Day One in Peru - Cuzco to Aguas Calientes

We arrive in Cuzco and hit the ground running - remember that Amazing Race comment? We get to the taxi area as quick as we can and nab a taxi and tell him that we need to get to the PeruRail station in 30 minutes -- can he do that? We know it is in Poroy, on the other side of Cuzco, and we have no idea about traffic. Ugh. He says he can do it, and we pay extra for the “fast” part, and we are off --- goodness, what a mad dash through a city. My knuckles turn white as I hold onto the seat in order to not be thrown into Mister on the switchbacks climbing out of Cuzco. There are no seat belts in the back seat and Mister is trying to take pictures out the car windows. We are caught in the morning rush to work and school with people and dogs running everywhere as we zip through very poor residential sections. Our eyes cannot take it all in and we are both pointing at things and trying to get each others attention.

We know we are coming back to Cuzco in a few days so we settle back and visit with the cabbie. We are heading to the town of Poroy, about 13km from Cuzco for the train station. The train used to go into Cuzco and follow the same route we are taking by car, complete with switchbacks, but has ceased doing so. According to the cabbie, it started shaking the adobe houses to pieces and so was eliminated – another reason we heard was that the people didn't like the government taking over the rail service, so they would throw things at the train as it snaked through the switchbacks. Not sure about the accuracy of either one, but the homes are right next to the tracks and certainly falling apart.

Incredibly, we do arrive in Poroy with time to spare for our train. We go into the station and start to feel the altitude for the first time. We had gone from 550' in Dallas to 55' in Houston to 350' in Lima -- no big change there. However, now sitting in Poroy, we notice a little unbalance and our heads feel fuzzy. We were now over 11,200'. That is up there. After purchasing the first of many bottles of water, we boarded the train and settled in the Vista-dome car. It's a nice car with curved windows in the ceiling and large comfortable seats.

They didn't allow me to keep my bag with me and for some reason that was driving me nuts. So I got up and took everything out of my bag that was identity or financial related and put them in the day-pack Mister was carrying. Okay, now I could relax and if all my clothes disappeared so be it. The train departed for Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo - elevation 6,700') which was 70 miles away and would take 3 1/2 hours. Time to sit back and enjoy the scenery.

They serve a little food snack and drinks. The food is a quinuoa salad and some small potatoes on toothpicks with cubes of cheese at either end. Drinks were coffee, tea, and sodas. Mister had the Inca Cola, a bubble-gum flavored soda found throughout Peru.

The snacks and the rest helped our moods, and the train drops elevation quickly, following the Urubamba river and it's almost constant white water rapids. We pass through many micro-ecosystems during the trip; from farm land to forest to desert to jungle. The Inca Trail, the original path used by the Incas, comes in and out of view during our trip.

This route is also used by a local train service (tourists not allowed) so we go through many small train stops where we see classic Peruvian women selling produce and kids in school uniforms running to class. Our only stop is at Ollantaytambo, a small village that has some very well-preserved Incan ruins. A few people get off and we pick up many tourists who have stayed here and are visiting Machu Picchu for the day. 

I fall asleep for a short nap as we continue our descent into Aguas Calientes. I wake up to Mister darting through the train to try and capture the Century plants on camera. They have bloomed and their size is fascinating him.

We arrive around noon. The “town” is wedged into a narrow valley, with tall peaks and the river splitting the town into tourist and local areas. Aguas Calientes is the gateway to Machu Picchu. To get up to the ruins early in the morning, you have to spend the night here, so it is full of small rustic hostels and restaurants. You have to walk through the market to leave the station. It is a compact maze of stalls selling souvenirs and everything alpaca. We pass by a small church and the tiny town square and walk up an alley to our hostel, Gringo Bill's.



Nothing is flat or level here. The hostel is built into the valley wall, so each room is on a different level. This is our first of many days walking up and/or down stairs of every shape and size. Oh, did I tell you the only fat people we've seen are tourists? Makes sense now. The room is small but clean. We even have a private bath with a shower. I plug in the heater (it's Autumn in Peru and the dampness makes it feel cold) and we both take a well-deserved nap on a real bed, the first since ours in Dallas almost 36 hours ago.

The rest helps with the altitude adjustment too -- when we wake, we are both more stable but I am starving and it is affecting my good humor. We know that we have to go down to the government offices to make sure our Machu Picchu tickets are valid and also to the bus depot to purchase tickets for the bus the next morning so off we go - back down the stairs, through the passageway, and out onto the plaza.

There is a statue of Pachacuteq (a very famous Inca whose name means "he who moves the Earth” and was instrumental in the growth of the Inca Empire through the building of cities and monuments such as Machu Picchu) in the center of the square and is often the perch of many pigeons looking for a handout.

The plaza is also housing tents that are a makeshift hospital while the building is being worked on and there was a different tent for each department. The government offices are right on the plaza so we are able to quickly verify that our tickets will indeed work (that had been the one purchase we made from home before leaving and they wouldn't print right so Mister had to do a screen print and we just want to make dang sure they would be accepted).

Next, off to the bus depot down around the corner near the river. We quickly pick up tickets for the next morning to go to Machu Picchu. The ticket is any bus that day -- just line up and load one bus after another. We want to get up there early to watch the sunrise and to avoid the day tourists from Cuzco, so we plan to grab one of the first, starting at 5:30am.

It's already dark, and we are searching for dinner - woohoo. Indio Feliz (Happy Indian) is right around the corner from our hostel. French-Peruvian fare and a chance to recharge. The restaurant is hidden off of one of the two main streets in the town (street almost indicates traffic, but this is only foot traffic) and has a quiet brick walkway entrance that is very welcoming. When we walk in, the first thing we notice is that the walls, ceilings, and columns in the first room are covered with business cards. Wow. We go through this room and are shown a table in the Captains Bar which is beautifully decorated (http://www.indiofeliz.com/en-restaurant-machu-picchu) and not too busy as it is still early evening and many people are still at siesta.

Mister has forgotten the camera and so runs back to the hotel to retrieve it while I select some wine to start the evening. When he returns, we order our meal - Brochette de boeuf au poivre en sauce de sirop de Caroubier for Mister (ha ha Beef Kabob) and Poulet à la mangue de la forêt de Quillabamba (Mango Chicken) for me. We order them a la carte instead of the 3-course meals. We are inundated with trays of food for each of us. A fresh potato chip, veggies, and rice are in the side dishes that are brought and our table is covered with food. The food is delicious and I eat everything except the rice as I am completely stuffed. The wine never does show up - so we order a bottle of water and finish our meal. When the check is delivered, they have charged for the wine, so we let them know that it wasn't been received and the owner is instantly at our table wanting to make things right. He takes the price off our check and then delivers a bottle of wine complimentary to us. We sit back and watch the different stories playing out in front of us while sipping on the wine as our dessert. Nice.

 Then, back to the hotel to shower and get out of the clothes we have been in since starting out. Oh my, being clean sure feels nice. Then,off to bed at the very late hour of 8:00. We are absolutely exhausted and have to be up at 4:00 to get to the bus on time.

Peru -- Here we come - Dallas to Lima

Three days notice and we are off. Not too much planned, no hotels, just a route to the main destination. We are off on an adventure to Peru! Wow!!! Are we really doing this? Just hopping a plane and doing the whole "Amazing Race" thing, lol? We are. And it is just way too cool. We leave home at 3:30 in the morning for DFW and get checked in for a stand-by flight at 6. After security, we sit down and I do a quick check on the flight and suddenly the "open" flight to Houston that we need has closed up. Hmm -- so, another flight that I was not aware of is just leaving and I hear them call stand-bys so I walk up to the gate agent and ask if we can hop that one instead. As her fingers click over the keys on her computer, I have a moment of worry --- first flight and we are already changing things --- does this bode well? She looks up and asks me where my husband is and says, "go get him" as she hands me boarding passes. So, were are off to Houston. One advantage to not checking luggage.


The one and only United flight to Lima departs Houston each day at 4:00 in the afternoon and it is now 7 am. We havea long day at the airport ahead of us so we head down to the end of a terminal and find a corner near windows that is deserted and set up camp. First things first -- I buy a blanket and pillow and we settle in on the floor and sleep for awhile. Perhaps we should be studying Spanish, but instead we rest and talk.

Time passes quickly (yep, it does) and after grabbing our last American food for awhile, we are headed to South America. Naturally, Mister goes right to sleep as I settle in with a movie. Shortly, the flight attendants arrive with dinner and then it is just relax and rest. We arrive in Lima at 10:30 pm. and go through customs without a hitch. After a brief stop at the information desk to figure out how and where to purchase train tickets to Aguas Calientes, we go to the LAN Airlines ticket counter for our connecting flight to Cuzco The staff there are amazing and tell us that we will have to wait until 1:30 am. to see if there are any seats available on the 5:30 flight the next morning.

You can't go to the gate area without a boarding pass, so we are told to head up to the food court area to spend the night. Quite a few crazies are doing the same thing and there are people trying to sleep in many nooks and crannies of the shopping area. Sitting in the food court and watching people is interesting and the security is an obvious presence. After some money changing so that we will have cash when we land in Cuzco, we enjoy a soda and then take turns resting and being on baggage watch until Mister goes down to see if we can get seats on the flight. Yep -- and so off through security we go.

Now, airport security in Lima is totally different than in the U.S. and we love it. Quick and easy -- no invasion of privacy and yet everyone feels perfectly safe. Go figure. The PeruRail kiosk is within the secure area, so we stop on the way to the gate. After a few minutes of pantomime and Tarzan Spanish (the man speaks no English), we find out their system is down so "come back at 4". We are off to the gate area, stretch out on the seats - another smart approach and kudos to Lima as the seats don't have armrests between them and you can lay down all the way - and crash. Once again, people are stretched out everywhere trying to go back to sleep.

The next thing I knoew, Mister is waking me up to watch bags while he goes to get the train tickets. There are only three trains a day going to Aguas Calientes, so we need the tickets to make sure we can get on the last train. I wait and wait and soon the area fills up with people. Gate agents arrive and flight crews are boarding on several flights. Hmm -- where is Mister? I watch the many beautiful attendants for the various airlines and admire their uniforms and sleek look while I wait. Soon, our flight starts boarding and so what to do now? I have both bags and I know that Mister is up two flights of stairs and I can't leave them. So I put mine on my back and lug his up the stairs to find him waiting in line and no counter person there. We don't know what to do, but I leave his bag with him and got back down to watch for when he will have to give up and join me. After about another 10 minutes, I go to check on him again, knowing we are almost out of time.

This time the ticket agent is there, but was just booting up his computer and at least Mister is first in line. I tell him I will ask the gate agent to wait as long as possible and I head back down. Dang, hiking up and down stairs with this pack on my back isn't too much fun. The flight starts "boarding" and so I get in line and watch like crazy for him to come down the stairs. Soon, he comes running with his bag and rail tickets in hand and we go through the door to board the plane. But wait, no plane. Instead we board a bus? My first taste of Peruvian hospitality when we board the bus and a gentleman points to a seat in the corner for me so that I don't have to stand. Cool.

The bus departs the terminal and heads past old hangars and out onto the tarmac. Soon, the bus stops at our plane and out we go -- up the stairs and onto the plane. We have a 20 minute delay and Mister and I both look at each other as we have a limited amount of time to get from the airport to the train station outside of Cuzco All we can do is sit back and hope the plane makes up time. The snack box on the plane has cookies and crackers, a nice touch for only a one hour flight.

Mother's Day At White Rock Lake

Jen and crew were up in Dallas visiting for Mother's Day and so when Cass and Scott arrived we all went to White Rock Lake for a chance to walk around and the kids to let off some energy.  It was a beautiful day - perfect for playing and chatting.

Miss Elena Is 3 and Meeting Miss Malea

Weekend number three and we are back in Montana.  It is another birthday weekend and this time in honor of Miss Elena who is unbelievably turning 4.  Where are the years going?

Our flight lands in Billings only a few minutes before Elena's party starts.  We pick up our car and make a mad dash to the Billings Gymnastics Studio where the party is being held.  Since Elena's new sister had just been born yesterday, Daddy and Aunt Amanda were running the show.  We hit the dirt running and lending hands wherever we could.  Our first sight of Elena was this one:  She was having great cousin time with Nora.



Soon the place was buzzing with cousins and friends running and playing everywhere.  It was "organized" chaos though as there actually was a teacher running the kids from one apparatus to another.  I took over with Caleb so that Amanda could help more and Mister ran around trying to take a ton of pictures so that Rhiana wouldn't feel that she had missed it all.

At one point the kids were all led in a song of "Tooty Ta" - again I wish I had a video.  They boys were   so cute and had me just giggling while watching them.  Such a funny song.

Oh look --- Raef can fly!  Although I cannot figure out why he looks like a monster coming down.  A few seconds later I glanced up and Amanda was barreling down the ramp and leapt into the pit.  I was definitely not fast enough to catch her in med-air, but did grab this shot.

As each person took their turn, some got out of the pit faster than others.  Zyra was content to stay in there for awhile and play peek-a-boo.  There were also lines forming at the zip-line and I was so impressed with well they all did.  Elena came flying past and was all smiles when she finished.




As I said earlier, I was trying to keep tabs on Master Caleb and was running out of ideas to keep him amused.  When all else fails -- get on their level and just let them maul and abuse you.  Works every time.


He was laughing so hard and all that did was make me laugh harder until I could barely hold him up.

Cousin time -- We are missing Caleb and have an extra friend in there, but here ia a rare moment of quiet time between events.

When the kids were finally worn out and cake and ice cream were finished, it was time for presents.  Kyle did such a good job running the show and Elena made an absolute haul.  I had no idea how we were going to get it all in the car but by splitting up kids and gifts, we left in 3 cars.  Another party at an end. Whew.










When we got home with Elena she wanted to play on the new swing that her daddy had built for her.  Don't ya just love the shorts and boots?  I know I do.


























After naps and a change of clothes, it was time for Elena to go and meet her sister, Malea.  She was so excited to go, but I honestly think it was to see Mommy.  They are so close and being apart is hard for Elena.  I love these first moments as a whole family and was so glad to be a part of it.  So tender and amazing.  Goodness but how small she is compared to her big sister.

Grandpa got a quick hold in as well and almost looks as though she might break.  Well, I guess as small as she is that makes sense.  Welcome, Miss Malea, into this family that is so excited to have you.  You also are helping to even out the numbers -- something that is drastically needed.

We went down to Matt's for dinner and the cousins were able to play together for awhile.  They all get along so well.


Did I say they got along well?  Here is a shot from earlier in the day when there had been a bit of a falling out with the boys.  Grandpa watched the whole thing unfold and was trying so hard not to laugh as they were left to work it out.  This picture is truly worth a thousand words.

The adults hung out upstairs visiting and Matt reached boredom quickly, thus resorting to playing with toys and showing his creativity.  Everyone oooh and aaaah here.









The next day Elena wanted to take out her new kite that Grandpa and I had given her as a birthday present.  It was a pretty windy day and so the three of us walked over to a park near Matt's house and let her fly it.  She did pretty good for a first time and was actually willing to let others try too.  Purple shoes are the give away that it is her -- she was borrowing a jacket.

Back at the house Matt was supervising trampoline time after yesterdays skirmishes and since the boys were not exactly gentle -- he had divided the sexes as well.  Smart guy.


While the boys were jumping, the girls were on the deck playing with the new colored rice "sandbox" that Aunt Rhiana had made for Zyra for her birthday last week.  Are they not delightful together?

Girls turn on the tramp.  These little ladies get along so well and are so fun to have around.  I am so enjoying our weekend here - treasured moments everywhere.  It is so hard to try and remember them all.  The Hollywood Duo back on the deck.  Future starlets.








I have no idea what this conversation is about but just seeing Grandpa get up on the tramp with the kids was shocking enough for me.  He never ceases to surprise me.  I think the grands adore him as much as I do.  What fun.

Amanda has departed back to Cheyenne and we are going to take Elena back to her house for the night.  It's time to head back for the evening and some one on one time.  It is so special to get this time with her.  What a little sweetheart.













It is Monday and so we have to say good-bye again and head back to Dallas.  Hyrum and Zyra greet us on bikes and we have a hard time leaving.  Oh my, these little ones sure do tug at the heart strings.




























Our final stop on the way to the airport is at the hospital to see Rhiana and Malea one last time. We don't know how long it will be before we get back this way and need to get a baby fix.  Is there anything more precious?

Priceless!

Happy Birthday to Me and Miss Malea

What an incredible birthday present!  Miss Malea arrived today and although she is very tiny 4 lbs. 13 oz., she and Mommy are doing well.