Walk to Cristo Blanco, Some Soccer, and Lunch

The kids, Chris, and Annie took the trek of about two miles to the top of the hill to see Cristo Blanco.  The walk was a bit more than we expected.  550 steps, and up about 1100 feet from the already high altitude of Cusco.  We reached a total altitude of 3,701 meters, or 12,142 feet. Let's just say that some of us managed the hike better than others, but we all reached the shining statue of Christ, his arms open to greet exhausted climbers.  The rest at the top included the taking of many pictures and a rest stop in a rather prickly bush for said Arzak. Following our little respite, we began the trek back down the mountain, which was a much easier and enjoyable feat than the journey up. Our traverse down wouldn't have been complete without a wild dog attack or a game of futbol con los locales. Annie and CJ hopped down a little side road on the mountain and were quickly surprised by a pack of vicious dogs. CJ, the caring and thoughtful son that he is, ditched his mother immediately - after all, one must only outrun one person. Therefore, Annie relied on her calm disposition to best the wild animals.  By remaining completely still, she came away with only 1 dog bite (don't worry - the skin was not broken). 5 minutes down the mountain path, the 7 Arzaks enjoyed a 40 minute soccer game, during which the girls (namely, Jackie and Caroline) surprised los Peruanos with their soccer habilidades. Our game  provided us with a friend, who brought us to his restaurante, which happened to be a small, cozy bottom floor of his house, fully equipped with a brick oven. We ordered pizzas, which may have topped ones that we've consumed in Italy.... Who would have thought?

Cusco: Day 1- Altitude and attitude adjustment

We set off into town after a few naps and a few rounds of coca tea.

We wandered about in a serpentine fashion with the goal of lunch. Annie made a new Peruvian friend on the flight who highly recommended (fingers to his lips then tossing them in the air with Italian flair) a local favorite, La Chomba. We asked for directions three times along the way but eventually found it. Set up with long tables and benches reminiscent of a German beer hall, our party of nine plopped down and were promptly and happily greeted by the staff. Since even the more proficient Spanish speakers in our group were unable to discern anything on the menu board, we asked our server to just bring out a few dishes for us to share. We had rice, fish, pork, beef and goat along with "potatoes with the density of a collapsed planet" (per Annie). Chris helped us establish that the easiest and most successful way to communicate one's food related needs is simply to make the corresponding animal sound.

Jackie was slapped with a bunch of weeds by an odd older man (yes, you are reading this correctly) and then serenaded to at lunch by a young man playing some pipes who then followed us out requesting a photo and her email address. 

On the walk back we made contributions to the local economy every time the kids pet or marveled at every alpaca in our touristy path. 

Chris and the older kids- namely, the remaining strength in our troop of nueve, set off for an adventure to the market, returning promptly to put together some comfort food- arroz con pollo- for those of us to whom the Andes have not been as kind. To exemplify this, let's just say that a few of us saw the fruit of Chris's cooking labor not just once, but twice. 

On another, happier note, also following our dinner brought in the lovely caretaker, Karina, and her two young children, who quickly became the objects of the Arnold's and Derzak's affections. 

After quite the full day, we're tucking in for the night, our bedsides equipped with mate (te de coca), some agua and, for some, a trash can. 

Colonial House

We're here!

Adults in one van. Niños in the other. 

Hills of Cusco

Avenida Baja

Safe and sound in Colonial House on Avenida Baja in Cusco. 

The caretaker, Karina, got us settled. House is awesome!

The Neighbors

Claire and Abby chilling on the veranda. 

Airports, airports, airports

Dulles to Panama went smoothly. Everyone was pumped to get this holiday going. 

Our layover in Panama was not as short as we thought and therefore did not necessitate the sprint we had feared. The flight to Lima, although aeronatically smooth, was a bit more uncomfortable with fatigue settling in, re-energized children, and highly flatulent older ladies seated behind Karen. Now we're comfortably ensconced in the Lima airport, it's 2:30am and we can't check into our next flight to Cusco until 4am. So this is what everyone is doing now---

Pre-Peru Problem

We had a leak two days before departure.  Found the leak.  Repair will have to wait.

Almost Ready

Testing my mobile upload.  It's the last day of work before vacation.  Still much to do in preparation for departure.

Testing the blog and the backpack

Testing the usefulness of every string and buckle on the camera pack--a bit unwieldy with the boots (thanks for the idea, Abby!) but manageable. Mostly just testing the inner workings of the blog. 

Arnold-Derzak Family Excursion #4