Day 9- Vamos a la casa...oh o o o o

Well tres cuye fans...all good things must come to an end...and so we say good-bye Peru. As the Von Trapp family says, so long farewell. Today we wrapped up loose ends, i.e. buying every last souvenier in Lima and had a wonderful seafood lunch from the famous chef Gaston (for the true blog followers, you will remember we ate at his other restaurant in Cusco, Chica). One of our taxi trips today involved another near death experience. Our taxi driver felt compelled to make an immediate 180 turn to start a fight with a fellow taxi driver who gave him an ugly inka look. Bea refused to translate the verbal interaction between the drivers as she knew Abuelita would threaten to kick her out if she repeated those words. Peg and Lisa continued to sweat profusely as they were waiting for guns to pull out. We drove ALL around town looking for the coveted world cup stickers....good thing we love our esposos Brian and Diego, but sorry we didn't find any :( We hit pirated software town. Any one want to learn 26 languages for 3 dolla? Peg got her Rosetta Stone level 1, 2 and 3 to learn spanish (little late don't ya think?) for a steal. She is nervous though about smuggling these items into the USA....seriously, she asked Tia Gla if she would go to jail and she said, "i don't think so." Hmmmmm....For some reason, Abuelita kept asking us all day if we wanted a hair cut. We tried to explain to her that Lisa is just missing her Chi, but doesn't seem to translate well. Really, i think she called the corner salon and made us appointments. Poor abuelita, she's probably just ready for us to leave. We spent the last 2 hours weighing suitcases and transferring items back and forth. You would think we are returning with the same amount of suitcases.....but no, remember we are traveling with the Castro mafia. Who knows what's in these "extra" suitcases. You know it is bad when they include a certified letter from the government giving us "permission" us to take these items. We will all try to keep a straight face when they ask, "Has anyone handled this suitcase other than yourself?".......is that what you had said? We will truely miss all the familia and are so grateful for EVERYTHING they did for us while we were here.

Peruvian Facts of the trip:

1. Did you know EVERYTHING IS BETTER IN PERU? We lost count how many times we heard this throughout the trip....from the fruits to the food to the alchohol to the sites, etc, etc...

2. Tia Gla taught us today that Jesus is Peruvian....really.

3. Do you know how many peruvian words start with Ch.....chulo, chullo, churro, cholito, cholita, chica, chica, chico, chilcano, chorro, chela, choclo, chancla, chocolate, chalina, chingana, churasco, churin, chuleta, chelin, chileno, chau, chuy...just to name a few....this is part of the reason lisa and peg still can't grasp the language.

4. Did you know Bea is a world renowned volleyball player...per her abuelita. Who knew playing in elementary school gave you such an elite status. She is also a world renowned dancer but we already knew that. Awwww

Favorite parts of the trip:

1. Machu piccu, despite the 10 hour round trip. Just one glance made it all worth it.

2. 1st night out in Barranco when Peg met Pisco Sour and Lisa screamed "ayude" to a moving taxi driver and was proclaiming "no necesito orejas" Don't ask. Unfortunately, we lost the footage on this one.

3. 2nd night out in Barranco. You know it's gonna be a good night when Bea immediately tests the table strength. Luckily, we do have video footage which we titled, "Dance it Out."

4. Continuation of first night...sneaking up in the dark while Peg was asleep and hearing her scream SO LOUD causing the video camera to drop and Lisa running to the restroom. So yes, we do have video on this one. Coming soon...

5. Peruvian food. Maybe SOME things ARE better in peru.....

6. Our point system...definitely kept things interesting and sometimes too competitive, but let's just review the final tally: Lisa 5, Peg 4, and Bea 3.75 (she earned a 1/4 of a point from a stuttering cholo who tried to give her directions......she would have earned a full 1/2 point, but she lacked empathy towards his disability.....ru!).

7. The farewell party: when Peg came out of her dancing queen shell....who knew? this footage is AWESOME!!!!!! Hopefully, some day we will learn to upload videos so stay posted.

8. Tia Gla and Abuelita....enough said.

9. Rosita and Vanessa....amazing primas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Low points:

1. Camera tragedy, 1 and 2.

2. Chi loss.

3. Peruvian drivers.

4. What can we say, it was all good.......

Until the next trip, signing off....las tres cuyes. Chau.

Day 8- Don't blame it on the Pisco

We slept in today with one main objective for the day: Tia Rosa’s bday/our farewell party….so the day started about 1pm. Tio Jaime invited us to his private handmade bar on the 3^rd floor. We each tried a chilcano, made with pisco, lime, and siete-up….went down way too smooth. They then presented us with gifts and told us we are now a part of the family and always have a place to stay when we return to Lima. We were all so touched and we couldn’t get Peg to quit crying. We then proceeded downstairs for lunch and to par-tay. Lisa wondered what was taking place in the corner, only to find out it was a live band setting up. These people know how to throw a fiesta (and remember it was only 1pm). Appetizers and alcohol were continuously flowing, and when we say alcohol we mean any type, any color, any brand, any combination- they had it all. Chuy stuck with Johnny Walker all night and we couldn’t get him off the dance floor. We almost lost him 3 times; damn familia. After being served 3 plates of food, the Peruvian music took over and dancing began. Tio Jaime gave a speech giving a shout out to the Houstonians (even though Peg and Lisa only understood the word Houston). Tia Mechi also made a speech and presented us with more gifts; once again Peg lost it. Before we left the house, Peg declared that she would NOT be dancing at the party. Well… Peg never left the dance floor. She was passed from uncle to uncle, cousin to cousin managing never to spill her Pisco. And when she couldn’t find an uncle to dance with, poor Chuy was dragged to the dance floor. Bea had a special request over the microphone to dance the Marinera. She had a solo performance which luckily Lisa was able to capture the moment on video (coming soon). We sang happy brithday to Tia Rosa and the family somehow managed to put 87 candles on the cake! Needless to say there was just a little bit of damage to the top layer of the icing (mini bonfire). After several hours of dancing and drinking, Bea and Lisa had to drag Peg off the dance floor; poor girl never gets out.

Tomorrow is our last day in Peru so we are calling it a night to wake up early for some more action before we have to pack.

Peruvian facts of the day…

1. Did you know you can make a right turn when in the farthest left lane on a 3 lane street? Well, you can in Peru.

2. Peruvians really know how to throw a party and have a high tolerance for Pisco. Bea has a big family (kind of like the big fat "Peruvian" wedding) and we witnessed how important family is.

3. Did you know it is the 40^th anniversary of Tia Gla’s neighborhood? People have been celebrating since we arrived on Day 1 with parades, fireworks (took awhile to determine this was not gunshots), and more fiestas.

Points up to date…

Lisa earned a point for public humiliation for dancing on the stage at the Sheraton. Bea is trying to gain a point for her performance with her uncle tonight, but you can’t earn a point from a family member.

So we are at: Lisa 5, Peg 4, Bea 3.5.Only 24 hours left, time to step up our games!

Day 7- Repentance

We arrived last night from our night out to find that Abuelita had erected a shrine of Mary in the living room while we were out. She is stil upset that Bea keeps teaching us evil via the pisco sour and we can now repent our sins at the shrine. Actually, we find it very comforting. We could use all the help we can get. She should have done this for us on the first day. We needed to send a prayer to the saint that watches over cameras.

Today, Bea's Tia Locha took us shopping at Gamarra. Think China town in NYC on steroids (no purses, cameras, anything detachable for safety). Peg scored some suade boots for $15 and Bea found pajamas, white t-shirts and work boots for Diego. Lisa wasn't able to find a Chi, even at Gamarra; ay dios mio. We decided to make this a true vacation and take a nap this afternoon. Before the nap, Tia Gla fed us a wonderful lunch of Lomo Saltado. We also tried Pacay and Chirimoya, some yummy Peruvian fruit.

Tonight we are off for another night out at the Sheraton to see Peruvian folk dancing. Hopefully Peg will score some points and get asked to dance on stage. We promise pictures if this happens. Bea is hoping to take the lead tonight. To be continued...

Day 6- Groundhog day

So it’s the day after Machu and we all slept like babies… Well, one of us did. Lisa and Bea CANNOT wait to get back to their private room at Tia Gla’s. Someone please buy Peg a Breathe Right strip or something! Rene, how did you deal with this growing up; any suggestions would be helpful at this time.

We boarded a plane back to Lima and almost had to perform CPR on a passenger before take off. Bea kept a close eye on her watch while the poor lady was seizing because she knew Tia Gla would be waiting for us at the gate. Peg had drawn up plans for how to perform CPR in the cramp conditions of the plane and kept yelling out “oxygen.” Finally, she was carried off and we were on our way home to Lima.

Back in Lima we decided we had to repeat Day 1 and 2 to recapture lost pictures. Before repeating Day 1 we stopped by to say feliz cumpleanos to Tia Rosa. We were of course given food and Bea had her hair Chi’d while we all ate empanadas (Our 3^rd tragedy being that the Chi will not work). Bea’s dad’s chauffeur took us around town to recapture pics at Indian Market, Larco Mar. We met up with one of Bea’s friends and had dessert (this was about the 6^th meal of the day).

We were on a mission to repeat night 1, the most memorable night in Lima thus far (ie. When Peg met Pisco sour). We found a famous bar, Ayahuasca, built in an old Colonial house. Its was an amazing place with great music. Bea immediately tested the table strength just in case the night called for dancing on table tops. Peg tried another Pisco sour, but stopped with one this time (although she was caught many times gypsying Bea’s martini). Lisa took Trinh’s advice and drank amazing Mojitos, while Bea stuck with her usual of strawberry margarita and martinis. Our waiters name was Christian and took very good care of us, even though Bea kept making him uncomfortable by asking for descriptions of suggestive drink names. We've never seen a bartender turn so red and sweat so much when taking an order. Video to follow soon. Peg and Lisa enjoyed their first anticuchos. For those of you that don't know (and Peg and Lisa did not know) this is cow heart. Bea earned a point when she got invited to the “basement” by the bar owner. Like a good girl she ran to her SL to ask for permission. Lisa accompanied Bea for protection, but Peg was not going for it and stayed back with the cousins. Turns out the basement was an actual basement behind a hidden wall and opens on the weekend as another discoteca. Pics of this cannot be posted as this location is top secret and we had to sign a waiver to be released from the basement.

We did not learn anything about Peru today.

Points up to date…

Bea earned one for the basement invitation. Peg is still claiming points when random locals make any eye contact with her. Lisa is still looking for a Chi….

Peg 4, Lisa 4, Bea 3.5

Day 5 Ay yay yay

Another early morning for the tres cuyes, but oh was it worth it. We learned why Machu picchu was named a wonder of the world. Our day started with a short car ride to the train station, but don’t think it was to get on a train. Due to the strong rains in February, the train tracks to Machu were destroyed, which meant a 2 hour bus ride to catch the working train. We quickly bonded with our 9 other passengers due to multiple near-death experiences on the bus ride. Imagine driving 90 miles an hour on a one lane road, but with 2 way traffic with pedestrians and dogs and llamas walking on the roads on the edge of the Andes mountain side…..it was usually worse than this. Luckily none of us had to use our barf bags, but we came very close. Peg has lost a few years of life, but has improved her jaw muscle strength due to the permanent sustained clench. We were so relieved when we actually made to the “real” train station,”…..until we saw the train. It was a 1.5 hour train ride to Aguas Calientes (yes, still not to Machu yet) at a maximum speed of 15 mph. Lisa wanted to get off the train and run along side it to get there faster. The train finally arrives and it was time to take ANOTHER bus to the Machu Picchu entrance (we are now at 5 hours of travel time). We almost lost Peg at this point. Again, imagine all of the above but add wet roads and hairpin turns up the mountain; and we almost hit head on with another bus. But… as soon as we walked through the entrance of Machu, it was all worth it!

We had a 2 hour guided tour, followed by 2 hours of free time to explore. Our tour guide was great with the exception of his overwhelming saliva production. We almost prescribed him Robinol but found out it was just as safe to stand 3 feet back. After the tour, we decided to sit and eat a snack on one of the terraces of Machu, surrounded by llamas. Lisa busted out her Doritos while Peg and Bea shared sweet potato chips. It was an indescribable, out of this world experience. It was like sitting on top of the world. While we were snacking, Chuy ran off and found love in the most unexpected place. We never knew he was a fan of grass and llamas! After all our hiking through Machu piccu, we needed a snack. Bea and Lisa bought the best ever $6 Snickers, money well spent. Now just repeat the past 5 hours for our trip home. Needless to say we were exhausted. Chuy, however was still high on love.

Peruvian facts:

1.Do you know who discovered Machu Piccu? Well, turns out it was Racheal’s long lost relatives, Hiram Bingham; in 1911. Sure could have used the family discount; thanks for holding out on us Racheal.

2. Did you know all of the window openings are in trapezoidal shape to withstand earthquakes?

3. Did you know the Incas built the temples more precisely than the homes, and the rocks to fit like bricks?

Points to date…

Bea earned a point in the van with a Jersey boy, but only because Peg and Lisa were too nauseated to talk to anyone. She tried to claim a point from an infant that was randomly waving. We explained to her that it was a reflex and it doesn’t count (we almost deducted 0.5 points for this).

Peg again tried to claim unwitnessed points. Just because a train porter says hello (and winks, per Peg), unwitnessed points do not count. Neither does random politeness from the locals.

Lisa stayed with her current points, but is claiming if the damn Chi would work she would be scoring more (freaking curly hair).

So we are at Peg 4, Lisa 4, Bea 2.5

Day 4 No mas fotos yet....

We woke up bright and early to catch our tour bus to Valle Sagrado, the Sacred Valley. We caught a taxi to the plaza, but running late as usual. Suddenly, Lisa and Peg see Bea running up the street. They thought she was just warming up before the Inca ruins climb, but we only wished. Tragedy Number 2 struck......please take a seat again....seriously. Bea left her camera IN THE TAXI (and please remember, now we have NO PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!). We didn´t have time to mourn our loss as our tour bus was about to depart. We left information with police officials...who seemed so concerned.

So we are back to Lisa at least having a camera. We might as well call this Day 1 :(
We entered the Andes Mountains with our first stop, a picturesque view of the valley. We took like 100 picture of this. Our tour guide, Marco Antonio AKA Marc Anthony kept things comical and entertaining. Throughout our tour, his phone would ring Lady Gaga´s Bad Romance...there is just something about climbing the Inca ruins with Lady Gaga in the background. Seroiusly, we saw some amazing sites that we were able to capture and hopefully share with you soon (we have strict rules now with regards to the camera and Lisa is no longer allowed to delete photos). All 3 of us made it to the top of the ruins thanks to our Coca tea. We ate corn with cheese from the cholitas and continued shopping...of course. We learned how alpaca yarn is made and dyed - this was right up Peg´s alley and she contributed to their yarn fund. We ended the night in the plaza eating at a great restaurant with Pisco Sours and Peruvian beer, Cusquena. Tomorrow´s plans include an early morning rise for Machu Picchu. Please pray for camera safety. Chuy enjoyed the Inka ruins, but did get a little winded. We warned him to keep drinking, but he´s stubborn as hell.

Peru Facts of the Day
1. Did you know the difference between an alpaca and a llama? The llama is bigger and the tail curls up.
2. Did you know there are 4000 different kinds of potatoes in the Sacred Valley alone and 400 different types of corn????
3. We saw over 600 terraces in the ruins of Pisac as well as 2 faces of Inka gods in the mountain side of Urubamba.

Time to catch up on points:
Lisa has 4 points with the help of the ¨oh my god¨ vendor
Peg has 4 points with the help of Marc Anthony inviting her to white water rafting on her next trip to Peru
Bea is still lagging behind, but did earn 0.5 points in the ice cream shop, even though Peg and Lisa claim it was a pity point.

Day 3 - Oh my God!!!!

We arrived to Cusco!!!! Rosita´s family was SO sweet and welcomed us into their home with open arms. We visited the Centro of Cusco and continued sight seeing. Lisa realized she left her sunglasses in Lima. We were on a mission to search for pirated sunglasses which was NOT difficult. We were quickly surrounded by vendors showing us their supply. Every pair she tried on was followed by him exclaiming "Oh my god. Top model.¨Lisa succumbed to his charm and flattery and dropped some big bucks on a pair of Dolce and Gabbana....and yes, that was a point for Lisa. And soon after, our luck changed.......please have a seat for this...no joke.
So we are eating a lovely ice cream...SO YUMMY...and Lisa screams, "oh my god!" We think she is just reenacting her sunglass purchase experience, but we only wished....She was viewing our wonderful photos we had taken thus far (let me preface this by saying it was over 200 photos) and after one quick click, it was ALL OVER. Delete All? Ok. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Say it isn´t true. It was not time for jokes, we took a moment of mourning. Please a moment of silence. So, we are trying to put it behind us and thinking how we will duplicate some photo moments, but nothing was making us feel better. We decided to go home and nap it out. This turned into a 4 hour nap. Our house mom got worried and woke us up to eat something. We knew we had a long day ahead of us so we just went back to bed. Well...some of us did. Some of you may of heard of some earthquakes in Peru, no worries, that was just Peg´s nightly snoring. Lisa and Bea can´t wait to return to their private rooms in Lima. Signing off, las tres cuyes. P.S. Chuy is having a blast!!!

Day 2 - Cuanto Cuesta??????

Recap of Night 1: Events of the night are a little blurry, but the things we do remember are not appropriate for this blog. A Peg le gusta mucho el Pisco Sour ..... enough said....

Day 2

Over breakfast, we talked about our evening and we almost got kicked out of the house by abuelita ("grandma")...thinking all the pisco sour consumption was taking place upstairs in our bedrooms. We were big girls today and took found our own taxi making it successfully to LarcoMar, a shopping center on the Pacific Coast. We hit some shops and continued with our sight seeing. Lisa and Peg continue to polish their bargaining skills....yet Lisa continues to have currency conversion problems and keeps wanting to pay the vendors too much...."Yes, it is only ONE dollar!"

Our personal tour guides, Vanessa and Rosita, picked us up and took us to the Parque de la Reserva for a nice water, light, and laser show in the evening. It was a nice surprise to see more cousins, more than Bea knew she had :)

Btw...Bea earned a point today (but she is claiming it counts as five since it was the entire waitstaff). As it stands on Day 2: Peg 3, Lisa 3, Bea 1

Day 1 - Peg 3, Lisa 2

It was all going so smoothly; everyone ready at 12:30pm to leave to the airport. Hey Peg, "where's your suitcase?" So despite the detour to the burbs, we made it to boarding in time. A special thanks to Brian, our chauffeur/cabana/bellboy for fitting 5 suitcases and 4 people in the car (the engineering degree finally paid off.) Our luck continued when Bea made it through with 2 over-sized suitcases w/o paying or getting caught. Doesn't surprise us b/c we personally had an immigration officer waiting for us when we got off the plane, who cut us in line, and checked us in himself. This continued with a large family welcome committee who performed a small wave as we exited baggage claim. Bienvenidos a Peru!

Day 1: Started with a typical Peruvian yummy breakfast at Tia Gla's. Vanessa and Rosita were our personal tour guides for the day. We headed to el Centro de Lima and visited the Catacoombs..Peru fact: Did you know there are over 25,000 people buried down there?! We caught the noon changing of the guards at the Peruvian "whitehouse," but el Presidente did not get the message of our arrival and did not make an appearance. We had lunch at Chinatown - ironic eh? but these Peruvians can cook some mean chinese food (chifa)! Peg and Lisa have a new favorite soda: Inka Kola baby! We hit some shopping (of course). We didn't find any good deals...just4 DVD's for $3 dollars. Anyone wanna see Toy Story 3?

Highlights of the Day:

1. Peruvian drivers are amazing (ay dios mio!!!). It's amazing that we are still alive. We've never before been able to change someone's radio station in the car next to us.

2. Gun shots? Fireworks? or Car Backfires? The jury is still out on this one....we'll keep you posted.

3. Peg nearly shattered the back seat window running from the policia. OR....someone was just trying to announce the fruit they had for sale (via a loud speaker). We may need to adjust her hearing aids.

4. So it's winter here in Peru....who knew temp in the 70s called for jackets and scarfs to leave the house. And we are serious: we are NOT allowed to leave the house without them ON b/c we discovered (Lisa) that holding them in your arm does NOT count.

5. Score: Peg 3, Lisa 2. It didn't take long for the Peruvian hombres to notice the Americanas. It all started with a stalker in the airplane checking Peg out and pursued her in the terminal, but Lisa earned a point with the comment "ella es mucha mujer para ti" from a merchant.

We would like to thank Rosita and Vanessa for taking such good care of the 3 cuyes and Chuy. Yall are the best! We are off to our first "night out." Yes, say a prayer....

Can you spot the cuyes??

Meet the tres cuyes. From left to right (not my right, your right) Bea, Lisa, Chuy, and Peg!

The countdown continues. We leave in 3 days!! The main question is how many suitcases will there be between the tres cuyes and will Chuy make it through security.

Chuy's on da chili getting acquainted with Bea & familia

Lisa (aka THE BRAT) with Chuy Cuy. Flirting with DANGER....Let the games begin!

Chuy the Cuy!

Our mascot! Either that, or Peg has been turned into a cuy! She's been missing all day...

9 days to go...

Only 9 days left until the tres cuyes leave for our maiden voyage to Peru. Peg and Lisa are just a little nervous with the thought of Beatriz planning the entire trip, but we know she has had lots of help from her familia. Stay tuned for updates on our trip and hopefully we will figure out how to post pics and share our cuy experiences with everyone. For those non-peruvian followers, las tres cuyes = the 3 guinea pigs (you know, like the 3 little pigs). Apparently guinea pigs are a delicacy in Peru...