Spring Days

 
Hello, Hello you spring days! You have sprung and I am so grateful for that. I love you and I promise, promise, promise to not take you for granted this year - even when the humidity lingers far into the night and I have to wrestle my hair into a ponytail.

These days have been beautiful even with their dramatic temperature changes. Sometimes, I catch the scent of fresh flowers in the air and I breath in so deeply the smell becomes a piece of me. Our sleepy little island has come back alive - plants are being planted, buildings are being repainted and the streets are filling back up with people.

These days are late nights spent giggling, smiles so big and large my face hurts, the bestest, largest and sweetest strawberries, car windows kept wide open, the smell of freshly cut grass, the distant sound of waves crashing on the shore and the taste of salt on my tongue. I am eager for when the weather will allow swimming in the time between dusk and sunset. The stillness of those waves are just the type of medicine I require. These are the moments that linger, that I remind myself to be most grateful for. 

May has come and nearly gone. I love this month - this is my month, the time when I celebrate my birth. A decade ago I was eighteen, which I remember far more as a feeling over anything else. These times have been filled with the unexpected and the rewarding as most good things are. Many layers have been stripped away, I know far less but what I know for sure is: love fearlessly, dare greatly, act big and feel grateful.

So thank you for being you and doing all that you do.

I wish you well, Kaylin

Machu Picchu: Day Two

We spent the morning of our last full day in Peru, hiking Machu Picchu again. 

For the complete back story on our trip to Peru, read these posts:

Lima, Peru / Cusco, Peru / More of Peru / Onward to Machu Picchu!
 

The early morning hours brought a light rain - the pitter patter's waking me from my worry-filled slumber. I worried the rain would prevent our second ascent to the ruins, I worried the bus would slide off the mountain with us on it, I worried I wouldn't complete the hike - I worried far too much that day on things that never happened.

A rooster started crowing at 4:00am and I silently cursed him for a bit. Sleep alluded me and, when the sun finally rose at 6:00am, we started the day. We rushed through breakfast and caught a 7:30am bus ride to the ruins - the ride was uneventful and I was certainly grateful for this.

 Our goal was to hike the "sun gate" trail. I was hesitant but open minded.

We started the day early to avoid the crowds and heat.

The morning started rainy and the mountains were wrapped in a thick fog. 

The hike was a couple miles long up a narrow stone trail carved over five hundred years ago by the Incan people. 

I thought of all the people who walked those stones before me and wondered about their lives. 

We passed some people and others passed us - many turned back before reaching their destination. I cheered on a couple from Brooklyn who were struggling with the trail, they eventually turned back and I was sad to see that.

The hike took most of the morning but we finally arrived!

We took our time enjoying the view.

Do you see those squiggly lines carved into the mountain? That is the road up to Machu Picchu - I must say, the experience was worth every fear I felt.

After a brief rest, we finally made the journey back down - we had a schedule to keep and a train to catch.

The journey back down took only a quarter of what the ascent took.

The late morning sun started to chase off the lingering fog.

The fog seemed to mix with the clouds and it all felt a bit magical. 

A shot of us feeling silly-tired post hike.

And then we said "so long - maybe I will see you later" to Machu Picchu.

We spent the remaining time in Machu Picchu Pueblo eating lunch, relaxing a bit and exploring.

We ended that day starting a long journey back home by boarding a 3:00pm narrow path train ride back to Cusco. We sat across from a retired Swiss couple, spending portions of the three hour train ride exchanging travel stories and sneaking small naps.

The train stopped just shy of Cusco as the remaining tracks were destroyed by a mud slide. We were quickly herded into the rapidly chilling air and onto a Cusco bound bus. The bus was overflowing and we managed to grab the last two seats - the hubs centered in the bus next to a group of South American tourists and myself in the far rear squeezed between a Belgium family of four.

The bus ride was an hour and a half long - interesting at times and boring at others. We traveled in the dark through the curvy Peruvian roads and seemed to only barely miss the older women walking on the road side hunched over by their heavy packs. I passed the time talking with the mother of the Belgium family - learned of their travels throughout the world, their time spent living in several dozen different locations and their current home in South Carolina. I thought it sounded like such an adventurous life but also a lonely one.

We finally arrived in Cusco where the hubs and I were reunited and traveled to that night's hotel - we took quick showers, ate a hasty dinner and slept deeply.

We woke early again and restarted our long journey back home - I felt some sadness and some happiness and even some acceptance, I was ready to be home. We entered the Cusco airport where the only security involved an employee glancing at my open suitcase and asking "Do you have any explosives?" and then sending me on my way after I replied "no". He looked embarrassed by the process while my post-9/11-often-flying-out-of-New-York-City self felt a bit horrified.

After a brief wait, where I people-watched and wondered what the tourist couple across the way were arguing over, we boarded our plane for the one hour flight to Lima.

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I must tell you that after a week in Peru the amazing scenery and incredibly bright colors started to feel and look normal - I was surprised by this and reminded to never forget that moment when I felt the remarkable turning normal and even bland.

Stay tuned for a bit more from Peru!

Be well, Kaylin