Peru Day-to-Day

Day 191	07-18-09	Will the sunshine and happiness ever end?
Day 190	07-17-09	STILL sunshine and happiness. Made plans for Tumbes manglares tours and bus to Quito.
Day 189	07-16-09	More sunshine and happiness.
Day 188	07-15-09	Arrived in Máncora! Sunshine and happiness. Met nice fellow traveler and had beers on beach.
Day 187	07-14-09	Overnight bus to Máncora.
Day 186	07-13-09	Bus to Lima in morning. Roamed around Miraflores. Market and more ceviche! Inlaws flight at midnight.
Day 185	07-12-09	Day in Ica with inlaws. Cevichería and bodegas. Boys went sandboarding. Ladies lounged by pool.
Day 184	07-11-09	Shark tooth success! Touristed through the desert, and then returned to Ica/Huanchaco.
Day 183	07-10-09	More unsuccessful shark tooth hunting!
Day 182	07-09-09	Schmilas Family Reunion, desert style.
Day 181	07-08-09	Bus to Ica through a transportation strike. Immediately went into the desert to avoid any problems the next day.
Day 180	07-07-09	Autumn and Jeremy arrive! Wandered around Barranco. Visited Gran Museo. Dinner to celebrate Jeremy’s birthday @ Nautilus.
Day 179	07-06-09	Free day in Lima! Sushi, coffee and love.
Day 178	07-05-09	Saw sinking car on Huanchaco beach… firefighters came and left without doing much. Overnight bus to Lima.
Day 177	07-04-09	Celebrated July 4th on Huanchaco beach.
Day 176	07-03-09	Visited El Brujo ruins.
Day 175	07-02-09	CSS-ifying, and cursing overcast clouds.
Day 174	07-01-09	Visited Chan Chan, Huaca de la Luna and Huaca Arco Iris.
Day 173	06-31-09	Started self-created CSS lessons. That didn’t take long to decide.
Day 172	06-30-09	Out and about to shoot photos of Huanchaco graffiti.
Day 171	06-29-09	Started the great blog migration to Wordpress.com. Contemplating learning CSS.
Day 170	06-28-09	Spent afternoon at local coffee shop… aka McCafe.
Day 169	06-27-09	Started next round of Easy Listening project.
Day 168	06-26-09	Ants in my coffee mug!
Day 167	06-25-09	Morning trip to Tottus grocery store. Haircut for handsome Scott. Rest of day waiting for sunshine.
Day 166	06-24-09	Lunch out with Scott. Sunshine, photoshoot around Huanchaco. Great old car, lots of numbers for calendar project. Sunshine in late afternoon.
Day 165	06-23-09	Another ant attack! This time they got our cereal.
Day 164	06-22-09	Discovered peacocks and bunnies in backyard! An hour of glorious sunshine…
Day 163	06-21-09	Sulky today. That’s what a week without sunshine in a beach town will do to you…
Day 162	06-20-09	Good workout in the AM! Trujillo errand run: haircut, groceries, sushi. Failed on 2 out of 3. Will eat this week.
Day 161	09-19-09	Beginning to lose hope on sunshine! Some work on Micro Econ. Watched sunset at early dinner at taco joint.
Day 160	06-18-09	Another cloudy day! Hoping the sun will show its face. Worked on Micro Econ and finished up Advertised Mind book. Workout with SparkPeople videos.
Day 159	06-17-09	Cloudy in Huanchaco! Sniffle. New blog header. Finished up photo tagging for Heather’s trip.
Day 158	06-16-09	Cloudy in Huanchaco. Book and coffee on beach. Weird conversation with drunk local girl. Up late watching 24 with Scott!
Day 157	06-15-09	Back in Huanchaco. Used new swimsuit on beach! No huge flying crickets in sight. Grocery shopping.
Day 156	06-14-09	Last day of Heather’s visit! Morning taxi to Pisac Market. Great views of Sacred Valley. Plane to Cusco. McDonalds and Starbucks in Lima airport. Night bus to Trujillo.
Day 155	06-13-09	Decided against spending $40 to visit Ollantaytambo ruins. Spent day wandering Cusco and stealing wi-fi internet.
Day 154	06-12-09	Machu Picchu! Best visit yet!
Day 153	06-11-09	Corpus Christi in Cusco! Spent time in Plaza de Armas watching celebrations. Hit artisan markets and mirador.
Day 152	06-10-09	10-hour bus ride to Cusco! Beautiful views. Checked into hotel and had Mexican food for dinner.
Day 151	06-09-09	10-hour bus ride to Andahuaylas! After checking into hotel and eating bad pizza, found nice cafe in town with wi-fi.
Day 150	06-08-09	Visited mirador above city. Roamed Santa Ana barrio to see artisan workshops. Went back to artisan market! Lots of shopping!
Day 149	06-07-09	Found and checked into new hotel with all amenities. Heather and I visited a half closed artisan market. Vowed to visit again tomorrow! Moto taxi ride. Walk later in day to buy next round of bus tickets.
Day 148	06-06-09	8-hour bus to Ayacucho. Hotel had no hot water. internet and laundry mat impossible to find. Felt a bit uncomfortable.
Day 147	06-05-09	Historical Tour around Mantaro Valley.
Day 146	06-04-09	Artisan Tour around Mantaro Valley.
Day 145	06-03-09	Arrived in Huancayo very early. Checked into hotel and went back to sleep!
Day 144	06-02-09	Visited Museo Larco and Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología y Historía with Heather. Dinner at Trattoria Attica. Overnight bus to Huancayo.
Day 143	06-01-09	Bus to Lima in morning. Checked into hotel and had dinner. Met Heather at the airport! (Taxi to/from plus waiting cost an amazing $35.)
Day 142	05-31-09	Laid on the beach all day. Again. Prepped for trip to Lima the next morning.
Day 141	05-30-09	Sunny! Walked to Huanchaco’s church. (Supposedly one of the oldest in Peru.) Then laid on the beach all day.
Day 140	05-29-09	Went into Trujillo in search of sushi. Had a very TIP moment when found the restaurant was closed. Roamed city in search of food. Bought supplies at grocery store.
Day 139	05-28-09	Moved in to Huanchaco Gardens. Started war against flying crickets and ants.
Day 138	05-27-09	Roamed around Huanchaco, looking for more permanent place to live. Found small apartment at Huanchaco Gardens.
Day 137	05-26-09	First thing, found Serpost and sent a box of things to condo in Seattle. Hotdog and juice place for breakfast. Taxi to Huanchaco. Taco lunch. Police were shutting it down as we left.
Day 136	05-25-09	Arrived in Lima in early AM. Arrived in Trujillo around 8pm. Decided not to go on to Huanchaco because it was dark. Found hotel. Narrowly missed eating at a cockroach infested Chifa restaurant.
Day 135	05-24-09	Final day in Arequipa! Lunch at El Turko. Send off by landlords! Night bus to Lima.
Day 134	05-23-09	Packing and cleaning. Met with Ericka to pick up camera lens cap, stayed for drinks and a chat.
Day 133	05-22-09	Started preparations to leave Arequipa.
Day 132	05-21-09	Bus to see amazing condors in the morning. Then 6hr bus back to Arequipa.
Day 131	05-20-09	Donkey ride up the canyon! 2.5hrs! Rest in hotel. More pizza for dinner.
Day 130	05-19-09	Taxi to Cabanaconde. Hike to Oasis/Sangalle. 3.5hours!
Day 129	05-18-09	Short hike to ruins, through herd of sheep and some bush whacking. Thermal pools later in the afternoon. Movies and cards again at night.
Day 128	05-17-09	Arrived in Chivay. Roamed plaza. Pizza dinner by fire. Movies and cards in hotel room at night.
Day 127	05-16-09	Beat Lumines high score again! Photo session of jugglers seen in Yanahuara plaza. Bunelos with Scott!
Day 126	05-15-09	Final class with Sumaq Marka. End time together by making traditional Lomo Saltado together for lunch. Lumines high score of 1,500,000!!
Day 125	05-14-09	Same as yesterday. High score eludes 1 million mark. Dinner at tourist restaurant above Plaza de Armas. Then hop to Tacos y Tequila, then to El Turko.
Day 124	05-13-09	Pretty much listen to audiobooks all day and play Lumines.
Day 123	05-12-09	Start quest for Lumines high score. Play while listening to audio books. Start email saga with concunada.
Day 122	05-11-09	Find first gray hair.
Day 121	05-10-09	Go to Sunday buffet at Ego restaurant. See lots of mothers with their families… Live band. Call mom later that day.
Day 120	05-09-09	="top" width="361">Brave Plaza Veo to stock up on supplies… Watch Harold & Kumar for first time ever. What took me so long?
Day 119	05-08-09	Spend afternoon at Cusco Coffee, after picking up official police report from station.
Day 118	05-07-09	While sitting at locutorio, turn my head to find a 6 year old about 6-inches from my face staring right at me. Have never jumped so high.
Day 117	05-06-09	Thank you dinner with Ericka and Fahed. Steaks for 4 = $40. End night with karaoke!
Day 116	05-05-09	First day using locutorio for internet. I leave my memory stick and think it’s stolen… Turns out earlier attendant has it, and returns it to me the next day.
Day 115	05-04-09	Back to Spanish. Police station afterward to file a report. Surprisingly easier than previous time. Call to insurance agent says everything should be covered.
Day 114	05-03-09	First day of really missing laptop! Hung around house
Day 113	05-02-09	Caught first bus available back to Arequipa. Feeling really bummed.
Day 112	05-01-09	Bus to Moquegua. Backpack stolen! Bad day. Found cool Moquegua bar to wallow in…
Day 111	04-30-09	Lazed around house.
Day 110	04-29-09	Up early morning due to barking dogs. Walked to Plaza Vea to buy LAN tix. Another walk in afternoon to work on calendar project.
Day 109	04-28-09	Bus back from Mollendo. No water in apartment for rest of day. Survived on what little food was left in apartment… mainly cereal!
Day 108	04-27-09	Our last day in the sun with beer! Scott works for good part of day… I walk to run down Castle at far end of beach. Disappointed.
Day 107	04-26-09	A full day of sun with beer!
Day 106	04-25-09	Early morning bus to Mollendo. Cheapest beach resort ever. Also strangely run down… Beach is beautiful! Spend day in sun with beer.
Day 105	04-24-09	Spanish class. Laundry drop off.
Day 104	04-23-09	Spanish class. Bought tickets to Mollendo @ bus station. Laundry pick up. Walk around Cayma, Plaza Vea. Friendly taxi driver wanted to practice Ingles.
Day 103	04-22-09	Spanish class. Finished up photo tagging project. Worked on putting Spanish vocab lists into iFlipr.
Day 102	04-21-09	Spanish with Ericka. Met a man whose leg was shattered in a robbery, gave him some money. Long walk in evening. Starting Z to A music project.
Day 101	04-20-09	Sick day. Stayed home from Spanish. Long walk in afternoon. Made guacamole and tacos for dinner. Finished “Moving & Living Abroad” section for “Peru Demystified”.
Day 100	04-19-09	Lunch in park. Scott eats onion sandwich and feels ill. Nap on rooftop deck! Started photo tagging project.
Day 99	04-18-09	Made yummy rice, veggies and tofu for dinner.
Day 98	04-17-09	Arrive in Arequipa. Just in time to pay water bill before it’s late! Plaza Vea for food stuffs.
Day 97	04-16-09	Starbucks for breakfast and interneting! Master clipping masks in Photoshop! Fancy lunch on waterfront. Night bus to Arequipa.
Day 96	04-15-09	Arrive in Lima. Straight to embassy. Applying for a new passport is an easy 2hrs. Check into hotel. Go to Starbucks! Awesome pizza dinner at Antica Trattoria in Barranco.
Day 95	04-14-09	>Laundry. Bum around house waiting for night bus to Lima.
Day 94	04-13-09	Arrive in Arequipa. Discover that I lost my passport in Cusco! Make plans to go to Lima for replacement. Filing report with tourist police, takes 4hrs.
Day 93	04-12-09	Sick in Cusco! Mary and Lisa leave for Lima/Seattle. Night bus to Arequipa.
Day 82	04-11-09	Machu Picchu! Allison Smackdown En Español!
Day 81	04-10-09	All day bus ride with tourist stops from Puno to Cusco. Highlight: Raqchi ruins! Lowlight: Reservation problem at Casa Elena hotel.
Day 80	04-09-09	All day tour of Lake Titicaca, Uros floating island and Taquile island.
Day 79	04-08-09	Visited Sillustani with Mary in morning, including visit to traditional farming home along the way. Back in Puno, walked to sad waterfront. Visited fertility temple in Chiquito.
Day 78	04-07-09	Bus to Puno. Walked around main square and pedestrian street looking for lunch. Found expat bar. Early night to bed.
Day 77	04-06-09	Ceviche with Ericka and visitors. Roamed through San Camilo Market. Made guacamole in the afternoon. Chifa for dinner.
Day 76	04-05-09	Toured Santa Catalina Convent with Mary & Lisa. Then wandered around downtown. Most things closed because of Sunday and holiday week.
Day 75	04-04-09	Prepped for Mary & Lisa’s arrival! They got in on earlier flight than expected!! Dinner and catching up at El Turko.
Day 74	04-03-09	Another grocery run to prep for visitors. Creative Techs web seminar in afternoon. Scott made nachos with hair dryer.
Day 73	04-02-09	Quiet day at home. Spent some time reading in Yanahuara plaza. Amazing weather this week.
Day 72	04-01-09	Trip planning! Trying to get dates set for moving to Trujillo, and getting out of the country to renew visas.
Day 71	03-31-09	Grocery store run for food! Spent rest of day at home, photoshopping and working. Felt first earthquake that night!
Day 70	03-30-09	Spanish class with Erika in the morning! Then errands downtown… I’m getting better at paying bills. Still having problems with post office.
Day 69	03-29-09	Grocery shopping and relaxing at home.
Day 68	03-28-09	Invited to breakfast with landlords as walked in from bus station. Very yummy lunch at local picantería! Avoiding necessary trip to Plaza Vea.
Day 67	03-27-09	Toured Ica bodegas: Tacama, Vista de Alegre and Tres Generaciones. Lunch. Relaxed back at hotel. Bus to Arequipa!!
Day 66	03-26-09	Late morning. Out first thing for exploring. Scott found megaladon tooth immediately! Then less lucky. Broke camp. Hit three "tourist" spots on way back.
Day 65	03-25-09	Up early with "coffee ritual". Exploring, found lots of shark teeth! Afternoon nap. Out again for exploring, less successful. Talked around campfire.
Day 64	03-24-09	Met Desert Man at 7am and headed into desert. Set up camp, then napped midday. Out for shark tooth hunting in afternoon. Beautiful sunset. Early to bed.
Day 63	03-23-09	Last day with Casey and Kyle. Visited Desert Man in Ica. Bought groceries for desert adventure. Rest of day relaxing at pool.
Day 62	03-22-09	Spent day in Huacachina. Great breakfast. Dune buggy ride and sandboarding. Met Desert Man, made plans for desert adventure.
Day 61	03-21-09	Travel day to Huacachina. (Flight to Lima. Bus ride down coast.) Ended up in crappy hotel.
Day 60	03-20-09	Saw Sofia, Harpe eagle at lodge in morning. Boat ride back to Puerto Moldonado. Dinner at great restaurant.
Day 59	03-19-09	Up early for Macaw Clay Lick. Jungle walk and zipline. Afternoon at lodge. Night boat ride to look for caimans.
Day 56	03-18-09	Morning in Puerto Moldonado. Afternoon 5 hour boat ride to Wasai Tambopata Lodge. Night walk through jungle.
Day 55	03-17-09	Flight to Puerto Moldonado. Check in to Wasai lodge. Waded through swamps at Isla de Monos.
Day 54	03-16-09	Met with Casey and Kyle at hotel in morning! Toured ruins outside of Cusco (Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay).
Day 53	03-15-09	Prep for jungle/oasis trip with Casey and Kyle! Bus to Cusco.
Day 52	03-14-09	Saturday, but Scott needs to work. Prepping blog posts for upcoming travel to jungle and oasis.
Day 51	03-13-09	Errands around Yanahuara. Rest of day reading, yoga, and computing. Night of cerveza and Peep Show with Scott.
Day 50	03-12-09	News that Mom had appendix removed. Called later in evening and had a great, long convo. Creative Techs Photoshop webinar on selections.
Day 49	03-11-09	Back to Arequipa schedule. Scott work. Allison taking care of Peru business!
Day 48	03-10-09	Scott took day off of work to wander around Cusco with me. Went to Qorikancha ruins and Museo de Arte Precolombino. Overnight bus to Arequipa.
Day 47	03-09-09	Machu Picchu museum in Aguas Calientes. Off the beaten path, but very nice. Saw an amazing bird in their botanical garden! (A preview for the jungle?!) Train back to Cusco.
Day 46	03-08-09	Final day of Inca Trail! Up early to get to Machu Picchu! (Forgotten about, so pretty rushed.) Machu Picchu is beautiful, but difficult to absorb because we are so tired. Night in Aguas Calientes.
Day 45	03-07-09	Inca Trail day 3. A long day of hiking with interspersed ruins. Feeling very sore and tired!
Day 44	03-06-09	Inca Trail day 2. definitely the toughest. Dead Woman’s Pass! Ended up with some altitude sickness, but made it.
Day 43	03-05-09	First day of Inca Trail! Picked up at 6:30am. Met up with rest of group in main square. Drive to Ollantaytambo, had quick breakfast. Then to trailhead. Hiked halfway, and then had to wait for porters.
Day 42	03-04-09	8am meeting with immigration… passport issue resolved! Started on next issue: customs for Scott’s package. Sent on wild goose chase to empty houses. Later, I hit up the Cathedral while Scott worked.
Day 41	03-03-09	Arrived in Cusco @ 7am. Hotel let us into room early so we could sleep more! Breakfast at German place. US Consulate and Peru Immigration offices to take care of passport issue. Roamed city for rain gear.
Day 40	03-02-09	Final packing at home. Overnight bus to Cusco.
Day 39	03-01-09	Feeling better due to three different types of meds from pharmacy! Prepped for Cusco/Machu Picchu trip.
~~trong>Day 38~~	02-28-09	Sick day. Spent all day in bed, while Scott worked. No Internet, so watched "Their Eyes Were Watching God". Meh.
Day 37	02-27-09	Spanish class in morning with Erika! Post office to pick up package of books and candy from the US! Lunch at El Turko. Great $2 sandwich! Started feeling sick.
Day 36	02-26-09	Errands and bumbing around apartment. Difficulties trying to send TMJ mouth piece to US… Customs issue?
Day 35	02-25-09	Back in Arequipa. Scott back to work. I did grocery shopping!
Day 34	02-24-09	Long day of bus riding! La Paz > Copacabana. Almost missed in Copacabana because getting good. Cop > Puno. Almost missed due to border crossing problems. Puno > Arequipa. LONG travel day!
Day 33	02-23-09	Bus back to La Paz. Spent the night because no buses out to Arequipa.
Day 32	02-22-09	Emailed Scott’s dentist first thing. Carnaval parade started at 8:30am! Watched for good part of the day. Napped. Pizza for dinner.
Day 31	02-21-09	Early morning bus to Oruro. Found hotel on Carnaval parade route. Watched Carnaval parade from nose bleed seats! Scott’s dentures stolen.
Day 30	02-20-09	On bus to La Paz until 4pm. Great Lake Titicaca scenery! And stunning La Paz. Dinner at gringo joint: Sol y Luna.
Day 29	02-19-09	Made ceviche and pisco sours from scratch with Erika (Spanish teacher) and her son! So great. Go karting with Ruben. 1am departure for Bolivia.
Day 28	02-18-09	Long walk in Recoleta area. Bus station to buy tickets for La Paz overnight bus. Pizza dinner near Plaza de Armas.
Day 27	02-17-09	Rainy day. Scott spent day working. I started second MBA book and ran a few errands. Updated Arequipa section in blog.
Day 26	02-16-09	Visited Museo Arqueológico Chiribaya. No Juanita. Researched carnival options… Decided on Oruro, Bolivia.
Day 25	02-15-09	Visited Museo Santuarios Andinos to see mummies… started search for Juanita.
Day 24	02-14-09	Errands in the morning, including picking up a bottle of Anis at Patio del Ekeko. Celebrated Américo’s birthday on deck with beer and dancing!
Day 23	02-13-09	Better Spanish class in the morning. Long nap in afternoon. Dinner at El Turko, and drinks at Tacos y Tequila.
Day 22	02-12-09	Frustrating Spanish class in the morning! Long walk to Carmen Alto.
Day 21	02-11-09	First Spanish class with Erika at Sumaq Marka. Gas tank arrived! Tacos for dinner from scratch! Took a walk around Yanahuara neighborhood.
Day 20	02-10-09	Got a Peruvian haircut! Successful shopping for fruit/veggies at market!
Day 19	02-09-09	Found America at the Plaza Vea shopping center. Reserved air/bus tickets for upcoming adventures. Dinner at our first "chifa" restaurant.
Day 18	02-08-09	Toured Santa Catalina Convent. (Yes, the convent we designed our gingerbread house after this year.)
Day 17	02-07-09	Pisco Sour Day! Woke to bombas en la mañana. Shopping at San Camilo Mercado and American-style mall for home supplies.
Day 16	02-06-09	Moved stuff to new apartment. Sick day. Slept thru afternoon. Scott foraged for food, brought home soup and celebratory wine.
Day 15	02-05-09	Apartment search complete! Prep to move tomorrow. First visits to Peruvian-style market and American-style mall.
Day 14	02-04-09	Bus tour of Arequipa city and countryside. Errands around city center. Apartment search.
Day 13	02-03-09	Apartment search. Purchased cell phones. ATM ate my debit card.
Day 12	02-02-09	Started apartment search. Spoke with Your Peru about booking Machu Picchu. Took laundry to lavanderia!
Day 11	02-01-09	Spent morning/afternoon hanging around Hotel Frayles and locoturio. Overnight bus to Arequipa.
Day 10	01-31-09	Afternoon on the beach. Scott stung by medusa. Beer. Ceviche for lunch. Long, hard napping afterward.
Day 9	01-30-09	Tour of the Reserva Paracas. Lunch on the Lagunillas beach.
Day 8	01-29-09	Tour of the Ballesta Islands.
Day 7	01-28-09	Bus ride to El Chaco. Checked into hotel and relaxed.
Day 6	01-27-09	Visited Pachacamac ruins! Prepared and packed for early morning bus ride to El Chaco.
Day 5	01-26-09	Took two combis to Pachacamac to find them closed. Visited SAE office for more info gathering. Dinner at Larco Mar.
Day 4	01-25-09	Toured Huaca Pucllana ruins. Took our first combi to Lima Centro. Visited Circuito Magical del Aqua in the Parque de la Reserva.
Day 3	01-24-09	Checked out of Flying Dog hostel and in to Lion Backpackers. Found a grocery store!
Day 2	01-23-09	Arrived in Lima. Checked in to Flying Dog hostel in Miraflores.
Day 1	01-22-09	Seattle to Lima flight (through San Francisco and San Salvador)

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