Well, after 4 flights and more than 30 hours later I’m finally back in Baltimore.  After all our hiking on Sunday, Heather and Maria, our house mom, threw me a mini-birthday party and then all of my housemates went out with me to one of the local bars.  After that things seem to go down hill.  I now have a sinus cold and upset stomach.  I’m not sure if the upset stomach is from random airplane food, going up and down, 4 times, or a combination of the two.  My sinus cold is no surprise with the crazy winter weather in Cusco – 75 degrees during the day then dropping to 35 – 40 degrees at night.  As always, Heather was wonderful and took care of me all day after we got home and I am feeling better today at work.  Although feeling under the weather all yesterday, I did get to see my wonderful four-legged children which I missed very much.  I’m hoping my stomach gets back to normal in time for the weekend - going to see the Charm City Roller Girls as a belated birthday celebration.  It was sad to leave, but glad to be home.  Hope you all enjoyed this while I was away. – Jess

What a way to start year 29 – wake up at 4:30 A.M. and hike up, down, and around a mountain that is more than 2000 meters high in the rain, then tour the rest of one of the 7 wonders of the world all before 1:30 P.M.  Altough the morning started out very soggy and my quads ache like crazy, it was all worth it.  Heather and I finished our Peru adventure this weekend taking a train to Aguas Calientes then up to the famous Machu Picchu on my birthday.  I guess after having beautiful weather all week long, it was no surprise that is was pouring down rain all Sunday morning.  Despite the rain, once Heather and I got passed the main entrance of Machu Picchu we ran (as careful as possible on the slippery, muddy, ruins of the Incas) to the entrance of Wayna Picchu.  We ran because only 400 people are allowed onto this section of the ruins each day.  After waiting 45 minutes in the rain, a group of students giving up on waiting in line, and deciding to miss our guided tour of Machu Picchu, we got in.  First we went up the smaller of the 2 mountains Huayna Picchu where we had an okay view despite all of the fog and clouds.  We also got a great picture of one of the local hawks sitting on one of the stones.  Afterwards we started on what seemed to be one of the most dangerous, yet exciting things I’ve ever done.  Although VERY slippery (and sometimes deadly according to the US embassy) we were determined to reach the top of Wayna Picchu (almost 2700 meters above sea level) no matter how long it took us.  Well, they weren’t kidding when the entry sign stated as one of the rules to travel the mountain that “You must be fit.”  Heather and I were pretty proud of ourselves because we were able to reach the top in about 90 minutes.  Although we couldn’t see through all of the clouds, it was amazing to look down and realize we just hiked up this steep mountain, in the rain, and that only a few hundred people get to do a day.  On our way down, we decided to go all out and hike the entire trail.  Most people hike up to the top, then back the way we came, but you can also hike down to the sacred Temple of the Moon and the Gran Caverna.  All together it took us about 4 hours and 20 minutes to do the whole thing.  As I signed my name in the entry/exit log (to make sure no one is still lost on the mountain at the end of the day) I got this great feeling of accomplishment.  After that, Heather and I wondered the temples, grasses, and other remains of Machu Picchu.  We even got a few pictures of us with a baby llama on our way out.  Although I have had many memoriable birthdays and hope to have even more to come, I’m not sure if I will ever have another as spectacular, tiresome, and accomplishing as this one.  See you in a few days – Jess

Wednesday was probably the best reminder why I majored in Zoology and love animals so much.  The first reminder was at work yesterday while taking pictures after my shift.  I went into the pen where the 2 Capuries (I think that’s right, they are like warthogs) were.  They (2 hembras or girls) greeted me with their wet, sloppy noses sniffing for food while I took a few shots.  Then after giving them a few rubs through their coarse hair they stood next to each other in opposite directions and started rubbing on each other.  It was adorable, I’m not sure if they were hugging, rubbing scents on each other, or showing off for me.  I was so intrigued by how they communicated something to each other in such a silly, but simple way.  The second incident was on our way home from Quiz Night (like Trivia night in the US – see Heather’s entry called the ‘Spitting Llamas’ = same journal address, but type in hsilvernail instead of my name).  Before we went to the bar, Heather and I met a new friend she made in Spanish class, Heidi.  We met at this giant fountain near the bar.  We were greeted by one of the hundreds of stray dogs I’ve seen since being here.  Heidi, kicked an empty water bottle and the dog thought she wanted to play and began jumping around us.  After a couple rubs, she followed us halfway to the bar.  When we had left (about 2 or 3 hours later)  we walked half a block with Heidi until she could catch a taxi back to her house and we had planned on walking the rest of the way home.  About a quarter of the way home from the bar, the dog that was near the fountain randomly appeared.  There were some other dogs around so we just assumed they we all digging through trash and such together.  Then she began to follow us.  We thought it was a coincidence that she was heading in the same direction because we were walking down one of the busiest streets in Cuzco.  As we got about halfway home she was still walking in front of us.  She would stop anytime we stopped, chased a few taxis if we fell behind, and left trash if we got too far ahead.  This whole time Heather and I had not touched or called her, besides the times before we went into the bar.  As we turned down our alley to get to house we couldn’t believe she escorted us home from the bar.  We entered through our gate and she stood there waiting for us to come back.  We tried to ‘pull the band-aid quick’ and walk quickly towards our house so we didn’t have to see her adorable face waiting at the gate.  As we turned the corner out of her sight, she barked as if crying for us to come back.  We’re not sure if it was because we miss our dogs so much or were so touched by the whole situation, but her barks brought us to tears.  As I sat in bed I thought of her and how 1 moment that couldn’t have lasted longer than 5 minutes made this dog remember who we were hours later.  How she escorted us all the way home – a 20 minute walk from the bar.  How she was just looking for a companion and must have known if Heather and I lived here with no dogs, we probably would’ve taken her in that night.  To this day I am amazed at how simple, but unique animals are, especially mammals.  Whether a herd, colony, etc. they live such open lives compared to us, each one of them looking for a type of companionship.  I’m not sure where our escort canine is today, but hope she finds the companionship she was looking for that night.  – Jess

Today, there is a nationwide strike for all taxi and bus drivers.  The city is a ghost town.  Strikers in Lima are on the T.V.  Because there is no transportation, almost 99% of the stores, offices, schools, and such are closed today.  It’s very interesting to see a strike in another country and how different it is to what I know from back home.  As I walked to the computer lab, one of the groups of taxi workers were in front of me in the street with banners, flags, and drums.  I saw two men from the group throw rocks at an unregistered taxi (what we know as ‘hacks’ in Baltimore) because it had just dropped a couple off near the main avenue.  Heather and I hoping the strike will end by today, but there are rumors that it is supposed to last until tomorrow.  Unfortunately this means I won’t be able to buy myself a sweater before I go out tonight and we are sending our clothes to be laundered, so I’ll be freezing   Other than the stores and restaurants being closed, we don’t mind walking so much.  It’s probably good that I have to walk 25/30 minutes to work, 10/13 minutes to the computer lab, etc. because it makes up for all the running I don’t get to do.  Besides hug my four-legged kids, that’ll probably be one of the first things I do when I get home.  Hugs to all in the states! Jess

Today was my 2nd day volunteering at the zoo here in Cusco.  It is owned, run, and located in one of the main university here in Cusco.  As expected it isn’t the greatest, probably the poorest zoo I’ve ever seen.  With a lack of funding, space, education, and veterinarians it is the best I think it possibly could be at this point.  Today, 2 other volunteers and myself helped rinse off 18 turtles they have and placed what I think/hoping was saline solution or some opthalmic medication into their eyes.  Over half of them have some sort of infection that is preventing them from opening their eyes.  I can only assume this was caused by the turtles sharing the same space as the peacock, parakeats, and a few other birds.  Like past jobs I’ve had at zoos, I also cleaned habitats and chopped up fruits to be dispursed to the animals.  Although I enjoy being able to get much closer than I ever have to many species here, I know it’s more because of the lack of space.  Along with myself, guests of the zoo can almost as close as I can which, to me, could be a hazard.  ´’m hoping my last 2 days there I’ll be albe to help more than the average student/volunteer does to try and make a difference.  Supposedly they have been able to raise enough funding to move the zoo/animals to a new location outside of Cusco.  – Jess

Yesterday, Heather and I did a lot of hiking, but it was well worth it.  We started out going to the main Plaza to meet some friends of our friend (Chris) Harvey in Baltimore for lunch.  We enjoyed a meal that reminded us of home at the Real McCoy – a British Pub, yes British.  After watching the tennis finals, short introductions on how we all know Harvey, where we´re from and how we all got to Cusco, Heather and I did a little site seeing.  We hiked up what seemed to be a never ending hill of roads, cobble sidewalks and such to Saqsawayman( mmm, spelling is wrong I think) a historical Incan stone hilltop.  After taking a few photos and enjoying the beautiful view of Cusco we headed across the way to Cristo Blanco (white Jesus).  Cristo Blanco is this giant white statue of Jesus with his arms open to the city.  After that we had to start our journey back home because once the sun sets the temperature drops from about 69/74 degrees to about 50 then continues to drop as the night goes on.  On our way back Heather was able to barter for a cute alpaca sweater to go along with the socks we bartered for earlier in the day before lunch.  Today, we had our volunteer orientation and got out Spanish class and work schedules.  Unfortunately Heather and I will be on opposite schedules so we won´t see much of each other until dinner time and the end of the week.  Well, I´m late to lunch, hope all is well in the states.  Miss you all.  Jess

By the grace of God I am glad I can say good afternoon to you all.  I really thought my first entry here in Cuzco would’ve just been about Cuzco, but I have to share the adventurous ordeal Heather and I went through to get here.  Our flight was to leave on Friday, 7/3 @ Dulles Airport, so our friend Melinda took directions from their website – bad idea.  As we pass through parts of DC and then Virginia like the direction stated, we pass Reagan Nat’l Airport.  After driving another ten minutes we realize something isn’t right with the directions they provided online.  The ¨turn¨we were looking for never came up.  Ashley (Heather’s sister) gets her trusty map of the Balto/DC Metro area and I see from the back seat we are no where near Dulles.  After a brief heart attack (we only had 2 hrs. before our flight left) we pulled over got very minor directions from a gas station attendant and other directions via cell phone from Heather’s dad.  With some outstanding Nascar like driving, Melinda got us to Dulles with an hour & a half left.  Don’t get up from your seats yet kids, this wouldn’t be a traditional Marshall-Silvernail adventure if that was the end of the story.  As we are approaching the American Airlines drop off point a friendly airport police officer pulls us over.  At the same time he is asking Melinda a ton of questions about not realizing the access road has a seed limit of only 25 mph not 50 mph, Heather and I are freaking out because he won’t let us get out of the car.  Ladies and gentleman this is where it gets good……a week before our trip Heather received an email stating we had a change in our itinerary for departing.  After looking over the date, time, airline, city, four or five times, she just saved the email and figured it must have been the flight number or something that changed.  Back to Friday…..cop is scolding Melinda, I’m looking at the clock and Heather is gathering our flight info for when we are allowed to get out of the car.  That’s when it happened.  Sitting there with no control of anything, Heather read through the flight plans one last time and finally found the change they emailed her – our departing flight had been moved from Dulles to Reagan National Airport!  Heather screams in hysteria and her sister and I ask what is wrong and she tells us.  The cop then asks Melinda what the problem is and she explains.  He then takes the car registration and Melinda’s license back to his car.  I am now 2 seconds away from vomiting in my lap, Heather is about to hyperventilate, and Melinda is about to poke herself in the eye because she is about to get a ticket for taking us to an airport that we weren’t supposed to be at.  Then my friends I swear to you these are the times that I am reminded of why I need to work hard to have faith everyday – whether in myself, God, life, the world, etc., you must have faith.  The cop comes back to our car and only gives Melinda a warning, he then tells us he used to work at Reagan and said although we only now had less than an hour and a half to get there and checked-in we can still make it.  He told us it wouldn’t be busy there because of the time and day and told us we wouldn’t have to go through customs until we entered Lima.  He instructed Melinda to slow down and drive somewhere near 65, but no more than 70 this time on the freeway.  He escorted us a quarter of the way so we wouldn’t get lost.  We made it through traffic, found our flight, checked our bag, and were able to board our flight (which ended up leaving 15 minutes earlier than scheduled).  After that trauma, anything seemed possible.  In Miami all the airport stores were closed and we hadn’t eaten, so we had a granola bar I had in my bag for dinner, but then at 1 AM on our way to Lima the flight attendant woke us up and served us a 3 course meal since our flight was 4 hours, blessed again!  Then as some of you know, Heather and I were worried we would miss our flight from Lima to Cuzco because we had exactly 1 hour to land, get our bag from baggage claim, go through customs, then security again.  When we landed in Lima we ended up arriving 30 minutes earlier than expected so we made our flight just in time.  Heather and I are now safe here in Cuzco living with a small family.  They don’t speak much English but the mother knows some.  My Spanish is WAY rusty, but since Heather took her Spanish classes this past year she has been translating pretty well.  We start our volunteer work Monday, but are meeting a friend’s friend who lives here for lunch tomorrow.  Heather wants us to try and find her an alpaca sweater for tonight because as per usual she was really cold this morning – it’s winter here so the mornings and nights are very cold and the afternoons warm.  I think it’s time for a nap, I’m tired.  Happy 4th of July everyone!  Jess

I can’t believe our trip is finally here!  Heather and I only have a few hours left before we start our journey to Cusco, Peru!  We are both nervous, but very excited at the same time.  I hope you all enjoy following along my first BIG trip out of the country/North America. 

Miss and love you all!  Jessie