5:15 PM Saturday Afternoon

Sitting at the airport waiting for our return flight to Toronto.

This morning we sat on the beach and then said our goodbyes to certain staff members we enjoyed speaking with over week

Caro went for a swim in the pool while I waited in the shade. We left a little early due to loud mouthed drunks in the pool, which reminded both of us why we enjoy being out at the ocean-no stupids around!

The bus trip to the airport was 90 minutes long and this time we were able to see the countryside.

Caro changed a lot of Canadian coins for Canadian bills with some airport staff. Coins are useless to them. The man changing money for himself and his friends also got a handful of chocolates from Caro for the man's grandkids.

We hadn't planned to purchase anything but who can turn down  $C10 for a 1 litre bottle of rum? Caro,(bless her heart) decided not to buy anything so I got another bottle of rum for her to declare.

Trip just about over. Have a night in Toronto and should be back home tomorrow morning

Friday night

We had a very quiet day just reading and watching the Cuban world go by. I had another sailboat ride by myself ( and the boat operator) because Caro didn't feel comfortable going "all out" in the hobby cat. I took my waterproof camera along to get some video as we got "quality air time" up on one hull. Great fun and worth every peso of tip I gave!

Tonights specialty meal was at the Italian restaurant. Great food. We talked to a couple from St. Catherine's sitting at the next table. Nice folks, also heading home tomorrow but not on our flight.

I was able to get on-line today and touch base with Vanessa.

We went down to the beach tonight again. All week has been wonderful here and there really only is minor things to nit pick about. The people working here  have been exceptional and they deserve every tip they are given. The food isn't up to Mexico's standards but we knew that before we came. Our room was very nice and honestly it was probably a good thing we had to walk quite a bit to get from place to place to keep our waistlines from growing.

we leave the resort at 2:15 P.M. and I think we are ready to go home. We have decided we still need to be able to do things off the resort and there really isn't much here other than the hotel.We still have trouble just lazing around.

Thursday night

Well..... another.........awesome day!!!

After breakfast and a quick walk we headed to our spot on the beach where we proceeded to endure 34°C , blue skies ,and cuba libres. Oh yah!,

During the afternoon we caught up with "our guy" with his Hobie Cat sailboat and off we went for a fantastic sail boat "flight" -Caro in the air many times looking down at me as I was getting soaked in the spray as the catamaran was up on one hull. A GREAT time for me however Caro has suggested I might be by myself tomorrow! Looking forward to a thrilling ride.

After a lazy afternoon reading we went for our second specialty meal-seafood. Ummmm hmmmmm .....not good. Nuff said.

Tried a very frustrating 30 minutes trying to get connected to the internet with no success. Very aggravating!!!

Before going back to the room for the evening we went down to the beach. We were on a pitch black beach with waves crashing on shore, thousands of stars overhead and not a soul around us. Too cool!

The TV here has channels from 6 or 7 countries including the Toronto CTV channel.We usually watch about 30 minutes of something or other before shutting 'er down for the night.

Wednesday evening

Last night we went to bed early after listening to the house band in the lobby bar and walking through a good chunk of this huge resort. Some sections are not open at present as it is not high season so we were alone.

You'd think that after getting bed early we would be up early but Nooooo. After breakfast we walked the beach to the east of us. It is just wilderness and we were told afterwards that it is a restricted area. Oops. There were quite a few of us there including a half dozen kite surfers so I guess it can't be that bad to be there!

We ended back at our usual spot on the beach where we spent all afternoon reading and of course going for a sail boat ride (which is free but we always tip nicely).

The last couple of lunches have been at the same pool snack bar where we talk to the same waitress. They work their tails off 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Needless to say everybody gets tips from us. Interestingly our room wasn't made up or our fridge restocked because I forgot to lock the safe. When staff see that they leave a note reminding us about locking it and they do not go any further into our room. A good policy I think. Saves them having to deal with theft accusations from ignorant tourists.

Another nice supper in the buffet room.

In about 15 minutes we are going to see a Cuban band in the night club.If it is anything like the band earlier in the week it will a really good show.

Tuesday on the beach

Just finished e-mailing Vanessa that all is well and was able to receive her reply.  Painfully slow internet.no way I will upload these from here unless the internet really speeds up!

This morning after breakfast we went down the beach past "our spot" and tried snorkling. The water was too rough and we couldn't see anything. Oh well....windy weather means GREAT  sailing so we took another sailboat ride. Very fast and the best fun yet!

Lunch was from the snack bar. We had burgers , Cuban style. Mmmmm.

We are spending all our time on the beach today. It was rainy and thundering this morning but this afternoon it is sunny and a wonderful day.

Monday night

I seem to say this alot on our vacations but it is true; another AWESOME day.
We started out in the buffet for breakfast before getting to the beach about 10 AM. As with yesterday we went far down the beach (but still within range of the beach bartender, we are on vacation after all!)

We walked further west on the beach and discovered what looks like a decent snorkling location for manana. After reading for a while and walking back up to a pool snack bar for lunch we resumed our positions on the  beach lounge chairs. Before too long our butts needed a break so we had another sailboat ride. Today was longer than yesterday and Caro spoke with the sailboat operator about life here and how it is changing. Interesting.

For supper the hotel had a special night for everybody including those of us in the buffet. We had no water for quite a long time on Sat night and a good chunk of Sunday so as a "thank you" to all for the inconvenience the hotel went all out. The buffet had champaign for everyone and wine at supper, and the tables were set as if it was a special occasion. It was great. Kids,ask your Mom about the Spanish coffee she had!

On our way from the buffet we passed the lobby bar and a Cuban musical group was just starting. It was too fantastic to walk away from. It was AWESOME. Truly an amazing hour. The place was rocking and the 5 member band was very,very good! I can't say enough about how much fun it was to watch and listen to them. Everyone was having a good time.

We went back to a deserted beach and watched the shooting stars until the mosquitos chased us away.

Caro is watching a Spanish dance group as I write this at 10:15 PM.

Cuba,here we come

Presently flying over Thunder Bay on our way to Toronto. After a 90 minute layover and plane change we are off to Santa Clara Cuba.

The flight has been pretty good so on far except for the two VERY hyper and noisy toddlers behind us.I wonder if our kids were like that "back in the day"?

Hmmm-Caro tells me that our kids were noisy too. I probably have selective memory because I always  thought our kids were AWESOME!!
(Or as I like to think, "well brought up").

Vanessa dropped us off at YEG at 0530 and last we heard she was back home and in bed. I slept for over an hour on this flight (even with the noisy ones behind us)

Cayo Santa Maria; Hotel Valentin Perla Blanca.
No problems in Toronto and a smooth flight to Cuba where we got on the bus and drove 90 minutes to our hotel complex. We arrived last night and after checking in (no wrist bands-yay!!) We went to the buffet.

Today we checked out the place. It is huge! There are 5 specialty restaurants of which we can choose 3 to eat at during our week here so tonight we had French cuisine. Mon Dieu!, way better than the surprisingly poor buffet (at least as per our initial impressions). The beach is very beautiful with very soft white sand. The hotel has about one kilometre of beach (no exaggeration) and we found a unused palapa a fair ways down but no problem because the Cuban beach bar tenders can bring out drinks so Caro "made" me order a few rounds over the course of the afternoon!!

We spent some time at a pool and then after supper we went down to the almost unlit  dark beach where we looked at the stars and congratulated ourselves for picking another wonderful place to vacation ha-ha.   We'll see if this sentiment lasts the complete week.

At this point it is unclear if I can upload this to the internet or have to wait to get home. I know I can at least e-mail from the hotel computers so can get the word to back home that all is going well.

Caro is at a Michael Jackson show which I decided to skip so I could write these comments. I can actually hear a good portion of the show from our room

One last photo from Lima

Last day in Lima

Today we went on our own to the central part of the city. The zocalo is beautiful with lots of trees and flowers .At one point we sat on a 4 floor terrace restaurant  looking down on the Zocalo while having a beer and watching the world go by.

We went to the Dominican Brothers Priory today. Gorgeous just like the Francsican yesterday except at this one we could take photos so we did.

We went to the main cathedral and bishops palace which are now religious museums. I wanted to see Pizarro's grave which I did. I was also able to take a photo of the box that contained his bones ,rediscovered not that long ago.

We walked the streets as always then caught a cab back here and ate the nearby restaurant using up all our soles (Peruvian money). This meal was better than last nights at 1/4 the price.

We have super enjoyed the last two days here. I wish we could have felt this wonderful in Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Just waiting for the taxi to the airport to arrive

Caro contemplating "where is our next adventure"

Uploading one at a time in Lima available hotel before I write todays entry

Caro at our expensive meal

Photo of Lima

Another photo at Nazca

Nazca lines

Just a photo

Lima

Today was our half day city tour. There were only three of us with a driver and tour guide. We went to the center and spent a lot of time at the Franciscan Monastery.  It was simply magnificent! Our tour guide took us to the library ( think a small version of Harry Potter). So beautiful and full of books (25,000) that are left on the shelves as they are very old and will disintegrate if touched. Underneath the church are catacombs. Really neat. The building itself is really beautiful and everything is so wonderful to look at that they don't allow photos. You have to buy postcards ( which Caro did). A jaw dropping location.

Tomorrow we will go back to places that looked interesting today but we couldn't go in.

We did our usual walking of the streets and then, following the suggestion of last nights waiter in Mango's restaurant we went to Panchita's for supper. We were running out of time for me to try guinea pig so come hell or high water I was going to have it. I think if we had realized that Panchita's is such a high end restaurant we might have thought twice but DAMMIT I want guinea pig! Sooooooo, for $35 I got a "muy sabroso" delicacy that I estimate had no more than 200 grams of meat ( and this is the complete guinea pig minus the head and tail but gutted and then deep fried).I told the waiter (nicely,of course) that it would have been better if the animal had stayed someones pet! He laughed but insisted they consider it "muy sabroso". They should have coated it in "eleven herbs and spices". Think about when  you buy a "bucket" at KFC and get stuck with the back bone piece. That amount of meat is what was on each of the four quarters  I got.. but HEY  I ate guinea pig!!

Like a fool I decided to have a second small glass of wine without checking the price.DIOS MIO!   $15 a glass.

Our most expensive meal by far on this trip and one that I wish I hadn't pushed so hard to get ( buyers remorse ha ha).As a side note that meal cost more than a Peruvian earning minimum wage makes in about a week and a half.  We tip lots here. There is nothing like travelling in a poor country to remind you that we really are lucky to be Canadian.

Caro enjoyed her meal of three types of meat. I needed some "feel good" food after that debacle so I had an ice cream cone on the main avenue near our hotel.  More people watching and sitting in the park before calling it a night.. I am still hungry!

Nazca lines

Today was a very funny day for us.

It started out at 0700 when we were picked up at our hotel. We expected the driver to take us to a central location where we would get on a bus with other people going to the airport at Pisco but it became apparent after 20 minutes that this driver was taking us, and only us the 3 hours to Pisco  . Wow our own personal car and driver!!!

OK so after getting to the airport we got in a 12 passenger Cessna and proceeded to fly about 35 minutes to the Nazca plains. Now I know from seeing photos of the figures on the ground that there are numerous other lines criss crossing the Nazca figures (because no one knew they were there originally) and it CAN be difficult to make out the figures so......Caro is on the right side and I am on the left. The plane banks to the right and the pilot tells us the first  figure is "right there". I see it as I look through Caro's window but she can't make it out.......IS SHE BLIND?...GEE'S it is right there!!!.....

10 seconds later the plane does a hard bank to the left and those of us on the left side get a chance to see and photograph it and .......I.......CAN'T .........SEE.........IT........Caro looks from her side through my window and says she see's it.  AAARGHHHH. I fumble with the camera and snap a shot at "whatever".

Five seconds later the plane heads to another figure. It is completely hit and miss if we see it or not. Caro decides not to take photos but just "enjoy " the moment. I end up getting photos of about 4 of them. Ten  minutes later we are on our way back to Pisco. $500 US dollars spent.  Ha ha. Oh well , the joys of travel!

Ok so it wasn't all for almost nothing .We enjoyed looking at the sparse desert scenery and the talking to Jose (our driver) as he careened through traffic at up to 140 km/hr. This place is exactly like Mexico! Jose lets us off near all the restaurants in Miraflores and he appears extremely happy with our tip.

Tonight we ate at Mango's restaurant and had a super meal with Chilean wine . Muy sabroso! We talked to the waiter and find out that when we see a 10 % service charge on a bill it is not a pre-paid tip but a charge for helping pay for the heating etc. The tip is extra!  Yikes how many restaurants workers have we not actually tipped? I immediately blame this mixup on my favourite Mexican  but  somehow she  shifts the blame to me (she's good at that you know...ha ha).. so the GST , the service charge AND the tip add 43% to the bill but it still OK compared a fancy restaurant at home.

We laugh about everything that happened today which is easy to do when you both feel healthy and happily we walk the streets for 45 minutes before heading back  to the hotel.

Back in Lima

We got up relatively early this  morning so we could do more things before our pickup from the hotel at 11 AM and our flight to Lima.

I wanted to see the Inka Museum while Caro wanted to watch the many activities in the central plaza. Mission accomplished for both of us.

After our flight to Lima we both felt so much better. I am not sneezing anymore, my "stomach" is 100 % better and Caro feels like she can breath properly again.

Sue S. I don't know how you were able to bicycle ride that high up and not feel absolutely horrible. The Cusco portion of this travel has convinced us not to go to high elevations unless we absolutely have to!

Once in Lima we walked down to the ocean view  entertainment center, got locals opinions on a good restaurant there and proceeded to have an absolutely fabulous meal while watching the ocean through huge windows. It is really amazing how our moods have improved now that we don't feel so sick!

I tried to add a photo to this entry but the hotel wi fi won't let me. I guess  I need to find a faster connection.

Our last night in Cusco

We started off this morning by wandering the streets just looking around. We came across the Machu Picchu museum. That was super interesting as it showed artifacts found on the site and a history of the scientific work done by Hiram Bingham. All in all a cool place.

Because I am on unwell we went back to the hotel at noon; I went to sleep and Caro went on a 90 minute city tour.

Upon her return we decided to go for a lunch so I had my first Peruvian pizza and Caro had an Alpaca based plate of vegetables.I couldn't risk being far from a bathroom so I went back to the room and Caro had all afternoon to shop and people watch. As it turned out I slept all afternoon and as I write this we are contemplating going out for a bowl of chicken soup or something very light .

It has been one week since I hurt myself in the jungle.Checkout the bruising on the left arm. Today is the first day it doesn't hurt when I put pressure on it

Examples of Inca rock workmanship

Some Andes Mountain photos taken a few days ago

Machu Picchu

We were up at 0530 to meet our guide at 0630 in the hotel lobby but as luck would have it I  had to make an emergency trip to the bathroom which of course had me paranoid for most of the day.

After only a 23 minute wait in line we were on the bus for a 25 minute trip to the site.

Machu Picchu to look at  is not that special but the location is simply astonishing.The engineering and hydrological work was amazing. It was still being built after starting over 100 years earlier when it was abandoned. We were very lucky,as while we had cloudy skies we could get some nice photos. Just as our two hour guided portion of time had finished the rains came, and very hard at that.There were hundreds of people arriving at the gate and they couldn't see much of anything. We had already decided not to climb to the sun gate because we have no energy due to both of being run down/ill so we thought there was no point staying up there so we came back down to Aguas Calientes by 1030. Hmmm 6 hours to kill until our train.

We walked around town for a bit, looked at souvenirs, good-now 45 minutes killed!!! Ha ha

The sky cleared and we sat down on a bench in the town square and actually both of us had a nap even with all people and noise.

We both ate chicken noodle soup about 2 in the afternoon and no problems so that is good!

After walking down a path beside the river and souvenir shopping  we used up all the wait  time and as I write this we are on the train back to Cusco.

Update. It turns out I can purchase high speed internet so I can get some photos uploaded .We are back in Cusco.

Sacred Valley photos

Pisac , my new Alpaca buddy and Ollantaytambo fortress

In the Sacred Valley

Caro had another bad night and is not taking any chances with eating "just in case". Somehow I have come down with a cold but at least I can eat.

Today we toured the Sacred Valley. Oh wow is it beautiful! Steep mountains on each side of the valley. IMHO better than Jasper/Banff which is really saying something! Our first stop was the Inca site of Pisac. We had hardly any time there before getting time to go to the local market to buy "stuff". Actually the town did very well with our purchases.

After an hour driving we came to our restaurant where we had a buffet (Caro had tea).In the gardens of there were llamas and an Alpaca ( I should mention that I ate part of that Alpaca's cousin for lunch. Mmmm).I would have preferred more time in Pisac and less time in the restaurant but I guess things are set up the way they are for a reason.

Our last stop was at the Inca fortress at  Ollantaytambo. A major site with lots of people. Lots of stairs. Poor Caro is having trouble climbing but is a trooper.

We are presently on the train going to Aguas Calientes. I tried sending this post with photos from a restaurant near the train station but was unsuccessful.

In Aguas Calientes. Tried to upload this post with a photo but no luck.

Second night in Cusco

Caro was feeling slightly better so both of us were able to take the city tour. It was very interesting and while I don't mind churches I don't have much use for discussions on church paintings which seemed important to our guide. One interesting thing was the altar of one of the churches was covered in 1.2 tons of silver. This area has had alot of gold and silver mined over the years.

For me the best place we went to was the Inca ruins of Saqsayhuaman (pronounced in english jokingly as  "sexy woman ").Here are located the large rocks (90-110 tons each) that I have seen in photos before and which I will attach to this entry.

Once returning to the city center we ate a great supper. Caro was able to eat a bit of chicken soup while I had Peruvian style steak. Delicious for both of us. Caro is still not 100% but is better.  We plan on another very early night as the more sleep Caro gets the better she will get.

First morning Cusco

Caro got sick in the night so we are just resting until our tour this afternoon. Fingers crossed she is better.

We went for a small walk  this morning just to see the area. Our hotel is in the historical center of town so we are right in the action area.  Beautiful Spanish architecture similiar to other Latin America countries.

In Cusco

While delayed  at the airport who should come for their flight to Lima  but Kjeld and Anna. Another great hour spent talking until they left.

We arrived over 4 hours late but we made it to Cusco.

As I write this we have just finished supper and after 2.5 hours here only Caro has any altitude issues and they are very minor.

Our initial impression of this city is it is very busy especially in the historical center where we are. There looks to be alot to see and do here. Tomorrow should be fun.

Monday at the airport in Puerto Maldonado

Yesterday afternoon we went down the river about 20 minutes to see the land of  a progressive farming family. We were shown many types of fruit trees and many kinds of medicinal plants. The farmer appears  to be part of the same indigenous group as Posadas Amazonas as Gilbert had complete access to every location of the farm as was able to describe in great detail about modern farming and planting techniques.

When we reloaded in the boat we saw that the river had risen about 2 feet in 2 hours.  Wow.

After supper we spent the rest of the evening talking with the Kjeld and Anna (the Danish couple who live in Holland).Great conversation with a great couple. We had to stop when the power generator shut off at 10 PM.

The rain forest lived up to its name as rain started pouring at about 11 PM.  It hasn't stopped since.

This morning at breakfast Gilbert suddenly stood up, motioned us to the edge of the eating area and there moving through  the trees was a family of tamarind monkies ( the only species of monkies in the area that we hadn't already seen). Now "that" was exciting but NOTHING compared to getting to the boat launch and finding the river had risen another 5 metres overnight (no exaggeration). Trees and branches were rocketing along the river and the boat had to be maneuvered carefully in before we awkwardly jumped in, the boat driver keeping the engining roaring at an an acute angle to keep from getting swept away. All normal for them. Another great experience for us. What a ride back through the flotsam and jetsam of rain forest.

Our plane to Cusco is severely delayed. We are waiting here with a couple from Paris who were also with us at Posadas. No internet here.

More photos taken with my tablet

Photo 2

Continuing to have trouble uploading photos. I had forgotten to reset the camera to a lower megapixel

Catching up on photos

Sunday afternoon

I forgot to mention that yesterday on our way to the medicinal eco centre, while in the boat, we saw 2 capybara (the largest rodents in the world). They were eating grass on the banks of the river and like everything we are seeing here they were awesome.

Today we were up at 5:30 and proceeded to a bird blind to view 3 or 4 kinds of parrots as they got their daily mineral requirements from a clay lick. Caro has some beautiful shots of these birds.

After a breakfast the Danish couple and us went with Gilbert our guide for a 2.5 hour walk through the jungle. Gilbert pointed out numerous types of plants as looked for animals etc. It had started raining earlier in the day so everything was fresh smelling. Caro and I were lagging behind a couple of meters  so we missed seeing a fast moving snake. However we did see a couple of poison dart frogs and a troop of spider monkeys.

It is the afternoon and we are relaxing in our open ended room listening to the rain fall off the thatched roof  overhang. Caro is swinging in the hammock as we talk about all the great things we have seen on this ecoligical reserve.This place is really something . We have gone on every tour possible with Gilbert. In about 30 minutes we are going to the river and after a 15 minute boat ride looking for caiman and capybara as we  go to a typical farm of this indigenous peoples.

Second night in the Amazon

Today in the afternoon we went down river about 20 minutes in the boat to a new eco centre being built exclusively by the native tribe that works at this location. This new centre is based on explaining and showing the medicinal species of trees and bushes in the area.At one point the guide asked us to chew on a small piece of leaf and spit it out when it turned bitter. Our mouths turned numb. This leaf is a natural version of novacane.

We had a beautiful sunset as were came back on the river. As we were walking the path back I slipped into a big hole on the side of the path and hurt my left elbow.Stupid thing to do. : (

After supper only Caro and I went out with Gilbert (our guide) on the night tour., Too bad for the others as we saw a large tarantula,a jungle rat,a couple of beautiful frogs, butterflies and the highlite of the night for me, a common cat eyes snake.  It was a gorgeous animal. Luckily Caro had her camera so we have a record of all that we saw.

Another early morning tomorrow if it doesnt rain tonight.

The Amazon

We left Lima at about 8:30 AM and flew over the Andes into Cusco before carrying on the Puerto Maldonado.

The Andes blew me away. Major gorges,  beautiful snowcapped mountains. It was breathtaking!

The Posadas Amazonas lodge people picked us up along with some others.We drove 45 minutes to a river town where we loaded our gear in a river boat and proceeded up river another 45 minutes. Finally at the lodge we met our guide for the next three days as well as the others in our group ( an American family of Bangledesh background and a couple  from Denmark).

I am writing this on day 2 of our 3 days here. The original posts would not load and then I lost them.

Animals and birds. Wow. Wow. Wow!!!

We have already been on three completely different types of ecological tours with more to come. We have seen 5 types of monkeys (the howler monkeys are everywhere and  they make a lot of noise) giant river otters,giant anteater (our guide have never seen one before in 20 years of being at the lodge),caiman up close,numerous species of birds such as Macaws,toucans,parakeets,wild turkeys, and other beautiful birds that I can't remember. Our guide is absolutely wonderful and really knows his stuff. A big tip is coming for him,that's for sure!

This morning were up at 4 AM and after breakfast were on the river at 5 AM. The best time to see animals is early in the morning or late at night so tonight after supper it is a night tour with flashlights.

I imagine we will see more tarantulas ,cane toads and and other creepy crawlies.

The heat and humidity here make for unpleasant sticky feeling but the adventures we are having make it worthwhile.

Lima at night

This is the third post of the day because it was "that" kind of day.

Tonight after supper we walked the 1/2 block to the small,but beautiful Miraflores park. What is so neat  about this park is that it has dozens of apparently well kept cats everywhere. These cats are beautiful, clean, well fed  and not feral. It appears to me that people come to the park just to pet them. The cats appear to enjoy the people and the people do on not abuse the cats. Cool.

We did a night time walk to the cliff tops where we were this morning. Lots of people enjoying the numerous casinos,restaurants etc.

Tomorrow we are up at 5 for our trip to the Amazon. Oh yah!!

Thanks Mike and Michelle

Tonight Caro and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary by going to a beautiful outdoor restaurant and having some Peruvian food with Pervian wine (I had no idea they had vinyards but they do). Your father's day gift money went towards the meal.Thanks,it was a great time

Lima during the day

Today was the type of vacation day that happens alot to us. We weren't expecting much but instead this city surprised us.

After a somewhat unsettled night of sleep we were up at the crack of dawn (OK nine o'clock) and after breakfast we did what we usually do, we  WALKED. The ocean is about 20 minutes walk from our hotel in Miraflores. Lima is built on the top of cliffs and so the view from the cliff tops is spectacular. We watched paragliders glide by on updrafts just above us. There were surfers down below in the ocean however there is only very rocky beach so no one was playing there.

We walked for several kilometers along beautifully kept cliff top walk ways and gardens before turning back into the city.

We ended up on a whim checking out some ruins the hotel clerk mentioned briefly this morning. An OMG moment. This huge complex was built by the Lima tribe between 500-700 AD. Because it doesnt rain much here the adobe and rock filled structure survived enough for archeological study.FANTASTIC. The tour guide said it will be another 20 years before all the area is studied.

Arrived in Lima

Immigration and customs went smoothly and the hotel supplied taxi driver picked us up promptly.

Our quick initial impression of the city is it is very similiar to Mexico City in construction.

The moon  looks different here (different angles of shadows).

Our hotel is simple,small, and on a very quiet street. Perfect for us.

It is 1 AM so time for bed

In the Air

I started to write this entry a couple of minutes  ago as we fly from Houston to Peru. I took the photo attached to this entry and about a minute later we hit turbulence so bad that people were screaming in terror. Holy cr_p that was scary. The flight crew immediately changed direction and I "think" dropped altitude......but I'm not sure. Wow

Houston airport was fine. We had to change terminals but did not have to clear more security. Both flights today have been full but we have been successful in getting to sit together unlike some other couples. I am happy we ate in the airport at Houston because the flight meal was ummmmm not so delicious.

Another Adventure about to begin

Tomorrow we begin our latest adventure as we catch a United Airlines flight to Lima Peru via Houston Texas.

I am looking forward to seeing Machu Picchu and the Nazca lines while Caro is anxious to see the snakes,bugs and other creepy crawlies of the Amazon jungle (OK, me too☆)

Time to pack!