Vacation pictures

Click on the albums below to view our pictures from Peru!

Cusco PERU

Machu Picchu

Motorcycle Diaries to Pisac

Los Organos - Soleil Bungalows

Comida tipica

Peruvian cuisine is anything but typical. Our first night in Miraflores (Lima), we ventured to a restaurant with a fabulous view of the Pacific ocean. Lima is situated right on the coast, high atop these beautiful cliffs which are lined with various parks that hug the edge. Our first taste of Peru was their national drink, the Pisco sour. Pisco is a type of brandy made from the muscat grape. A pisco sour is made with pisco, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, a little big of egg white, and a splash of bitters. Ray is a fan, I like the Cusquena beer better.



The table next to us ordered this awesome scallops and clams dish, served in clamshells and covered with parmesan cheese. So rich! We also ordered the ceviche which Peru is known for - sea bass or "corvina", this was also incredible, especially the price :)



The food in Cusco was equally wonderful. Here we explored the gringo restaurants, local restaurants (known as "picanterias"), and pizzerias...they sure do love their Italian here. Upon arrival to our hotel, El Balcon, we were met with steaming mugs of mate de coca (tea made with coca leaves) to help with the altitude:



Unlike Mexico or other central American countries, tortillas are not part of the Peruvian diet. Potatoes, rice, and corn are staples. Their corn (choclo) are very sweet, and the kernels are HUGE (2-3x the size of our corn). Recoto relleno (stuffed peppers) is a delicious, typical dish. Here they are served with papa dorado (potatoes cooked through but crispy on the outside):



Aji de gallina (chicken & onions over rice), trucha (trout), and bisteca (grilled meat) are also typical dishes. Oddly enough, these dishes are very similar to filipino food, so I actually ate more rice in Peru than I would normally do (after 21 years you get a little burned out).







And last but not least, the Peruvian delicacy, Cuy al horno...aka your childhood pet guinea pig. Here it is Pre-Ray:



And post....YUCK!



If you want to know what it tastes like you'll have to ask Ray. And he will try to convince you that it's good. Boys are gross.

Ice cream

I just found out I missed the Austin Ice Cream festival, again for the 2nd year!
:( How can they have an Ice Cream festival without me? No one loves ice cream more, or eats it as well as I do. I would rather die than be lactose intolerant. I look forward to landing at ABIA so I can have my first taste of Amy´s in the past two weeks... I can´t believe it´s already been so long.

When I was in grad school in St. Louis, my wonderful friend Sabrina even brought me two pints from Austin (Belgian Chocolate and Mexican Vanilla, classic flavors)...which lasted maybe a day or so.

All I have to say to the winner of the 2nd Annual Austin Ice Cream festival contest is wait till next year... then BRING IT ON.

Los Organos, Peru

Made it to the beach. Please send cash and dogs. Will be in touch in a couple months.

Yo Momma´s a Llama

We conquered Machu Picchu! (Sorry for the lack of pictures, it is really hard to find computers that are fast enough or have usb ports. Don´t worry, we have some 800 pictures already...not to mention videos thanks to Ray aka Clark)

Yesterday we woke up early and trained from Cusco to Aguas Calientes. We arrived around lunchtime and headed on a bus up to Machu Picchu after checking into our hotel. The bus drive itself is crazy, with beautiful views...the drive consists of more than a dozen switchbacks up the side of a mountain, on a road only narrow enough for one bus, but they manage to squeeze in two at times! (I held my breath each time). We explored the ruins until closing, right before sunset. The experience is indescribable, the Andes are incredible, I could go on and on but I really don´t know where to start. It is unbelievable how such a beautiful city could be built so high with so little resources.



Today was Mission Wayna Picchu (the tall mountain behind all of the Machu Picchu postcards). We woke up at 4 a.m. (rather, Ray woke up at 4, I woke up when the coffee came) so we could fall in line for the bus. We got down to the bus station by 4:30 and there was already a line forming. At 5:30 the first bus came, and we were lucky enough to be on the second bus of the day! As soon as we arrived, I hopped off the bus and raced to the front gate, with a HUGE crowd following. Again we waited patiently at the gate and made friends with a group of Americans who just came off the Inca Trail the day before. Only 400 people a day are allowed to climb up Wayna Picchu so it gets a little crazy. Luckily, the Americans we met still had their sherpa named Francisco, so as soon as the gates open it was a mad dash to the back of the ruins toward Wayna Picchu. At approximately 7:00 am, Ray and I walked through the Wayna Picchu checkpoint (number 26 and 27) and began our long day of hiking in the Andes.



I had my doubts the day before, having heard stories about how dangerous and scary it is - the Incan steps are narrow and wind steeply up and down the face of the mountain, most of the time there is no guardrail so there is little room for error. But with adrenaline pumping, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and the climb up went by so fast. (At least for me, Ray has a ¨trick knee¨) You´ll have to wait to see the pictures from the top of the mountain...just amazing. You can see the clouds below us which slowly separate to reveal more gorgeous, tree covered mountains. After having lunch at the top, we ventured down the back of Wayna Picchu to see the Gran Caverna. This was probably my favorite portion of the hike. Although steep and intimidating (two times we had to climb down ladders made out of tree branches which hugged the mountain side) the path was relatively quiet and well engineered... the Incans must have perfected the art of making steps out of granite. I´ll let the pictures (I promise to post more asap) explain the rest.



We are waiting for our train back to Cusco. Tomorrow we fly from Cusco to Lima to Piura, then take a taxi to Mancora. Yay beach for a week! I never want to climb up stairs again. Oh, and Ray had guinea pig in Cusco...but that´s another story...

Motorcycle Diaries

We made it to Cusco and our intended hotel, El Balcon. The views from our balcony are beautiful. It took awhile to adjust to the altitude, but the mate de coca helped. The first day we explored the city and took it easy. The city of Cusco is so different from Lima. Cusco still has its old world charm - cobble streets, colonial architecture, and incan ruins everywhere - except for all of the gringo backpackers. The people here are very friendly and helpful. And there are coca leaves in abundance...


The second day Ray decided he wanted to rent a motorcycle. So we rode our little Honda 250 up through the Andes into the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our main destination was a small Incan town called Pisac, which is primarily known for its huge markets. Riding on a motorcycle in Peru was definitely an experience, especially driving around the steep mountain turns with tour buses behind and infront of us. We made it and did a little souvenir shopping.


Pisac was also a great Incan site. After an hour of shopping we hopped onto our motorcycle and drove up the steep mountain to the ruins, which were amazing. Cut into the mountainside were rows and rows of terraces, which the Incans used for crops. This was also our warm-up for climbing Machu Picchu - after only 45 minutes I was out of breath, and a little timid from the centuries old steps without any handrails which cut into the mountain that rose thousands of metres from the river valley.

Today we stayed in Cusco and visited Qoricancha, an ancient Incan temple that was converted into a church called Santa Domingo. Prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and greedy catholics, the temple of Qoricancha consisted of rooms lined with gold sheets weighing 2kg each! Pizarro and his followers sent the gold to Spain, which unevitably ended up in the gaudy roman catholic churches of europe.

Tomorrow is our last day in Cusco, then we take the train to Machu Picchu. So far, no guinea pig!