Weekend in Cusco

Journal-Shannon Halligan
This weekend Emily and I spent our free time traveling around Cusco. We left Friday and came back early Sunday morning. Although it was a very short amount of time it was worth it. I feel so lucky to be able to travel around this beautiful country. It amazes me how different the landscape of Cusco and Aguas Calientes were from Lima. The sky was a magnificent shade of blue and the clouds seemed to halo the massive mountains. Being able to see the rich history of the Incan people was amazing. It's so much different experiencing it rather than reading it out of a book. However, even though the scenery was different from Lima, the people are exactly the same. Everyone we met was so friendly and happy. They are proud of their heritage and their culture. Our tour guide in Machu Picchu was born in Cusco and his first language is Quechua. Even though he leads around annoying tourists, he's proud to show them the beautiful "Lost Incan city" and brag about how much faster he can hike the Incan trail than the Americans.
One of our goals of the group was to learn about Peruvian culture and I think I've gotten an idea of what it means to be Peruvian from the people we've gotten to know and the couple of places we've been. Like I said before, this is nothing you can read about in a book. I'm glad to be back in Lima, though. Me and Emily found ourselves talking about P.P.A. and the group the whole trip!

Thoughts of the Day-Shannon Halligan
"Little by little one walks far"

"All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. However, a path without a heart is never enjoyable. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy. It does not make a warrior work at liking it; it makes for a joyful journey; as long as a man follows it, he is one with it." - Carlos Castaneda, famous Peruvian writer