Earthquakes, How Ken Stole Christmas, & Famous Artist

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Dear Family and Friends,

We apologize for not sending photos, but are having tech difficulties on public computers. We will try to go to an Internet cafe tomorrow to upload pictures, which have not been uploading properly.

Before we tell you about the Grinch, we forgot to mention the tremors that woke us in the night during our stay in Lima. Just after midnight we were awakened with the whole bed and building shaking for about 10 seconds. It brought back memories of earthquakes we have experienced in Alaska and elsewhere.

The town of Paracas, where we spent two nights right on the Pacific coast, was amazing (our hotel was so close to the beach that our GPS thought were were IN the ocean and wanted us to take a U-turn!). The entire coastline from Lima south was arid, dry, in many places desolate and stark, and contains the tallest sand dunes in the world. This was not at all what we expected. We imagined Paracas, and the adjacent national park, to be lush and green with jungle-like plants and animals--not! It is still a barren geologic wonder with moonscapes and rugged coastline. We took a small speed boat out to islands off the coast where we were able to view sea lions, Homer penguins, dolphins, Peruvian boobies, Inchan terns, cormorants, pelicans, and dozens of other species of birds in their nesting grounds, many of them up close. It is estimated that there are 1,000 birds there at any one time. We also viewed some of the ancient Nazca lines on the side of a mountain in a shape that resemble a candleabra and point directly south to the site of the more famous Nazca lines that form gigantic shapes carved into the rock. Think shaped corn mazes that date back to 100-500 AD.

Our next adventure (after driving through insane downtown Peru, feeling an earthquake, and the police shakedown) came soon after we entered the National Park: we noticed that one of our tires was really low. It took stopping 4 times, asking each time about "aire por el llante" before we found an old gas station in the middle of some shacks, down a road so sandy, that, at one point, Ken had Sam run on ahead to watch for cars so that we could get up speed to ensure we didn´t get stuck. We lost a good hour, but chalked it up as another success.

Our 4-hour drive back north to Lima took us by Restaurants Janet, Betty, Fanny, and Patty, past hundreds of single-room cinder block or thatched huts, and desert as far as you could see. We listened to American oldies on the radio (Elvis and Three Dog Night), while tuk tuks and the occasional car sailed by us in the breakdown lane (going the opposite direction!). A man peddled fish at the toll booth and we stopped at one of many roadside stands to purchase apples. Thanks to Lauren´s Spanish teacher, we were ready for the fact that no public bathrooms have toilet paper...One we went in had two toilets next to each other with no wall between them!

Our serendipitious moment came on our return travel to Lima when we stayed one night at a B&B called Second Home Peru. We knew that the property was or had been owned by an artist and that some of his works were on display. What we had not fully grasped, was that the artist is still living and working in his onsite studio and that he is a very famous Peruvian artist named Delfin, who has statues and artwork installed all over the world. In particular, he created the Love Park statue (photo as soonas we can get it posted) that we saw on our first day in Lima. Amazingly, we were able to meet him and enjoy a private tour his studio. The B&B, pool, gardens, and studio hang in a terraced fashion over the edge of a cliff with stunning views of the coastline and the Pacific.

That night (last night), we took a walk around the neighborhood, visiting a fabulous art gallery, eating at a local bakery (sandwiches were only $3!), and then came upon what appeared to be a neighborhood Christmas lighting ceremony in a huge park. Some dignatary was there, with media and hoards of people enjoying the music and lights. Well, Ken killed Christmas for everyone when he accidentally tripped over the cord to the music and stopped it! We laughed so hard and don't believe it ever got re-connected. Ken has taken a lot of grief for that...

This morning, we drove back to the Lima airport - stressed by the tire and the traffic. Lanes go from 2 to 4 without warning, no one uses their directional, everyone is honking for no apparent reason, and buses (there are tons of them!) pull into whatever lane they please whenever they please. Kate had to close her eyes for huge sections of the ride. We waited so long at some traffic lights, that Ken shut off the car to save fuel. All we wanted to do was get back safely without adding to the scratches already on the car from prior drivers. Sadly, we missed the entrance to the rental car lot and spent another 15 minutes in rush hour traffic turning around. We call it the day we went to the airport - twice!

Once on the plane, we sat for 3 hours on the runway, since the air traffic controllers were on strike. Of course! But, the view as we flew over 11,000 foot Cuzco to land was spectacular. It is surrounded by mountains and quite the challenge to land. We were met by a driver for our hotel and taken straight to our B&B. The ride took us on narrow, stone roads (wide enough only for one car). It reminded us of Italy. The nativity scenes have llamas, instead of sheep. Our room is spectacular (two rooms, plus our own bath) behind a beautiful blue door and stone wall. We can walk to the city square, although it took us a long time this evening - could not resist the shops with local handiwork along the cobblestone streets. Dinner at a restaurant with incredible dishes - each only about $7 or $8 - with the native black corn drink: Chicha Morada, said to be good for you and prevent cancer.

We have hired a driver to take us all day tomorrow to see ruins which we are told rival Machu Picchu. We want to be in town on Saturday, since it is Christmas Eve and we are told there will be beautiful lights and activities nearby.

Hopefully, we can get the photos to upload, as we are eager to show you what we are seeing. We are all having such a great time - Sam and Lauren appreciate everything we do and have trouble when we ask them each evening about their favorite thing of the day - so much to choose from.

More tomorrow, we hope, with photos.

Love, Kate and Ken

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Photos

Love Park
Sculpture in Miraflores Park by Delfin

Inca Parade
Downtown Lima Parade