About Heather Silvernail

Well we finally made it back to the US. Although of course not without some drama. Turns out we had such a good time celebrating Jessie’s birthday that we didn’t want to get up the next day. Bad news since we were supposed to be at the airport to leave Cusco at 6:00am. I woke up at 6:30, couldn’t find the alarm clock and couldn’t get Jessie to wake up. When I finally did she started freaking out and we begin the craziest speed packing you’ve ever seen. Found the alarm clock buried in the bed. We managed to get [...]

Our trip to Machu Picchu was great. Took the Vistadome train so we got to see some amazing scenery on the way there and enjoy a tasty snack. It was a very cold ride on the way there since there is no heat and we are up pretty high in the mountains. Thankfully we brought an extra blanket so it was bearable. We got to Aguas Calientes and settled into the hotel. Nice place, pretty view, hot water, can’t complain. Spent the day exploring the city. It’s small and overpriced (3x’s as much as Cusco) but has some charming spots. [...]

I can´t even remember what I wrote about last everything seems to be going so quickly. I´ll give you the skinny version since I’m in an internet cafe and have limited time. Fit everything in I wanted to on Friday and said a sad good bye after my last day at the orphanage. We washed clothes instead of doing homework since it was Friday. Scrubbing white blouses by hand is no easy task. Then there was lots of time to play and peel oranges and take pictures. The girls love my camera so I let them go around and find [...]

Only a few days left here in this amazing country. So sad. Jessie and I are already planning our next trip. We are having a great time. Managed to squeeze it all in on Friday and be home in time for dinner. Then it was out to meet a friend for drinks and back home to pack for Machu Picchu. Very exciting! We got picked up for the train at 5:30 this morning and then took a very, very cold 3 hour train ride to Aguas Calientes. Amazing scenery though. Tomorrow we get the bus to Machu Picchu at 5:45 and [...]

Yikes! Just looked at that last post, sorry I didn´t have time to spell check. It was trivia night by the way, oi. And to think I teach : ) Anyways things here are wrapping up so quickly I can hardly keep up but I´m trying to get it all in. Much like my life at home. If you know me you know I can pack a schedule and kill myself getting it all done like nobody´s business. Coming in quite handy today. Went with Jessie to the zoo this morning, so cool! I got to feed monkeys, foxes, turtles, parrots, [...]

DOn´t have much time right now, on a break from Spanish class but wanted to share that we went out for tirvia last night and came in second place in a jam packed pub! Go Team Spitting Llamas! It was Jessie, myself a friend I made in Spanish class and our 2 friends we met here through Harvey. It was a great time. We also had a delicious dessert! Apple crumble…mmmmm. Everything is going well. Just getting sad that I can´t fit in everything I would like to here. There is so much to see and do but not enough [...]

So what an eventful day already! Where to begin? Well I woke up at 6 to the sound of sloshing water. As that noise sunk in as being not normal I sat up and woke Jessie. Oh yeah, our room was flooded. We were awake now! About 2 inches covered the entire floor and the sloshing sound we heard was Juan and the neighbor sweeping water towards the floor drain in the bathroom. The entire first floor was flooded, 2 inches standing water I would guess. Jessie and I grabbed our packs, on the floor of course, and dragged them [...]

Well I did a few of the things i set out to do today so that´s a good thing. Still have half the day left. I went shopping on my own and bartered for my scarf. Very nice rainbowy scarf. I could have bartered her down more probably b/c she gave me my asking price pretty quickly but it´s ok. I felt good about it. I also had Spanish class today and made a new friend! She is from Maine and has a girlfriend too! Very exciting news here in Cusco. We got on pretty well so I think she [...]

I am writing much warmer now. Got my own cusco sweater, llamas and all. It is helping tremendously along with my warm llama socks. Can´t get enough llamas. Actually got to see a few on a hike Jessie and I took yesterday. After we met some friends of friends from the USA for lunch, at a very nice English pub, we asked what they thought we should see. So we took their advice and headed for Sucsywymon (pronounced sexy woman) an inca ruin from thier last stand against the Spainards, excuse my awful spelling. Quite the uphill and by hill [...]

Here we are in Cuzco, Peru! And to think less than 24 hours ago I thought this would never happen. That´s right. At the last minute Orbitz sent an update to our flight but I couldn´t see what had changed, thought it was a glitch. So we drove to Dulles (where the flight was originally) but get lost and end up past Reagan. Freaking out we finally find our way to Dulles, get pulled over as we approach the drop off area and then as I pull out the new trip itinerary something catches my eye. The airport listed now [...]

This is it! We’re just hours away from starting our trip to Peru. I can’t believe after almost a year of planning (and convincing Jessie) that today is the day! Thank you to everyone who has helped us get to this point with ideas, fundraising, personal experiences and support. You all are amazing! I’m not sure if I’ll get to post everyday but I’ll be updating as much as possible. So check back to hear about how everything is going. Wish us luck : )