...and the end of all our exploring...

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"And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." ~T.S. Eliot

I left my hotel room at 11:00 p.m. on Sunday night and walked into my home in Niagara at 3:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon. That's a lot of hours of being in transit from one place to another and I was very grateful to finally be still. In spite of the fact that I'd had very little sleep ( I don't do well sleeping in an up-right position AND there was a screaming baby on the plane from Lima to Atlanta) I managed to stay awake until about 10 p.m. Then I slept for 12 hours.

Today I feel good. Rested and almost ready to face the world again.

Michael asked if the house felt any different. I replied that if felt HUGE. Gigantic. I had forgotten that we live in a palace. Ah.....travel....

Selected photos to follow.....if I can get it done today.

Go somewhere.....it's good for you.

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Photos

Cuesta San Blas
The street that my Spanish School was on in Cusco.

...still Cuesta San Blas
The new Cusco built on the ruins of ancient Inca foundations. Still standing!

The Happy Traveler
At Machupicchu at last. Exhausted but elated.

Machupicchu
The jungle at the foot of the ancient city hides the 30% of the site that has never been uncovered.

Looking down
A view down the back-side of the mountain showing how close to the edge you can get.

"Photo Senor?"
Photo op., with baby alpaca, for a few Soles.

Home
The house I stayed in, in Cusco.

Coca
The bag of coca leaves I bought from a lady at the market for s/2. And for the record, it takes around 12 kilos of these, plus a whole lot of other chemicals, to make 1 gram of cocaine.

Modern Lima
The Marriot/TelMex towers in Miraflores.

Colonial Mansion
A typical house in San Isidro, the neighborhood I stayed in. This house is unusual because it isn't behind a stone wall or electrified fence.

Old next to New
The condo towers are slowly taking over along the Pacific coast in Miraflores.

Paragliding
Because the winds coming off the ocean are constant and usually quite strong, paragliding is popular.

Paragliding
Hanging out over the beach.

Paragliding
Looking down the coast from my paraglider.

Paragliding
High above Lima. One last look.

At home
My best (and really, the only) sovenier of Peru. Our hand-woven, alpaca wool blanket, drying on the shower rod at home.

Comments

[jasonandkim]

Short on the cocoa leaves!!!
Why did you come up so short on the cocoa leaves?! What're y'gonna do with it now?? Keeping my blood thinned in anticipation of our cooking demo for y'both....