Altitude sickness is not what I expected at all. I’d heard about people getting dizzy or queasy – but to be honest, I brushed off the warnings quite naively. After all, I’d visited plenty of mountains around the world: Jungfrau in Switzerland (standing at 13,642 ft) and Tai Shan in China (which involved an 8-hour hike up a ridiculous 6,666 granite steps). Our destination: Cusco, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range, sits at 11,200 ft high. This was going to be easy, I thought. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t quite go down this way. [Continue reading...]

Muffled boot steps ascend stony stone steps. Darkness stretches out around me, broken only by a string of lights from the torches of hikers. The air is both cool and stuffy, crowded with an energy that begs not to be quelled until we reach the top. I can’t stop. I feel the person behind me; I hear his steady footsteps and his haggard breaths. Talk is muted and infrequent; even the jungle stays hushed. We all gasp for more air as the steps continue to wind through to the coming dawn. We keep climbing towards machupicchu sitting in the clouds waiting for us. [Continue reading...]

When I started planning the itinerary for The Global Citizen Project, my 12 country, 12 volunteer project over 12 months plan to give back, Peru was a priority. I toyed with volunteering in places I know, love and have seen need in, like Cusco and Puno, but decided that this was an opportunity to give Lima a fair shake – and not simply for an overnight stint. [Continue reading...]

It is long regarded as one of the most majestic of structures in the world. Machu Picchu has been depicted as a symbol of power and beauty and a link to one of the world’s greatest empires. It is plain to see that Machu Picchu stands majestically atop the central highlands of Peru. It is a magnificent sight, especially after spending three days hiking in order to get there. It would be really easy to go on and describe how beautiful it was and how it was everything I expected after three days of rigorous hiking. The truth of it all was that it really wasn’t your classic Machu Picchu experience. [Continue reading...]

As the sole survivor of the first month of volunteers and the only one left to tell the tale, I feel it is my duty to write a blog about our week-long Inca Trail adventure. The grandeur and beauty of Machu Picchu is world renown  but can sometimes be overwritten about and in many accounts lacks the challenges of the journey which are all too important and often overlooked. From my own personal experience I have learned that the journey is far more noteworthy and important than the destination itself. Yes, this is the biggest cliché of all time but in a world of clichés we lose focus of their messages and their messages are just as important today as when they were first said. So here is my account of our journey to Machu Picchu and the challenging yet rewarding experience it was. [Continue reading...]