few posts, many adventures.

Sorry our postings have been so sparse on this trip. We´ll be heading home over the next few days - overnight bus from Huaraz to Lima tonight; one night in Lima; overnight flight to NY; spend a few hours in NY eating (as if we need more food) and then an evening flight to Bozeman. We´ll post a link to our photos on this blog and perhaps a short review of our adventures. We look forward to telling you personally about our trip when we see you!

Spanish Lessons:

1) La señora was either sick or pregnant or both but what it meant for us was no chicha, and more importantly for me (but less for Zach and Dan) no dinner. We´d been hiking all day in Colca Canyon and I opted for stale bread and peanut butter. They hiked another 30 minutes across a drainage to the next town for a more satisfying dinner (this time, their perspective, not mine). Our comprehension remains sparse but sometimes you don´t need the details.
2) -¿Quiere cerveza grande o pequeña?
-Un grande, para los dos.
Out came two grandes - one for each of the two of them, not one for the two to share. We´ve got to work on that... or maybe not.
3) Servicios Hygenicos (S.S.H.H.) - Toilets in some form -- not necessarily hygenic. Also not sure why the abreviation is double S, double H (any help, Lander?).
4) Menu - a two course meal starting with soup and usually costing about $1. Carta - the menu. Typically more expensive options, also sometimes called extras.
5) Lonchito - afternoon snack. For us usually hot chocolate and cake. or ice cream. or empanadas, or papas fritas... last night it was ponche and picarones (a hot drink of condensed milk, almonds, coconut, spices and fried dough). We are not hurting for calories in Peru.

What keeps me up at night:

The dog fights for one, but that is not the main thing. It is the roosters. In every city, yes, city we have stayed in (apart from Barranco in Lima) people have kept chickens, and roosters, in their yards. But it doesn´t end there; they keep pigs too. In yards the size of our front yard in Bozeman, people raise their own meat. I´ve also seen tomato plants in old oil tubs on roofs, balconies and in windows. Local food. Peru style.

Welcome to Lima

Traveling never quite goes as planned...thus we spent an unanticipated 9 hours sitting in the Bogota airport. We did eventually arrive in Lima and got a taxi to Barranco, a quieter part of the city along the coast. From here we´ve explored the trendier districts of Barranco and Miraflores as well as making the trip into grittier central Lima to see cathedrals, catacombs, and colonial buildings. Everyone is very friendly, even the restaurant touts aren´t too pushy, and our limited Spanish (or in Zach´s case a Spanish/Portugese mix) has been enough for us to communicate effectively. The taxi driver yesterday spoke slowly as he pointed out significant landmarks like the Palace of Justicia (although he claimed it´s really the Palace of Injusticia) and warned us not to travel down certain streets because of delinquencia. It remains to be seen if we´ll find communication more challenging as we travel into the mountains.

The pace of life here is very agreeable. Days are lazy and the streets start to come alive around sunset. Vendors start to set up their wares in public parks and people emerge from offices and homes to inhabit the public space. Last night we sat down to dinner at 11pm and there were still people coming to eat an hour later. Dishes of choice include ceviche of all types, anticucho (skewered, grilled cow heart), rotisserie chicken, and Inka Kola (a bubblegum flavored soft drink).

Our plan today is a descent from the cliff to the beach and more ceviche for lunch before a 15-hour overnight bus ride to Arequipa. We´re riding VIP style and the bus is equipped with a GPS system linked to the police in case of emergency.

The newest installment

Tomorrow we fly from Bozeman to New York. We'll spend a night at Dan's parents house visiting with Peter, Sue, Cathy, Jake, Nick, Leslie (Mom) and the dogs. Then Dan, Zach and I will head off the airport Tuesday morning and fly to Lima. We'll be posting updates from our adventure on this blog.