Trip to Peru: Lima Day 2

We woke up not too early on our first full day in Lima. Breakfast was in the executive lounge upstairs that we had access to thanks to my sister and all her Marriott rewards. We drank coffee and tried various hot and cold foods.
Our plan for the day was to go downtown to the historic district and explore various museums and monasteries. After talking to some other Americans in the lobby, we decided to hire a hotel limo, which was really a small Mercedes sedan, to takes us there. After a detour around the historic area, which we had seen the day before, he dropped us off near the Monasterio de San Francisco, I believe. During our tour the day before, we found out that this place had underground catacombs. The entrance fee included a mandatory tour, and we quickly joined an English speaking tour guide. She rushed us along up and down stairs, getting unpacient with the slowness of the group. I somehow always ended up at the front, which was good because she spoke very quietly. Finally she led us underground into the catacombs, where the overhead was very low and I had to be extra careful not to hit my head, or even my damaged nose! We looked at hundreds of bones and even skulls, which I guess I had never see anything like this before. The tour ended rather soon and we then were left to exit the building and explore Lima.

Our next stop was a museum on the other side of the historic district. We meandered along the streets, stopping to take photos and listen to some music being played for some ceremony outside a government building. The day before, the tour guild kept telling us to watch out for pick-pockets when we were outside the van. I must say that I didn't feel any less safe than I did walking through Central Park in New York. Yes, there are people there who would like to snatch my camera away, but most people were just going about their daily business. I had joked earlier that the 40% of the population that was unemployed were out waiting for us. I saw no sign on any unemployed people.

We finally ended up at the Museo de Arta de Lima. It had a mixture of old and new painting and many Inca artifacts. There were the usual paintings of the last supper and the crucifixion of Christ, which weren't quite as gory as the ones in Barcelona. However, just like last year, all museums begin to look alike. After we felt we got our moneys worth, we left. Time was going by fast and we decided to go back to the hotel. Rather than calling the hotel to be picked up, we went to a nearby hotel and pretended to be guests needing a ride to the plaza across from our hotel. Their limo was a Toyota, but it had more room than the earlier one.

We were all worn out from walking so much, so we ate dinner once again in the plaza. This time I tried a Pisco Sour, the official drink of Peru. This much hyped drink was not all that good. It contains a local brandy, egg whites and a liquid sugar. It was too sweet, but nice and strong. I needed a beer to wash it down, so I tried the "other" Peruvian beer, Cristal. It was no better that the Cusquena I drank the day before. This vacation ended up been almost alcohol free due to bad beer, high altitude and exhaustion.

After our early dinner, we walked up the main street in Miraflores, the nice district we were staying in. We were looking for a huge bazaar, and finally found it, we think. I had no intention of buying anything, so my sister and I headed back to an internet cafe while the shopper in the group stayed behind. I did attempt to blog in Lima, but Blogger was down.

The night ended with a sampling of desserts in the executive lounge. We needed to pack for our flight to Cusco the next day. Cusco is the gateway to MachuPicchu and that's where the adventure of this trip really begins.

Trip to Peru: Traveling and Lima Day 1

The trip to Peru began in San Diego around noon. We met at the airport for our flight to Miami via Dallas. Those flight were rather painless. We arrived in Miami late in the evening and it was strange seeing the airport so empty. All the shops were closed and there were only eight flights listed on the departure board, with ours being the second to last. Around midnight we left for Peru. The flight was long and I only got about one hour of sleep. A crying baby behind me woke me, and everyone on the plane, up. It wasn't his fault, the air pressure thing hurt his ears really bad. We landed on time just as the sun was rising. After we got our bags and cleared customs, we found our taxi driver, and were handed each a bag with bottled water and a hot towel courtesy of the hotel. We were staying at a JW Marriott in Lima, probably the best hotel in the best neighborhood in Lima.

The taxi driver whisked us away, zipping down the empty streets of Lima. It was a good thing I was sitting backwards in the van so I couldn't see what we were about to come close to hitting. The running joke in Lima was based on a Simpsons episode where the family travels to Brazil. They are warned not to get into an unlicensed taxi because they kidnap tourists. So Homer, my namesake, got into a taxi marked "Unlicensed", the driver changed the sign to "kidnapped". We were giving the same warning. So when the driver made a sharp turn down a small street, we all heard the sign on the van change to "kidnapped". Of course, the driver new the quickest way to the hotel and we were all safe.

We arrived at the hotel very early, hoping for an early check in. No such luck. I guess we didn't plan this part of the trip very well. However, they offered us rooms at half price so we could check in and get some needed sleep. It is amazing how good two extra hours of rest feel. By noon we were ready to head out and have some lunch. We made it as far as across the street to what I called "America Town" (based on a Simpsons episode where they travel to Japan.) There were lots of restaurants, but we ended up at a Tony Romas! Well, we were adjusted to Lima slowly. The food was very good, and that's what counts.

After lunch we had arranged for a tour of Lima. A small shuttle picked us up, as well as two other people from the hotel, and we were given a tour of the districts of Lima. This ended up being very helpful, for it gave us an idea of what to do the next day. The shuttle stopped at several squares, where we had a limited time to look around and take photos. It was then that we found out that it was election day in Lima. This would explain the empty streets, large crowds in the squares and the fact that there were no alcohol sales! After almost three hours, we were returned to our hotel.

We then took a break and once again walked across the street to have dinner. This time we ate at a non-American restaurant and tried some local cuisine, including fish. We had also been warned not to eat the fish because the waters were polluted. Since these were nice restaurants, I can't imagine them being in business if their customers were getting sick. During the whole trip, I ended up basically eating everything. I had an unstoppable appetite and tried all sorts of foods, all of which tasted great. The drinks in Peru, such as orange juice, were all very sweet. The sauces were all very rich. I really didn't eat anything I didn't like. As for the beer, that was a different story I'll talk about later.

After dinner we wandered around the shops for a while and then headed to the hotel for the night I slept very well in my 16th story hotel bed. We had lots planned for the next day and rest was much needed.

Me at Machu Picchu

Yes, it does look so far like I never left the country. I was working on my usual blog entry that began with the trip there and ended with the trip home. So just to prove that I was actually in MachuPicchu, here is a photo of me with the Incan ruins and Wayna Picchu behind me. This is the picture that everybody takes upon arrival.

Me In Lima

This photo was taken on the cliffs across the street from our hotel in Lima. The view from the room was great, except it was cloudy most of the time. We later learned that Lima is cloudy most of the time and gets almost no rain due to warm and cold ocean currents meeting off the shore.

Thanksgiving in Peru

This year we continued a new family tradition of traveling to a foreign country for the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent the week in Peru, visiting the capital of Lima and then traveling to Cusco for a trip to Machu Picchu. This photo was taken at a restaurant outside the city of Ollantaytambo, where we had just been given a private tour of the Incan city.

See you in one week

I leave for Peru tomorrow, and so for the next week I'll probably have no internet access. I won't update my blog until I get back. Then, I'll have plenty of photos and adventures to share with the world.

Getting Ready for Peru!

Hello all. I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with work and haven't done anything interesting lately. I had four days off last weekend and I spent them sleeping in! Work is very busy and stressful. I was supposed to be on a work trip this week but it got canceled because my fixes to the software were not complete. The more I test the more problems I find. Even today, I found two more critical problems that need to be fixed before this week ends since I'm gone next week.

I fly to Peru this Saturday for a week of much needed vacation. I have never been to South America or south of the equator before. This will be a fun trip, with a stay in Lima and Cusco, where we'll take a train and bus to Machu Picchu. This will be one of those vacations where I'll need a vacation to recover afterwards. Luckily, Peru is on the east coast time zone, so there won't be that extreme jet lag like you get traveling to Europe. Everything will be fine if I can only sleep on the plane from the Miami to Lima leg. Good luck!

More Photos from Big Bear

I couldn't pass up this photo-op. Who knows what the other patrons in the bar thought of me. Probably, "Wow, that guy is so tall his head is in the helmet!". Well, maybe not.



Can't miss an opportunity to photograph a sunset.

Big Bear Lake

On Friday I got unexpectedly invited to stay the weekend at a cabin at Big Bear Lake. So Saturday morning I quickly packed and drove up to the mountains with a friend of mine who knows the owner of the cabin. Saturday evening we hung out in the cabin for a while before heading to diner. I enjoyed my food but no one else did. Then we went to a bar at The Village where a band was playing. So after we arrived, the three people who had been at Big Bear since Friday got tired and left. So the rest of us stayed, drank beer, listed to music and even danced a little.



Sunday morning, after not sleeping so well on a hard floor, we went to breakfast and then drove around the lake to the trailhead for our hike. The hike ended up being almost six miles round trip. Now this was the first hike I had been on since Mt. Whitney, so I wasn't in good hiking shape. I was doing fine until the trip down, and my knees began to hurt so much I could hardly walk. I did finally make it down, last as usual.



After lunch it was already time to pack up and drive home. The drive home was easier because there was much less traffic at the dreaded I215/91/60 interchange in Riverside. On the way up we missed our turn, due to traffic, construction and poorly labeled exit signs. My stay at Big Bear was a nice weekend getaway and I feel more relaxed than I did last week.

Even More Photos From Chicago/South Bend

Time to put on the warm clothing for the big game. However, it turned out to be a nice, warm day at Notre Dame.



So does that mean we are currently in Roseland? I have never seen a sign that says "0" miles.

More Photos from Chicago

Apparently this game is called Cornhole. They really do have nothing to do in the Midwest.



I was afraid to go on a boat, you never know what will drop on you from above.




I found this interesting, not knowing what it was.