Monday, August 20, 2012

May, Machu Picchu and Musicals



It's hard to begin writing this blog because we have to go back along way to where the M's began:

Machu Picchu - At the beginning of May we had a week off school and set off for Cusco City in Peru, to take on the Inca Trail on our way to the restored ruins of Machu Picchu. It was an incredible experience and an adventure jammed with culture, history, food, fun and serious trekking. We arrived in Cusco for a couple of days of acclimatization and we did some exploring of the this beautiful city as well as a trip on the local bus to the ancient city of Pisac. Tip: Getting to Pisac early on a local bus meant we beat the tourists and enjoyed a lot of the stalls without much hassle!

We loved hanging out in Cusco! Staying at Hospedaje Recoleta meant a 10 minute walk through local back streets to the amazing town square. Hanging out at Greens Restaurant helped the acclimatizing process and trips to the Choco Museo were fun and filling!

We did our trek with the company simply named Peru Treks and we couldn't recommend them highly enough. The speed, service, food, price and vibe were perfect! We did the 4 day trek and the scenery was nothing more than mind blowing! Beginning at 2800m and climbing up as high as 4200m, we passed through rich farmland, unique rainforest and highland scrub whilst stopping off at numerous ancient remains of Incan civilisation. The weather was awesome and we generally had perfect moderate temperature with only light rainfall at night. We have to make special mention of how amazing the food was...with a group of 16 really chilled and friendly people, we had two guides and 18 porters and a cook to carry tents and food supplies. Obviously, being a trek of such length and difficulty, we didn't expect much in the food department, but what we ate each breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner was incredible. Full 4 course meals were prepared for us in a special food tent and we were stuffed after every meal and ready for the long walks each day.
Waking up at 3:30am on the final day to race to the 'Sungate' (awesome first view of Machu Picchu at sunrise) left us with one last breathtaking walk before finally completing our pilgrimage to this ancient wonder of the world! After a morning guided tour, we headed to the small neighbouring town of Aguas Calientes for lunch, hot spring baths and the final train ride home to Cusco. We feel like we could describe so much more about this trip as it was truly a magical adventure that fulfilled much more than our expectations! (p.s. If you want any more info about our trek, please feel free to ask!)


When we were at uni, we always talked about the 'Mad Month Of May'! Here back in BA, we had a mad month of May...and June! Mika directed the college school musical and it went off! The kids were amazing and the production team worked hard to help the kids put on an awesome show...Chris co-directed the prep school musical and in between there were two other major school productions to organise and produce for us both! It was massive, with lots of extra hours at work, but lots of exciting and fulfilling outcomes.
Final bows of the Secondary School Music Production- Directed by Mik
The first half of the year ended like a bomb. We were so tired but felt really full in the work we had accomplished.
We rewarded all that hard work and long hours with a 3 week trip to Brazil! It was awesome and we will write about that soon!


If any teachers are reading this blog- It is absolutely worth your while to try out for an International teaching position at least once in your life. The experience is invaluable to your professionalism and the travel- oh the travel!!!
It is also amazing to see families who move over to these international schools- it is not just young people who have freedom with no family ties- Whole families make their way to a new country to work full time and experience. It's awesome!

Both of us can't believe the opportunities we are getting- not just in work and travel- but in the simple things like living together. The way we make our space into a home or hanging out or saving money.. life stuff is great together!! So in love and so free to be ourselves! So blessed!

Over and out with big hugs,
Miki & Chris
xo



No comments:

Post a Comment