For Noah’s 8th Birthday he received a wonderful surprise in the form of a visit from his grandparents. Grandpa Dick and Grandma Joann flew all the way from Hawaii and surprised Noah for his Birthday! We had a great time showing them around and felt incredibly lucky to have them visit! Noah also celebrated his birthday Peruvian style. Now birthdays in Peru are not quite as big as weddings, but just about. You rent a place, you hire an entertainer (in our case it was his dance teacher who also does birthday parties), you have a caterer, lots of balloons, prizes, [View Full Entry]

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We thought that a fun way to celebrate Abe’s 54th Birthday would be to visit Colca Canyon. We headed out on a Saturday first thing in the morning on a tour minivan, which we appreciated traveling in (vs. a big bus) once we saw the roads, which were along steep cliffs with lots of zigzags. We headed north past El Misti volcano, continually climbing until reaching the highest point at 15,000 feet. We were glad we had bought a box of coca toffees to chew on to help with the altitude. We first stopped at the Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada [View Full Entry]

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To all of you that contributed to the new play-set at the orphanage, thank you, you have made the children very happy! It is now completed and would not have happened without your help!! Half of the funding came from businesses in Peru and the other half from friends and family from all over the United States, as well as some new friends from Germany. You are all amazing - and the kids love it! It is incredibly heartwarming to watch them play and laugh as they dive into the pool full of balls, race down the slide and swing and [View Full Entry]

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Before heading back to Peru we had the chance to see members of both Abe’s and my families. First we were in New York to see Abe’s first cousin and their two children. Then we headed to Massachusetts and had the chance to see my mom, stepfather, brother, his fiancé and one of my stepbrothers and his family. We feel so lucky we had the chance to visit with Harald, my stepfather, before he passed away on April 14th. He was an amazing man, one of the sweetest, gentlest souls I have ever met, we all feel so lucky to have [View Full Entry]

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We also enjoyed four days in New Delhi. It was much less hectic than I remembered it in 1988 when I was last there. The first day we went to the Emporium which was an amazing art bazaar with works from all over India. The next day we took the train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and the Moghul Emperor Akbar’s tomb. It is not hard to see why the Taj Mahal is considered to be one of the wonders of the modern world. It is an immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 [View Full Entry]

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While we were in Rishikesh I had the opportunity to volunteer in the afternoons at Mother Miracle’s School. What an amazing place!! The founders Shahla Ettefagh and Patrick Riley have committed their lives to assisting underprivileged children in India. They both left successful careers in the USA to start up the school in 2002. They began teaching a few kids in their living room. Now there are close to 200 children that come to their morning and afternoon program from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., ages 3-17. The children have classes in English, computer, math, arts and sports and on the [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Rishikesh on January 15th, but not before experiencing the ride of our lives. We got to the Delhi airport mid-day and Abe had arranged for a cab to take us north. Wow! The range of what one would consider safe is so completely different around the world. The ride was for 6 hours and took 2 years off of my life. For example, when is it alright to pass another vehicle? In India as long as there is a car’s length between you and the oncoming vehicle, it is considered o.k. A little too close for comfort for [View Full Entry]

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The last time we all went to Cyprus in 2005 we decided that we were too travel-weary to see Istanbul, so this time we scheduled our visit there right at the beginning of our trip, as a stopover on the way to Delhi. We spent three wonderful days touring Byzantine and Ottoman era churches and mosques. The visit was especially enjoyable as we traveled with an old friend of Abe’s, Ibrahim Gonzalez, who converted to Islam thirty years ago but had never had the opportunity to visit the Islamic World. We stayed at a wonderful hotel right next to the Aya [View Full Entry]

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Before heading to the states in December we spent 10 days in Ecuador in Cuenca and Otavalo. Cuenca is the 3rd largest city in Ecuador, and is very charming. The city's colonial architecture includes a rich collection of churches, plazas and buildings, which makes it a very pleasant city to walk around and to see from a bus tour that culminates at the panoramic viewpoint. Abe had been there 30 years ago and was impressed but not surprised by the extent to which it had grown. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition Cuenca has 4 rivers running [View Full Entry]

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Wow. How else does one describe one of the Seven Wonders of the World? A close friend from New Mexico came to visit, so it seemed like a perfect time to explore more of Peru. After spending a few days showing her around Arequipa we flew to Cusco to begin our adventure. Cusco is best known for once being at the heart of the Inca Empire. Although it is now filled with tourists, there is plenty of evidence of its past, with steep cobblestone streets lined with massive Inca walls. There are also some amazing ruins in the immediate area. Right [View Full Entry]

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