Adventures in Colca Canyon

by Anna:

We went to Colca Canyon. It was a LOOONNGGG car ride from our hotel.  There were condors and we had to hike to them so we weren't looking at the condors with all of the crowds of people. On the way to Colca Canyon we saw alpacas and vecuñas.  We also went swimming in the hot springs.  But it was a swimming pool with natural water coming in.  Mom as disappointed because she wanted it like in the nature.  I liked the swimming pool.  It was really fun.  It was really hard to get out because it was warmer in the pool than outside.

The black and white condors are adults.  Their wing span is up to 3m wide.  They live up to 50 years in the wild.

In Arequipa, we went to a convent.  It is a place where nuns live.  There are lots of old beds with candles near them (before people invented the lights and nun beds.)  The way that nuns washed their clothes: they have a stream and you put a dam with your hand to make the water go into kind of like a beaver dam and then it falls into a half pot which you put your clothes in to wash them.

This is one of the more wealthy nun's room.  Anna chose it becuase there were curtains to surround the bed.

This is Anna demonstrating how the nuns did their laundry.  The kids played in the "laundry room" for quite awhile.

The streets are named after streets in Spain because they reminded them of beautiful streets in Spain.

There was an indoor bath where the nuns would get clean.  Anna is demonstrating what she would do if there were water inside.

In case you wondered: Anna is Jesus dying on the cross and Cole is somebody throwing stones...

We also went to a swimming pool.  I didn't stay in very long because the water was FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The slides, most of them, didn't have any water trickling down so you needed to dump water onto them and go.  But once you dumped water onto them, they were really fast!  We had to buy a swim hat because that's the rule (and they are loco!).  Dad looked super cute in his swim hat.  Whenever dad and Cole went down the slide, when they went into the water, their heads went under the surface.  It was like they were being dunked.  After, my lips turned blue because I was so FREEZING!!!!!!!!!!

Our Big Lake Titicaca Adventure

Anna:

We went to the floating islands.  They are made out of reeds and reed roots.  Their taxis are boats.  The children ride in them to their school.  Their boats are also made out of reeds.  The reeds are bouncy.  On most of the islands, they have a big tower made out of reeds that you can stand on and look out over all the little islands.  It's like a big city except with a lot of tiny islands.  There are usually up to 5 families on each island and something around 20 people on each island.  Each island has a president.  Then we went to another island.  This one wasn't made of reeds.  We did a hike and it was a storm while we hiked.  There was lightening but luckily no rain and no lightening hit anybody.  We stayed with a family.  They have soups for dinner and lunch.  Then cooked dough with sugar on top for breakfast.  The cooked dough with sugar is AWESOME!!!  Then we went to another island and did another hike. We had lunch there.  We went to a restaurant.  I had trout with, it said a salad but it was really a tiny, tiny bit of vegetables.  No lettuce.  The trout was from the highest navigable lake in the world!  Lake Titicaca!  Then we went back to Puno.

There are 70 artificial floating islands in Lake Titicaca.

Cole tried the base of the reeds.  It is very mild tasting and is known as the banana of the islands.

These boats are called the "Mercedes-Benz" of the islands.

Anna helped row the boat.

Anna hiked with some local girls on the island.

Our our way to the top of Papamancha.

Anna and Christy at the top of the island.  We had to use headlamps on the way down due to the darkness.

Our boat for our tour of Lake Titicaca.  It was a three hour ride from the nearest city (Puno) to the islands.

Anna and her trout.

Machu Picchu

Aaron:

  Last weekend we went to Machu Picchu.  We left school early and took a taxi to Ollantaytambo, where we caught the train to Aguas Calientas (the village at the base of Machu Picchu).  The name of the village translates as "hot water."  The fact that you need to name it after hot water raises expectations for the hotel.  Perhaps there's a village in Peru named "Cars who stop for pedestrians."

  Here is Christy and the kids before we boarded the train.  It was an hour and a half train ride along a beautiful river.

 We had a very fancy dinner in Aguas Calientas (barbecued alpaca chased with Pisco sours for me) and even had the long-awaited hot showers.  We woke up at 5 in the morning to board the buses to get up Machu Picchu as early as possible.  We were rewarded with a beautiful day:

 We hired a guide to describe the different temples and houses. 

We are trying to enjoy our last week in Cusco and visit all the sights.  Cole started the week by taking a "field trip" to his Spanish teacher's house to play video games (in Spanish, of course).


By Christy:
Seeing Machu Picchu was a dream of mine.  I always wanted to hike the Inca Trail but that part of the dream would have been a misery with two young children.  Instead, we took the train.  I've been in one similarly stunning train- from Oslo to Bergen, Norway.  Otherwise, this ride was unparalleled for its beauty.  The train had windows in the roof so we were enveloped by the Andes as we traveled along the rushing river.  Amazing.

The only disappointment at Machu Picchu was that there wasn't any fog.  I always imagined getting there before sunrise, which we did, and watching the fog lift.  But with how cold we've been lately, this was probably God's gift to us.  The weather was perfect so really there was nothing to complain about.  We walked through the ruins with our guide then went on a separate hike to an ancient Inca bridge.  The most incredible thing about this was that we were following a trail, arrived at the bridge, could see the bridge and a few meters of trail past the bridge, then the trail just gets swallowed by the jungle.  It's interesting to think how many places still have ruins that are just completely covered by nature.

It was hard to leave.  Despite being there for 6 hours, we didn't feel done.  It isn't exactly the ruins themselves but the magestic setting.  Towering mountains, some of them snow capped, surround the ruins.  I think this is what makes it so special.  The 3 things that made it easier to leave were #1 the increasing heat (but I wasn't complaining), #2 the masses of tourists that arrived while we were on our hike to the Inca bridge, #3 knowing we had the same amazing train ride back!


Cole ling in the King's bed.

 Anna waiting for her groom in the marriage chambers.  When Cole realized these were the marriage chambers, he took off!

The Inca Bridge.  What you can't get from this picture is the sense of vertigo created by the long, sheer drop below.  I don't understand why they left a bridge when they filled in all the other parts of the wall.  We all wonder how many people died creating this, since they were likely standing on the steps you see in order to build the rest...

Stuffed Animal Universe/ The Amazing Church

by Cole:

We went to a stuffed animal universe (a museum).  There were real dead animals that were stuffed.  There were tiny tigers, big crocodiles, leopards, a lot of different kinds of birds, one guinea pig, a sheep, and a puma.  There were two guinea pigs that shared one heart, an 8 legged sheep, a two headed deer, and a 5 legged pig.  There were two bodies of a goat and one head.  It was very amazing.

We went to a church that had 3 parts.  Everything that looked like gold was a thin sheet of gold!  There was one room of pure silver that was really cool.  There were a lot of paintings.  There was a painting of the last supper and they had cuy on the middle of the table!

La Finca en Paruro

by Christy
Last weekend we went to a small town called Paruro with a guide whose family still lives there, doing things much as they have "always been done."  The town is 2 hours by taxi outside of Cusco, at a lower elevation. We wanted a chance to learn a little bit more about true Peruvian culture because we are a bit distant from that living in our apartment.

One of the first things we noticed is that time is different there.  We had a lot of down time to relax. This was fabulous, in my opinion, because it was WARM and sunny there so sitting around doing nothing but feeling grateful to be warm was perfect.  I also liked watching our kids adjust to not having constant entertainment.  There was a "3 or 4 year old" boy there (not sure if they really don't know) who loved the toys we brought to share.  There was electricity for a couple of hours at night but not the rest of the time.  So the kids had to think of things to do that did not include electronic devices. This is not all that unusual for our family except that it usually doesn't happen for hours on end.  I loved watching the inventive games they came up with.

The thing that most stood out to us was how much WORK everything was.  And how much preparation everything takes.  We helped make chicha, the corn based alcoholic drink common in these parts.  They take the kernels off the corn and place them under a tarp for 15 days, watering it each day.  Once it starts to grow roots, it is ready to dry for a few days.  Once it is dry, they take it to the house in town where there is an electric grinder.  They grind it.  Then, an enormous pot of water is brought to a boil over an open fire (all of our meals were made over an open fire except our cuy which was brought to one of the 3 houses in town with a public oven.)  The corn is added, stirred, then strained through straw into another pot.  This process occurs twice.  Some of the last batch of chicha is added and it is allowed to ferment overnight.  This is just one example of the planning.  We also helped grind wheat which was used in our soup the first night, and used a mortar and pestle (a huge rock, though, not what I imagined a mortar and pestle to look like) to grind quinoa which was used in a different soup.  We also peeled potatoes which require sitting out overnight to freeze, then soaking in water to thaw before finally hand peeling them.  Aaron and I realized we get frustrated when we forget to thaw out dinner.  Imagine if you forget to dry the corn 15 days in advance!

We walked to the land they own and saw the guinea pig farm.  Anna fed the pigs and we brought back 4 of them for our feast.  Anna made sure to dance and jump around for them so they would "enjoy their last day of life."  The next day, we learned how they are prepared.  Totally crazy!!!  first, we watched him humanely kill them (quick neck snap).  Then they say a blessing over them and sprinkle them with chicha as an offering. You dip them in boiling water and then take off all of the fur.  The next step was amazing to me- you SHAVE the skin to make them completely naked.  Then the expected removal of the intestines occurs, they are stuffed with delicious herbs smashed together on the giant mortar and pestel and they are allowed to sit in the sun for an hour or so.  This family cooks everything over an open fire so they have to pay to use an oven.  It is a giant clay oven.  We left the pigs and a ton of potatoes there to be cooked and returned in an hour.  This process was also fascinating.  The owner of the oven was very busy putting bread inside.  I learned that this isn't his bread.  People come to his house, pay to grind large bags of wheat, then use his kitchen to make bread.  He bakes the bread and they pay him for his preparation space and his oven.  Then the next day, they sell the bread at market and come back to do it all over again.  It was really enlightening to me to be in a community where everybody shares things.  How nice it would be if there was a lawn mower on our street and when we need it we just pay $3 to use it and then return it.  It really doesn't make sense for every single house on our street to own a lawn mower.

Now we are back to Cusco.  Back to the cold.  Ready to feel warm again soon.

Anna grinding wheat:

 This is the kitchen.  There is an aluminum cover to it but otherwise it is outside.  It is all open fire.

 Anna at the guinea pig farm.  She loved feeding them.

The chicha (boiling water with corn) was poured into this basket with straw.  The chicha is collected below and fermented overnight.

 Cole using the mortar and pestle to grind the quinoa.  We have since learned this is how the Mayans ground chocolate!

 Anna is shaking hands with the dead guinea pigs.

 The cuy and papas ready to go in the oven.

 The room where we ate didn't have light except at night.  In order to find the eyeballs, her favorite part, she had to sit in the open doorway.

Guinea Pig

By Anna:

Today, we ate guinea pig.  I had the brain and both eyeballs.   The eyeballs were delicious.  We went with our Spanish teachers.  On the way back, me, Cole and Jimmy, mom’s teacher, sat in the back and wrestled.  Jimmy kept tossing Cole on my lap then I tossed him back to his side.  Sometimes he was really heavy.  The back was comfy because there were blankets and our sweatshirts.  I loved, literally LOVED, the guinea pig.  You can’t eat it with a fork because there is not enough meat.  You need to eat it with your hands.  And I will warn you, your hands will get dirty.

(Below is a picture of Anna eating the brain. Nobody else was willing to try that part!)

By Aaron:

I had a big beer.  It helped the guinea pig go down.

By Cole:

I didn’t much care for guinea pig, but I liked the fried pork.  Wait, did she eat a guinea pig’s eyeball? Chow!

By Christy:

I thought the flavor of the guinea pig was amazing.  I might have preferred it with chicken.

Why this is Harder than I Expected

by Christy:

I knew this was going to be an adventure when I bought the plane tickets.  By definition, adventures aren't always fun and games.  So in that sense, I guess I am getting about what I expected in terms of stress level.  But the REASONS things are difficult are different than what I was prepared for.  The cold, for instance.  I do believe that if thousands of people can live in Cusco without heat every day of their lives, we can do it for a month.  But man, it is rough.  Today, I spent an hour walking up and down a street where there is supposed to be a street vendor who sells the "old fashioned" rubber water bottle bags you can put in bed to make it a bit warmer.  I couldn't find her so eventually I went to the pharmacy and bought them there.  (I prefer to buy from locals.)  At about $1.75 each, it might be the best souvenir I've ever purchased in my life.

I've started boiling water on the stove before I try to take a shower because I never know how the shower will be.  I've had two nice showers in our apartment.  I've had two where the water just stops coming out and one where the water came out as an ice cold drizzle.  I hate the shower here because even when it is nice inside, the tile floors are still so cold that my feet don't warm up.  And the heater we have, run by propane, doesn't actually warm anything up- if I can get it to turn on and stay on.  The cold is really, really hard.

The kitchen is tiny.  There is no dishwasher and no space to put clean dishes once they are dry.  We have started trying to do dishes just once or twice a day because we felt like we were spending all of our life doing dishes.  It wouldn't be so bad if the towels were absorbant.  But we've bought two different types of dish towels and neither of them actually absorbs water.

We brought toys for the kids.  And we have bought a soccer ball for them to use in the street.  But it is hard to play when it is so cold.  And they are used to other stimulation- going to the yard, using the basketball hoop, excursions to the park or library.  It's hard finding things for them to do.

Finally, I really wanted to learn Spanish.  I've done language school before but always stayed with a family.  My brain switched over to Spanish.  Not necessarily good Spanish, but Spanish none the less.  My brain can't switch here because I am always having to talk to the kids in English.  And I can't go to Peruvian restaurants and try crazy Peruvian food while I study for a few hours because this would not be very exciting for the kids.  I should have anticipated this but didn't.  It's hard.

But tomorrow we are going on a school field trip as a family, if Cole is up for it (he spent the wee hours of the morning throwing up.)  We will go with our teachers to the town close to here most famous for cuy- roasted guinea pig.  We have yet to try this delicacy but we are very excited to get to go with our teachers and to taste it at the best place.  Then this weekend we are going to go to a rural farm.  We will drink tea from the garden, learn how to cook traditional foods, sleep under smelly llama blankets, gaze at the S. hemisphere stars without light pollution, and then check out a guinea pig farm- again getting to eat the little creatures.  It should be an authentic, crazy experience!