Recipes we learned to cook

Another fun part of the tour was that we were able to learn how to make a few of the dishes and drinks that we had. In Lima and Cusco we were treated to two renditions of the Pisco Sour. In Quito and again on the ship, we were treated to Canelaso - a cinnamon drink that tastes much like mulled cider. And on the ship we also learned to make ceviche, which can be made with cooked fish (which is how we ate it). Most people eat ceviche with raw shrimp, but I believe the chef felt that cooking the fish might go over better. We had a few people who had had gastric issues, and he did not want to aggravate them. I plan to make Canelaso and Ceviche, but I think I will let the Pisco Sour go!

Group Pictures

Debbie was a big fan of group pictures, so we have one at each of our dinners. But I will just post two group pictures, as finding all of the other ones would be hard. It was a fun group . . . glad we all got to experience South America together.

Peruvian Agriculture

Peruvian Agriculture certainly differs from what we have in the US. For many years, most of the land was owned by wealthy people, but in 1969, agrarian reform began implementation. The owners of the haciendas were given agrarian bonds for their land, and the acreage was redistributed to the campesinos and small farmers. These people then built a structure on the property (frequently left empty) to identify that they owned the land, and they would then farm the land. We noticed that most of the land was tilled and worked by hand. Hay and straw were raked by hand; corn was picked and the stalks cut and stacked by hand. Occasionally we would see a tractor, but it was usually a fairly small one. Children worked in the fields, too. Additionally, many of the campsinos farmed terraces on the sides of the mountains. The mountains are very steep, but the terraces allow them to farm enough to keep their families alive.

How Lucky We Were

Our trip was truly a blessed one. Throughout our trip in Lima, about which we had been warned, we had no problems with pickpockets or thievery of any kind. When we came to Machu Picchu, it began to rain just as we headed up the hill; by the time we got into the park, the sun came out and we had a glorious day. The weather in Quito was cool, and despite threatening weather, we only had a few sprinkles. The seas were calm around the Galapagos; the snorkeling could not have been better. Other than one hot day in Puerto Ayora and a deluge the morning we left, the weather cooperated in every way. Additionally we had terrific guides; every planned stop worked perfectly; all of our trains, planes, and boats were on time; none of our transportation broke down (well, one bus was a little late, but it was a nominal delay); no one fell; although we had a few illnesses, they were nothing unexpected and within a day or two, nearly everyone felt better; and our group got along well. We had a terrific trip and we are grateful that so much went right!

The Skies

We had a variety of ways we could see the skies - morning sunrises, evening sunsets, and night skies. Being on the equator allowed us to see both Orion and Ursa Major. When we were in Australia, the only constellation we could see from the Northern Hemisphere was Orion, but since we were closer to the equator, we could also see the Big Dipper. One morning Debbie sat outside and took pictures of the early morning skies.

The sunrises and sunsets were gorgeous, too.

The Flowers of Peru and Ecuador

I wasn't able to identify most of the flowers we saw . . . and we saw a lot. I thought I would put a few of my favorites here . . . and maybe identify them later.

My Favorite Animal Pictures

Alejandra Comacho

Alejandra Comacho met us in the Quito airport, amidst the chaos of sorting out two OAT groups, and I liked her immediately. Tall and thin, with beautiful curly hair, she was easy to find, and she very quickly got us aligned and loaded onto the bus. Her specialty is the Galapagos, so we had another guide, Sylvia, for Quito, and the tour of Quito was great.

The two women even arranged a special controversial topic with a sex worker, and emotionally, the woman's story hit us hard. Although hard to hear, the woman is doing what she can do to make sure her children get through school and are able to get good jobs - and they are well on their way. When we got to the Galapagos, Alajandra was able to shine! Her knowledge of the area, like Cesar's, had been accumulated over the years, and she was able to answer nearly every question we had. She was willing to take any trip our group wanted to do, even the muddy hike and the rain-soaked trek to the Darwin Center. She brought her children with us twice, which was really fun, and she brought some of her hand-made items and her children's pottery to the hotel in Puerto Ayora. I am kicking myself that I didn't buy a few more items . . . my loss. Alejandra made our trip a true pleasure.

Cesar Calvo

How fortunate we were to have two terrific guides. We first met Cesar Calvo when we arrived in Lima, and he emphasized that he was there to help in any way possible . . . and he did. He facilitated our taxi ride to Astrid and Gaston, and he met us when we arrived back at the hotel. He made sure we all had the appropriate foods (including vegan and vegetarian options), he was particularly mindful of the pacing of the trip, and he had a great sense of humor, which served him well. It was obvious that he was well-read about Peruvian history and his knowledge of all of the different areas we went kept our interest. He also was great to point out interesting side-trips, one of the most notable being a walk up to Inca storage areas near our hotel in Urubamba. Stacey, Lew, and Matt all made it to the storage areas, but Jenni, Jim, Lila, Don and I did not. But we felt good about what we did do, and with Cesar's help, we thoroughly enjoyed the walk.

Once in Cusco, Cesar brought his lovely family to meet us. It was such a pleasure - and it is obvious that he is proud (and rightly so) of his family.

Signs We Do Not See in the US

Foods of South America

OAT worked very hard to make sure we had good food while we were there. It was usually authentic Peruvian or Ecuadorean food, perhaps not quite as spicy as sometimes, and always cooked safely. The breakfasts, like many European breakfasts, offered everything from mango or papaya juice to meat, to salad, to bread and cereal, to eggs. We were never prone to starvation. We also found that in many of the places we ate, the actual plating of the food took on an importance that is sometimes lacking. So I have included just a few pictures of some of the foods we ate:

Long Travel Days

We are used to long travel days. Ten hours to the cabin, RV trips to Alaska, and last year we came home from Australia. So when we heard we had a long travel day, we didn't think much of it. We had no idea. We left Puerto Ayora at 8:45 a.m. and took a bus to a ferry to cross a small canal. The line for the ferry was longer than Alejandra expected, so it took some time to get on the ferry, and although the crossing could not have been 5 minutes, we then had to await a bus. We took another bus to the airport on Baltra, where we caught a plane that landed in Guayaquil before landing in Quito at 4:00. We were taken to the Wyndham Hotel to be able to relax before dinner. Then we had to be at the airport 3 hours early, which meant we left the hotel at 8:00 for our 10:55 flight. We arrived in Atlanta at 5:05 a.m. and then had to wait until 8:30 to grab our flight to KC. Luckily Don slept the whole way, so he was able to drive the 2.5 hours home. By the time we will have returned home, we will have been traveling over 32 hours - worth it, but ugh! Although our travels from Australia were longer, we had time to sleep on the plane, so it didn't seem so hard . . . we were glad to finally be home.

My Favorite Hotel

We stayed in many different kinds of hotels - corporate usually but some local - and all were clean and good. But OAT saved the best for last. It was extremely hot in Puerto Ayora, and we had gone to the dog rescue, the coffee/moonshine/chocolate farm, and the Galapagos Turtle Preserve, so we were ready to crash. When we walked through the gates of the Plaza Luna hotel, we were handed frozen washrags and mint tea. We were like putty in their hands.

The hotel was the childhood home of the family who still owns it. After the mother passed away, the family decided to create this lovely hotel in her memory. She must have been a wonderful woman, because her children created quite the memorial to her. I am not certain how many rooms they added to the house - there were 8 children, so maybe they didn't need to add many - but each one is individually designed with special murals. The bathrooms are nicely appointed, and we even had washrags - something many of the bigger hotels did not have - and the air conditioning worked well. I could have stayed there for days!

The Lava Tube

When volcanoes erupt, sometimes lava tubes form. This occurs when lava flows away from the eruption. As the outside cools, the inside is still hot and continues to flow. If all of the lava drains out, an open tube remains. In some particular kinds of lava flows, especially low-viscosity ones, They occur more often, and they can be very dangerous. If the weight from above is too much, they might coillapse, and on Santa Cruz Island, cattle and turtles have been known to fall into a lava tube. If no one finds them, of course, they perish. We were able to walk through a lava tube on the Galapagos Ranch, and it was quite interesting. Because of the rain, it was quite wet inside, and one of the other lava tubes was flooded. Some say a cave is a cave, but each cave has its own uniqueness. I did not notice the stuffy smell that some caves have, and inside mosses and other plants were growing. I was glad for the opportunity to learn about and experience lava tubes, and the refreshingly cool air was quite the respite from the outdoor heat.