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By Micayla and Darius
What a week. We went to the Galapagos Islands. Pirates were the first to discover the islands and used them for a base when they weren’t raiding other ships. Later whalers used the islands as a place to get food and water. The Pirates and Whalers took thousands of turtles and used them for food on their ships because the turtles could live up to a year without food or water. In the 1830s, Charles Darwin visited the islands on a boat called the Beagle and discovered a bunch of different species of birds and lizards living on the different islands. This discovery helped him develop his theory of natural selection and evolution.
We visited the islands on a boat called the Fragata. The boat had four levels. The first level had bedrooms and storage rooms. The second level had a bar, a lounge, a kitchen, eating area, and a dock that we used to get on and off of a dingy. The third level had more sleeping rooms, an outside deck, and the captain's steering room. The fourth level was a sun deck. Each morning, they rang a bell to wake us up for breakfast. After eating, we usually got onto a dingy and landed on an island. On the island, we would explore the beaches, the forest, and the mountains. Next, we usually went snorkeling before lunch. After resting, we’d visit another island and go snorkeling again. Then it was time for drinks and snacks, before having a briefing about the next day. Then we’d have dinner and watch a movie before bed. There were about 8 crew members and 16 visitors on the boat.
When exploring the islands, we saw lots of animals. There were small lava lizards, large land and marine iguanas, 14 different kinds of finches (small birds), red footed, nazca, and blue footed boobies, sea turtles laying eggs, land turtles, sea lions, penguins, frigate birds, pelicans, hawks, heron, and lots of other birds.
The animals were not afraid of us so we could get really close to them. So close that it was hard not to reach out and touch them. They used to let you touch them, but they don't any more so that the animals won't catch our germs and will continue to evolve in a more nature way. They also are trying to get rid of some animals that were introduced by man, like rats and goats, and trying to help some that we hurt, like the tortoises. They also make us wash our feet and shoes when we leave an island so that we don't bring seeds or soil to another island by accident and introduce a plant that was not there.
Many of the mommy sea lions had recently had babies that would bark and chase their moms around trying to get milk. The daddies swam close to the shore and made a really loud barking noise to say this is their land.
Many of the boobies were either sitting on eggs or had recently had babies that were really fluffy. We learned that the boobies got their name from the mating dance they do which looks silly as they lift one foot then the other rocking back and forth. In Spanish there is a word "bobo" which means fool and the British then made that word into booby, which also means fool or foolish. We watched a heron catch and then eat an octopus that was in a tidal pool.
Near the coast, we saw lots of turtles swimming and mating. When they mated in looked like one turtle was riding on the back of another turtle.
On one island, there were huge land tortoises. When they laid their eggs, they traveled for 2 months to the far side of the island where they built their nests.
We also saw lots of iguanas. The marine iguanas were black and swam in water. When they swim, they get sea water in their mouths and then when they are resting on rocks they sneeze out salt from their noses. The land iguanas were very colorful. On one island they were red and green, kind of like a Christmas tree. On another island, they were gold and yellow. And on another island they were dark brown or black like the marine iguanas.
We also saw a few penguins that were standing on the shore. It was funny to see them with a cactus behind them!
When we went snorkeling, we got to see thousands of reef fish, sea turtles, rays, sea lions, and sharks. The reef fish were all different colors. There were angel fish, pipe fish, parrot fish, and lots more. The sea turtles were huge and they would swim slowly through the water. We could get close enough to touch them and sometimes could dive under the water and swim under them. There were a few different kinds of rays. Some were really big and were larger than us. Some were smaller and spotted. Sometimes they would be sitting by themselves under a rock or on the sand. Other times there would be several of them swimming together. The sea lions were really fun. They would swim up to us and try to play with us, swimming in circle and diving down to the bottom. One day we saw six of them playing with shell creatures on the bottom. The most thrilling was seeing sharks. There were white tipped and black tipped reef sharks and a Galapagos shark. We got to see them really close. One time there were about twenty of them circling really close to us. They only eat at night so we were safe.
The islands were really interesting because the trees, shrubs and surface was different on each one. Some were covered with hard, black lava. Another was covered in lava ash and had only a few cactus growing on it. Others had hundreds of twisted holly trees.
On one island the holly trees were white. On another island they were red. Because the rainy season had not started, they did not have any leaves and it was like walking through a spooky forest. A few islands were formed by volcano cones and on one we could look down into a collapsed volcano. It was about a 1000 feet down. On this island, we were really high and there were taller trees and lots of leaves, shrubs, and ferns. That is because this part of the island is often covered in clouds and gets water from them, while the other islands are dry and rarely have clouds. And some islands also had mangrove swamps. One day we rode through the swamps in a dingy and saw lots of baby sharks. Every island was an adventure.
We met a really nice people while we were in the Galapagos. There was a family from Finland, a girl from Los Angeles, a guy from London, and a Canadian family. There was also Pedro our guide who knew lots about nature and the things were were seeing. While on the boat, we would hang out and watch movies with the girl from LA and the four kids from Canada. The kids from Canada knew how to play a card game called Magic, so we played a lot with them. Scott, the guy from London, reminded Darius how to play Texas Hold ‘Em. The Captain let us jump off the top level of the boat, which was bout 25 feet high. When we ate, we were all together and had a good time talking about the cool things we were seeing.
It was sad to leave the Galapagos. We will miss the islands, the animals, and the nice people we met. Now, we are off to the coast to rest for a few days.
By Darius and Micayla
Mom and Dad woke us up at 6 to have a fast breakfast. At 6:30 we left for the airport. We felt sad to be leaving Cusco because it was nice to be in one place for a while and to be in hotel with really great service.
After a short plane ride, we arrived in Juliaca. When we got there, we could not find our driver because he was working in the office and the sign said "Michael Kevin" instead of "Michael Russell". We eventually found the driver and got in a car and drove for 45 minutes. We arrived at a lake, but found out it was the wrong spot. 
So, we got in the car and drove a little further down a dirt road, and then walked down a windy, rocky path to get to our row boats. When we were going down the path we saw a type of animal that was like a chinchila but is was smaller. Our guide told us its name, but said it in Quechua, the language they speak here, and we can't remember what he said.
We got in row boats and rowed across the lake to an island that had vicunas on it. The local people set up the island as a vicuna sanctuary and started with just a few and now there are more than 150 living on the island. We saw at least 10 vicunas eating and walking near the shore. We then kept rowing to a small town called Sullistani and walked around the ruins there. The ruins were pre-Inca and were places where they buried their rulers along with their pets and pots. The burial sites looked like round stone huts and were called funeral towers. There were a few towers that the Inca's also started to make, but they had been hit by lightening and parts of their tops are knocked off. The Inca's towers looked more like small castles made from giant rocks.
After the ruins we drove to a small town and had lunch in a house. The house was made of adobe and had straw or reeds on its roof. They made us a small pancake with jelly on it, soup, trout, and a peach dessert. The family had guinea pigs that they did not eat because they only eat guinea pigs in Cusco. They also had alpaca and sheep. It was cool to have lunch in someone's home. After lunch we drove to Puno which is a big town on the shore of Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the highest lake in the world that big boats can drive on. It is more than 12,500 feet above sea level and is more than 100 miles long, 50 miles wide, and almost 1000 feet deep.
The next day, we got on a big motor boat and went to the floating islands of Uros. The islands were made of reeds and floated on the water. It felt squishy walking on the reeds and you could feel the island move when a wave came in.
On the islands there were small huts made of reeds and in the middle of the island there was a small trout farm. We also got to ride on a boat that was made of reeds. The first islands were made by a tribe of people called the Uros who escaped into the reeds to hide from the Incas and then from the Spanish.
After visiting the floating islands, we took the motor boat to the island of Taquille. It took about three hours to get there. We hoped that our trip would not end up being like Gilligan's (our mom bought us the Gilligan Island DVDs to watch when we are in airports and waiting around.) While on the boat, Darius took a nap and we all played card games. The island was about 3 miles long, a half mile wide, and was in the middle of Lake Titicaca. There are about 2000 people that live on it and only people who are born on the island can live there. All the land is passed down to sons and daughters and they don't sell the land to anyone.
When we got there we climbed up a hill to a house and had lunch with the family. We had soup and trout again. It was yummy. They say Lake Titicaca used to have lots of trout in it, but now the trout people eat comes from trout farms on the lake and the floating islands.
After lunch we went with the mother to the field and helped her break up the soil and take the dead grass out and put it in a pile so they could burn it. They were getting ready to plant potatoes in the field.
After working, my dad went swimming in Lake Titicaca, which was really cold. We then played jump rope with Judith, the family's 9 year old daughter. Marco, the family's 5 year old boy kept trying to get in the way. After, we played a dice game called Cacho, which is a Bolivian game. We then went up to see the sun set, but could not see it because it was too cloudy. We came back and ate dinner which was potato soup and egg on top of rice. Then we went to bed and slept under heavy wool blankets.
The next morning we had pancakes with jelly that you roll up like a crepe. After saying goodbye to the family, we walked to the far side of the island to the only town which took an hour. The kids we stayed with have to walk an hour to and from school every day all by themselves using the same path we took. The town was nice, with lots of sheep. 
It was near the highest point on the island which is more than 13.000 feet high. We were able to see the Island of the Sun which is on the far side of the lake in Bolivia. We had lunch which was soup and trout. After lunch we hiked down 530 steps to the boat and rode back to Puno. On the way down, Micayla got a bloody nose because of the altitude. When we were on the boat coming back to Puno we all sat outside and fell asleep in the sun. My mom got sunburned. We then played cards before arriving in Puno.
Today we went exploring in the town of Puno. We rode in a motorized rickshaw, which was really a motorcycle attached to a two wheeled cart. We walked through a bunch of stalls that sold different things that tourists buy and then around a large pond. We took a bicycle rickshaw back to the main square. We walked around and went into a church and watched a mass. Now we are getting ready to leave for Lima and then to Ecuador where we are then flying to the Galapagos Islands. We are sad to leave Peru because it is a nice and fun country to be in.
By Mike
To the Inca’s, Cusco was the navel of their empire. For us, Cusco was a wonderful place to rest and take in its history. After hopping from town to town for 10 days, it was nice to be grounded in one place for five solid days!
Unlike Lima, Cusco has retained its colonial style. Sitting on a bench in the city’s center plaza, it was easy to imagine life before automobiles. On one side, the cathedral’s spires rise to the sky. 
To its sides, two smaller churches stretch to the side. On the three remaining sides, arches brace vaulted ceilings that provide shade for walkways that pass by shops and restaurants. Over the past several days, we spent many mornings cruising around the plaza and resting our feet.
In addition to its many churches, Cusco is home to several museums. One displays work by modern artists. A few others contain ancient artifacts from the Inca and Spanish colonial period. Our favorite, though, was the Pre-Inca Museum. Housed in a former hacienda, it had a very large and extremely well preserved collection of pottery from several Pre-Inca cultures, some dating back to 800 BC. As we strolled from room to room, we were amazed by the detailed artwork on plates, bowls, and vases. If we didn’t know better, some of the dishware could have come directly from Pottery Barn’s latest catalog. Seeing this collection made us realize that what we call “modern design” may really be retro.
One morning, we hired a driver to tour the several Inca ruins that are just outside of Cusco. High in the mountains, was a ceremonial bath. Below it there was a maze-like rock outcropping with several altars and “throwns” carved into them. It is beleived this area was used to perform sacrifices. Just beyond it was the palace of one of the Inca rulers. All around were incredible views of the mountains that surround Cusco.
After several days of good food and solid rest in Hotel Torre Dorado (which we highly recommend to anyone visiting Cusco), we are ready to hit the road again to explore Lake Titicaca!
By Darius
On Sunday we went to Machu Picchu. It was so cool! We got to hike up the Inca Trail a little bit. You can’t go past the Gate of the Sun, though, because they want you to buy a train ticket back to Cusco, the city where the trail begins.
When you first see Machu Picchu, it doesn’t look like what you see in the post cards. When you first see it, you see granaries and terraces. After you walk a little bit along one of the terraces, you are able to see the guardhouse and the main gate. Walk some more and you can see a little bit of the town and the Temple of the Sun.
In the main square, that is a big open area covered in grass, there were llamas. In the royalty section there was a place called El Condor where there is what the Incas thought was a rock in the shape of a condor. It also doubled as a one-cell prison that you got to by a tunnel. There were lots of guards making sure no one ate food or stepped over the ropes. Instead of putting you in the prison, now whenever someone did something wrong, the guards blew a whistle at them.
On Friday, we visited the ruins at Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo was a small a town that was peaceful. The Urabamba River flew through it. The Incas thought this was a sacred river because the water came from the top of a mountain. In the middle of the town there were lots of Inca foundations that were made of big stones and that people built their new homes on. Just outside of town, there were a bunch of terraces and a steep staircase that climbed up the middle of the terraces.
At the top, there was some housing above the terraces and a really cool stone doorway next to a wall made of huge stones. There was also a stone path built into the mountains that was narrow that led to another set of ruins. Below them there were a bunch of baths where the Incas would clean themselves before going into the temples. There was still water flowing through the aqueducts that led to the baths.
At our hotel in Ollantaytambo there was a game called “sapo” that we were able to play. Sapo means frog in Spanish. The rules were that you stand about 10 feet back and you throw a medal coin and try to get it into the frog’s mouth. There are also a bunch of other holes built into a table that the frog sat on. If you get the coin into the holes, it is worth different amounts of points. It was lots of fun to play when we were resting.
To get to Machu Picchu, we took a train to Aguas Callientes. When we got there, we went to our hotel, called Rupa Wasi. It was like a tree house that was built into the mountain side. From it we could see most of the town and we could also see a little bit of Machu Picchu. There was also an orchid garden that was near the train station that had the Hirham Bingham train that served a six course dinner and costs $350 per person for a four hour ride. Just past it there was an orchid garden built into a mountain. It was supposed to have 350 varieties of orchids, but only a few were flowering. We took a bunch of pictures but they came out blurry because it was dark in the rain forest.
After visiting Machu Picchu, we took a train to Cusco that is four hours away. It was called the VistaDome because it has a glass roof. It also had table and served a snack that was a ham sandwich, bread sticks, and a chocolate truffle. They also had a clown that ran up and down the aisles in a traditional costume. The clown was holding a toy llama that he was letting everyone pet. My dad said he would pay me three soles to go up and down the aisle and let all the people pet my stuffed animal called Rudolph. We are now in Cusco which the Inca’s called the belly button of their empire.
What a week. We went to the Galapagos Islands. Pirates were the first to discover the islands and used them for a base when they weren’t raiding other ships. Later whalers used the islands as a place to get food and water. The Pirates and Whalers took thousands of turtles and used them for food on their ships because the turtles could live up to a year without food or water. In the 1830s, Charles Darwin visited the islands on a boat called the Beagle and discovered a bunch of different species of birds and lizards living on the different islands. This discovery helped him develop his theory of natural selection and evolution.
We visited the islands on a boat called the Fragata. The boat had four levels. The first level had bedrooms and storage rooms. The second level had a bar, a lounge, a kitchen, eating area, and a dock that we used to get on and off of a dingy. The third level had more sleeping rooms, an outside deck, and the captain's steering room. The fourth level was a sun deck. Each morning, they rang a bell to wake us up for breakfast. After eating, we usually got onto a dingy and landed on an island. On the island, we would explore the beaches, the forest, and the mountains. Next, we usually went snorkeling before lunch. After resting, we’d visit another island and go snorkeling again. Then it was time for drinks and snacks, before having a briefing about the next day. Then we’d have dinner and watch a movie before bed. There were about 8 crew members and 16 visitors on the boat.
The animals were not afraid of us so we could get really close to them. So close that it was hard not to reach out and touch them. They used to let you touch them, but they don't any more so that the animals won't catch our germs and will continue to evolve in a more nature way. They also are trying to get rid of some animals that were introduced by man, like rats and goats, and trying to help some that we hurt, like the tortoises. They also make us wash our feet and shoes when we leave an island so that we don't bring seeds or soil to another island by accident and introduce a plant that was not there. 
We also saw lots of iguanas. The marine iguanas were black and swam in water. When they swim, they get sea water in their mouths and then when they are resting on rocks they sneeze out salt from their noses. The land iguanas were very colorful. On one island they were red and green, kind of like a Christmas tree. On another island, they were gold and yellow. And on another island they were dark brown or black like the marine iguanas.
When we went snorkeling, we got to see thousands of reef fish, sea turtles, rays, sea lions, and sharks. The reef fish were all different colors. There were angel fish, pipe fish, parrot fish, and lots more. The sea turtles were huge and they would swim slowly through the water. We could get close enough to touch them and sometimes could dive under the water and swim under them. There were a few different kinds of rays. Some were really big and were larger than us. Some were smaller and spotted. Sometimes they would be sitting by themselves under a rock or on the sand. Other times there would be several of them swimming together. The sea lions were really fun. They would swim up to us and try to play with us, swimming in circle and diving down to the bottom. One day we saw six of them playing with shell creatures on the bottom. The most thrilling was seeing sharks. There were white tipped and black tipped reef sharks and a Galapagos shark. We got to see them really close. One time there were about twenty of them circling really close to us. They only eat at night so we were safe.
The islands were really interesting because the trees, shrubs and surface was different on each one. Some were covered with hard, black lava. Another was covered in lava ash and had only a few cactus growing on it. Others had hundreds of twisted holly trees.
On one island the holly trees were white. On another island they were red. Because the rainy season had not started, they did not have any leaves and it was like walking through a spooky forest. A few islands were formed by volcano cones and on one we could look down into a collapsed volcano. It was about a 1000 feet down. On this island, we were really high and there were taller trees and lots of leaves, shrubs, and ferns. That is because this part of the island is often covered in clouds and gets water from them, while the other islands are dry and rarely have clouds. And some islands also had mangrove swamps. One day we rode through the swamps in a dingy and saw lots of baby sharks. Every island was an adventure.
