in

Felipe