Monday morning was our day to sleep in. They charged us about $40 to delay checkout until noon. This seemed like an absurb touristy rip-off. But they got us because many of us paid it. We didn't need to leave the hotel until 2pm to get to the airport. The group wanted to go downtown shopping, and I still had a few things I needed to buy. I intended to sleep in until the last minute possible, but the city of Cuzco had other ideas for me. I woke up at sunrise to ...

We were up late Friday for our final OTR. I was still not feeling very well and was eager to sleep. There were lots of emotions running high with our trip coming to an end, saying good bye to half of our group and getting ready for the next piece of our adventure. I woke up at 2:30 am to get situated and pack my stuff up. We were to be downstairs on the bus at 3:30am. It was the first time I went sans-makeup on the trip. I felt exposed, but honestly I hadn't ...

After lunch, we boarded the van for the tour of Cuzco. We were all exhausted, adjusting to the elevation difference, and a bit delirious. We started off at a beautiful cathedral. It was tough going up the entrance stairs, and there were many tourists waiting in line to purchase tickets. Patricia gave us our pre-purchased tickets and we passed the line. The church was filled with shrines lining all of the walls. One of the shrines was to a black Saint - he was t...