Farewell, too fast

We are back in Cusco after three incredible days in the Sacred Valley. I don´t know how I will ever be able to blog about our time there - I´m still trying to comprehend the beauty we saw and process the whole experience. Sadly, Mom and Dad left this afternoon. They have a long trip ahead and would appreciate your prayers. We had such a wonderful time with them, we had forgotten the glitches written about earlier. It really could hardly have been a better visit. It was sad to see them go, and it already feels a little lonelier without them. Noah loved having them here, and it´s hard to think that it will likely be quite a while before we see them again.

We will be spending the next 5 days in Cusco, likely relaxing and taking in the city. We can already sense a very unique atmosphere here (and not just the lack of oxygen at 12,000 ft.). There´s a reason why it´s the most popular destination in Peru. We´ll try to keep updated along the way, but pics and videos of Machu Picchu will have to wait until we return home. Chau...

Off to the mountains

Praise the Lord - on the last possible day, my parents' luggage arrived! Two of their four bags had been left behind by the airline in Florida, and it took them a week to figure out how to get them to Arequipa. But we are very thankful they arrived, as we leave for Cusco on the early side tomorrow (5:50 am flight). We will try our best to post some blogs in the next week, but we'll certainly put up a big update when we return next Friday.

Making Memories

It has been delightful to have Mom and Dad here with us! We now have Dad's passport - a rather incredible story, and are working on getting the last 2 suitcases (Mom has been a trooper not having her things with her). Please pray that they arrive before we leave for Cusco on Thursday.

They are so happy to see where we live and experience our daily routines. Noah is now completely used to them again - he reached for Grandma yesterday after his nap and enjoys playing chase and peek-a-boo with Grandpa. We are taking them to our favorite restaurants and showing them our favorite parts of the city.

After a lovely breakfast at their hotel this morning, we visited El Monasterio de Santa Catalina. It is such a spectacular place to see - we're happy we could go with them again! It's walls are full of history as it was founded in 1580, and remained a fully functioning monestary until 1970. Today there is still a small group of cloistered nuns that live there, but the majority of the property is open to the public and maintained beautifully.

Overlooking the monastery

When we came home, Concho was ready to give us our cooking lesson on how to make my favorite Peruvian dish - Aji de Gallina. It comes from Lima and combines peanuts, shredded chicken, and chili sauces to make a fabulous sauce served over rice or potatoes. It was a treat to have her teach us and give us her special tips on how to make it ¡riquísimo! Mom wrote down the recipe, so maybe we can share it with those of you interested in some authentic Peruivian cooking.

They're here!

My parents arrived safely on Thursday evening. They had a long ordeal which is still not entirely resolved. Maybe I'll put up the details later, but for now we'll just leave it at this - don't EVER fly Spirit Air.

It has been wonderful having them here, and Noah loves showing them all the new things he can do. Yesterday they got to meet our teachers and friends at the Spanish institute, and today Dad even joined the morning soccer game. The institute is on vacation for 2 weeks, so we're going to take them all over the city, then next thursday head out together to Cusco and Machu Picchu. We're looking forward to a very special week.

Fun Weekend

This past weekend we had the pleasure of hosting Erin Houlihan, our new dear friend, on her first trip to Arequipa (though she's a veritable Peru expert). Erin is the twin sister of my brother's girlfriend, in case you were wondering about the initial connection. She is a Special Education teacher in D.C., and was in Lima for an international SpEd conference - apparently a very big deal for Peru. She has spent several summers studying in Lima, so she knows the city quite well, and gave us lots of good tips. We had a fabulous time - seeing the sites of the city, going for a hike, trying to watch Pan's Labyrinth (foiled by a DVD that froze halfway through), playing games with friends, and just enjoying the chance to chat and relax. We had met a few times before, but never had the chance to hang out together, so it was a real treat for us.

The first night she got here, we went out to a Mexican place for dinner - a somewhat rare cuisine here. Seth, who is now in Pucallpa, is behind.
We tried to go back to those waterfalls we visited earlier, but the road was blocked with rocks and glass (courtesy of the strikers), so we headed north of the city instead, up the Rio Chili to a lookout point and a walking trail (of sorts).

Noah loved the llamas!



What a beautiful place! We spent some time hiking along the farm terraces and the river, and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the water.

It really was a memorable few days - thanks for visiting, Erin!

Too much

Well, another week gone by without blogging - our apologies. Never a dull moment here, though, with plenty to blog about, but the days seem to pass so quickly and it is often hard enough for us to stay awake to finish our homework each night.

We spent last weekend with a wonderful guest - Erin Houlihan - from which there will be stories and pictures to post. Thanks for visiting, Erin!

The huelgistas (strikers) continued last week and into this week, though they're currently taking a 2-day break to discuss things with the prime minister. Many roads have been blocked with rocks and glass, many tires burned on the street or slashed on a vehicle, and many rousing rallies held in the Plaza. Most students have not been in school for almost a week, and the airport runway in Juliaca (further east) was torn up. The strike has been national, but quite strong here. The worst part is, the people who it's supposed to help, the poorest, have been hurt the most, as they cannot enter the city to work or sell their goods. We pray for peace in Peru.

Lastly, my parents are coming tomorrow! They are flying to Lima on Wednesday, and then coming in to Arequipa on Thursday. We are incredibly excited, and have lots of fun planned. Our 2-week vacation (national holiday) starts next week, and we'll be spending part of it with them, showing off the city and taking a trip up to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Noah's going to have such a blast with his Grandpa and Grandma!

Chau for now...

18 Months

So Noah is 18 months today. It's hard to believe that's possible. He is turning into a little boy before my very eyes. He is such a sponge right now, soaking up new words and growing in independence daily. He's no longer nursing - a recent transition, but he is adjusting well to that and he and I are finding different ways to bond. He loves to play chase, "ring-around-the-rosie," and a shortened form of hide-and-seek. He loves to "surprise" us by running out from behind a wall - he just laughs and laughs EVERY time. He enjoys dancing and clapping to music. When a song ends he claps. He mimics dogs barking. He likes to practice going up and down stairs, always asking for a helping hand before going down. He brushes his teeth with little help (although it's mostly just sucking on the dot of Barney toothpaste). His skills with a spoon are improving, but he has definitely figured out how to use his sleeve to wipe his mouth.

As far as communicating, "Da" usually means he's calling whichever one of us is not in front of him. "Ball" he uses everytime he sees one ANYWHERE. Similarly, he uses "agua" in a variety of ways - to ask for water, but also when he sees it in pools, tubs, or hears the sound of running water in a river like when we were in Colca Canyon. He points to the sky and mimics the sound of a plane when he hears one. He is growing in his comprehension of both English and Spanish. He knows where his tongue, nose, head, ears, and eyes are in both languages when asked.

My favorite part of this age so far is his affection. He loves to give us his strongest neck hugs and sweet little kisses. If he hugs or kisses one of us, he almost always has to share and give the same tenderness to others in the room. Concho taught him how to give un besito volado (blow a kiss/flying kiss) when saying goodbye. He also knows to wave when we say "Chau!"

Yes, I'm boasting about everything he can do and I know this is just the beginning, so I promise I won't do this all the time, but I thought I would catch you up to give you an idea of who he is turning into. We remain to be in love with our little boy and pray daily that God would be working in his heart even now.

Noah was eager to meet the alpacas on our trip to Colca

Independence Day

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. On that day my family almost always did something special. Often times it involved being out on our boat on the Potomac, having a picnic and waterskiing before flying up the river to enjoy the fireworks on the mall from the water alongside every other crazy boater in the metro area. We would listen to the radio as our classical music station would usually broadcast some patriotic tunes while we watched the fireworks.

Well, it wasn't quite the same this year. Our day began with Michael playing the Star-Spangled Banner on the quena. In the afternoon after class he played some of our patriotic music on the computer - it made us think of all those sweet memories of home - hot, muggy D.C. weather this time of year, and we kinda miss it, believe it or not. That evening we got together with many of our American friends (and honorary American friends from Canada and Germany, Aimee and Miriam) and went out to dinner for "Bar-B-Q" - basically, it was a tasty steakhouse. Then we came back to a friend's house to enjoy some apple pie (thank you Stephanie, Todd, and David). Our hosts Bob and Noel joined us for dessert and brought us an unexpected surprise - sparklers! We had tried to purchase fireworks but were informed that they aren't sold (legally) to the public anymore after a couple tragic accidents in recent years. So we were resigned to enjoy the 4th sin fuegos artificiales, but Noel found some that she had tucked away for just such an occasion. Thank you, Noel! Noah wasn't quite sure about them and definitely didn't like the little firecrackers that someone found later!

Though we missed home, it was a fun memory to make as we celebrated our first 4th of July in Peru. Soon we'll get to celebrate Peru's Independence Day, July 28th!

Colca, Part 2

We set out Sunday morning at 6:00, as there was a limited window for the big finale at the end. As we drove through the small towns along the canyon, the mountains got closer and the cliffs steeper. We stopped periodically to take pictures and admire the scenery.

Noah did so well! We were amazed that he wasn't bothered by the altitude or dust or long car trips (as long as he had snacks). We got him a little Andean sweater, and he stayed good and warm. He really wanted to play with the alpacas and llamas that we saw, but those pics will come later.

This was our favorite view of the valley, before reaching the more precipitous parts. The terracing was amazing, and nearby was a rock, carved by either the Incas or those before, which was an exact replica of the terraces on the opposing side, and even served as a working model of an irrigation system for the mountainside. Just amazing.

Coming into the deeper sections, the picture doesn't do justice to the scale of everything.

We got out and walked the last 45 minutes of the trip along the canyon rim. Most of the time we couldn't see the bottom.

This was our end point, the Cruz del Condor. Andean Condors are among the most beloved birds in this part of the world, featuring in the coat of arms of four South American countries, and with good reason - they are magnificent. There's a particular spot along the cliffs in the Colca Canyon where these scavengers are known to soar, every morning for an hour or so. This was certainly the most touristy spot, as hundreds gathered to watch and snap pictures. I was really missing my zoom lens, but at times they glided so close it wasn't needed. With wingspans up to 11 feet, they are a beautiful sight.

This was also where we met up with the rest of our group. Four other students had taken a 3-day trip, most of it hiking through the deepest parts of the canyon, and ended up at the same spot. We all crammed in the van and returned together in the late afternoon.

Colca is a truly remarkable place, and it's supposed to be even more beautiful in the greener months of January and February. Everything is slower, tan tranquilo, and yet it is an increasingly difficult lifestyle to maintain here. I don't know if we'll return, but I know the more we see of Peru, the more we love it.

Colca, Part 1

¡Hola! Hace mucho tiempo que no escribimos. Sorry for the delay, it has been quite a week. We've both been recovering from various maladies, and working hard for our classes. There is so much to post; our trip was incredible.
Colca is one of the most spectacular places I've ever visited, one where your eyes simply can't quite grasp the scale of what they are seeing. It was also a good lesson in Peruvian history and culture, and a chance to see a more rural lifestyle here. The pictures surely won't do it justice, but here's our trip.

It was a 5-hour ride with several stops through the mountains to get there. At every stop there were women selling handmade clothing, blankets and assorted souvenirs. The highest pass we went over was at 16,000 ft, where you can really feel the lack of oxygen.

These are vicuñas, the rarer and (I think) more beautiful cousin of the alpaca and llama. Their fur is very fine and expensive - thankfully they are shorn and not killed for it.

This sweet little girl and her lamb were selling handicrafts and photo opportunities at an overlook. I bought a little musical instrument called an ocarina from her.

The town of Chivay, gateway to the Colca valley. All tours come through here, so it was a bit overrun. Still, incredibly beautiful. This is the beginning of the canyon. Most of the valley is terraced for agriculture, supposedly done even before the Incas.

We spent the night at a small hotel just outside of Chivay, and in the evening visited la calera, naturally heated baths. Even Noah enjoyed going for a swim. This is our group - the three of us, Aimee and her Canadian friend Andrianne, and David Speyers (not pictured).

The following morning we got up very early and started the drive along the rim of the canyon. This is the first town we came to, Yanque, just as the moon was setting over the mountains. From here the scenery started getting pretty incredible, but that will have to wait for the next blog. Chau for now.