OK, so here I sit trying to remember where I left off....Lets see. Ah yes.
Today was Moray and the Salt Mines. Today was an early day and we started by going to see Moray. Steve managed to snag the front seat (and as his dutiful wife - pardon while I wipe my mouth off) I sat with him. After a little ride, we ascended to an altitude of 3,400 meters or 11,154 ft. Moray is located in the Maras District of Peru in the Urubamba Province. (for those interested) Anyway, what Moray basically seems to be is a set of field crop circles set on different terraces. The Incans basically planted crops on this different terraces and studied the various growing methods. Each level's temperature varies by up to 5 degrees and the final level is about 50 meters or 164 ft from the top level. I will include pictures of what the original site looked like via a model that I saw at the Incan Museum in Cusco.
I was aware of the different levels and that it would be hard but dumb-ass me had to prove to myself that I could handle the climb down and more importantly...the climb up. So I was fine, but I digress a bit. We wee joined by our local guide - Rudy - who by the way was very nice and informative and quite knowledgeable. I would love to see a "discussion" between Rudy and our other Disney guide Ernesto. Both are locals (from Cusco) and both are well-informed. So, at the top, Rudy leads us to various levels of terraces. At the mid-way point, those that wanted to seperate could and of course, I went down. Which really wasn't the problem folks. We get down to the bottom terrace and you look up to see all the majesty of the Incan workmanship. Part of the bottom terraces are in reconstruction mode and you can see where the pipes from a water aquaduct were set. Very similar to the Roman aquaducts. Anyway, we decide to climb back up and that dear friends is where this author decided to suck wind and brought up the tail end. I managed to climb 2 sets of 3 terraces with no problem but had to stop after the first set of 3. Waited 1 minute and proceeded to the next level. I thought I was done only to find out that instead of taking the same gradual climb down, we were taking a dirt path up the mountain which just about nearly killed me. LOL - I swear my heart was beating about 180 beats per second. For those that know about my Halloween adventure a couple of years back, I was taken to the hospital for going above my heart rate zone. Not my fault folks, I told my trainer I needed to like down but she didn't think it was a good idea. So, I nearly keeled over dead. No harm was done, I was just taken to the hospital and checked out as there is a history of heart disease on my side of the family. I checked out alright as you can see but I definitely leaned on my walking stick that our Disney guide, Armando so graciously bought for me at the Ollantatambo ruins. This handy dandy walking stick became my best buddy over the next couple of days.
Anyway, I finally brought up the end just in time to climb onboard our white Adventures by Disney bus and proceed to our next location, the Salt mines. Here, I nearly accosted a local Andean woman when I saw she had Gatorade which really ended up helping me with any residual altitude dizziness I might still be feeling. After buying the Gatorade, I paid my one Nuevo Sol and asked her to pose. She did and then we procceeded on our salt mine tour and then our climb down to the base of the mountain. Along the way, Rudy, gave us some information on the "salt co-op". There salt mines are owned by local families that literally "mine" the salt that was left thousands of years ago by the ocean. Each family owns no fewer than 50 "plots" and the richest owns about 2,000 "plots"
In essence, here is what happens. A small plot of land is readied and water poured into it. It is harvested only after the water evaporates leaving only the salt behind. This process takes about 30 days and a "quicker" method has been devised using tarps but this only hastens the process by about 5 days. And according to Rudy, the small profit gained by using the tarps is superseded by the cost of the tarps needed to facilitate the drying process. Once the water has evaporated, the local in charge of the plot will bag it in burlap bags and hoist it onto their shoulders and carry it back up the hilldside. This will make more sense when you see the pictures of the mountain.
So, after a small talk, we proceed to walk through the salt mines and down the hill where I again used my handy dandy walking stick. I believe that Armando paid 3 Soles for it which is basically $1 US dollar. He suggested after we had our use of it to either return it to a local vendor or leave it in the hotel room as we are not allowed to bring it back on the plane with us. So, as a souvenir, I brought the cloth handle and left the stick. Oh, did I mention how one of our group came to be known as "Salty?" Needless to say, in bending down to taste the salt, he managed to tenderize his leg and therefore the rest of the trip was known as "Salty". LOL
At the bottom of the hike, we ran into some local children that are rather ingenious in getting us to part with some Soles, it is customary to "donate" a small amount after taking a picture. Down at the bottom I managed to snap an adorable picture of 3 siblings with their pet dog sitting down. I will see if I can upload that picture later. I caught our guide giving them some candy and I gave the sister a Sol. Not much to see if it helps them later.
We caught up with the bus made our way back to Cusco where we had lunch at the Sol & Luna Lodge but at the other end. We were entertained with 3 local dances and got to see some wonderful horses practice their moves. Apparantly the local Peruvian horses have a rather infamous gait. THey were truly a wonder to watch. After lunch and a wonderful dance, we played the local game of Sapo, (I guess better likened to a game of toss) and it was Adults versus the Little ones. By this time, I was tired and elected to go back to the room where I promptly proceeded to catch up on some zz's (not very successfully though) and then at 3:30 we went to a local pottery place where we were demonstrated by the local artisian, Pablo Semanario. This local artist and his wife have been around for over 30 years and their local work has become world renown. We managed to snare ourselves a small lamp (for my mother-in-law) and a couple of picture frames along with a couple of little oxen for my rooftop. It seems that every house in Peru believes that in order to prosper, have good health and the legacy of grandchildren along with wealth, each house should have 2 oxen and a cross adorning their rooftops. So, I bought mine. Although the grandchildren part can wait as long as they have too. LOL
After the pottery demonstration, we walked through town were we were amazed at the various comings and goings. On the way back to the hotel, some of the kids took a motorized taxi back to the Sol & Luna Lodge. We, meaning Steve and I have had our fair share of harrowing taxi rides so I elected to use the Disney van and made it back in one piece. They did too but at least I didn't suck on any exhaust fumes as we passed them on the way into the lodge.
Dinner was on our own and we ended up having a special dinner (my stomach was starting to bother me by now) of broiled chicken and white rice. Steve elected to have the same thing and let me tell you, it was actually one of the better meals I thoroughly enjoyed. Did I mention that I only had a small piece of alpaca? Steve had a couple of pieces and while not bad, one taste was enough for me.
OK - thats about it for now, off to look at the rest of the pictures to update the rest of the days.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Aug 5th & 6th Recap More details later
Hi Guys,
I know I skipped a day. That day was a very jam-packed day. Micro catch-up:
Anyone remember my story of Steve on the Repo in Cabo? Well, on our flight to Cusco, the plane hnas to do an almost 360 degree turn which made Steve very sick. He was sick the next day. At an altitude of almost 11,000 ft, I felt the atitude almost immediately. I ended up by the end of the night having to take oxygen. I got the sickness. It last well into the night but like the trooper I am (ROTFL) I went to the wonderful natice dance of Pachemama. More later after I get to a computer that does not have a waiting line.
We are at the Sol & Luna Lodge which is really nice but folks, it is rural and folks? No TV. Yup!
So anyway, yesterday we did a weaving demonstration which I was totally capitavated with an Andean child. (They prefer not to be called Indians. They prefer Andean) and later that evening the wonderful Andean dance. Description and photos to follow
Today,. I felt a bit better but I still took an oxygen treatment. Went river rafting and after all the hubbub, it was agctually nice. I went river rafting down the Arkansas River in Co 15 years ago and that was a bit more "exciting" Its safe if anyone wants to go. Lunch was catered by the S>ol & Luna Lodge at a "hotel" later then we went to an Incan Fortress ruin. Its amazing. The rocks are cut so close WITHOUT morter that you can´t even fit in a credit card - I know because we tried! LOL >Pictures to follow later
We were joined today by a family from LA that missed a connection flight (they flew from LA to Miami) and got in at 4 am the day we left for Cusco. More details later.We welcomed them and then went to the ruins.
Dinner was on our own as the Jr Explorers had movie night. I didn´t like the foold - I originally ordered a "corn soup" which was the size of a shot glass and a green tamale (corn) and shirpmp. Steve ordered Rigatoni with wild mushrooms but yours truly had a difficult time with it so I had to order a la carte which really threw the waiters for a loop because they got all puffy saying that I would have to play for it - well DUH! So I ordered off the kids menu - chicken fingers and french fries. The potates down here are of a sweet variety even thoough there are over 4000 varietes and they originated them.
BYW, voting is mandatory here in Peru every 4-5 years. If caught not voting you are flagged and fined the equivalent of $45 US dollars and banned from buying or renewing anything governmental.
SO, after dinner, I found my way up to the one copmuter and waited a few minutes to get on. I will sign off now so as to check some other stuff.
TTYL!
I know I skipped a day. That day was a very jam-packed day. Micro catch-up:
Anyone remember my story of Steve on the Repo in Cabo? Well, on our flight to Cusco, the plane hnas to do an almost 360 degree turn which made Steve very sick. He was sick the next day. At an altitude of almost 11,000 ft, I felt the atitude almost immediately. I ended up by the end of the night having to take oxygen. I got the sickness. It last well into the night but like the trooper I am (ROTFL) I went to the wonderful natice dance of Pachemama. More later after I get to a computer that does not have a waiting line.
We are at the Sol & Luna Lodge which is really nice but folks, it is rural and folks? No TV. Yup!
So anyway, yesterday we did a weaving demonstration which I was totally capitavated with an Andean child. (They prefer not to be called Indians. They prefer Andean) and later that evening the wonderful Andean dance. Description and photos to follow
Today,. I felt a bit better but I still took an oxygen treatment. Went river rafting and after all the hubbub, it was agctually nice. I went river rafting down the Arkansas River in Co 15 years ago and that was a bit more "exciting" Its safe if anyone wants to go. Lunch was catered by the S>ol & Luna Lodge at a "hotel" later then we went to an Incan Fortress ruin. Its amazing. The rocks are cut so close WITHOUT morter that you can´t even fit in a credit card - I know because we tried! LOL >Pictures to follow later
We were joined today by a family from LA that missed a connection flight (they flew from LA to Miami) and got in at 4 am the day we left for Cusco. More details later.We welcomed them and then went to the ruins.
Dinner was on our own as the Jr Explorers had movie night. I didn´t like the foold - I originally ordered a "corn soup" which was the size of a shot glass and a green tamale (corn) and shirpmp. Steve ordered Rigatoni with wild mushrooms but yours truly had a difficult time with it so I had to order a la carte which really threw the waiters for a loop because they got all puffy saying that I would have to play for it - well DUH! So I ordered off the kids menu - chicken fingers and french fries. The potates down here are of a sweet variety even thoough there are over 4000 varietes and they originated them.
BYW, voting is mandatory here in Peru every 4-5 years. If caught not voting you are flagged and fined the equivalent of $45 US dollars and banned from buying or renewing anything governmental.
SO, after dinner, I found my way up to the one copmuter and waited a few minutes to get on. I will sign off now so as to check some other stuff.
TTYL!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
OK again another nutshell with bare minimums. Its 11 pm and Iwe have a 6 am wake-up call. LOL - its so weird trying to type on this keyboard. Although I´m getting used to the new locations.
So, after my first blog, Steve and I decided to try our adventure guides again, Ernesto and Armando but AGAIN, no dice. This time the front desk left me hanging in th lobby for 20 minutes. By the time that we ended up leaving, I was frustrated because we had no information on breakfast (which is supposed to be included the following morning) and Steve wanted to leave to "check-out" Atlantice City - LOL - the casino that is. For folks, it seems that gambling is legal here. On our earlier walk we came across no less than 8 casinos. All pretty small compared to Vegas standards but casinos nonetheless. So Steve by this time was a little ticked and I graciously decided to accommodate him by attending with him. We hit Atlantic City casino and while Steve did ok at first, he left the first table when he noticed that in a 6-deck shoe - they would arbitiarily (however you spell it) put back a deck once one was used. Sides, there was this "cooler" guy that kept surrendering on every hand causing everyone else to lose. So since they are affiliaed with Bally´s Gambling, they were not hot (and they only used American dollars) this after we just spent all afternoon trying to accumulate Soles. LOL
So, Steve moves to another 2 shoe deck table and does REALLY well until "The Cooer! comes to that table. Needless to say he was pissed and lost his money. So to calm him down we hit Larco street again - this time the other way and we discovered - "The Hacienda" and my oh my - I should never have left Vegas. I finally found a video poker machine and in under 20 minutes I hit 5 4 of a kinds. I was playing on some machine not even knowing what denomination it was but I figure I did good because I hit Aces, 10s, 2s and 9s twice. So imagine my surprise when I put in 10 Soles and came out with 200 Soles. The machine was hot. So now I know where Vegas gets rid of the ping machines. Then Steve, who was playing at the $5 Sole table (La hacienda takes Soles) came out $200 ahead. So since they use the old-fashioned kind whee you have silver coins, your hands get dirty. We decided to play the $1 machine where yours truly hits another 4 of a kind. So we decided to hit and run. We cashed in for just over $1000 Soles which is about or just over $300. Not bad for about $220 US dollars combined. HEE HEE HEE, my contribution was the $20.
So walking back to our hotel, we hit China Wok and I must of been really hungry because not only did I eat all my food but I beat Steve to it. I had Arroz Choufa con pollo, (chicken fried rice) and sweet & sour pork, with ramen and bamboo shoots with bok choy. It was actually pretty yummy. According to our driver last night, Lima has a large settlement of Chinese which actually settled here over 200 years ago. Anyways, food was good and for Steve and I it was $39.6 soles which comes out to about $15. Food is pretty comparable and maybe just slightly better than the states. So for an evening that looked to be starting out bad, we came out ahead.
LOL - I just had to pop in here as I`m not sure I can get on tomorrow. It will be hectic. e got our ift and it was a lanyard with a bag and luggage tags. Oh yeah, upon our return, we got a note from Armando saying he was told we were trying to get a hold of him - well duh! OK - sarcasm out. I´m tired and I guess that - ok I have no idea why this darn `works right one time and the other it doesn´t . I´m going to blame it on the Peruvian keyboard. That´s my story and I´m sticking to it. ROTFL
OK folks, more to come later, stay tuned......I wonder if there are more casinos alter. BTW, to send one postcard to the States it take 2 stamps for a total of $5 soles. which comes out to about ...oh I don´t know you do the math. All I know is that $15 is $5 US dollars. Its late and I got to brush my teeth. I´m not known for getting up early (understatement of the year) and we have to get up by 6. Bags to be out our door at 6:45 and on the bus to the airport by 7:45. I wonder if any of you will take bets as to who will be late?
By the way, on our Europe trip earlier this year, I was never late. I´m not counting the time we got left behind in the Vatican because that was not my fault. The guide told us to go to the bathroom and then proceeded to leave 2 teachers, my oldest daughter and myself behind! Humph! Told you it wasn´t my fault!
OK folks, nitey night.
So, after my first blog, Steve and I decided to try our adventure guides again, Ernesto and Armando but AGAIN, no dice. This time the front desk left me hanging in th lobby for 20 minutes. By the time that we ended up leaving, I was frustrated because we had no information on breakfast (which is supposed to be included the following morning) and Steve wanted to leave to "check-out" Atlantice City - LOL - the casino that is. For folks, it seems that gambling is legal here. On our earlier walk we came across no less than 8 casinos. All pretty small compared to Vegas standards but casinos nonetheless. So Steve by this time was a little ticked and I graciously decided to accommodate him by attending with him. We hit Atlantic City casino and while Steve did ok at first, he left the first table when he noticed that in a 6-deck shoe - they would arbitiarily (however you spell it) put back a deck once one was used. Sides, there was this "cooler" guy that kept surrendering on every hand causing everyone else to lose. So since they are affiliaed with Bally´s Gambling, they were not hot (and they only used American dollars) this after we just spent all afternoon trying to accumulate Soles. LOL
So, Steve moves to another 2 shoe deck table and does REALLY well until "The Cooer! comes to that table. Needless to say he was pissed and lost his money. So to calm him down we hit Larco street again - this time the other way and we discovered - "The Hacienda" and my oh my - I should never have left Vegas. I finally found a video poker machine and in under 20 minutes I hit 5 4 of a kinds. I was playing on some machine not even knowing what denomination it was but I figure I did good because I hit Aces, 10s, 2s and 9s twice. So imagine my surprise when I put in 10 Soles and came out with 200 Soles. The machine was hot. So now I know where Vegas gets rid of the ping machines. Then Steve, who was playing at the $5 Sole table (La hacienda takes Soles) came out $200 ahead. So since they use the old-fashioned kind whee you have silver coins, your hands get dirty. We decided to play the $1 machine where yours truly hits another 4 of a kind. So we decided to hit and run. We cashed in for just over $1000 Soles which is about or just over $300. Not bad for about $220 US dollars combined. HEE HEE HEE, my contribution was the $20.
So walking back to our hotel, we hit China Wok and I must of been really hungry because not only did I eat all my food but I beat Steve to it. I had Arroz Choufa con pollo, (chicken fried rice) and sweet & sour pork, with ramen and bamboo shoots with bok choy. It was actually pretty yummy. According to our driver last night, Lima has a large settlement of Chinese which actually settled here over 200 years ago. Anyways, food was good and for Steve and I it was $39.6 soles which comes out to about $15. Food is pretty comparable and maybe just slightly better than the states. So for an evening that looked to be starting out bad, we came out ahead.
LOL - I just had to pop in here as I`m not sure I can get on tomorrow. It will be hectic. e got our ift and it was a lanyard with a bag and luggage tags. Oh yeah, upon our return, we got a note from Armando saying he was told we were trying to get a hold of him - well duh! OK - sarcasm out. I´m tired and I guess that - ok I have no idea why this darn `works right one time and the other it doesn´t . I´m going to blame it on the Peruvian keyboard. That´s my story and I´m sticking to it. ROTFL
OK folks, more to come later, stay tuned......I wonder if there are more casinos alter. BTW, to send one postcard to the States it take 2 stamps for a total of $5 soles. which comes out to about ...oh I don´t know you do the math. All I know is that $15 is $5 US dollars. Its late and I got to brush my teeth. I´m not known for getting up early (understatement of the year) and we have to get up by 6. Bags to be out our door at 6:45 and on the bus to the airport by 7:45. I wonder if any of you will take bets as to who will be late?
By the way, on our Europe trip earlier this year, I was never late. I´m not counting the time we got left behind in the Vatican because that was not my fault. The guide told us to go to the bathroom and then proceeded to leave 2 teachers, my oldest daughter and myself behind! Humph! Told you it wasn´t my fault!
OK folks, nitey night.
OK - so here`s things in a nutshell again.
Woke up at 8 Steve didn´t want to get up so we passed up the breakfast buffet. Woke up at noon, took a shower and I´m not sure that I didn´t give some possible peeper a show in the glass shower. LOL - it fogged up as I turned on the shower so they couldn´t see in. Anyway, left the room at 1:30 and promptly got some postcards. Seems the "postoffice" is literally 30 seconds walk from the hotel. Which by the way, I highly, highly recommend. The beds were full size but super comfy. Better than my bed at the Sheraton in Tysons Corner. OK - just as comparable. I as very surprised at the roominess of the rooms. They are spacious and I got a corner room with a HUGE Balcony. I could probably fit in about 20 people on the balcony. Too bad it was wasted.
We went "shopping" of course, Pam - the postcard is on its way! It was a cool and windy day about mid-60s. I turned off my roaming as AT & T sent me a message saying they would charge me $19.97 a mb for using e-mail or internet on my phone so that quickly went off. We finally we to eat and ended up eating at a cafe/restaurant on larco st called Luigi. Had a server named Angel who was super tiny but quick with a smile and very charming. I´ll ahve to post a picture later as you know this Mrs. Chatty gets to talking. But I´m on a public computer and not sure how to hook up my camera to this. Which is not to say that I really want to hook up my personal camera.
Anyway, my point_ Many retailers-stores will accept American dollars. But we still went to the ATM. For about $400 Soles ' we paid about $140 dollars. They have money changers quite rampid on Larco street so have no fear. Unlike me but I gave my wallet to Andrew to give to megan because I read that no one accept dollars here. DUH!
So tomorrow, we leave on a one hr flight to Cusco. We are to leave our bags outside the room at 6:45 am (ROTFLMAO) and we leave the lobby at 7:45. Wonder if Steve and I will make it - LOL. Anyway, Armando, one of our guides (which we didn´t meet today) left a message saying that he would love to meet us Wednesday morning. LOL - he may live to regret that later.
Anyway, We are to received white luggage tags so that the luggage fairies can magically take our luggage for us and we are to get a surprise too. HHHMMMM............wonder what that may be - this being Disney and all!!!!! I know what it is but I´m not telling! LOL
Windy and cool but Steve was super comfortable with the weather so much so that he went shopping with me. At the cafe, we had - well Steve had lasanga and I had some kind of boiled chieckn, mushroom and cheese. The fries were fat and tasted kinda funny. But not bad. Could have definitely used some salsa. Steve has been dying for some ice and turned kinda green after I mentioned he was brave for eating the ice. After my emergency room trip to the hospital the night before I left forEurope. I´m taking no chances. He took some ice but I´ll keep an eye on him.
OK folks, the line is building up here so I´m gonna jump off for now and let someone else use one of the four computers. Hope you all are enjoying reading. I´m very spasmatic but at least I´m trying to keep up. Oh yeah, Steve´s tring to figure out how he can take hom e a stuffed tarantula on the plane. (Over my dead body is that thing getting near my stuff)
Also, since we are coming back to the Casa Andina Miraflores, I was mostly scouting and I have some nice souvenirs for my family picked out. That´s about it for now - Steve went up to the room while I pounced on the open computer. OH yeah1 I found an Ecco store that sells Ecco shoes for about $30-$50 bucks. OMG! They are usually about $100-$150 in the States. Even at the outlets they run about $80-$100. I´m siked! Ecco Shoes! Yummy! Got me a pre-requisite hat in case it gets cold. I was able to walk around with short sleeves and a light knit jacket. Not too bad. Hope the weather stays.
Ta Ta for now!
Woke up at 8 Steve didn´t want to get up so we passed up the breakfast buffet. Woke up at noon, took a shower and I´m not sure that I didn´t give some possible peeper a show in the glass shower. LOL - it fogged up as I turned on the shower so they couldn´t see in. Anyway, left the room at 1:30 and promptly got some postcards. Seems the "postoffice" is literally 30 seconds walk from the hotel. Which by the way, I highly, highly recommend. The beds were full size but super comfy. Better than my bed at the Sheraton in Tysons Corner. OK - just as comparable. I as very surprised at the roominess of the rooms. They are spacious and I got a corner room with a HUGE Balcony. I could probably fit in about 20 people on the balcony. Too bad it was wasted.
We went "shopping" of course, Pam - the postcard is on its way! It was a cool and windy day about mid-60s. I turned off my roaming as AT & T sent me a message saying they would charge me $19.97 a mb for using e-mail or internet on my phone so that quickly went off. We finally we to eat and ended up eating at a cafe/restaurant on larco st called Luigi. Had a server named Angel who was super tiny but quick with a smile and very charming. I´ll ahve to post a picture later as you know this Mrs. Chatty gets to talking. But I´m on a public computer and not sure how to hook up my camera to this. Which is not to say that I really want to hook up my personal camera.
Anyway, my point_ Many retailers-stores will accept American dollars. But we still went to the ATM. For about $400 Soles ' we paid about $140 dollars. They have money changers quite rampid on Larco street so have no fear. Unlike me but I gave my wallet to Andrew to give to megan because I read that no one accept dollars here. DUH!
So tomorrow, we leave on a one hr flight to Cusco. We are to leave our bags outside the room at 6:45 am (ROTFLMAO) and we leave the lobby at 7:45. Wonder if Steve and I will make it - LOL. Anyway, Armando, one of our guides (which we didn´t meet today) left a message saying that he would love to meet us Wednesday morning. LOL - he may live to regret that later.
Anyway, We are to received white luggage tags so that the luggage fairies can magically take our luggage for us and we are to get a surprise too. HHHMMMM............wonder what that may be - this being Disney and all!!!!! I know what it is but I´m not telling! LOL
Windy and cool but Steve was super comfortable with the weather so much so that he went shopping with me. At the cafe, we had - well Steve had lasanga and I had some kind of boiled chieckn, mushroom and cheese. The fries were fat and tasted kinda funny. But not bad. Could have definitely used some salsa. Steve has been dying for some ice and turned kinda green after I mentioned he was brave for eating the ice. After my emergency room trip to the hospital the night before I left forEurope. I´m taking no chances. He took some ice but I´ll keep an eye on him.
OK folks, the line is building up here so I´m gonna jump off for now and let someone else use one of the four computers. Hope you all are enjoying reading. I´m very spasmatic but at least I´m trying to keep up. Oh yeah, Steve´s tring to figure out how he can take hom e a stuffed tarantula on the plane. (Over my dead body is that thing getting near my stuff)
Also, since we are coming back to the Casa Andina Miraflores, I was mostly scouting and I have some nice souvenirs for my family picked out. That´s about it for now - Steve went up to the room while I pounced on the open computer. OH yeah1 I found an Ecco store that sells Ecco shoes for about $30-$50 bucks. OMG! They are usually about $100-$150 in the States. Even at the outlets they run about $80-$100. I´m siked! Ecco Shoes! Yummy! Got me a pre-requisite hat in case it gets cold. I was able to walk around with short sleeves and a light knit jacket. Not too bad. Hope the weather stays.
Ta Ta for now!
ok, now I know what AndrewDerek means when he says his keyboard is different. This is sooooo weird. OK, FYI, its almost 3 am and the breakfast buffet is from 6 to 10 so here´s my day in a nutshell. Since I am a bit unfamiliar with the keyboard and the hotel´s codes for the ampersan sign, please read between the lines.
Woke up late, Steve picked up April´s school schedule. Girls got hard classes next year, Trig, AP English and some other Honors class which totally eludes me. so he picks it up comes back to bed and we promptly wake up at 9:30 am. Andrew takes us to the airport arrive at 10:40. Get into line at Lan (Bradley terminal) get out of line at 11:10. Head to gate, cashe $200 and get back just a bit over 500 Sols. Get something to eat, do necessities, head to gate and board. Board at 12:35, plane took off at 1:30. It was a Boeing 767-300. Seat configurations of 2, 3 , 2. Full, and I mean full plane. 8 hrs later we arrive )minus the 2 screaming kids seated on either side of us - we were of course in the middle but the one next to me was pretty good actually. Im impressed. Lets hear it for the single father traveling with two boys!
Anyway, finally get to Lima at 11:51 their time. Lima is 2 hrs ahead of CA time. When not on Daylight savings time it is the same as the east coast for the west coast. Saled through customs, got our baggage, more detail later if anyone wants, right now its almost 3 and I just want to post this. Got meet outside of baggaged by a black suited Man in Black (hee hee ' tired humor) and a sign saying "Disney - Elliott" Have I mentioned I love seeing my name down in print? LOL - I have to hunt down the ? mark - and the dash - its in a different location. Got driven to Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores which is a subarb of Lima. Lima itself where the airport is is an industrial city. Hotel, which we walked into at about 12:30 is VERY NICE! Good going DISNEY! Our room was on the 6th floor. Everyone very friendly and helpful. Got to room and what a surprise, nice big double-queen beds. Bathrooms are nice and big but glass enclosed out to the street. I hope they have some kind of way to block someone viewing in - the glass is frosted. Nice big balcony which I couldn´t figure out how to open at night. Ordered room service because the plane ran out of steak and they had pasta with uncooked bacon ' if anyone comes soon, pack a lunch. The other snack also lacks a bit.
So, as I was typing, ordered room service (the sol is roughly 3 to our $1. so we were so hungry we ordered from the 24 hr room service. I really think Peru has something against he ice as I can´t seem to find the ice machine. LOL - I'll hunt later) and then I forgot to mention that the Casa Andina Collection has free wi-fi in all their hotels. This cubilce with 4 computers and one printer is on the 2nd floor. As I am sitting here "quickly" posting, the janitor is cleaning the carpet and listening to "Ahould I go or should I stay?" Who is that? I´m just too tired to think.
Sofolks that is it in a nutshell. The bell hop says the hotel has an ATM on the first floor. The driver told us that ATMs are EVERYwhere and not to worry about finding one. As soon as you nhit the baggage area at the airport your hit with girls asking you if you want to rent a phone for $10. I brought my trusty handy-dandy iphone which works well. Now dont´forget to turn off data roaming Laura. LOL No repeat of Aruba´s $65 charge for 15 minutes.
OK - dead tired - I´m sure I´ll be horrified at the typinmg mistakes tomorrow but I´ll plead that its the keyboards fault. Tomorrow is on our own as most people will be coming in. Oh yeah - found out that Miami is only 5 1/2 hrs from here. We made it in 8 hrs just about usually 8 1/2. Breakfast buffet from 6-10. Rooms super nice with a bolted in safe. Anyone considering doing this ABD, so far so good. TA TA for now ' dead tired
Laura
Woke up late, Steve picked up April´s school schedule. Girls got hard classes next year, Trig, AP English and some other Honors class which totally eludes me. so he picks it up comes back to bed and we promptly wake up at 9:30 am. Andrew takes us to the airport arrive at 10:40. Get into line at Lan (Bradley terminal) get out of line at 11:10. Head to gate, cashe $200 and get back just a bit over 500 Sols. Get something to eat, do necessities, head to gate and board. Board at 12:35, plane took off at 1:30. It was a Boeing 767-300. Seat configurations of 2, 3 , 2. Full, and I mean full plane. 8 hrs later we arrive )minus the 2 screaming kids seated on either side of us - we were of course in the middle but the one next to me was pretty good actually. Im impressed. Lets hear it for the single father traveling with two boys!
Anyway, finally get to Lima at 11:51 their time. Lima is 2 hrs ahead of CA time. When not on Daylight savings time it is the same as the east coast for the west coast. Saled through customs, got our baggage, more detail later if anyone wants, right now its almost 3 and I just want to post this. Got meet outside of baggaged by a black suited Man in Black (hee hee ' tired humor) and a sign saying "Disney - Elliott" Have I mentioned I love seeing my name down in print? LOL - I have to hunt down the ? mark - and the dash - its in a different location. Got driven to Casa Andina Private Collection Miraflores which is a subarb of Lima. Lima itself where the airport is is an industrial city. Hotel, which we walked into at about 12:30 is VERY NICE! Good going DISNEY! Our room was on the 6th floor. Everyone very friendly and helpful. Got to room and what a surprise, nice big double-queen beds. Bathrooms are nice and big but glass enclosed out to the street. I hope they have some kind of way to block someone viewing in - the glass is frosted. Nice big balcony which I couldn´t figure out how to open at night. Ordered room service because the plane ran out of steak and they had pasta with uncooked bacon ' if anyone comes soon, pack a lunch. The other snack also lacks a bit.
So, as I was typing, ordered room service (the sol is roughly 3 to our $1. so we were so hungry we ordered from the 24 hr room service. I really think Peru has something against he ice as I can´t seem to find the ice machine. LOL - I'll hunt later) and then I forgot to mention that the Casa Andina Collection has free wi-fi in all their hotels. This cubilce with 4 computers and one printer is on the 2nd floor. As I am sitting here "quickly" posting, the janitor is cleaning the carpet and listening to "Ahould I go or should I stay?" Who is that? I´m just too tired to think.
Sofolks that is it in a nutshell. The bell hop says the hotel has an ATM on the first floor. The driver told us that ATMs are EVERYwhere and not to worry about finding one. As soon as you nhit the baggage area at the airport your hit with girls asking you if you want to rent a phone for $10. I brought my trusty handy-dandy iphone which works well. Now dont´forget to turn off data roaming Laura. LOL No repeat of Aruba´s $65 charge for 15 minutes.
OK - dead tired - I´m sure I´ll be horrified at the typinmg mistakes tomorrow but I´ll plead that its the keyboards fault. Tomorrow is on our own as most people will be coming in. Oh yeah - found out that Miami is only 5 1/2 hrs from here. We made it in 8 hrs just about usually 8 1/2. Breakfast buffet from 6-10. Rooms super nice with a bolted in safe. Anyone considering doing this ABD, so far so good. TA TA for now ' dead tired
Laura
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, August 2, 2009
OK, so here it is early on Sunday morning - ok - not so early. Its 2:30 in the morning and I'm finally getting around to starting a blog. Not sure how successful I'll be at this one. I may also do a long hand version and update this later. (Heck, I may get some of use of that nice journal I bought in Rome and only used about 10 pages of! )
So here's the lowdown. Steve and I will be leaving (God willing) for my childhood dream (yes another one! ) destination spot on Monday, August 3rd. (Please keep the rolling eyes and sarcasm to a minimum please - LOL.) I was a bit worried as my mother was supposed to go into surgery (she was having knee surgery that day but God, in his infinite wisdom decided I would totally freak out if something went wrong and decided to postpone her surgery until August 6th. So I shall be leaving with one thing less to stress about on that day.
Our adventure has me a bit low-key. It really won't sink in that I'm actually going until I'm at the airport I suppose. Meanwhile, I sit here at the computer desk trying to type. LOL - its been about 1 month since I've been online and my typing skills are atrocious. Heck, I haven't even started packing yet. In my mind I'm just starting. To top it all off, I have to pick up April's school schedule come 8 am at St. Paul. As if I didn't have anything to do that day. I'm hoping - ok- aiming to reach the airport by 10 so that we are actually there by 10:30.
We are flying out of LAX on Lan flight #601 non-stop to Jorge Chavez International Airport - Lima. We depart at 1:20 and should arrive about 11:55. That's 8 1/2 hrs of flight time. I can do this - I did 11 hrs straight - twice - ok technically 3 times already. This will be a piece of cake! Or was that let them eat cake???????
Anyway, I'm just trying this out to see if I remember how to blog. I'll have to see if they now allowing blogging from my iphone. I'm still on the original Edge phone but should something happen on this trip, I'll probably update to the 3Gs model after I come back. JUST in case........as some of you well know.
Also, to those that saw how I have travelled in the past, I now only carry one lens - a 24-300mm lense from Tamron that I am quite happy with. I did however, acquire a small new toy - a Canon G10 as a back-up. The guy at Calumet suggested this as a point and shoot back-up. Wonder if Steve realizes he's the back-up! LOL
OK - on to check how this is going. Also, I have to get some sleep. I am still not even close to getting the laundry done. I'm a horrible procrastinator can you tell?
Ta Ta - Laura
So here's the lowdown. Steve and I will be leaving (God willing) for my childhood dream (yes another one! ) destination spot on Monday, August 3rd. (Please keep the rolling eyes and sarcasm to a minimum please - LOL.) I was a bit worried as my mother was supposed to go into surgery (she was having knee surgery that day but God, in his infinite wisdom decided I would totally freak out if something went wrong and decided to postpone her surgery until August 6th. So I shall be leaving with one thing less to stress about on that day.
Our adventure has me a bit low-key. It really won't sink in that I'm actually going until I'm at the airport I suppose. Meanwhile, I sit here at the computer desk trying to type. LOL - its been about 1 month since I've been online and my typing skills are atrocious. Heck, I haven't even started packing yet. In my mind I'm just starting. To top it all off, I have to pick up April's school schedule come 8 am at St. Paul. As if I didn't have anything to do that day. I'm hoping - ok- aiming to reach the airport by 10 so that we are actually there by 10:30.
We are flying out of LAX on Lan flight #601 non-stop to Jorge Chavez International Airport - Lima. We depart at 1:20 and should arrive about 11:55. That's 8 1/2 hrs of flight time. I can do this - I did 11 hrs straight - twice - ok technically 3 times already. This will be a piece of cake! Or was that let them eat cake???????
Anyway, I'm just trying this out to see if I remember how to blog. I'll have to see if they now allowing blogging from my iphone. I'm still on the original Edge phone but should something happen on this trip, I'll probably update to the 3Gs model after I come back. JUST in case........as some of you well know.
Also, to those that saw how I have travelled in the past, I now only carry one lens - a 24-300mm lense from Tamron that I am quite happy with. I did however, acquire a small new toy - a Canon G10 as a back-up. The guy at Calumet suggested this as a point and shoot back-up. Wonder if Steve realizes he's the back-up! LOL
OK - on to check how this is going. Also, I have to get some sleep. I am still not even close to getting the laundry done. I'm a horrible procrastinator can you tell?
Ta Ta - Laura
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