I'm sitting at the Denver Airport waiting for my flight to Portland, OR. It's crazy how I have to come the opposite direction to get there. Can't get there from here!
I'm flying to North Bend, OR to help my friends Bill, Wendy and Darrin move to Utah. It is about a 1,000 mile drive. Doesn't seem like it would be that far. I will be driving one of their vehicle while Wendy drives the other. Bill will be driving the U-Haul. The plan is to pack everything up today and take off early in the morning. We'll get as far as Pendelton, OR (or further) the first day and finish the next. Joni is driving down in our new (new to us) 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe. I finally decided to get a reliable vehicle after the front wheel of my truck went flying off last week. That could have been bad. Luckily I managed to not roll the truck and got the truck off to the side of the road. I still haven't heard how much it's going to cost to fix. The Subaru is also in the shop. It smokes so dang bad I'm afraid it's going to catch fire. I traded the old Ford Windstar in for $1,000 even though they really didn't want to take it. First thing I did is get a decent stereo installed. It has a USB port. All I have to do is plug in a flash drive. No more scratched, melted CDs. COOL!
So anyway, Joni is driving down Friday. After getting everything unloaded on Saturday, Joni and I will head over to Park City, UT and watch an Elvis Costello concert at an outdoor amplitheater. I just checked. 40% chance of rain. We'll spend the night there and drive back to Missoula on Sunday. Man, everything is going to have to go as planned in order for all this to work. Now I'm getting nervous.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Day Ten - LA, SEATTLE and MISSOULA
Sitting on the plane I was finally able to reflect on the past 9 days in Peru. I had just experienced many very cool things and met some very great people. I was thankful to Ricky and his family for being so kind and hospitable. I was also very thankful to Jose for taking so much time with me when he really should have been working. I enjoyed meeting Lenino and appreciated him taking the time to take me hiking, despite the altitude sickness. I was humbled at the friendship and kindness everyone in Peru showed me. I was also saddened when I thought that I may never meet many of these people again.
Joni was waiting for me at the Missoula airport. It felt nice to get a welcoming hug from her.
Joni was waiting for me at the Missoula airport. It felt nice to get a welcoming hug from her.
Day Nine - CUSCO and LIMA
Darrin and Ricky 
Nito and Darrin
Angie and EduardoRicky's wife and son
Ricky and Eduardo
With Ricky's DadI woke up at 5:00 AM. Jose was sleeping in the next room. I woke him up. We quickly found a taxi and headed to the airport. I was glad Jose went with me to see me off. I was surprised that I was able to check my spear in as luggage. But I was pretty doubtful it would arrive in one piece in Lima. I was wrong. Right along with the rest of the luggage came my spear in one piece. Cool!
I arrived in Lima about 8:30 AM. I called Calvic to see if he would be able to pick me up at the airport. He apologized and said he would not be able to. So I found a taxi myself. I did a pretty good job. As soon as the hordes of taxi drivers knew I was looking for a taxi, they surrounded me shouting for me to follow them to their vehicle. I showed them a piece of paper with Ricky’s address and asked how much. They started at 45 Soles but I kept saying “too much, too much”. I finally talked a guy down to 20 Soles. We had to walk quite a ways to reach his taxi, which looks like it should have been retired years ago and was being held together with duct tape (a very common site). Ricky called while I was in the taxi to check on me. I had him speak with the taxi driver just to make sure he knew where to go for sure. Ricky and his dad were waiting for me on the side of the road.
Went with Ricky’s dad to another client who also had a break in. Crime is a very big problem in Lima. And of course the rich are targeted. We also stopped by the Lima LDS temple on the way there to get a few photos. Once again Ricky’s dad gave me a tour of the city as we drove through different areas.
Ricky and I went to his wife’s and kid’s apartment. They apartment was very nice. It was in an older building but it was clean and very solid. They took me to a Peruvian buffet for lunch. Ate too much. But I was able to eat some more authentic Peruvian food. Angie was very kind. I was glad I was able to meet her.
We headed back home. Ricky’s dad, mom and a guy from the ward went to take a tour at a museum of the Spanish Inquisition. There were Prison cells, torture devices. Ricky’s dad
Next we went to Lima’s china town. Not much Korean. But lots of Chinese. It was odd that I almost felt more at home in that environment.
We then went to the water park. Very impressive. It was made up of probably about 15 different fountains, some of which you could interact with. There was one where people were allowed to run around in as streams of water would randomly shoot up while music played. I couldn’t resist. After about 5 minutes I finally got sprayed. I was wet the rest of the night. But it was worth it. I heard several tourist say this was their favorite part of Lima.
Nito came by. We had a short but nice visit. He had recently quit school to go back to work. I was a little bummed to hear that. But his folks needed the money. It was good to meet him. He seemed like a very nice guy.
I finally took a shower and packed for my trip home. Ricky’s dad cut my spear in half for me so I could get it in my luggage. We ate some dinner, including the bread and cheese Jose’s mom had given me to take home. There was no way it was going to make it through customs. Ricky’s parents have me some gifts to take back to Joni. We visited until it was time to head to the airport. My flight was to leave at 1:40 AM.
Ricky and Miguel took me to the airport in a taxi to see me off. I was sad to leave but anxious to get home too. I Took a Tylenol PM to help me fall asleep on my red eye to LA. It worked pretty well.
I arrived in Lima about 8:30 AM. I called Calvic to see if he would be able to pick me up at the airport. He apologized and said he would not be able to. So I found a taxi myself. I did a pretty good job. As soon as the hordes of taxi drivers knew I was looking for a taxi, they surrounded me shouting for me to follow them to their vehicle. I showed them a piece of paper with Ricky’s address and asked how much. They started at 45 Soles but I kept saying “too much, too much”. I finally talked a guy down to 20 Soles. We had to walk quite a ways to reach his taxi, which looks like it should have been retired years ago and was being held together with duct tape (a very common site). Ricky called while I was in the taxi to check on me. I had him speak with the taxi driver just to make sure he knew where to go for sure. Ricky and his dad were waiting for me on the side of the road.
Went with Ricky’s dad to another client who also had a break in. Crime is a very big problem in Lima. And of course the rich are targeted. We also stopped by the Lima LDS temple on the way there to get a few photos. Once again Ricky’s dad gave me a tour of the city as we drove through different areas.
Ricky and I went to his wife’s and kid’s apartment. They apartment was very nice. It was in an older building but it was clean and very solid. They took me to a Peruvian buffet for lunch. Ate too much. But I was able to eat some more authentic Peruvian food. Angie was very kind. I was glad I was able to meet her.
We headed back home. Ricky’s dad, mom and a guy from the ward went to take a tour at a museum of the Spanish Inquisition. There were Prison cells, torture devices. Ricky’s dad
Next we went to Lima’s china town. Not much Korean. But lots of Chinese. It was odd that I almost felt more at home in that environment.
We then went to the water park. Very impressive. It was made up of probably about 15 different fountains, some of which you could interact with. There was one where people were allowed to run around in as streams of water would randomly shoot up while music played. I couldn’t resist. After about 5 minutes I finally got sprayed. I was wet the rest of the night. But it was worth it. I heard several tourist say this was their favorite part of Lima.
Nito came by. We had a short but nice visit. He had recently quit school to go back to work. I was a little bummed to hear that. But his folks needed the money. It was good to meet him. He seemed like a very nice guy.
I finally took a shower and packed for my trip home. Ricky’s dad cut my spear in half for me so I could get it in my luggage. We ate some dinner, including the bread and cheese Jose’s mom had given me to take home. There was no way it was going to make it through customs. Ricky’s parents have me some gifts to take back to Joni. We visited until it was time to head to the airport. My flight was to leave at 1:40 AM.
Ricky and Miguel took me to the airport in a taxi to see me off. I was sad to leave but anxious to get home too. I Took a Tylenol PM to help me fall asleep on my red eye to LA. It worked pretty well.
More Aguas Calenientes Photos
In Aguas Calientes
Hot Springs in Aguas Calientes
Jose
Marcel and JoseDay Eight - AGUAS CALIENTES-CUSCO
Darrin and Marcel in Aguas Calientes
Marcel and Jose
Aguas Calientes from our room
We slept in until about 8 AM. I went over to Marcel’s room and woke him up and asked if he still wanted to go hiking up the railroad tracks like we had discussed the night before. He told me to give him a few minutes and he’d be ready.We found a decent looking restaurant and stopped for breakfast. We each had the “Americano” breakfast for 10 Soles. Scrambled eggs, muffin, bread and some cocoa leaf tea (for soroche).
We hiked up the railroad tracks that continued through Aguas Calientes and wound behind Machu Picchu. There were several tunnels along the way and had to run quickly through one to avoid getting stuck with train. From the tracks you could see the winding road that lead to Machu Picchu. At one point you could see some of the ruins from the ancient city. I thought it was pretty cool that this was a view that most tourist never bothered to see. We continued on for a few miles until we reached a waterfall. We stopped there for a while and took some photos. The 3 of us had a great time talking, joking around and enjoying the new friendships. I had to stop and think how great it was that 3 guys from completely different parts of the world, speaking different languages, could come together and make a connection like we did.
Jose and I decided to head back down while Marcel continued up the tracks. I did some shopping. I bought some ear rings, alpaca blanket, a few rock carvings. I had really been looking forward to going to the hot springs. Jose agreed to go with me. But first we decided to say good bye to Yuri. We met up with Yuri and his wife and visited a while before they had to head back to the office. We hugged and said good bye.
The hot springs were more luke warm but it felt nice. Since we didn’t have shorts or towels we had to rent them from one of the little shops along the path to the springs. There were lots of tourists at the springs, many who had just finished the 4 day Inca Trail hike. It is a bit of a tradition to end the trek at the springs.
We headed back to the train station and met up with Marcel. We are all very tired and mostly slept on our way back. We met Marcel’s parents. They were waiting at the station. From there we found a taxi to take us the rest of the way to Cusco. We noticed lots of rocks on the roads, presumably from the strike. The taxi driver barely seemed to notice as he weaved through the basketball sized boulders in the road driving up to 100 mph.
Jose’s mom gave me some authentic cheese and Indian bread to take back home. I knew there was not way I could get it through customs but I took it with me. She also wrapped the spear for me. I still thought there was no way I was going to get it on the plane…as a carry on or check in.
More Aguas Calenientes Photos
Marcela, Jose and Yuri 
Riot at the train station
Yuri, Marcel and Jose headed to the disco
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