South America 2010

We flew from Reno to Dallas,Texas and from Dallas to Miami , Florida. The kids were excited and generally good travelers thanks to today's electronics.

After breakfast, we swam at the Marriot pool before going to the airport to catch a plane to Quito.

In Quito,we checked Into a fancy modern hotel with contemperary furniture of black and white named LeParc Hotel. the kids especially liked the swivel chairs and the comfy bed. A cool vase was flat glass with a hole on top with irises coming out of it. We arrived in Quito without mishap, but a bit tired from the travel. The girls handled the flights and typical travel woes well. Other than a warning from our driver not to walk about at night, or to be sure to take a taxi if we did go out, there was no other sign of the unrest of last week.

Early in the morning we flew to Galapagos. After arrival, we went through security again! Then a guide named Valentin escorted us to a bus and then a boat where we saw a bright red crab and a pelican. Before we went to the hotel,we visited two huge volcanic sink holes and then visited a grassy area with many gigantic tortoises. The tortoises were almost three feet tall and weighed 500-700 lbs (males) with some living over 100 years! They were so cool. They hiss if you bother them by coming too close, but otherwise seemed very calm. Next we visited a lava tube which is a tunnel created by the lava flowing from the volcano, then the outer shell cools and hardens and the inside is left hollow. We walked and crawled through one of these tubes for over a half mile! We also saw a barn owl. Finally, another bus ride, a short boat (panga) ride, and we arrived at our hotel, the Finch Bay Eco Hotel. Before dinner, we swam in the pool, explored the beach and relaxed. Dinner at the hotel was stupendous! Muy delicioso! I ate tuna sashimi, pumpkin soup, and buttered pasta with chicken. The best part was dessert - black forest ice cream cake! The whole family was gorged and slept hard.

In the morning, after a great breakfast, we took a 60ft power yacht to Santa Fe Island. Again, as in the days to follow, a cloudy marine layer hung over most of the day with coolish temperatures and occasional sun. After a 1:30 minute ride we reached Santa Fe Island and immediately saw sea lions - nursing moms and pups and a big alpha male who patrolled the beach. We also observed pelicans, lizards, land and marine iguanas, a constrictor snake, Galapagos dove, frigate birds, lava heron and sea turtles. (i think that's all, but probably not). While snorkeling, we saw tons of brightly colored tropical fish and a white tip shark. The underwater life is really amazing! On a dinghy ride back to the yacht, we saw beautiful boobies, that is blue footed boobies! We learned that the feet appear blue because of air bubbles in their skin, just the same way that the sky appears blue, and not because of pigment. Our guide Mario said that being blue is expensive, biologically, which is why we don't see much blue in plants and animals. To top off a wonderful day, after another delicious four course meal with a dessert to die for, we had the opportunity to watch Tim Lincecum throw a two hitter as the Gigantes won their game of the playoffs.

Today our boat took us to the north of Santa Fe island as we visited South Plaza island - it is less than one square kilometer in size, but full of life. We saw lots of great things including more sea lions, land and marine iguanas, interesting plants and vegetation and lots birds, many nesting in cliffs. In the Galapogos nearly every animal, reptile or bird is called the Galapogos _______, whatever, as in the Galapogos yellow throated iguana. That is because nearly every species is endemic to the Galaspogos. Guess Charles Darwin was onto something. It should also be noted that during our daily boat rides the kids did a good job of occupying themselves playing games such as charades (see photos) and making new friends,especially Caitlyn, a sweet 18 year old who the kids loved. Later, back in near our hotel, we walked around the town of Puerto Aroyo. The highlight was the open air fish market along the harbor where a friendly sea lion and a couple pelicans were more than happy to follow the fisherman as they moved around their cleaning and selling stand. In fact, they stood so close it reminded us of Bailey laying her head on our leg begging for treats (see photos).

After an early breakfast and shuttle to our boat on the other side of the island, we boarded the Sea Lion and set course for Bartolome Island. this is the island pictured in the Patrick O'brien movie, Master and Commander. Despite the inviting torquiest blue waters, we first climbed a volcano to a picturesque high point to view the scenic island and learn about how the Galapogos were formed. Bartolome, for example, was formed only around 350,000 years ago whereas Isabella Island, 40 miles west, was created over five million years ago. the islands are also moving 10 inches per year. However, the best was yet to come as we returned to the beach and watched Galapogos penguins or we could say torpedoes speed through the water catching fish for their lunch. It only improved as we entered the water snorkeling with an abundance of aquatic life. The schools of fish, diversity and brightness rivaled a National Geographic documentary. Penguins fishing, sharks cuising, and rays trolling only added to the fun.

After breakfast we visited the Charles Darwin Research Center before heading to the airport to transfer to Quito. lonesome George In Quito, we visited a nearby park, visiting a small Sunday carnival and being asked to dance with a group of celebrating locals. later we walked trough a artist and handicrafts market and picked up a few hats for Kenzie and Melanie. Despite all being tired we enjoyed an authentic Eucudorian dinner but missed the singing and dancing show.

We caught a morning flight from Quito to Coca in the Amazonian jungle. we relaxed for a 2.5 hour panga ride up the Napo River. The river is wide and light brown and our driver navigated the river making S shapes between the banks to avoid the shallow areas. Development, especially by oil related interests was apparent close to town, however, as we approached our destination any development was confined to small agriculatural endeavors along the riverbank. Upon landing we had a nice 20 minute walk through the jungle to a beautiful round black water lake where we grabbed oar powered canoes to take us a half mile across a lake to Sacha Lodge. We saw a fresh water turtle, but the most interesting spotting of the day was a hoatzin bird, a prehistoric bird size of chicken. Besides colorful plummage this bird has unique characteristics. For instance, it nests over water and their young can swim immediately so if a predator approaches, the hoatzin launches in the water, swims to shore and then uses claws on its wings to climb back to the nest. Once mature and able to fly, the wing claws are dropped and their abiltiy to swim vanishes. At sunset we took another canoe ride around the lake searching for caiman. A few eyes appeared, but we really did not see much so we went back for a yummy dinner and well needed sleep.

Our day started with a 2 hour paddle up a narrow creek through the jungle, then a 2 hour hike back to the mariposa tent. We saw: Numerous birds, gorgeous flowers, giant kepok trees(can live 1000 years, with root systems no deeper than 40cm, but very broad and long) Hoatzin birds (a prehistoric chicken size bird with talons on its wings and a mean, wind noise) blue morpho butterflies, trees that bleed(red sap), herons, fish, 3 poison dart frogs, lots of different army ants, dozens of butterfly species, a red howler monkey family, a lizard that hangs out over water for his escape route, dozens of squirrel monkeys leaping and swinging over our heads, a white faced capuchin monkey, a young anaconda, walking trees (they extend their above ground roots in the direction they need to move for sunlight), and pambil trees. This is a palm tree that provides fiber for hammocks, clothing, hats,... We also saw owl monkeys in a tree nesting hole, water snails, kites, masked priceton tanagers, white chinned jackamars, and lots and lots and lots of bugs! Afterwards, we swam in the same lake in which we hunted caimans at night, and piranha in the afternoon. We have been assured that they are not interested in us, at least not during the day. This afternoon, a nap for mom and Mel, and dad and kenzie went fishing. Kenzie caught a huge red-belly piranha, which the hotel will grill for dinner tomorrow. We also saw 2 spectacle caimans! In fact, Dad and Kenzie watched while the guide dangled a small piranha on a hook in front on the caimans. The normally calm caimans (at least during the day) lunged with vigorous effort toward the piranha. After a short game of keep-away, the caimans jumped two feet out of the water to beat the other caiman to the afternoon snack. At night we took a nice walk through the forest, took a short canoe ride during a gorgeous sunset and walked back in the dark. During the darkness we used headlamps to see a huge banana spider which is poisoness, a huge grasshopper, an enormous Kepok tree which we walked though, a wolf spider, and wonderful bright fireflies.

Wake up call at 545, breakfast at 6, on the trail to the canopy walkway at 645! Saw black tamarind monkeys on the way from the lodge. After a short walk we climbed many stairs to the canopy walk. From there we could see the tops of the trees from above. We saw numerous birds - toucans, orapendulas, kites, tanagers, and woodpeckers - and our guide somehow found some Pygmy marmosets in a tree. They are so tiny, the smallest ape, I think. That makes six of the seven species of ape found in this region that we have seen since we got here. On the return, our guide Pancho spotted more poison dart frogs, wolf spiders, and a beautiful amazon forest dragon, camouflaged on a bush.

After a 530 wake up call, we walked to the Napo river and saw: Lemon tree ants (which we all tasted!) Dusty headed Titi monkey (that makes 7 of 7 species in the region) Parrots Yasuni park and museum - dedicated to education and preservation of the Amazon rain forest. On our walk we found a millipede, one of the few species we still have from the carboniferous period. In the afternoon, we climbed to the top of a kapok tree tower, and we were trying to see a sloth, but only found the species pictured below. We were chased out of the tower by a wind and rainstorm!

This morning started one of our longest days of travel. After a 6:30 breakfast, we got in our canoe, hiked to the Napo river and motorboated two hours downstream to Coca where we caught a flight back to Quito. In Quito, we were lucky enough to arrange express laundry before trying to burn five hours before we headed back to the airport for an evening flight to Lima. Without enough time for a major excursion and with kids very tired from long days in the jungle, we spent our time playing in the park, walking around a mall, eating ice cream and watching soccer in the park. Around 6pm it was back to the airport where somehow we were invited into the LAN airlines VIP lounge and upgraded to first class. Despite the special treatment, Kenzie and Melanie eventually broke down due to exhaustion; Kenzie cried because she did not get to sit by Mom and Mel, after falling asleep and being awakened had an accident in the bus. A tough day.

After Billy and Dina, (our friend Rita's parents) were kind enough to pick us up from the airport at midnight, we slept in before Billy took us on a tour of Lima. We walked to downtown, taking in the sights such as the Catacombs, the changing of the guard at the presidential palace and the colonial architecture. After requesting a traditional Peruvian lunch, Billy took us to a simple looking, diner style restaurant. The food was smashing, seafood ceviche, beef with pasta and roasted chicken with rice and beans. To drink we had Chicha morada, a dark purple liquid resembling Cabernet wine but made from a corn only found in Peru-- it was delicious, even the kids agreed(non-alcoholic). After a well needed nap, Billy gave us a quick tour of the coast as well as the Miraflores and San Ignacio districts before dazzling us again with a fabulous dinner comprising salad, awesome steak and the best rotisserie chicken we've ever had. By now, Grace and I were really wondering if this trip wasn't focused around culinary adventure.

We arrived in Cuzco, safe and sound. Clara, our host, met us at the airport and took us back to our house for the week. It is a typical rooming house, with people coming and going, good smells coming from the kitchen and not so good smells coming from the plumbing. Nice company, but accommodations???? It feels like college again, only with kids and in a 3rd world country. Picture that... Quite a switch from the last two weeks. In the jungle we did not mind the lack of hot water, but in Cuzco? We are not sure if we are trying to set a good example, or just torturing ourselves. There is construction on both sides of the house, no hot water, horrendous lighting, power outages, simple but good food, but they serve the lunch leftovers for dinner, lumpy hard pillows, super slippery floors(Grace went all the way down the stairs, not on her feet), and no heat(but lots of scratchy blankets!). On the bright side, there is always a new face(either relative or guest) at the table for some meal. Anyway, we are dealing with it, and attending spanish lessons every day from 9 until 1(excellent instruction, by the way). After that, Grace´s brain is toast, but Todd, aka the energizer bunny, is always ready to run around town and check everything out. So in between classes and homework, we have seen the main plazas of Cuzco, and plan to visit the ruins outside of town sometime in the next couple of weeks. Grace is still trying to get pictures up on this site, but access to the computers is limited, and she hesitates to bog down the the modem with uploads of 100mb or more... The girls are doing great. There is a little boy, Gabriel (grandson of our hosts) who visits frequently, and Kenzie and Melanie love playing with him. Probably the highlight of our stay. Major efforts are being made to find television coverage of the Giants, with poor success so far. Go Giants!

Today we visited the Catedral in Cuzco, and several Incan ruins both inside and outside of the city.

Today we got in a collectivo (a large comfortable van) in downtown Cuzco, and rode to Ollaytantambo. We met 3 young aussies on the van and had fun talking to them and ended up having lunch with them in Ollay, before literally running for the train to Aguas Calientes. Peruvians aren´t big on signage. We ran down a river drainage ditch to get to the train station. Anyway, we made it, and the girls loved the train ride - a first experience for them both. We arrived in Aguas Calientes, which is just the tourist gateway town for Machu Picchu. We had a nice dinner, and found a nice hotel for the night.

Up at 445, Todd off to hold our position in the bus line, Grace grabs the kids some food, and in the bus line at 530. Up a windy road into Machu Picchu and we arrive shortly after 6. Then we fight in true South American style for 4 of the 400 stamps they give out daily for the privilege of climbing Huayna Picchu (young mountain). Got the stamps, joined up with our Aussie friends for a tour, and saw Machu Picchu for ourselves. The day started out misty and cool, with the mountain breezes hiding and showing the views of Machu Picchu in bits and pieces. Slowly the clouds burned off, and by 9am, we had glorious sunshine and blue sky. Being the intellectual, patient tourists that you all know us to be, we hung with the tour for about an hour, figured we knew all we needed to know, and started our charge up Huayna Picchu. This is the tall steep mountain in the center of the valley from which the classic photos of the valley are taken. It was a 40 minute stairmaster climb in 80 degree heat. Just our cup of tea! Melanie, the champ, climbed as well or better than many of the adults we saw. Just like the Mist trail in Yosemite,some steps were as tall as her waist, but she trucked on up, and was rewarded with applause and shouts of amazement when she reached the top. Oh, and Machu Picchu was cool too... Can you tell we have seen a lot of ruins by now? Seriously, it is amazing to see, and to think about the effort it must have taken, and the sophisticated planning and engineering that went into this construction - very impressive. I find myself asking the same questions i asked myself in Italy. If they could accomplish this feat hundreds of years ago, why can they not make a toilet that flushes now? Oh well... some things will always be beyond me.

We woke up to a torrential rainstorm, which we thought would put the kabosh on our plans for a birthday horseback ride for Kenzie. After breakfast and a little downtime, the skies cleared, and we were able to take a lovely horseback ride in the valley outside Ollaytantambo after all. We grabbed a taxi and had a nice ride into Pisaq, where it was raining again, but we found a lovely spot for dinner on the square, and a comfortable room for the night.

Kenzie turns 9 today! We awoke in Pisaq, visited a craft market, visited the salt mines, and ruins at Moray and Pisaq, and our taxi driver to Cuzco took us to an animal refuge along the way where we saw andean condors, a puma, a small bobcat, two fighting coatamundis, and some very aggressive parrots! Great fun! Back in Cuzco, we went to a nice restaurant for Kenzie´s birthday, and generally had a very nice day.

10/29
Drove from Cusco to Puno aka Lake Titikaka. Interesting drive along a dry valley and drier plain viewing many farms with llamas, cows, pigs, sheep, donkeys and amazing dogs. The Aussie shepherd/ border collie type dotted the highway starring each driver as the cars whisked by possibly guarding sheep from road Ora awaiting a master--a truly bizarre site on an open dry plain over 12,000 ft above sea level. Got caught in a massive traffic jam due to a Day of the Dead parade (or so we think) in a hellish town called jualica: truly, this place had absolutely nothing to recommend it. Roads and buildings in disrepair. Minimal law enforcement... Absolute squalor. Miss it if you can. Just fly to Arequipa!

10/30
Boat trip to the Reed people on the floating islands of Uros. It appears that they still manage to essentially live off what they can harvest, hunt, or fish in the lake, as they have for 200 years. Tourism now allows them to buy some durable goods, but really, they lead an unbelievably simple life. I never even saw any shoes! Drive 4.5 long hours from Puno to Arequipa crossing an amazing dry plateau between 13,500 ft and topping 14,600 ft - we managed to avoid most of julica this time, thankfully. I have to say something regarding todd's driving. A lot of these roads were very rough, with speeding busses belching diesel fumes which he had no choice but to pass on curvy, hilly roads. Adding to the fun is the fact that the silly little stripe down the center of the road which theoretically separates you (and your young children) from oncoming traffic means very little. We had a muy close call with a bus swerving toward us across the lane which Todd managed to dodge. Nerves of steel this guy has... Then, we arrive in Arequipa at nightfall, and he manages to navigate us perfectly to our intended hostel.
10/31
Today we toured the beautiful colonial bldgs, cathedrals and monasteries. Of Arequipa. At night we walked around Plaza de Armas, and being Halloween, we saw many young kids in masks and costumes. After gazing at the crowd we finally found some light up devil horns for the girls. People asked us to take photos with the girls and of course the girls were a bit shy but excited, especially when some nice Peruvian girls offered Kenzie and Melanie a big lollipop. Now we were in the Halloween spirit and Daddy ran to buy a bag of candy. Todd gave handfuls of candy to Kenzie and Melanie and we all starts giving candy to kids. In no time we were swarmed, mauled and otherwise overtaken. The candy was gone so Daddy ran again to the store for two more bags. The scene rested itself and the girls laughed, giggled and learned the satisfaction of giving. In fact, they gave all the candy away. Escaping the bedlam, we visited Chi Cha, a great Peruvian restuarant with a warm stone interior.
11/1
Todd and the girls went to a local park where they played on jumpy houses and playgrounds. Meanwhile, grace toured a huge convent in the center of Arequipa. It was originally built in the 18th century, and still functions today. Beautiful architecture juxtaposed with the austerity of the nuns quarters and lifestyle.

Upon arrival back in Cuzco, after a largely uneventful (but long) drive back, Grace took to bed with headache, fever, and chills. Thinking it was altitude sickness, she stayed in bed for two days before finally giving in and going to a clinic. There they confirmed Salmonella food poisoning, and gave her iv antibiotics and fluids. Funny, when she ordered that Tradicional Pork at Chi Cha, she was dreaming of Naomi´s roast pork with winter vegetables and her sisters´ Christmas roast pork. What arrived did not look anything like that, and as it turns out, should have given her pause. But... being Grace, and never likely to skip a meal, she dug in and oh how she paid. So, Todd basically had the girls on his own all week. Thanks, Todd!

Aaahhhhhhhhhh! Oh, before I start that, a goodbye to Peru. Goodbye to slippery floors, lousy toilets, cold showers, duplicitous sales agents, PeruRail, and scratchy blankets. Adios and thank you to the lovely, friendly people, and our lovely Spanish teachers in Cuzco.
Upon arrival in Cuzco airport, we learned our flight to ba from lima would be delayed. When we arrived in Lima, we learned exactly how much. We were looking at 7 hours in the airport. On the bright side, LAN gave us 4 free lunch tickets at the food court! yea! All in all, the day passed pretty easily, and the plane to BA was one of the nice new comfy ones with tvs for each seat, so the girls were in heaven. When we got to our hotel lobby, Mel feel asleep on the couch while we were checking in. One of those days.
Buenos Aires feels like a giant San Francisco with much better weather. We stayed in the Etoile, in the tony Recoleta District, with a view of the cemetery. We found the weather to be glorious, but we had trouble finding good restaurants for all of us and we quickly tired of ham and cheese and pizza. These people will put ham on anything! Like any city, I think it takes a fair amount of time to figure out how best to enjoy it, and with the kids, that was a struggle. Todd had a few nice evenings out, chatting up people in spanish, while Grace slept, and slept, and slept...

Grace was laid up with after effects of Salmonella poisoning for the greater part of the stay in the city. We did however do a city tour, visited the zoo (small, but animals easily visible, and a nice assortment), two museums (Bellas Artes and Malbec), rode bikes around their version of Golden Gate Park and visited the Japanese Tea Garden, had dinner with friends of Todd's, and Todd and the girls went to his friend's school's International Day and visited Tigre afterward.

The local airport in Buenos Aires was closed during our stay here, so rather than hassling with the international airport to get to Iguazu Falls, we decided to try the bus. We had 4 seats together, fully reclining seats, movies, dinner and breakfast. It was great fun for those of us under 6 feet tall, less so for those over (and you know who that is). Anyway, Iguazu was just spectacular. Wild rivers and falls, smallish to gargantuan (the Devil's Throat), great weather, lots of people, but not unmanageable, and a great boat ride straight into the spray and rush of a few of the water falls. Great fun.

We stayed in a nice resort hotel with beautiful grounds and pools for the girls to play in, iguanas walking around like house cats, feral cats, and lots of birds. Todd spotted one fledgling fall into the pool, rescued it, and the girls tried to nurse it back to health, but alas, he did not make it to the morning. After a small bit of drama, the girls were back on track, and ready for the bus ride back to Buenos Aires.

This has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. Wild, rushing, blue rivers, crystal blue lakes with soaring snow capped mountains everywhere you look. Scotch broom (bright golden yellow) flowers blooming everywhere, blue, raspberry, purple, and pink lupines popping, gorgeous trees... It is unbelievable.

We arrived on a gray, rainy afternoon, and were picked up by Ernst and Tamara Eder, owners of the hotel we stayed in for our first week - Piramides Andinas (www.piramidesandinas.com). Their hotel is just lovely, at km 12.5 on Bustillo, and they are wonderful people. They have been so helpful, and we are so happy to know them. Thanks to Merriam for hooking us up with Jill to find them!

We have ridden horses, hiked, biked, driven the Siete Lagos circuit (San Martin de Los Andes, Angosturra), and taken a canoe on Lago Moreno. Todd hiked to the top of Cerro Lopez in howling winds and lots of snow, and skied down in his tennis shoes.

We moved to a rental house on Lago Moreno where we have a lot of room and great views of the lake. The girls play in the yard or in the rancho where there is a ping pong table, and run around on the beach. The weather has been beautiful, but windy.

It sounds like we have been doing a lot, but we've been restoring ourselves now that we are in a house with some room to play and cook and rest. The neighbors have 4 dogs that have kept us all entertained, and Grace has spent a lot of time cooking. Two months of wrestling with menus and children in restaurants has worn us all a bit thin...

The food here is just wonderful, and the wine doesn't bother Grace! The vegetables and fruits taste like i remember them tasting when i was growing up. That fact alone might be enough to make us leave the states (or put a greenhouse in our yard in Incline!).

We've taken some more spanish lessons this last week, and the girls will continue with that for another week. Argentina is finishing up its school year now, so it has been difficult to find consistent, inexpensive spanish instruction here. Regardless, I know that the exposure is helping the girls, so that is good.

If you go anywhere in South America, go to Patagonia!

From Bariloche, we needed to get ourselves to Santiago for our flight home on 12/24. Yes, we flew with Santa! The man we rented our car from in Bariloche offered to drive us across the border (and throught two passport control stops) and into Osorno, Chile. He was so patient, and did not leave us until we had bus (yes, again!) tickets to Santiago. The girls were thrilled to get to ride the deluxe bus again, and T%26G were just relieved not to have to deal with another airport trip. We wandered Orsono for a few hours, saw a concert type event in the park, did some shopping(which is all Orsono is for, it seems) and had a great burger before getting on the bus... which was a good thing, since the food on the bus was not up to Argentine standards!
After the bus ride, we rented a car at the airport in Santiago, and immediately drove to Vina del Mar, which is a seaside community north of Santiago. There our friend Marcello set us up with a ocean view apartment with a pool. It was lovely. We spent a week going to the beach, eating ice cream, playing in the pool, and driving up the coast in search of tidepools and seafood restaurants. We found many of each. We had a few great meals in Vina and Valparaiso(the working port town just south of Vina) and generally tried to soak up as much warm weather and sun as we could because of all of the snow we were going to return to at home.

The flight home was easy and uneventful, but alas, we did not see Santa. We came home to a winter wonderland on Christmas Day, and Santa had done his job and left plenty of gifts for the girls.

The itinerary was perfect for the time of year we traveled, and even though it was a colder than normal late spring in Bariloche, it was still terrific.

This trip would have been so daunting without the help of Joyce Benka of Incline Travel. Thanks so much! So many people during our trip went out of their way to help us and give us good information. Billy and Dina - call us when you come to California! Marcello - can't wait to see you! And our Aussie friends from the sacred valley - we hope to see you stateside soon.
Thanks to you all!