And in the End . . .

Well, our Peru odyssey is over. I'd like to say that I'll fill you all in on the 2.5 months that have passed since my last entry, but I'm almost certain I'd be lying. Here's the nutshell account:

-We had all our stuff packed out and moved with minimal difficulty, and no breakage (that we know of),

-We left Peru on April 4th and went for a whirlwind trip to Brazil to see my exchange family and soak up some sun,

-We returned to Canada on April 21 and spent a few weeks in Manitoba, catching up with family before heading to Vancouver on May 14th.

Of course, I could write for days about these events, but that's basically what we've been up to for the past while. Now we're in student family housing at UBC, waiting for our shipment to arrive from Peru, and embarking on a new chapter of our lives.

In honour of this change, I've started a new blog at http://whilemakingotherplans.blogspot.com/. Make sure to include "while" in the web address, or you'll find yourself at someone else's blog. I will attempt to keep it updated, probably with less success than I had on this blog.

Thanks for reading!

Fabulous Sunset Scenery

We've been having sunny mornings and cloudy, rainy afternoons, which have produced snowy mountains and gorgeous sunsets.

Back To School

Monday was the first day back at school for Joffre. He misses some of his former classmates who've moved on, but fully half the class is back this year. He's also not sure about his new teacher (pictured on the right), and has been sticking close to last year's teacher (whose hand he is shown holding) whenever possible.

Alec is angry that Joffre is spending 2 hours a day away from him, but is outraged at the suggestion tentatively made that he might like to stay at school, himself. Clearly everyone staying home together was working out fine, and there was no reason to go changing that.

How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away?

So, at 6:00 the morning after we got back from Cusco, I woke up to an enormous pair of blue eyes staring seriously into mine.

"Mom!" announced Joffre.
"Mrph?"
"Why you come back from your trip?"
"Well, sweetie, because we missed you."
"Yeah, I miss you too. When you go another trip?"
"Um, I don't know . . . "
"When you come back your next trip, you gonna bring me FOUR presents!"
"Um, well, we'll probably bring you just one present, just like this time . . . "
[triumphantly, as though playing his trump card] "No! You gonna bring me FOUR, because I FOUR years old!"
"Well, that's certainly some kind of logic."

Good to know what's really important.

36 Hours in Cusco

05:50, Day One:
Board an airplane in Arequipa and fly to Cusco. Admire the beauty of sunrise on the mountains.

06:35, Day One:
Land in Cusco, which in February is green and lush, ringed by snow-capped mountains.

07:00, Day One:
Check into the opulent Hotel El Libertador, and enjoy a cup of coca leaf tea. Settle into hotel room and have a leisurely breakfast in the hotel dining room.

09:30, Day One:
Take a taxi to Tipon, an Inca complex southeast of Cusco. Tipon is known for its beautiful waterworks and geometrically complex terraces. The name Tipon comes from a Quechua word, "timpuj," meaning "boiling," and it is thought to refer to the way the water bubbles up out of the underground spring which feeds the irrigation system. After touring the lower, main section on our own, we climbed up to a temple area on a hill overlooking the valley. There we met a caretaker who offered to take us further up one of the channels that was partially destroyed (and thus dried up) in a 1950 earthquake. Our new guide told us that the crops grown at Cusco had been sacred crops of quinoa, kiwicha, corn, potatoes, and medicinal herbs. The ruins sit at 3,560 metres above sea level, and there are fields above the ruins, still being farmed.






12:30, Day One
Sunburned and winded, but having greatly enjoyed ourselves, we carried on in the taxi a little further down the valley to the pr-Incan Wari ruins at Pikillacta. Apparently "piki" means "flea" in Quechua, and our driver told us this name came from the construction techniques used at the site, with many small rocks of varying sizes. Another gentleman at the site, however, told us that the flea reference was made with regard to the densely packed 10,000 inhabitants of the city.

The city walls stretch out for kilometres:

Clover-blanketed fields above the chaos of the ruined city:

14:00, Day One
We grabbed a bottle of coke on the way back to Cusco, driving through intermittent rain the whole way. When we arrived back at the hotel, we noticed that the Koricancha and Dominican church was open. We inquired as to its closing time, and headed out through the colorful Cusco streets in search of lunch.

14:30, Day One:
Los Perros Couch Bar is a hip, laid-back option for a drink and a meal at the corner of Tigre and Tecsecocha streets, just a block off the Plaza de Armas. We shared a plate of fried cassava with blue cheese dressing, a bowl of curried pumpkin soup with fresh bread, and a lovely dish of stirfried chicken in an Asian-inspired dressing over sweet potato chips. After all this delicious food, and a couple of icy cold Cusquena beers, we were ready to hit the streets again.

The dome of the Koricancha, as seen from our hotel room window:

16:00, Day One:
We walked back toward our hotel, stopping in at the incomprable Moni vegetarian restaurant and cafe, for a take away latte to counteract the beers. Sufficiently revived, we carried on to the Koricancha. This amazing complex is a Dominican church built over the main temple of the Inti, or Sun God, in Cusco. Also called the Temple of the Sun, the Koricancha's breathtakingly perfect stonework was lavishly accented with gold inlay and leaf when the Spanish arrived, and was said to house a fortune in gold idols and decorations. Of course, this wealth was taken by the Spanish and none remains in the site today, but the Koricancha remains a truly lovely meeting of Inca and Spanish architecture, and is certainly deserving of its World Heritage Site status. Photography was not permitted, but please do click here to see a few shots of this beautiful building.

17:00, Day One:
After a long day, we settled back in our room at the Libertador for baths, naps, and some quiet reading. Rather unwisely, we turned on the television and got sucked into a movie.

19:30, Day One:
We got dressed up and went down to the bar in the Libertador for a pisco sour. The bartender wrote fancy "L"s in bitters on top of each drink. This resulted in quite a lot more bitters taste than comes with the usual drop or two on the drink, but it was lovely. We got chatting with the bartender, who has a brother in Mississauga, and eventually we headed out towards the fabulous Monasterio hotel. In the lobby bar of this historic monastery, built in 1592, we enjoyed a couple more pisco sours. These ones were outrageously priced at 26 soles, or nearly ten Canadian dollars a piece. But they were truly delicious, and came with complementary canapes and impeccable service.

After our second round of pisco sours, we wandered rather tipsily into the square to the MAP (Museo de Arte Precolombiano) restaurant across the street, only to discover that it had already closed for the night, as it was now 9:30 pm. We headed over to the Plaza de Armas and had a perfectly acceptable dinner at Bohemie restaurant instead.

23:00, Day One:
After a quick stop to pick up bottled water and bandaids for my blistered toes, we retired to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

06:30, Day Two:
We got up, packed out the room, and enjoyed the breakfast buffet. I've had better hotel breakfasts, but it was perfectly acceptable. We checked out of the hotel after breakfast.

07:00, Day Two:
Our trusty driver was waiting bright and early to take us to Pisac, first stop in the Sacred Valley. Most visitors to Pisac only see the market, and that had been our fate the first time around in Cusco. This time, however, we were bound and determined to see the ruins that perch on a clifftop over the town in the valley.

From below, the terracing at the ruins is quite impressive.


08:00, Day Two:
We arrived at the top of the ruins, and our driver gave us a brief explanation of the four main complexes of the site. He told us he would meet us much further down the hill, at the parking lot.

The first stop was a series of warehouses that had been used for storing crops:

The second complex was the residential area for the farmers, who lived here for a year at a time paying their debt in work to the Inca and the sun god:

We climbed to the top of the mountainous ruin, from which we had an excellent view of the valley and the town of Pisac below:

Here we see, from above, the complex within which the nobles would have lived:

This is the temple complex, and it showcases the truly stunning stonework that can be seen exclusively in sacred or religious Inca constructions. The complex also houses one of the very few remaining Intihuatanas - a carved stone which reveals the seasonal changes of the sun's position, and acted as a guide for timing holy days and important agricultural dates:

The Intihuatana:

Lonely watchtowers and guard posts perch dizzily on the cliff that hangs over the modern town of Pisac:

11:30, Day Two:
After almost three hours touring the gorgeous Pisac ruins, we returned in the rain to Cusco. We toured the MAP museum, and then ate a lovely lunch in its airy, modern restaurant (below) before heading to the airport. We flew back to Arequipa via Juliaca, from which we caught a glimpse of Lake Titicaca, and arrived home exhausted and happy at 5:00 pm.

Photos from Cusco

Okay, I will blog our recent trip to Cusco, but getting all the pictures up exhausted me. So, click here to see the pictures from the trip.

An Unexpected Guest

Last week, Sonia's younger stepson came home with a starvling kitten he'd found mewling on the sidewalk. The kitten has been living at their house ever since, eating table scraps and crying because it's lonely. I didn't know about the creature till yesterday, when I told Sonia she should bring the kitten over during the days so it has company.

So, she brought it. But, of course, I don't want my kids playing with a dirty street cat, so our first stop today was to the vet, where Snowball (named by Joffre after his grandparents' cat) had a bath and an antiparasite pill, and where I picked up a bag of kitten chow. He is underfed, but otherwise in quite good health, and now has all the attention he could possibly hope for. And then some.

Of course, it's going to be very difficult for all of us to say goodbye to little Snowball when we leave . . .

Just Beachy

We've been to the beach twice in the past week, which is very exciting. It's a long and twisty 2-hour drive to the coast, and the way down is characterized by the children being little beggars. But then we get to Mollendo, where for a song you can rent a cabana or a big beach umbrella, beach chairs, and a wading pool that the proprietor will fill with sea water. The ocean is calmer now than it was last March or last November, and wave-jumping is all the rage among the little members of our family.

After getting thoroughly sandy and splashy, we feast upon fried octopus, squid, and sea bass, with chips and rice, and drink Inca Kola in flimsy plastic cups. It's downright lovely. In the grand tradition of looking out for the kids first, I forgot to apply adequate sunblock to myself and burned my face, neck and shoulders - and shins. That was the first day; I had smartened up by the second day.

I don't have any pictures of our most recent beach excursions, but I don't think I shared the shots from last November here, so here are a few to give you an idea of the beach:

Baby's First Misdemeanor

The other day we were out shopping at the grocery store. I was with another one of the company wives, and I was babysitting my friend's 4-year-old, and we had Carlos (aged 10) along with us as well. I was using a shopping cart that is basically a child's car with a shopping cart basket on top. Unbeknownst to me, Alec got out of the car while it was parked at the cash register and I was discussing treats with Joffre and his friend. All of a sudden, I heard Alec in the distance gleefully yelling "numnumnumnumnum!" A quick glance around revealed him running hell bent for leather for the door. We intercepted him, and the thing that had prompted his exaltations of "num!" was a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts clutched to his chest.

Clearly, he'd noticed that we were distracted, grabbed the nearest bag of candy at toddler level, and made a beeline for the exit.

I Got In!

Yes, I got accepted to UBC Law. After a great deal of confusion over when I wrote the LSAT and whether UBC could get my score or not, I got an acceptance email yesterday.

Hurrah! The tough part's ov . . er, I guess there's still three years of law school, a year of articling, and a law career to go. But that's what I'm signed up for, so I'm happy!

It's Raining!!!

Hooray! Cool, wet, cloudy weather!!

Yes, I'm crazy. But not as crazy as the people who think the weather was caused by Wednesday's 5.7 earthquake (ie, all of Peru). This is a desert - the place is desperate for water right now, and I'm happily back into cooking stews and soups and baking yummy treats. I just can't get into that sort of thing when it's sunny and warm out.

Anniversary

On February 3 we completed a year in Arequipa.

Looking back, the thing that strikes me the most is how quickly it became home. My inlaws came to visit in late April, only two months after we'd gotten here, and already we were so settled in.

That and how much bigger Alec is. And how great Joffre's Spanish is. And a hundred other small things that I will need to add soon . . .

Preschooler Interlude

It is the prerogative of mothers to relay cute things their kids say to anyone who will listen.

Joffre: "Mom, don't say kids, say children."

(standing up on his chair at Christmas dinner as we're all poised to dig in): "We have to say the thing first (grace)!

Time for eat, time for drink,
Time for eat, time for drink,
All done."

"Mom, you married?"
"Yes, to your Dad."
"Well, I think maybe I can marry with you."

And, then there's Alec, aged 20 months:
"Oh maaaan!"
"Mapa!" (the map, on Dora the Explorer)
"Esto es de Alit!" (This is Alec's)
"Ya esta!" (all done, or there you go)
"Horse."

And yesterday, using a combination of words, babble and gestures, Alec explained to Sonia how Mommy works the coffee maker. Well, he understands what's important.

Summertime Blues

Joffre was so excited to come back to Peru, which made me happy. But since we've been here, he's been rather down in the mouth. The first week was brutal, with all manner of tantrums, definance, naughtiness, and nastiness. Then it got better, although we still have our moments. The biggest issue is this:

Preschoolers don't understand summer vacation.

See, for them, school isn't stress, it isn't tests and expectations and having to learn challenging and possibly boring concepts. It's playing, with a fun teacher who could host her own children's program, and hanging out with all your friends. Summer holidays aren't a break from school, for these kids; they're deprivation of Fun Times. I've talked to other mothers from the school, and all the kids feel the same, asking when school starts and when summer is over. I've been trying to get him together with his friends as much as possible, but a lot of them are away at the beach for the holidays.

The other thing that kids do a lot of here is "vacaciones utiles", or "useful vacations." This translates more accurately to "day camps." The trouble is, I don't think he'd like a day camp without anyone he knows in it, so I've been trying without success to piggyback on one of his friends' day camp. This isn't working as a) most of the day camps began at the start of January and are wrapping up, and b) those I've asked about their day camps are not pleased with them.

So, we keep setting up playdates, going to the park, we've been swimming, and we are waiting for his American buddy to get back from parts North. His school has said they will take him in their new four-year-olds class for the months of March and April, and frankly I can't wait.

The Best Chicharron

Peruvian chicharrones, for the uninitiated, are large chunks of pork - usually belly - seasoned and deep fried, served with toasted dried corn kernels, deep fried boiled potatoes, and sarza criolla, a simple and delicious salad made of slivered red onions, tomatoes, lime juice, salt, and occasionally some herbs.

I love this porky goodness, but more often than not it is sold in very basic restaurants where only the pork counts and the rest of the food is a barely-edible garnish. Or, it's dressed up and revamped in some "Novoandino" ("New Andean") style that destroys its humble greatness. But we found a place, in the Plaza de Armas, where the pork is fabulous, the potatoes warm, crispy, soft, and delicious, and the sarza divine. I would eat there every weekend if I could. Hey! I can!

Good thing I've started going to the gym . . .

Feels Like, Starting Over

Well, not really. But up till six weeks ago, I thought today I would be sitting in a (probably empty) apartment in Vancouver, catching up with old friends, looking for something constructive to do till September, keeping the kids busy, and - in my husband's words - hemorrhaging money.

In the intervening six weeks, we've travelled back to Canada, spent a beautiful vacation over Christmas with our families, and made the trip back here. We're more or less getting settled back in.

I found it easier, obviously, to move back here this time than to make the move for the first time. in the first place, I wasn't deathly ill. In the second place, our house and all that goes with it was not only ready and waiting, but spotless thanks to the ministrations of our lovely housekeeper and nanny. We weren't moving at all, really, just going home after a vacation. Of course, because things can never be simple, the travel agent underestimated how much time we would need in Toronto between flights, and when our first flight from Saskatoon to Toronto was delayed, we missed the connecting flight from Toronto to Lima. As a consequence of this, we had to spend the night in Toronto, fly to Miami the next morning, and then spend a purgatorial five hours in the Miami airport before flying to Lima. The Miami airport is not a pleasant place. I asked the AA agent if we could rent a stroller somewhere (we'd forgotten ours in Manitoba), or if there was a play area in the airport, and she just laughed bitterly and said, "this is not a good airport." It says a lot that the fanciest, most technologically advanced of our four flights in three days was the one on Air Canada "Jazz" (read, "low budget"), out of Saskatoon.

As a result of being rerouted, though, we did get into Lima earlier than expected, which was nice. And, unlike in the USA, families with small kids get fasttracked through customs and immigration, which is nice. And then we stayed at Los Delfines.

Spoiled Brat
Me, not the kids. Thinking of the hotel in Lima makes me realize how utterly spoiled I am. I like fancy hotels - heck, who doesn't? And I have now flown business class a number of times and it has made me kinda down on flying economy, especially with the little monkeys in tow. I like fancy restaurants - although as long as the food is good, I like basic cheap ones too - and have generally cultivated snobby tastes. This is going to suck in Vancouver, where one can go broke quite quickly if one prefers the finer things in life, even if one chooses not to sell one's soul for a few square feet of prime realty.

So, I'm making plans, plans involving dutch ovens, slow cookers, freezers, and general ingenuity to ensure that while we don't eat poorly in Vancouver, we don't eat expensively either. Keep checking for more food posts, coming soon!