Long day

Yesterday we left the Galapagos to fly back to Quito. It was to be a flight of one and a half hours to Guayaquil (sp?) and then 35 mimutes on to Quito. We left at 9 in the morning and arrived after midnight! The flight to Guayaquil was okay but on the flight to Quito bad weather developed and we had to fly further north to an army base where we sat on the plane to see if Quito would clear, but when it didn't we deplaned and waited for luggage and then caught buses back to Quito airport, where we then caught another bus back into town to our hotel -- a 15 hour trip. But, good news at the end, the hotel had dinner waiting at this fashionable hour. Okay, will be home tommorrow after a night flight tonight.

Ciao!

Galapagos comes to a close

Well, today is our last full day on the Galapagos. Tomorrow we fly out to Quito and the next day i head for home. Today we visited the Charles Darwin station which is a preserve and is doing research on the giant tortoises. We got to see a lot of the babies that are being raised there and then the giant tortuga's -- and they really are big. They hiss if you get too close, but i did get to pet the neck of one when the guide looked the other way. For lunch we went to see a local family, a Black family and there are very few of them on the islands, for lunch. The mother made a fish cake for an appetizer and then had lasagna for the main course. It was a very poor family and the house was built by the father and had a corrugated tin roof. Well, after lunch we spotted a guitar in the corner and asked the teenage son if he would play for us. He did and sang too. We then asked the mother and father and pretty soon the family was in a great, happy song about their God. We then did some shopping in this small town on the water.
In the afternoon we went up into the hills where the giant tortoises live. We spotted many and i took a ton of pictures of these gentle giants. This was really something we all had been looking forward to here in the Galapagos -- finally to see the giants of this land. To close our day we went into the earth, down into a lava tube -- which looks like a cave that meanders under the surface. The lava tubes are formed when a volcano releases gas and lava up through cracks in the earth. The lava hardens on the walls and when it is over tubes or caves remain.
Well, folks, that's about all. Tomorrow i leave early in the morning. Thanks for tuning in.
Ciao!!

Saturday in Santa Cruz, Galapagos

Dear friends and family.
fIRST sUZ AND jO IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR FROM HOME AND SOME NEWS AND EVEN THE UNWANTED NEWS ABOUT SNOW AND ICE (WHICH SEEMS TO COME EVERY TIME I LEAVE HOME). Whoops, i just looked up and saw the caps. Sorry! I love hearing about the grandkids: Nick as an usher and Adam in the band and Shea saying hi to Baby Jesus and his mom and dad. Thanks for those touching moments. Suz, be careful in all your driving to work this weekend.
We are staying at the Royal Palm Hotel on one of the mountains of Santa Cruz (about 1400 feet). It is a plush resort which probably eats up half the cost of this tour. I could have done with a Day's Inn to save a few bucks. Our room is really a separate small house with fireplace, hot tub, etc., etc. Really far extravagant compared to the closet we stayed in on our boat, where if both people got out of bed at the same time you'd have no room to stand together in the aisle. Okay, it's nice!!
Today we visit a lava tube (whatever that is and i'll update you later), visit a local family for lunch, go see the giant tortoises, and then pack up tonight for our flight back to Quito tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to coming home at this point.
Hello Nick, Adam, Cameron, Jack, Maggie, Julia, Alyssa, and Shea!!!! Suz, Johnny, Stuart, and Katie I hope you all are doing well. Okay, enuff for now.

Santa Cruz, Galapagos

Dear friends and family,
Well, it has been about four days since the last post and the Galapagos part of the journey is about to end -- after we see the giant tortoises tomorrow. We spent four days on the Tip Top III traveling (by boat, motoring through the night to different islands) the Galapagos which is about 600 miles off mainland Ecuador. I think i have used about four 2-gig memory cards so far -- really way too many pictures but the scenes were really too good to pass up. Yes, i will have to do a bit of editing when i get home so viewers will not be tortured by the amount of pictures.
Okay, to answer a few questions that have come in: Adam, i did get to stand with one foot on either side of the equator in Quito, Ecuador -- one in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere at 0.00.00 degree latitude. (The equator also runs through the Galapagos as well.) Hey, and while we were there, you grandkids might like to know, we visited a replica of an Indian village of the people who live in the jungle and used to be headhunters, and i took a couple pictures of a shrunken head that was on display. It was about the size of a baseball. I even took pictures of the recipe for doing up a head. It is a bit gruesome. And Joan, i am traveling with OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) so it is a planned tour, and yes, the Andes are stunning, raw high peaks with broad vistas. I really felt connected with the earth when i was there.
Johnny and Suzanne, it was good to hear from the both of you. I trust you all are busy getting ready for Christmas and your kids are all excited. I'm glad to hear that you all are well and i look forward to seeeing all yopu kids and the grandkids soon!!.
Okay, back to the Galapagos and some favorite things: the stunning turquoise water everywhere; snorkeling the high cliffs of the Devil's Crown (an old volcano that long ago erupted and is sinking back into the sea and all that is left are the jagged cliffs of the round walls surrounded by the sea and with the sea running inside); snorkeling elsewhere with the many fishes and sea lions coming up to check you out; the blue footed boobies who are so unafraid of man (as are all other animals) they nest right on the trails where you walk and you can take pictures right down on top of them; pelicans diving from the high cliffs; the pink of flamingos; the iguanas lying on lava facing the sun as if in silent worship to a reptilian deity; Darwin's finches and mockingbirds that helped him formulate his theories of natural selection and evolution (by the way some mockingbirds came and sat on my hand begging for a drink from my water bottle but my guide said no, no); the Sally light-foot crabs that look like they went to a beauty parlor for all the brightest shades of red, orange, and yellow; the red-eyed oyster catcher who borrowed paint from the sally light-foots to paint a bright red ring around his eyes; the two Galapagos hawks that came and sat on the cliff with me (about two meters away) so i could take their pictures; visiting the cave where the Wittmer's (from Germany) and lived for a while back in the early 1900's till they could build a house (and she was pregnant at the time while living in this sinkhole of a cave) and yes in total, the Galapagos is a very desolate and forbidding place as well as beautiful in a bleak way; the mother sea lion on the beach with her placenta nearby nudging her dead newborn baby in hopes it would stir; the baby albatross nesting near the edge of the cliff waiting for his day to soar off the cliff and live on and above the sea for years to come, his neck feather curls blowing in the wind; and again the beautiful and alluring turquoise waters surrounding everything.
Well, i have just touched on only a few of the scenes of the Galapagos that caught my attention. More will be shared later when i can get some of these pictures (and my earlier ones) edited and put together in an album.This has been a good trip, to travel from Macchu Piccu and the stunning man made (Inca) ruins to the equally stunning natural beauty of the Galapagos -- both very spiritual places.
Love to all!

goodbye for a while

Dear friends and family
tomorrow i leave for the galapagos and will be on a boat for 4 days and withou internet -- can you imagine. after about 4 days we check into a hotel for 2 days. if they have internet, i get on and write a bit. Stay warm back home.
love and blessings.

sunday in quito

Damn, i was typing and then everything disappeared from the screen -- and it was a lot too. I´m in a small dark computer shop used by the locals right around the corner from my hotel. the backspace doesn´t work on this keyboard so some mistakes will remain. now i know why this place is cheaper than the hotel. today we explored the downtown a UNESCO world heritae site they are preserving in the Spanish fashion in which it was build in either the 14th or 15th centiury my notes are back in my room). the town center has the usyal park packed with people out for a walk, a cathredral, packed with people praying, and peopledemonstrating in front of the president´s palace because they think he is ripping the common people off, . i told our group leader that when we fish with our guy we´ll send him down here to straighten things out. He said they want no park of our Current Occupant. After the downtwn walk around we went to the equator to take pictures and visit in an indian village (with shrunkened heads and a posted recipe for how to do that kind of specialized work). at the equator (0 degrees latitude NIck and Adam but i guess you aready knew that.) the guide did a demonstration of the coralis effect(sp?) and how water in the northern hemisphere spins in the bathtub drains one direction and how it spins in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere . we stood on the equator line (as found by GPS) and pured water into a drain on the equator and the water went straight down. We moved the drain about 3 yards off the equator line and poured water dowen the drain and i´ll be darned, it turned one direction as it ¡was draining. Then we carried the tub to the other side of the line and repeated our experiment and bingo the water spun the other direction as it was draining. what blew my mind was that you only had to move a few yards off the line to see the corallis effet in action. maybe it was a magic trick and he fooled us all but i doubt it. i think al rooker was here a few weeks back when his network was at the north pole, south pole, and equatior doing a spectial on global warming. one of our group is pretty sick with diarrhea, light fever, and clamminess. we chope he is better to make the trip to the galapagoes tomorrow.
BERT, THANKS FOR YOUR NOTE, whoops, those caps again. no i will ass on the horseback ride as that bumping jams my spine and i get feeling pretty miserable pretty fast. i might take a tortuga ride instead.
sorry for the mess of writing bu a bad keyboard and 20 watt lights have me not doing so good. i am feeling healthy and having fun.
love you all!!!

Quito, Ecuador

Gary, thanks for making copies of the blogs for Mom. That is so kind of you. I know she probably enjoys reading these things and it probably eases her worried mind a bit. However, when i called her to say we were heading to Ecuador ext, she reminded me that there were pickpockets there too. That´s our Mom!
Got to Quito after about an hour and a half flight from Lima. Landed in a green bowl of vegetated city in the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 9200 feet. This city is so much more green that the bone dry and brown Lima. They call this the san fransisdco of the andes because it is such a hilly place. We met our guide, a young lady, who gave us a heads up on our itinerary and how to plan for the gALAPAGOS WHERE SHE ACTUALLY LIVES. Whoops, sorry for the caps. The use the US dollar here and have faded their old currency out. This is a much smaller city thaqn Lima and seems so much less hectic. I think we were all glad to leave Lima´s smog, beepbeepbeep, and hurried big city pace. And, i think we are all looking forward to sunshine, warmer weather, and the animals on the islands, and -- water!!
í´m tired and ready for bed.
Peace, mi amigos and family,
PS: Here in Quito we are on the same tim,e as you are.

Fix up of a poem and explanation

Okay, here´s the edited version and a bit of expanation. Obviously, i´ve fallen in love with this country I´m about to leave: the poor in this country live in the hills in reverse to the United Staes where the hills are owned by the rich. The Quechua are the indigenous Indians of this country who are on a hunger strike to have their language be equal to Spanish in their country. The Gate of the Sun is the gap in the mountains to the east of Macchu Piccu that lets in dawn´s first light upon this sacred city. Chicha is a local corn beer made by the women and advertised by a red bag or flag hanging on a stick alongside the road. The Shining Path was the group that started out as a voice for the people against the rich but then turned to killing too many innocent people and becoming hated. Inka means king and the Inca made the terraced hills that still lie in wait. I hope this helps this poem lose its cloak of obscurity in the berg of USA. Love you all and off tomorrow to Quito, Ecuador. Oh, at dinner tonight the retaurant was crowded with another group, but this one agroup of Avon ladies. Gads, they have that stuff down here too.
Ciao! for now

PERU, PERU

John Hutchinson
December 7, 2007

Last night you came to me,
banging your words upon my bed,
shaking me from my walk of sleep.

Why did you come to me,
give fishes from the cold breath of your sea,
pour your poor upon the hills of hope,
send a shy brown smile from under the lip of her hat,
turn my ears to the Quechua hungering for their tongue to be heard,
raise your stone stairway to the Gate of the Sun,
wave your red flag of chicha to pull the weary from the road?

Why did you
erase your Shining Path, the promise of a promise lost,
cry your glacial tears from snow topped peaks,
lift the weight of your people with a branch of cocoa leaf,
lay your terraced hills dormant in wait for a king,
walk your children miles just to give away their smiles,
open your Andes to release the heart of your soul?

Peru, Peru,
why did you waken me?

Lima

Bert and Gary
Good to hear from you!! Bert, i had a similar experience but not the one you mention. Tomorrow to Quito and then the Galapagos. I´m looking forward to the beach and a few animals.
love you all,
john

Peru, Peru

PERU, PERU

John Hutchinson
December 7, 2007

Last night you came to me,
banging your words upon my bed,
shaking me from the sleep of awake.

Why did you come to me,
give fishes from the cold breath of your sea,
pour your poor upon the hills of hope,
send a shy brown smile from under the lip of her hat,
turn my ears to the Quechua hungering for their tongue to be heard,
lower a stone stairway to the Sun Gate, the dream of a new day,
wave your red flag of chicha to pull the weary from the road?

Why did you
erase your Shining Path, the promise of a promise lost,
cry your glacial tears from snow topped peaks,
lift the weight of your people with a branch of cocoa leaf,
lay your terraced hills dormant in wait for a king,
walk your children miles just to give away their smiles,
raise your Andes to release the heart of your soul?

Peru, Peru,
why did you waken me?
What was it you wanted me to see?

After Dinner

Had an interesting dinner with part of our group and American exchange student who is here studying for his junior year in high school. He is here as part of a Rotary Club exchange student program and loves his experience of living away from home for a year with a local family. He said he even joined up with some new friends and created a local band with two gigs a week. This world is much smaller and is so much more connected than we think it is. Tomorrow a flight back to Lima for the day and the next day a flight out to Quito, Ecuador and the Galapagos. I will miss these dramatic mountains and the ancient life that they hold on too. Two guys played for us tonight at dinner -- one on a guitar and the other fellow on flute. They were stunning and Peruveanly good. I bought their CD. Okay, bye for now!
Ciao

Cusco and Pisac Day

Hey, Nick and Adam, thanks for writing. See my travels do come in handy and help you with geography and cultural stuff from around the world -- and Nick, i too hope we don't have to eat guinea pig on our travels, but alpaca, however was tasty. Well, talking about school things, we did visit a school out in the mountains today. A school build of bricks made from the local mud and a school of very basic amenities. The browned-burnt faced children were happy to see us, and they were like school children i've visited everywhere -- happy, curious, and a bit devilish. They loved when i took their pictures and immediately showed the results. I was very impressed with the fifth grade class i visited. The walls were covered with hand made posters and children's work. The teacher was obviously very good and dedicated. The school has their own garden of onions, potatoes, etc. the children raise for their meals. When we were there children were arriving after we had arrived, some walking two or more miles down out of the hills to school. There is no bus or cartransportation. Can you imagine that, kindergaten children walking that far. The people are very hardy. After the school visit, whch i hated to leave, we drove to Pisac and up into the mountains around this town to see all the terraces that cover the mountainsides built by the Incas, i guess about 800 years ago. The terraces have stone walls to stop erosion and allowed the Inca people to farm the mountainsides. Imagine very high and steep mountainsides completely covered by terraces! The mountains here are like our Rocky Mountains back home, very young mountains and so very steep. While we were there some local man was playing his flute and the sound carried far around this gigantic bowl in the mountains. Only the air and the flute were heard. The Incas must have been very talented and hard working people and very good farmers. After that we went down to the town of Pisac to eat lunch (i had fresh trout which was very good). The retaurant had their own guinea pig cage which was shaped like a big house for the guinea pigs to romp in until someone orders one for lunch. After lunch we went to the local marketplace where the Ketchua (sp?) people sell their vegetables and wears. The Ketchua are the people who wear the colorful clothing and hats as everyday wear. They are the indigenous peoples of the mountains and probably direct decendents of the Incas. The woman work the markets and wear their babies on their backs -- held there by a small blanket tied in the front. One woman i was negotiating a sale with, her child fell asleep as we were talking and she just reached back and pulled the blanket up over his head. The children are very close to their mothers (on their backs) until they learn to walk as they go everywhere with the mothers at work in the fields or to sell their goods in the markets. Everywhere i go i am so taken by the local people and their simple but effective ways. Our day ended today about three and so i am writing this a bit early. Enough for now from the land of Peru.

New day

noy i've been i a whirlwing. we leave here in 9 minutes and thanks bert for your posting of my time zone -- new york time. thanks too Suz for the weather report and dear wife. can't write now but more later -- maybe about the native brown woman on the stone path in macchu picu when i asked here a question she leaped her aged self up the rocks like a gazzell born to the rocks leaving me in seconds. boy, even the aged are wonderfully agile and spritely. bye

Macchu Piccu -- Cusco, day 8

I can't remember what day it is -- i think day 8 of this trip. seems like i've been here a month and a half. Suz, thanks for the home news about your boys. Yes, i do believe Nick has art talent as does adam with his physical gifts. Okay, here's what's new since the last time or what a tired brain can remember after two days at Macchu Piccu. I told you about the first day. The second day i got up at 5 and caught a bus back up the mountain at 6 (the bus ride is the scariest part of this whole Macchu Piccu experience, hanging on the edge of a narrow dirt road and overlooking the valley below) to hike up to the Sun Gate which is a gap in the mountains to the east of Maccchu Piccu and lets the sun fall on this ancient city. the hike to 9000 feet was breathtaking and at times had me a bit breathless -- but the views were stunning. So stunning in fact i finished my second 2 gig memory card in 7 days. Lowsey me!! Oh, well... On the Inka Trail ( which i was hiking and runs altogether 70 miles from cusco to the macchu piccu spiritual center) is a beautiful stone path or highway through the mountains, where the llymas walk with you. (how do you spell llmas without spell check and on half a brain???) In fact i was resting on a stone that had a puddle of water on it and two lylmas waled up the path, stopped, and drank fron the puddle next to my, their fur brushing my body. Anyway, how these Inca Indians ever built this road and their cities (at altitude) is mindboggling with nothing more than their hands and primative tools. They were wonderful architects and builders. Now, i want to read more about this civilzation. Leaving Macchu Piccu and on the Peru Railway (in blue and gold) heading toward Cusco, the porters on the train gave a fashion show of baby alpaca sweaters. They're always trying to seel you something here. After getting off the train in the town of 20 letters i can't spell, we got on our bus to continue our trip home to cusco. we stopped in another village that had a red bag hanging on a stick outside their house. That is the national sign that homemade beer is for sale inside -- chachi beer made from fermented corn and sometimes strawberries. Guess who was not bashful and had 2 glasses. This place was like a bar back home but instead of pinball machines they had homemade wooden boxes with holes and you have to throw coins or metal disks and try to get them into the holes. The locals drink their quaffs and play this game for drinks and money. Well, beer and all we finally made it back to cusco and i had spagetti and a red wine for dinner. Now, i'm brain dead and ready for bed. lots more happened today but that's all i'm capable of right now.
ciao, mi amigos

Day 6 -- Macchu Piccu

Dera friends and family,
The bus ride to catch the train to Macchu Piccu was a beautiful thing to behold with the Andes stretching out in front of us with white snow capped mountains. We arrived in the town (that had about 20 letters in its name and i can't pronounce it), where we caught the train, and visited in a family home. The people in the house are still living as did the Incas of the 12th century in a small mud brick abode with dirt floor and an earthen cooking area in the corner that stands about one foot high with a small fire inside for cooking. The house had a hand plow standing in one corner and a cot in the other and about 30 guinea pigs running on the dirt floor of this one room place. Yes, people love their diet of guinea pigs. The house had the familiar alcoves that all Inca homes of the past had. One of the alcoves in this house had two human skulls on display. Then we got on the train and rode down the Ururamba gorge following the river to the town of Aguas Caliente (which is now also known as Macchu Piccu). Pulling into this town on our train with the train track down the middle of the main street i felt like i was back in the 1800' s and the wild west. We then got on a bus to ride up to Macchu Piccu mountain. The dirt road had many hairpin turns and was mostly one lane where you could look straight down the side of the bus to the Ururamba River way below. Needless to say we were all a bit nervous. Well, Macch Piccu is as stunning as the postcards show it to be. It is hard to believe the Inca Indians could have build such a widespread and many massive structures on the top of a mountain. Ding, ding, ding -- there goes the train by my front door as i write this. Tomorrow i will get up and 5 and catch a bus back up the mountain to hike to the Sun Gate at six for the sunrise. The Sun Gate is good for me as i will have the sun behind my back for picture taking of Macchu Piccu early in the morning. This town reminds me too of maybe what a town in Nepal might look like as it is nestled at the base of so many high, high mountains. Okay, bye for now. It seems like i have been here for a month and it's only been six days.

Cusco to Macchu Piccu -- day 6

Good to hear from you all. Bert, i did not like the guinea pig. There was nothing there to eat -- like eatting a sparrow with too many bones. Kate, thanks for the note about Shea , that made my heart melt. Boy, do i MISS him. I have been taking a lot of little kid pictures maybe to get my Shea fix. Suz, the family loved the two CD's with your pictures and went on and on about how beautiful you are. I just smiled and said to myself, í know.' We will leave for Macchu Piccu in a few minutes. The altitude i don't seeem to mind when i am upright but when i lie to for bed i seem to snort and gasp trying to get more air in -- ansd the heart seems to beat faster too. Maybe i got blocked sinuses. Bert, i will try and get a window seat on the left side of the train to take in the spectactular river gorge on the way up the mountain. Love everybody.
hasta la vista!!!

Cusco in the evening -- day 5

It's about 8 oçlock and I just finished dinner -- spagetti, of all things after a lunch of guinea pig. Earlier today we went to the Inca Sun Temple, a beautiful structure made of stone, of course, with no morter. The stones are so perfectly fitted that in places you can't even stick in a fingernail. Now, how did the Inca people do that (Nick and Adam see if you can figure this out) almost 800 years ago with no modern tools or even iron or steel, and the blocks were cut perfectly plumb and level? And, we think we are talented. I walked up to the main plaza of town tonight. It is a big open garden area with a fountain and it seems like the enitire city of is out for a walk and socializing -- and this is on a Monday evening. The Latin American countries are so social. Sometimes, most of the times really, i think these cultures are so much more civilized than ours. There were a group of children in the plaza tonight on a school field trip from another town. They saw me as a novelty and kept wanting to take my picture or have me in a picture with them. The same thing happened at the Sun Temple today, a mother came up and asked if i would be in a picture with her daughter. And, it is usually me trying to get the pictures of the other cultures. What a cute switch! Tomorrow we go to Macchu Piccu and i am looking forward to being at this Inca spiritual center. Okay, that is about enough for now.
Mucho amor!

Cusco -- Day 5

Greeting from the high country of Cusco. First, i slept fitfully last night and don't know whether it was the three cups of cocoa tea or just the high altitude. Hopefully, tonight is better. Bert, thanks for your advice about getting a window seat on the left side of the bus on the way to Macchu Piccu to see the river. Suz, thanks for the Hanover update. Okay, here's what happened today. We did a visit to a vegetable market to buy foodstuffs as gifts for the healing ceremony later in our day with the shaman. I bought a bag of beans and some type of baked bread (mostly to be able to take the pictures of the ancient women in the marketplace doing the selling in their traditional Peruvean garb). I took a few other pictures there but the people all know the ropes -- before they allowed me to do theír picture they said 'propina' -- tip. One lady didn't like the tip i gave and handed it back to me. Tough customers. After that we went to the ancient Inca site overlooking the town -- a place we called ''sexy woman" because we had trouble with Sacsayhuaman, which means 'settled mind.' This site is quite remarkable as it has massive stone work cut and fit together in walls -- some of the stones weighing a hundred tons or more. How did they do that in the 1200's!? After this we visited the shaman for the healing ceremony, where we all had to place our intention or wish in the center of a scarf along with sacred items he placed in there. Then this was wrapped up and each of us was individually saged or prayed over by the shamen. Then all of our intentions were placed on a fire and burnt. We then presented the shaman with the foodstuffs we bought at the market as a gift to him. After this we joined a local family for lunch -- a homemade vegetable soup with local vegetables, guinea pig, rice, and a purple corn juice. The soup, rice, and corn juice was quite good. I told our host that in the USA guinea pigs are pets. I redeemed myself by giving them a gift of two CD's i made for Suzanne for her birthday. Okay, that's it for now. Later today we will visit the Incan Sun Temple.

Cusco night

dear family and friends,
glad to get your comments and updates. It is good to stay in touch and hear from family. Stu,
thanks for the Ironman news and of your family. Suz, yur comments are always so touching. Bert, thanks for touching base. And, Jo, mucha gracias for being in constant touch. I saw when i turned on the computer there was a blip about a storm that hit the northeast. hopefully eveyone is okay. when i quit this i will go up to my room and use my telephone card to call home and check in. Went for a walk tonigh around the town plazza -- a beautiful place to walk with many others who are out for a walk. The air is much cooler up here in the mountains. I'm comfortably warm in a jacket. This town reminds me so much of San Miguel de Allende in its character. Okay going to go makea telephone call.
love to all
juan of cusco

Day 4 Cuesco

Well, we finally got here after getting up early this morning, packing, and heading out to the airport in Lima. We flew for about an hour and a half up into the Andes Mountains (and i took a few pics of snow covered peaks which i hope turn out thru the glass of the airplane window). When i got here i really felt the altitude (11,000 feet) and drank three cups of cocoa tea which wiped out the fatigue and shortness of breath -- now i hope i sleep tonight from so much high energy drinking. After we ate some lunch, we did a walk of the downtown of this UNESCO world heritage city site (about 300,000 people) which reminds me so much of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico -- the stone streets, the massive stone buildings, the friendly people. Already i have taken a number of people pics up here, which i am always so inclined to do. Every meal has been quite tasty, for lunch today i had alpaca, which tastes like -- chicken, as our guide likes to say everything tastes like. Anyway, it was good. It is a bit cloudy up here as we are in the rainy season but have yet to see any rain.
Okay, that's all folks -- for now!

day 3 evening

First, a thank you for the responses that came in. It is really good to hear from family and friends. I was asked if i will download and post pictures. No, is the answer as i am just taking pictures at this point. Tomorrow at 7 in the morning we fly out or up to Cusco which is at 11,000 feet. CAN´T WAIT TO BE IN THE MOUNTAINS. sO FAR GOT LOADS OF GOOD PICS AND A NUMBE OF PEOPLE PICS AND PARTICULARLY LITTLE CHILDREN AND OLD PEOPLE -- LIKE MY SELF. wHOOPS, HOW DID THE CAPS GET IN HERE!
Mucho amor y hasta la vista!

Day 3 in afternoon

This morning was spent in a tour of the fish market area of town where i got a number of wonderful pictures of the men mending nets and some drinking cervaza and the women cleaning and selling fish. The people were very gracious and friendly. We also went to walk across the ´bridge of sighs´ where lovers now go to hang out. I think it was named after the bridge of sighs in Venice, Italy where men were allowed a last sigh before they were taken to the other side and executed. Interesting! We also took a tour of Shantytoewn where the squatters have moved in -- a half million of them to build their stick and tarpaulin shacks. The Shantytown is on the side of a dry sandy mountain or big hill, and the people are exceedingly poor, but friendly. They have been there so long that certain sections now have sewage and running water and on the top of the mountain the people have gotten into furniture making and some have prospered. There are signs that even Visa is accepted. When people finish their houses they are required to pay taxes. Needless to say some take a long time too finish their building in concrete or brick. However, we all left that part of town quite quiet and depressed for the grand scale of human poverty and living amongst so much waste. Had a good lunch and then went walking the area in which we are staying to visit the hand-crafts markets which i enjoy. Just had a beer and am now ready for a nap. Tomorrow we head to the mountains at 11,000 feet in Cusco and i´m ready to see this spendor.
hasta la vista mi familia and amigos!

Day 3

Last night we went to dinner, buffet style and tasty food with Pisco sours and wine, and to see the cultural dances of Peru. I sat by the stage and took a lot of pictures of the colorful dancers and wild going´s on -- one dance where the guy was trying to light the tail (like a hankie hanging from the back of her skirt at waist height) of the girl with a burning candle. She keept swishing the candle out with her sensuous gyrations. The passion in their dances!! Today we go to Shantytown where the homeless people moved and built colorful shacks on the side of the mountain. We´ll go to the market their too. I look forward to the market to see the handicrafts of the people. Yesterday, at one of the little market areas, a mountain woman was trying hats on my head for me to buy -- those woven hats that look like a ski cap. The hats did not fit and as she said my head was muy gordo, too big (fat). We then had our picture taken together and i said she could be mi Peru esposa and she gave me her very old, brown, and mountain wrinkled smile. I am anxious (cançt wait) to leave this coastal area and get to the mountains.
Okay, here are a few random, musings that popped into my head on the flight from Baltimore to Atlanta and then on to Lima:
__ Seated, buckeled in, taxied, and taking off -- i finally let go of control, surrendered to the hands of the pilot, and maybe God´s gold braided angel. Why haven´t i learned this lesson yet?
__ Climbing to altitude, i marvel. Why is it distance improves vision?
__ Flying above the clouds, does God even love this planet more?
__ Why do we throw stones harder at others than we do ourselves?
__ Is it true that everybody is going somewhere and nobody is going anywhere?
__ Is it also true that we leave on a trip with new eyes but come home to find our old ones again?
__ Parting air at 650 mph, do you think this bird of gray, steel skin and unflappable wings ever gets perturbed at turbulance?
__ With no sound on the Tv and the people going thru the motions, why does it sometimes seem easier without the words?
__ Why are there always more questions than answers?
__ Where do your bones call home?
__ Waiting and waiting with pen in hand, could it be the muse is out of range at 35,000 feet?
__ Is is when abandoned and lost upon a desert sea, that you finally stumble upon yourself?
__ Is life a searh for light between the light at the end of both tunnels?
__ Is expectation the exit line for eqinimity?
__ What flags do you bear that others bid you put down?
__ Where do facts go to take rest?
__ The airplane was so long that by the time i walked back to the bathroom, i was half way to Lima.
__ Is bruising ever not possible from falling in love?
__ Descending with flaps down, i wonder do geese ever lose perspective once upon their feet?
Ciao,
Juan of Parkton!