Hiya Babe!
Wow, what an incredible day! Up bright and early at 5:30, up to the 7th floor for a light breakfast, then down to the lobby all packed and ready to go to meet our guide at 6:30. Didn't sleep all that great, short hours, but was so excited it didn't matter, we were all raring to go! Our guide Elizabeth arrived, and walked us down to the bus stop, which already had a long line waiting, but one it got started it moved along pretty quickly, with bus after bus filling up, turning around and leaving. Like most roads here, it was barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass, with plenty of places where that wasn't even possible, so there were numerous times one of the busses had to back up to make room for the other to make the corner. We arrived safely, (it's obviously not their first rodeo!), then stood in another line waiting to get in. Everything is highly efficient, using electronics to check everyone in and out. We finally made it through the line, and headed down the walkway that was the entrance, until it opened up into the ruins. It was breathtaking! Elizabeth spent nearly a full three hours taking us around Circuit 3, which in my humble opinion, was excellent for my type of tour. We were able to get down to the main grounds, and the royal house, and was a much more close encounter than the other two. Apparently Circuit one is only about 90 minutes, and it takes you to the highest spot, so you get the widest photo shot, but you never really get down into the heart of the ruins. Circuit 2 was supposed to be good, too, but still didn't get as deep into the heart of the buildings as we did. Loved it! After three hours, and a lot of education, we headed back out to the busses, once again went down the switchback road into town, where we split up. Jane and I decided first to have a frothy iced latte, wandered through the markets for awhile, then found a restaurant on the way back to the train station where we decided to have a good meal to tide us over, since I prefer to eat much earlier than we've been eating, and not sleeping too well because I've eaten too much, too late. This worked out fine! We had a great meal, enjoyed some musical entertainment, then walked to the train station, met up with the other ladies (who splurged on a foot massage!), boarded the train and had a lovely trip in the observation car, with the tracks following the river all the way back. Our cabin attendants presented a little fashion show of alpaca wear, and we were given snacks as well. We saw a long string of wildfires on the mountain just before we were arriving, but there's not that much growth to burn and the wind was blowing strong uphill, acting almost as a back burn. Claudio met us at the station, we walked to his truck, and drove the 45 minutes back to the hotel, where we all pretty much crashed for the evening. At least I certainly did! A nice long hot shower and into bed for me! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Took a few hours to get too sleep last night, too much food, maybe too much caffeine in the chocolate dessert, or too much sleep the night before, but it didn't matter, the hours I slept led me to a full recovery! Had a leisurely breakfast since we weren't getting picked up until 9:30, then we were taken over to where the horses were, on a slip of a dirt road where they had been trucked. It didn't take long before we were off on the trail! Today we did a lot of "town" riding, saw a lot of interesting backyards and ways of life, but within a couple of miles, we had climbed up to the famous salt mines of Maras, an ancient collection of pools that collect salt water through a crazy irrigation system, where it's hauled out to dry, then packed in feed bag size bags and taken away, all done by hand. Apparently the salt mines in Himalaya use dynamite, so this is considered much safer and more natural. We stopped and walked around a bit, and I bought a bag of black, smoked salt and some of those roasted corn kernels that I liked in Lima. Wasn't long before we were off again, still climbing, through a couple more towns, until we stopped for lunch on the top of a plateau with a fantastic view. We were served a nice, filling lunch, then headed off again, through another town, through some fields with free range animals, took a quick stop at Cheqoq where the Incas stored their crops, then eventually ended up at the place where the horses will be staying overnight. We had a beer, then headed back to the hotel via vehicle, where we rested for a couple of hours before going to a local restaurant for another amazing dinner. We could only get reservations for the patio, but it was covered over and felt more like a cave than a patio, so it actually stayed quite warm with all of us in it. It was a long dinner, with lots of laughter and fellowship as we recalled the day and learned more about each other, and Peru. We learned that our hosts were finally able to get our tickets for Machu Picchu, but it required a major change in the schedule. Rather than next Sunday, we will be doing it on Wednesday at 7:30 in the morning (to catch the bus), but that requires us to take the night train tomorrow night at 9:00, stay in a different hotel (though they've arranged for us to keep our rooms here as well, so we only have to pack for the night, and only what we'll want to carry around with us all day, as we won't have a car to store it in), then see the site in the morning for three hours. We weren't able to get the best tickets, but it was all that could be done. They have a strange system here, where there are three different circuits around the site, and you can't choose which one you want, you have to take what you can get, unless, I suppose, you book it months in advance. Anyway, that's tomorrow's problem! We finally returned to the hotel around 8:30, picked up our tickets where Francesca had printed them off, and went to our respective rooms. Took my shower, and amy ready for bed! Good night, baby! Love you!

Hey Babe!
Got a full night sleep and then some, had a nice breakfast at their buffet, and was packed up and ready to go by 9:00, though I then discovered the pickup had been change to 9:30 due to bad traffic because of a huge parade of some kind, but no matter. I managed to track down the rest of the Perolchico participants for this week's ride, and we all chatted for a bit. There's Monique from NJ (very close to Meg's place!), a professional Boxer dog breeder, trainer and handler, Alicia from Seattle, a flight attendant for United, Jane, a retired Fish & Wildlife gal from Northern California, and Sanne, a communications and media specialist from the Netherlands. Quite an eclectic group! We hit the road and wound our way through the narrow streets out of Cusco to the Sacred Valley, with a fascinating stop at a small textile place, where we were treated to an informative demonstration (and tea!) of how all the materials are made by hand. If I hadn't just bought a poncho yesterday, I would have been very tempted to buy one here! I actually liked the design better, but, oh well! We eventually made our way to the next hotel, the Sonesta Posadas del Inca, another beautiful building, where we dropped off our luggage, then headed up to the historic Hacienda Huayuccari, a family owned building that houses an amazing privately-owned museum, an incredible restaurant, beautiful gardens, and just up the hill from where we will be starting off with our horses. We toured the incredible museum, had a fabulous lunch, then went down to meet our caballos (horses) for the first time. I was placed on a sorrel gelding called Nevaba (which means "it was snowing"), and he turned out to very much like Flash, always wanting to move ahead, and getting a little impatient when I tried to hold him back. I'm assuming that after this intro ride, we'll be able to move out a bit more so I won't have to hold him back (fingers crossed). The weather was gorgeous, and though we were mostly on country gravel roads, it was a wonderful ride. Everyone else seemed to do well, and I loved the very secure tack that comes with these guys, so I'm looking forward to a great week! We got back to the hacienda, then drove back down to the hotel, finally got our room assignments, so we were able to take a couple of hours to rest before we were picked up and whisked off for dinner. Frankly, after that huge lunch, I didn't need anything else, but it was pre-arranged, so I couldn't very well say no! And in the end, glad I didn't, because that was yet another experience! Though it was only a few blocks away, we drove there, and the "road" that we drove on was barely wider than single lane and had an irrigation ditch about four feet deep right in the middle of it. There were a couple of moments when I thought for sure we were too much to one side and the tires would go into the ditch, but we made it! But that wasn't the worst part. Once we arrived at the house we had to do a K turn, where yet another, much wider irrigation ditch, with no curb, was on the edge of this barely single lane "road." A few more harrow moments! But the house was beautiful, the dinner was marvelous, served up by a woman who is apparently going to be our chef for most of the meals this week, bringing us lunch on the trail as we go. It was delicious! First course was a Peruvian classic, causa, which is layers of yellow potato, hard-boiled eggs and meat, in this case, tuna, with some other stuff in the layers, and that was followed by kebabs of fresh vegetables and melt-in-your-mouth chicken, with a choice of bite size brownies for dessert. We were all stuffed! After being stuffed at lunch and now stuffed at dinner, I expect a good jump on my scales when I get home, if this keeps up! Anyway, back to the hotel, shower, and now ready for a good night sleep! Our pickup time is 9:30 tomorrow, so no rush to get up early, thank goodness. What a great day! Good night, my darlin'! Love you!

Hiya Darlin'!
Had a great night sleep, was up early, had a nice complimentary breakfast, then headed out to find a baby alpaca poncho. I decided to go by the main square first, where the tourists go, just to see the difference in quality and compare prices, but I had already been warned about the many scams about the material that was there, so I was careful. I ended up at a place called the Vicuna Factory, which was recommended by the hotel, and everything there was beautiful. They spent time educating me on the different types and how to tell the difference, served me a lovely cup of mint tea, and I ended up buying my poncho there, which was my original plan, but you know me! I'll walk into every store in a mall just to check it out before buying something I intend to keep a long time! The walk around the square was nice, though, I saw some little girls doing some kind of cheer dance routine, a lot of difference stores, and, would you believe, a McDonalds! Seriously! No, I didn't eat there, I went back to the hotel, lazed around for the afternoon, then splurged on a gorgeous dinner in the hotel, which serves excellent food, but again, I had to wear my new poncho because it was quite cool. The lit a fire in the fireplace just as I was finishing my dessert, kind of wish they'd started that sooner. Anyway, got back to the room, did most of my packing, showered, and now I'm just going to settle down for the rest of the evening. Love you sweetie! Good night!

Hey Sweetie!
Had another good night sleep, didn't have to get up quite so early, was packed and ready for my Uber pickup at 6:30. An expert drive to the airport, this driver managed to turn what is usually a 60-90 minute trip into barely 35 minutes, getting me there well in advance of my flight, which was fine, it gave me time to luxuriate over breakfast, which I kept light per advice on how to combat the altitude sickness I'm likcly to experience when I land later at 11,300 ft. It was a lovely large piece of sourdough bread spread with avocado and a few cherry tomatoes and cheese chunks. Had a great flight, chatted with a guy named Hal for a bit, he was sitting on the aisle and we didn't have anyone between us, and we arrived in Cusco just fine, though it was quite cold and rainy, mid-40's, but it will be up to 70 tomorrow. I was disappointed they didn't have free wi-fi at the airport, so I wasn't able to call for an Uber like I had planned, so I ended up at a taxi stand. The guy said it would be $25, I said too much and talked him down to $20, but later, when I did get online, I learned Uber is about $5, so they ripped me off. Oh, well, live and learn! The hotel is older but evidently newly remodeled, it has all the mod cons. I had to wait in the lobby until the official check-in time at 1:00, and the lobby wasn't heated and the doors were open, so I had to stay bundled up in my jacket. My room is small but very clean and modern, though the showerhead didn't have much more than a dribble, but it was enough. Spent most of the relaxing, and so far I haven't had any altitude sickness problems (yeah Diamox!), until around 5:00 I went to their restaurant (also not heated, I had to go back to my room for my wool cap), and had a nice dinner and a couple of their local drink, the Pisco Sour. Alcohol is not recommended at high altitude, but I've been doing well, and I'll make up for it by drinking more water. Settled down in my warm room for the evening, looking forward to a little shopping excursion tomorrow, and hopefully meeting up with the other members of my riding group, who are all supposed to be gathering. I haven't heard anything about a ride meeting, just a pickup on Sunday at 9:00, so we'll see what happens. It was nice to have a quiet day, it's been such a hectic pace since I arrived! Anyway, that's it for now! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe!
Wow, another amazing day in Peru! Got up in the dark, but was ready in plenty of time to be met by my guide, Geiner, and a driver, and I was swept away in a very nice car to play chicken in the traffic of Lima. It wasn't too bad this early in the morning, and we were soon on the PanAmerican Highway zooming southward. Three hours later we arrived at the harbor where I grabbed an empanada and were soon being loaded onto the sightseeing boat, heading out past an armada of boats and naval ships, though we saw three seals right on a platform next to the dock! The whole trip took about two hours, and we saw thousands of different types of seabirds and a lot more seals. Apparently the big industry is bird guano, which is still going on. My guide was surprised to learn that we harvest bat guano in this country (at least we did in the caverns out west, don't know if they still do). It was very educational, and I enjoyed the boat ride, though the amount of wildlife was a tiny bit underwhelming. What can I say, Africa spoiled me! We actually caught an earlier boat ride than was planned, so we had a little time on our hands, so we walked through the market until I found a place with more finger food, just to tide me over for the rest of the afternoon. When it was time, we headed to the Cusco International Airport, which, considering the size of the small town and the emptiness of the buildings, was WAY overkill for their needs. I'm guessing another "jobs program" type development. There was barely enough air traffic to consider it a civil airport, much less an international one! Oh, well! After paying the appropriate airport taxes, I was loaded onto about a 12 seater, single engine plane with half a dozen other people. I lucked out, Geiner got me the first seat in the front directly behind the pilot, so I had lots of window space, and wasn't near the back of the place, for which I was grateful, particularly when the "moves" started. It was a pretty quiet flight for about 30 minutes, then the fun began! The way it worked was, we would arrive at the first giant hieroglyph of the famous Nazca lines, and the pilot would put the plane at an almost 90 degree so that one side of the plane could look practically straight down at the carvings. Then he would circle around and do the same for the other side of the plane. I'm talking serious aerobatics! A lot of skill involved, for sure! Once we finished with the first one, we then moved on to the next and the next, 16 hieroglyphs in all. I was glad I took my Bonine this morning! I made it through, but not before breaking into a sweat, then later having a quick chill. All the while, the co-pilot was counting down to each glyph so that we all knew exactly when it would appear. It was quite the experience! I'm happy to report the Bonine did it's job, I didn't get motion sickness, though I will admit I was a bit queasy, and happy when the last glyph was done and we were able to straighten out for the return to the airport. Well worth doing, though! Another bucket list item checked! Geiner way waiting for me back and the airport and we quickly loaded into the car and headed back northward. I was pretty tired by then, and ended up falling asleep in the car for a couple of hours on the way back. Arrived back at the hotel, ordered a salad and their famous local drink, a Pisco sour through room service, which was delivered promptly, did some packing, took my shower, and now I'm headed to bed! Not such an early morning tomorrow, but still going to be a long day as I adjust to the 11,300 foot altitude of Cusco. I felt you with me today, my darlin'! I trust you're enjoying my adventures as much as I am! Love you! Buenas noches!

Hey Sweetie!
Well, I'm off to a busy start! Slept pretty well considering, woke up about 7:20 and got up right away, re-packed my new carryon bag for just the stuff I needed to take with me today, and was out walking over to the bus stop well before 9:00. I had already purchased my ticket online last night, but I wanted to make sure I could find the stop. Turned out to be no problem. This is an interesting section of Lima. The neighborhood is known as Miraflores, and it's the upscale part of the city, and directly across from the hotel is a mall, partly open air, partly underground, and right next to the Pacific Ocean, though it's above it on a cliff! Amazing geography here. Anyway, I "hopped on" the Hop On Hop Off bus, settling down on the top deck, which I was surprised to find had a roof, though it was open air (and we had to keep watch that tree branches didn't scrape as we went by!) and it made it's way all the way back north to the Historical Center, which took nearly two hours with traffic. I barely had time to take a quick turn around the main St. Martin Square before time pressed me to walk three blocks to the San Francisco Cathedral to join in a tour around the catacombs. Then I passed through the main Government Square where a band was playing and there was the changing of the guard going on. I stopped for a few minutes, but moved on to find the next bus stop and picked up the bus heading back southbound. I passed my original stop and then got off at Kennedy Park (I didn't quite follow why the park was named after JFK, but apparently it was), where I walked to a restaurant called Kauza, known for it's true Peruvian food, exactly what I was looking for, and exactly what I had. It was seafood, shrimp and octopus, spiced up and put on top of a mound of mashed potatoes. Delicious! There was also a little appetizer of roasted corn kernels, and they were delicious as well! Left there, paused at an alpaca outlet store but didn't find the kind of hooded poncho I'm looking for, then, since I had missed my bus by luxuriating over my dinner, walked up to the archaeological site known as Pucllana. This is a massive temple that was build between 400 and 650 AD. I went on a very informative group tour (in English, fortunately), and learned a lot. Also had done some climbing and lots of walking today (15807 steps according to my watch!), so I should sleep even better tonight. The hotel, the AC Hotel by Marriott, is very modern and comfortable, and I'm glad I chose it over the one downtown, which, though it may have been famous in a previous lifetime, had a lot of poor ratings, and I'd rather be sure than sorry! I was going to catch the last Red Route Hop On Bus, but it was going to take an hour to get back to the hotel, and I wanted to see the sunset from the mall, so I called an Uber instead, and he was there to pick me up within minutes. Much more comfortable way to travel, I must say! So glad Uber is so prevalent here, a very easy way to get around, as long as you don't have a heart attack by the way all traffic just pulls into intersections and expects everyone else to stop in self-preservation! Got back to the hotel in plenty of time for the sunset, exchanged some currency at the mall so I would have some local money, then promptly found an ice cream shop and got a cone to finish off my night. Got back to the hotel, took my shower, and now I'm just getting caught up on my diary and preparing for tomorrow. Fortunately, my pickup time was moved from 4:10 to 5:00 am tomorrow, so I should have no trouble getting enough sleep tonight. So that's what I'm off to do now! Good night, darlin'! Love you!

Hi Darlin'!
Well, today was a long but very productive day, considering how far I've travelled! It got a late start, because Lola barked for a couple of hours until she finally managed to escape and was scratching at the door around midnight. I just let her in, and she was restless for awhile, but finally went to sleep. In the morning, I put her in the truck, figured it was easier than fighting with her, and I didn't have the time. It was still dark when I was moving out, which is tricky because the gate out the driveway is close to a power pole, so I had to adjust a couple of times to get it. Linda arrived and helped guide me out. Had an uneventful drive down to Cummins, chatted with Johnny about the issues, he's going to pass them on to Dan, allegedly. Once we dropped the trailer off, it was just a short hop to the airport, which is a really small airport that was empty at that time of the morning, so getting through security was a breeze, everyone was standing around looking for something to do. My flight got off on time, had uneventful flights from there to Charlotte, Charlotte to Miami, and finally, Miami to Lima. It wasn't terribly expensive, so I upgraded to First Class, so it was comfortable, and I got a big meal on the last leg, which was good because I hadn't eaten anything but nuts since cereal at breakfast. Arrived in Lima about 15 minutes early, and immigration was thorough and efficient, taking photos and even fingerprints for foreign passengers. The longest wait of the day was for my one piece of checked luggage (which I somehow managed to keep under 30 lbs. would you believe!), then using the airport wifi, I set up an Uber ride. Apparently this is the busiest time of the night because so many international planes arrive late in the evening, so it was a madhouse! But somehow my driver spotted me and called out, and we got me loaded and on the road quite quickly. Not surprisingly, they drive crazy here, but I'd seen that before in Argentina many decades ago, so I was prepared for that. We were pulling up to my hotel in Miraflores just around midnight, and other than my hotel doing the opposite of what I asked (I always want a high floor in a quiet section away from the elevator), I ended up on the fifth floor right next to the elevator, but it was all they had so I wasn't going to quibble. Took a shower, set my alarm, put in my earplugs, and that was that! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Babe,
A bit more sleep last night, then spent the day doing a lot of final packing and prep work for my departure tomorrow. I borrowed Linda's old Jeep for a run into town, with a quick stop at Lowe's to pick up a couple of circuit breakers in the hope that I can solve the ongoing power shutoff problem I've having, then onto Walmart for a prescription for altitude sickness medication and a few other last minute things, then onto the post office, which had three out of four of my Amazon packages, but they missed delivery this morning, but they let me pick them up. Got a new phone wallet, some waterproofing spray for my shoes, and a raised dog cot to get Lola's bed off the ground in the stall that she'll be staying in. I'm sure it will still get dirty, since she loves to scruff it up and it will undoubtedly end up on the floor numerous times, but at least it will be softer than the ground. Moved most of my perishables into Linda's motor home refrigerator and freezer, and got as much packed as I can. I'm loving the new carryon bag I bought, the only thing left to fit into it is my laptop, and I've already cleared the way for that, so it should be easy to finish in the morning. I tried to replace the circuit breaker, but neither one fit! I never realized there were so many different widths and types. That solution will just have to wait until I get back! I feel pretty ready, though I'm not thrilled at how early I have to get up tomorrow. I have to leave here by 6:30 to drop off the trailer at Cummins when they open at 7:30, and my flight starts boarding at 9:38, and Chattanooga is a small airport, so I should be fine. Linda is coming with me to drive my truck back, sorry I have to get her out of bed so early! I put Lola in the stall so she can spend the night there and get used to it, she's not liking it too much, especially since it's so dang hot out, and the forecast is just as bad all week! Hopefully she'll adjust okay, like she did at Joyce's, though there won't be as much human company for her here. Anyway, heading to bed nice and early so I can get up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the dark morning! Good night, sweetie! Love you!

Hey Sweetie,
Had a terrible night's sleep, was awake until almost 4:00, blaming it on one too many diet drinks with aspartame, which always seem to affect me sleep cycle. Still, was up by nine, and got started with my day doing laundry and more packing, bookkeeping and bill-paying so everything is taken care of while I'm gone. Will have some running around to do tomorrow, but Linda has once again graciously offered her Jeep for me to drive so I don't have to unhook my camper. Tried to solve the electric problem, I'm on a 15 amp circuit, which is just not enough to run my AC without shutting off every few minutes, but the one breaker I had had the wrong configuration and wouldn't fit. I'll get one when I'm out tomorrow so that future visits won't experience the same issues. Moved more stuff away from the generator into the back of the camper in hopes that it will be easier to get to, a hot and dirty job. Got into the 90's again today, so having to fuss with my AC was not helpful. Anyway, we got through the day, and things are cooling off a bit better at night, though still unseasonably warm, but hopefully not too bad for Lola in the barn next week, which I'm a bit concerned about, but can't really do much about! Be off to shower and bed soon, since the shortage of sleep last night is starting to catch up with me. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!