Onward to Bolivia!

Friends! Family! We are all healthy for the first time in what feels like forever, and we are so happy to be back adventuring. We left Pisac on Thursday, but not before I strongly encouraged the kids to hike through one last set of Incan ruins high above the town. Baker really loved it, so here's a pic of him descending Incan stairs to terraces.

I will miss being in a place with such abundant, accessible history, but it was time to move on! From Pisac we drove to Arequipa, where we watched the celebration of Peru's Independence Day. Peruvians must fly the Peru flag on Independence Day outside their homes and businesses, otherwise they could be taxed 10% of their yearly income. So, red and white flags abounded! Baker loved it.

But my favorite part of our stay in Arequipa was that the kids learned to prank call each other in the hotel. We had to book two rooms down the hall from each other, and the kids dialed each other on the landlines just to say the most ridiculous nonsense. It was the best. After two nights in Arequipa, we drove five hours to Coporaque en route to Colca Canyon. We stopped halfway in the middle of nowhere and had the most delicious fried egg, chicken, and avocado sandwiches. I'm going to be thinking about those for a long time.

Then we went to Colca Canyon. Swoon. Most people go there to see the majestic Andean Condors that soar from their habitat deep in the canyon to about 20,000 ft above sea level. We went to see the birds, but also to see this canyon that is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Holy moly, it is a sight to behold. This is how it looks from 15,685 ft. The magnitude and ferocity of it took my breath away. And don't worry, there are a few options of trails for running it if you're interested!

We hiked along the rim of the canyon, and I was just so happy that I threw down some awesome dance moves captured by Baker. This pic actually shows how my heart was feeling--ready to move on to the next adventure!

Oh yeah, and we saw condors. They are beautiful.

Today, we drove another six hours to Puno and are staying on the shores of Lake Titicaca for the night. Tomorrow we will take a boat to Uros Islands (the floating villages made of reeds), and then we will return to Puno to attempt a land crossing at the Bolivian border. There have been protests shutting down the border recently, so wish us luck!

Thank you all so much for following along as we find our way. We love hearing from you and knowing that we are still in your hearts!

All my love,

Madeline

ps. I didn't get a good of Lu in this post, so here she is...crazy as ever.