Inca Trail - Overview

I will write details of each day of the trek, but this will give a shortened version if you just want the highlights.

Why go?
I have always wanted to see Machu Picchu and wanted to hike the trail instead of ride the train. I finished grad school in May and am turning 40 in July so this trip was a celebration of those two things!

Who I went with
I went by myself and joined a group with Jenny Hadfield.  She is a running coach and arranges running vacations.  I went with her group on that Alaskan Marathon Cruise I did a few years ago.  I didn't know anyone going, but I knew all the people in the group were like-minded runners/trekkers.  I found out quickly many of them have done the Alaskan Marathon Cruise, Rim to Rim, the Caribbean Cruise marathon, etc.  I made friends very quickly :)  Erik's Adventures supplied our guides and arranged our tours - they were awesome!!

Trail
The trail was rocky, uneven, steep, and at high altitude. Our very cool shirts had a map of the trail. 

Weather
I had heard horror stories of how cold it gets on some of the passes and how it can be cold and rainy. We were very fortunate that it only rained at night on the trail.  It was chilly at night when eating, but it was snuggly warm in our tents.  There were blue skies and sun most of the time we were hiking.

Gear
I am a novice hiker and camper.  I went to REI for help and they hooked me up with an awesome pack.  It was really comfortable even with a lot of weight in it and it was pretty easy to hike in.  My water bladder leaked several days and on the last day I bent to tie my shoes and freezing water dumped over my head so the water bladder and I had to break up!! I had never used trekking poles before, but they were awesome!  Like having 4 legs!  I couldn't have made it down steep descents without them.  My boots were totally awesome - actually made my feet hurt less than my trainers.  My smart wool socks worked well with the boots and I couldn't have asked for better boots.  I started getting a few blisters on the day we did all the downhills, but it wasn't too bad.

Altitude/Coca
The altitude kicked my ass!  People use Coca to help with altitude sickness.  We drank coca tea, ate coca candy, chewed coca leaves.... I think I left with a major cocaine habit :)

Lupus
I was kind of concerned about what such an arduous trek would due to my lupus.  Usually when I get really tired, I stutter, get tremors in my hands so bad I have to eat with my hands because I can't use a fork.  I have trouble with word recall and muscle movements.  I can't use a zipper or button my own clothes.  People usually get a little freaked out when they see it for the first time.  I really thought I would have trouble since I was so tired, but thankfully I was fine!!  no tremors, no stuttering.

I had dreamed of hiking the Inca Trail for a long time and I am really glad I did it!!!

Peru day 1 and 2

Peru day 1 and 2

I have always wanted to hike Macchu pichu. I finished my masters degree this spring and am turning 40 in July. So this trip was my present to myself!!

I was delayed an hour and a half in Houston but made in to Miami in plenty of time for my connection. We sat on the runway for 90 min in Miami due to mechanical problems. The flight wasn't full so I had a row to myself so I could lay down and take a nap. Little did I know how much I was going to need that! I waited for my baggage for an hour. It never came.  I wait in line to fill out the paperwork. I explain that I have a morning flight to cusco. There was a 5 am flight from Miami and my bag might be on it so they told me to go to the aa office at 8. I wasn't hopeful because when i said " so I will get it tomorrow?" They laughed!! I travel all over the world and I have never lost my luggage except for in the US.  It is seriously 50/50. I don't even think they try. I get a cab to take me to my hotel. He can't find it, calls the hotel multiple times and no one answers -seems sketchy so I ask him to take me back to the airport. It's almost 2 am so I decide to stay at the ramada next to the airport even though it is expensive. They have no rooms but offer to let me stay the spa. For 65$ you can sleep on one of the lounge chairs by the hot tub and take a shower in the locker room. I usually have shorts and a t shirt with me but this time I didn't so I slept in my jeans. I bought deodorant and toothpaste at the hotel. I got about 4 hours of sleep- glad I napped on the plane. I went to the aa office at 7:45 a man told me it was closed. I said " I know. I'm waiting until 8 when it opens." He says it isn't open on sat or Sunday. What?? I won't get my stuff until Monday???? He took pity on me and checked on it and found it!! I hugged him and said he was my favorite Peruvian!

Got on the flight and met up with some of my group. Everyone seemed to have an awful story. One lady flew from Chicago to Houston. She missed her connection so they flew her to Mexico City they circled around and couldn't land due to weather so to went to alcupulco to get fuel. Then they went back to Mexico City and landed then she went to bogota then Lima. Whew!!  She was just suppose to do Chicago to Houston to Lima.

We got settled in to the San Agustin plaza hotel in cusco and drank coca tea to help with the altitude sickness - Cuzco is at 11,200 feet.  We went together for lovely Peruvian lunch then we went to see ruins at Saqsaywayman.  My roommate is Debra and we realized we were on the same Alaskan marathon cruise! We got back early and we were in bed by 7 pm.

Taj Palace Hotel

There is a gorgeous 5 star hotel in Mumbai near the Gateway.  My friend Gretchen offered to take me there for lunch to celebrate my graduation and earning my masters degree.

There was scaffolding obstructing the view today so I took this picture from bbc.

The lobby was beautiful.

Over Thanksgiving in 2008 massive terrorist attacks were carried out in Mumbai and Taj was invaded, people were held hostage for days.  Here is more information.   Several other places were attacked including a restaurant where we eat sometimes and you can see bullet marks in the walls.  The hotel was rebuilt and here is a memorial wall for the people that died in the hotel (including a couple who had kids at our school)

We were looking around and enjoying the lobby when I see Carol!  I didn't know that Gretchen had also invited Carol, Madeline, and Jane - all the sweet Christian ladies at my school :)  Madeline and Jane have babies and couldn't come, but Carol came to celebrate.  Carol's parents were missionaries in India so Carol grew up in northern India.  She ended up making her life in India.  She has taught at our school for 20 some year.  She married the son of American missionaries who grew up in Mussoorie, India.  He became a very famous author and Bollywood actor.  The kids all know what movies he is starring in etc. :)  She knows everything there is to know about India and Mumbai.  She gave us a great history lesson of the hotel.  She told us where the terrorists entered and where the most damage was and details of how it was rebuilt and what was changed about it.  She is such a wealth of information!

Me and sweet Carol

Carol wanted me to take a picture with Mr. Tata

We had a lovely lunch at the Sea lounge. My delicious mocktail :) 

I  got to wear my fanciest scarf. 

It's hard to tell in the picture, but It's actually really gorgeous - sheer and intricate.
Carol and Gretchen kept touching it :)

 In my opinion - this is the best view of the Gateway of India because you don't have to deal with beggars and crowds. 

Since Madeline couldn't come with us, I met up with her and Ethan later.  

What a great great day!!  So thankful for sweet friends!

Masters Degree in Educational Technology

I never really had the desire to get my Masters degree.  It wasn't required to keep my teaching license in Texas.  It was really expensive and I didn't want to spend my time or money on it.  Most teachers that I know that got their masters degree did it to get out of the classroom.  They would get their degree in counseling or administration to move on to other jobs.

When I moved overseas, I realized almost every teach had their Masters degree and were still in the classroom.

I had very little technology ability.  VERY little.  A few weeks before I moved to Mumbai, I attended a technology conference in Memphis with the other new teachers.  I was so stressed out and confused - I thought for sure they were going to fire me before I ever got to India!! Thank goodness Megan was sitting next to me and literally said "push this button" etc. so I could keep up.  When I got to India, I saw all these great teachers doing amazing things with technology and I couldn't keep up.  About 6 weeks into school, we had a faculty meeting about technology and I had a meltdown.  I started crying in the middle of the meeting.  My principal pulled me out and said there were three major things 1) adjusting to India and she couldn't help me with that.  2) loving on middle school kids and I was great at that and 3) technology.  She said we could take technology off the table and use paper for awhile.

I knew I had to get more comfortable with using technology in my classroom so I decided to go to grad school.  The assistant principal had just gotten her degree and recommended the program at Michigan State University.  You can do it in MI, as an overseas cohort, or online.  I chose to do the cohort so I could learn hands on with other people around.  I went to Dublin, Ireland for 4 weeks in the summer and completed 9 credit hours!  I did the same thing the next summer in Galway, Ireland.  It was great to concentrate on only grad school and not have to do it during the school year.  You have to take one online class to make your 30 hours so I did that my second year.  I did not want to give up a third summer so I decided to complete the third year (three classes) online.  And I graduated this May - two years and I'm done!  I have a Masters degree from Michigan State University and have never stepped foot on the campus!!  I do know the fight song though :)

I was able to pay for it in cash and got to meet a lot of other teachers from all over the world.  I now have a passion for using technology in the classroom and actually created online classes for my 6th graders this year.

One more way that moving to India changed my life!!

Hong Kong

So we had a five day weekend so i decided to go to Hong Kong.  There were two major reasons for this.  1)  I am training to hike the Inca Trail and could really use some hill training and Hong Kong has lots of those.  and 2)  My teaching parter my first two years in India abandoned me  :) and moved to Hong Kong so I wanted to check it out and visit him.

Things did not go as planned. I had a 5 hour non stop flight and I felt really sick on the plane and spent the last 3 hours basically willing myself to not throw up.  Not a good start!  I felt a little better in the airport, found my shuttle bus to the hotel and was on my way.  I stayed at the Cosmopolitan hotel right across from the Jockey club.  Jordan and Katy met me at the hotel and brought cupcakes!  so sweet - I had to save them for later though :(   we went to lunch and I got up from the table 4 times to sick in one way or another.  Not good.  We had planned to go hiking, but I just wasn't feeling well enough.  I went back to the hotel and rested and got sick :(  On Friday, they had to work so I went walking for a few hours, took a nap, and then met them for dinner.

In my walk, I noticed
1)  There is far less honking.
2) There is lots of traffic and it feels more busy, city like than Mumbai.
3) not ONE person stared at me
4) No one spit near me
5) No one was sleeping on the street and there was no garbage

We met two of their other friends for dinner and I tried this macaroni and cheese they raved about.  I was still being super cautious about eating so I ate about half of it and gave the barely cooked egg to Jordan so I didn't have to look at it! Normally I love eggs, but I just couldn't risk it.

On Saturday, I was well enough to eat some of the cupcakes!!  We took this trolley bus thing through part of the city.  They are slow moving, but cheap (about 50 cents) and the sides weren't enclosed so you could stick your head out and look around like a dog!  We went up on the double decker and we had great views as we were meandering through the city.  Hong is so busy that it is major sensory overload.  Mumbai does too, but Hong has more visual stimuli and less smelliness!!

I'm excited to see if these two women are on next season's Amazing Race!  There were two white women dressed alike and running around while cameras followed them.

We took the Ferry to Cheung Chai Island to go hiking.  We took the fast ferry on the way there.  It cost about $3 and took about half an hour.  It was also pretty bumpy - I had to close my eyes and go to my happy place to keep my cupcakes down!   The island was beautiful.  Jordan and Katy were gracious enough to allow me to wear my ridiculous hiking boots and huge backpack to train even though we were on a very tame trail :)

The island so peaceful.  There were lots of people out there enjoying the great weather.  It was so cute to see adults riding bicycles with training wheels :)  When you think about it though where on earth would they learn to ride a bike in the crowded city.  We took the slow ferry back and it was only about $1.50, took an hour and was much less bumpy.

We went home to shower and nap then met for dinner.  I always try to eat beef when I am out of India and all my beef eating plans went out the window because, well, I couldn't eat!  but by this third night, I was willing to try it.  We went to a place called Beef and Liberty (cool name) and I had a delicious cheese burger.  I still couldn't eat much so no sides - just the burger and half of one bun, but it was awesome!

On Sunday I went up a very steep hill to a jogging trail/park area.  I was still in the middle of the city, but it was quiet and green!

This shows how there are parks and trees right in the middle of the city. 

Here is the jogging trail - so nice. 

I am disappointed in this picture, because it doesn't capture the steepness
of this hill like I wanted.  It was REALLY steep. 

I had a great time, and I would love to visit Hong Kong again!  It could be a possible next place to live.  The apartments are TINY, but the city is great for walking and has lots of western food :)

Training for Inca Trail

I have always had a desire to see lots of places in the world and Machu Picchu has been on the list for awhile.

A few years ago I went on a running cruise in Alaska organized by famous running coaches.  About 100 of us on a cruise ran a marathon over a week.  At each port, we got out and met a local running group and ran 3, 6, 7, or 10 miles and it added up to 26 miles at the end and we got a medal.  :)  I went by myself, but made running friends that I still keep in touch with on facebook. They have other trips like that - a Caribbean one in February that I can never go to due to school schedules and one in Italy in the fall.  I was looking up the Italy one to see if it matched our break when I stumbled upon the Inca Trail one.    The deadline to get permits was 4 days away so I made a fast decision.  I am graduating with my Masters Degree in a few weeks and my 40th birthday is in July so this is my present to myself.
I am going by myself again, but hoping to meet some other runners/active people (We are not running the trail - just hiking it).  and I get a medal for it, because we are doing 26 miles :)

It is a trip I have really had to prepare for though.  I haven't gone camping on the ground since I worked for the Girl Scouts!!   and I have never gone on a multi day hike.  They recommended Hiking shoes as opposed to boots because they are lighter, but we are going to be on really rocky terrain and I have to be really careful with my joints due to Lupus so I went with the boots.  I have gone on 3 walks for more than 2 hours at a time and my feet hurt less than in my normal shoes!!!  I LOVE the boots.  Hopefully they will treat me well on my four day hike.  I got them at REI and got fitted for a backpack and got an osprey bladder for it and used it for the first time today.  I love it too and the two liters wasn't too much for my back.  I walk around Mumbai with my shorts, boots, and backpack on - it's hilarious.  I'm sure some kids will comments.  I never see them because they are in cars but apparently they see me walking all the time!

We get a 5 day weekend next weekend and I am going to Hong Kong to go hiking!  I have never been, but apparently there is a beautiful trail that goes through wooded areas in the city with great views of hills and water!  I am excited to try my gear out for multiply hours a day for multiple days :)  and a secondary bonus is I get to see my teaching partner that I worked with for my first two years here in India.  Super fun to know people in other countries :)

My kids drank the Kool-aid

So my 6th graders really disappointed me by not doing what they were supposed to on their projects and making it really hard for me to grade them.  They also had to give feedback to others and because they didn't follow directions, it made it difficult on their peers.  The results?  Peers were irritated and students were unhappy with their grades.

Me:  Is my job JUST to teach you math?
Students: no Miss Staley
Me:  What else is my job?
boy: teach us to be good people.
girl: teach ATL skills (approaches to learning)
girl: teach us to be nice people
boy:  teach us to be productive citizens
boy: teach us to follow the Core Values
girl:  teach us how to make good decisions and how to deal with the consequences if we don't make
        good decisions.
girl: help us learn how to make fewer mistakes now, so we don't make huge mistakes as adults
boy: teach us to work well with others
boy: teach us to be cooperative and helpful
girl: teach us to be responsible for our own learning


Well, I guess I've done my job well!!!  We have had so many discussions about these things that I didn't even have to get on them about their poor decisions today.  They knew their decisions did not represent the Core Values or any other things we work on so they willingly accepted the consequences and didn't complain about them.

They know tomorrow is a new day for us to work on all these skills and do better next time :)

Love these kiddos!