Dog on!

This Sunday our dog Ramona took her first steps off of dry land and lept (in all honesty was carried and shoved) into our world of sailing. Our day at the boat began as usual with some boat improvement and maintenance. Once again, Brent totally surpassed all my expectations. He was able to dive under the boat, find the spot on the keel to attach a cable and then find the tiny hole in the bottom to shove the cable into so I could attach it to the wench. Presto! We have a working retractable keel!
Once the chores were completed, we shoved off of the dock,and off of another dock, and off a boat, and off another boat and headed out to open water. Apparently the change in the keel also changed the response time in the steering. Oh well at least we didn't damage anything.
The weather was perfect and Ramona handled the wind and the waves like an old salt. She wasn't a huge fan of heeling over but gained confidence over time and best of all she did not get sick. Our little boat was flying on a broad reach the whole way home, taking half the time to return as it did to go out. Brent took a turn at lowering the sails and then skippered us into a perfect landing back into our slip.
After settling our boat we headed out to the deck for a beer and Ramona met a fellow boat dog named Amber. After Ramona got her land legs back they ran and played and swapped stories of the sea. Well maybe not stories of the sea, but they did take turns smelling each other's butts. I think she will make a fine sailor!
Later!

Taking out the 'rents

A lot of progress has occurred within this last week. We have done some sanding, painting, sleep area modifications, and most amazingly, Brent has given us POWER! Also we had our first passengers on a sail and have met many fellow boaters at the marina. Yeah us!

Last Sunday we took my parents out for our first passenger sail. I was a little uptight about the whole deal, knowing that my mom tends to be a worrier and my dad is a bit of a control freak. I could just imagine the stress ramping up in blood pressure and vocal volume if our parking shenanigans go the way they have been - mainly bouncing into every boat (softly) on the way back to the slip with the two of us debating about which way to push the rudder while holding the reversing propeller in the water. Add the 'rents and we have a recipe for disaster! Fortunately (miraculously) we had perfect sailing weather, had a fantastic time and were able for the first time to back into our slip without any problems. After getting the boat put away, we headed to Scuttlebutts for a drink and a snack. From the animated conversation I could tell that Mom and Dad had a good time.

This weekend we concentrated on getting our boat into condition. I spent what felt like 20 hours polishing all the metal and sanding the teak. I now know why Popeye has such big forearms! I also did some interior painting and helped Brent cut boards for the sleeping areas. Brent really impressed me by getting all our battery power working like it should. We celebrated by staying out on the boat way after dark for a game of cribbage.

Our next goal is twofold. Brent wants to take the next electrical step and get shore power working, and I want to try sailing out of the pass into the gulf. Hopefully between Brent's charity pancake breakfast, Easter, work, and my Dad's bday we will have a chance to even look at the boat this weekend.

Later!

We are sailing!

This weekend we got our first taste of the sailing lifestyle. Saturday Brent went out and wrestled with the electrical on the boat and then picked me up for a big evening marina style. Pillows and blankets in hand we went out to the boat, dropped everything off and headed to the marina bar to take advantage of the 2.99 oysters and 2.00 beer. I have to say, people near water are a lot nicer than people in general. Brent and I had the chart of St. Andrews Bay out to learn the water depths near us (you will find out later which of us actually looked at the chart) and everyone who walked by asked us where we were headed and offered advice. We met a few folks that kept their boats at the marina and ended the night at our new friend Adrian's boat for a little live music.

Sunday morning we awoke to the sound of waves lapping on the hull and jumped into action. We ran home for a little breakfast and to let Ramona out and pick up some Subway lunch for later. The weather was warm but overcast but no rain in the forecast. By 11:00 we were back on the boat, motoring out.

We started out one step at a time. Mainsail up,back and forth across the bay. The wind and tide were working against us and we seemed to be making absolutely no headway. Brent and I both took turns at the tiller with about equal success. On my turn we finally got a break on the wind and picked up enough speed to do a smooth tack. Suddenly we just seemed to stall. As I am looking at Brent trying to understand why the boat isn't turning, he gives me the fantastic info that yes, I have managed to run us aground. No problem, we have a retractable keel! Unfortunately when Brent went to wind it up all that came up was a broken wire. Note to self: sign up for Sea Tow Monday! Luckily the tide was in our favor and we were soon on our way.

After a lunch break we got daring and put up the jib sail. Holy crap! We increased our speed by about 80% and both of us got our real first taste of the excitement of sailing. We had our little boat screaming thru the bay to the point we were a bit awed by the power of the wind-yeah right, we were more or less scared x!&*less! Still a ton of fun!

After 5 hours of fun we brought our boat safely back to the marina and wrestled the bitch back into the slip with both of us having the biggest feeing of accomplishment. I think this sailing thing might be for us!

Til next time!

Fran

what a nice post!

Ah yes, the boat. I commend Fran for spending so much time and effort cleaning the boat. It really does look nice and we had a wonderful time last night. However, tonight, the eve of our trip to New Orleans and family vacation, the markets took it on the chin, and here I sit feeling very uptight. Now I know why pot is the drug of choice for stockbrokers. Worrying about other people's money is unnerving.

I will likely spend a lot of time on the boat over the summer because it is very relaxing. I think learning to rely on wind and water and your equipment will be much more fun. Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear unrest is not good for the soul or people's retirement plans.

The runup of the Yen, municipal bonds, government deficits, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, regional managers, rental properties, and non-profit fundraisers make sailing sound like a dream. And by the way, if I win the lottery, I want $2ook for the rest of my life and I promise to give the rest of it away to charities all over the world as I travel by sail.

Get it back together world. I want to enjoy sailing and seeing the world without so much stress.

first night

In my brain I have been imagining sitting on a boat, having a beer, and looking across the water discussing life's questions. After 5 hours of killing mildew and Kmarting for pop lights I got to fulfill that first ambition.

Brent and I hung out at the spiffy clean boat last night after dining on $1.99/doz oysters from the marina bar "Scuttlebutts". Holy crap! $1.99?!? Our bartender Sarah sp? was super. We sat in our boat till the dew set in and had a fantastic night dreaming and planning our Summer on the water. I think I might have a hard time getting Brent to leave the dock. He is a bit afraid to move onto the next stage of our adventure- learning how to sail. He is way too good at imagining the worst case scenario- out of gas, no wind, run aground, sea monsters, giant octopus- you name it, he's contemplated.

Fortunately he will have at least a weeks reprieve as we leave tomorrow for New Orleans and from there a cruise to Mexico with his family for a week. Maybe we will get a chance to sail some Cats to get his confidence up! Anyways I know I will be chomping at the bit to get back and test out our new toy. Hopefully I won't lose sleep worrying about her while we are gone.

Later!

We gotta boat and a dream

I know its been a long time. What can I say, we have been wrapped up in the mundane day to day existence that is living in my parents' guest house, going to work, and trying to save money for our next big adventure.

After about a 6 month debate on what we should do next - move to Holland, get a VW van and drive the PanAmerican highway, join the Peace Corps, live for a year in an all inclusive resort- we finally decided on buying a sailboat and traveling the world. I should probably let you know that neither Brent or I have ever sailed a boat bigger than a 12 ft dingy and have never been out of sight of land. Thats OK, if it was easy then it wouldn't be an adventure!

We decided to start our blog again to keep track of our progress toward our goal and hopefully entertain you guys while we are at it.

In the last few months we have put our preparations into high gear. Brent went to a boat show with my Dad, we got a subscription to the magazine Attitudes and Latitudes, spent way to much time on Sailboat listings.com looking at boats, and discovered that we need a lot of training before we will be ready to set sail.

Our first step was enrolling in Sea School (thanks Mom and Dad) to learn the rules of the road and how to read and plot a chart. After 2 weeks of intense study both Brent and I passed our class and qualified for our 6 pack captains licence. We will be legally be allowed to take up to 6 people out on a boat for money as soon as we take a drug test, take a cpr class, and the real stumper, get lots of hours of sea time. How do we get sea time without a boat?

In order to move toward our goal of living on a sailboat and sailing the high seas we need to get some time on a boat. After a search on Craig's List looking up everything from Hobie Cats to Sunfish, Brent found us a sailboat that seemed too good to be true- a 26ft 1979 Helms sailboat for only $1700! We found a slip in a nearby marina called Sun Harbor for cheap and our new "practice boat" arrived today. And so the adventure begins...

Home again, home again, jiggity pig

It truly felt that South America did not want us to leave. First the bus incident in Mancora, then a wonderful 10 hour delay of our flight to Buenos Aries. This layover had the added bonus of a Grippe de Cerdo scare. Everyone in the airport was wearing surgical masks (except us and the old man and small child sitting behind us coughing furiously). I have a hard enough time understanding Spanish-the last thing I need is something to make it sound more muffled! We finally caught our plane around 9pm and arrived in Argentina at 2am. I was really disappointed and felt cheated out of my last night in that great city.
The next morning we did some last minute shopping and went to my favorite empanada place, Remanio's, for one last south of the equator hot pocket and a liter of beer. Then it was back to the airport for our 10hour flight back to the EEUU.
Our flight was uneventful, aside from noticing how incredibly rude and impatient Americans (in this case stewardesses) are to people who do not speak English. It is as though we go out of our way to make foreigners feel stupid and unwelcome. I mean, if you are serving coffee and tea and a passenger asks for a cafe con leche, I would think you can figure it out without adding attitude or rapid fire questions in English to the mix. Thank god almost every single person I had dealings with in South America were kind, helpful and tried to make me feel welcome. The behavior I witnessed from the USA airline and airport workers made me a little embarrassed to be an American.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we were completely surprised to see our friend Jason at baggage claim waiting to take us to our temporary home here in Atlanta. I know for sure our friends would go out of their way to help others, lord knows they have all bent over backward to help us throughout our incredible journey.
I know it seems as though the interesting material for this blog may have dried up, but I plan on continuing to write and keep you updated on our next adventures. Thailand? Amsterdam? the Pan American Highway? We will keep you updated!
Later!

Ciao Peru

We had an awesome time in Mancora, Peru. The town is a small surf town that makes you think what America's beaches might have been like 50 or 60 years ago. No highrises, no chain hotels, but lots of little mom and pop hostels. Ours was named WaWa's and was located about 70 feet from high tide. This was also the local surfer hangout, due to its prime location right at the point break.
Brent and I spent a lot of our time sitting in the sun, but we did get out and move a little bit. We took surfing lessons and I really loved it. How about that, a sport I like that I can get into for less than $300. Maybe not a great sport for Atlanta, but I will be in Panama City Florida for a while so maybe I will be able to keep it up. Brent took some kite surfing lessons. He learned to fly the kite very well and was able to practice in the water some, but ran out of wind and time before he could attempt the board and kite together. I went running a few times and explored the area. On the first run I headed out and ended up seeing where the real people of Mancora live. Kinda scary. I took a wrong turn at the beach an was in the middle of shanty town. No power, not sure about running water, but surprisingly neat. Still I was a little nervous being "white american girl with ipod alone" but made it thru without incident. I have found that every Peruvian I have met has been extremely friendly and helpful.
We met a fellow American at our hostel named Earl. He was traveling alone from California and we hit it off immediately. I got a lot of surfing pointers from him, as well as some really funny and interesting stories.
Our last day in Mancora was supposed to be Friday, leaving on the bus at 5pm. However, when we arrived at the terminal, we learned that it was labor day and no busses were running. You would think they might tell you this when you buy your ticket 5 days earlier. Fortunately we had wiggle room in our schedule and were able to enjoy a bonus day at the beach.
We are flying out of Lima this morning and will be spending our last night in South America in Buenos Aires. I am looking forward to seeing my adopted home again and am sad it is only for a one night stand. Well, gotta finish packing.
Later!

bring on the beach!

I have found that 4 weeks in Lima is about 3 weeks too long. The people here are amazingly friendly, the city is safe, the spanish school is well run, it's just, well, boaring. Lima is too much like any other city in the states. I have eaten more fast food and watched more tv than I have in the last 5 months. I know that is my own fault, but the other options feel touristy and like a rip off. I can't really explain it, but I know I can't wait to see some other parts of this country.
We are headed to the northern coast of Peru, to a town called Mancora, on Friday. It is a 17 hour bus trip; I look forward to looking out the window and seeing some new landscapes.
We have 3 more days of school, unless the learning god strikes me with lightening I have not learned nearly as much spanish as I thought I would. I feel that I tried really hard but language does not come easy for me. Hell, I have a hard time with english pronounciation! ( Just ask Brent the story of Cheyenne.) We hope to continue taking classes in the states because I don't want to forget everything I fought to learn on this trip. Speaking of learning it is time for class so-
Later!

In sickness and in health

On Friday Brent woke up with a sinus infection and was pretty miserable for most of the weekend. After class he came straight home and went to bed. I felt fine so Sarah and I went out for manicures and pedicures- only about $15 total! One of the girls was learning english so we had fun correcting her pronunciation of difficult words, like sausage. Listing to a young woman trying to say sausage over and over cracked us all up. She had a good time trying to fix my pronunciation as well. Sarah's pronunciation is fine, but some of the things that come out of her mouth...A 50ish balding american man came into the shop with two 20something, spanish speaking girls, one on each arm, and Sarah asks, "Are they your daughters?" Oops!
After our day of beauty we returned to the apartment to pick up Nate for dinner. We went to parque Kennedy to a restaurant we had been to before and apparently had tipped too well the last time, becuse we had 2 waitresses fighting over serving us. Unfortunately after the battle was over, the girl who won kinda sucked. Sarah and I ordered margaritias and when we got them, about 15 minutes later, they were so strong that we couldn't drink them. We sent them back for more mixer and didn't see them again until we were done eating. They tasted the same, except strangely a bit colder. Oh well.
There is a tiny bar across the street from the apartment that had a band so we stopped in on our way home and listened to a Beatles/Rolling Stones cover band. Sarah was the first to call it a night at around 12, I headed in about 1:30, and Nate headed to the casino and did not return untill 4ish! Good times.
Saturday after a late lunch we had to say goodbye to our friends. They caught a bus north to continue on their trip to Equador. Hopefully we will meet up again back in the states! Brent seems to have recovered from his illness and we will probably go out for dinner and then get ready for our last week of spanish classes, I can't believe they think I am an intermediate!
Later!

The whirlwind that is Lima

It has been a few days and we have been fairly busy. Our friends decided to prolong their stay in Lima. We have been having fun with them at night and working hard at school during the day, so something had to give- sorry!
This week we went to dinner with a couple from Lima who spoke minimal english. You would think that would make for a pretty quiet evening, but fortunately Sarah is getting pretty good in spanish and at the reduced rate of speed I was able to understand most of it, and even participate a little. We went to a parrilla in Barranco and had a great meal, I think I like the meat (especially the chorizo) better here than Argentina. Blasphemy!!!
Wednesday was the highlight of my week. After class a group of us met up and headed out for a little parapente-ing. For those of you not in the know, a parapente is similar to a parachute, a hanglider, and a kite. You stand on the edge of a cliff attached to a guy and parachute thing already full of wind. Then you take a few running steps off the cliff and you are flying! I had a great time with spectacular views and a few scary moments- my guide decided to do a few acrobatic maneuvers- and a beautiful landing 15 minutes later right back where I started. Amazing! Others, however, were not so lucky. Brent and Nate both took off smoothly but apparently had eaten too many cookies, because both of them ended up down on the beach and had to cab it back up the cliff with their guides. Needless to say they got a bit of teasing. My guide was Marco Antonio Mercado www.tandemperu.com and I would recommend him without a doubt. Interestingly, there were no releases signed before we took the jump. I have a sneaking suspicion that all casualties from this sport are drug out into the sea and never mentioned again-that would be bad for the tourist trade! Anyway our group made it back safe and sound.
The rest of the week was spent preparing for our test today. Brent and I both passed with flying colors, Brent flew a little higher than me and brought in a 94, I didn't hit the beach, but I was a bit lower with an 87.4. I am not as good as Brent in the oral section (that's what she said...ha), but do a little better with the grammer.
Tonight unfortunately Brent is not feeling well and has a bit of a fever so he will be unable to join the rest of us for a night of celebration and carousing; we will just have to have fun without him!
Later!

Felize Pascua

We spent Easter weekend with our friends in Lima, rather than heading to the beach. After many days of travel and roughing it, Sarah and Nate were very content to stay in one place for a bit. On Friday we headed to Barranco for dinner and then back to the apartment for some cards and scrabble. I lost at every game and called it a night. Brent, on the other hand, won at cards, lost at scrabble, and then decided to head to the casino around 2am. Bad Idea. We will leave it at that.
On Saturday we went down to the ocean for breakfast and looked around the mall a bit. Apparently I should stay away from either raw fish or roadside eggrolls because my stomach was not 100%. Who knew? After breakfast and a nap, Sarah and I went for a walk around and did some shopping. Last night we went to a great restaurant and listened to some music before returning home for a rematch of cards. I lost again.
We began Easter sunday getting back to our North American roots- all you can eat Sunday Brunch. I ate my weight in french toast. We are planning to go bowling this evening after a busy day of scrabble and watching the masters in spanish. Should be fun!
Happy Easter!

Semana Santa? Is he anything like Christmas Santa?

This week is Semana Santa which is the holy week leading up to Easter and apparently has nothing to do with Santa Claus. School is closed tomorrow as well as most of the stores. Since we have a long weekend ahead of us, we are going to do as the locals do and head to the beach! Our freinds are coming in on Friday, and Saturday morning we a hopping a bus to Playa Asia which is about an hour or so away.
Yesterday Brent and I went on a school excursion to the city market which is very much like a huge flea market. If you have a need for any kind of pirated brand name goods from Calvin Klien perfume to Quicksilver skateboards, this is where you go. We bought a few dvds to watch for ourselves and a bunch of kid disney type movies to give as gifts. In total we came away with 12 dvd for $12. Can't beat that, right? The only problem is...All the animated movies are in, you guesed it, Spanish. Oh well I have always thought it was easier to learn another language while you are young.
After the market, we took a cab to a new barrio called Barranco. It lies on the coast and is very scenic. We walked around for a bit and found a restaurant to sit on the deck and watch the sunset. The restaurant is named El Delfin and we had the best waiter,Louis, that I have had in almost 6 months. He helped us with our spanish and brought us samples of local dishes. We tried choclo, which is like eating the half popped kernels in the bottom of the popcorn bag, only bigger, we had our first pisco sour, some delicious ceveche, and a dessert which unfortunately I cannot remember the name of, but was like a small funnel cake with honey instead of powdered sugar. After dinner we joined the staff downstairs to watch some futbol.
Brent has been having some luck at the casino; winning another $100 soles from the house the other night. I let him go on his own, there is no sense in me loosing cash on one side while he wins it on the other.
Tonight we will probably go to the grocery story and have a quiet night at home. We need to rest up for our beach weekend !
Later!

You know you had a good time if you spend the next day in bed

Friday night was a long, fun night. We started the evening at the apartment of one of the students from school. His apartment was a little small, which was good for forcing people who don't know each other to talk and get to know each other. There was music, food and drinks, and a mix of people from school and locals as well. At about midnight the party moved to a dance club called Sargent Pepper's. It was really fun. The space was like a big courtyard with barstools and countertops in one section, and a big dance floor in another. There was also a separate room kind of outside with tables and chairs. The music was mostly from the USA, with a few latin songs mixed in. After we were all sweaty and tired we hopped in a cab and headed to a casino. Brent learned how to play a new poker game and was very successful. I, on the other hand, stuck to blackjack and had my usual bad luck. At about 5am I called it a night and walked back to the apartment. Brent didn't leave till they shut the place down at 6am!
Needless to say, our Saturday was a little slow in starting and consisted mostly of eating and sleeping. I did some laundry and we had indian food delivered.
Sunday we got off to an early start. We walked down to the Larcomar (the outdoor mall on the ocean) and had the breakfast buffet. Oh my God it has been sooooo long since we have had breakfast! Sausage, eggs, french toast- it was great. After breakfast we took a walk down to the ocean and watched the surfers. It is really easy to get lessons to learn, there are booths set up about every 50 feet were you can sign up. Brent and I are both considering giving it a try before we leave. Then we headed up to catch a double decker bus tour of the historical parts of the city outside of Miraflores (our barrio).
The downtown portion of Lima, while it has many old and beautiful buildings, is very dirty. Not with garbage or graffiti, but with the smoke from cars and buses. All the buildings had a black film on them and after we were done, I felt like I had a film on me as well. We got to see a lot of neat churches and palaces, but my favorite place was the catacombs under the monastery. There we piles and piles of bones and skulls- creepy! When we returned home we were worn out and called it a night so we would be ready for our next week of school on Monday. I have a bit of homework from class today so...
Later!

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin...

Holy cow it is already Friday and we have finished a week of school! It feels like we just got to Lima yesterday. I will say we did fit in quite a lot in our first week.
We found a apartment. It is the largest and most comfortable apartment yet if you can get past the lack of ac and no balcony. There are, however, incredibly large sliding windows that open all the way and make me feel as though I should have some kind of saftey harness on every time I walk past them- we are on the 10th floor!
We have been to see 3 bands at 2 different bars playing 3 different types of music. We have made some friends and went with them to watch Peru get clobbered by Brazil in a world cup qualifier. We have walked down to the ocean to see the sunset and taken a walking tour of our barrio. I have sampled some delicious seafood, tried grilled beef heart (surprisingly good!) and drank a soda called Inca Cola which is bright yellow and tastes like pink bubblegum. Tonight we are meeting up with some friends from school to go to a party. I guess I should be saying holy cow it's only Friday!

Wanna make some money? Bring AIR CONDITIONING to Lima!

Well we committed to an apartment today, and we should finalize things tomorrow and possibly move in tomorrow as well. I have to admit, it is not my favorite becasue it does not have a balcony or AIR CONDITIONING! No one has air conditioning here. The school doesn't, the restaurants don't, the hotels don't, no one! But the place has plenty of room, internet, tv, a full kitchen, washer, and all the plates, dishes, etc. and is a short walk to the school. We will actually have enough room to have guests over for dinner, cards, drinks, etc. So, Fran and I look forward to it anyway.

We walked around yesterday after class and found ourselves looking out over the pacific ocean, full of surfers, from the cliffs just a few blocks from our apartment. It was also sunset, so it was breathtaking. This city has really surprised us. Why don't more people break out of the rut and visit places like this? It would change your whole perspctive on other governments, and people that visit us in the states. I'll just stop there.

They have really good food here! Lots of seafood, good steak, cheap lunches, 14 soles for both of us today, that is about $4 for lunch for two. You can only take $100 per transaction out of the ATM, so that is kind a pain in the ass when you need to pay rent. Oh, well, we are glad to have such a great bank that eats those fees for us, thanks Private Bank.

Fran promises more pics tomorrow!

We are in Lima. Where are all the beans?

We have been in Lima for 2 days and so far it is nothing like I expected. The city is clean and modern, the people friendly, and I haven't seen a single bean. I have however had some delicious seafood, listened to some great live music, and met some nice people of all ages in our spanish school. The only thing I would change is our housing, and Brent is working on that. Our apartment through the school is hot and does not have a real kitchen. We will be looking at apartments tomorrow.
I am very glad we decided to go back to school for our last month in South America. There is nothing like being forced to practice for 4 hours a day with people who are as interested as you are about learning. The students here are a little more diverse than in Argentina. There are the students just out of college, but there are also two women here who I am pretty sure are even older than me!
We took a brief walking tour of our immediate area yesterday, and this afternoon we are going with some classmates to a park with some kind of light show with fountains. I have no idea what to expect, but if it is anything like the rest of our trip I am sure I will be pleasantly surprised!
Later!

Lastima Dia

Today was our last full day in BA. It sucks sucks sucks sucks....sorry got on a roll there. We spent the day a little hung over because last night we hooked up with our only authentic, born here, raised here, friend at The Drink Gallery and ended up talking till 4:30 in the morning. His girlfriend was really nice (first time we have met her) she is from Finland and speaks great english but is like me as far as being timid to speak spanish. We swapped some amusing stories about misunderstandings in spanish. For instance, you would never say estoy sucio if you were trying to tell someone you were sweaty and dirty, because you would essentially be saying I am a dirty girl -wink wink. Anyway it was entertaining to have someone besides Brent to talk to.
We woke up this morning and finished our last errands. We went and bought a new duffle bag, Brent dropped off our excess luggage at the bed and breakfast, and I donated our excess clothes. I still have to clean the apartment tomorrow, but aside from that, we are ready to go.
Argentina played Venezuela this evening in a world cup qualifier so we went down to our sports bar and watched Argentina put a whupping on those whimpy commies! 4-0. There was a group of guys watch the game with their dog. Every time Argentina scored the dog went crazy! After the game the dog got on a motorcycle (and this was a big dog) and rode away with his owner the whole way down the street popping a wheelie!
As we walked home, I knew we had good karma following us when Brent found a 10 peso bill laying in the sidewalk right around the corner from our apartment. It was almost like Argentina was trying to bribe us to stay (or paying us to leave; kinda a half full, half empty proposition).
Anyway you pour it, we are off to Peru tomarrow!
Later!

The lions are pacing

Today Brent and I are trying to get everything packed up for our trip to Lima. Neither one of us wants to do it and spend a good bit of the time pacing around our small apartment, bumping into each other. The second one of us goes into the bedroom to make an attempt, the other jumps onto the computer to look up something "useful"- like do people in Peru use pepper as a table condiment? Well maybe not that obscure, but clearly the internet is being used as an avoidance mechanism.
We just have so much stuff! We didn't even buy anything! We are giving a garbage bag of clothes away before we leave and I still don't think we are going to fit everything in. We fly out of here on Sunday and tomorrow we are going to drop off a few bags at the bed and breakfast we will be staying at when we return. Thank goodness they were nice enough to let us do that, or we would have had to hire Peruvian sherpas to get our bags from the airport to our lodging. We will be staying in a shared apartment thru the school for the first week, and then we may try to find our own place. It will be nice to have a daily routine and I think fun to live with some different folks for a while.
I am not sure about internet access in Peru so I may be a bit hit or miss with the blog for the next few days. Be assured I will get back to it as soon as possible!