Cusco, Thurs the 25th

Wed, the 24^th.  We  were  up  early   to fly  to Lima,  then  on  to Cusco.  It  was  cloudy   and  cool  in Lima   but   the sky  was clear in Cusco.   Still  a  lot  cooler than  Quito.  We  got  to our  hotel,  my  room  is  on the  first floor  off  a  beautiful  courtyard.  I  have my  own  room  here  which  is  nice  for a break.  I slept  hard  for  about  3  hours  and   when  I  came  to  it  was  getting  dark  and  cool  enough  for  long  pants  and  a   jacket.  I  went  to  a  restaurant  just  across  the  street  and  had a  little  dinner.  We're  going  to  do  a   city  tour  tomorrow, nothing strenuous,  the  altitude  is  really  noticeable.   I  have  a  little  headache  and  feel  just  a  little  short of breath.  Hit   the  hay  early  as   travel had been  tiring. 

The next morning our  tour director, Roberto,  took  us  on an expedition into  the  city.  First  stop   was  San Pedro, the  local  market,   so  cool,  we  saw  where the  locals shop  and   eat.  All  types  of meat, cheese,  bread,  vegetables.   Potatoes and corn  are very   important crops  here  and  there are   hundreds  of  varieties  of both.  We  walked  out to the  main  square  which was packed with people  participating in celebrations  for  Peru's  independence day  which is  the 28th.  School  kids  and   soldiers  marching  in  front  a  a  review stand  of government officials.   It was  a  great  way  to see  the  local color.   I went to the  Incan  museum  which had   a  lot  of  great   pre-columbian  artifacts.  There  were 2 women  weaving in the courtyard  and I  watched  them for  a  long time.    After that  I went back  out  onto  the  plaza  and  found   a   little place to have  a  sandwich  where  I could  sit and watch  all  the  people.   Went back  to the  hotel   to  meet  up  with  the   group.   First  stop  was  Koricancha,  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  like  many  structures you  can  see  the  foundations that  the  Incas built    with  the  modifications  the  Spanish  made  when  they   took   over.   Then  to  a  magnificent   cathedral.  One  of  the  largest  and  most ornate I've  ever  seen.  So   much  gold  and  silver ,  religious items made from   melted down  pieces from  the   Incans.  Next  to  Sacsahuaman,  an  area  where  the  priests conducted  private  religious  services  for  the  ruling class.   They  also  prepared mummies on  this   site.   We  had  a  group dinner  at  Tunupa  Grill,  a  nice  place  with  a  huge  buffet.  There  was  also  a group  of indigenous  musicians  and   some  folk  dancers. A  looooong   day, esp  with  the  thin  air  at  this  altitude.

July 23rd in Quito

We're  back   in  Quito   after   spending   5  days  in the  Galapagos.  It  was  a  fantastic experience.   We've  been  so   busy  and  with no wiFi on  the  boat I haven't  had  much  time to post.  But   I'm  taking  lots  of  pictures   and  keeping track  of all  we've  done so  as   soon   as  I  have  time I'll add to  this   blog.  I  have  figured  how  to  get  the  pictures   from my  camera  onto  Picasa  so hope  to  have   some  things  to share  one  of these   days.  Tomorrow  is  a  travel day,  to Lima  and then  Cusco. 

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·         Most of the rest of the crew went to see a volcano today but I opted to stay in Quito. I slept til 7 , had a leisurely morning, ate breakfast, found mantiquilla de mani (peanut butter) at the market and took a cab into the "old town”. I looked around in a couple museums, saw some cool pre columbian art, and wandered around looking in the local shops. The President of Bolivia is in town, in fact he is staying in our hotel. In one of the large plazas a video screen was set up and they were broadcasting the President making a speech.  I found out later he was traveling to neighboring countries trying to get support to bring Edward Snowdon to Bolivia by ship. I went  back to the hotel and had a massage. Tomorrow morning we will get a wake up call at 2:30 to travel to Peru. We have to fly to Lima and then transfer to Cusco.

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the 15th It`s a small small world

First, let me say I`m having  a heck of a time getting pictures  on  the  tablet.  I`ll  keep trying.  Meantime, I got paired with  a roommate  I did not  know,  so  as  we  are talking  I learned that  her  mother  lives  in  Cuyahoga  Falls     and  that  the  roommate  works for  the  Episcopalian   Diocese  of   Cleveland.     I  tell  her my   cousin   is  an  arch   deacon of  the  Episcopalian  church  in  Nebraska.   She  tells  me  her  mom   is a  Deacon   at  St  Paul`s  in    Akron.     Of  course that`s where   my  aunt,  uncle  and  cousins  have  gone to church   for years.    She knows my  family   well   and  her   mom   had  just   visited my aunt  the  week   before  because  she had  been  in  a  rehab  facility.  Does  this  type  of  stuff  happen  to  other people?  or just me?        When I  was  in  Guatemala  City  with  Joe and  Laura  around   2006,  I ran into John Szabo who I  had  worked   with  for  a number of years   when I worked for the   state.

Back  to  Ecuador.   Our  plane  rides  went well,   we   arrived  late and  by the   time we got  to our  hotel  it was  2AM.     We are staying in the  Suisse  hotel   which  is   very  nice.   Got   up  early   and   had  a  tour   of   different  places   around  the  city,  then a visit   to   the   equator.    Our tour director  is  quite  nice  and has   shared  lots of info with  us.   Quitos  population   is  2.5  million,    we   are high  up  in  the  Andes  and  the views  are   fabulous.  I  can   feel   the   effects   of   the  altitude   but  nothing  too  bad   and  seem  to be adjusting.    We have  an   early   start  tomorrow   to go to the   indigenous  peoples market at   Otovalo.     I  am  hoping   to   be   able   to   add   pictures   soon  and  flesh  out   the   details  but  for  now   need   to    sleep..

Here we go again

One week from today I'll start a new adventure.  Seated on the left is Margaret Lawson the former drama teacher at Pickerington North High School.  She started years ago taking students on trips but for some time now has been taking adults all over the globe.  Some of these folks have been traveling with her 15+ years, some like me are first timers.   I've been wanting to go to Machu Piccu for years,  I am fascinated by ancient civilizations and have visited Mayan and Aztec ruins.  Now is my chance to see the remains of an Inca settlement constructed in the mid 1400's in the Peruvian Andes.  I stumbled on this trip by chance when I did the costumes for Pickerington North's production of Legally Blonde last year.  Margaret had put an ad for the trip on the back of the program, I called and signed up as soon as I saw it.  Our first stop, however; will be the Galapagos Islands.  I didn't know that much about the Galapagos, but after doing some research, am almost as excited about that part of the trip as I am about Machu Piccu.

We start in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, which sits at an elevation of 9,350 feet above sea level (Denver, Colo. is at 5,280) and was one of UNESCO's first World Cultural Heritage Sites.  From there we will fly to the island of Baltra and board the Galapagos Legend for 5 days.  We'll visit several of the islands, check out the terrain and do some snorkeling.  After the islands we'll fly to Cusco, Peru, the jumping off spot for day trips to Machu Piccu.  This city sits at 11,200 feet and was once the capital of the Inca Empire.  It is also recognized as a WCHS.  We'll have a full day to explore Machu Piccu which is ONLY 7,970 ft above sea level.  Our last stop will be Lima, which according to Anthony Bourdain, is the Gastronomical Capital of the  Americas.

In an effort to keep up with the times and travel light, I'll be using a Samsung Galaxy tablet to blog, so bare with me if I have some tech problems.  Also, we will not have wifi on the ship so I'll be catching up after we get back to the mainland.  Feel free to leave comments, I can see them and even with so much going on it's nice to hear from home.
     

Going Home

Going Home

We got into San Francisco late and by the time we got to the Fairmont and got checked in it was past 11, we were tired and hungry.  The restaurant was closed so we ordered from room service.  My mom said it was the first time she had ever done it.  I ordered a pesto pizza, my mom had a BLT, I found Nutella and raspberry jam finger sandwiches on the kids menu and ordered them for our dessert.  That plus 2 glasses of wine cost $95.  Yikes, but what the hell, it’s fun to be decadent once in a while.  I had e-mailed the travel agent earlier in the trip about a few things that weren’t quite right, he sent us a goody basket on Kauai and one on Maui.  At the Fairmont they put us in a “Tower” room, on the 19^th floor with the most fantastic view of the city.  Also waiting for us was a box made out of chocolate with some fancy chocolates inside.  Not only was the box made out of chocolate but it had a picture of the Fairmont painted on the top.  Deluxe!!

We had breakfast in the hotel Monday AM.  There was the cutest maitre’d, same one as on the way out.  A very nice African American man with an accent I couldn’t quite place.  His hair is thinning on top and it looks like he took a sharpie and drew in a hairline and then filled in the thin spots.  Unique.  But he was so friendly, after we ate I shook his hand and told him we were glad to see him again and how welcome he made us feel.  Oh, he hugged us and kissed my mom on the cheek, so sweet.

We flew to Chicago, then to Columbus, it was a long day and we finally got in at midnight.  Tuesday we rested and today, Wednesday I brought my mom home to Canton.  Tomorrow I’ll take her to see her sister in Akron and then head home.  I’ll have Thurs night in Columbus then am off to DC for 2 nights.  My nephew Joe is headed to Pakistan March 19^th, it’s his latest assignment for the state dept and I want to see him before he goes.  He’ll be gone a year and I’ll be worried the whole time. 

I figured that Thursday will be the only night in 3 weeks that I’ll sleep in my own bed (when my mom visits I sleep on the couch).  I’ll have been on 12 flights when I get home from DC.  After that I’m going to have to settle down, get some sewing and things around the house done.  Also, I’ll go back to grading proficiency test March 22^nd.   Whew.

Couple notes: some of my pictures are a little funky, especially the underwater camera shots.  My pal Seth is going to help me learn to manipulate them and get them looking a little better.  Also, I think I may have figured out how to put captions on the individual pictures so will try that.  I’m also trying to figure out how to be able to write a little, post a picture, write a little more-rather than have a line of pictures, then all the text.

Postcards: I tried to be so smart and organized.  I bought postcard stamps before I left.  I bought address labels and printed names and addresses of people I wanted to send postcards to.  So easy, right?  Buy the card, put a label and stamp on it, write a few lines and Bob’s your uncle.  Well it worked until the airport in Kauai on the way to Maui.  I had the address labels, the stamps and my itinery in a folder in my purse.  I did a few cards waiting to check in at Island Air, but when we got to our room on Maui, the whole folder was gone.  So, not everybody that I intended to send a card to got one.  Hope you all can enjoy the blog instead.

The Aloha spirit.  Folks, this is a real thing.  People in Hawaii almost without exception are friendly, helpful, and want you to enjoy your stay.  Sometimes the other tourists are hinky, but there’s no controlling that.  People went out of their way to help us, my mom was either using a cane to walk or holding my elbow as her balance is poor.  She is waaaaay slow, too, but everyone was patient.  At the Basil Tomato, the host grabbed a flashlight and shone it on the steps as we went down because it was a little dark.  He loaned me the flashlight later when my mom was having trouble reading the menu.  Mom is very hard of hearing as well.  She has hearing aids but doesn’t like to wear them much, so she misses a lot of what is said.  People were kind to repeat and talk louder or let me “translate” for her.

It was a great trip.