losmorris

Despedirse (vr): to take one’s leave, to say good-bye. It is a good word and one we hear in its various conjugated forms constantly in our last weeks in Lima. The tradition here is to say farewell with Despedidas – or good-bye events. Lunches, parties, bowling dates, brunches – any form of farewell event is possible. Heck, we even had a Rock the Ditch party (more on that later…)!

So as our farewell to Lima let me share some of our sad good-byes and despedida fun.

June 20th - Our first despedida was the final get together of the outgoing board for USEA, the non profit activity I was involved in last year. As Heather heads to Mexico, Ana Maria to Washington, and me to Brazil we needed one final chance to talk, laugh and solve the problems of the world and appreciate Kristin's hospitality:



but farewells sometime include new arrivals, including Heather's new addition:


And then, as we got to within a month of departure the despedida season went into full force.

... including another USEA farewell from the new board of USEA, a great team that will produce a terrific Noche de Arte and charitable giving campaign for 2009:



I have truly enjoyed both the professional and the social aspects of working with USAID. Thus is it was hard to say goodbye to those with whom I have worked. As in all things however, my AID friends showed incredible class and offered up several individual and group despedida events,including the Controller's department and the full mission team:

Goodbyes included a lunch, with Pisco Sours of course, at a nearby social club:


Fond farewells from some of my co-workers:

and another chance to get together, one last time, for our controller's farewell. Cheers George!!



Some events are a little less formal or planned. In mid August we put together a neighborhood farewell dinner & bowling night - 4 of the Miraflores families, including us, are heading out of Lima so a night of Mexican food and Cosmic Bowling was in order:

Some of our Miraflores friends:

And more......

Now to work off the Peruvian/Mexican food with a strenuous bowling session where Brian cleaned our clocks! Wait for the re-match in D.C.



Saturday, August 29th - A sad good bye to our good friends and neighbors Brian and Ana Maria. They opened their recently cleaned out home for a final farewell and final opportunity to get all their food and beverages consumed.

Here we are with our good buds and neighbors, Ana and Brian. While this parting is sad we will be running into them shortly during our stays in the DC area. As we travel farther the world just gets smaller.


Liz, Andrea, their new arrivals and families. Lots of babies have been born during our stay in Lima, the circle keeps growing.

And what a fine group of Costa Verde ladies - Ana Maria, me and Doahn:

Sunday, August 30th - The final farewell in Miraflores. Our sponsee and co-worker/friend, Kathy opened up her house for a group farewell to departing embassy staff.

Yet another sad but fond farewell to friends and colleagues:



with a brief respite to watch the paragliders cruising outside.....





Rock the Ditch.... And finally, the big one. This requires a little bit of background.... Over our two years in Miraflores we (Ana, Brian, Richard and I) have bemoaned one feature of our assigned apartments. While so many housing units have fabulous straight on views of the Pacific, our primary "view feature" is the highway which runs just below our building through what we in the building lovingly refer to as "the Ditch". Our friends have heard our whining and could not let us leave without a final tribute to the Ditch. So our good friends through a Rock the Ditch party to celebrate a view that will now, no doubt, soften in memory.

The event included Ditch Art (who knew...?):

An avante garde rendition by Cait....

A stained glass/plastic rendition from Emily...

As well as a fun Ditch friend

A classy contribution with native, natural dyes from Mindy.....
A fun crayon composition from Cyntia....

And Amber's abstract contribution reflecting the noisy, grey environment that prevades our winters....

And finally, photo art with a "squirrelized" view of the Ditch:


But a farewell to Lima cannot stop at the Ditch. The event included a farewell touch to everyone's most hated feature of Lima - the traffic, including the taxis and combis that make it so bad.

Syllie provided original poetry providing "tribute" to the taxi drivers:



"To all the taxistas out there...
If you all disappeared, I'd not care
You turned this place known as the City of Kings Into the Municipalidad of ding-a-lings
For traffic rules care you not
The smog that you create make my lungs rot
Turning left by crossing four lanes
For you, signaling is too much of a pain
The bumper being held up by duct tape
Riding with you is like tempting fate
Why do you try to pick me up when I'm going the opposite way?
You make me want to go Clint and say, "Make my day."
The horns at obnoxious tones and decibels
Driving the roads with you is truly hell
And let me not get started on your combi brothers...
The angst you cause I cannot smother
When someone from L.A. says this traffic is god-awful
You'd better recognize that you are responsible
So for all the "Taxi! Taxi! Taxi, lady!" I hear in front of Larcomar
And all the aggravation I suffer in my car
For all the selfishness, smog, and noise you spew
From the bottom of my heart...
Chingate, pinche pendejo!"

Through the creative efforts of Steve and family we were provided a combi pinata to whack.


And a fond farewell to friends who have become so close and who we will miss greatly as we move on to our next posts. Farewell friends, you will always hold a special place in our hearts....









And, yes, the night did get just a little crazy but no one was hurt....

And who could forget the infamous soft drink of Peru? I think it is about 15 times sugar to one part water; never really got attached to it but I will miss the friendly yellow bottles...

It is 3:40 in the morning. It’s dark, it’s cold, and Richard is shaking me awake. My sleeping bag feels pretty comfy about now but I need to get moving. It is our fourth day on the Inca Trail and we need to get to the Sun Gate to see the sun rise over Machu Picchu. This is the goal of what has been a long hard trek so I stir myself and reluctantly face the day.

We have a quick breakfast, don our packs and head out on what – today at least – is a reasonably level path. The clouds are settled into the Urubamba River valley and we are hoping they will lift as the sun rises over Machu Picchu.



We reach the Sun Gate by 6:30 a.m. and wait. And wait, and wait. Today the clouds do not cooperate for yet another hour. I am remembering the comfortable pillow and sleeping pad and feeling deeply desirous of a cup of coffee when the sun finally begins to break through and we get our first glimpse of the Lost City of the Incas from afar.



We scramble down hill for the next hour and get ever improving views of Machu Picchu…..



And the victory shot:



So we finally did the 4 day Inca Trail trek. I am proud to have completed the trek and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. At least I can say that from the comfort of my home while writing this blog. In fact, the Inca Trail was much harder work than I had anticipated. So let me share....

Picking a Trek Guide: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

The Trek - Day 1: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

The Trek - Day 2: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

The Trek - Day 3: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

The Trek - Day 4: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

I am at 15,000 feet, or 4,650 meters as they insist on telling me here. I am exhausted. I can’t breathe and don’t bleeping care that the lake is right around the next bend. I have heard that for the last 10 miles - or perhaps 2 kilometers - but it sure felt like 10 miles! And someone wants to take my picture – so not appreciated.



Why am I here? Well… it’s the Andes, the Cordillera Blanca, the mountains that put the Rockies to shame and that sneer at anything else that North America has to offer. We are from Colorado and thus assume that mountains will quake at our presence. We are wrong. They are humbling beasts. Our base of operations is the Lazy Dog Inn at 12,000 feet and everything else is up from there. The big peaks – and there are many - go up to 22,000 feet. Or in metrics, really bleeping tall!



I get my breath; pride forces me to make it to the end of the trail, and WOW!! Laguna 69 is finally in front of us. And, man is she pretty....



No one can tell us why it is called Laguna 69 or how far down the glacier used to come before global warming, but right now, we don’t care.



The air is clear, the skies are blue, the glacial fed lake is pristine, and we are no longer climbing. We stop and savor and take advantage of the fact that we are in the company of fellow hikers. We point to us and to our camera and they get the hint – we get the “happy couple” shot. We earned it!


So now for the back story……
We are coming to the end of our 2 year tour in Peru. We have seen the Peruvian coast from sad and dusty south to lazy and glamorous north, we have relished the Peruvian jungle and been overwhelmed by the sounds of howler monkeys and the colors of macaws and parrots, we survived the urban jungle of taxis and combis in Lima, and we have visited the central Andes where the Incas and Spaniards battled in centuries past. Our final trips were now to be hiking adventures. Back to our Colorado roots with an Andean twist – we wanted to climb mountains, see lakes and experience the back country in a new world. And that we did in the Cordillera Blanca!

The Cordillera Blanca is a snow-capped stretch of the Andes that measures only 13 miles wide and 110 miles long and includes 50 plus peaks over 18,500’ above sea level The cordillera is very popular with the international crowd for multi-day treks and serious technical climbing. Glaciers abound but are rapidly receding and are predicted to disappear in the next 50-60 years. Given that these glaciers provide the water supply for Lima and other coastal cities, the disappearance of the glaciers potentially spells disaster for the Peruvian coast. Hence this is a part of the world getting significant attention by global warming experts.

The energetic and fit crowd in Colorado marks their progress by climbing the many "fourteeners" in our state - mountains in excess of 14,000 feet. We discovered that in the Cordillera Blanca you reach 14,000 feet before lunch and are still climbing. In the course of our one week in Huaraz we topped 15,000 feet several times and the mountains around us were still 7,000 feet above us.

Our base camp for the first 4 days was the Lazy Dog Inn which is a story in itself. So I gave it its own story in the next blog entry. Here I want to share some of the mountains and the town of Huaraz itself.

Our first sense of what Huaraz had to offer came as our plane landed and the mass of Huascarán rose up before us.
Huascarán at 6,768 meters (about 22,000 feet) is Peru’s highest mountain and one the most impressive masses of glacier and stone.


The town: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

Drinking and Dining: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

The hotel: ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

But, of course, the real treat is the hiking and mountain scenery . During the course of our stay in and around Huaraz we hiked up several "quebradas", or valleys between the various peaks and climbed up to mountain lakes and glaciers. The views along the way were spectacular:( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

But beyond the cool mountain scenes and spectacularly massive mountains, the Andes have another aspect very much unlike our native Rockies. People live and work and graze their livestock at these extreme altitudes and, with the exception of the viscucha, domesticated animals are far and away the most common animal life. ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

We normally don't dedicate a blog entry to a lodging facility but this one is worth an exception. Our initial base camp in the Cordillera Blanca was the Lazy Dog Inn, a mountain eco lodge built and run by a Candadian couple, Diana Morris and Wayne Lamphier. Diana and Wayne use their mountain setting and considerable interpersonal and culinary skills to create an environment conducive to both cozy relaxation and serious outdoor activities. For the most part we chose the outdoor by day and fireplace and game activities by night.



According to their web site “The Lazy Dog Inn is an ecological Bed and Breakfast located in the Peruvian Andes at 12,000 feet above sea level, this beautiful mountain lodge is uniquely situated in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range at the base of the Quebreda Llaca, bordering Huascaran National Park and just 30 minutes from the city of Huaraz.



Close to the Inn, there are more than 20 mountain peaks over 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) for climbing and numerous trails for hiking or trekking, horseback riding and mountain biking. The Inn provides spacious accommodations in 2 adobe cabins or 2 private rooms in the main adobe lodge. Guests enjoy home cooked meals, hot baths or showers, fireplaces, private terraces and stunning vistas with exceptional access to the numerous activities the Cordillera Blanca mountains and region have to offer. In addition, there is wireless internet and an outdoor sauna.”

The setting, nestled in the Cordillera Blanca, is magical. On our first day we were treated to a rainbow - something we NEVER see in Lima - to tempt us to follow through on Diana's many recommendations for daily hikes:



We chose to stay in one of the cabins. The mountain views from the path up to the main house were breath taking -

or maybe it just seemed that way since we were at 12,000 feet and the path was up hill.


Days during the dry season are warm in the sun, cool in the shade and nippy during the night. Our hosts however invested in very comfortable beds and pillows and mounds of warm, cozy blankets:


The in-room fireplace topped the experience perfectly. Each cabin has a wood and kindling bin outside. We built our evening fire with eucalyptus branches and went to sleep with the smell of burning leaves, the crackle of the fire, and a view through the skylight to a sky full of stars.

Mornings come early as the sky fills with light and the skylight serves as a friendly wake up call. We know that breakfast awaits in the main house and are spurred on by a hot shower and cup of coca leaf tea in our cabin. Meals are shared around the community dinner table and plans for the day's activities made with input and insight from our hosts.


Great credit goes to the cooks, Nancy and Rosa, who prepare 3 meals a day for the Inn. Each one includes home grown vegetables, local products and - for lunch and dinner - a home made soup.


We had fortunate timing in our visit. Our neighbors from Lima, Ana Maria and Brian, were staying at the Inn at the same time and are here sharing a moment with our host Diana Morris.


After a first day of acclimating we headed out on a trail recommended by Diana. Numerous trails lead out from the Inn so the setting is very convenient. Here is Richard at the base level of a trail that ultimately took us to 15,000 feet.


Animal life at the Lazy Dog Inn does include a number of dogs as well as a good sized stable of horses. After spending the first day hiking I decided to let a horse do the work on my second day. Riding at the Inn is a process beginning with some time spent bonding with and brushing my new best friend.


And then heading out on the trail for sights of the mountains and surrounding community.


After active days of hiking and riding it was time for a bit of the relaxation part of our stay. This building houses the sauna which was heavenly in soothing sore muscles.


And then we head back to the main house for dinner and wine. Richard and Brian enjoying a glass after a hearty day of clean air and exercise. For the less active the main house is filled with board games, books and music to while away the day.


In the end we bid a fond fairwell to Diana with hopes of returning again some day.


Just a note to interested guests. Get more info by visiting their web site at http://www.thelazydoginn.com/index.htm. Diana and Wayne are actively involved in the local community and offer volunteer opportunities if that appeals to you more than hiking and riding. They are fabulous hosts and the hardest part of staying there is leaving. And, least I forget, there is also a lazy dog......

During my time in Peru I have fallen in love with Retablos so decided they merited their own special blog entry.

Retablos are wooden boxes filled with brightly colored figures arranged into intricate narrative scenes of religious, historical and everyday events important to the indigenous people of the highlands of Peru. Retablos probably originated with the Christian knights of the Crusades. The boxes were used as portable altars by medieval travelers and pilgrims and were carried by soldiers into battle during the Crusades.

In Peru, the boxes were used as small portable altars with Nativity scenes and other religious topics and were used by the Spanish evangelists to teach the Catholic faith to the indigenous people.

The early retablos brought by the Spanish merged with indigenous beliefs in the Andean region to acquire certain magical or symbolic properties which had been the attributes of local spirits before the conquest. This was particularly true of the retablos named after St. Mark, known as cajones sanmarcos (“boxes of St. Mark”). Since St. Mark is the patron saint of farm animals, his spirit was used to invoke protection of cattle from disease and theft. These early retablos were wooden boxes with figures inside carved from stone, ivory or wood.
Later, retablos evolved to include daily scenes in the lives of the Andean people, including harvests, processions, and feasts. The use of wood for the outside box remained, but other materials, such as gypsum, clay, or a potato-gypsum-clay paste mix, were increasingly used for the figures because of their ease of handling and durability. Retablos are very important as a tradition and art form in the Ayacucho area and we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit an artist studio in Ayacucho and get the full tour. So let me share….



Above is Edwin Pizzaro a retablo maker in the hills above Ayacucho. (We liked his work right up until the time we thought that he failed to deliver a pre-paid retablo to our apartment - after much e-mail and phone calls it did arrive, 10 weeks late!) The retablo art form is a family affair and we were told that Ayacucho has a dozen or more families specializing in this art form. The process is fascinating, at least to me. The material to form the figures is a mixture of potato flour and a rubbery substance. Here Edwin is rolling the flour to form a figure:



His tools are his hands, some simple file like metal tools and metal rods. With those the figure takes form:



He quickly formed a skirt and hat and Voila - an Andean woman:



This process is repeated endlessly to form figures that he will use in a variety of retablo scenes:



The figures are then painstakingly painted:



Some figures are sold separately and we picked up several as Christmas ornaments:



Most others, of course find their way into retablo scenes. Here is one of the Nativity scenes (or Nacimientos):



And a more detailed look:



The size and detail of retablos varies tremendously:


Religious scenes are very popular:


As are rural scenes:


And finally, one of my favorites, is the newspaper stand on the main square in Ayacucho:


Recognizing that new markets and audiences were necessary if this traditional art were to survive, retablo makers accepted the challenge and began to depict their customs to show them to the growing urban sector of Lima, the capital, and to foreign countries. Five hundred years after having arrived in Peru and the Americas, the retablo is very much alive. Although probably no longer used as a ritualistic part of the branding ceremony, it is a window into the contemporary life and collective social thinking of the Andean people.

Time is getting ever shorter for our stay in Peru. So we are packing in a number of trips to try to see so much of the interesting places that this country has to offer. Last weekend that meant a trip up to Ayacucho.

Ayacucho is in the Andes at 9,000 feet elevation. Not so long ago this was normal altitude for Richard and I since we lived in Denver. Now that we are sea level folks we find that the altitude slows us down some. In any case, Ayacucho has a very long history and plenty of ancient ruins, colonial architecture and current culture and handicrafts. Its claim to fame however is largely due to its connection with the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) Maoist revolutionary / terrorist group that pretty much controlled this area in the 70's and 80's. A little history on their role explains the lack of tourist infrastructure in much of the central Andean region. The following is an excerpt from the Lonely Planet guide:

"The Sendero Luminoso's activities in the 1980s focused on deadly political, economic and social upheaval. In remote towns and villages, mayors were murdered, community leaders assassinated, uncooperative villagers massacred, police stations and power plants bombed, and government and church sponsored aid projects destroyed. The government responded by sending in the armed forces, who were often equally brutal, and in the ensuing civil war between 40,--- and 60,000 people died or disappeared, most of them in the central Andes. Ayacucho was almost completely off-limits to travelers during most of the 1980s. Things finally changed when the Sendero Luminoso's founder, Abimael Guzman, was captured and imprisoned for life in 1992, followed quickly by his top lieutenants, leading to a halt in activities."



Today, the area is considerably safer but the Senderos are still present in drug trafficking and side trips must be considered with some care. The draw in Ayacucho is the clean mountain air, the blue skies, the colonial architecture and a pretty cool handicrafts business. So let me share.....

The town ( click here for pics; double click to enlarge )

The parades ( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

And of course the local ruins - in this case of the Wari, or Huari, culture. Five hundred years before the Incan empire reigned in the Andes, the Wari empire dominated the Peruvian highlands. Their capital is about 20 miles outside of Ayacucho and a "must see" for tourists to the area. Honestly, we have now seen so many that we were not up for another guided tour so instead took the opportunity to wander on our own and enjoy the blue skies and great outdoors. So I cannot provide commentary on the history or significance of the ruins but can say that it was a very pleasant site.

( Click to see more; double click on pictures to enlarge )

And finally the handicrafts. Frankly this is the real reason I was eager to come to Ayacucho. So much of the crafts we see here in Lima in the Inca market come from Ayacucho so I was looking forward to seeing craftspeople at work and perhaps finding some bargains in high quality craft. The two primary handicrafts that I came to see were the ceramic churches and the retablos. The latter is the topic of another blog entry since it is my favorite art form in Peru. We were unable to get into a ceramics workshop to see the making of the churches but did see many in shops and on roof tops. We didn't get a really good answer as to why the homes have churches placed on top but enjoyed the look.









But, as I said, my favorite art form is the Retablo. I will do some more research and have a separate blog entry for them.



I love flying to the mountain towns in Peru and one day hope to do so in an airplane with un-pocked windows as the view in the Andes is great.

Our Easter weekend was a non-traditional one that took us to an eco-tourism lodge in the rain forest in the southeast corner of Peru. The lodge – Posada Amazonas – is located in the Madre de Dios department. It is a joint venture between Rainforest Expeditions, a Peruvian company, and the local indigenous community of Infierno. Currently costs and profits are shared, but over the next several years full control will transfer to the community as a means of developing a local sustainable business that is not damaging to the jungle environment. (website at: http://www.perunature.com/pages/pa_about1.htm )

The trip began with a flight to Puerto Muldanado and a bus trip to the Rainforest Expeditions office. Suitcases were repacked by visitors who were doing multi-stop travels through Peru - Since the boats out to the lodge are relatively small and powered by only 55 hp motors the goal is to minimize the luggage that is brought in. We then went on to the “port” near their office and headed up the Tambopata river to the lodge.



( Starting out )

After a 10 minute hike to the lodge we settled in to our eco home away from home. The lodge is very cool. No electricity, no hot water (not even in the showers), mosquito netting over the beds and no windows in the rooms – just an open exposure to the jungle and all its wildlife.

Our room - mosquito netting up during the day and the hammock available round the clock:


The evening set up with the netting down and tucked into the mattress like fitted sheets:


Our very cold but efficient "private" shower:


The lodge has several buildings serving as the lobby, dining area, hammock room and bar area:






I have to admit that for the first day we were a little uncertain about having committed 4 days to “roughing it”, particularly when we got soaked in the rain on one of our more extensive hikes (it is, after all, the RAIN forest). But once we got into the groove of experiencing the jungle – and once it stopped raining – we found it to be a fabulous experience. The sounds are incredible and change significantly from day to night. The smells are clean and earthy and the diversity of flora and fauna is like nowhere else in the world. We’ve never been really big on bird watching and such but it is impossible not to get into it in such a setting.

We also had a terrific guide for our stay. Each group, in our case just the two of us, is assigned a guide who leads the hikes and other trips. Fino, our Brazilian guide, exhibited an extraordinary ability to see birds, bugs, monkeys and all sorts of wild life that we would otherwise have missed. Additionally, he brought along his Princeton Field guide of birds in Peru and his very powerful monocular to help us to see the animals that otherwise would have remained hidden in the camouflage of the forest. While we could see most with the naked eye the better watching was through camera lenses and binoculars.



Adventure activities around the lodge included the following:

A trip to the canopy tower -


The animal and plant life exist at various levels in the jungle. While our hiking kept us on the jungle floor we also viewed the world from above the canopy by climbing a horribly high and somewhat shaky (but I am sure quite safe) canopy tower. As the sign says “diviertete!”



Proof that I made it to the top and yes, I know, that my jungle look is not my most glamorous!


A view over the canopy and the Tambopata river:





A falcon living up in the canopy:


And a shot down at Richard who headed down in advance:


Hikes through the jungle – Each day Fino, our astute guide, took us on morning and afternoon hikes to explore the trails around the lodge. His knowledge and direction helped us to see and hear many things we otherwise might have missed. Since April is the end of the rainy season the trails were pretty wet and would have destroyed any conventional foot ware. The lodge is quite prepared and offered high rubber boots in all sizes to make the hikes possible.



Richard in high fashion rainforest ware:


Essential given the condition of the trails following the rain:


My favorite plant is the Walking Palm tree - not the scientific name but a very good description. This tree puts down roots to "walk" to a better position to maximize access to sunlight.



Larval towers on the ground:


Enormous ant hills:


Another tree with a cool root system:


Which is then recycled in the lodge into a large candle holder to light the dining hall:


Enormous Ceiba trees with a shallow root system - no more than 2 meters deep - but a very wide base.


A boat trip on a local lake –


Lakes like this one are formed when, during the dry season, a portion of the river gets isolated from the main channel and develops a separate micro system of plants and animals. Eventually, in 50 or so years, lakes like this one will disappear after filling with sediment and will become marsh land. Then, the forest will eventually reclaim the marsh land.

Our 4 am wakeup call came early and we dutifully headed out to watch the birds and otters and fished for piranha – this time successfully!

Lake scenery:


Cool birds in the lake environment:




And here is our catch and release piranha. Look at those teeth! He really did snap at the leaf and would have loved to munch on us as well. Bait to catch these fish is raw meat.


Animal watching in the jungle – Red howler monkeys are one of the many jungle dwellers that we saw and heard. When the males sound off to each other it sounds like lions roaring across the jungle. We enjoyed watching them eating palm fruit, scampering through the trees 100 feet up and generally hanging around. The combined sounds of monkeys, birds, crickets and other bugs created a natural symphony every night.

We heard this guy dropping the remnants of the palm fruit before we saw him:


This seemed to be a family or other group swinging through the trees very, very high up.


Dad with baby on his back:


In addition to the monkeys, the other major attractions in the Madre de Dios region are parrots and macaws. There are a number of clay licks in the area where a variety of birds come to feed on the clay. There are various theories as to why they do so, but the most plausible seems to be that the clay aides the birds' digestion and helps break down the toxic effect of some of the plants they eat. According to another theory, at least part of the reason that parrots and mcaws congregate at the clay lick is that they are quite social animals and enjoy hanging around together. In any case, the clay lick is, during some parts of the day, teeming with birds so brillantly colored that they put rainbows to shame.

A bird blind was built just down river to enable people to view the clay lick while remaining hidden from the birds.



Lots of patience was necessary.


But sometimes it pays off.




This photo op never quite panned out but is worth sharing. There are lots of tarantulas in the jungle and we did see one from a safe distance inside the Rainforest Expeditions office. Fino was determined to get a good photo for Richard by scaring one out of its living quarters. It didn't work and I for one was okay with that.



And of course one of our favorite species, the jungle cat. The lodge apparently adopted - or was adopted by - a couple of black cats and they apparently decided that our room was a good place to hang out, especially during rain storms.


Shaman and jungle medicinal plants -

Many pharmaceutical products have their roots in rain forest discoveries so part of our tour included a trip to a medicinal garden that is used to provide medical treatment for the local community. Medicinal plants include the Ayahuasca hallucinogenic plant:



As well as analgesic, numbing and of course the local version of Viagra and love potion plants.



All in all, a fabulous weekend!

We had a quick visit from my "cousin" (the relationship is too complicated to explain) Vicki and her daughter Caroline. This was spring break for Caroline and an opportunity to spend quality time with Mom.

Their visit to Lima was brief since they did the wise thing and headed to Cusco / Machu Picchu to see that fabulous site. But we did get a chance to dine, see a bit of local ruins, walk all over Miraflores (sorry Caroline....), and shop at the local Inka Market.


At the Larcomar shopping center in front of the recycling art exhibit. There are 1 million bottle tops in the plastic containers and a plea to recycle.


Dining at Cala restaurant on the ocean:


A favorite with shoppers - the Indian/Inka Market


With my favorite sweater lady:


And the alpaca coat shop - Vicki really should have bought this one:


After dinner at the Huaca Pucllana restaurant near one of the local pre-Incan ruins:


Happy mother and daughter on vacation:


We had a blast, got to know each other better than we ever had and look forward to a repeat visit it Rio in a year or so!

One of our first trips after moving to Peru was to Mancora, a beach town in the very north of Peru (See "A Weekend at the Beach" entry below). It was one of our special visits so we decided to go back and visit as Peru veterans. While it is not a Caribbean white sand beach, it is pretty good by Peru standards and pretty special to us.

Since it was mostly a relaxing venture with the nature aspect of poking around tide pools I’ll share mostly pictures and limited commentary. Hey, it was just a kick back time!

We stayed again at the Casa de Playa hotel(http://www.hotelcasadeplaya.com/hotel/index2.html) on the strip just south of town. This time we came as friends of a friend of the owner and booked a suite – the room was much bigger and the view was incredible. At night we could hear the pounding of the waves and our balcony (with hammock, of course) had a perfect view of the sunset each evening. This is the kind of lifestyle to which we would love to retire one day.

The room:


The hammock and view:


Enjoying the hammock and view:





And our favorite beach shot - the sunset:


And the ace sunset photographer:


A trip to town - our favorite breakfast spot in all of Peru is Green Eggs and Ham in Mancora. This place has great eggs, coffee and the only hash browns we have found in any restaurant in Peru. I highly recommend this place should your travels ever take you to Mancora.





Some beach views:




More shots of the hotel:

One of the lounges; a favorite spot for sunset viewing:


The view from our room:


The pool:


Local wildlife:


More wildlife at one of the bars in town - yes, the hula hoop is alive and swinging in Mancora:


One of the really cool features of the beach in Mancora are the tide pools. Great wildlife and rock formations:






A shot of Tatiana, the owner, working hard at the beach (I want her job!!)

It was great being back in Denver and seeing folks. Now that we have shared many travel stories and pictures the questions I tend to get focus more on the day to day life as an ex-pat. So I thought I would start sharing random thoughts and observations of daily life in Lima. I have already noticed how many things that were surprising or interesting a year ago have now become normal to us but may be interesting to the reader. Again, these are sort of random and I’ll add others as I think of them.

• Cold beverages – as in much of the world, beverages come to the table at room temperature unless we specifically request them to be cold. And while we may think that this is because of lack of refrigeration, it seems really to be a matter of preference.

o We have a bottled water dispenser in our kitchen. Every morning our maid pours herself a glass of cold water from the dispenser and leaves it out on the counter until it has reached room temperature and is therefore drinkable.
o Richard stayed home recently on one of his rare sick days. The building porter attributed it to drinking cold water.
o This same bias seems to apply to air conditioning as well – I have yet to meet a Peruvian who thinks it is good to have. They may complain about the heat but do not seem to see air conditioning as a good solution

• Living with mold – Despite being in this enormous desert, Lima is actually quite humid and mold is a major factor. Our apartments come equipped with electric dehumidifiers but that doesn’t help in keeping items in our basement storage unit free from mold. So we have Sekin©. This is product that uses some kind of magic crystals that suck water out of the air and into a bowl. The crystals last about 3-4 weeks and really work. I’m hoping that Rio has the equivalent!

• Coffee – this is a big product for Peru but not if you want decaf. Richard and I have moved pretty much to decaf over the past few years and are challenged here in finding an affordable stock. Restaurants serve it in powdered form – Nescafe is Latin America’s Sanka and pretty much the only decaf served in them. Decaf costs more, much more, in the stores and we have therefore become bulk on line purchasers. (Always a welcome gift…. Hint, hint)

• Buying clothes – this effort has not done much for my self esteem. I am 5’ 5” and a size 6-8 depending on whether I am working out regularly. Here I wear large sizes because I am so big – poor Richard must rely on mail order or periodic trips back to the states.

• Appliances – we now have a full selection of both 110 and 220 volt appliances. Since we don’t know what we will need at different posts down the line we will have duplicates for a long time to come. Our maid at the end of our foreign touring time will make a killing in inheriting all of our 220 appliances.

This year we spent the Christmas holidays back "home" in Denver. I use quotes because we found ourselves pondering the question of where our home is. My conclusion is that home is wherever Richard and I are living together and settled in. "Home" (or hogar in Spanish) moves around with us and isn't a place so much as the spirit of family and love and daily patterns. That being said, family is in the U.S. and mostly in Denver, so it was great to get back there and to see them.

A few observations on being back in Denver..... We forgot what cold really is. Lima temperatures range from mid-50's to mid-80's. While it feels chilly in the evenings during the southern hemisphere winter, it isn't remotely cold. Denver, however, was just coming out of a very cold spell and had hit -19 degrees (Fahrenheit!) a few days before we got in. Now that is seriously cold! It did warm up a bit after we arrived but we have discovered how much of our mountain toughness we have lost.

Also, we thoroughly enjoyed the civilized American drivers who actually respect the rules of the road and don't drive like aggressive maniacs. While we love Lima we will never find the traffic anything other than irritating and rude. Trips through grocery stores and malls were also eye opening. While we are able to get most of what we want or need in the grocery and other stores here in Lima, we see nothing in the way of selection available in the U.S.

The visit was great since Colleen, my younger sister, and her family came in to town from Wisconsin to join us and my other sisters, Sharon and Noreen. All the travellers stayed at Sharon's home and she did a fine job of making it serve as a bed and breakfast (and lunch and dinner)for 10 of us.

We did get around and visit some friends and apologize that we were not able to see all of you. We hope to get in more visiting when we return to the U.S. after our post in Lima comes to an end. While plans are still uncertain, we anticipate being back in the states in September or October.

Among folks we were able to see:
Connecting again with good friends - Richard and Jude in one of Richard's former law offices:


( See wonderful family photos )

Something we have not been able to do for quite a long time was to go skiing. Unfortunately Richard had to get back to work so missed the fun. I, however, joined the family in a trip up to one of the local ski resorts. The cold weather had returned and we arrived to -2 degree temperature and gale force winds. Perhaps I exagerate just a little about the wind but it was truly cold! Note the attire of the intrepid skiers:

The younger generatins of Skjervens on a very, very cold day on the ski slopes:


Brian exhibiting how one should really dress for a very cold day on the ski slopes:


After a great visit home we returned to a sunny, warm Lima summer and plans for beach trips and other travels before we wrap up our time here. While it still is almost 9 months away we are starting to feel like short timers in the sense that there is still so much to see and limited time.

Today was a very special day for about 350 special needs children in Lima and for over 100 adult volunteers. I have the privilege of sitting on the board of USEA - the United States Embassy Association; an organization that has a wonderful volunteer group that puts on a very delightful Christmas party for children attending a variety of special needs schools in Lima. The children attend schools for the blind, the deaf, burn victims, and for children facing a variety of other life challenges. We also invited the children currently residing in a facility that provides housing for child cancer victims and their families while undergoing cancer treatments - something much like a Ronald McDonald house in the U.S.

For one very special morning the children were invited to the Residence of the Ambassador and his family for a sugar filled breakfast of donuts (Dunkin Donuts is king here) and juice. This was followed by the opportunity to burn off that sugar on inflatable slides, a carousel, face painting, games, a play dough tent, and the opportunity to mingle with clowns, men on stilts,and a myriad of other cartoon characters come to life. Volunteers are recruited from the embassy and local Peruvian and ex-pat community to take 2-3 children each and chaparone them through the day's activities. I somehow ended up with 5 young girls from one of the schools and we had a blast. So let me share some of the pics from the day:

Set up and sign in time for our assignments:


Santa posed with each of the schools:


Two of my girls with their holiday face painting:


On to playing in the inflatables:


And the most fun of all - the "big slide":


A pause for a photo with their favorite volunteer:


A chance to eat pizza and watch the entertainment:


A farewell from Santa's helpers - the elfs:


And finally, the gift bags for each of the children:


Every single one of the kids received a farewel Christmas bag with toys & food:


And a final farewell from our hostess, the Ambassador's wife:

Thanksgiving was great this year. We joined some friends for a relatively large (20 ) community gathering of foreign service folks, other ex-pats and lots of children. Since this is the beginning of the summer season, dinner was served outdoors on the patio complete with turkey, all the fixings, and our vegetarian supplement.

The next day we were off on our travels - this time to the north coastal area in Peru to the city of Trujillo.

Trujillo is a kind of cool city in the north of Peru with civilization dating back 12,000 years. One of the high points for us is that it has a rather attractive central plaza with colonial buildings surrounding a large park area. Our hotel faced onto the plaza and we were fortunate enough to get the room in the hotel with the enclosed external balcony.




These balconies are an archetectural feature around Peru on colonial buildings and - we now know - make for a lovely shaded a private area for the inhabitants to watch the world. Or a place for a glass of wine and a peaceful viewing spot to watch over the plaza.



( More pics of the plaza )

So what does one do in the Trujillo area? Since we are big beach fans we headed to the coast to visit the town of Huanchaco. This is a fishing village where they still use the totora reed boats (see more exotic pics of these at the Lake Titicaca post). The boats in Huanchaco are a bit more humble than in Lake Titicaca but are also used by the locals - and for rent to the tourists - for surfing. They are called caballitios, or little horses, and according to the guidebooks their use can be traced back nearly 3,000 years.

Surfing on a caballito:


Beach parking for the totora boats:


Richard considering a dip in the sea even though the sign says no jumping from the dock:


And me in classic tourist pose:


Our favorite pastime, sipping on a beverage and watching the sunset:


Trujillo really is known for its culture and history. It is home to Chan Chan, the world's largest adobe city, which we passed daily by taxi but did not actually enter. It is also home to the temples of the sun and the moon. The temple of the moon, or Huaca de la Luna was a very cool historic and architectural site made more interesting by the fact that archeologists are still in the process of unearthing it. 600 years of inhabitants built temple upon temple and thus far five overlapping temples, built in different periods, have been identified.

From the outside it is not terribly impressive, but how good will any of us look after 1,500 years?



Once I was an anthropology major - you would think I would look a bit more outdoorsy for a visit like this and leave the purse at home....


Workers still excavating by hand in the beastly desert heat:


For more pics of what they have uncovered ( click here )

What a month this has been and what a privilege to have spent it in Peru.

The election in the U.S. was obviously the biggest event at the beginning of the month. We did vote - many weeks in advance and with fingers crossed that the APO system got our ballot into the Colorado election commission in time to be counted. While our normal election night plans would have been to sit at home and channel surf while the returns came in, this year we had a slight change of plans. The Ambassador held an election night event at the Residence (ambassadors don't just live in houses, they live in Residences that are the foreign service equivalent of a mini-White House). We joined about 1,400 of his closest friends, political and business contacts, diplomats and American ex-pats to view the election results in his back yard while having to behave our diplomatic and non-partisan best.

The set up was very typical of a Peruvian party setting with a few variations. Parties here often occur outside. It never - and I do mean NEVER - rains in Lima and the temperature is pretty consistently in the mid to high 60's this time of year so an out door event is really quite comfortable. To add class and protection from the chance of mist - which Peruvians consider to be rain - they set up large Toldos. A toldo is a very large tent, often without the side panels. They can be quite fancy and in this case it was also enormous. We were in the back yard of the residence under a white toldo about one-third the size of a football field. American flags were everywhere as were a dozen or so large screen TV's and a few jumbotrons. We had CNN International, CNN US, CNN en Espanol, BBC and some other local language coverage. Cocktails and a buffet were available and we spent the evening mixing with the crowd and serving as diplomatic representatives of the U.S. It was tough not being as emotional as I might otherwise have been, particularly when Obama was named the winner. But it certainly felt historic and a terrific way to demonstrate to our Peruvian and other diplomatic community members how stable and orderly our election process really is.

This election really has captivated the world. Throughout the campaign the local Peruvian newspaper ran editorials, front page articles and special sections on the candidates. While watching the election night coverage Richard was corrected by a Peruvian guest regarding the number of electoral votes in California. My maid was regularly checking in with me regarding rumors that she had heard about either Obama or McCain. The one piece of shared information that disappointed my Peruvian friends is that we are not required to vote in the U.S. In Peru elections are held on Sunday and it is mandatory that everyone vote - if not they are fined a pretty hefty sum.

We finished off the week with another gala event by attending our first Marine Ball. This is the annual, black tie event put on by the local Marine contingent to celebrate the service men who stand guard at the embassy. I'm honestly not sure how many we have at this embassy but it is not a small number and they are truly clean cut seriously looking folks. Their celebration provided us with the opportunity to get all dolled up and then boogie with the embassy community. And here are the lovely couple in their black tie best:



And again, the lovely couple in the lobby of our apartment building.



Then at the end of the month we had the opportunity to experience up close and personal an international trade summit with 21 heads of state visiting in Lima. APEC (the Asian Pacific Economic Conference) was held in Lima from November 16-23 with the world leaders arriving for the last weekend. All of the major hotels were booked with diplomats, ministers, security and press personnel. The Marriott, a few blocks from our apartment, was home to the U.S. delegation so we had President Bush and Laura and enough of a White House, Secret Service, Press and security detail to fill the entire hotel.

So what is security like when the President comes to town? Well that would mean lots of military, police and other security folks plus tanks, troop carriers, dogs and a big battleship out at sea. The good news was that our apartment was within the radius that required pre-screening to enter. So once we got through the security we entered a quiet, peaceful, no taxi zone. Given the generally crazy traffic environment that was lovely.

The entire embassy was involved in some way with the event. I actually had a part time job back in February on one of the pre-meetings and there have been many such meetings since then. Foreign service officers have security clearances so can be used in lots of ways, mostly clerical, to support the delegates that swoop in to deliver reports that have actually been painstakingly prepared over the many months preceding the big event. Richard is currently working in the ACS (American Citizen Services)section so was able to miss some of the all night shifts and other such exciting action. In order to ensure that Americans would always have someone available to help them with any crisis - even during a presidential visit - the ACS section kept on running through the whole event. The visa window and other embassy services, however, were shut down for the week.

In order to keep traffic (a common negative theme here) sane, the government of Peru made Thursday and Friday federal holidays. So - the good news was that there was very little traffic as folk stayed home or went to the beach. The bad news was that our empleada was one of those folk staying home and we actually had to cook and clean for ourselves. I tell you, we have become totally spoiled. Another feature of federal holidays here is that all buildings, including personal residences, are required to fly their Peruvian flags. Wonder how such a requirement would work back home?

We also had the Peruvian police patrol protecting our neighborhood. The looked pretty classy but created a bit of a mess on our local streets.



At the end of the APEC meetings the embassy held a "Meet and Greet" for the embassy community to meet with President and Mrs. Bush and Secretary Rice. Of course in embassy speak the president is the POTUS and the first lady is the FLOTUS - you've gotta love government speak. Since the president's scheduled time was pretty full we were alloted the 8:00am slot on Sunday morning and had to be in place by 7:00am. So much for sleeping in on Sunday morning. We attended though and stood in a crowded ball room for an hour and a half to hear the ambassador and president speak for a few minutes. It was interesting seeing the portable presidential seal come out to be placed on his podium - something that I guess I have seen a lot but never paused to think that it was carried around as an executive accessory.



It was also interesting to watch the special treatment that the children in the embassy community receive. They had a special section and received most of the time from Laura Bush and Secretary Rice, including special photo ops. My photos were from a couple of rows back but here they are. We are now really hoping that President Obama comes to visit us in Brazil.

This is Ambassador McKinley introducing the president. The ambassador's wife is to his left.



The whole leadership crew:



And the President speaking to the embassy community:

Lima has a population of 9-12 million people, depending on whether you count the Pueblo Jovenes (young villages) that are essentially squatter shanty towns built on the dry and dusty hills surrounding the city. About half are very poor, and the next 30% just get by. Most do not have vehicles and instead use Peru’s version of public transportation (which is actually privatized and very competitive). Mass transit consists of a whole lot of old minivans ("combis") or old buses – average age of a vehicle in Lima is 17 years old - which run up and down the main highways and roads, competing for passengers, and generally making life miserable for anyone sharing the road. Roads are also clogged with taxis – again mostly pretty old vehicles and smog producers. While the local press asserts that there are at least twice as many taxis as necessary in Lima it seems to be considered a reasonably good business. One of the taxi drivers we regularly use wants to buy our Toyota when we leave so that he can get his brother into the business. Stay tuned on that one.
So, since traffic is the single biggest complaint of ex-pats it is worth sharing some reflections on what the challenges are. I must give some credit to former classmate Russ, from whom I borrowed some ideas that he had expressed so well:

• Lane lines – a waste of paint:
o Lines on the road are treated as a suggestion. The number of actual lanes is a function more of the volume of traffic and increases tremendously at rush hour. The traffic lanes are narrower here than in Denver, for example, so the squeezing in of additional vehicles results in hairs breadth spaces between vehicles and tremendous slowing down of traffic. We have brushed side view mirrors with cars right next to us in traffic.
o Arrows are painted on roads to signify if they are one-way. However, changes happen with some frequency (one road near our local grocery has changed 3 times in the last year from one-way in one direction, to one-way in the other direction, to two way). As a result the painting on the road can be quite confusing after a while with arrows pointing both ways on the pavement.

• Size Matters
o We have a Toyota Corolla which is a pretty good sized car and pretty common here. However, we are a distinct disadvantage in trying to see around the hundreds of buses and combis. During the Fujimori era there was a big push to increase vehicle ownership and the introduction of “tikos”. Not sure what the origin of the name is but they are really tiny cabs that look tinny and very breakable. They make up for their small size by being pretty aggressive but very, very slow.
o The most difficult vehicles to cope with are the old school buses, who generally take up more than one lane, and turn whenever they want to. The height of their back bumper is about eye-level in the car which adds to the fear factor.

• Turning left
o Generally the left lane can turn left or go straight on most Lima streets. The convention is if you are going to turn left (as expected) you don't signal.
o Often, the car in the right hand lane will also turn left. In this case, the driver may or may not signal. If crossing from the far right hand lane (so cutting across 2 lanes) the driver may also signal and wave madly – or they may just cut across 2 (or more) lanes. Hence, when leaving an intersection after the light turns green, folks go pretty slowly in anticipation of being cut off.
o The left turning lane usually fills up with at least 4 cars abreast to go into 2 available lanes. The convention seems to be that whoever is slightly ahead – inches matter - goes first...but size matters.
o The driver in the left lane does not always turn left but may instead go straight running the risk of ramming or being rammed by the right lane drivers cutting across to make a left turn.

• Turning right
o See “turning left” above; again lane conventions are at best just recommendations, not rules to actually be followed.

• Pollution
o Since the average age of vehicles is pretty old and maintenance seems to be iffy, there is a tremendous amount of pollution coming out of the tail pipes. We have noticed though that quite a few apparently newish vehicles spout black smoke as well. Not sure if this is because of removing something from the car or truck or whether standards here are just that much lower.
o Because of the high fuel cost here a large number of vehicles – especially taxis – have converted to natural gas. The gas tank is placed in the truck and special natural gas service stations provide fill ups. One sort of frightening difference is that when they are refueled everyone needs to get out of the vehicle. We know this because we were in a natural gas taxi once that that needed to stop en route to re-fuel.

• Entertainment
o At most major corners, we are regularly approached by people begging (generally old women or young women with babies in their arms), street vendors, or street entertainers (generally kids).
o Our favorite “beggar” is the young boy on crutches. He looks appropriately sad when in begging mode but once traffic speeds up he stops using the crutches and scrambles to his next spot to take up business when traffic stops again. The curious thing is that we take the same route frequently enough to have seen this miracle occur quite a lot – perhaps others have too and the fiction has been uncovered?
o Some vendors are approved by municipalities, and wear vests, most are free-lance. Articles for sale range from stuffed animals, toy cars (we bought a bunch around Christmas time), to books and CDs. I often work in my Sudoku book to distract me from the traffic and the guy who sells those books has Richard pegged as a potential buyer (yes, he has succumbed).
o Street entertainment is generally kids doing juggling and gymnastic feats – with varying degrees of skill.

• Watching your car
o There is no guarantee that if you park your car on the street that all of it will be there when you return. This gives rise to an industry of people who offer to watch your car. The "street price" for this "service" is 2 soles. To be clear, this is parking in a public area.
o Another service that these enterprising folks offer is to help you park and depart the parking space by standing in the street and stopping traffic for you – this actually comes in handy in many cases.
o In the shopping malls there is an additional service – car washing. As I have mentioned before, Lima is in a very dry desert with dust everywhere. Without a weekly washing cars get very dusty so this is actually a pretty valuable service. The rate is about 5-6 soles (<$2.00) for a regular cleaning and 15 soles for a full wax while you shop.

• Types of cars on the road:
o Cars and trucks here are mostly Japanese and Korean. Nissan and Toyota dominate the market.
o Peugeot is a very popular car here. VW is popular - mainly the VW beetle which has now not been manufactured for some years.


In conclusion - driving here is challenging, irritating, but kind of fun. It requires full attention at all times with thrill of victory and the agony of defeat regular features of the daily commute. The best approach is cautious aggression - aggression so that you actually move through traffic, but caution to allow you to get home in one piece.

In addition to working and traveling throughout the country I have been busy serving on the board of Peruvian non-profit that is affiliated with the embassy. I am the treasurer of USEA (United States Embassy Association) and have had the privilege of being involved with a fantastic fund raiser / art show. The organization raises money through the Noche de Arte event and donates the funds from net profits to various charitable organizations in and around Lima. For those of you who have followed this blog from the beginning, you may recall that one of my early adventures in Peru was participating in the process of evaluating local charities. I have now come full circle and am actively involved in the organization that helps those organizations.

This year's event was a challenge in that we were not able to hold the event in its prior venue - the national museum. After months of scouting we ended up at the Puericultorio - a mouthful and fabulous old complex of buildings on the grounds of an immense orphanage housing approximately 500 children.

The Puericultorio





After much work, repairing floors, painting walls and installing electricity via cables to our generators, the galleries came alive and from October 2-5 we held a wonderful (and financially successful) art sale and show.



The art was not only in the galleries but also in the center courtyard through the use of lighting, music and projection onto an enormous fabric cube that had been constructed in the courtyard:






And, of course, this gave us the opportunity to get dressed up and join with friends for several fun evenings. Here we are with Ana Maria and Brian - our neighbors and friends:


And art purchases were part of the fun - here is one of the several (7 actually) pieces that have been added to our "collection".

Lake Titcaca is one the most beautiful spots I have yet seen in Peru. The setting is humbling located at 13,000 feet above sea level. The lake is the highest navigable lake in the world and has stunning blue water set against stunning blue sky. After a grey Lima winter it is a delightful get away.

Unfortunately Richard had to get back to work after our visit to Cusco. Sharon, Craig and I forged on, by train, southward to the city of Puno whose only redeeming aspect is that it sits on the lake. The train trip was an absolute delight. After the "roughing it" train trip to Huancayo and the surreal train trip to Cusco this journey was truly sublime. We chose not to take the "backpacker" special and opted instead for the comfortable, but still very affordable, Andean Explorer. While the trip takes 10 hours it was done in comfort.



( For more pictures of our train adventure, click here )

Our hotel, the Casa Andina Private Collection, sits right on the lake. I highly recommend this hotel for anyone planning to visit Lake Titicaca. The location, service, restaurant and comfort were excellent.



The hotel also has a dock that took us through what appeared to be marshlands and a bird sanctuary. Craig went exploring there and discovered a bit of a reed island as well.


So having rested up and gotten used to living without oxygen we headed out to see the highlight of the area - the floating Uros reed islands.



The Uros are about 53 floating islands that are made up of piles of totora reeds, or cattail reeds, that grow on the lake. The islands no longer float since they have set up a system of cables between the islands that now provide stability - but they still consist of a pile of reeds that sit quite a bit above the lake floor. The reeds are used to continually refresh the islands (since otherwise the islands would just deteriorate), to build boats (they have to be built each year or two since the bottoms deteriorate), to build homes and other structures, and are edible. I know the latter because I tried - it tastes like a cross between celery and jicama.



Many Aymara Indians still live on the islands and survive by fishing, hunting birds and - obviously - tourism. What was very apparent in visiting the islands was that life there is very communal. In fact, our guide the day after we visited the islands, told us that he lives on the islands. His family put aside savings to send him - the oldest of the children - to the language institute in Puno so that he could work for a tour company and share money with the rest of the family.

While on the islands we met Luz Maria who invited us into the home in which she and her husband live. The housing is humble but the quality of construction is incredibly good.
The boats don't leak and I'll bet the houses survive rain storms quite well.



Luz Maria also sold us some reed products and told us about her husband who is currently off fishing somewhere on the lake to supplement their income.

( More Uros Islands pics )

After visiting the Uros reed islands we got back in a motorized vessel and headed a few hours across the bay



to a "fixed" island - Isla Taquile - for a hike and opportunity to climb yet higher into the oxygen free atmosphere. (we really did feel the impact of the altitude lest you have not guessed!) Here are some shots of our wanders about:

A view from the top after a somewhat strenuous climb:


The local countryside - tough farming but probably much greener in the rainy season:


Connecting with a local boy in search of a camera and tip:


There are no vehicles on Taquile and when you see the streets you understand why:


The traditional dress on the island is fascinating. We learned about the significance of sashes and hats and shawls - all of which signify something about the person's position in the local culture, their marital status, etc. This is the mayor if the town in his traditional dress:


And finally, the hike back down more than 500 steps:

Having lived in Peru for almost a year now we finally made the trek to one of the Seven Wonders of the World and Peru's most visited tourist site. The ocassion was the visit from the States of my sister Sharon and her husband Craig.

It was a pretty intense trip - including Cusco, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca - and most of it spent between 10,000-13,000 feet above sea level. Fortunately Sharon and Craig came from Denver and Richard and I had lived there for over 15 years. We were humbled however by the magnitude and altitude of the Andes - this country has seriously high mountains!

So onto the travels..... I'll do a separate post for each of the destination points since they were each unique and worthy of separate mention.

Machu Picchu

There are two ways to get to Machu Picchu - you either trek in on the Inca Trail or take the train in from Cusco. We chose the latter but are considering doing a trek next April or May. In any case the train accomodations are pretty nice.



The train arrives in Aguas Calientes, which was just a small pueblo when I was there 10 years ago and has now grown to meet the tourist demand. Sadly, the development has created a bit of chaos and not so much planned development. But after a bus trip up the mountain we arrived in the Machu Picchu ruins and were suitably impressed. This is a place that truly deserves its designation on the list of the Seven Wonders:

So here we all are standing in what has to be one of the most photographed locations in the world.





And the picture you have seen in all the travel books


And no Morris family posting would be complete without recognition of the original citizens of this famous spot:

Cuzco and the Sacred Valley are the gateway to Machu Picchu so visited to some degree by most tourists. But they offer an incredible amount of history and scenery in and of themselves. My sister Sharon and her husband Craig joined us for a few weeks to enjoy time in Lima and travel to some of Peru's treasures. We spent 4 nights in Cuzco at the Novotel (we recommend it if you can stay in the older colonial section)and took a day to visit the Sacred Valley, a day in Machu Picchu and the rest of the time wandering around Cusco.

First stop Cuzco - a beautiful colonial style city with a terrific Plaza de Armas and cathedral.



( Cuzco pics )

Just outside of town is the very impressive Sacsayhuaman historical site. The ruins are on a hill overlooking the city and include enormous polygonal stone blocks representing some of the finest stone masonry you will ever see. Apparently most of the stone has been taken away over the centuries to be used for construction materials but what remains is quite impressive.

Sacsayhuaman:


( More Sacsayhuaman pics )

We then spent a day traveling through the sacred valley between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. The valley is slightly lower in altitude than Cuzco so many people start their visit here to acclimate. Agriculture is major business in this area though tourism is rapidly taking over. Huge ears of inca corn (choclo) are grown in this valley, still using oxen to till the soil. The sacred valley derives its name from the growing of this corn which was sacred to the Incas.

Throughout the valley and in many other parts of Peru we had the opportunity to pose with local women and their alpaca:


Sunday market in Pisac:


Stop for a relaxing lunch in Urubamba:


More climbing at the Ollantaytambo ruins


The town of Ollantaytambo - a stopping point on the train from Cuzco to Machu Picchu and gateway to the Incan trail (a four day hike into Machu Picchu):



And views of the impressive Andes:

The bidding process for our next post is complete and the selection has been made. In April 2010 LosMorris will be heading to sunny Rio for our next two year tour. Between now and then we still have another year in Peru and will follow that with Portuguese language training in Virginia.

We are delighted but a little sad as well. When you find yourself faced with a list of posts all over the world your imagination is opened up. We were kind of hoping for Dakar, Senegal and the opportunity to live on another continent. But hey, we loved Rio on our honeymoon and now have the opportunity to enjoy it in full during a two year tour. So for those of you who have not been able to visit us in Miraflores you still have another opportunity for a South America adventure!

Come see the beaches of Rio:



Rock with the locals on the beach:



Enjoy romance and beach life with your sweetheart on Rio's "boardwalk":