LAURA NALIN writes: Cusco has officially blown my mind. When we first arrived, it was beautiful yet rainy. I had never imagined I'd see landscape like this firsthand. From our hotel window, we can see a shanty town. It looks so fascinating and almost cute from far away--tiny boxes in various shades atop a mountain overlooking the city. However, up close, I found it heartbreaking. On our way to the train to Machu Picchu we drove past the town. I saw children walking down the muddy hillside that leads them to the rest of civilization, families digging through the trash in search of necessities that are so readily available to myself and my peers and animals drinking dirty water from potholes.
The drive through the shanty town was a humbling and emotional experience for me. I wondered what they thought of us when they looked at our faces and saw our bus. When I was in New Orleans doing hurricane relief, the locals would get so upset when people would drive past their homes just to view the devastation. I know we weren't exactly doing that because it was the route we had to take to get to our destination, however, I felt bad. I wondered if they felt the same way as those I had encountered in New Orleans.
We are on the train now, and I am pretty excited. I have been waiting for this train ride for quite some time, and I have finally boarded it. We are currently just riding through the Andes Mountains. I have never seen anything like what I see outside of my window. I feel so fortunate to be on this trip, this train, this Earth.
