"Oh... Peru"

Arriving in Peru... about 2am (small delay getting the swords through customs, and a very slight scare of the guard not believing I was G's mom (love him and flattered that he thought I was too young, but a little worried about trying to prove she was mine - all's well that ends well though and a simple mutter... "I was young when I had her" sufficed and he let me go). Little did we know we were about to board an 11 hour bus trip from hell on a bus that smelled like the inside of an outhouse...

Wow! What a time we've had! I can't believe we've been and come home already from Peru. Words just don't do the trip justice! Nor do pictures!

The dance festival was surreal to say the least! Beatlemania had nothing on the crowd's response to "Escocia"! I ask you, no, I challenge you, to think of a time when you didn't hear the bagpipes when they were being played! Or here's another one... Have you ever seen a need to mic the pipes? Well, in Trujillo we did just that!! We had such an incredible response of cheering and screaming everytime we took to the stage (well, I say we, but I mean them of course - I was merely in the wings waiting to help with quick costume changes) that the pipes were completely drowned out! What a trill for the dancers!

And where to start on the universally known "chicken dance". We couldn't believe our ears (and eyes) when everyone from Venezuela, Honduras, Philippines and us (Scotland) were all doing the chicken dance to pass the time during opening ceremonies, and everyone knew it! Ok, understandably we and the Philippines (group also from Winnipeg) knew it - but really Venezuela and Honduras was a complete surprise! I think perhaps we should take the "Chicken Dance" to the UN - maybe it is a means to world peace! After all - language barriers are all but forgotten, and who can stay upset with their neighbour when doing something as funny and silly as the "chicken dance"? The surprisingly widely known "chicken dance"

Oh... Peru!

I don't even know where to begin! The sights were incredible to! Chan Chan, the Moon Temple, and Machu Picchu are clearly highlights of sightseeing. Unfortunately we only had one day really in Cuzco, but all wish we'd had several more! It was a city like I've never seen before. Walking through it was like taking a step back in time in so many ways, yet in other ways it is so modern with internet cafes on every corner. It is quite a juxtaposition between the old and the new. Cobbled streets and people dressed in tradional garb mixed with the latest in modern technology!

The only down side to the trip was my little mishap in Huanchaco last Saturday morning. Really my own fault and I shouldn't be blaming the good people of Huanchaco for putting rather large boulders in the middle of sidewalks, where unsuspecting tourists who aren't paying attention to where they are walking can trip over them. I was so busy talking and admiring an interesting building that I managed to not only stub my toe on aforementioned boulder, but set in motion a chain of events which led to me trying to break my foot. Thank you Tam, for catching me before I could split my head open! Turns out, according to the doctor I saw two days ago, that it is just a very bad sprain and no broken bones as far as he could tell from the xrays, but ultimately incredibly painful and really I am not sure what got me through the remaining five days of my trip which included the trip to Machu Picchu and at least two hours of walking on a tour of Lima, not to mention numerous miles walked in airports between there and here, and a couple nights of limping around the festival, attending a fiesta (no - I couldn't dance, which actually worked out in my favour... thanks Kathy for taking on the creepy little man who didn't know the meaning of "No, I've got a broken foot, I cannot dance with you.") and a few trips to markets! Of course G, who dilegently got ice packs, advil and tylenol, wrapped my ankle each morning with a tensor bandage and generally performed the role of the human crutch wins the award for best daughter ever!!!! To hear her tell it one would think that she actually flung me over her shoulder and carried me around Peru for five days. Don't believe it! Really I just leaned on her arm (alot - especially on the stairs. My God! There's alot of stairs at Machu Picchu!)

But, sore foot and all - we had truly the trip of a life time!

G on the beach in Huanchaco - they still use the old style of reed boat in the ocean town

The Opening Ceremonies parade...note the traffic - apparently stopping traffic for a parade is not high priority in Trujillo! This may be the most dangerous dancing the girls have ever done... "Blue Bonnets" in traffic!

Music truly crosses all language barriers as we traded songs back and forth with the Honduras on the busride from Trujillo to Huanchaco


Chan Chan

Machu Picchu in the mist

PS: Oh... and on a brief FO note... I started and finished a pair of fetching for myself on the flight from Toronto to Lima! :)