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Hello,
You will be devestated to hear that this is the final instalment of our gap
year emails as we are flying home today!
So just to round it all off... we left New Zealand now down to three as
Rose, Vix and Chris all went home. We had an epic 45 hour journey to Peru.
For those of you who dont know we had always planned to go to Peru to meet
up with and surprise my family. So we flew to LA , then to Costa Rica and
then to Peru. The highlight was definitely finding a particularly
confortable bit of floor at Costa Rica airport where we all fell asleep and
nearly missed our flight! Eventually we got to Peru after a 45 hour journey
that look us 20 hours (we crossed the date line - freaky!)
The surprise was a little bit of a failure because there was a strike in
Peru and we all had to change our plans. It was still a classic moment
hearing Cathy and Sarah screaming at us at the airport. Ended up going to
Arequipa (or Harry Kipper as it was pronounced by those not so fluent in
Spanish) instead of Puno.
We spent 3 days in Arequipa seeing the sights, the cathedral, the main
square and the monastry which were all very interesting. Because of the
strike again the three of us ended up getting stranded in Arequipa for
another night. We werent complaining though as the tour company upgraded us
to a 5 star hotel for the night (official flashpackers!!) We didnt leave the
our room, watching 10 episodes of friends back to back and ordering room
service! A drastic change from our living conditions in Winnie!!
We eventually got to the Sacred Valley where we meet back up with my family.
We spent a few days here getting used to the altitude ready for the Inca
Trail and visiting some Inca ruins and a salt mine. We also went to some
local markets - numerous Peruvian hats and knitted dolls were purchased!!
Then we started the Inca Trail with our guide who was a Jakie Chan
lookalike. It was 3 full days walking and 3 nights camping and then an early
morning rise to walk to Machu Picchu! It was really hard work - some had
come more prepared than others (ie, dad with walking sticks and ski gloves!)
There were a few affects of altitude sickness but nothign major. Overall it
was awesome, especially Machu Picchu which was just incrediable. Dad
particularly enjoyed the flora and fauna taking well over 1000 pictures in 1
day - cant wait for the slideshow!!! We were all totally exhausted by the
end and only had a 4 hour train journey left. This turned out to be
particularly entertaining as the stewardessed put on a fashion show
modelling Perus famous alpaca goods down the aisle.
Got back to Cusco and stayed here for 3 nights relaxing and wondering around
the city.
From Cusco we headed off for the final section of the trip which we would be
spending in the rainforest. We had planned with Jens cousin Charlie when we
met him in NZ that he would come and meet us for this section of the trip.
Jens family were certainly very shocked to see him sitting on the plane -
Judi the queen of surprises had had a taste of her own medicine!
Had a lot of fun on various boat trips, canopy walks and night trails. We
saw lots of tropical birds, monkeys, snakes, amazing butterflies, frogs and
many a tarantula on the night walk. The concept of walking quietly so as to
not scare away the animals went out the window with Judi screaming at every
russtle and noise she heard, much to photographer Andrews annoyance!
We then headed back to Lima for one night before we said goodbye to Jens
family and headed to New York where we were meeting Petes parents. We have
been here the last 5 days having a really good time. Been up the empire
state, to ground zero, rowing in central park, the guggenhiem, to see Mary
Poppins and numerous trips to the new Abercrombie and Fitch store!
We are now very excited to be going home but also sad its all over. We have
literally had the time of our lives and hope that you have enjoyed hearing
all about it! There should hopefully be some pictures from Peru and New York
on the blog - for the last time its www.statraveljournals.com/sjgapyear
Hope everyone is well and look forward to seeing you all.
BIG NIGHT OUT THIS SATURDAY IN BATH PEOPLE!!!!!!!
Lots of Love
Jen and Sarah xxxxx
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