Greetings from Cuzco, Peru on May 7, 2010

Hola poppits!

I´m typin´at ´cha LIVE from my hotel in Cuzco. What a great adventure we are all having! The culture is great, the people are pretty cool and the food (of which I am inhaling significant portions) is great! All good...

Crossed hurdle number 1 today. We did a mini hike to a place called ¨Sascsayhuamin¨which we´ve been calling ¨Sexy Woman¨ cúz that´s as close as we can get to the correct pronunciation. There were about 200 stairs and a steady incline after the stairs. It was a good test for us to see how we would fare in this altitude. The key learning for me? Resist my urge to move at my normal pace or I'll be huffing like a fiend! All good learning...

I have been experiencing some signs of altitude sickness, but nothing to be really worried about. The biggest issue for me has been that my body feels really sluggish. Could be all the carbs I´m eating, though, but whatever! Anyway, I´m really glad I did the hike today. It made me feel better about what I´m going to face on The Inca Trail. BTW, when we tell the locals what we´re doing, they get all excited and talk about how beautiful it is...can´t wait!

So far, I´ve learned a few good tips...

- negotiation for better prices is key to a successful shopping trip

- street meat in foreign countries is BAD, no matter what your brother says

- supporting the locals by giving them a few Peruvian soles every now and then goes a long way to building relationships, which are especially important when finding clean bathrooms

- it´s more the exception than the rule to have your lungs collapse when stepping off a plane at high altitude

My Inner Critic has been having alot of fun with me on this trip. But today, climbing that hill to Sexy Woman was the greatest gift to shut her down!! Tell me poppits, what are you doing to shut down your Inner Critic?

I may not be able to type again, so keep sending those positive vibes!!
(a)yt xox