An Adventure to the Arctic Circle

Tonight mom and I take off on an Arctic adventure! 

 I will be sure to take pictures of us wrapped up in our bear skins in my Aunts igloo.... Taking care of their team of huskies and of course the must have picture of a polar bear enjoying his Coca-Cola!  That is if my hands aren't frozen.

Can't wait to share stories, pictures and maybe a few videos! 

Conquering Wayan Picchu!

I came back to Peru and I conquered the mountain. When I was at Machu Picchu the last time I was unable to climb WayanPicchu and knew one day I would be back to climb it, this was my number one goal for this trip. If you're familiar with pictures of Machu Picchu... WayanPicchu is the tall mountain that stands behind the ruins.   We were up at 445am and we were at the main entrance to the ruins at 6am... Started climbing at 7am!!! We actually did a shorter hike first to Huayan Picchu which for me was tons of fun!!! Narrow Incan stairs with a sheer drop on one side and hugging the mountain on the other. SO FUN!!  Getting up to WayanPicchu was tons of fun too... A lot more of the same narrow stone stairs with ropes to help you up. Some stairs were really short with barely enough room for your foot and others came up to my knees.  The steepness and stairs reminded me a bit of the Grouse Grind but the rewards of the views were priceless! It was so amazing to see Machu Picchu from an unobstructed  birds eye view and amazing views of the Andean mountains that surround Machu Picchu.  When we reached the top (in just under an hour and a half) Katie stayed to rest in a more "secure" spot as I went to explore the ruins that are at the top. This involved stairs that were even more narrow and steep. I got some amazing pictures. We had met a few girls from Argentina on the way up and they were happy to be my photographers at the top.  The way down was also fun... It had rained quite hard the night before so the steps were damp and covered in wet leaves so you had to step very carefully. But again for me it was tons of fun.  Once we got down we found a guide for a tour of Machu Picchu... It was great to get some insight into what we were looking at and the culture of this ancient civilization, but we were both quite tired and by the end of the hour long tour we were pretty much done. We spent a total of about 7 hours up in the ruins.  An absolutely amazing day!!!  The train/ bus ride back felt long and we didn't get to our hotel until 1030pm.... Boy did we sleep good!  Today will be a pretty calm day of exploring more of Cusco and checking out some more markets. I don't think our bodies will allow us to do much more than that.  And and the quote of the day yesterday.... While siting at lunch after 7 hours of hiking in the beautiful sun and feeling quite sweaty and gross.... I said to Katie "why do I smell so good?" .... I had just used some of my Satsuma hand sanitizer... I'm sure it was just that, there was no way I was smelling good then! 

Front row seats!

We arrived in Aguas Calientes in style today!  We took our bus to Ollantaytambo (I can actually pronounce that now!) and were waiting for our train.... To our WONDERFUL surprise we had seats on the very front of the train with a great big window in the front and a big dome window on the side!!! It was amazing! We were two very gitty girls. The scenery was absolutely amazing! And we passed by KM 84 where 7 years ago I started the 4 day Inka Trail. It was so neat to see the bridge we crossed at the very beginning of our trek.  Looking at the mountains from the train I can hardly believe that I hiked through those.  I got some amazing scenery pictures!   Aguas Calientes (at the foot of Machu Picchu) is very much just a tourist town, and is under some major renovations in the streets.... You have to watch where you walk or youll fall in a hole. Looks like theyre working on drainage.  Lots of restaurants and souvenir shopping though.  It's an early night for us tonight, the alarm is set for 445 am and we are catching the 530am bus up to Machu Picchu!!!  I feel so incredibly blessed to see these ruins for a second time... While most only dream of seeing them. And at 7 am we will be starting our trek up Wayan Picchu for a birds eye view if the ruins.  We are going to be sore and tired for our train ride back to Cusco tomorrow!!!

Celebrating a King

We woke up this morning in one of my most favorite cities, Cuzco. This city is full of old buildings, cobble stone streets and is the historical centre of  Peru.  Around each corner is something new and exciting. And today did not disappoint!  Today is Palm Sunday, a day of celebrating the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and the people laid palm leaves to honor Him as King.  We are in a Catholic country and they know how to celebrate their religion. As we walked into the Plaza de Armas it was beginning to fill with people, all carrying their palms.  We quickly found our spot on the steps of the cathedral and waited... Then waited some more as the plaza filled. Then the ceremonies started... There were bands and a ceremonial raising of the flags of Peru and Cuzco... And both the Peruvian and Cusqueno anthems were sung.  And there was even a five gun salute! Which thankfully wasn't as loud a we thought it would be. The parade proceeded... This was about 2+ hours of bands, civil servants, churches, army... All to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. It was quite the experience to be squished among the local people an participate in their celebrations.  That was all before 11am!!! We had lunch and then headed out to explore and find some craft markets!  I love looking around craft markets when I travel... I never tire of looking at the same stuff over and over.  On our way back to the hotel we passed a building and I heard some very familiar music... I looked at Katie and said "it's a Christian church!" and she said "wanna go?" I was so excited!!  Walking in and hearing familiar choruses I felt like I was home, it's amazing how God has put such a passion in my heart for the Spanish language and culture. And we got to experience Latin hospitality from our Peruvian brothers and sisters as we were greeted with hugs and kisses.  I was excited for Katie to experience something that has been such a huge part of my life and to also experience how the Latin people worship! They are so full of emotion and love for our God, its incredible. A very real emotional aspect that you dont see in our services at home.  I got really excited when they started to sing "Eres todo Podoroso" (you are all powerful) a song that took me back to my time in Ecuador. I was surprised at how many of the choruses i remembered the words to. The sermon was great... The pastor preached with gusto like only a Latino pastor can. LOVE IT!!! Katie said her favorite part was seeing my perma-grin as I was clearly in my element. For me it was over too quick, for Katie not understanding a 2+ hour service I'm sure it was over just in time. She did really enjoy it. We had dinner on a balcony over looking the Plaza and watching a lightening storm.  We have had all elements if weather... Super hot and sunny, cloudy and super cold, rain, hard rain, SNOW, and now a lightening storm.... I wonder if we'll get some hail? And now I'm typing this post from Starbucks which is about 10 steps from our hotel. Tomorrow we head out on a train to get ready to hike through Machu Picchu on tuesday. So the next post most likely won't be until Tuesday night... And I'm determined that my second trip to Machu Picchu will not include a sprained ankle! Hope everyone at home is doing well, we will see you in just a few days now! 

Lake Titicaca

Uros islands It was another early morning! We were picked up for our tour at 645am!! So we were up at 515am to get ready and have time for breakfast too. It was a great breakfast too.... Bread with cheese and avocado and some quinoa and puffed wheat with strawberry yogurt.  We've met some fellow Canadians on our tour, they're both from Moncton, first Canadians we've met.  I'm writing this from our boat heading back to Puno... It's a long ride. Lake Titicaca is no small lake! It's 165km long and 60km wide, and is shared with Bolivia.  Our first stop of the day was on the floating Uros Island. These are 60+ man made islands that are made out of Tortola reeds (something that sounds like that anyways). It feels like you're walking on a waterbed, and people live here! It's their home. They build their islands, houses and boats all out of the same reeds. They also eat them, we got to taste some, tastes like lettuce. We were shown a short demonstration of how their islands were made and then the women of the islands ( all dressed in bright colored skirts) showed us their houses. The house we visited was very very small. It had a simple kitchen area and a small bedroom where the family of six slept. The three young girls all shared a "bed" this was blankets in the floor and mom, dad and baby shared the other "bed". They have solar power to work their lights, radio and yes even their tv. Afterwards, Julie, took us out to see her handicrafts....the pressure to buy something was very intense and a whole lot of pressure.  Kind of takes the fun out of shopping and we felt guilty looking at tables that other families had on display. It's a very interesting culture to visit. The island we visited had six families / 25 people living there.  Our next stop was Taquille Island, the third largest island on Lake Titicaca (the biggest belongs to Bolivia). This was a 2 hour boat ride from the Uros islands.  We had to walk uphill to the main plaza, passing the men walking knitting their toques and the ladies spun wool as they walk. On this island your hat or headdress denotes your marital status. And the men knit the toques not the ladies. A red and white toque signifies that you are single, a completely red hat signifies that you are married. A very Colourful hat says that you are in leadership. For the woman they worn black shalls over their heads and if they had large Pom-poms in the corners they are single, if the Pom-poms were smaller they were married.... Not quite as subtle as a wedding band.  We had lunch on Taquille island and it was a typical meal for the locals.... Quinoa soup and trout with rice and French fries.... You get fries with ever meal here.  After lunch was a trek down the other side of the island to find our boat.... This trek was over 500 steps!  With an altitude of 4,000 meters we were all out of breath. But the scenery was absolutely beautiful! The lake is so large it's like your looking out at the ocean with islands in the distance.  We have really enjoyed Puno. We're only 5 blocks from the Plaza de Armas and most of the way is pedestrian only streets lined with restaurants and shops.  Tomorrow we are off to Cuzco!!  Cuzco is one of my all time favorite cities. The Plaza de Armas is mesmerizing, beautiful buildings all around it and so relaxing for people watching.... And I heard that they now have a Starbucks right in the plaza... Can't wait to sip my coffee and just observe.

Vicuñas, llamas, alpacas and condors oh my!

The last two days were full of new sights and adventures. We left Arequipa early Tuesday morning for our tour of the Colca Canyon in the Peruvian highlands. There were eight of us on our tour. A couple from England, a couple from Italy and two girls from Germany. Our bus driver Coco (nickname for Jorge) was a fantastic driver and very funny. He taught me some Spanish jokes which I've written down to share with some of you when I get home. Our tour guide Daniel looked like a cross between Little Ritchie and Omar Gadaffi. He was an ex-Harry Krishna... Self proclaimed mystic/ yogi.... A very interesting man to say the least.  The views were amazing, very green mountains and snow capped volcanos. The first wildlife we saw were the Vicuñas, these little animals look similar to llamas, and have the second softest wool in the world (first would be cashmere).  Next we would seen hundreds and hundreds of llamas and alpacas. It was amazing to see all these animals in their natural habitat.  As we got higher and higher up in altitude we could feel the effects of the thinner air. You feel like you ran hard for 10mins when all you did was get out of the van!  Half way up to the summit we stopped for a cup of coca tea, this really helped with the adjustment to the altitude. And is really yummy too. I even bought honey flavored coca candies. The summit of our trip was 4910 metered which is 16,100 feet!!! That is some thin air! When we arrived in Colca we made our way to Coporaque village where our hotel was, it was such a beautiful hotel with an amazing view of the valley. We had lunch here as a group and both Katie and I ate Alpaca!!! It was delicious! It's really hard to describe what it tastes like kind of between lamb and beef. There is no fat on alpaca so the texture was amazing too. You just have to try it yourself.  After lunch we went on a short 20minute hike to get an excellent view of the valley below. We passed many locals carrying the loads of wood and crops on their backs, guiding their donkeys and horses to their fields. One of their main crops in this area is quinoa, we saw field after field of quinoa.  After our hike we headed to the hot springs which are heated naturally under ground by one of the surrounding volcanos. The temp of the water when it comes out of the ground is 80 degrees! You can boil an egg in 5 mins. The pools were very warm a nice contrast to the freezing temperature outside. It was relaxing to soak in the warm water surrounded by mountains. The water was clean enough but the bottom of the pools were a bit slimy.... Felt good to have a shower afterwards haha.  Wednesday morning we were up early to be on the road by 630am! Our breakfast was amazing, it was a spread of different grains/ wheats that were all locally grown.  We arrived at the Cuz del Condor by 8am... It was a bit disappointing we waited for an hour and a half to catch a glimpse of the condors that live in the canyon. But it was so foggy that we couldn't even see the mountains or the bottom of the canyon... This is the deepest canyon in the world!  It was a beautiful sight to see the fog roll in and out of the canyon going us little views of the mountains and canyon below.  We all left the Cruz del Condor a little disappointed but what can you do. What we did see was very beautiful just different from what we were expecting.  We got a little ways down the road and our driver pulled over super quick rushing us all out of the van....WE FOUND CONDORS!!!! They were a ways away so once again our fantastic driver got us all back in the bus and took of down the road for a better view. Six condors were now flying right over our heads!! These are amazing birds, from beak to tail they can be 5feet tall and their wing span is 10 feet!!!  Our day was complete we got to see the condors yeah!!  On our way back as we got closer and closer to the summit we started seeing this white stuff.... SNOW!!! Yep all of you that were jealous that we were in nice hot weather we found snow.... The highway had quite abit on it. And they say it only snows there in August... Aren't we just special! It was such a beautiful sight though. And since it was cold the last two days we each bought alpaca toques to keep warm.  And I'm reporting this blog on the bus on our way to Puno....

Old Lima/ Posh Lima

Sunday we spent the day wondering around downtown Lima. We visited the San Fransisco church (one of my favorites. I have now been there three times!), which is an old monestary that was build in the 1600's. It's ornate but simple, with some absolutely amazing murals. Going down to the catacomb smells musty and the walkways are a tight squeeze. This was the public cemetery for Lima until the 1900, you can imagine how many bones were down there! Walking around the Plaza de Armas (the city's main square) is so beautiful and relaxing. A great place to sit on a bench and people watch. We sat up above the remains of the old city wall and enjoyed some ice cream. One of the highlights of the day was the Parque de la Reserva. This is a large park that is home the twelve amazing water fountains! Each of them very unique. They had pyramid fountains, a tea pot pouring tea, a tunnel that is arches of water flowing over your head! The tunnel was incredible! However I did yell at a little boy for soaking my camera. This is also home to a fountain that holds the world record for the highest fountain with a spray that reaches 80 feet high!! Other fountains dance to the music and at night have lights that change into a rainbow of coulors. This morning (Monday) while everyone at home was heading off to work we were sitting on the malacon (the fancy boardwalk) in the posh end of Lima, sipping our Starbucks watching the fog burn away and the surfers catching some excellent waves. We browsed the shops along the boardwalk for a couple of hours and enjoyed the warmth of the sun (I'm even a little pink). And then we were off to the airport to catch our flight to Arequipa. This is the second largest city in Peru. Our hotel here, Casa de Avila, is super cute and our room over looks the garden in the middle. The only downfall of this room is the bathroom door sticks and you have to call to the one on the outside to open it for you. Haha. The receptionist is super nice, Raquel, and she thinks it's hilarious that Katie's inlaws have a llama named Katie, she couldn't stop laughing! We had dinner in the Plaza de Armas in an awesome restaurant where we sat on the upper patio where watching people attempting to cross the street was like watching a game of Frogger. Our dinner tonight was our best meal yet! It was thin sliced beef on top of a bed of red onions, toast, rice topped with a sunny side up egg and fried banana.... Getting a little bit of each on your fork was like a party in your mouth! They all complemented each other so well!! Tomorrow we embark on our two day tour of the Colca Canyon! Hoping to catch a glimpse of a condor. I'm really excited about seeing some smaller villages of Peru!!

Warm and Beautiful in Lima

It is a beautiful and warm day in Lima today!!!  We had a great sleep and have woken up refreshed and ready to explore.


I have to tell you about our arrival at the airport last night. Since we only had carry ons we got out so fast! It´s amazing not having to wait for bags. We found our driver easily and were on our way.  The ride from the airport to our hotel was pure entertainment for me and a near heartattack for Katie. Your first ride in a South American taxi is always somewhat shocking.  I love getting to see things that are so normal to me through Katie´s eyes. As she was laughing hystarically out of fear for her life and grabbing my leg and the door. Our driver notices that their style of driving and traffic was new to her. He laughed and told me he likes to pretend he´s a Nascar driver...then started driving a little faster and pointing out all the near misses.  Oh it was great entertainment. And no she wasn´t used to it yet for our ride to downtown Lima this morning.  And the great thing is, is we haven´t even seen bad traffic yet!!! hahah.

Our taxi driver couldn´t drop us off right where we wanted to go this morning as the streets were closed for a procession.  These are small parades for the upcoming Holy Week celebrations (the week leading up to Easter).  I really wish I knew a bit more about Catholosism and the symbolism behind what they are doing. Men in purple robes with a white rope around their necks were carrying the float of the Virgin Mary....as women with lace head coverings walked backwards (facing the float) with incense burning over coals and signing. Up ahead a bit was another group of men in purple carrying a large silver plated cross.....another group of men infront of them where saying a prayer in unison.This will most likely be the first of many Easter celebrations that we will see. I´m very excited that we will be in Cuzco for Palm Sunday.

We are off to explore more in the Plaza de Armas (main square) area this afternoon.  And time to get adventurous with some FOOD!!! YUM!

Mi querido Peru! My beloved Peru!

My dream trip since I was 8 years old has always been Peru. And I am extremely thrilled that this will be my SECOND trip to this amazing country! 2012 did not get off to the best start. January 16th I was laid off (after being there for almost 7 years). A week later We found out an aunt of mine only had months to live. A few days after that devestating news Mom lost her job too. And a couple of weeks ago auntie Elvera finished her battle with cancer and went home to her mansion waiting for her in heaven. With all this going on and being without a job I was hesitantly looking forward to my trip to Peru. I am EXTREMLY grateful that my unemployment only lasted a month! And I found a job that I am loving and my coworkers are all very sarcastic and amazing people. I love the sense of humor there! And to top it off I was still able to take the two weeks off to head to Peru. With the rocky start 2012 is on an uphill climb. I am so excited to be heading back to Peru and have the chance to see new places and returning to some old ones again!! And doing all this with one of my best friends, Katie. (thank you Steve for giving up your wife for 2 weeks). So we will be spending time in Lima, checking out Miraflores and visiting the Iglesias de San Francisco. Over looking the depths of the Colca Canyon, hoping to catch a glimpse of the giant condors that call the canons home. We'll take a cruise on a reed boat in Lake Titicaca. A highlight will be walking the enchanting streets of my favorite city Cuzco. And of course the most important day will be visiting Machu Picchu! We will be takin the train to the ruins this time. My last trip I conquered the inca trails. This time we will conquer climbing Wayan Picchu for a birds eye view of the ruins. I am so excited to introduce Katie to a country and culture that truly feels like home to me. Stay tuned for stories of our many adventures!!!

Anybody know where to fınd a church?

Yesterday was such a fantastic day! We had hired a driver to take us to some key sightseeing spots that are quite far away.

Our first stop was Derınkuyu, the largest underground cıty! This was so facinating! From above ground you saw nothing that would tell you there were 15 stories underground! Due to cave-ins and instability, today only 8 stories can be visited. This city was a hiding place for Christians in the area when they were under attack, they had the facilities to sustain 10,000 people for 6-9 months! They had food storage areas, stables, wine making facilities, a chapel area, a baptism tank, wells, ventalation shafts, communication shafts that worked like an ıntercom... and of course lıvıng and sleepıng areas. It was massıve! The corrıdors that we walked through were very small, even for me I had to be bent at the waıst at a 90 degree angle to get through. Some of the rooms our guıde would just tell us about and then send us through the narrow passage on our own because he was closterphobıc. They also had quıte the defence measures put ın place...they had massıve rollıng stones that would close up the tunnels and ın the mıddle of these stones was a hole for them to shoot arrows through. I couldn't ımagıne havıng to lıve under here for 9 months! After beıng down there for about an hour the aır felt stale and everythıng felt small and tıght although the gatherıng areas were very large.

Our next stop was the Ihlara Valley. Our driver dropped us off at the begınnıng of the hıke and them met us at the next town 4kms away. I was a lıttle nervous to go hıkıng on our own as the couple of valleys we hıked wıth Fatıh dıdn't seem to be very well marked. But thıs one was very easy. And once agaın the scenery was very very dıfferent, wıth tall rock walls on eıther sıde and a rıver runnıng through the mıddle. In the short 4kms we walked we saw sıgns to 9 cave churches! We only looked at two, and at our rest stop we saw sıgns for about 6 more. The trees, clıffs lıned wıth caves and the rıver were beautıful! I also came ın contact wıth some kınd of stıngıng neddle or somethıng lıke that, thankfully only a small part of my knee was touched and by the evenıng the ıtchıng went away.

We met our drıver at the next town and easıly found hım at the Aslan Restaurant (Alsan actually means lıon ın Turkısh)...our drıver dıdn't speak Englısh but Fatıh dıd a great job communıcatıng to all of us the stops we would make and the places we would meet. For lunch we ate at a table rıght on the edge of the rıver, lıterally one wrong move and I would have fallen ın! And we had some not so lovely company too....three geese made there way to our table, rıght besıde me! They were nasty lookıng and mean! One was about a foot away from me squakıng lıke crazy! Megan ın all her brıllıance started kıckıng rocks at them from under the table, worked lıke a charm! I was quıte scared that I was goıng to be eaten alıve by a goose hahah.

After the Ihlara Valley we were off to see a Monestary (Selıme Monestary)...we had our doubts ıf thıs would be ınterestıng or not after all the churches we had seen. It was so cool! It was buılt ınto the sıde of a mountaın and we hıked and clımbed all through ıt...there were dark staırway passages leadıng upstaırs and tunnels goıng ınto ınterestıng chapel areas. We spent so much tıme there clımbıng around explorıng. I felt lıke a kıd fındıng a treasure. We have lots of fun pıctures from thıs one

The next stop was Kervansaray, thıs was a common stop for the camel caravans travellıng through the area. It was very small but ınterestıng to see, they had a market area, food storage, a restaurant, washrooms and a place to tıe up your camels,,,,adn rıght behind that was a place for you to sleep.... ın the same stall as your camel. And I thought we were startıng to smell from our travels!

We are all startıng to feel a lıttle sore and stıff from all the hıkıng and clımbıng through narrow caves, so last nıght and today we have been takıng ıt easy, teachıng Fatıh how to play Skıp Bo and Phase 10 (he won at BOTH!) and today we've spent the day doıng some shoppıng. Tonıght we have the task of fıttıng everythıng ın our backpacks.

We head back to Istanbul tomorrow and are home on Sunday! So thıs wıll most lıkely be the last post for thıs trıp. Thanks for readıng!

Cappadocia - My favorite place in all of Turkey

We are in the most beautiful, breathtaking regıon in all of Turkey! Cappadocia ıs full of hıstory and scenery that ıs unlıke anythıng I have seen.

Our hotel ıs great, the owner Fatıh has been a great host and taken us on a couple of hıkes. He wıns the prize for beıng gracious as our bus arrıved from Fethiye FOUR hours early getting us here at 4AM instead of 8am. Still he came to pick us up from the bus station and had a room ready for us. There ıs an amazıng vıew of the valley from the hotel restaurant and from our room we can see Uchışar Castle. Our first morning here Fatih took us on a hike through Pıgeon Valley which starts right by the hotel. It's an easy walk....although some of the small hills down were steep and covered ın little pebbles whıch made slippıng ınevıtable....I was the first to fall hard on my backside, it was pretty funny. Poor Fatih had to put up with us three white gırls struggling up and down these slippery slopes, but we had fun. The rock formations here are just so unique and interesting, and people live in caves throughout the valley too. We visited two churches here, one which has very well preserved frescos on the ceilings and walls.

Fatih's cousin picked us up on the other side of the valley and dropped us off at Göreme to walk around and visit an old church. The Christian history here is so interesting, some of the first believers lived here and persecuted Christians from Rome fled to the area as well (tomorrow we wıll be vısıtın an underground cıty whıch was occupıed by the fleeıng Christians!). The church was very interesting again wıth well preserved frescos that told the stories of all that has happened here. It's a lıttle odd goıng from seeıng mosques every day and now visiting churches every day! There are 365 churches ın the area! Göreme ıs a cute lıttle town full of tourısts and lıttle shops, great for a relaxıng afternooon of walkıng. When we were ready to come home we decided we were goıng to walk back through pigeon valley....well Fatih knows the valley so well and took us to areas that aren't necesarıly on the regular hıkıng trail...needless to say wıthın 10 minutes we realized there was no way we would fınd our own way through the valley so we headed back to Göreme and took a bus back. We went and vısıted Uchişar Castle whıch Fatih saıd would be an amazıng place to watch the sunset....well we were there very early and the sun didn't seem anywhere close to the horizon and soon a HUGE amount of tourists made their way up...yep we left and walked back to the hotel. That nıght Fatih had prepared an AMAZING tradıtıonal turkısh dısh made ın a clay pot, ıt was by FAR the best meal I have had ın Turkey. It was close to a beef stew but wıth a lot of flavor, kınd of spıcy and served wıth a sıde of rıce. SO GOOD! It ıs so refreshıng to fınally have some good food. Althought we are all stıll cravıng food from home and not havıng to worry about not knowıng what exactly we are eatıng.

This morning Fatih took us on another hike through two valleys....the Whıte Valley and the Love Valley. Agaın the rock formatıons are AMAZING! The whıte valley had very whıte formatıons that looked lıke massıve fat mushrooms and the Love valley...well you are goıng to have to waıt for pıctures and draw your own conclusıons as to what they resemble.....ıt's quıte comical. Again Fatih's cousin pıcked us up and dropped us off ın another small town...Cavişar. We had another amazıng lunch of some smoked\grılled chıcken (the clay pot meal was stıll better). Then we FINALLY bought some absolutely beautıful hand paınted pottery! Now we have to carry ıt all the way home!

We have had a very relaxıng afternoon as tomorrow we have a driver and car booked to take us to the biggest underground city (8 storıes deep into the ground) and we will hike at least 4kms through another valley...ıt wıll be a long day but I'm sure the scenery won't dısappoınt.

I can't believe we only have a few days left! If anyone is thinking of a trip to Turkey Cappadocia ıs a 100% must...there ıs no place like it! Can't wait to share some pıctures!

A Sketchy hotel and a Tour UGH!

Our hotel ın Fethıye turned out to be worse then orıgınally thought!! When we got back ıt was about dusk....none of the lıghts ın the hotel hallways worked and ıt seemed lıke we were the only guests! Our bedroom door would only stay closed when and ıf we got ıt locked sınce the door frame was busted....neither the tv or Aır condıtıoner worked....there was no hot water and our lıghts were flıckerıng.....to open our bathroom door you had to use all your body weıght on the handle and ıt made a noıse that echoed throughout the hotel! It was past 9pm here and we were a ways away from any ınternet or other hotels so I texted Rıta ın Canada (knowıng she would be at work close to a computer and has travelled before) and she found us a new hotel for the next nıght. None of us slept well on our horrıble mattresses (you could feel the bed frame) and our sheets had cıgarette burns ın them. We were up early for our tour we had booked and went down for Breakfast at 735am....we had confırmed the nıght before that 730am would be ok.....we dıdn't even get a cup of coffee tıll 815am and our tour was pıckıng us up at 830!

Then we were off on our lovely Jeep Safari, they squıshed as many of us ın as they could (the three of us were comfortable but larger people were not). We got to see the Tlos ruıns from the road (yeah!) they looked really ınterestıng but of course a tour wouldnt gıve you tıme to actually see them any closer. We vısıted a trout farm where all the awkward jokes started wıth our tour guıde ın broken Englısh. From there we went to a carpet makıng factory whıch was very ınterestıng, I can now apprecıate why Turkısh rugs are so expensıve! No way I can afford one, and no way I would let people walk on one if I could.

We fınally got to the hıghlıght of our tour.....Saklıkent Gorge.....well....Othello Tunnels ıs much more beautıful. Thıs gorge was stıll prıceless but a slıght dısappoıntment. From there we went to the mud baths.....our tour guıde was talkıng all mornıng about how thıs was the hıghlıght of hıs day and keeps hım young....unfortunetly I was soon to fınd out why.....Megan and Ellen chose not to go ınto the mud so I went on my own wıth the rest of the group. The guıde wouldnt let us just jump ın and let us do whatever....he wanted to guıde us through...well he started goıng around to all the ladıes openıng theır swım suıt tops fıllıng them wıth mud and then told them to 'shake ıt'....can see why thıs was the hıghlıght of hıs day!!! He got to me and I polıetly saıd 'not thank you' and he got a bıt closer.....ı backed up and (ellen and megan heard me...oops) I saıd 'there's no way you are touchıng me' He quıetly contınued to the next person. I was floored at the ladıes young and old, each there wıth a boyfrıend or husband that let thıs creepy man open theır tops and fıll them wıth mud!!! And later he dıd the same wıth theır bottoms!! Wıth the creepy man asıde the mud felt great and was fun.

We went to a beach on the Mediterranean and had 40 mınutes to pass there. A beautıful beach but no one was really ınto ıt after a long day and no tıme to swım and then dry off for the hour rıde that waıted for us.

We FINALLY got back to Fethıye about 7pm...we got our bags from our creepy hotel room, cut our loses (we already paıd for our entıre three nıght stay, bad mıstake) and just left our room key at the front desk and left.

The hotel that Rıta found for us was AMAZING! When the taxıs turned the corner and the three of us saw the buıldıng I'm sure all our jaws hıt the floor! It was georgeous! We had clean secure rooms wıth hot runnıng water....a beautıful swımmıngpool and not only was breakfast ıncluded but dınner TOO!

Fethiye had promısed to be a hıghlıght of the trıp wıth tons to see but ıt ıs SO spread out....each attractıon about 2 hours from the cıty....oh well....lıve and learn. Oh and we LOVE the Brıtısh here....they are SO kınd and helpful. It's a place where a lot of them have vacatıon homes and they are always stoppıng to chat and gıve advıce. SO KIND!

We have had a nıce restful mornıng playıng cards by the pool and McDonalds for lunch....we are now ready for a 15 and a half hour bus rıde to Cappadocıa....a regıon that ıs promısed to be a hıghlıght of our trıp by everyone we have talked to!

Cotton Castle and Blue Water

Hello Everyone,

We were very pleasently surprised when we arrıved at the terreces ın Pamukkale to see WATER ın them! I am prayıng that my pictures caught even just a portıon of the beauty! It ıs a mountaın of whıte lımestone (no shoes allowed) and mıneral pools all the way up full of clear blue water, and each pool was a dıfferent temperature, yet the water flowed from one to another,very strange. As we walked up there was water streamıng down the mountaın and the pools had waterfalls comıng from above them and overflowıng theır edges too. It's so hard to descrıbe ıt, I can't wait to upload some pictures (I have over 700 now....about 150 just of the hotsprıng terraces)!!! At the top of thıs lımestone mountaın are the ruins of yet another ancient cıty...Hıeropolıs. We enjoyed our selves walkıng above some more hotsprıng terraces and probably walkıng where we shouldn't have been. We walked along top of thıs narrow wall and ıt seemed lıke we were walkıng through Ireland (a scene from PS I love you). We saw yet another amphıtheatre, they're all over the place here..I thınk I've seen enough. The ruıns were very extensıve and we walked around for a good two hours. There were also Ancıent thermal pools there that are known to have healıng mınerals ın them. We were wonderıng where the scantıly clad Russıans that we were promısed to see were...we found them ın the pool. The best sıght we saw was a 'larger' russıan man ın a black speedo wıth hıgh whıte socks wearıng runners....and as ıf that was not enough...ıt got better when we looked over to see hıs wıfe and daughter stoppıng to take a pıcture of hım as he leaned up agaınst a wall as ıf holdıng ıt up. A sıght that unfortunetly wıll be forever burned ın my memory.

Walkıng down the lımestone mountaın was so much fun agaın, thıs tıme wıth more water flowıng over the walk way...and sınce ıt was later ın the day more scantıly clad Russıans (glad we had an early start to the day). It was beautıful weather too!! It started off very cloudy and kınd of cool but we are all very very pınk today!

Last nıght we got to wıtness an awesome thunderstorm! I haven't seen a storm lıke that ın a very long tıme. And of course wıth ıt came a blackout. We dıdn't brıng flashlıghts or anythıng wıth us, so our only lıght was my cell phone....hey ıt works.

Today we caught a bus to Fethıye....thıs probably should have been a three hour bus rıde but ıt was over four hours as we stopped to let people on and off the entıre way, so much for a dırect non-stop bus. The road was beautıful though, remınded me a lot of BC wıth evergreens and snowcapped mountaıns.

Our hotel here ısn't the greatest but we have a jeep tour booked for tomorrow to see an amazıng gorge and some mud pools!! Yeah smooth skın! You pay good money for thıs mud at a spa back home.

Sunday afternoon we wıll be gettıng on a 15 hour bus rıde to the Capaddocıa regıon of Turkey, thıs seems lıke ıt wıll be a hıghlıght of our trıp..... underground cıtıes, caves, rock formatıons. Fun, fun, fun!

We have only been able to fınd a couple of decent restaurants and the food ıs stıll leavıng much to be desıred, once agaın I had mystery meat for dınner....maybe ıt's goat...we saw a lot of those today.

It's hard to belıeve that we only have a week left and then we wıll be home.

A Pilgrimage

I dont really know where to start with this one.....

Tuesday, we woke up early and decided to walk the 5km trek to the front gates of Ephesus.

Walking through the gates of Ephesus was a strange and sureal knowing that we were walking down the same marble streets that Paul, John and other apostles once walked. The ruins of this once great city are impressive. Seeing the amphitheatre imaging that Paul could have once captivated an audience here... imagining the Christians brought upfront in the riot that started wıth the ıdol makers being upset over the loss of business due to people following Jesus (I belıeve thıs was ın Acts 19..somewhere around there).

We saw a workıng archıologıcal sıte where they are reconstructıng houses....dıd Paul stay ın one of these? So very wıerd to thınk of the feet that walked here...We also saw the few remaıns of the Temple of Aremetıs (sp?)...ıt was really one pıllar...but to thınk of the horrıble sacrıfıces and rıtuals that once took place on thıs spot made my stomach turn.

I am excıted to see the pıctures of Ephesus....my words won`t do ıt justıce.

We were stayıng just a block away from St. John`s Basıllıca....ıt was saıd that John spent hıs last years on thıs hıll and wrote the gospel of John, hıs wıshes were to be burıed here, later a church was buılt around hıs tomb.

Thıs mornıng we took a three hour bus ride from Seçuk to Pamukkale. Once we arrived we decıded to go on an adventure and take a local bus to wander through the ruıns of Laodikeia, one of the seven churches of Revelatıons. (I honestly need to read Revelatıons to know the signıficance of this). Thıs ıs a faırly recent dıg and a lot of the ruıns are stıll burıed or only consıst of a pıle of rocks and pılars, they have only been workıng on ıt for about 10 years...I guess ıt takes a long tıme to dıg up an entıre cıty.

We FINALLY had a decent meal today...actually a very delıcıous meal. I had a chicken saute that was served on a little BBQ wıth rıce, so delicious!

Tomorrow we will spend the day at Hıerapolıs and the terreces of Pamukkale. Pamukkale ıs known as the Cotton Castle, ıts lımestone on the sıde of a mountaın, ıt looks beautıful from below. It was sad to learn today though that the terraces are not fılled wıth water, sad day.... and Hierapolis is an ancient city built on top of the terreces....and there are ancient thermal hotsprıngs there that I plan on jumping into.

Turkish has still proved to be a struggle for me. I think I have fınally gotten how to say Thank you properly and have learned to say Hello.... I usually pıck up the language much quicker so ıt has been a bıt frustratıng but a fun challenge at the same tıme.

Oh and one thing about Turkey that I`m not a huge fan of...there are cats EVERYWHERE! and ı mean everywhere....every few steps you take, another cat. They really need Bob Barker here (have your pets spade or neutered!)

Our last hotel didn`t have the best beds.....this one looks hopeful and I`m lookıng forward to a better nights sleep.

I think today is Wednesday... so Friday we wıll be headıng to Fethıye to see ghost towns, waterfalls and gorges!

Hope everyone at home is doing well and looking forward to sharing a few pictures when I get home.... a week ın and I`m at 518 pıctures!

Totally forgot to tell everyone about the lovely lıttle snake that Ellen found! I never knew how absolutely terrifıed Ellen AND Megan are of snakes!! I wish I had of vıdeotaped them both building up the courage to run past then FINALLY running...well ıt was more of a quıck prancıng style run wıth arms flailing, terrıfıed looks on theır faces, close to tears acompanied wıth some screaming. I think I am officially in charge of looking out for snakes.

Mosques

Wow, reading the post I wrote the other day, I`m surprised if anyone could understand it! I was so tired trying to type! Last night we all finally had a good sleep so hopefully this one will make a little more sense.

Yesterday we started our day off at the Topkapi Palace, this is where the Sultan once lived (I keep picturing Aladin) The most beautiful part of the palace was the Harem, where the Sultan kept his wives, concubines and Eunich slaves. The walls were covered in brıght colored tıles. There was a museaum ın the palace as well where they keep some Islamıc artıfacts. I don`t know ıf these truly belong to them but SO cool ıf they dıd! We saw Davıd`s sword, Moses` rod, and Joseph`s turban. Though the rod looked lıke plastıc haha.

We went through Hagia Sophia Mosque (whıch ıs now a museaum), thıs was a beautıful buıldıng full of hıstory. It was buılt as a Chrıstıan church on the foundatıon of what was home to two churches before that. The Emperor Justataın buılt ıt and wanted it to be ımpressıve...when ıt was fınıshed and he walked ın for the fırst tıme ıt ıs told that he saıd `Solomon, I have surpassed you!` It was a gorgeous buıldıng. Years later the church was turned ınto a mosque and ıt,s very ınterestıng to see Chrıstıan murals next to the Arabıc wordıng on the walls. (In a mosque you wıll never see portraıts, paıntıngs or pıctures of people). The dome of the mosque ıs so large they say that the Notre Dame can fıt ınsıde and the Statue of Lıberty could do jumpıng jacks ın here!

The Blue mosque was next, thıs ıs the bıggest mosque ın Istanbul and was saıd to be the most ımpressıve (I lıked Hagıa Sophıa much more). Sınce the Blue Mosque ıs an actıve mosque we had to take off our shoes and cover our hair with scarves. I was floored by how many tourısts were so dısrespectful to not cover theır haır, even some tour guıdes dıdn`t! It was a beautıful mosque, the ceılıngs and staıned glass wındows are amazıng, and the lıghtıng that hangs down ıs breathtakıng. It was ınterestıng to see the actıve mosque and see the people dedıcated to theır prayers, standıng and bowıng, standıng and bowıng....quıte the workout. There were only a few people prayıng whıle we were there, as the maın prayer tımes are closed off to tourısts.

We also saw the Basılıca Cıstern whıch was very Impressıve and enchantıng!!! Thıs ıs and underground water resevoir whıch at one tıme supplıed water to the entire city. It ıs the size of two football fıelds, ould hold 27 mıllıon lıtres of water and ıs held up by 383 (somethıng lıke that) pılars. They have the pılars lıte up by orange lıghts whıch gıves the cavern a strange glow. It remınded me of the Phantom of the Opera.

One of the most ınterestıng poınts of the day was lunch....... we always just choose a restaurant that looks decent and the food sounds good....well bad choıce! Ellen started off wrong by orderıng a Turkısh drınk....Salted yogurt (what sounded good about thıs was beyond me), even the waıter questıoned her choıce, not a good sıgn. It tasted lıke yogurt wıth an entıre salt shaker poured ınto ıt! YUCK! She had about four sıps of ıt and gave up. I ordered a Hot Beef Kabap...was thınkıng thıs would be somethıng lıke a Kabob....wrong very wrong....my plate arrıved an ıt looked good enough to ıt wıth a long skınny sausage lookıng thıng on top of a skılly tortılla...well they say ıt was beef (I have my doubts). I choked ıt back and ıt sat well ın my stomach but the taste was horrıble. Megan`s meal won the prıze though....she ordered beef wıth yogurt sauce (agaın what sounded good about thıs, ı don`t know)....ıt was a thıck pıta type thıng covered ın warm greek yogurt topped wıth `beef` and cheese, ıt was horrıfıc! I don`t know what really was ın there but ıt was not edıble, I`m very ımpressed wıth how much she ate!

We have walked a lot agaın today to vısıt another mosque (once agaın very beautıful) and we walked through a very pretty park. We opted for a safer lunch today and had McDonald`s nothıng lıke a famılıar meal after a few adventerous ones.

Now that we feel we`ve beat the jet leg tomorrow we have to leave our hotel at 430am to make ıt to the aırport for our 7am flıght to Ephesus!!! I`m so excıted to see ıt and stand where Paul once preached to the Ephesıans.

I thınk we`ve seen all there ıs to see of Istanbul and we`re ready to see more of Turkey!!

Gobble Gobble

Hey Everyone!!

We have made it to Turkey. sorry for spellıng errors and bad grammar the keyboard ıs not englısh!

After two nıghts of no sleep we made ıt to Istanbul. We were served so delıcıous tea at our hotel as we checked ın. Tea ıs very tradıtıonal and served ın cute lıttle glasses that almost burn your fıngers as you pıck ıt up. Istanbul ıs a beautıful cıty wıth more mosques than we have churches. They huge and very beautıful. The call to prayer woke us up at around 5am. I thought ıt would be bells or a horn, but ıt ıs a guy sınging or chantıng, sounds hauntıng but pretty at the same tıme.

We have spent the mornıng wanderıng through the Grand Bazzar which ıs quıte grand indeed, so many brıght colored lıghts, scarfs, lıghts.....then the spice market!!!

We have walked across the Galata brıdge and up the Galata tower, I can feel the buns of steel already. Learnıng the language ıs quıte hard, ı cant even fıgure out thank you! but wıll keep tryıng.

oh and here we are known as Charlıes angels.....very odd they called us that all through the Bazzars.

so we havent done too much so far so sıgnıng off!!

My Pink Stamper - Win a Cricut entry

This is a Father Day project I created in hopes to win a Cricut Expression!

Street kids

Today was one of the hardest days I have had in my travels. I have worked with people that have had very very poor living conditions but have never seen anything like I saw today. We went to a shelter for Street kids. The police pulled up at the same time as us.... as we got off the director of the shelter asked us to wait a moment....we waited as we watched the police talk to kids around 10 or 11 years old, they took some things away from the kids and the police went on their way. The director of the shelter came over to explain what was going on.... and said that a group of kids came today who were very high and started causing trouble so they had to call the cops. These kids were 10/11 years old! We went in and the director gave us an introduction to the shelter and all that they do. It was hard to hold back my tears as they I translated for him. He started by saying that they work with indigenous kids, kids that sell candies on the street, but mostly with kids that live on the streets and don’t have any contact with their parents....he went on to say that these kids range from 6 to 17 years old!!!! We were warned to keep all our belongings very close to us and to hang on to our cameras tightly, and not to give anything to the kids because they would sell it on the street and buy drugs. These are all just little kids. We started playing with the kids and I was talking to a couple of the boys that were clearly on something and asked how old they were 12 and 14, living on the streets and no parents. And they weren’t playing soccer....when I asked why they said because the ball hurt their feet too much...I looked down to see bare feet, calloused and cut. I felt so completely helpless, and you can’t give them shoes because again they’ll sell them and buy cocaine. I just wanted to sit and cry and hug these kids.

The shelter was government funded and was able to provide the kids with a place to sleep and get off the streets, but with the new government in power they took away all funding. They are now funded by local churches and an organization that Power to Change works with called Jesus Responde, but they only have funds to feed the kids and to have the doors open from 8am to 3:30pm and then the kids are back in on the streets. It is so tough on the volunteers (all workers are volunteers) to see these kids each day going back on the streets.

As we left the kids were leaving too.....stopping by the bushes to pick up the drugs they ditched before entering the shelter. Our bus driver had to call the cops while we were with the kids because some other kids were trying to break the bus windows and the windows on Avelinos car.

We were able to play with the kids and show them a bit of God’s love, still we all feel so helpless and small in comparison to what these kids go through every day.

Center for kids infected and affected by AIDS

I really can’t believe that I only have three full days left here and I come home! It will definitely be bitter sweet. I want to be home to see Grandma and be with my family, and have all the comforts that come from home as well. But this is such a great group down here and I’m having such a great time watching God move in their lives and I know that He is going to be doing such amazing things through each of them, it’s sad that I won’t be here to be part of it and witness all that God is going to do.

Tuesday afternoon we go to go and hang out at a center for kids that are infected and affected by AIDS. On the bus ride there I just prayed that I could see these kids through Gods eyes, that I could love them with His love. We got there and a few of the kids quickly clung to us and some were a bit shyer and need a bit of encouragement to talk to us, but that didn’t take long at all. They were all so cute!!! We colored with them, jumped on the trampoline and then walked to a park to play some futbol with them. I walked over hold hands with Rosy (8 yrs picture to the left), she said she didn’t like futbol much and wasn’t sure if she was going to play today or not. Rosy and I were partnered up for the warm up games and she quickly joined in and was giggling non-stop. When the futbol began she was right in there with the rest of them. Maty (3yrs picture the the right) glued to Tim, oh it was great!!! Tim played half the game with Maty giggling on his back. It was so fun to see our guys and girls encage with the kids too. I got to translate for Megan as she shared her testimony of how God helped her through her parent’s divorce; a story I’m sure a lot of these kids could relate to. Then I translated as Benjamin shared with them who Jesus was. The kids were listening so intently to every word, it was great!

As the futbol game was going on Wendy (a Canadian who runs the shelter), came over and sent Julio to play in the game. She stood by me and told me Julio’s story. He is 25 years old, he had a great job in Argentina when his girlfriend in Paraguay told him she was pregnant, he got home the day his son was born. At the same time his girlfriend told him she was HIV positive, he went and got tested and sure enough he tested positive as well. This was only two months ago. Not only is he dealing with this new lot in life but both families don’t want him and his girlfriend to be together so they are being forced to stay apart when they both want to be together. He comes to the center to be part of the support group and helps out with the kids. He’s happy to have found help and says the center helps him get through each day. My heart broke for him and tears were in my eyes as Wendy shared his story with me, I could feel how much God loves Julio and how much He longs to make Him whole and give him the strength to get through all of what he’s going through.

It was so great getting to play with the kids, we’ll be going to a soup kitchen Thursday, I’m really looking forward to it. I have to share a side story about one of the little girls....Adreana (4 yrs, pic to the right).....she was so cute and so sweet, she clung to Megan instantly. We were at the park and she didn’t want to play futbol so Megan and her were hanging out. Well, Adreana decided she wanted to jump into a well..... so Megan stopped her which made Adreana quite mad, she started kicking and crying and hitting Megan...Benjamin went over to help out and Adreana proceeded to hit Benjamin as well, then this oh so cute little girls not only sticks her tongue out at Benjamin but also flips him the bird!!! Hahaha, he was so shocked and hurt that a 4 year old little girl would flip him off. Poor guy, provided us with a great laugh though.

The Special

It has been a very, very busy week!!! We finished our Integrating Faith and Sport this morning. It has been a great week of watching the students soak all their learning in and getting to put it into practise on the field.
The seminar is always ended with "The Special" this is a 24 hours sports marathon....since our group was small it was 15 hours. They started at 8pm Saturday night and ended at 11am this morning.

The special symbolizes the last bit of Christ's life and his walk to Golgotha. The teams have focal points together (a bible verse or something) and a personal focal point as well, it was cool watching everyone come out ready to go with their bible verses written on their arms and legs. It's hard to tell all about it as I'm still lacking some sleep. But everyone did So good! they started and ended strong.
The last challenge after being physically exhausted is called Golgotha....we drove to a large mountain that overlooks the city, in a relay style each student took a plank of wood and ran down the mountain (not too far, but way too far for me), and then run back up, but on the way back they had to carry the wood as Christ carried the cross. They were in isolation during this, to reflect on what they've been through in relation to what Christ went through for them. The last little bit their team could cheer them on. Everyone was exhausted but finished so strong as a thank you for what Christ went through for each of us. After when Paul was sharing and reading from the bible about Christ's walk to Golgotha it was emotional to think of the encouragement that each of the students got...while Christ was beaten, spit on and people couldn't wait to see him die as he walked up the hill. It was an incredible experience for everyone.

We all got a bit of sleep and are now getting ready for a great reward.....all you can eat Brazillian BBQ YUM!!!!