Life's a Stitch

We were coached to wear long pants and sleeves to Machu Picchu due to the biting insects,  whose name in the local native language translates to “the one that makes the puma cry.” As the temperature was predicted to be 34.5C (94f), a group member asked if shorts would be ok, we were assured with repellent we’d be fine. Slathered up with the picaridin lotion brought from home, I had an uh-oh moment observing we were the ONLY people wearing shorts on our train. That stuff is amazing, as afterwards we saw people in long pants with huge welts around their ankles, and others in shorts who had used the locally available spray, quite sick and uncomfortably covered in bites. I had one bite under my collar and one on my eyelid, both spots missed by bug cream.

Our small group was given a choice of the higher, more challenging route or the lower one. Gluttons for punishment (as my mother would say), we chose the former. I was grateful for our hiking poles. Two misunderstood facts from Machu Picchu: many older websites tell you no plastic water bottles are allowed, when in fact they are, as  long as you haul your plastic. And although there is a sign regarding hiking poles, if the sharp metal tips are covered and you need them for safety, off you go. 

From the lower level you can see the resident alpacas.

We boarded the train at sunset, tired and thankfully not itchy, after  a wonderful day. This was the original intention of the trip, for C to see Machu Picchu for his 70th birthday, delayed a few years by the pandemic.

The next day we transferred from the Sacred Valley to Cusco, a charming city with an elevation higher than Machu Picchu. Looking at my Fitbit stats you could clearly see the four nights we spent there.  My blood oxygen level was between 80 and 85%. 

A walking tour included the Convent de Santo Domingo and the Cusco Cathedral. C was hesitant to participate in another, as he calls it, ABC tour (another bloody castle, another bloody cathedral). He was happy to find it one of the best tours on the trip. 

The convent was built on top of an important Inca temple, and in the museum you could see the meticulously fitted stone walls that have withstood hundreds of years and were successfully designed to survive serious earthquakes.

The cathedral, built in cooperation with the local Quechua tribe features religious statues wearing native costumes, a Black Jesus and a painting of the Last Supper where Jesus and the apostles were feasting on the Peruvian delicacy, coy (guinea pig). Photos were not allowed in the cathedral, but this image was on the entry ticket.

We ended at the public market, the most impressive on our trip. There were rows upon rows of cheese, bread, flowers, meats, fish….household staples, surrounded by outer aisles of local handicrafts and clothing. 

We ended our stay in Cusco with dinner at Mr.Cuy, where they present their national dish in a manner more acceptable to tourists, served in neat pieces, without identifying parts. What does it taste like? Not chicken, which many things seem to taste like, this time my answer is duck.

C had stuffed peppers:

The next day we flew back to Lima. The rest of our group flew home that evening, but we had a bonus day as the organizers couldn’t find a reservation for us until the next day. It was nice to have a day to walk and wander on our own. 

A long trip, the highlights kept building as time went on. Rio, Buenos Airies, Iguazu Falls, the Amazon rainforest, Galapagos, and now the delayed purpose of the trip, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cuzco, via Lima, to celebrate C’s 70th birthday postponed due to the pandemic. 

 

We flew from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Lima Peru where we checked into our tiny basic but clean room for two nights.

We were lucky to have a window with an interesting street view, a 50/50 chance. 

The other rooms faced a wall. Our full day was packed with a city and convent tour, geocaching and free time.  Required geocache photo:

In the morning it was off to the mountains, traveling from sea level to 3399 meters (11,153ft) Flying into Cuzco was thrilling. The runway has a 14,000 ft mountain at one end and the airport is regularly closed due to weather challenges. Night flights are permitted  at night and pilots are required to have special training to use the airport. We seemed to fly precariously low in the high mountains for a considerable period of time. 

 

We transferred by bus to the Sacred Valley, stopping at an alpaca wool farm,

Yes, they do spit, this guy was unhappy I was feeding him too slowly and spit a mouthful at me. Not a slobbery mass, just a well aimed chunk of chewed grass. That was enough for me. I walked away from the alpaca.

We drove past restaurants with huge statues of Guinea pigs advertising the South American delicacy.

And saw women on the roadside selling boiled corn with giant kernels accompanied by a slab of farmer cheese.

We turned left at a derelict looking establishment, thinking it was our possibly adequate accommodation in the “charm category” that until this point had exceeded our expectations. 

Wrong. Bumping a considerable way down a rocky dirt road, we ended at a riverfront paradise. 

The next morning we bussed to Ollantaytambo one of the three Peruvian towns providing rail service to Machu Picchu. Our train was so late we missed our time slot for admission to the historic site. The tension level was high, thinking the delay had impacted our time there, but not to worry. To control the levels of tourism, small groups are only allowed in with a guide for a period of three hours throughout the day. 

 

Disembarking the train we saw a guide holding a sign bearing our name, always a comforting feeling. He had us booked into the next time slot.

 

To be continued

I find  it important to blog our adventures, but can’t keep up. Here I am posting about Guayaquil, Ecuador,  but since, we’ve been to California for the holidays and Bali to visit Bryant and Sammy. Have to do it while we can. I’m sure there’ll come a time where all posts are home based.

We’re off then, to:

It’s a thing, these colourful signs stating your location. Probably fueled by the likes of Instagram. We arrived in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel. This being a tour put together by Exoticca, you get the choice of two classes of room, charm and superior. As frugal travellers, we chose charm, which always seems to exceed our expectations. 

Not too shabby, with a river view.

Next on the agenda was a walking tour of the city. We were informed, due to political unrest, it would be mostly a bus tour and that the city had a curfew of 9:00pm. Always appreciate a heads up.

We visited the famous lizard park with a literal heads up. The large reptiles live in the trees above and express their disdain for people by excreting a stinky liquid onto the heads of careless passers under.

Looking forward to painting a portrait of that guy.

Our tour guide took us to the beautiful hilly old town district where we met the famous artist who painted her hat, Edgar Calderon.

During the second week of our tour, we were joined by sweet Maggie from the UK, the only Brit amongst a dozen Canadians. She fit in so well she deserved acknowledgment. For some reason, since I was observed painting, I was deemed creative and was voluntold to develop an honourary Canadian citizenship test for Maggie. I was pleased to do it and Chuck agreed to administer said exam.
Maggie passed her test and received her citizenship papers accompanied by a robust chorus of her new national anthem. 

Next stop: Lima, Peru

Leaving Tena, we rode through the scenic mountains

on our way to the Middle of the World Monument, where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere, photo posted previously. Lunch was at a local restaurant where some of the group ordered Cuy (guinea pigs raised for their meat). You can imagine that there were strong feelings each way on the decision to partake in this local delicacy, basically a high quality food vs furry friend debate. 

One last evening in Quito,

then it was off to San Cristobal, Galapagos the next morning. We stayed at Casa Opuntia, located on the waterfront promenade, and named for the local cactus trees. 

That afternoon from one spot along the seawall, we saw pelicans, frigate birds, huge land iguanas, sea lions (one nursing its three day old pup), sea turtles, and bright orange Sally lightfoot crabs. 

The next morning the blue footed booby entertained us.

The sea lions own the place, lying on the street, sidewalks, benches… They will chase you out of their territory, being faster than you might imagine. There are warnings on the beach and high racks with pegs to hang your personal belongings. We witnessed a family of sea lions evict two young women from their beach towel, using one of their backpacks as a cushion.

Although C wasn't feeling well tummywise and skipped dinner, I had my favourite meal of the trip. Not as cute as guinea pig, so no controversy at the table, I ordered langostino (tropical lobster) and tostones (fried plantains), both food of my childhood when visiting the Puerto Rican side of the family. We had it great growing up, benefitting gastronomically from both Polish and Puerto Rican sides. Tostones are still a treat, though I don't make them frequently.

A must do on San Cristobal: Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Terrestre  (Center for the breeding of giant land tortoises). C was still recovering so I went on my own. We saw them from one week to over a hundred years old. 

On our last day we walked past the  Galapagos Science Center (part of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (can you imagine doing as stint there as part of your education?) to the San Cristobal Interpretive Centre to learn about the sordid history of the Galapagos. It wasn't always a paradise for biologists. We walk the trails and were struck how barren it is due to its exposure, being 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador.

Many of us considered observing the blue footed booby as the highlight of the stop, and I had commissions to paint three versions of them. 

Next stop: Guayaquil, Ecuador

The bus arrived at sunset, dropping us off at a dock in Tena to board our long motorized river canoes. Upon arrival at Itamandi Eco Lodge we were greeted with tea for our orientation session. I didn’t question the guayusa tea, but looking back I get it. They served  us a heavily caffeinated drink to ensure we had energy to get through the dinner and late night jungle insect walk. 

After dinner we donned our provided Wellies (rubber boots) and set out in the dark, guided by Octavio, for our rain forest adventure. There were plenty of insects including tarantulas and a huge stick bug as one fellow traveller described as looking more like a stick than a stick itself.

The next day, C and I and three others accompanied Octavio on a boat trip a half hour down the river.

We arrived at his native Kichwa community where they live off grid, depending on nature as they’ve done for hundreds of years. We participated in a cooking demonstration and joined them eating delicacies such as giant Amazon grubs and prehistoric catfish. Dessert was chocolate fondue made from their cocoa beans.

Our visit ended with dancing and an opportunity to buy handicrafts made by the local women.

Covered head to toe, protected from biting insects, the afternoon activity was a hike through the rainforest. The highlight was seeing a family of tiny pocket monkeys swinging through the trees.

Our trip was a package tour, but I saw the very reasonable price for a stay at the lodge (under $100US pp per day), including decent plated meals, river transportation, and some activities. I’d highly recommend it as part of a trip to Ecuador.

Leaving the rain forest, our group’s farewell picture.

Ecuador will be divided into three: Quito, the Amazon rain forest, and the Galapagos. Every new destination gets better and better. Participating in an organized tour can have its challenges. Thankfully this trip has gone very smoothly. Today, however, our included breakfast wasn't provided due to an early flight. The hotels will usually open the dining room early or provide a boxed brekkie, but not today. Instead we hit McDonalds at the airport. You can laugh, but I find MacD's brekkie a form of comfort food, so it wasn't all that bad.

The other glitch today involved the scheduling of flights. Instead of a direct flight from Buenos Aires to Quito, Ecuador, we overshot it and flew first to Panama City, with a long layover. One member of our group is a travel agent and she agreed, the airport in Panama City was one of the most expensive she's experienced. Note to self for future travel.

The schedule usually includes a guided city tour, either walking or by bus, on the first morning at each location. The Quito tour took us to the old town and continued on foot. The first stop was the basilica, where I put on my brave face and climbed the two story ladder from the roof to the top of the tower.

It felt quite safe with metal guard rails, however, the glass landings were intimidating. What a view! My brave tourmate, Sue:

At the basilica gift shop I bought a little bronze alpaca, part of our tradition while travelling: seeking additions for our Christmas nativity. Actually, it’s a year round nativity on its own shelf in a glass cabinet.

Background story: when we moved to White Rock, a box fell off our overloaded pickup truck, C said it seemed to explode into a million pieces when it hit the highway. It was late at night and there was no way to recover it. We wracked our brains for a long time trying to figure out what we lost. One Christmas we realized we couldn't find our ceramic Christmas tree and beloved nativity. It made sense that the little lights from the tree were what C saw explode into so many pieces.

I went on a mission to try to replace our olive wood figures, the antique lead geese that were my dad's from Poland, and a variety of additions we accumulated over the years. Thanks to ebay I was able to find the most important pieces. Still missing are a painted wooden angel (a gift from one of our German students), a clear 1/2" plastic Scottie dog, and some Hallmark miniature bunnies my mother had given our children. Just one of those disappointing things that happen, relatively minor in the scheme of things, and it's fun adding new items. 

Following the tour, which included a chocolate tasting, we stayed on the bus for a four hour ride to the Amazon rain forest lodge. At the top of a mountain pass we were encouraged to walk a bit in the high altitude 4.071m (13356ft), a preview of what was to come at Cuzco and Machu Picchu. 

 

 

 

 

I'm not doing a good job of keeping up with the blog, interrupting the account of a trip of a lifetime with the extenuating circumstances of life, mostly happy right now with a little worry thrown into the mix.

Christmastime is here, an event worthy of life interruption. I painted a Christmas tree that represents the reality of life during Christmas. The older we get, the more complications we experience, and the holidays still happen. Wishing all the best Christmas possible, may light hearts balance the difficult moments.

They were weeks apart, but I'll cover both here. Thanks to all who contacted us re our 40th. We don't eat out often, but given the special occasion, we did.

Going back in time a little bit: Argentina.

On the fourth day of the South America tour, we flew to Iguazu, home to the famous falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. There we were scheduled for a two day tour, covering both sides, the Argentinian and Brazillian.

We checked into our lovely resort in the jungle, complete with jungle view and jacuzzi tub.

With nothing else close by, we were committed to their dining room with high prices. Tap water was not recommended, but16oz bottles of water were available for $3.60 each. I think the beer cost less.  

The falls were fantastic. Normally comprised of a chain of over 275 waterfalls, the water levels were at a record high, joining many of those, but making the water look like chocolate milk. The first day was rainy, but you are coached to dress for wet conditions due to the heavy mist.

We stopped for a break under a fig tree (ficus auriculata). Our guide explained that the fruit was hollow because they weren't able to be pollinated in this area. A Plush Crested Jay posed and I was able to paint his portrait a few days later.

The weather was better the next day when we visited the Braziian side. We had an enjoyable walk and time for geocaching,

The capitol city, Buenos Aires, was our next destination. General impressions:

It is a city of beautiful trees, something that has been an impressive priority in the city's development since the late 1800's.

Protests are a national pastime and a source of pride.

Argentinian beef lives up to its reputation. Reasonable and delicious, wish I had ordered more. 

Next stop: Ecuador

 

 

We interrupt the trip coverage to bring you the following announcement:

 

40 years ago today, we eloped. 

 

December 6, 1982

The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden

I read half of all marriages will end by 40 years, due to reasons of divorce or death (Harry Benson, Marriage Foundation, Dec 2019). Probably don’t need the statistic, at our age we have many sad reminders that life is short. And as one of our friends said in humour, “We’re not getting divorced at this age, who wants that financial hit during retirement?”

 

 So after today, we’re beating the 50/50 odds. 

I know we’ll make the most of it. ❤️

The first days of the trip were a blur. It took three flights to get to Rio de Janeiro (which translates to River of January after its discovery in 1502). We flew from Vancouver to São Paulo to Rio.  Not the most direct route, but makes more sense than our originally scheduled flights that had us flying into Newark, NJ with a connecting flight 60k away at JFK.

 

We were up early the next morning for a half day tour that included the imposing Christ the Redeemer, located in a national park high above the city.

The views were spectacular. 

Afterwards we stopped at the contemporary pyramid shaped San Sebastián Cathedral, beautiful in its simplicity. 

Outside we saw one of Canadian, Timothy Schmalz’s, homeless Jesus statues.

Rio’s weather was hot, humid, and windless even as we walked along Copacabana Beach. 

We have a habit of repeating visits to restaurants we like. In Rio it was Braseiro (established 1962) where the first night we shared a barbecue platter containing two kinds of steak, sausage, pork and chicken plus a giant Heineken for Chuck and a split of wine for me, all for about $45cdn. 

The second night we ordered chicken, sausages and salad. We should have stuck with a sure thing and returned three nights in a row, as we went to Restaurante Manoel & Juaquim for tough, rubbery calamari.

 

Next stop is Argentina, but impressions of Rio included:

• a respect for seniors. At stores, airport etc…there were dedicated queues for seniors and people with disabilities. That would never work in our home town, a haven for retirees. The senior’s line up would be the longest.
• Quite impressed with Brazil’s Azul Airlines. Where Air Canada has discontinued pretzels with drinks, Azul is known for their snacks, handing out three different ones per person. They have a totally organized disembarkation process, where they dismiss passengers five rows at a time. So much better than the free for all that happens on most airlines. Azul implemented the procedure during the pandemic and noticing its effectiveness, kept it.
• Two national passions: football (of the soccer variety) and energy drinks.
• Rio is a large city with accompanying noise levels.

 

Next post: Iguazu Falls