Machu Picchu

Many of you have been asking about Machu Picchu. We went on a Sunday morning, and spent all day in the park. We had a tour guide who spent 2 hours with us and led us through much of the ruins, teaching us about the Inca's economic, education, agricultural, architectural, and calendar systems. (The walls are built by pressure alone! They carried every one of those stones up the mountain and sanded them with hematite.)

The Inca civilization is amazing, and many of our traditions and beliefs today are based on the truths they discovered centuries ago. The main tenants of the Inca civilization are peace and reciprocity, and you can see these themes in every action they performed. Reciprocity took on an entirely new meaning for me that day.

After lunch, 4 of us hiked to the highest peak overlooking the ruins. It took us about 4 hours up and down. We came off the mountain at 5:15pm, just in time to catch the last bus. That hike was the most challenging thing I have ever done, calling on strength I did not know I had. Although 4 of us set out together, we each fell into our own pace, and hiked the second half of the climb alone. We met at the top and sat in silence for a time. It was a grueling journey, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The place emanates an energy that I have never quite sensed anywhere else.


It is hard to believe, as I sit here with pneumonia now and struggle to climb my own stairs, that I climbed Machu Picchu and touched the sky just over a month ago. But I did. I walked through clouds. The sun shone down. I climbed a mountain. And wow, life is good.

Dunkin Donuts

Dunkin Donuts. Did I get your attention?

In the middle of our tour of historic Downtown Lima, our tour guide Enrique takes us by none other than Dunkin Donuts, and tells us we have a 5 minute break. The American-food deprived college students in our group were on that doughnut counter like white on rice. Even the tour guide bought a coffee! Since I had only arrived 3 days before, and liked the meals I had been served so far, I did not think it necessary to miss home quite yet.

After hearing all of their lip-smacking and moans of satisfaction, I gave in at the airport a couple days later. Uh, American Dunkin Donuts needs to take a tip from their Peruvian brothers. The Dunkin Donuts in Peru serves the BEST doughnuts I have ever tasted. I seriously think they lace the delicacies. They had frosting flavors I could never imagine. I had a doughnut covered in toasted coconut, and when I bit into it, liquid caramel oozed out. I also had a doughnut frosted with a mint green fruity goodness. Fast forward to the night I left Peru. I tried to spend all of my soles so I would not have have to exchange money. I made sure to spend down so I had 5 soles left, enough for one last doughnut at the airport. This time I had duranzo, peach icing with jimmies. Divine!

Last week, my brother, sister-in-law, and I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way out of town. I had a boring old maple glazed. Sigh.

Celebrations

My friends and I visited Cusco (11,000 feet above sea level), the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu during Winter Solstice. June 24 is Inti Raymi, a Festival of the Sun, celebrating Winter Solstice in Cusco. What an energizing time to visit Cusco. Everywhere we looked, there were banners, flags, people in costumes, and music. We walked into the main Plaza de Armas after dinner, and were caught up in the drumming, singing, and dancing. I have never seen anything like it. It was such a cold night, the stars shone, and hundreds of people just danced on in skirts, wraps, and bare feet.


Before I left for Peru, all of my friends wondered if I would meet someone tall, dark, and handsome. Do any of these friends count?

I heart Lima

I had a love/hate relationship with Lima. I remember when I arrived in Lima and drove through the dark streets to the house where I stayed, I thought, "Oh my gosh, what is this place?" It was ugly, dirty, and run-down. But as I came to know the city and its people, it became beautiful. As we drove that same route from the beginning on the night I left, I fought tears, thinking the city was a "beautiful ugly." The bright colors, old cracks, wrought-iron gates, exhaust-stained walls, and even graffiti give the city character.

It is amazing the difference in period architecture, colors, and spaces across the city. This is the main Plaza De Armas in Downtown Lima. The buildings are a mix of Moorish and Colonial design.

The Presidential Palace

The Mayor's Home and Ministry Buildings

Fountain of Fertility

Peru is a largely Catholic country, and we toured 3 different cathedrals and monasteries in Lima. The Monasterio de San Francisco is a beautiful yellow cathedral with a tranquil Moorish courtyard. It was so peaceful in the courtyard that we forgot we were in the middle of a bustling city. It had an amazing library with antique texts pre-dating the Conquest. But what the church is most known for is its vast catacombs below the cathedral. Estimates say there are around 70,000 burials. The tunnels and bones are eery, yet beautiful. I was struck by the small size of the skulls.

Then just on the outskirts of this beautiful city, a reminder of how much of the population lives, in brightly colored boxes on the mountain.

Alfahors

Alfahors could quite possibly be, the best things to ever come out of the country of Peru. Little flour cookies (kind of like shortbread) sandwiching fresh dulche du leche, they are dusted in powdered sugar, and simply amazing. I have been known to inhale a box of 8 small sandwiches before the bakery was out of walking sight.

Custom in Latin America is to take gifts whenever visiting someone. I took a box of alfahors, sunflowers, and stickers with me when I met Maria and her family. Ironically, I climbed into their car and they had a box from La Casa del Alfahors waiting for me! We laughed, and then dug in. Later that night, I opened my box of 20, which was more like 16, and offered a taste to Leah and Laurie, my roommates. They both liked the cookies a little too much for my liking. They next morning, after they left for placement, I realized I only had 6 left, and decided I better have an after-breakfast snack, just so I would not have to share them later!


Laurie and I discovered La Casa del Alfahors on our walk the next day. She gave me the most unkindly look when I grabbed her hand and dashed for the door. When she realized where I had actually taken her, she giggled like a little girl. There were alfahors everywhere! Regular, cookies with chocolate, regular rolled in coconut...you name it, they had it! I swear the entire store basked in a wonderful faint glow. We each chose a personal alfahor size to snarf down that very moment. Then we realized they sold kits with the cookies and dulche de leche, so you could make your own at home. It was as if all the planets aligned and everything was right in the world. Aaaaaaahhhhhhh.

Needless to say, we each traveled home with kits! My last day in Peru, I decided to forgo a museum visit, just so I could make one more visit to an alfahor bakery. Is that bad?

I made some alfahors last week for my family to try. I made 18, and everyone was allowed 3 cookies. You can only imagine the arguments that broke out. There are some slow pokes who took their time coming for their cookies. Bet they were sorry... Now, then, when to make the rest of the kit??

Sneaker Eulogy

Oh, my faithful foot friends. You have held me up, and kept me sturdy and strong over the years. I remember the day I first tried you on, like it was yesterday. You were gleaming white, with huge marshmallow-like protrusions growing out of your bottoms. I called you moon-bounce shoes. Your protrusions concerned me, and it took extra coaxing to look past and see the good you could offer me. And you did share so many wonderful experiences with me.

Together, we walked the beaten path in Boston, smelling the wharf and seeing history. You helped me relive my childhood, touring Disney World and remembering how much I loved Mickey. You hiked many trails in Asheville, the round-about way of Sun City, Hilton Head beaches, and local Greenways at home. You allowed first grade cherubs to step on you. And you helped me to run all the way around a track for the first time ever.

You were my official shoes of Peru. You traipsed the sidewalks of Peru, dodging crazy drivers as we crossed. You jumped morning puddles. You hiked three flights of stairs multiple times a day without complaint. You climbed down the cliffs of Miraflores to stand on a pebbled beach, and then hiked up 345 steps to get back to solid ground. You walked the cobbled streets of Cusco, scrambled up trees in the countryside, climbed old Inca ruins, and above all, survived a trek up the side of Machu Picchu. Together, we touched the clouds. For all of this, you awarded me with blisters. You rode in an open air dune buggy, and ate sand as we crossed the desert. You were lucky to duck and miss the seasickness that hit our boat ride from Islas de la Ballistras.

You served me well. Thank you for giving me wonderful and unforgettable memories. I wish you well in your retired life in the slow-lane. I know you and your hot pink Soucony emblems will keep Abuelo Thomas warm in Villa.

Happy pictures

Don't you just love the triangle nose with the line down the middle, showing how much he notices about his face? I especially love the over-sized ears in the next one! (The little boy really does have big ears too!)