IT IS WHAT IT IS!

I know, I know, I know! Its been more than a month since my last post. I freely admit I'm not a good at this blogging stuff. I enjoy reading what everyone else writes, but don't like to take the time to do posts of my own. Actually I started this post shortly after we got home and just haven't gotten back to it to download pictures. Anyway--our trip was absolutely wonderful! Here's the low down of our eleven days in Peru, you may find this boring. If so -- stop reading now.
Day 1 - We flew from SLC to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Lima on April 23.

Day 2 (April 24) - Tour of the city - We visited a cathedral (can't remember the name) that was incredible. After that we went to San Francisco Monestary. Probably the coolest thing about that place was going down to the catacombs. Some people may not like it, but we thought it was awesome. You go down below the monestary and see all the bones and skulls of the thousands of people who were buried there. Definitely not for those who are claustrophobic and don't like weird smells.

We saw tons of other stuff in the city and our guide, Fernando, shared lots of interesting information about the history of Lima. Later that evening we had the oppoutunity to do a session at the beautiful Lima temple. The temple President and his wife are a couple serving from Michigan, but used to live in SLC. We are used to the large temples of Utah, but in this temple there were only seats for about 30 people per session.

Day 3 (April 25) - Pachacamac Ruins - It was so fun to be able to walk all over these ruins and hear the history behind them. There were even a couple of groups of elementary kids there on a field trip. Oh, those poor teachers!
Gold Museum - CJ found this very interesting. A guy has his own personal collection of all kinds of military stuff, dating way, way far back in time. The reason it is the gold museum is because so much in it is made of gold. Later we went to a great mall. We thought it was just a beautiful park, but then you go down an escalator and there's the mall, underground, yet opening out to the beach. That night was went to the fountain park. This was so much fun. There are thirteen fountains and at night, on the weekends, there is a laser light and music show at the main fountain. It was so great. Our kids would have loved it!

Day 4 (April 26) - We flew to Cuzco. After a short rest from the flight,

we went to see some more ruins, Sacsayhuaman. (Or as CJ pronounced, Sexy Woman) Now I know visiting all these ruins may sound boring, but it really wasn't. Our guide in Cuzco, Betho, was so knowledgable. We really learned a lot. After the ruins we did some shopping for cool Peruvian sweaters and those great hats you always see. Later that evening we went to a theater for a live performance of traditional Peruvian dance and music. Great fun!

Day 5 (April 27) - Cuzco/Aguas Caliente. We got up and went to church with Betho, Rueben, and his wife Cynthia. It was really neat to attend and see how humble the members are. They definitely do not take their membership for granted. Surprisingly, there were a few other Americans in the congregation. One sister missionary, who was just going home, and her family from Canada, the couple behind us grew up in Smithfield and they were with friends from SLC. Small World! After church we traveled to a small village where we learned how they make and dye their yarn. It's all done with roots, plants, and bugs. We took a beautiful drive through the mountains to the Sacred Valley.

As we drove we just kept seeing terrace after terrace so high up on the mountains. These people are such amazingly hard workers, and they know no other kind of life. I hate to say I could never even last a day in their shoes! In the afternoon we boarded a train to head to Aguas Caliente (no matter where I am I'm always in "hot water" with CJ). CJ and I had the absolute best seats on the train. Right at the front! The whole front was one big window. What an awesome view! Aguas Caliente is the small village at the base of Macchu Picchu. The only downfall of this part was that you could not take all your luggage on the train, we could only take one small bag with what we would need for two days and we left the rest at the hotel in Cuzco.

Day 6 (April 28) - Aguas Caliente. We got up way early, boarded the bus to Macchu Picchu, and were at the top of Macchu Picchu for the sunrise. This was so incredible!

We've never experienced anything quite like this. I really don't know what to say about it, because words do not do it justice. Our guide, Betho, was so knowledgeable and shared so much information with us. He had been a porter for those who hike the Inka Trail for 9 years. He has hiked to Macchu Picchu 164 times in those 9 years. The Inka Trail takes 4 days and 3 nights and climbs 14,000 ft above sea level. CJ really wants to hike the trail with Keaton when he is a few years older.

Day 7 (April 29) - Aguas Caliente/Cuzco. Happy 14th Anniversary to us!!We got up early and got back on the train to head back to Cuzco.

After a day of touring and travel, we came back to our hotel and there was a beautiful bouquet, sent to us by the travel agency. CJ had also arranged for us to have a massage. It was heavenly. Our guide, Betho, also invited us to come to his house for wedding cake. You see, that's what his wife does for a living, makes cakes. We enjoyed dinner and got to meet all of his children. For dinner we had chicken and potatoes in some kind of sauce. It was good. Then the real treat was guinea pig. When they eat guinea pig, it's kind of like Thanksgiving for us. Yes, I tried it. It tastes like chicken.

Day 8 (April 30) - Puerto Maldanado. We flew to Puerto Maldanado, which is the jungle area of Peru. We were met at the airport by our guide, Jackson. He took us to the boat dock where we boarded a not-so-safe-looking boat and headed down the river to the lodge where we were to stay.

I really was not expecting too much from the lodge, but it turned out great! As it turns out there was a whole tour group from Utah staying at the same place. Again, small world isn't it! Once we got settled in our bungalo and had a couple hours to rest we put on our "irrigation" boots and went on a jungle walk. You wouldn't believe the huge trees. I think my favorite part was swinging through the jungle on a rope. Just call me Jane. Actually it wasn't that glamorous. I did the swing out part great- but when I was swinging back I smacked into a tree. Late that night we got back in the boat to go caiman sighting. They go in the dark because the caiman are hunting food. You know its a caiman, not a bird because when light shines in their eyes they are red. It was a bit scary in the dark, in the boat, looking for alligators. Oh, by the way cold showers in the jungle. Not enough electricity to even power a blow dryer. And they turn the power off at 10:00pm; not to come on again until 7:00am.

Day 9 (May 1) - Puerto Maldanado. It rained during the night and when we awoke the river had risen at least a meter. There were all kinds of debris and tree trunks that had washed down from the mountains and were floating down the river. We put on the boots, boarded the boat again and went to Monkey Island. This was not Jackson's favorite part of being a guide because last year he had been attacked by monkeys. It was pretty neat on Monkey Island because you can totally hear the monkeys all around above you jumping from tree to tree. Then they came to the area where we were because we brought them food, you guessed it bananas.

From Monkey Island we went further down the river to some place where we got out, hiked through the jungle 3 miles, got in another boat, rowed across Lake Sandoval, and had lunch. Before we went back CJ (aka Tarzan) went swinging from a rope in a tree into the lake. Right as he landed the second time someone spotted a balck caiman not too far off in the water. As we rowed back we say all kinds of birds and monkeys in the trees. It was just like being on the Jungle Ride at Disneyland, except all of it was REAL!

Day 10 (May 2) Puerto Maldanado. We got up really early and hiked through the jungle to a clay-lick where hundreds of parrots come every morning to eat clay. The need the minerals found in the clay. We waited, and waited, and waited. We could hear them in the trees, we saw several start their gradual descent, but then something would startle them and they would fly back to the treetops. After and hour of this we gave up and went back to the bungalo. We packed up and boated back to the village where we shopped a bit, and boarded the plane back to Cuzco. We didn't even get off in Cuzco, just picked up a few passengers and headed to Lima. Once we got to Lima we were met by our travel agent, Carmela. She took us to dinner and we did some final souvenir shopping. We got back to the airport about 9:00pm and waited until our flight at 12:30.

Day 11 (May 3) Let the AMAZING RACE begin!!! Because of some stupid paper work in Atlanta our flight was two hours late leaving Lima. (Now, this was a completely awesome trip, but I'll freely admit I was missing my kids and was ready to be home.)

Consequently we arrived late in Atlanta. From the time we landed (and I mean touched down) we had 50 minutes to board our next plane, at 10:30. Wouldn't you know we landed at gate A and departed again from gate T. As soon as we got off the plane we RAN to baggage claim, WAITED, RAN to customs, WAITED, checked our bags again, RAN to security, WAITED, RAN to gate T, only to find that the gate assignment had been changed to GATE B (can you just hear the anger in my typing at this point)!!! We RAN back to gate B. I got there and no one was at the little desk, and the gate door was closed. I went to the next desk, panting, out of breath, and told the guy I had to be on the plane that was just sitting right out the window. Of course I pointed out that the time was only 10:23 and the door should not be closed until 10:30. He politely informed me that, by federal law, once the door is closed no other passengers can board the plane. UGHH!
We went to the Delta service desk and found that the next flight to SLC left at 5:30 pm and we would get 1st class. Tempting, not really. I certainly did not want to spend another day in an airport. The sweet lady at the computer did lots of finagling and got us a flight out of Atlanta at 12:30 to Denver, from Denver to SLC, arriving in SLC at 2:30. Hoorah for me! Home at LAST! It was great to see my kids again!

So, we decided to go on a trip to Peru. Why Peru? I really don't know. I know CJ didn't think I was serious when I actually said that I would like to go. We had our shots last Friday. Five of them! OUCH!!! I don't really know what happened with CJ, but he has pretty much been in bed since Friday. He spent Monday at the hospital and they think they have determined that he has Influenza A.

For those of you reading this blog, who have young children, I encourage you to start doing activities now that will help your child attain King/Queen status when they study the Middle Ages in sixth grade. What a pain in the neck! There are about 8 million extra projects they have to complete to be a King/Queen. I know I shouldn't admit this but, Kennedy, Klayson, Granny, and I just finished a lovely bean mosaic. It had to cover a half sheet of poster board. And, I just asked Keaton this morning, there is no way he can get an "A" out of the class unless he is a King!

Kennedy was so thrilled because last week she got a perm. My sister, Ashley, and I tried to talk her out of it. When a girl has as much hair as Kennedy you just know she's going to look like a triangle head. I have proof from my own childhood years.

Klayson started Spring soccer on Saturday. Even though it was kind of chilly, we had a great time watching him play. He even made a goal! Oh yeah, and he has pink eye! He came in my room Sunday night and said, "Mom, I can't open my eyes." Of course my reply was, "That's okay. They don't need to be open, you're supposed to be asleep." We went into the bathroom and they, indeed, were stuck shut. By morning his eyes were bright red. Needless to say, he had a day home from school and a visit to Dr. Walker. I sent Klayson to school today with his own, personal bottle of hand sanitizer and the saying, "When I touch my eyes, I have to sanitize." It's okay though, the doctor said he isn't contagious after using the drops for 24 hours.

Olivia is turning into quite a budding artist. I think I have a child prodigy on my hands. She has drawn the most amazing pictures on Klayson's bedroom wall, in the family room, the wall going downstairs, and two in the living room. As a result, she has experienced timeout. She was about as displeased with timeout as I was with crayon and pencil all over the walls. I sat her on her bed and she just threw herself down and started to wail. As we say at our house, "Livie is a handful. . . of LOVE!"